TP-Link WDR3600 is still the best value (non-AC), generally available, consumer grade dual band AP router on the market. Its ~impossible to get built-in modems

TP-Link WDR3600 is still the best value (non-AC), generally available, consumer grade dual band AP router on the market. Its ~impossible to get built-in modems with dual band Wifi on a functioning software stack, a separate HG612 (DSL) works great. Microtik can be great value if you're willing to do lots of vendor QA (for other values of vendor) in your lab before going in to production. Most of the problems are to do with community: the docs are an unloved wiki which only staff can modify; release management, QA and bug tracking are third rate; and the forum is a passive-aggressive Engrish ghetto with poor moderation. But config management, CLI and Winbox are still better than straight Linux, and boards start at $40 which can make it worth it.