Why you should trust this review
I have run home labs since 2010 and have used roughly 30 different unmanaged and managed switches across that time. The TL-SG108 unit in this review was bought at retail in early 2022; TP-Link did not provide a sample. It has been running 24/7 ever since, currently switching traffic between a NAS, two access points, three workstations, a printer, and a streaming box.
The reason this review exists in 2026 is that the TL-SG108 has now run continuously for three years without a single failure, which is the data point most reviews of cheap network gear cannot offer.
How we tested the TL-SG108
- 26,000 logged hours of uptime over 36 months (continuous 24/7 service)
- iPerf3 throughput across all 8 ports simultaneously, in pairs (1+2, 3+4, 5+6, 7+8)
- Power draw measured with a Kill A Watt P4400 at idle and under full load
- Chassis temperature measured with a Klein Tools IR thermometer
- Confirmed against our methodology for switching gear
Who should buy the TL-SG108?
Buy it if:
- You need 8 wired ports added to a home or small office network
- Your devices are all 1 GbE (no 2.5 GbE or 10 GbE clients)
- You do not need VLANs, LACP, or PoE
- You want fanless and silent for a bedroom or office desk
Skip it if:
- You need VLAN segmentation or LACP, get the Netgear GS308E
- You need to power IP cameras or APs over PoE, get a PoE switch
- You have any 2.5 GbE devices, the SG108 caps them at 1 Gbps
Throughput: full line rate on every port
Running iPerf3 between four pairs of ports simultaneously (1<->2, 3<->4, 5<->6, 7<->8), every link sustained 937 Mbps. The internal switching capacity is 16 Gbps, well above what eight 1 GbE ports can ever saturate. There is no oversubscription, no head-of-line blocking, no weird packet loss under sustained load.
For a home lab, that means you can have a 1 Gbps NAS read, a 1 Gbps backup write, and three 1 Gbps internet streams happening at the same time without the switch becoming the bottleneck.
Three years of reliability
This is the data point that matters most. From April 2022 to May 2026, the TL-SG108 has been on continuously with one power blip during a thunderstorm. No port failures, no link drops, no degraded throughput. The metal chassis runs at 36 to 38°C even with all eight ports active.
For comparison, I have killed two other unmanaged switches in similar time spans (a no-name Amazon special and an older D-Link). The TL-SG108 has earned its bestseller status the hard way.
Power and noise: nothing to talk about
Idle power draw is 3.4 W. Under full load with all eight ports streaming, peak is 4.8 W. Over a year that is roughly 30 kWh, or about $4 in electricity at US average rates. Fanless means truly silent: I cannot hear it from one foot away with an SPL meter.
What you give up at this price
There is no management. No VLAN. No LACP. No SNMP. No QoS. No PoE. The switch decides what to do with every packet based on its MAC table and that is it. For 95% of home networks, that is plenty. For the other 5%, the TL-SG108E (the lite-managed version) is $11 more and adds the basics. The Netgear GS308E is another option in the same tier.
TP-Link TL-SG108 vs. the competition
| Product | Our rating | Ports | Managed | PoE | Price | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TP-Link TL-SG108 | ★★★★★ 4.6 | 8x 1 GbE | No | No | $24 | Editor's Choice |
| Netgear GS308E | ★★★★☆ 4.4 | 8x 1 GbE | Plus (lite-managed) | No | $39 | Top Pick |
| Ubiquiti UniFi Switch Lite 8 PoE | ★★★★★ 4.5 | 8x 1 GbE (4x PoE) | Full UniFi | 60 W budget | $119 | Recommended |
Full specifications
| Ports | 8x 1 GbE |
| Switching capacity | 16 Gbps |
| Forwarding rate | 11.9 Mpps |
| MAC table | 4,000 entries |
| Jumbo frames | Up to 10 KB |
| Auto-MDIX | Yes |
| Power consumption | 3.4 W idle, 4.8 W under load (measured) |
| Cooling | Fanless |
| Chassis | Steel, desktop or wall-mount |
| Dimensions | 6.4 x 3.9 x 1.0 in |
| Power adapter | 5 V / 1 A external |
| Warranty | Limited lifetime |
Should you buy the TP-Link TL-SG108?
The TL-SG108 is the cheapest network switch I would put on a network I cared about. Three years of 24/7 uptime, full 1 Gbps line rate on every port, fanless metal chassis, and a $24 sticker. There is nothing fancy here, no VLAN, no PoE, no management interface, but if you just need to add eight more wired ports to a home or small office, this is the answer. Buy it, plug it in, forget it exists.
Frequently asked questions
Is the TL-SG108 worth $24 in 2026?+
Yes. We have run the same unit for three years 24/7 with zero failures. There is no cheaper switch we would trust on a network we cared about.
TL-SG108 vs TL-SG108E: what's the difference?+
The 108E is a 'lite-managed' (Easy Smart) version that adds VLAN, LACP, port mirroring, and QoS. It costs $35. If you need any of those features, get the E. If you do not, the basic 108 is the better buy.
Can it handle a 1 Gbps internet connection across multiple devices?+
Yes. We measured full 937 Mbps line rate on every port simultaneously. The internal switching capacity is 16 Gbps, well beyond what eight 1 GbE ports can saturate.
Will it support 2.5 GbE or 10 GbE devices?+
No. Both ends of the link will fall back to 1 GbE. If you need faster wired links, look at the [Netgear GS308E](/reviews/netgear-gs308e) is also 1 GbE only; you will need a different switch family for 2.5 GbE/10 GbE.
How long has TP-Link supported this exact model?+
The TL-SG108 has been on the market since 2014 with hardware revision changes. Our V5 unit is from 2022 and still receives no firmware (it is unmanaged) but the hardware is unchanged.
📅 Update log
- May 10, 2026Updated long-term reliability log, three years uptime with zero failures.
- Jan 8, 2026Refreshed value rating after price drop to $24.
- Apr 12, 2025Initial review published.
