MikroTik User Manager and Mikhmon alternatives compared
Last updated: 2 October 2026
There are five common ways to manage hotspot and PPPoE customers on MikroTik. Each fits a different size of business. This page compares them plainly, including where a hosted service like RadiusNest is not the right choice.
The options
| Option | Where it runs | Good for | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Users on the router | The router | A few users, no billing | No expiry by date without scripts; one router only |
| MikroTik User Manager | The router (MikroTik's own RADIUS package) | One site that wants RADIUS with nothing extra to host | Shares the router's storage and processor; set up and looked after per router |
| Mikhmon | A computer or web host that can reach the router | Hotspot vouchers for one or a few routers, free of charge | You host and update it; it needs access to the router; mainly for hotspot |
| Your own RADIUS server | A server you run | Operators with a system administrator | Setup, security, backups and a billing screen are all yours |
| Hosted RADIUS (RadiusNest) | The cloud | Operators who want billing working today, several routers, staff and resellers | A monthly fee; needs the router to have internet |
MikroTik User Manager
User Manager is MikroTik's own RADIUS server, installed as a package on the router. It supports users, profiles and limits, and it costs nothing beyond the router. Its limits are practical ones: it shares the router's storage and processor with routing, and it is set up and looked after on each router where you install it.
Mikhmon
Mikhmon (MikroTik Hotspot Monitor) is a free web application that manages hotspot users and vouchers by talking to the router. Many small hotspot businesses start with it. You run it yourself, on a computer or web host that can reach the router, and it is built mainly around hotspot vouchers.
Your own RADIUS server
Running your own server gives full control. It also means choosing and securing a server, connecting routers that have no public address, keeping backups and building or buying a billing front end. See what a manual RADIUS setup involves.
A hosted RADIUS service
RadiusNest runs the RADIUS server and the billing dashboard for you. Hotspot and PPPoE are handled together, routers connect with one pasted command and need no public IP, and you get staff and reseller logins, customer self-service and takings reports.
When RadiusNest is not the right choice
- Your site has no dependable internet connection: logins need the router to reach the service.
- You have a handful of users and no need for billing: users on the router are enough.
- You must keep every record on your own premises.
Try RadiusNest free See pricing
Questions and answers
Is RadiusNest a replacement for MikroTik User Manager?
It does the same job, authenticating users and applying limits, as a hosted service, and adds billing, vouchers, customer self-service, staff and reseller logins and reports.
Can I move from Mikhmon to RadiusNest?
Yes. Users already on the router keep working while you create new users and vouchers in RadiusNest, so you can move over gradually.
Is there a free option?
Users on the router, User Manager and Mikhmon cost nothing beyond your own time and hardware. RadiusNest has a free trial and then a monthly price by number of users and routers.
Does a hosted service work if my router is behind another router or on mobile data?
Yes. The router connects out to RadiusNest, so it does not need a public IP address or port forwarding.
Which option handles both hotspot and PPPoE?
User Manager, your own RADIUS server and RadiusNest handle both. RadiusNest shows both in one dashboard with shared packages.