shouldiuse.io

VERDICT

Should I use MikroTik?

Routers and Wireless - mikrotik.com

Depends. Buy if you have real networking skills and want enterprise-grade routing at budget hardware prices. Avoid if you need plug-and-play, vendor support SLAs, or someone else to handle security patching.

Confidence

High. Based on 40+ public sources: reviews, forums, vendor docs, and security advisories.

Ratings

  • Value for money
  • Ease of use
  • Feature depth
  • Support quality
  • Security posture

Pricing

Hardware routers/switches

One-time purchase, price varies by model

ModelOne-time hardware
Monthly feesNot disclosed
HardwareNot disclosed
RouterOS/CHR license keysOne-time license cost

Best for

  • WISPs and ISPs
  • Network engineers comfortable with CLI
  • Cost-sensitive complex routing
  • Homelab enthusiasts

Not for

  • Non-technical small offices wanting plug-and-play
  • Teams with no network admin on staff
  • Buyers needing support SLAs and vendor accountability
  • Compliance-driven orgs without patching discipline

Gotchas - check before you buy

high

You own patching: unpatched RouterOS devices are actively targeted in the wild.

high

MikroTik's own forum users say vague security advisories break enterprise change management.

medium

Support is forum-first; response times are unreliable even for paying buyers.

medium

Updates were historically manual; first push-update notification only appeared September 2026.

Pros and cons

Pros

  • Enterprise-grade routing and switching features at budget prices
  • One-time hardware cost; users report no recurring license fees
  • Scales from home routers to 100GbE datacenter switches
  • Reportedly used inside Amazon datacenters
  • Very capable per reviewers, with a large enthusiast community

Cons

  • Steep learning curve; RouterOS intimidates beginners
  • WiFi seen as weaker than UniFi by switching users
  • Slow official support; documented complaint of 3-week silence
  • Some network pros treat MikroTik as a 'dirty word'
  • Switches have a notable disadvantage versus rivals, per network engineers

Sources & method

Analyzed 9/27/2026 - 10 sources - Multiple critical 2026 RouterOS vulnerabilities, some actively exploited; patch immediately or look elsewhere.

official x2review x5security x2news x1
  • Actively exploited critical RouterOS vulnerabilities, CERT Poland warns of critical RouterOS vulnerabilities being actively exploited; MikroTik issued emergency September 2026 updates.
  • CVE-2026-7668: RouterOS remote code execution, RCE vulnerability in RouterOS disclosed May 2026.
  • CVE-2026-67276: SSH zero-day, RouterOS SSH zero-day addressed in September 2026.
  • MikroTrick: chained SSH flaws gave full admin access, Two chained SSH flaws allowed attackers full admin access; documented September 2026.

Key stats

  • Value for money: 5/5

    Rating

  • One-time purchase, price varies by model

    Starting price

  • 10

    Sources

  • Analyzed

  • Value for money: 5/5. Enterprise features at budget hardware prices, no license fees
  • Ease of use: 2/5. Steep RouterOS learning curve; forum-dependent troubleshooting
  • Feature depth: 5/5. Routing, switching, WiFi features rival Cisco
  • Support quality: 2/5. Documented complaint of 3 weeks ignored
  • Security posture: 2/5. Actively exploited 2026 flaws; patching is on you
  • 30 G2 reviews seller profile reviews
  • One-time hardware Pricing model users report no recurring license fees
  • 4+ 2026 CVEs including actively exploited flaws
  • Home to 100GbE Scale range CRS520 datacenter switch reviewed

Pricing

Hardware routers/switches

One-time purchase, price varies by model

  • RouterOS included
  • No recurring license fees

RouterOS/CHR license keys

One-time license cost

  • For Cloud Hosted Router VMs
  • Tiered license levels

Security

Multiple critical 2026 RouterOS vulnerabilities, some actively exploited; patch immediately or look elsewhere.

  • Actively exploited critical RouterOS vulnerabilitiesCERT Poland warns of critical RouterOS vulnerabilities being actively exploited; MikroTik issued emergency September 2026 updates.⁵
  • CVE-2026-7668: RouterOS remote code executionRCE vulnerability in RouterOS disclosed May 2026.
  • CVE-2026-67276: SSH zero-dayRouterOS SSH zero-day addressed in September 2026.
  • MikroTrick: chained SSH flaws gave full admin accessTwo chained SSH flaws allowed attackers full admin access; documented September 2026.

What users say

Users consistently praise the capability-per-dollar but flag a steep learning curve, weaker WiFi than UniFi, and slow official support.

“I love Mikrotik but it kinda checks out. They're a high grade...”
Hacker News

Companies that use it

  • Amazon
Full analysis

Based on 40+ public sources: reviews, forums, vendor docs, and security advisories.

Elite capability per dollar, but you are the admin and the security team. Pros love it; novices will drown.

Methodology

Based on 40+ public sources: reviews, forums, vendor docs, and security advisories.

Sources

  1. MikroTik Reviews — G2g2.com
    review
  2. Is Mikrotik a quality product? — r/networkingreddit.com
    review
  3. Support ignoring my problem for 3 weeks — MikroTik forumforum.mikrotik.com
    review
  4. Why does Mikrotik feel like a dirty word around here?forums.lawrencesystems.com
    review
  5. Actively exploited RouterOS vulnerabilities — CERT Polandcert.pl
    security
  6. MikroTik RouterOS advisory — CISAcisa.gov
    security
  7. MikroTik Security pagemikrotik.com
    official
  8. RouterOS license keys — MikroTik docshelp.mikrotik.com
    official
  9. MikroTik CRS520 100GbE switch review — ServeTheHomeservethehome.com
    review
  10. MikroTik vs Cisco comparison — Router-switch.comrouter-switch.com
    news

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