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$189.99 | ASUS ZenWiFi BT8 Tri-Band WiFi 7 Mesh, 14 Gbps, 3000 sq.ft. at Amazon
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Amazon [amazon.com] has ASUS ZenWiFi BT8 Tri-Band WiFi 7 Mesh, 14 Gbps, 3000 sq.ft. for $189.99.
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Price
$90 lower (32% savings) than the list price of $279.99
50+ bought in past month
amazon.com/dp/B0DHWCFK52 [amazon.com]
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Shipping is free.
Price
$90 lower (32% savings) than the list price of $279.99
50+ bought in past month
amazon.com/dp/B0DHWCFK52 [amazon.com]
Please report the deal if expired (click report -> expired)
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Amazon [amazon.com] has ASUS ZenWiFi BT8 Tri-Band WiFi 7 Mesh, 14 Gbps, 3000 sq.ft. for $189.99.
Shipping is free.
Price
$90 lower (32% savings) than the list price of $279.99
50+ bought in past month
amazon.com/dp/B0DHWCFK52 [amazon.com]
Please report the deal if expired (click report -> expired)
My other deals
Shipping is free.
Price
$90 lower (32% savings) than the list price of $279.99
50+ bought in past month
amazon.com/dp/B0DHWCFK52 [amazon.com]
Please report the deal if expired (click report -> expired)
My other deals
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The listing here says "mesh" but the $189 price is for only a single unit. For a mesh you need at least two units. Amazon sells 2-BT8 for $399.99, a 31% savings (compared to a single BT8 for $189.99, a 32% savings). The best performing mesh system will either have a dedicated wireless band for mesh traffic (so clients don't have to share bandwidth on that band), OR could use a wired backhaul. According to the tech specs (https://www.asus.com/us/networkin.../techspec/) this has a single one of each band: 2.4ghz, 5ghz, 6ghz. So no matter which band you choose for wireless backhaul (or maybe you use MLO, which "bonds" multiple bands for backhaul, perhaps improving speed), that wireless mesh backhaul communication will be shared with clients. That will negatively impact client speeds. Maybe not a lot to notice.. it depends on how many clients are connected and how much traffic they need to send across the network.
You could use wired backhaul, which would utilize the single 2.5GB LAN port on the router and the 2.5GB WAN port on the 2nd mesh node. Then you can still use the 2.5GB LAN port and the other two 1GB LAN ports on the mesh node for wired connections to clients. Directions: https://www.asus.com/us/support/faq/1035140/ But if you didn't have a 2.5GB switch, you would then only have 1GB LAN connections remaining on the router. So it would be best to use a switch on the router (so you have multiple 2.5GB LAN ports).
ASUS sells a WiFi 7 (BQ16 Pro) quad-band mesh system (so it has a dedicated 6ghz band for wireless backhaul), but 6gz band doesn't have very long range (5ghz has more range), and the BQ10 Pro is very expensive (about $1K for two mesh units). Definitely NOT a Slick Deal.
Not sure if WiFi 7 mesh is worth buying right now. If anyone knows of any well priced, high performing WiFi 7 mesh units, feel free to post.
You could try to create your own network "mesh" by using ASUS AiMesh routers (make sure they are all AiMesh compatible) then connect them via wired backhaul. That way you don't need to worry about sharing a network band (5ghz or 6ghz) between mesh and client traffic. However you won't save much money doing this, and you increase the complexity. If you need WiFi 7 tri-band (2.4/5/ghz), get two of the ASUS RT-BE90U ($189.99 each) from Amazon (there is a link on SlickDeals to that deal). That's $379.98, about $20 cheaper than the two pack of the BT8. The RT-BE90U have all 2.5GB ports (2.5GB WAN, three 2.5GB LAN). So if you bought the BT8 and needed to add the 2.5GB switch, that's at least another $35, so the savings by going with two BE90Us jumps to ~$55. Is it worth all that work? Probably not, and the BT8 units look prettier.
