MikroTik Cloud Hosted Router (CHR) vs Check Point CloudGuard Network Security

MikroTik Cloud Hosted Router (CHR)7.0Visit Check Point CloudGuard Network Security6.8Visit

Higher score MikroTik Cloud Hosted Router (CHR) #5 in Virtual Routers Software 7.0/10 Free plan · paid from $45 · 60-day trial Free plan✓ 2 of 2 features Visit MikroTik CHR

vs

Check Point CloudGuard Network Security #8 in Virtual Routers Software 6.8/10 Pricing on request ✓ 2 of 2 features Visit Check Point

• MikroTik Cloud Hosted Router (CHR) fits best

  Budget-conscious teams wanting a feature-rich virtual router

• Check Point CloudGuard Network Security fits best

  Cloud teams prioritizing routing plus security controls

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Side by side

Feature	MikroTik Cloud Hosted Router (CHR) 7.0/10 Visit ↗	Check Point CloudGuard Network Security 6.8/10 Visit ↗
At a glance
Editor score	7.0	6.8
Ranking	#5 in Virtual Routers Software	#8 in Virtual Routers Software
Best for	Budget-conscious teams wanting a feature-rich virtual router	Cloud teams prioritizing routing plus security controls
Pricing model	Free plan + paid	Paid
Starting price	Not published	Not published
Free plan	✓ (best)	Not published
Free trial	—	—
Deployment	Cloud, Self-hosted	Cloud, Self-hosted
Platforms	Linux, Windows, macOS	Web
Support	Email, Community, Docs	Docs
Built for	Small business, Mid-market, Enterprise	Mid-market, Enterprise
Features MikroTik Cloud Hosted Router (CHR) 2/2 · Check Point CloudGuard Network Security 2/2
VPN support	✓	✓
High availability	✓	✓
Specs
Deployment type	Virtual machine	Virtual machine
Routing protocols	RIP v1/v2, OSPFv2, BGP v4, RIPng, OSPFv3, BGP, BFD	OSPFv2, BGP, RIP, static routes, multicast routes, policy-based routing, PIM-SM, PIM-DM, IGMP v2 and v3
Max throughput	1000 Mbps	Not published
Cloud platforms	AWS, Hetzner Cloud, Linode, Google Compute Engine, Vultr	AWS, Azure, Google Cloud Platform, Oracle Cloud Infrastructure
Our review
Pros	Supports static, VRF, policy-based, ECMP and dynamic routing Includes IPsec, WireGuard, OpenVPN and other tunnel protocols Runs on major hypervisors and documented cloud environments	Unified firewall policy across AWS, Azure, GCP and OCI Threat prevention includes IPS, antivirus, Anti-Bot and malware defenses Routing, VPN and high-availability gateways support complex cloud networks
Cons	Free tier limits upload to 1 Mbps per interface Deployment requires importing or launching a virtual machine image Throughput depends on the selected speed tier and license	Pricing uses a contact-sales process with PAYG and BYOL licensing Routing sits within a broader security stack rather than a routing-first product Documented support is provided through the docs channel
Our verdict	MikroTik Cloud Hosted Router (CHR) is a virtualized edition of RouterOS for x86-64 virtual machines. It brings routing, firewall, VPN and network-management capabilities to local or cloud deployments, with images for common hypervisors and… Read the review →	Check Point CloudGuard Network Security is a virtual security gateway and cloud firewall for workloads and traffic across public, private and hybrid clouds. It fits mid-market and enterprise teams that need centralized policy management… Read the review →

Strengths and trade-offs

• MikroTik Cloud Hosted Router (CHR) — where it wins

  • Supports static, VRF, policy-based, ECMP and dynamic routing
  • Includes IPsec, WireGuard, OpenVPN and other tunnel protocols
  • Runs on major hypervisors and documented cloud environments

  Where it doesn't

  • Free tier limits upload to 1 Mbps per interface
  • Deployment requires importing or launching a virtual machine image
  • Throughput depends on the selected speed tier and license

• Check Point CloudGuard Network Security — where it wins

  • Unified firewall policy across AWS, Azure, GCP and OCI
  • Threat prevention includes IPS, antivirus, Anti-Bot and malware defenses
  • Routing, VPN and high-availability gateways support complex cloud networks

  Where it doesn't

  • Pricing uses a contact-sales process with PAYG and BYOL licensing
  • Routing sits within a broader security stack rather than a routing-first product
  • Documented support is provided through the docs channel

• MikroTik Cloud Hosted Router (CHR)7.0/10 · Free plan · paid from $45 · 60-day trial

  A perpetual-license virtual RouterOS with extensive routing, VPN, firewall and cloud options.

  Visit MikroTik CHRFull verdict →
• Check Point CloudGuard Network Security6.8/10 · Pricing on request

  A cloud firewall and virtual gateway that pairs extensive routing with threat prevention.

  Visit Check PointFull verdict →