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MikroTik RADIUS server: setup without running your own server

Last updated: 2 October 2026

A RADIUS server lets one central system decide who may log in to your MikroTik hotspot or PPPoE, how fast they go and when their package ends. This guide explains what RADIUS does on a MikroTik router, what setting one up by hand involves, and how to have one working in a few minutes without renting or maintaining a server.

What RADIUS does on a MikroTik router

Without RADIUS, every hotspot user and PPPoE secret lives on the router itself. That works for a few dozen users, but it has no billing, no automatic expiry by date, and nothing shared between routers. With RADIUS the router asks a server three things:

  • Authentication: is this username and password allowed in?
  • Authorisation: which speed, data and time limits apply to this session?
  • Accounting: how long was the user online and how much data did they use?

Because the answers come from one place, a package can expire on a date, a data quota can be counted across sessions, and the same users work on every router you own.

What a manual setup involves

On the router side, RADIUS takes three settings. In the terminal they look like this:

/radius add service=hotspot,ppp address=YOUR.SERVER.IP secret=YOUR-SECRET
/ip hotspot profile set [find] use-radius=yes
/ppp aaa set use-radius=yes accounting=yes

The router is the easy part. The server is where the work is: you need a machine that is always on and reachable from the router, RADIUS server software and a database, a way for a router behind a home or mobile connection to reach it, the right reply for each MikroTik limit, backups, and a billing screen on top. Most small operators either never finish this or end up maintaining it at night.

The short way: a hosted RADIUS server

RadiusNest is a RADIUS server and billing dashboard that is already running. You do not install anything and your router does not need a public IP address.

  1. Create your account. Start the free trial; no payment details are asked for.
  2. Add the router. Give it a name and choose RouterOS v7 or v6.
  3. Paste one command. The dashboard shows a single command made for that router. Paste it into the router's terminal (Winbox → New Terminal). It sets up the secure link to RadiusNest and switches hotspot and PPPoE logins to RADIUS.
  4. Make a package. Name, speed, data limit, time limit, how many days it is valid, and your price.
  5. Add users or print vouchers. They can log in at once, and each limit is enforced by itself.

The one command replaces the three router settings above and the connection work around them. If you later replace the router, you paste a new command and your users, packages and history are still there.

What you get on top of plain RADIUS

  • Packages with speed, data, time and validity limits, enforced automatically.
  • Hotspot vouchers you can print, and PPPoE accounts, in the same dashboard.
  • A page and a Telegram bot where your customers check their own data and days left and change their own password.
  • Staff and reseller logins that never see the router password.
  • Your takings per month, in your own currency.

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Questions and answers

Does my MikroTik need a public IP address for RADIUS?

Not with RadiusNest. The command you paste makes the router connect out to the service, so it works behind a normal home, fibre or mobile connection.

Which RouterOS versions work?

RouterOS v6 and v7 are both supported. You choose the version when you add the router and the dashboard gives you the matching command.

Can one RADIUS server serve several MikroTik routers?

Yes. Add each router in the dashboard. Users and packages are shared, so a customer can log in on any of your routers, and you see which router each session is on.

What happens to my existing hotspot users?

Users stored on the router keep working. New users are created in the dashboard. You can move customers across at your own pace.

Is RADIUS only for hotspots?

No. The same server handles PPPoE logins. See the PPPoE billing guide.

Related guides

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