MikroTik Hardware Families: A Complete Beginner Guide
If you are new to MikroTik, the first thing you will notice is that MikroTik sells many different devices. Some look like home routers, some look like data-center switches, and some are bare circuit boards. This guide walks you through every major hardware family so you can choose the right device for your project.
What Is RouterBOARD?
RouterBOARD is the brand name MikroTik uses for its bare-board and enclosure-based network devices that run RouterOS. Think of RouterBOARD as the platform: the combination of hardware and the RouterOS operating system installed on it.
Almost all MikroTik devices sold today are RouterBOARD products. When you buy a MikroTik device you get:
- The hardware (CPU, RAM, flash storage, Ethernet ports, optional wireless chips)
- RouterOS pre-installed on the device
- A RouterOS license bundled with the hardware (no separate purchase needed for most devices)
Major Hardware Families
hAP and hAP ac — Home and Small Office Routers
The hAP (home Access Point) series is designed for home users and small offices. These devices have:
- 5 Ethernet ports (usually 1 WAN + 4 LAN)
- Built-in wireless (2.4 GHz on hAP, dual-band 2.4/5 GHz on hAP ac models)
- Compact plastic enclosure
- Low power consumption
- Price range: $30 to $80 USD
Popular models: hAP ac2, hAP ac3, hAP ax2 (Wi-Fi 6)
Best for: Home users, small offices, beginners learning RouterOS.hEX Series — Small Wired Routers
The hEX series is similar to hAP but without wireless. These are pure wired routers:
- 5 Gigabit Ethernet ports
- Small plastic enclosure
- Very affordable ($50 to $70 USD)
- Some models include SFP port or USB
Popular models: hEX, hEX S, hEX lite
Best for: Wired-only environments, branch offices, users who have a separate access point.RB Series (RouterBOARD Boards)
The RB prefix indicates a bare RouterBOARD without an enclosure, or a specialized device. Examples:
- RB750Gr3 — budget 5-port Gigabit router
- RB4011 — high-performance 10-port router with SFP+
- RB3011 — 10-port router popular in small ISPs
These range from $50 to $200 USD and are very popular with ISPs and network engineers.
CRS — Cloud Router Switches
CRS (Cloud Router Switch) devices are Layer 2/Layer 3 switches with full RouterOS. They have:- Many Ethernet ports (8, 16, 24, or 48 ports)
- SFP or SFP+ uplink ports for fiber
- Switching ASICs for hardware-accelerated packet forwarding
- Can run either RouterOS or SwitchOS (a simpler switch OS)
Popular models: CRS326-24G-2S+, CRS354-48G-4S+2Q+
Best for: Office networks, ISP aggregation, anyone who needs a managed switch with routing capability.CCR — Cloud Core Router
CCR (Cloud Core Router) devices are MikroTik high-end routers for ISPs and enterprises. They feature:- Multi-core Tilera or ARM processors (up to 72 cores)
- High throughput (multi-gigabit routing)
- Rack-mount form factor
- Multiple SFP/SFP+ ports
- Price range: $300 to $3000+ USD
Popular models: CCR2004-1G-12S+2XS, CCR1036-8G-2S+
Best for: Internet service providers, enterprise networks, high-bandwidth environments.LHG, SXT, LDF — Outdoor Wireless Devices
MikroTik also makes outdoor point-to-point and point-to-multipoint wireless devices:
- LHG — Lightweight High Gain dish antenna, for long-distance links
- SXT — Small sector/dish for short-to-medium wireless links
- LDF — LTE/4G device for cellular backhaul
RouterOS License Levels
RouterOS comes in several license levels. The higher the level, the more features are unlocked.
| Level | Typical Use |
|---|---|
| Level 1 | Free/Demo — very limited, mostly for testing |
| Level 3 | ISP Wireless — wireless client, CPE devices |
| Level 4 | WISP — wireless AP, most home/office features |
| Level 5 | WISP AP — adds hotspot user limit increase |
| Level 6 | Controller — unlimited everything |
CHR (Cloud Hosted Router)
CHR is RouterOS installed as a virtual machine on a server or cloud provider. Licensing for CHR:
- Free trial — 1 Mbps throughput limit
- P1 — $45/year — 1 Gbps limit
- P10 — $95/year — 10 Gbps limit
- P-Unlimited — $250/year — no limit
How to Pick the Right Hardware
Use this simple guide:
- Home/small office with wireless — hAP ac2 or hAP ac3
- Home/small office, wired only — hEX or hEX S
- Small business switch — CRS326 or CRS354
- ISP edge router, high throughput — CCR series
- Outdoor wireless link — LHG or SXT
- Learning/testing on a PC or VM — CHR (free tier works fine for learning)
Summary
MikroTik hardware ranges from a $30 home router to a $3000 ISP core router, all running the same RouterOS software. Once you learn RouterOS on a cheap hAP device, you can apply that knowledge to any other MikroTik product. Start small, learn the software, then scale up.