MikroTik router

What hackers pick instead

• GL.iNet travel routerSmall travel router that handles hotel captive portals, runs OpenWrt and reaches home services remotely; critics prefer re-flashing stock OpenWrt.54recommend
• Ubiquiti UniFi Travel RouterLets you bring your home network and WiFi to hotels, with built-in Teleport support, at about $80. Critics note it uses older Wi-Fi 5 and lacks SIM or eSIM support.35recommend
• OpenWrt OneRecommended as fully supported open hardware that runs OpenWrt well out of the box. Main caveat: dual-band only, with no 6GHz and few ports.34recommend
• Ubiquiti UniFi 5GRecommended as a cheap, unlocked 5G router that works on any major US carrier and as failover internet. Main caveat: limited bandwidth, and the outdoor model is directional.17recommend
• AVM Fritz!BoxPopular home router and modem, easy to configure through its web interface and well supported with updates. Caveat: no VLANs or extra SSIDs for advanced users.15recommend

Every quote

The 40 most detailed of 98 comments. Each links to the original.

1. The biggest issues with Mikrotik are the features not implemented in the gui, or the way config is interpreted between versions.

   Mixed · Jul 2026 · in “LLM Networking with MikroTik”

2. The equipment is a fantastic deal for what you get but you need to know what you're doing to get the best performance out of it.

   Mixed · Jul 2026 · in “HomeLab #1: MikroTik as a Home Router”

3. it will not only provide you with an enterprise grade router, it will also provide you with the functionality I mentioned above

   Recommends · Dec 2025 · in “Imgur geo-blocked the UK, so I geo-unblocked my network”

4. in terms of the vast capabilities of mikrotik equipment at its price point, no there is absolutely no real competitor

   Recommends · Apr 2026 · in “New 10 GbE USB adapters are cooler, smaller, cheaper”

5. I would put mikrotik ahead of ubiquiti in terms of giving control to do stuff. But.... more of a learning curve.

   Mixed · Dec 2025 · in “UniFi 5G”

6. There is no contract with MikroTik. You buy the hardware, that's it. The software and updates are free.

   Recommends · Jul 2026 · in “HomeLab #1: MikroTik as a Home Router”

7. MikroTik is one of the only companies that sells a router without WiFi at a non enterprise price.

   Recommends · Jul 2026 · in “LLM Networking with MikroTik”

8. their UX is terrible for anyone who doesn't specifically know how to configure a MikroTik router

   Mixed · Jul 2026 · in “HomeLab #1: MikroTik as a Home Router”

9. Mikrotik router and unifi everything else has kind of been my go-to for at least 10 or 12y now.

   Recommends · Jul 2026 · in “HomeLab #1: MikroTik as a Home Router”

10. there's no way I could configure the extremely complicated RouterOS on my Mikrotik without AI

    Mixed · Jul 2026 · in “LLM Networking with MikroTik”

11. I appreciate that Mikrotik exposes all of the layers and connections between them.

    Recommends · Jul 2026 · in “HomeLab #1: MikroTik as a Home Router”

12. I will concede the hardware is nice and they offer things nobody else really does.

    Mixed · Jul 2026 · in “HomeLab #1: MikroTik as a Home Router”

13. You can do a lot of routing on a $70 Mikrotik, although they might not be "easy".

    Mixed · Mar 2026 · in “How to Turn Anything into a Router”

14. Mikrotik for a router is fine if you like the detailed control it gives you

    Mixed · Jan 2026 · in “Ask HN: Which Wireless Router in 2026”

15. capability many orders of magnitude under the cost of comparable options

    Recommends · Jul 2026 · in “HomeLab #1: MikroTik as a Home Router”

16. still performing great and handles most of the use cases without issues

    Recommends · Jul 2026 · in “HomeLab #1: MikroTik as a Home Router”

17. the equipment is pretty packed with functionality and very flexible

    Recommends · Jul 2026 · in “LLM Networking with MikroTik”

