Softwr

Networking · head to head

MikroTik RouterOS vs Prometheus

MikroTik RouterOS logo

MikroTik RouterOS

Networking

Router and network operating system with a one-time perpetual licence rather than a recurring subscription

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Prometheus logo

Prometheus

Networking

Open source monitoring and alerting toolkit for cloud native environments

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Prometheus has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: MikroTik RouterOS the management interface and overall polish are less refined than enterprise competitors like Cisco or Juniper, and the learning curve for advanced configuration is real; Prometheus not suitable for per-request billing as collected data lacks 100% accuracy
  • They diverge on capability: MikroTik RouterOS covers Full routing and firewall stack, Prometheus covers Multi-dimensional Data Model.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which MikroTik RouterOS and Prometheus actually diverge.

Attributes where MikroTik RouterOS and Prometheus differ
AttributeMikroTik RouterOSPrometheus
Starting priceOn requestFree
Pricing modelOne-time purchase, per licence levelopen-source
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsWebLinux, macOS, Windows
FoundedUnknown2015

Identical on both: user rating (Not yet rated), category (Networking).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in MikroTik RouterOS

  • Full routing and firewall stack
  • Perpetual licensing
  • Cloud Hosted Router (CHR)
  • Winbox and CLI management
  • Wireless and VLAN support

Only in Prometheus

  • Multi-dimensional Data Model
  • PromQL Query Language
  • Pull-based Collection
  • Service Discovery
  • Alerting Rules
  • Federation
  • Local Storage
  • Grafana

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

MikroTik RouterOS

  • A network engineer or small ISP wanting capable BGP and firewall routing hardware at a lower total cost than Cisco or Juniper equivalentsnot Prometheus
  • An organisation that specifically wants to avoid ongoing recurring licence dependency for core routing hardwarenot Prometheus
  • A team wanting to run RouterOS as a virtual router in the cloud (CHR) with its own separate perpetual licensing tiersnot Prometheus
  • A hobbyist or small business self-managing network infrastructure without a vendor support contractnot Prometheus

Prometheus

  • Monitoring and alerting systemnot MikroTik RouterOS
  • Time-series databasenot MikroTik RouterOS
  • Infrastructure metrics collectionnot MikroTik RouterOS

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

MikroTik RouterOS

  • The management interface and overall polish are less refined than enterprise competitors like Cisco or Juniper, and the learning curve for advanced configuration is real
  • Formal vendor support is thinner than what an enterprise buyer gets from Cisco or Juniper; community forums and documentation are the primary self-support resource
  • Feature and licence-level naming (Level 3 through Level 6, and separately Free/P1/P10/P-Unlimited on CHR) is confusing enough that buyers commonly need to research which level a given deployment actually requires
  • Perpetual licensing on hardware, while avoiding a recurring fee, also means MikroTik has less ongoing incentive to keep pushing free feature updates to a specific licence level indefinitely, and major version jumps sometimes bring new requirements
  • Hardware build quality and long-term reliability at the low end of MikroTik's range is more variable than higher-priced enterprise-grade routing hardware
  • Security patch cadence and past history of vulnerabilities in RouterOS mean patching discipline matters more without vendor-managed cloud updates the way Meraki or Mist provide automatically

Prometheus

  • Not suitable for per-request billing as collected data lacks 100% accuracy
  • Hard limit on scrape body size; large responses cause scrape failure
  • Per-scrape sample limit enforced; exceeding limit marks targets as failed
  • Not designed for long-term durable storage; optimised for metrics collection

Pricing, plan by plan

MikroTik RouterOS

On request
  • RouterOS (bundled with hardware)$undefined/one-time
    • Licence level included with the router purchase price
    • Perpetual, does not expire
  • Cloud Hosted Router (CHR)$undefined/one-time
    • Free tier available with throughput limits
    • P1, P10 and P-Unlimited perpetual licence levels
    • 60-day trial on paid levels

Prometheus

Free
  • Prometheus (Open Source)Free
    • 100% open source
    • Community-driven project
    • Apache 2 License

Which should you pick?

Choose MikroTik RouterOS if

  • You need full routing and firewall stack.
  • You also want perpetual licensing.
MikroTik RouterOS review

Choose Prometheus if

  • You need multi-dimensional data model.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Linux, macOS, Windows.
  • You also want promql query language.
Prometheus review

Questions people ask

Is MikroTik RouterOS or Prometheus better?
Neither clearly leads. MikroTik RouterOS starts at On request and Prometheus at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, MikroTik RouterOS or Prometheus?
Prometheus has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at On request for MikroTik RouterOS and Free for Prometheus.
Does MikroTik RouterOS or Prometheus run on more platforms?
MikroTik RouterOS runs on Web. Prometheus runs on Linux, macOS, Windows.
Can I use Prometheus for free?
Yes. Prometheus has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. MikroTik RouterOS starts at On request.
What is MikroTik RouterOS best used for?
MikroTik RouterOS is most often used 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. Of those, a network engineer or small isp wanting capable bgp and firewall routing hardware at a lower total cost than cisco or juniper equivalents and an organisation that specifically wants to avoid ongoing recurring licence dependency for core routing hardware are not what Prometheus is typically brought in for.
What can MikroTik RouterOS do that Prometheus cannot?
MikroTik RouterOS covers Full routing and firewall stack, Perpetual licensing, Cloud Hosted Router (CHR), Winbox and CLI management. Prometheus covers Multi-dimensional Data Model, PromQL Query Language, Pull-based Collection, Service Discovery.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

MikroTik RouterOS: Does a MikroTik router stop working if I stop paying anything?

No, the RouterOS licence bundled with hardware is a one-time purchase and does not expire or require ongoing payment.

Prometheus: What does Prometheus cost?

Prometheus is completely free and open source. There are no pricing tiers or paid plans. The entire project is licensed under Apache 2 and hosted on GitHub.

Source
MikroTik RouterOS: Is CHR licensed the same way as physical hardware?

It uses its own separate perpetual licence tiers (Free, P1, P10, P-Unlimited) rather than the Level 3-6 scheme used on physical hardware.

Prometheus: Is Prometheus commercial software or free?

Prometheus is 100% open source and community-driven. It is a CNCF graduated project with no commercial restrictions or licensing fees.

Source
MikroTik RouterOS: Can I upgrade a licence level later?

Yes, upgrading to a higher licence level is possible at the price difference between levels rather than buying a new licence outright.

Prometheus: How is Prometheus licensed?

Prometheus is licensed under the Apache 2 License, which permits free use, modification, and distribution for commercial and non-commercial purposes.

Source
Share

Related pages

More on MikroTik RouterOS

More on Prometheus

Keep looking

Other head to heads