How to choose a router and not overpay: MikroTik, UniFi, TP-Link Omada, Keenetic

Published 2026-11-03 · 6 min read · By the Alian Digital team

Numbers on the box like "AX6000" say almost nothing about real speed in your house. Here is how we choose equipment for a task.

Task first, brand second

• An apartment without an admin: you need simplicity and stability.
• A multi-storey house: you need several points and roaming.
• An office or condo: you need management, VLANs, logs and redundancy.
• Complex routing, several providers: you need a flexible router.

How we see the main players

• Keenetic: simple and stable, a clear menu, mesh out of the box. For an apartment and a small house. Few enterprise features.
• TP-Link Omada and Deco: Deco is handy at home, Omada gives managed Wi-Fi at a moderate price. Deco has few settings.
• Ubiquiti UniFi: one controller, a clear network map, good roaming. Firmware can be rough, so we install proven versions.
• MikroTik: the best price to capability ratio and very flexible configuration. Needs an experienced admin.
• Cisco, Meraki, Aruba: large sites and requirements for support and certification. More expensive, some systems use subscription licences.

What to look at instead of advertising

• The number and speed of Ethernet ports, especially WAN.
• Whether multiple points can be managed and whether fast roaming (802.11k/v/r) is supported.
• Whether you need PoE for the points.
• How long the vendor updates firmware.
• Whether separate guest and smart-home networks are supported.

Provider router or your own

The provider router is fine to start with. Your own gives control over settings, security and growing the network. If you change provider, your own router stays with you.