Small switches for homelabs and homes
The right small switch for your network
Tell us what it is for and your budget. We check every small switch against that job, from the specs: port speeds, 10 GbE uplinks, VLANs, PoE, fan and size.
What do you want it for?
13 switches for 2.5 GbE network
UniFi Flex Mini 2.5G
5 × 2.5 GbE
Great fit$49
5 RJ45 ports at 2.5 GbE or faster
MikroTik CRS304
4 × 10 GbE + 1 × 1 GbE
Great fit$199
4 RJ45 ports at 2.5 GbE or faster
MikroTik CRS310-8G+2S+IN
2 × SFP+ + 8 × 2.5 GbE
Great fit$219
8 RJ45 ports at 2.5 GbE or faster
TP-Link TL-SX105
5 × 10 GbE
Great fit—
5 RJ45 ports at 2.5 GbE or faster
UniFi Flex XG
4 × 10 GbE + 1 × 1 GbE
Great fit—
4 RJ45 ports at 2.5 GbE or faster
Zyxel MG-108
8 × 2.5 GbE
Great fit—
8 RJ45 ports at 2.5 GbE or faster
22 switches · 7 brands · specs checked Oct 29, 2026 · Read the methodology
Best picks for each job
View all →Switches rated a great fit by our rules, cheapest first.
Four speeds of small switches
View all →Gigabit is cheap and cool; 2.5 GbE matches today's mini PCs and NAS boxes; 10 GbE is for the NAS, servers and the link between switches.
- 8 switchesGigabit switches1 GbE on every port: cheap, cool-running and plenty for TVs, consoles, printers, cameras and most Wi-Fi.About 110 MB/s per link: a bottleneck between a NAS and a 2.5 GbE mini PC.
- 6 switches2.5 GbE switches2.5 GbE on ordinary Cat5e cable: the match for today's mini PCs, NAS boxes and Wi-Fi 7 access points.Without a 10 GbE uplink, two busy 2.5 GbE devices share nothing faster.
- 4 switches2.5 GbE switches with 10 GbE uplinks2.5 GbE for the clients and one or two 10 GbE ports for the NAS, the server or the next switch.SFP+ uplinks need modules or DAC cables; 10GBASE-T modules run hot.
- 4 switches10 GbE switchesFour or five 10 GbE ports to tie together a NAS, Proxmox nodes and a fast workstation.More power and heat per port, and every device needs a 10 GbE card or module.
Every switch, every job
Our verdict for each switch and use. Open a switch to see the reasons.
| Switch | 2.5 GbE network | 10 GbE | VLANs | PoE | Homelab core | 10-inch rack | Silent |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MikroTik CRS304 | Great fit | Great fit | Great fit | Not suitable | Limited | Good | Good |
| MikroTik CRS305 | Limited | Great fit | Great fit | Not suitable | Limited | Good | Good |
| MikroTik CRS310-8G+2S+IN | Great fit | Good | Great fit | Not suitable | Great fit | Great fit | Limited |
| MikroTik CSS610 | Limited | Good | Good | Not suitable | Good | Great fit | Great fit |
| NETGEAR GS305E | Not suitable | Not suitable | Good | Not suitable | Limited | Good | Good |
| NETGEAR GS308E | Not suitable | Not suitable | Good | Not suitable | Limited | Good | Great fit |
| NETGEAR MS305E | Great fit | Not suitable | Good | Not suitable | Limited | Good | Great fit |
| TP-Link TL-SG105PE | Not suitable | Not suitable | Good | Great fit | Limited | Good | Great fit |
| TP-Link TL-SG108E | Not suitable | Not suitable | Good | Not suitable | Limited | Good | Great fit |
| UniFi Flex Mini | Not suitable | Not suitable | Good | Not suitable | Limited | Good | Great fit |
| UniFi Flex Mini 2.5G | Great fit | Not suitable | Good | Not suitable | Limited | Good | Great fit |
| UniFi Flex XG | Great fit | Great fit | Great fit | Not suitable | Limited | Good | Good |
| UniFi Lite 8 PoE | Not suitable | Not suitable | Great fit | Great fit | Limited | Good | Great fit |
| QNAP QSW-1105-5T | Great fit | Not suitable | Not suitable | Not suitable | Limited | Good | Great fit |
| QNAP QSW-2104-2T | Great fit | Good | Not suitable | Not suitable | Limited | Good | Great fit |
| TP-Link TL-SG105 | Not suitable | Not suitable | Not suitable | Not suitable | Limited | Good | Great fit |
| TP-Link TL-SG105-M2 | Great fit | Not suitable | Not suitable | Not suitable | Limited | Good | Great fit |
| TP-Link TL-SG108-M2 | Great fit | Not suitable | Not suitable | Not suitable | Limited | Not suitable | Great fit |
| TP-Link TL-SX105 | Great fit | Great fit | Not suitable | Not suitable | Limited | Not suitable | Good |
| TRENDnet TEG-S762 | Great fit | Good | Not suitable | Not suitable | Limited | Limited | Great fit |
| Zyxel MG-108 | Great fit | Not suitable | Not suitable | Not suitable | Limited | Not suitable | Good |
| Zyxel XMG-105HP | Great fit | Limited | Not suitable | Great fit | Limited | Good | Good |
Our picks
View all →Popular comparisons
View all →Latest guides
View all →- Buying guides· Oct 29, 202610 GbE at home: SFP+ or RJ45?
The two kinds of 10 GbE port, what cables and modules each needs, heat and power, and which small switch fits each.
- Basics· Oct 29, 2026Managed or unmanaged switch: which one do you need at home?
What a managed or smart switch adds (VLANs, link aggregation, mirroring), when an unmanaged one is enough, and what it costs.
How we work
Specs come from the manufacturers. The verdict for each use follows published rules, not gut feeling; scores and texts are our opinion and are labelled as such. Prices are dated references.
Read the methodology →