I noticed that the RB2011 series routers are more expensive than the hEX RB750Gr3, despite having worse performance and one less internal gigabit link to CPU.

The things that come to mind that could make the RB2011 more expensive are the extra 100Mbit ports, higher RouterOS license level and more system drive capacity. However I'm not sure if those features are useful enough to choose the slower more expensive router.

Are there other things that I'm not noticing that could make the RB2011 a better choice for certain scenarios? Does it have better reliability or longevity? Is there any scenario where the hEX should not be used but the RB2011 could be used (instead of a better router such as RB3011 or RB5009)? The question is about non-wireless RB2011 versions only.

I'm currently using a hEX, but considering an upgrade to something future-proof that can fit in a 10" rack. I'm not considering the RB2011 for that and I'll likely just go with RB5009. I was just curious what makes the RB2011 more expensive than the hEX when it doesn't seem like a better choice when just looking at the specs.

The question is, why is there a market for RB2011 if hEX exists? What makes RB2011 a better choice for those who buy it?

Is it just the higher license level, 100Mbit ports and disk space?

I also noticed RB2011's gigabit switch has a rule table but hEX doesn't, maybe that's the selling point?

Less components, lower costs.

Do not repair if it works. Model & configuration checked and proven to be reliable ... stay with it.