I beg to differ: CHR is probably more alike CCR series than hAPlite.
And if license cost is really such an issue, then using whichever cheapest MT device instead of P0.001-licensed CHR would be just fine in most cases. If one is tied to using CHR due to unavoidable reasons (e.g. because it has to be run on a public cloud infrastructure), then the license price will have to be added to the costs of “free hosting”.
No such thing as free lunch… someone pays, always.
…and this process magically disappears and/or does itself free of cost whatsoever while brewing coffee for the entire crew only when 100Mbit limited license does not exist. Of course! 
Software only offering within this price envelope surely will be more profitable than software + hardware set.
true
It’s has exactly the same role as x86 used to have but adjusted to modern technology - find your own usage scenario and choose your own licensing level. You could have built tiny 486 core based access point and powerful Xeon based router running the same software. I hope there’s no need to explain it further
In the old days, a cheap way to get a license was to go to a MUM.
You paid like $40 for an entire day in a hotel, with free lunch, lots of interesting lectures, talking with MikroTik crew, and you got a free MikroTik device (something like a wAP or hAP), T-shirt, bag, AND a RouterOS license for 1Gbps on a CHR.
That really was a good deal!
But seriously, do you think $200 for your router lab licenses is too much?
In another topic, someone was charged 12h at $200/hour to configure his router…
So you can really make money with the knowledge you gain. Don’t be afraid to invest a little.
In the old days when MUM events existed there were hundreds of reasons to attend, with freebies being less important of them 
Hopefully there will be next event in Europe soon.
I’m not saying it’s too much, I’m just pointing out that there used to be more elastic options to choose from.
Don’t be afraid to stop living in someone else’s wallet I’ve got enough hardware and licences but - once again - would love to buy more with the same flexibility I was able to in previous decades.
This has absolutely nothing to do with issue discussed here but yes, any price agreed upon between two willing parties is OK.
You got an option from Normis.
Why keep on discussing ?
I don’t see you doing that, and I am not aware of them. AFAIK the situation has been the same for at least 10 years.
And I think the pricing is very reasonable.
1Mbps is enough for most testing. Maybe not enough for “production” use, but P1 license is.
You clearly didn’t read my previous posts before replying 
Please read it and compare with MikroTik’s documentation regarding x86, then you’ll easily understand what elasticity I was talking about.
I guess any further discussion on this topic is pointless since everyone has their own, strongly polarized opinion 
Yeah, but the question with the 10 Mbit/s for production use is still relevant for me
And it would be good to update at least documentation and add mentioned option available there.
When your main job is networking, probably that make more sense.
Are licenses transferrable by deactivating and reactivating on a new device? Or are they tied to a single installation forever?
If the former then there’s definitely no reason for any other tiers its ridiculously reasonable. Especially given you can just spin up as many unlimited speed/feature trial devices for 60 days anyway
However my only gripe is I ‘thought’ its tied to a single install and thats frustrating burning money on something that’s kinda-sorta needed, might be permanent, really not sure. If however I can just deactivate that CHR instance and retain the license for future use well… i’ll buy more licenses just to have them ready to go
It is possible to transfer a perpetual license to another CHR instance.
All the installations “call home” to the account you have on mikrotik.com
there you assign which one will have the “licensed” status. you can reassign any installation to be the licensed one, at any time. just install a new one, provide your account and request a trial. then assign that one to be the licensed one. Easy
But yes, you can just use the trial, it works with no speed limits. And no other limits. Even upgrading, if reaally necessary, can be done by reinstalling and requesting a new trial
Re: Increase CHR Free license limit to 10 Mbit/s
I agree that the 1-Meg throughput on the free license is rather slow and almost unusable in many test environments.
However , you do have some options:
I have a mix of many CHR’s and Vyxx and PfSxxx routers. The later two ( unlike CHR ) you can also ISO install on bare-metal.
Each has their pros and cons.
I myself really like CHR ROS and I have used it for a long time now , but I also use additional other router operating systems in my networks.
North Idaho Tom Jones
- Use the unlimited trial license. This license will however timeout and stop working.
It will not. Only software upgrades stop working after 60 days, but installation keeps working, as stated above
Re: It will not. Only software upgrades stop working after 60 days, but installation keeps working, as stated above
Wow , I did not know. That is nice.
Bumping this topic as I would also like to see the bandwidth limitation increased to 10Mbit/s.
The problem is that MikroTik seemingly refuses to acknowledge is that, between the first release of RouterOS CHR and current date, a lot has changed. Keep in mind CHR was first released in 2015 - over 10 years ago!
During that time homelabs have become incredibly popular, open source software now runs in large businesses, and lots more.
As someone working in IT I do enjoy my homelab. Even though we have a nice Nutanix cluster at my company, it's nice to be able to do whatever I want during my own time.
That last point is very important! I mess around on my homelab during my own time. I put aside my personal time for something I enjoy a lot. And to have a company such as MikroTIk not recognize the impact of homelab users is downright silly.
Most recently I built a Proxmox cluster consisting of 4x refurb Lenovo nodes (hardware pricing thx AI), which was paired with MikroTik routing and switching - about USD$3000 worth of MK kit I think. I'm 24 years old, and this was my first client at our company, and I confidently proposed MK for the core.
Point is, I really like MikroTik's product suite, and it would be nice if they could re-evaluate the 1Mbit/s limitation and see if it makes practical sense to still offer this as a freebie.
1Mbit/s is sooo slow that Windows almost crashes when I cancel an SMB copy from ROS to my PC (64GB DDR4, AMD 5600X, RX9060XT, 1TB NVMe... not a terrible spec). This limitation was not the worst back in 2015, but in 2026 it is much too slow for anything.
Now if it were 10Mbit/s, I would have a bit more freedom to play around. I could build much more complicated test scenarios such as a dual router configuration with VRRP, maybe an SMB endpoint connected over iSCSI, etc...
I seriously hope MK re-evaluate their free offering. Whatever the outcome I will more than likely remain a MK customer, but nonetheless I hope they reconsider.
Kind Regards,
Michael M.
If you invested in 4-node kit worth $3000, is then P1 $45 licence cost for 1Gb CHR so high?
So much freedom for only $45. You can always choose another free routing platform if $45 is too high.
The license is for my personal use (non-commercial). For a business it's a different discussion.
Read the post, please. It is fairly detailed and self-explanatory. Biggest point is that 1Mbit/s in 2015 was barely usable, so it would be nice to get 10Mbit/s in 2026.
It was read carefully. $45 is not too high price for such a funcionality. Even for home use, especially in 2026 when $45 is not the same value it was in 2015. Think you can afford the price if it gives you so many possibilities. BTW, if $45 is too high then buy the cheapest 100Mb or 1Gb used device on trading platforms. There are $1 worth auctions for some models.
Heck, it's hard these days to get out of a burger joint for under $20 . . . . $45 just isn't that much these days, especially for a one time expenditure. FAR less than a trip to the movies for 2+ people that only lasts 2 hours!
seriously??