Router reccomendations (good value for money)

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meow
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#3468561 10-Mar-2026 19:19

I use Alta Labs access points and can confirm they’re very good - the Route 10 is a solid choice for a 10Gbit router.

Can also recommend the Grandstream gear (have a hunt through Go Wireless).

Michael Murphy | https://murfy.nz
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Handle9

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#3468563 10-Mar-2026 19:25

acetone:

Sorry, I have to ask, what are you doing at home where you have over 100 IOT devices?

It's not hard. In my last house I had around 80 zigbee devices and probably another 30 or 40 wifi devices. Once you put every light on the network it adds up fast

shrub

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#3468572 10-Mar-2026 20:44

Value for money = Topton mini pc with 2.5gbe and opnsense or pfsense? Then you can VLAN your IOT devices

neon

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#3468608 10-Mar-2026 22:18

shrub:

Value for money = Topton mini pc with 2.5gbe and opnsense or pfsense? Then you can VLAN your IOT devices

OK, so that is interesting idea. I assume you are refferinng to this: https://a.aliexpress.com/_m0lhIfx

There are a whole bunch of similar mini pcs with pfsense on AliExpress for a lot cheaper too. How do this or the cheaper similar alternatives compare with something like the mirotik routers reccomended earlier?

Handle9

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#3468613 10-Mar-2026 22:33

neon:

shrub:

Value for money = Topton mini pc with 2.5gbe and opnsense or pfsense? Then you can VLAN your IOT devices

OK, so that is interesting idea. I assume you are refferinng to this: https://a.aliexpress.com/_m0lhIfx

There are a whole bunch of similar mini pcs with pfsense on AliExpress for a lot cheaper too. How do this or the cheaper similar alternatives compare with something like the mirotik routers reccomended earlier?

The decision you really need to make is do you want individually managed components or do you want a managed system. Both are fine but once you make that sort of fundamental decision it can guide you in the right direction.

michaelmurfy

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#3468625 11-Mar-2026 01:00

neon: There are a whole bunch of similar mini pcs with pfsense on AliExpress for a lot cheaper too. How do this or the cheaper similar alternatives compare with something like the mirotik routers reccomended earlier?

You can get a second hand Mikrotik RB5009 which is good for Hyperfibre cheaper than these Mini PC's and I find the Mikrotik performs better and uses less power due to proper hardware acceleration.

It's personal preference though. You have not really specified a proper budget or if you need access points, switching etc for anyone to recommend a proper solution for you.

But based on this:

neon: with some nice easy management/config options

I would not recommend Mikrotik or a custom built router to you.

Grandstream (Cheapest), Alta Labs Route 10 or Ubiquiti UniFi depending on budget and are all easy to configure and all fit your bill with nice easy management / configuration options.

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neon

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#3468649 11-Mar-2026 09:00

michaelmurfy:

neon: There are a whole bunch of similar mini pcs with pfsense on AliExpress for a lot cheaper too. How do this or the cheaper similar alternatives compare with something like the mirotik routers reccomended earlier?

You can get a second hand Mikrotik RB5009 which is good for Hyperfibre cheaper than these Mini PC's and I find the Mikrotik performs better and uses less power due to proper hardware acceleration.

It's personal preference though. You have not really specified a proper budget or if you need access points, switching etc for anyone to recommend a proper solution for you.

But based on this:

neon: with some nice easy management/config options

I would not recommend Mikrotik or a custom built router to you.

Grandstream (Cheapest), Alta Labs Route 10 or Ubiquiti UniFi depending on budget and are all easy to configure and all fit your bill with nice easy management / configuration options.

Fair enough. I mainly wanted to see what the price ranges of the reccomendations were before setting a budget. But now that I see some of the reccomendations, let's say a budget of 200 seems not too unreasonable (obviously lower the better, if there is something that is quite cost effective at around 100 then that would be even more ideal).

The Mikrotik RB5009 seems quite a bit higher than that. However, the mikrotik E60iUGS hEX S and MikroTik RB760iGS are both in that price range as well as some of the grandstream gear (although I'm not sure on exact models that would be good enough).

As for switches, I have a bunch of tplink gigabit switches which is sufficient for now, but if there are good reccomendations as a solution, I will definitely consider or atleast keep in my shopping list. As for access points, similar deal, I have the existing deco x50/55 setup I can use in access point mode which maybe sufficient (although they do struggle to go through concrete walls, but now that I have ethernet to few spots, the WiFi has less walls that needs to go through). If there are good benefits with alternatives as a solution, again I'm all ears, and I can bare minimum have them in my shopping list so I know where to ho next.

CYaBro

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#3468657 11-Mar-2026 09:32

I just got a Unifi Cloud Gateway Fibre and it's working great so far.

Might be a bit more than you want to pay though.

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cddt

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#3468661 11-Mar-2026 09:38

neon:

Fair enough. I mainly wanted to see what the price ranges of the reccomendations were before setting a budget. But now that I see some of the reccomendations, let's say a budget of 200 seems not too unreasonable (obviously lower the better, if there is something that is quite cost effective at around 100 then that would be even more ideal).

I think you should consider the time budget too. None of this is free from that perspective, but some options are an order of magnitude higher than others.

If I was unemployed / retired and did not have young kids then my choice would be different.

bigreddog

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#3468668 11-Mar-2026 10:04

I run a Grandstream GWN7062 router and a couple of Grandstream AP's and it all copes nicely with my 50ish IOT devices (have another 70 Zigbee devices but that's a separate issue) plus phones, laptops, tablets etc

Edit: Recommend NOT to use the GWN.cloud unless you have a burning need to

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Earbanean

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#3468674 11-Mar-2026 10:10

CYaBro:

I just got a Unifi Cloud Gateway Fibre and it's working great so far.

