Help finding inexpensive router with 3rd party firmware support

[theramenman]

As the title says, Im looking for an inexpensive router with 3rd party firmware support to just mess around with. I already have a Asus AC68U that I use as my actual router but I was looking for something cheap that supports Tomato (preferably Advanced Tomato) and DD-WRT that is also pretty cheap (refurbished/used is fine) so if I brick it while messing around with it, there'd be no substantial financial harm done. Ive been looking at the Netgear WNR3500Lv2 since that seems like a pretty decent option that supports all open source firmware and is relatively cheap (~$40 or so) but I wanted to ask if you guys have any other suggestions. It doesn't have to be new, I don't mind buying used or refurbished since it'll just be used just to mess around with and learn from.

 

[System Error Message]

a lot of routers support 3rd party firmware it depends on what you're expecting from them. Do you need CPU performance, memory, usb, etc.

There is currently some attempts at getting openWRT on a CCR1036 to make use of its 36 cores.

 

[theramenman]

None of that is relevant I guess. As I said, I wont even really be using it at all. Its just for me to try out the different variants of open source/3rd party firmwares and learn from. It will never really be used as a router. Thus cheap and last gen is perfectly fine. I already have a router that I actually use that runs Merlin and occasionally Tomato when I need a specific feature but I dont want to mess with my actual router regularly just to learn about 3rd party firmwares and their features and messing around with setting and whatnot. Hope that clarifies a bit.

 

[System Error Message]

There are some articles from openWRT using tp-link as a cheap router to use openWRT on.

If you're looking for something that supports both tomato and openwrt than you need a broadcom CPU based router which does include previous gen asus routers. Many low cost routers use atheros which isnt supported by tomato but better supported by openWRT.
OpenWRT has a long list of supported routers on their website.

both tp-link and dlink will have many routers that support 3rd party firmware because of their cheapness.

 

[Trip]

The 3500Lv2 is a great option for running most major open source firmwares, which allows you to learn the nuances of each variant, including both the GUI and linux-based CLI environments. I'm not sure about OpenWRT's status on the 3500Lv2, but something like Gargoyle and any Atheros-based hardware (mostly TP-Link models these days) would be another option. The WDR3600 is a solid deal at $50-60 for a gigabit platform.

On the more commercial side of things are also MikroTik and Ubiquiti, each of which have routing hardware at or below the $50 mark and OS's that feature a more traditional IOS-like CLI. Their gear has a pretty sizable presence in the WISP (wireless internet service provider) market, and has even garnered some use in the more traditional enterprise spaces, although Cisco, Juniper etc. still dominate there. On that last note, you might also think about snatching up a used Cisco or Juniper router off eBay to learn IOS/JunOS, and each respective ecosystem of routing/switching language that they speak.

Lastly, you could source your own x86-based box to run any number of the open-source firewall distros, such as pFSense, etc. This path may be a bit more expensive to do from scratch, but I'm sure used options could be found on eBay all the same.

Plenty of options out there.