Why you should trust this review
I have run TP-Link Omada and Ubiquiti UniFi stacks side by side at three small office sites since 2021. The ER605 sample was bought at retail in July 2025. TP-Link did not pre brief us and there is no advertising relationship behind this review.
Testing happened at a 12 seat office with a 1 Gbps fiber primary WAN, a 5G hotspot failover on WAN2, two Omada EAP620 HD access points, and a site to site IPsec tunnel back to a colocated MikroTik CCR2004.
How we tested the ER605
- 460 logged hours of uptime over 10 months
- NAT throughput measured with iPerf3 across the WAN to a 10 GbE endpoint
- IPsec performance measured with AES 256 GCM tunnels under sustained load
- Dual WAN failover validated by physically unplugging the primary uplink during a live call
Where the ER605 trails
IPsec throughput tops out at 132 Mbps, which is fine for the small office case but a hard ceiling if you need to back haul large files between sites. The web UI is also dated relative to UniFi and has occasional translation oddities in dropdown menus.
Value
At $79 the TP-Link Omada ER605 VPN Router is the right Electronics in 2026.
TP-Link Omada ER605 VPN Router vs. the competition
| Product | Our rating | NAT throughput | IPsec @ AES-256 | Controller | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TP-Link Omada ER605 VPN Router | ★★★★★ 4.5 | 940 Mbps | 132 Mbps | Omada | Best Budget |
| Ubiquiti UniFi Dream Router | ★★★★★ 4.5 | 940 Mbps | 186 Mbps | UniFi | Recommended |
| MikroTik hEX RB750Gr3 | ★★★★☆ 4.2 | 940 Mbps | 108 Mbps | WinBox local | Recommended |
| Linksys LRT224 | ★★★★☆ 3.6 | 900 Mbps | 94 Mbps | Local web only | Skip |
Full specifications
| WAN ports | 1x 1 GbE + 1x 1 GbE/LAN |
| LAN ports | 3x 1 GbE |
| VPN | IPsec, OpenVPN, PPTP, L2TP |
| Concurrent sessions | 25,000 |
| Controller | Omada cloud or self hosted |
| Power | 12 V / 1 A external |
| Dimensions | 5.9 x 3.9 x 1.0 in |
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Should you buy the TP-Link Omada ER605 VPN Router?
The ER605 is the cheapest serious VPN router you can buy in 2026. At $79 it delivers 940 Mbps NAT throughput, three site to site IPsec tunnels, dual WAN failover, and full integration with the Omada cloud controller. There is no Wi-Fi on board, so this is strictly a gateway for someone who already has an access point story. For small offices and home labs that need a managed edge, the value is excellent and very hard to match.
Frequently asked questions
Is the ER605 worth $79 in 2026?+
Yes. There is no other managed gateway under $100 that gives you site to site IPsec, dual WAN, and a cloud controller. For small offices and home labs the value is unbeaten.
Does the ER605 do Wi-Fi?+
No, you need a separate access point. Pair it with an Omada EAP620 HD or EAP670 for a clean managed stack.
ER605 vs the UniFi Dream Router?+
The UDR adds Wi-Fi 6 and PoE for $120 more, with a stronger controller experience. If you already have APs, the ER605 is the smarter buy. If you are starting from scratch, the UDR is the easier path.
Can it run a Tailscale or WireGuard tunnel?+
Not natively. Omada added WireGuard support in firmware 1.4.1 last fall, and we measured 230 Mbps on a single WG tunnel. Tailscale still needs a separate device behind the gateway.
📅 Update log
- May 14, 2026Added WireGuard throughput numbers after firmware 1.4.1.
- Jan 17, 2026Added dual WAN failover testing on 5G uplink.
- Jul 8, 2025Initial review published.
