A single router covers most apartments and small-to-medium homes (under ~2,000 sq ft). Choose mesh if you have a large home (2,500+ sq ft), multiple floors, thick walls, or dead zones a single router can't reach. Mesh uses multiple nodes that hand off your devices seamlessly as you move around — no manual network switching.
How many mesh nodes do I need?
A 2-pack covers roughly 3,000–4,500 sq ft; a 3-pack covers 5,000–6,500 sq ft. Coverage estimates assume typical construction — thick walls, brick, or multiple floors reduce real coverage. Start with the pack size rated for your square footage plus a margin; you can usually add nodes later.
Yes, significantly. If you can run Ethernet between mesh nodes, 'wired backhaul' frees up wireless bandwidth for your devices and delivers faster, more stable speeds than wireless backhaul. Most modern mesh systems (including TP-Link Deco) support it. If you can't run cable, tri-band mesh with a dedicated backhaul band is the next best option.