Ask HN: Opensource Ethernet Router OS

For a long time it seemed to be common practice in Berlin that people simply use OpenWRT on relatively cheap (<$50) Routers with Ethernet ports and Wifi.

This doesn't seem to be the case anymore. I investigated a little and wonder now even more what to do.

There is OpenWRT but some people even consider it dead. And there is LEDE which may not yet be fully usable. And both dev groups seem to be fighting with each other.

Then most router suggestions are $150++, some even over $200. Honestly I didn't plan to invest that much for a simple home wifi. I basically just need NAT and a playground, since my cable provider decided to put everything on the free internet without any protection because apparently IPv6 is suddenly cool.

So, does anyone has something additional to say about this? What would you do for the time being?