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What routers support per-device Internet bandwidth usage monitoring out of the box? (I'd prefer not to go down the route of hacking in an aftermarket firmware if I don't have to; [1],[2])

  • We have a monthly quota that we're constantly in danger of exceeding, and it's very expensive when to go over quota.
  • There are 4 people in the house and three times as many devices, plus guests and their devices. We need to know which people and which devices are causing the most consumption, so we can then determine what to do about it. (Exile offending devices or the offending behaviour-on-device, and/or more equitably split the cost.)
  • Router should be both LAN (4 ports sufficient) and WiFi. The monitoring feature needs to distinguish local traffic from external (internet) traffic. (I'm curious about local traffic stats, but don't need to monitor it. It's the external traffic that costs.)
  • The existing router this will replace typically has 3 wired clients and up to 9 wifi clients. The devices run everything from Windows to Linux to iOS to Android to I-don't-know (DS,wii).

A router feature I would like

The Asus AC3200 appears to have a very nice Traffic Analyzer Statistics page that shows exactly how many mega/gigabytes each device has used. However, in my experience the RT-N56U reported stats don't match ISP stats. This makes me leary, and the $300 USD MSRP is not attractive for our small household.

Asus AC3200 per device usage screenshot

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    What's your budget? If $300 is too much, what about $200? $100? $50? Do you require wireless, and if so, what type? How many LAN ports?
    – Mark
    Nov 20, 2015 at 8:09
  • @Mark oh right, yes wireless and 4 LAN ports; question updated. Budget? I don't know. It depends on what's available and what other features come with the price tag. I want to spend the least amount possible, but if the $300 AC3200 is the only one it's the only one. In the end it's the features and reliability that count more heavily than the price.
    – matt wilkie
    Nov 20, 2015 at 17:08
  • Are you OK using dd-wrt if the router ships with it installed, or would you rather not deal with it at all?
    – JTL
    Nov 20, 2015 at 22:57
  • @JTL I wouldn't buy one from "Joe on the internet" but might from a company that offers a guarantee and/or post sales support and has a reputation they care about. I don't want to have to learn how to be a firewall or network administrator.
    – matt wilkie
    Nov 22, 2015 at 0:51
  • For what purpose do you need a Traffic analyzer? Just out of curiosity?
    – szoszk
    Nov 22, 2015 at 20:58

1 Answer 1

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4

Gargoyle provides exactly what you are looking for.

You did not indicate what requirements you had for speed but I would guess that lack of AC Compatibility would not be a deal breaker being how much the overages cost.

Gargoyle offers a router that is pre-loaded with their firmware. Link to Product The cost is currently $85.00

Specifications:

  • 802.11 B/G/N, up to 300Mbps
  • 5x 1Gbps Port
  • WPA2, WPA and WEP supported

Here is the area where you can set a quota by IPBandwith Quota Interface

Additional Images of Interface

I believe that this will meet all your requirements.

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  • @matt-wilkie Did this answer meet your requirements?
    – Jeff
    Dec 22, 2016 at 0:34
  • I am in a similar situation, but I want only to measure the usage, without restricting it. Budget is not a concern for me. It seems that this router cannot do this; or, I can put a huge quota, to make sure that it won't limit me (say, 1TB); however, in that case, all it would show is, 0.003% of quota used, which would not be very informative as to exactly how much bandwidth was used. If you know something, can you post another answer?
    – Alex
    Nov 12, 2018 at 13:41

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