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Honest comparison · 2026

GridM BNG vs BISON Router

BISON Router (formerly TheRouter) is a high-performance software router for ISPs that runs BNG, CGNAT and NAT64 on commodity x86. Both products are software on standard servers, so this comparison focuses on what differs: how each is operated, what is built in, and how it is priced.

GridM BNG

Cloud-native software BNG

VS

BISON Router

Incumbent platform

Side by side

GridM BNG vs BISON Router: the decision factors

Factor
GridM BNG
BISON Router
Architecture
Disaggregated software BNG on commodity x86
DPDK software router with BNG, CGNAT and NAT64 functions on x86
Hardware
Any OEM or white-box server, merchant NICs
Commodity x86 servers with supported NICs
Scaling model
Horizontal scale-out, add nodes with ECMP
Scale up per server; multi-server designs are engineered by the operator
Licensing
One plan, all features; ₹2/sub in India, $0.10/sub globally
Per-instance licensing with capacity terms; verify current terms
Deployment options
Bare metal, VM, containers or Kubernetes
Bare metal or VM
Upgrades
In-service software upgrades, canary per node
Version upgrades planned around maintenance windows
Management & APIs
One central web console, cluster-wide, plus a REST API for billing
Configuration-file and CLI driven
Observability
Real-time per-subscriber analytics, built into the console
Counters and logs; deep per-subscriber analytics need external tools
CGNAT and IPv6
Integrated CGNAT + native dual-stack IPv6, included
CGNAT and NAT64 modules included; IPv6 supported
Cost model
Pay as you grow on commodity hardware
Competitive software pricing; operations tooling is do-it-yourself

Vendor information is indicative, compiled from publicly available sources, and may change without notice. Product capabilities, licensing models and pricing vary by platform, software release and region. Verify current details with the respective vendor. Cisco, Juniper, Nokia, MikroTik, BISON Router, 6WIND, IPACCT, netElastic, VAS Experts, Accel-PPP, DANDY NETWORK and RtBrick are trademarks or project names of their respective owners; GridM is not affiliated with or endorsed by them.

Why operators choose GridM

  • One central web console for the whole cluster instead of per-server configuration files
  • DDoS protection, flow analytics, IPDR search and compliance workflows built in, nothing external to run
  • N+1 clusters with session sync and hitless failover, not hand-built multi-server designs
  • One plan with every feature, priced per subscriber

Where BISON Router shines

BISON Router is known for excellent raw forwarding performance on DPDK, terminates PPPoE, IPoE and L2TP subscribers with CGNAT and NAT64 included, and has a following among ISPs that value a lean, fast data plane.

We believe in honest comparisons. Pick what fits your network; when the criteria are cost per subscriber, automation and freedom from lock-in, we are confident in GridM.

The verdict

If you want a lean, very fast software data plane and are comfortable operating it from configuration files with your own monitoring stack, BISON Router is a solid choice. GridM BNG delivers comparable software economics with the whole operating model built in: a central console, clustering with session sync, DDoS, analytics and compliance, on one per-subscriber plan.

Request a demo Explore GridM BNG
FAQ

Switching from BISON Router: your questions

For the BNG/BRAS role, yes. GridM BNG terminates PPPoE and IPoE subscribers, enforces per-plan QoS, speaks RADIUS with CoA and provides CGNAT and dual-stack IPv6, the functions operators deploy BISON Router for at the broadband edge. Routing and other roles BISON Router platforms may also serve are evaluated separately in your design.

Compare GridM BNG with others

vs Cisco BNG vs Juniper MX BNG vs Nokia 7750 BNG vs MikroTik vs Legacy hardware BRAS vs 6WIND vBNG vs IPACCT vs netElastic vBNG vs VAS Experts Stingray SG vs Accel-PPP vs Dandy vBNG vs RtBrick BNG

Planning a move from BISON Router?

Bring your topology to a demo. We will map the migration path, the hardware bill and the payback period with you.

Request a demo Talk to sales

Runs on your hardware · One plan, every feature · Migrate in slices