Best travel router with VPN for hotels (2026)
Updated 2026-11-12 · Pick: GL.iNet Beryl 7 (GL-MT3600BE): $129.99 on gl-inet.com (checked 2026-11-05): https://dealectric.com/go/glinet-beryl-7-gl-mt3600be
Short answer. The best travel router with VPN for hotels is the GL.iNet Beryl 7, which runs one WireGuard or OpenVPN tunnel for every device behind it. NASCompares measured its OpenVPN close to 1,000 Mbps and WireGuard approaching the 1,100 Mbps rating.
Searched as: GL.iNet Beryl AX Slate 7 WireGuard VPN travel router official specifications comparison 2026
How this table was made: each figure comes from the maker's own US product page or manual, or from the reviewer named next to it, checked 2026-11-08. Dealectric does not test units itself. Rows with a Buy link are products Dealectric lists: the links are affiliate links, and their codes are re-tested in the brand's own cart every day (last check 2026-11-13).
| Model | Wi-Fi | WireGuard, maker rating | OpenVPN, maker rating | VPN speed a reviewer measured | Price | Buy |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GL.iNet Beryl 7 (GL-MT3600BE) | Wi-Fi 7 | 1,100 Mbps (client mode) | 1,000 Mbps, OpenVPN-DCO (client mode) | OpenVPN-DCO close to 1,000 Mbps; WireGuard approached 1,100 Mbps over Ethernet (NASCompares) | $129.99 on gl-inet.com, 2026-11-05 | Buy |
| GL.iNet Beryl AX (GL-MT3000) | Wi-Fi 6 | 300 Mbps (client mode) | 150 Mbps (not labelled DCO) | About 300 Mbps WireGuard, 116 Mbps OpenVPN (The Gadgeteer) | $98.99 on gl-inet.com, 2026-11-05 | Buy |
| GL.iNet Slate 7 (GL-BE3600) | Wi-Fi 7 | 490 Mbps | 385 Mbps, OpenVPN-DCO | About 540 Mbps WireGuard; OpenVPN tops out around 100 Mbps (Mighty Gadget) | $159.99 on Amazon (checked 2026-11-12) | Buy on Amazon |
| GL.iNet Slate AX (GL-AXT1800) | Wi-Fi 6 | 550 Mbps | 120 Mbps | GL.iNet's own 2022 pre-launch test only: 550 Mbps WireGuard, 120 Mbps OpenVPN | $119.99 on Amazon (checked 2026-11-12) | Buy on Amazon |
What the differences mean
- Price per Mbps of WireGuard rating: Beryl 7 $129.99 ÷ 1,100 = $0.12; Slate AX $119.99 ÷ 550 = $0.22; Slate 7 $159.99 ÷ 490 = $0.33; Beryl AX $98.99 ÷ 300 = $0.33. Per Mbps, the Beryl 7 costs about a third as much as the Beryl AX or Slate 7.
- Measured OpenVPN gap: about 1,000 Mbps on the Beryl 7 (NASCompares) ÷ about 100 Mbps on the Slate 7 (Mighty Gadget) = about 10×, and the Beryl 7 costs $30 less.
- Beryl AX against its own rating: on OpenVPN, The Gadgeteer measured 116 of the rated 150 Mbps (116 ÷ 150 = 77%). Its WireGuard result, about 300 Mbps, matched the rating.
- Power on the road: NASCompares measured the Beryl 7 at 3.7–3.8 W while streaming 4K to three clients. Mighty Gadget measured the Slate 7 at 7–8 W in typical use, so the Beryl 7 draws about half as much. At 3.75 W, 10 Wh ÷ 3.75 W ≈ 2.7 h of Beryl 7 runtime for every 10 Wh a power bank delivers.
- Distance to your VPN server: in one GL.iNet case, a traveler at 288 ms ping got 47.3 Mbps through WireGuard on a GL.iNet Flint 2 against 455 Mbps without the VPN (47.3 ÷ 455 = 10%). GL.iNet adds that this measurement alone does not establish latency as the primary cause, and lists router processing and MTU as other things to check.
| Your trip | Fits | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Hotel Wi-Fi under 300 Mbps and WireGuard connects | Beryl AX | The Gadgeteer measured about 300 Mbps WireGuard |
| The hotel network blocks WireGuard and you fall back to OpenVPN | Beryl 7 | OpenVPN close to 1,000 Mbps (NASCompares) against 116 Mbps (Beryl AX) and about 100 Mbps (Slate 7) |
| Running from a power bank | Beryl 7, on a 9 V PD port | 3.7–3.8 W measured, but it needs 9 V/3 A or 12 V/2.5 A USB-C PD |
Measured VPN speeds, and why hotels can force OpenVPN
WireGuard runs over UDP only. The WireGuard project says it "explicitly does not support tunneling over TCP". OpenVPN's comparison page says that a hotel firewall that blocks UDP traffic it doesn't recognize will also block WireGuard. OpenVPN can fall back to TCP port 443, where it looks like ordinary HTTPS traffic. On GL.iNet firmware 4, you set up that fallback by uploading your VPN provider's TCP .ovpn file. GL.iNet's docs quote CyberGhost that TCP is "a bit slower" than UDP. Download the TCP config before you travel. The OpenVPN figures below are upper limits for that fallback. Expect OpenVPN over TCP to run slower.
