Detection of respiratory viruses using polymerase chain reaction (PCR) is sensitive, specific and cost effective, having huge potential for patient management. In this study, the performance of an in‐house developed conventional multiplex RT–PCR (mRT–PCR), real time RT–PCR (rtRT–PCR) and Luminex xTAG® RVP fast assay (Luminex Diagnostics, Toronto, Canada) for the detection of respiratory viruses was compared. A total 310 respiratory clinical specimens predominantly from pediatric patients, referred for diagnosis of influenza A/H1N1pdm09 from August 2009 to March 2011 were tested to determine performance characteristic of the three methods. A total 193 (62.2%) samples were detected positive for one or more viruses by mRT–PCR, 175 (56.4%) samples by real time monoplex RT‐PCR, and 138 (44.5%) samples by xTAG® RVP fast assay. The overall sensitivity of mRT–PCR was 96.9% (95% CI: 93.5, 98.8), rtRT–PCR 87.9% (95% CI: 82.5, 92.1) and xTAG® RVP fast was 68.3% (95% CI: 61.4, 74.6). Rhinovirus was detected most commonly followed by respiratory syncytial virus group B and influenza A/H1N1pdm09. The monoplex real time RT–PCR and in‐house developed mRT‐PCR are more sensitive, specific and cost effective than the xTAG® RVP fast assay. J. Med. Virol. 88:51–57, 2016. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.