To save more money you could step down to WiFi 6, but it's two standards behind. Or consider WiFi 6E. That gives you tri-band (2.4ghz/5ghz/6ghz) and may cost less if you get a good deal on the routers and add the 2nd/additional routers in a wireless access point config (connected via wired backhaul). For some more ideas on this review this link: https://www.wiisfi.com/#recommendation
The listing here says "mesh" but the $189 price is for only a single unit. For a mesh you need at least two units. Amazon sells 2-BT8 for $399.99, a 31% savings (compared to a single BT8 for $189.99, a 32% savings). The best performing mesh system will either have a dedicated wireless band for mesh traffic (so clients don't have to share bandwidth on that band), OR could use a wired backhaul. According to the tech specs (https://www.asus.com/us/networkin.../techspec/) this has a single one of each band: 2.4ghz, 5ghz, 6ghz. So no matter which band you choose for wireless backhaul (or maybe you use MLO, which "bonds" multiple bands for backhaul, perhaps improving speed), that wireless mesh backhaul communication will be shared with clients. That will negatively impact client speeds. Maybe not a lot to notice.. it depends on how many clients are connected and how much traffic they need to send across the network.
You could use wired backhaul, which would utilize the single 2.5GB LAN port on the router and the 2.5GB WAN port on the 2nd mesh node. Then you can still use the 2.5GB LAN port and the other two 1GB LAN ports on the mesh node for wired connections to clients. Directions: https://www.asus.com/us/support/faq/1035140/ But if you didn't have a 2.5GB switch, you would then only have 1GB LAN connections remaining on the router. So it would be best to use a switch on the router (so you have multiple 2.5GB LAN ports).
ASUS sells a WiFi 7 (BQ16 Pro) quad-band mesh system (so it has a dedicated 6ghz band for wireless backhaul), but 6gz band doesn't have very long range (5ghz has more range), and the BQ10 Pro is very expensive (about $1K for two mesh units). Definitely NOT a Slick Deal.
Not sure if WiFi 7 mesh is worth buying right now. If anyone knows of any well priced, high performing WiFi 7 mesh units, feel free to post.
You could try to create your own network "mesh" by using ASUS AiMesh routers (make sure they are all AiMesh compatible) then connect them via wired backhaul. That way you don't need to worry about sharing a network band (5ghz or 6ghz) between mesh and client traffic. However you won't save much money doing this, and you increase the complexity. If you need WiFi 7 tri-band (2.4/5/ghz), get two of the ASUS RT-BE90U ($189.99 each) from Amazon (there is a link on SlickDeals to that deal). That's $379.98, about $20 cheaper than the two pack of the BT8. The RT-BE90U have all 2.5GB ports (2.5GB WAN, three 2.5GB LAN). So if you bought the BT8 and needed to add the 2.5GB switch, that's at least another $35, so the savings by going with two BE90Us jumps to ~$55. Is it worth all that work? Probably not, and the BT8 units look prettier.
To save more money you could step down to WiFi 6, but it's two standards behind. Or consider WiFi 6E. That gives you tri-band (2.4ghz/5ghz/6ghz) and may cost less if you get a good deal on the routers and add the 2nd/additional routers in a wireless access point config (connected via wired backhaul). For some more ideas on this review this link: https://www.wiisfi.com/#recommendation
Honestly, I mostly disagree with your take. I think this is a pretty good deal. I don't know where you can find a better tri-band Wifi 7 router at this price - both comparing standalone routers or as a meshing units. Remember, this is also 3x3 on the 5ghz and 6ghz bands, not 2x2 like some of the cheaper hardware out there. The RT-BE90U is 2x2 only. That's a meaningful performance difference, particularly if the intention is to mesh with wireless backhaul.
Personally, I don't see the 2.5g port situation as an issue. Unmanaged 2.5g switches have gotten so cheap that it's just not a big deal anymore. The no-name Chinese 4x 2.5g + 1-2x SFP+ switches can be found in the $20 range these days. And, the people who actually care about 2.5g are already paying a big premium for >1g internet or local NAS hardware or the like. The cost of an extra switch really is not meaningful for the people who need it.
