cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/33116721

Best Router device for openwrt 2025

I am completely new to OpenWRT/Pi-hole and need a recommendation for a device that could run OpenWRT/Pi-hole on it to replace my current router. I’m not even sure if I used the correct wording in this sentence, lol.

I have checked:

I need recommendations for devices to get some hands-on experience. And please explain the advantages of the devices you recommend a bit. There are indeed a lot of options listed on the internet, but not enough reasons are provided.

  • I need Pi-hole because I want local DNS, but I guess OpenWRT could do the job as well.
  • My current router does not support changing the DNS server.
  • I need a simple substitute.
  • I need good performance because it might need to connect to about 15 devices (though I have no idea what good performance means in terms of a router).
  • So I guess a device with at least 256MB of RAM is needed.
  • No limitation on price as long as it is not excessively expensive.

  • Users should consider multi-core, ARM-based (or x86_64/AMD64) devices for mid-range and higher applications. (From https://openwrt.org/toh/recommended/_routers)

Thanks for your help in advance!

  • brian@programming.dev
    2·
    2 days ago

    I have a GL.iNet GL-MT6000, works great. not sure about newer models but people generally seem to like their higher end ones

    it ships with almost vanilla openwrt, and it’s easy to install an upstream build if you’d like. the big advantage of GL.iNet is that it’s officially supported, so I’ve been able to send emails to support about openwrt stuff and they’ve been helpful

    AdGuard works great and is built in to their version, so you wouldn’t even need the separate device for pihole

    I also like supporting a company that supports oss software