Archer BE550

Not a recommendation. I just pointed out why the BE550 is cheap and an example of why some people spend more.

Yeah i've heard the wifi is so bad it can't even go through 1 or 2 walls, meanwhile my TP Ax5400 goes through 4-5 very old thick walls just for our ring doorbell lol. I think i'll be picking up the BE550 and giving it a try, I'd have to buy the Asus Axe16000 to do what i want by the sounds and it's

When I was researching WiFi 7, I came across many people returning the TP link BE550. It's was the cheapest WiFi 7 routers going at the time but it seemed to be unreliable. Hopefully you won't have the same issues.

oof dang the r750 are like 250+, i wish i known before getting the BE800. are there cheaper solutions? or actually is the BE800 enough? its a step above the BE550 right?

For your budget I would sooner get a better WiFi 6 router than a low end WiFi 7 but that depends on what you need. Less clients and no VPN makes it easier to pick. Flint 2 TPLink Archer BE550 (little over but might find a sale) Flint 3e TPLink Archer AXE75 UniFi Express 7 (little over budget)