Best OpenWrt Routers for VPN

Routers with the CPU headroom to run WireGuard or OpenVPN for the whole network.

Editorial picks

VPN encryption on a router is CPU-bound. These picks have the CPU headroom for WireGuard on typical home connections. We rate suitability from the hardware; measured results appear on each router page when available.

Photo: OpenWrt wiki · CC BY-SA 4.0 · resized
#1 · Best overall
GL.iNet Flint 2 (GL-MT6000)
Fully supportedHighly Recommended
CPU
4-core · 2.0 GHz · ARM 64-bit
Memory
1 GB / 8 GB
Wi-Fi
Wi-Fi 6 · AX6000 · 2.4 / 5 GHz
Ethernet
2× 2.5 GbE (WAN + LAN/WAN) + 4× 1 GbE LAN
OpenWrt
up to 25.12.6
Typical price
~$159
Editorial opinionWhy we picked it · Score 9.2
Four 2 GHz cores handle WireGuard comfortably.
Full specs & compatibility
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#2 · Most headroom
Banana Pi BPI-R4
Fully supportedAdvanced Users Only
CPU
4-core · 1.8 GHz · ARM 64-bit
Memory
4 GB / 8 GB
Wi-Fi
No Wi-Fi
Ethernet
2× 10G SFP+ + 4× 1 GbE
OpenWrt
up to 25.12.6
Typical price
~$110
Editorial opinionWhy we picked it · Score 7.8
Cortex-A73 cores for the fastest connections.
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#3 · Best for travel
GL.iNet Beryl AX (GL-MT3000)
Fully supportedHighly Recommended
CPU
2-core · 1.3 GHz · ARM 64-bit
Memory
512 MB / 256 MB
Wi-Fi
Wi-Fi 6 · AX3000 · 2.4 / 5 GHz
Ethernet
1× 2.5 GbE WAN + 1× 1 GbE LAN
OpenWrt
up to 25.12.6
Typical price
~$89
Editorial opinionWhy we picked it · Score 8.8
A VPN router that fits in your bag.
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Photo: OpenWrt wiki · CC BY-SA 4.0 · resized
#4 · Most CPU
FriendlyElec NanoPi R6S
Fully supportedRecommended
CPU
8-core · 2.4 GHz · ARM 64-bit
Memory
8 GB / 32 GB
Wi-Fi
No Wi-Fi
Ethernet
2× 2.5 GbE + 1× 1 GbE
OpenWrt
up to 25.12.6
Typical price
~$130
Editorial opinionWhy we picked it · Score 8.2
Eight cores for WireGuard at multi-gigabit speeds.
Full specs & compatibility
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#5 · Compact VPN gateway
GL.iNet Brume 2 (GL-MT2500)
Fully supportedRecommended
- Hardware revision warning
CPU
2-core · 1.3 GHz · ARM 64-bit
Memory
1 GB / 8 GB
Wi-Fi
No Wi-Fi
Ethernet
1× 2.5 GbE WAN + 1× 1 GbE LAN
OpenWrt
up to 25.12.6
Typical price
~$89
Editorial opinionWhy we picked it · Score 7.6
A small wired box to put a VPN in front of your network.
Full specs & compatibility
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