Networking · alternatives
Alternatives to MikroTik RouterOS
19 networking tools sit alongside MikroTik RouterOS in this directory. Below is what separates each from MikroTik RouterOS on the figures we hold, price, model, tier count and rating, and a direct comparison for every one.
- Alternatives listed
- 19
- With a free tier
- 12
- Cheaper to start
- -
- MikroTik RouterOS starts at
- On request
Why people look past MikroTik RouterOS
Only what the record supports. Each point below is a figure on the MikroTik RouterOS entry measured against the tools listed beside it.
There is no free tier
The record for MikroTik RouterOS carries no free tier, so evaluating it means paying first. 12 of the 19 alternatives below can be used without paying.
What each alternative does differently
Ordered by the aggregated rating on each catalogue entry. Differences are drawn from price, pricing model, tier count and rating, the fields the category listing carries. For a feature-level difference, follow the head-to-head link on each card: those pages read both full records.
Open source firewall software with a free Community Edition and a separate commercial Plus edition sold by Netgate
- Can be used without paying; MikroTik RouterOS cannot.
- Sold on a Open source Community Edition, free; commercial Plus edition sold separately by Netgate model rather than One-time purchase, per licence level.
Cloud-managed networking hardware where the licence is mandatory and the hardware stops passing traffic if it lapses
- Sold on a quote, hardware plus mandatory recurring licence model rather than One-time purchase, per licence level.
- 1 tier to MikroTik RouterOS's 2.
Open source VPN protocol with a commercial Access Server product priced per simultaneous connection
- Can be used without paying; MikroTik RouterOS cannot.
- Sold on a Open source core is free; Access Server billed per simultaneous connection model rather than One-time purchase, per licence level.
- 3 tiers to MikroTik RouterOS's 2.
Open source infrastructure monitoring, free at its core, with paid support and modules sold separately by Icinga GmbH
- Can be used without paying; MikroTik RouterOS cannot.
- Sold on a Open source core, with paid repository, module and support subscriptions sold separately model rather than One-time purchase, per licence level.
Free, community-driven network monitoring with commercial support sold by a third-party partner, not the project itself
- Can be used without paying; MikroTik RouterOS cannot.
- Sold on a Open source, no licence fee; commercial support sold by a third-party partner model rather than One-time purchase, per licence level.
- 1 tier to MikroTik RouterOS's 2.
Software-defined mesh networking, free up to 10 devices and one network, then billed per device
- Can be used without paying; MikroTik RouterOS cannot.
- Sold on a Free up to 10 devices and 1 network, then per additional device per month model rather than One-time purchase, per licence level.
- 3 tiers to MikroTik RouterOS's 2.
Every MikroTik RouterOS alternative at a glance
A dash means the catalogue entry carries no figure, not that the answer is nothing.
| Tool | Entry price | Model | Tiers | Head to head |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| MikroTik RouterOS (this page) | On request | One-time purchase, per licence level | 2 | |
| pfSenseFor an open source software firewall alternative with a free Community Edition | Free | Open source Community Edition, free; commercial Plus edition sold separately by Netgate | 2 | vs MikroTik RouterOS |
| Cisco MerakiFor cloud-managed hardware with centralised dashboard convenience, at the cost of a mandatory recurring licence | On request | Quote, hardware plus mandatory recurring licence | 1 | vs MikroTik RouterOS |
| OpenVPNFor dedicated VPN server software rather than a full router operating system | Free | Open source core is free; Access Server billed per simultaneous connection | 3 | vs MikroTik RouterOS |
| Icinga | Free | Open source core, with paid repository, module and support subscriptions sold separately | 2 | vs MikroTik RouterOS |
| LibreNMS | Free | Open source, no licence fee; commercial support sold by a third-party partner | 1 | vs MikroTik RouterOS |
| ZeroTier | Free | Free up to 10 devices and 1 network, then per additional device per month | 3 | vs MikroTik RouterOS |
| Catchpoint | Free | Free tier plus published entry tiers, enterprise quote-only | 4 | vs MikroTik RouterOS |
| NetBird | Free | Per user per month | 3 | vs MikroTik RouterOS |
| Nebula | Free | Open source, no licence fee | 2 | vs MikroTik RouterOS |
| Headscale | Free | Open source, no licence fee | 1 | vs MikroTik RouterOS |
| Twingate | Free | Per user per month | 3 | vs MikroTik RouterOS |
| Zabbix | Free | Open source, no licence fee | 2 | vs MikroTik RouterOS |
| Netdata | Free | Open source, no licence fee | 2 | vs MikroTik RouterOS |
| Domotz | On request | Per collector or per managed device per month | 2 | vs MikroTik RouterOS |
| Juniper Mist | On request | Quote, hardware plus required Wi-Fi Assurance subscription | 2 | vs MikroTik RouterOS |
| Auvik | On request | Quote, per managed device | 1 | vs MikroTik RouterOS |
| Kentik | On request | Annual contract only, per tier | 2 | vs MikroTik RouterOS |
| PRTG Network Monitor | On request | Per sensor tier, billed monthly on an annual contract | 5 | vs MikroTik RouterOS |
| ThousandEyes | On request | Quote, unit-based consumption on annual or prepaid contracts | 1 | vs MikroTik RouterOS |
Ratings are aggregated from third-party sources and imported with each catalogue entry; Softwr hosts no reviews of these products. How each figure is used is set out on the MikroTik RouterOS badges page.
