# VyOS

Hacker Approved page: https://hackerapproved.com/p/vyos/

8 people recommended VyOS in Hacker News comments, 5 had mixed feelings and 1 criticized it, November 2025 to October 2026. It was recommended in 5 of 12 months, in 6 threads. It does not meet the Hacker Approved badge rule.

**Verdict:** Recommended as free, open source router software with good hardware support that acts like Cisco or Juniper gear. Main caveat: it sold off and is partly paywalled.

Summary written by Claude from 12 comments.

## Why people recommend it

- Free, no license costs (2 comments in the sample): "OPNsense (or other bog-standard-PC FOSS alternatives like VyOS) can be competitive even in TCO" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48811281)) "open source JunOS with zero license headache" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48971593))
- Easy setup and simple updates (2 comments in the sample): "I found it to be relatively easy to achieve exactly what I wanted…" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47575817)) "the update procedure which was very simple" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46159281))
- Behaves like enterprise Juniper or Cisco (1 comment in the sample): "It acts quite similarly to routers from the likes of Arista/Cisco/Juniper." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47638696))

## What people warn about

- Sold off and partly paywalled (2 comments in the sample): "Shame it sold off and kinda got pay walled." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46161486)) "after their repeated hostility towards non paying users" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48974583))

## Other router firmware people recommend

- [OpenWrt](https://hackerapproved.com/p/openwrt/): 139 recommend, 19 mixed, 30 criticize
- [OPNsense](https://hackerapproved.com/p/opnsense/): 58 recommend, 10 mixed, 13 criticize
- [pfSense](https://hackerapproved.com/p/pfsense/): 22 recommend, 4 mixed, 15 criticize
- [MikroTik RouterOS](https://hackerapproved.com/p/mikrotik-routeros/): 15 recommend, 1 mixed, 7 criticize

## The badge

A product earns the Hacker Approved badge when at least 10 people recommend it, recommenders outnumber critics at least 2 to 1 (mixed feelings count toward neither side), it was recommended in at least 4 of the 12 months and in at least 5 different threads, and no single thread supplies more than half of the people who recommend it. Health and money products are never badged.

## Cite as

Hacker Approved, "VyOS", https://hackerapproved.com/p/vyos/ (8 recommend, 5 mixed, 1 criticize; Hacker News comments, November 2025 to October 2026).

Counts updated 2 Nov 2026, with data through October 31, 2026.