18. I love their hardware, but their software is absolutely awful.

    Mixed · Jul 2026 · in “HomeLab #1: MikroTik as a Home Router”

19. they provide pretty much every knob and frob you could want

    Recommends · Jul 2026 · in “Tenda firmware (multiple versions) contains hidden authentication backdoor”

20. Sometimes it just works. Sometimes it causes crazy issues.

    Mixed · Jun 2026 · in “Sysadmining Like It's 2009”

21. I remember I misconfigured it, and can't really Google around or ask LLM to fix it, because my Internet is down now.

    Criticizes · Jul 2026 · in “HomeLab #1: MikroTik as a Home Router”

22. Seemed like it was written by DOS people from the 70s or 80s, made difficult on purpose.

    Criticizes · Jul 2026 · in “HomeLab #1: MikroTik as a Home Router”

23. I wanted actual Linux, not a nerfed version of it that made scripting miserable.

    Criticizes · Jul 2026 · in “HomeLab #1: MikroTik as a Home Router”

24. I stick with things like Latvian-built Mikrotik hardware or something running OpenWRT for my own travel router uses.

    Recommends · Dec 2025 · in “Unifi Travel Router”

25. The issue is that is the current situation. It does guide the user, the average one who will purchase their product.

    Mixed · Jul 2026 · in “LLM Networking with MikroTik”

26. One advantage true routers have e.g. Edgerouter or Mikrotik are dedicated hardware for IP & TCP header processing.

    Recommends · Mar 2026 · in “How to Turn Anything into a Router”

27. They offer a more traditional autonomous OS w/o controllers and both a nice CLI and a powerful GUI tool.

    Recommends · Dec 2025 · in “UniFi 5G”

28. Mikrotik seems to operate in an interesting area between high-end home-labing and the SME market.

    Mixed · Jul 2026 · in “HomeLab #1: MikroTik as a Home Router”

29. Mikrotik has a cloud router instance which is much easier to deal with I think than linux.

    Recommends · Oct 2026 · in “Ask HN: What do you run on a $5 VPS that's worth keeping online 24/7?”

30. I built a proper-enough wifi network with some Mikrotik hardware and that's what I use.

    Recommends · May 2026 · in “Why the Smart Home Bubble Popped”

31. if you want "the right gear and damn the price" go get a Microtik. They are very good.

    Recommends · Mar 2026 · in “How to Turn Anything into a Router”

32. MikroTik has become a serious, and affordable means to power a small-to-midsize ISP

    Recommends · Jan 2026 · in “Ask HN: Vxlan over WireGuard or WireGuard over Vxlan?”

33. Right tool for the right job, mikrotik is often but not always the right tool.

    Mixed · Jan 2026 · in “Ask HN: Vxlan over WireGuard or WireGuard over Vxlan?”

34. Port forwarding is a simple dstnat rule and hairpinning is just a srcnat rule.

    Recommends · Jul 2026 · in “HomeLab #1: MikroTik as a Home Router”

35. MikroTik doesn't try too hard to prevent you from running modified software.

    Recommends · Jul 2026 · in “HomeLab #1: MikroTik as a Home Router”

36. I can't remember the last time I couldn't do something with switching on it.

    Recommends · Jul 2026 · in “HomeLab #1: MikroTik as a Home Router”

37. they let you download the entire documentation in an LLM friendly format

    Recommends · Jul 2026 · in “HomeLab #1: MikroTik as a Home Router”

38. I love Mikrotik products but they are lacking what I need at home.

    Mixed · Jul 2026 · in “HomeLab #1: MikroTik as a Home Router”

39. it's fast, available over local web, SSH, desktop app, mobile app

    Recommends · Jun 2026 · in “Motorola effectively bricked its entire line of WiFi routers without explanation”

40. Mikrotik is used for professional deployments all over the world.

    Recommends · Jan 2026 · in “Ask HN: Vxlan over WireGuard or WireGuard over Vxlan?”