- Beryl 7: NASCompares (Rob Andrews, February 2026) measured OpenVPN-DCO "close to 1000Mbps over Ethernet" and WireGuard that "approached the advertised 1100Mbps ceiling under favorable conditions". VPN traffic ran 20–25% below non-VPN traffic. The router reached a public Wi-Fi captive portal (the hotel login page) about 35 s after start-up, booted in about 51 s and switched between internet sources in 4–5 s. The case measured 41–42 °C after an hour of streaming. $129.99: https://dealectric.com/go/glinet-beryl-7-gl-mt3600be
- Beryl AX: The Gadgeteer (Joe Porletto, 2023) got WireGuard speeds "closer to 300Mbps" and 116 Mbps on OpenVPN over a month of use. The review doesn't state the test server or line speed. $98.99: https://dealectric.com/go/glinet-beryl-ax-gl-mt3000
- Slate 7: Mighty Gadget (James Smythe, 2026) measured about 540 Mbps on WireGuard, above the 490 Mbps rating. It says OpenVPN "tops out around 100Mbps", about a quarter of the 385 Mbps OpenVPN-DCO rating (100 ÷ 385 = 26%). A GL.iNet forum owner (bigbang) measured about 500 Mbps WireGuard in a local wired test. On this router, use WireGuard.
- Slate AX: its only VPN figures come from GL.iNet's own 2022 pre-launch test: up to 550 Mbps WireGuard and 120 Mbps OpenVPN.
Power for the Beryl 7: it runs on USB-C PD. A GL.iNet staff member (will.qiu) warned on GL.iNet's forum that with only 5 V/3 A it "may not function properly". Use a charger or power bank port that supplies 9 V/3 A (27 W) or 12 V/2.5 A (30 W).
Not recommended
GL.iNet Slate AX (GL-AXT1800). At GL.iNet's US store it costs $10 less than the Beryl 7. For that it has half the WireGuard rating (550 vs 1,100 Mbps) and about an eighth of the OpenVPN rating (1,000 ÷ 120 = 8.3×), on older Wi-Fi 6, and its only VPN figures are the maker's 2022 pre-launch test.
Sources
- Beryl 7 measured OpenVPN-DCO and WireGuard speeds, 3.7–6.7 W power draw, 35 s captive portal, 51 s boot, 4–5 s failover, 41–42 °C case (NASCompares, read 2026-11-08) — nascompares.com
- Beryl 7 rated 1,100 Mbps WireGuard / 1,000 Mbps OpenVPN-DCO and Slate 7 rated 490 / 385 Mbps (NASCompares, read 2026-11-08) — nascompares.com
- Beryl AX rated 300 Mbps WireGuard / 150 Mbps OpenVPN, client mode (iTechGuides, read 2026-11-08) — www.itechguides.com
- Beryl AX measured about 300 Mbps WireGuard and 116 Mbps OpenVPN (The Gadgeteer, read 2026-11-08) — the-gadgeteer.com
- Slate 7 measured about 540 Mbps WireGuard, about 100 Mbps OpenVPN, 7–8 W typical draw (Mighty Gadget, read 2026-11-08) — mightygadget.com
- Slate 7 owner measured about 500 Mbps WireGuard in a local wired test (GL.iNet forum, read 2026-11-08) — forum.gl-inet.com
- Slate AX pre-launch test: up to 550 Mbps WireGuard, 120 Mbps OpenVPN (GL.iNet blog, read 2026-11-08) — www.gl-inet.com
- Slate 7 price $159.99, GL.iNet US store (read 2026-11-08) — www.gl-inet.com
- Slate AX price $119.99 and Wi-Fi 6, GL.iNet US store (read 2026-11-08) — www.gl-inet.com
- WireGuard does not support tunneling over TCP (WireGuard, read 2026-11-08) — www.wireguard.com
- Firewalls that block UDP traffic they don't recognize also block WireGuard; OpenVPN can fall back to TCP 443, which looks like ordinary HTTPS (OpenVPN, read 2026-11-08) — openvpn.net
- Uploading a provider's TCP .ovpn config on GL.iNet firmware 4; TCP is slower than UDP (GL.iNet docs, read 2026-11-08) — docs.gl-inet.com
- 47.3 Mbps WireGuard at 288 ms ping vs 455 Mbps without VPN (GL.iNet blog, read 2026-11-08) — www.gl-inet.com
- Beryl 7 may not function properly on 5 V/3 A alone; use 9 V/3 A or 12 V/2.5 A PD (GL.iNet forum, read 2026-11-08) — forum.gl-inet.com
Published 2026-11-05; updated 2026-11-12. The buy links are affiliate links; see the disclosure. Corrections welcome at [email protected] or /feedback.