Might be a bit more than you want to pay though.

The much more basic Unifi Cloud Gateway Ultra also looks pretty good and IMO is good value at around $226.

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michaelmurfy

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#3468683 11-Mar-2026 10:31

neon: The Mikrotik RB5009 seems quite a bit higher than that. However, the mikrotik E60iUGS hEX S and MikroTik RB760iGS are both in that price range as well as some of the grandstream gear (although I'm not sure on exact models that would be good enough).

If you don't have an immediate plan for Hyperfibre then this router is honestly really good (and great value for money): https://www.gowifi.co.nz/grandstreamnetworks/gwn7001.html

It has a bunch of routing features, quite an advanced web interface, VLAN support etc but most importantly it can handle load well as I've got one of these running a large site who just had an event with ~400 people being connected to the public WiFi and it handled this no problems.

For access points, something cheap and cheerful that has great WiFi performance is this: https://www.gowifi.co.nz/grandstreamnetworks/gwn7660e.html

And for a switch to tie it all together: https://www.gowifi.co.nz/grandstreamnetworks/gwn7711p.html (there are a tonne of Grandstream switches)

It all really comes down to your needs. This bundle will give you excellent WiFi and also be easy to manage as the router can act as a WiFi controller for the access points. You're not going to get Multi-gig for a $200 pricepoint but multi-gig is coming down in price so when you do need it then there are likely solutions to match. For example, this grandstream 2.5/10Gbit managed switch (https://www.gowifi.co.nz/grandstreamnetworks/gwn7721.html) is only $124 + GST however isn't PoE compatible and there are switches like the GWN7822P coming out with PoE and 2.5Gbit Ethernet (this is the switch I personally use).

neon

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#3468725 11-Mar-2026 11:51

michaelmurfy:

neon: The Mikrotik RB5009 seems quite a bit higher than that. However, the mikrotik E60iUGS hEX S and MikroTik RB760iGS are both in that price range as well as some of the grandstream gear (although I'm not sure on exact models that would be good enough).

If you don't have an immediate plan for Hyperfibre then this router is honestly really good (and great value for money): https://www.gowifi.co.nz/grandstreamnetworks/gwn7001.html

It has a bunch of routing features, quite an advanced web interface, VLAN support etc but most importantly it can handle load well as I've got one of these running a large site who just had an event with ~400 people being connected to the public WiFi and it handled this no problems.

For access points, something cheap and cheerful that has great WiFi performance is this: https://www.gowifi.co.nz/grandstreamnetworks/gwn7660e.html

And for a switch to tie it all together: https://www.gowifi.co.nz/grandstreamnetworks/gwn7711p.html (there are a tonne of Grandstream switches)

It all really comes down to your needs. This bundle will give you excellent WiFi and also be easy to manage as the router can act as a WiFi controller for the access points. You're not going to get Multi-gig for a $200 pricepoint but multi-gig is coming down in price so when you do need it then there are likely solutions to match. For example, this grandstream 2.5/10Gbit managed switch (https://www.gowifi.co.nz/grandstreamnetworks/gwn7721.html) is only $124 + GST however isn't PoE compatible and there are switches like the GWN7822P coming out with PoE and 2.5Gbit Ethernet (this is the switch I personally use).

Yeah i dont particularly have a need to get hyperfibre any time soon - i really dont need my linux isos to download any faster really, they download fast enough with gigabit (heck i was even considering lowering my internet connection, but ill keep it at gigabit for now).

So ok, Grandstream GWN7001 seems like a good option for me - great price point. Im probably keen to grab one of these unless theres any other reason not to.

I have few TPLink switches that i had acquired cheaply (https://www.pbtech.co.nz/product/SWHTPL1023/TP-Link-TL-SG1024D-24-Port-Gigabit-DesktopRackmoun), they have been working fine for me last couple of years. Is there any need for me to change?

As for the access points, i still have the deco's i can use (and i can find them cheap secondhand if i need more). Is there any particular need for me to buy new Grandstream GWN7660E units (since large/wide/weirdly-shaped house, i would need atleast 2-3 units for full coverage), would i see any particular benefit by buying these?

So essentially what im thinking is, buy the router (Grandstream GWN7001), use the existing tplink switches, use the existing decos in access point mode. Then at some point (either when i have issues with the decos, or when i need to upgrade to multi gig), upgrade the pieces one by one? If i see any cheap deals for Grandstream GWN7660E access points, buy them then rather than buying ahead of time?

Good plan?

michaelmurfy

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#3468728 11-Mar-2026 12:00

Yep grab the router first and play around with that. The access points are excellent and are well worth upgrading to in the future but you don't have to right now.

shrub

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#3469509 12-Mar-2026 16:30

neon:

shrub:

Value for money = Topton mini pc with 2.5gbe and opnsense or pfsense? Then you can VLAN your IOT devices

OK, so that is interesting idea. I assume you are refferinng to this: https://a.aliexpress.com/_m0lhIfx

There are a whole bunch of similar mini pcs with pfsense on AliExpress for a lot cheaper too. How do this or the cheaper similar alternatives compare with something like the mirotik routers reccomended earlier?

Yes those are perfect. The N150 is 12th gen with a refresh so its got all the latest security etc but its DDR5. the J series are mostly DDR4 and much cheaper still 4 core and plenty enough for a router. Celeron id avoid 2 core and pull 15w power.

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