I don’t see a lot of discussions about this brand. It seems like OpenWRT and OPNsense dominate discussions. Mikrotik has very nice features for the price. Are the routers and access points private and secure?
Its closed source. We can’t know without reverse engineering it. Why bother when open source routers are available?
Also interested in opinions.
Since @polyester_apricot650 asked about the brand in general: What about their (entry-point) VLAN switches?
I am not aware of any open source firmware-based switches, apart from some very specific OpenWrt-capable devices ([1] , [2]). But being skeptical, these have undergone same stability testing and quality than mainstream routers/access points.
Mikrotik is settled in Latvia, hence could be a good European alternative to the usual American or Chinese stuff. Their SwitchOS-based web interface for switches has good reputation with regards to ease of use.
https://www.nokia.com/data-center-networks/switches/
Nokia makes switches compatible with SONiC firmware. Don’t know if they’re made in Finland.
Consider the OpenWrt One, various GL.inet models, or build your own.
I did, but the OpenWRT router has very limited ports. Still waiting for the OpenWRT Two! It’s almost mid-2026 and I’m worried that it’ll be vaporware! I thought the GL.iNet partnership would have increased the chance of a 2025 release. Guess not!
A router only really need two ports (WAN/LAN). It looks like you need a switch in addition to the router.
Mikrotik gear is essentially 100% customizable. From what I’ve read, users would know if it was doing something nerfarious. I use Mikrotik for my home lab. There was a strong learning curve so I hired a consultant from their website and he turned out to be a great guy. He’s a network engineer and very knowledgeable and interested in privacy and he uses Mikrotik gear and also runs his ISP he owns on Mikrotik gear.
That’s doesn’t mean it’s free of any risks, but for me it was a HUGE improvement over anything else in the price point.