How many PPPoE subscribers can a MikroTik really handle?

The figures on this page are practical guidance, not hard limits. The honest answer is that it depends on your packages: the same router that comfortably serves 200 customers on 5 Mbps will struggle with 200 on 30 Mbps. Size for peak throughput and leave headroom.

Is a PPPoE router different from a hotspot router?

Same devices, different demands. PPPoE terminates a session and enforces a queue for every subscriber, so it leans harder on the CPU. If you are choosing one router to do both, buy one tier above what a hotspot-only guide would suggest.

Do I need RADIUS for PPPoE?

Not with Jasiyo. Your MikroTik's built-in PPPoE server handles authentication, and Jasiyo creates and manages the accounts on it directly. A separate RADIUS server is another machine to run and another thing to break.

RB4011 or RB5009 for PPPoE?

The RB5009. It is a newer ARM64 platform, meaningfully faster per core, has a 2.5G WAN port for when your uplink grows, and costs about the same. Choose the RB4011 only if you need its extra copper ports.

What router does the customer need at their house?

Any router that can act as a PPPoE client, which is almost all of them. It holds the username and password you issue, dials your network, and shares the connection over Wi-Fi inside the home. It does not need to be a MikroTik.

Can I run PPPoE and hotspot on the same router?

Yes, and many ISPs do — PPPoE for the estates, hotspot at a nearby shopping centre. Jasiyo manages both from one dashboard. Just size the hardware for the combined load rather than for either one alone.

Hardware Guide

Best MikroTik Routers for PPPoE

Every model that matters, matched to subscriber count, uplink and budget — plus what actually limits capacity, so you buy once instead of twice.

Start 7-day free trial Talk to our team

✓ RouterOS 6 & 7 supported✓ No RADIUS server needed✓ Auto suspend & restore✓ M-Pesa billing

New to PPPoE?

Start with the plain-English explainer, then come back and pick hardware.

Read it

Find your starting point

Pick the tier that matches the subscriber count you expect within a year, not the one you have today.

Starter

Your First Estate

Under 60 subscribers · Prove the model

See routers

Growth

A Real Subscriber Base

60–150 subscribers · Time to rack it properly

See routers

Pro

Multiple Sites

150–500 subscribers · Quad-core territory

See routers

Enterprise

Carrier-Grade Core

500+ subscribers · Your own backbone

See routers

Starter Tier

Your First Estate

Under 60 subscribers · Prove the model

Cheapest Way to Start

RB951Ui-2HnD

Starter

MikroTik RB951Ui-2HnD

Typical Subscribers

Operating SystemRouterOS

RAM128 MB

Storage128 MB

Ethernet Ports5 ports (100 Mbps)

ArchitectureMIPSBE, 1 core @ 600 MHz

Enough to prove the model with your first estate

USB port for a 4G backup link when your uplink drops

Widely available in Kenya with strong community support

100 Mbps ports cap your whole network — you will outgrow this quickly if customers buy real speed

hEX S (RB760iGS)

Starter

MikroTik hEX S RB760iGS

Typical Subscribers

Operating SystemRouterOS

RAM256 MB

Storage16 MB (Flash)

Ethernet Ports5 Gigabit ports + 1 fibre port

ArchitectureMMIPS, 2 cores @ 880 MHz

Gigabit ports and an SFP cage — a proper fibre uplink from day one

Far better value than the RB951 for PPPoE specifically

Small, silent and cheap to run at a tower site

Only 16 MB of storage — not enough room for large logs or extra packages

Growth Tier

A Real Subscriber Base

60–150 subscribers · Time to rack it properly

RB2011

Growth

MikroTik RB2011UiAS-2HnD

100

Typical Subscribers

Operating SystemRouterOS

RAM128 MB

Storage128 MB

Ethernet Ports10 ports (5 at 100 Mbps, 5 Gigabit) + 1 fibre port

ArchitectureMIPSBE, 1 core @ 600 MHz

10 ports suit a small distribution rack feeding several switches

LCD screen for quick checks without opening a laptop

SFP port for fibre uplink

Single-core MIPS CPU — the weakest processor at this subscriber count, watch it under load

L009UiGS

Growth

MikroTik L009UiGS-2HaxD-IN

100

Typical Subscribers

Operating SystemRouterOS

RAM512 MB

Storage128 MB (NAND)

Ethernet Ports8 Gigabit ports + 1 fast fibre port (2.5G)