Re: mesh without dedicated backhaul, it's mostly just good enough these days with the advent of 6ghz and Wifi7. If the meshing routers are positioned in a way such that they can backhaul on 6ghz, it's kind of a non-issue anymore. Obviously, performance is better with wired backhaul or even with a dedicated backhaul radio. But with 3x3 6ghz radios on both APs and 320mhz wide channels, we can realistically push over a gigabit to clients connected to the satellite over a shared wireless backhaul. MLO* capability also means that (to a certain extent) we can mitigate airtime contention issues by better steering capable clients between 5ghz and 6ghz. Basically, we've gotten to the point of "good enough" for 95% of the people looking at this sort of hardware. The people who want more performance just have to pull cat6.
*Current MLO implementations (across both clients and APs) are all over the place and are mostly just a fake spec as of 2026. But in theory, soonTM we should get something approaching this.
Honestly, I mostly disagree with your take. I think this is a pretty good deal. I don't know where you can find a better tri-band Wifi 7 router at this price - both comparing standalone routers or as a meshing units. Remember, this is also 3x3 on the 5ghz and 6ghz bands, not 2x2 like some of the cheaper hardware out there. The RT-BE90U is 2x2 only. That's a meaningful performance difference, particularly if the intention is to mesh with wireless backhaul.
Personally, I don't see the 2.5g port situation as an issue. Unmanaged 2.5g switches have gotten so cheap that it's just not a big deal anymore. The no-name Chinese 4x 2.5g + 1-2x SFP+ switches can be found in the $20 range these days. And, the people who actually care about 2.5g are already paying a big premium for >1g internet or local NAS hardware or the like. The cost of an extra switch really is not meaningful for the people who need it.
Re: mesh without dedicated backhaul, it's mostly just good enough these days with the advent of 6ghz and Wifi7. If the meshing routers are positioned in a way such that they can backhaul on 6ghz, it's kind of a non-issue anymore. Obviously, performance is better with wired backhaul or even with a dedicated backhaul radio. But with 3x3 6ghz radios on both APs and 320mhz wide channels, we can realistically push over a gigabit to clients connected to the satellite over a shared wireless backhaul. MLO* capability also means that (to a certain extent) we can mitigate airtime contention issues by better steering capable clients between 5ghz and 6ghz. Basically, we've gotten to the point of "good enough" for 95% of the people looking at this sort of hardware. The people who want more performance just have to pull cat6.
*Current MLO implementations (across both clients and APs) are all over the place and are mostly just a fake spec as of 2026. But in theory, soonTM we should get something approaching this.
Yes, 2.5GB unmanaged switches are cheaper now. But it's annoying to have to buy another piece of electronics that needs to be powered and placed somewhere. And the cheaper no-name Chinese switches often come with dubious quality power supplies that (in my experience) are often not ETL or UL listed for safety. So for picky people like me that care about those certifications, I would need to pay more for a switch.
I agree that 3x3 is better than 2x2, but honestly don't know how much better that would be in a real world situation. If you could provide some more information (sounds like you have expertise in this department), I'd appreciate it. The point about 6ghz wireless backhaul is valid, for sure - with the caveat that the mesh router/node (or nodes) need to be positioned carefully so they are able to maintain strong signal. I actually tried the ASUS ET8 (WiFi 6E mesh; does backhaul with 6ghz) and noticed the range just isn't as good as 5ghz. 5ghz can pass through multiple walls and maintain some good range/speed, whereas with 6ghz, after the first wall/obstruction the signal strength (and speed) really drops quickly.
I am eager to see MLO genuinely implemented. I concur that most vendors (based on what RTINGS learned during testing - link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-5o_Qu3XToQ) have not fully implemented MLO and right now it's not really a benefit.
Better range, more consistent. My worst dead spot in my house still gets 800mbs and most get 1000-1200 of my 1.5 conmection. If I'm hard wired to a satellite I can get 1300 sometimes. Real world you can't expect more out of your wireless.
The app router login is a better experience than tplink imo
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Better range, more consistent. My worst dead spot in my house still gets 800mbs and most get 1000-1200 of my 1.5 conmection. If I'm hard wired to a satellite I can get 1300 sometimes. Real world you can't expect more out of your wireless.
The app router login is a better experience than to link imo
That's good performance data! Glad it's working well & appreciate you sharing it with us.
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