Cheaper ways to solve the same problem
What you would be giving up
MikroTik RouterOS is most often brought in for a network engineer or small isp wanting capable bgp and firewall routing hardware at a lower total cost than cisco or juniper equivalents, an organisation that specifically wants to avoid ongoing recurring licence dependency for core routing hardware, a team wanting to run routeros as a virtual router in the cloud (chr) with its own separate perpetual licensing tiers, a hobbyist or small business self-managing network infrastructure without a vendor support contract. Anything replacing it has to cover the ones you actually depend on, and a cheaper tool that misses one of them is not cheaper.
Two things this page cannot settle. It compares on price, model, tier count and rating, because those are the fields the category listing carries, feature-level differences need both full records, which is what the head-to-head pages load. And the ratings are third-party aggregates imported with each entry rather than reviews written here, so a 0.2 difference between two tools is noise rather than a finding.
If MikroTik RouterOS is broadly right and the question is cost, the MikroTik RouterOS pricing breakdown covers every tier and what each one adds. If you want the whole field rather than a shortlist, the Networking category lists everything the directory holds, and best networking tools ranks them.
MikroTik RouterOS runs on web. Platform coverage is not carried on the category listing for the alternatives, so it is one more thing to check on each head-to-head page rather than here.
Questions about MikroTik RouterOS alternatives
- What are the main alternatives to MikroTik RouterOS?
- 19 other networking tools are listed in this directory, led by pfSense, Cisco Meraki, OpenVPN, Icinga. They are ordered by the aggregated rating on each catalogue entry, not by any Softwr ranking.
- What is the best free alternative to MikroTik RouterOS?
- 12 of the alternatives listed here can be used without paying: pfSense, OpenVPN, Icinga, LibreNMS, ZeroTier.
- Why do people look for an alternative to MikroTik RouterOS?
- On the figures on record, one thing stands out: there is no free tier. Each is set out with the numbers behind it above.
- What would I give up by switching from MikroTik RouterOS?
- MikroTik RouterOS is most often brought in for a network engineer or small isp wanting capable bgp and firewall routing hardware at a lower total cost than cisco or juniper equivalents, an organisation that specifically wants to avoid ongoing recurring licence dependency for core routing hardware, a team wanting to run routeros as a virtual router in the cloud (chr) with its own separate perpetual licensing tiers, a hobbyist or small business self-managing network infrastructure without a vendor support contract. Anything you replace it with has to cover the ones you actually rely on, the side-by-side comparisons linked from each alternative below put the two feature records against each other.
- Is there an open-source alternative to MikroTik RouterOS?
- None of the networking tools listed here are recorded as open source. That is what the licence field on each entry says, and the field is not always filled in, so it is worth checking directly for any tool you are serious about.
- How were these MikroTik RouterOS alternatives chosen?
- They are the tools filed in the same category, Networking, ordered by the aggregated rating on each entry. There is no editorial shortlist, and nothing on this page is paid: no sponsored placement runs on alternatives pages and the order cannot be bought. Softwr has not used these products.
- Where can I compare MikroTik RouterOS against one of these directly?
- Every alternative below has a side-by-side page against MikroTik RouterOS covering price, platforms, features and what each one is used for. Those pages read the full record for both products rather than the summary shown here.
- Does this list cover every networking tool?
- No. It covers what this directory holds in the Networking category, 19 tools beside MikroTik RouterOS. The category page lists the rest of the catalogue as it grows.