(updated March 2025)
The APs in this list are ordered from highest to lowest performance. However, unless you have an insane amount of devices you likely do NOT need to buy the most expensive, highest performance AP. You can also check Ebay for deals, especially on older equipment. In terms of best price-to-performance, the U6 Pro/Mesh/InWall series is the sweet spot in my opinion and is the best choice for most deployments.
All APs in this list support both wired backhaul and mesh modes. However, wired connections are strongly recommended for better performance and reliability.
Number of spatial streams are listed in order of 2.4GHz, 5GHz, 6GHz.
WiFi 7:
- U7-Pro-XGS (2,4,2 WiFi 7, ceiling mount)
- U7-Pro-XG (2,2,2 WiFi 7, ceiling mount)
- U7-Pro-Outdoor (2,2,2 WiFi 7, outdoor pole/wall mount)
- U7-Outdoor (2,2,0 WiFi 7, outdoor pole/wall mount)
My recommendation for most scenarios:
Indoor: U7-Pro-XG
Outdoor: U7-Outdoor
The new U7-Pro-XG and Pro-XGS APs are essentially refreshes of the U7-Pro and U7-Pro-Max designed to address some of their shortcomings without significantly increasing the price. Improvements include 10 GbE backhaul support, new heatsink designs that allow the APs to be fanless, and significantly improved 2.4GHz performance on firmware versions 8.0.20 and newer. If deploying in a high client density environment, opt for the XGS over the XG.
While it lacks a 6GHz radio, the U7-Outoor's flexible deployment options and tunable antenna patterns make it a good choice for outdoor usage if you are building a WiFi 7 network outdoors. If you need outdoor 6GHz coverage, go with the U7-Pro-Outdoor.
WiFi 6:
- U6-Enterprise (2,4,4 WiFi 6E, ceiling mount)
- U6-Enterprise-InWall (2,4,4 WiFi 6E, wall mount)
- U6-Pro (2,4,0 WiFi 6, ceiling mount)
- U6-Mesh (2,4,0 WiFi 6, outdoor pole/wall mount)
- U6-InWall (2,4,0 WiFi 6, wall mount)
- U6-Mesh-Pro (2,2,0 WiFi 6, outdoor pole/wall mount w/ high-gain antenna)
My recommendation for most scenarios:
Indoor: U6-Pro
Outdoor: U6-Mesh
The Qualcomm platform used by all the above U6 APs has quickly built a reputation for being extremely reliable and performant, and the U6-Pro has easily cemented its place as a worthy successor to the UAP-AC-Pro as the best "bang-for-your buck" access point of the U6 generation and my default recommendation for indoor usage. If you need more performance and WiFi 6E support, go for the U6-Enterprise.
The U6-Mesh takes the exact same excellent hardware, and compacts it into a form factor that can be deployed almost anywhere. Its flexibility, excellent performance, and weather resistance makes it the best choice for extending a WiFi 6 network outdoors. If high antenna gain is needed, the U6-Mesh-Pro also works well, but sacrifices spatial stream count for range.
WiFi 5:
- UWB-XG (0,12,0 WiFi 5 Wave 2, 5GHz only. Highly directional phased antenna.)
- UAP-AC-HD/SHD (4,4,0 WiFi 5 Wave 2, ceiling mount)
- UAP-AC-Pro (3,3,0 WiFi 5 Wave 1, ceiling mount)
- UAP-AC-M-Pro (3,3,0 WiFi 5 Wave 1, outdoor pole/wall mount w/ high-gain antenna)
- UAP-AC-M (2,2,0 WiFi 5 Wave 1, outdoor pole/wall mount)
- UK-Ultra (2,2,0 WiFi 5 Wave 1, outdoor pole/wall mount)
- UAP-AC-LR (3,2,0 WiFi 5 Wave 1, ceiling mount)
- UAP-AC-Lite (2,2,0 WiFi 5 Wave 1, ceiling mount)
My recommendation for most scenarios:
Indoor: UAP-AC-Pro
Outdoor: UAP-AC-M
The UAP-AC-Pro is a time-tested access point that has been used in countless homes and businesses since its release in 2016. While it may lack some features or be as fast as newer models, it is a great and affordable way to try out the Ubiquiti's wireless products without spending a ton of money. Due to its wide usage, units can easily be purchased on various used sites including Ebay and Facebook Marketplace for as little as $30-$40.
The UAP-AC-M uses similar hardware to the AC-Pro, albeit with only 2 spatial streams. Its weather resistance, small size, and connectorized antennas make it a great choice for outdoor WiFi 5.
E7, E7-Campus, E7-Audience, U7-Pro-Max, U7-Pro.
Despite having Qualcomm WiFi chipsets, these AP have been observed to have stability issues related to 2.4GHz devices. While I can't currently recommend it, firmware updates may solve these problems.
U6-LR, U6-Lite, U6+, U6-LR+, UAP-FlexHD, UAP-nanoHD, UAP-InWallHD, UAP-BeaconHD.
These APs all use Mediatek brand WiFi chipsets and are known to have various firmware and stability issues
UAP-BeaconHD, U6-Extender.
These APs lack Ethernet ports and can only be wirelessly uplinked, severely limiting deployment flexibility. Only buy these if you absolutely need the form factor and cannot run a wired uplink
Hi there any update to this?