ArchitectureARM (32-bit), 2 cores @ 800 MHz

2.5G SFP uplink — room to grow past a gigabit line

Dual-core ARM handles per-subscriber queues far better than MIPS

RouterOS 7 native

RouterOS 7 only — older ROS 6 configurations need review before migrating

RB3011UiAS-RM

Growth

MikroTik RB3011UiAS-RM

150

Typical Subscribers

Operating SystemRouterOS

RAM1 GB

Storage128 MB (NAND)

Ethernet Ports10 Gigabit ports + 1 fibre port

ArchitectureARM (32-bit), 2 cores @ 1.4 GHz

1 GB RAM — comfortable headroom for connection tracking at this size

Rack-mount, so it lives properly in a cabinet rather than on a shelf

USB 3.0 for storage or a backup modem

Only two cores — plan an upgrade before you pass roughly 150 active subscribers

Pro Tier

Multiple Sites

150–500 subscribers · Quad-core territory

Best Value for PPPoE

RB4011

Pro

MikroTik RB4011iGS+RM

200

Typical Subscribers

Operating SystemRouterOS

RAM1 GB

Storage512 MB (NAND)

Ethernet Ports10 Gigabit ports + 1 fast fibre port (10G)

ArchitectureARM (32-bit), 4 cores @ 533–1400 MHz

Quad-core ARM spreads PPPoE sessions across cores properly

SFP+ 10G uplink port

The point most Kenyan ISPs settle on once billing is automated

No built-in Wi-Fi — this is a core router, not a customer device

Recommended Upgrade

RB5009UG+S+IN

Pro

MikroTik RB5009UG+S+IN

200

Typical Subscribers

Operating SystemRouterOS

RAM1 GB

Storage1 GB (NAND)

Ethernet Ports7 Gigabit ports + 1 fast port (2.5G) + 1 fast fibre port (10G)

ArchitectureARM64, 4 cores @ 350–1400 MHz

ARM64 Cortex-A72 — noticeably faster than the RB4011 for the same money

2.5G WAN plus a 10G SFP+ cage, so the uplink is never the ceiling

1 GB of storage leaves room for logging and packages

RouterOS 7 native — review older ROS 6 scripts before you migrate

Enterprise Tier

Carrier-Grade Core

500+ subscribers · Your own backbone

CCR1009

Enterprise

MikroTik CCR1009-7G-1C-1S+

500

Typical Subscribers

Operating SystemRouterOS

RAM2 GB

Storage128 MB (NAND)

Ethernet Ports7 Gigabit ports + 1 combo port + 1 fibre port

ArchitectureTILE, 9 cores @ 1.2 GHz

Nine cores built for routing — PPPoE termination stops being the bottleneck

Handles hundreds of simultaneous sessions with queues applied

BGP, OSPF and MPLS ready when you take your own IP space

Wasted money under about 200 subscribers — buy an RB5009 instead

Carrier Grade

CCR2004

Enterprise

MikroTik CCR2004-1G-12S+2XS

1000

Typical Subscribers

Operating SystemRouterOS

RAM4 GB

Storage128 MB (NAND)

Ethernet Ports1 Gigabit port + 12 fast fibre ports (10G) + 2 ultra-fast fibre ports (25G)

ArchitectureARM64, 4 cores @ 1.7 GHz

Twelve 10G fibre ports — aggregate every distribution site into one core

25G uplinks leave headroom for years of growth

4 GB RAM for large routing tables and heavy session counts

Needs an experienced engineer — misconfigured, it will not outperform an RB5009

Read this first

What actually limits capacity

Subscriber counts on spec sheets are averages. Three things decide what your router really holds.

CPU, not RAM

Every PPPoE session is encapsulated and de-encapsulated packet by packet. That work is CPU-bound, and it is why a quad-core RB5009 beats a single-core RB2011 long before memory runs out.

Speed limits per customer

Each subscriber's package is enforced by a queue. A hundred customers means a hundred queues running at once — more processing on top of the routing itself.

Actual throughput, not headcount

Two hundred subscribers on 5 Mbps packages are far lighter than two hundred on 30 Mbps. Size for the traffic you expect at peak, not for the number of names on your list.

Treat these numbers as guidance

The subscriber figures above assume modest packages and normal home usage. They are a planning starting point, not a guarantee. Watch your router's CPU under real load and upgrade when it sits high at peak — not when you hit a number on a page.

Common questions

Bought the router. Now automate the billing.

Jasiyo creates every PPPoE account on your MikroTik, applies the speed, collects the M-Pesa, and suspends and restores customers without you touching the router.

Start 7-day free trial See pricing

KSh 25 per active customer · min KSh 1,000/mo · KSh 500 onboarding · Cancel anytime