Amazon eero 6+

At full price, eero 7 costs little more

eero 6+ is a compact dual-band Wi-Fi 6 router that can also serve as a node in an eero mesh. Its appeal is value: home networking and Alexa smart-home radios from the same powered box. A September sale put a pair at about $160, which is the kind of discount that makes eero 6+ easy to recommend. That sale has ended, and eero and Target now list it at about $140 for one router, $240 for two and $300 for three.

At those prices, eero 7 is the better buy for most homes. It costs about $30 more for one router and about $45 more for a pair, and it adds two 2.5 GbE ports per router, Wi-Fi 7 and a three-year warranty in place of eero 6+'s one year. eero 6+ keeps one clear advantage: its three-pack costs about $100 less than eero 7's, which is real money for a larger home on a gigabit plan. Canadian list prices follow the same pattern: eero 7 costs about CAD 60 more for one router and about CAD 150 more for a three-pack.

Well below its full price, eero 6+ is still good value for a gigabit home. Sales on eero 7 can erase the gap entirely, though, so compare both on the day you buy.

Gigabit ports and two radio bands set the limits

Each router has two gigabit Ethernet ports. At the gateway, one connects upstream, leaving one for a wired device or switch. They also allow wired links between mesh nodes where Ethernet is available. This is a practical system for broadband up to gigabit-class speeds, not a multi-gigabit wired upgrade, and that is the main thing eero 7 fixes.

The 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz radios support Wi-Fi 6, including 160 MHz channels on 5 GHz. There is no separate third radio dedicated to carrying traffic between nodes. With wireless mesh links, the same available radio capacity also serves clients; a gigabit internet plan does not guarantee gigabit downloads in a distant room.

Older eero units can join the mesh, although eero warns that mixing generations can reduce performance. Keeping useful existing nodes can still be the better value. eero also now sells an eero 6+ Extender for about $20 less than the router, but it has no Ethernet ports and none of the Thread, Zigbee or Matter radios, so it extends Wi-Fi only. Nest Wifi Pro is a different Wi-Fi 6E mesh option, but cannot join an eero mesh; choosing it means choosing a different system.

Keeping your current router changes the Thread argument

eero 6+ includes Alexa Matter control, a Thread border router and Zigbee support. That is convenient when the router is also in a useful location for smart-home devices. The Thread network carries traffic; Alexa's controller is a separate role, and another compatible Matter controller can use Thread transport without eero becoming that platform's controller. eero 7 has the same three roles, so the smart-home side does not separate the two.

There is a substantial catch for buyers who plan to retain an existing router: eero's documented bridge mode disables Thread. Do not buy this model as a simple bridged Wi-Fi access point while counting on its Thread role. Decide which device will run the network before assigning value to the extra radios. If Thread is the only thing your Alexa home is missing, the 6th-generation Echo Dot adds the same hub roles for about $100 without replacing a working network.

Count the optional services, then keep it while it works

eero Plus is optional. After a free trial it renews at about $10 a month or $100 a year in the US, for features such as advanced security and parental controls. Normal Wi-Fi does not require that add-on. Over several years, a plan bought for one feature can cost more than the routers.

eero guarantees security updates for eero 6+ until at least December 31, 2031, the same date as eero 7. That gives owners a reason to keep hardware that still meets their needs. If you already have eero 6+ on a gigabit plan, keep it. If you are buying one or two routers new at full price, pay the small premium for eero 7.