I want a load balancer but they are usually not very cheap. So I am instead considering to buy an OpenWrt supported router/switch with a bare minimum config like gigabit ethernet ports and enough space to install luci-app-mwan3. Any recommendations? I live in India. Also, is luci-app-mwan3 a good alternative for a traditional load balancer in the first place?
Yes mwan3 works well for load balancing.
Usually load balancing is used with relatively slow ISPs, such as a case where you can only get ADSL at the site, so you buy two or more lines and load balance them. The really cheap devices with single core MIPS processors are fine for that, and you don't need gigabit Ethernet in that case either. If you really need to run multiple 100 Mb or faster lines you will need a fast CPU such as dual core ARM, and that pushes the price up into the US $100 range.
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The main reason I need this is because I do not get 100% uptime with any ISP in India. Therefore I am considering to get connections from two different ISPs. Do you have a router in mind? TP-Link devices are easily available over here and are within budget too.
Why doesn't OpenWrt support switches? This would have been a perfect solution. Damn!
edgerouter x?
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It is costing me 150 USD in India 
There are plenty of them that are supported with latest version.
The switches don't have OS like the routers have. You'd need to buy some expensive switch to have an OS and be able to manage it. Only exception I've come across is the Mikrotik 260GS, which is not supported by Openwrt. Hence there is not so much sense to invest effort in switches.
and I thought pricing was bad in CA. Maybe the espressobin device.
Edit: no, that would be the great white North.
@anomeome This one is like 100 USD. Anything that needs to be imported will be expensive in India. Do you think only your president can impose tariffs 
? (not sure if you were referring to California or Canada. But I suppose it's California since I have seen memes related to taxes in Cali). So I am still thinking to go with a TP-LINK device. The one I like is AC1200 but I just learnt that it runs a Broadcom chip and OpenWrt doesn't fully support it. So confusing 
Hey I think I can get it from someone who'll be coming from NA. But the question is how well does openwrt works with edgerouter x? Is it still in beta?
I use the gl-inet b1300 with 18.06.1 and mwan3.
Works perfectly for me....
It is on amazon.in
depends heavily on the bandwidth... i suspect if you only use mmwan a low-cost, homerouter-class device will work.
but for more than a few hundred mbps i would strongly recommend you look for "real" pc-class hardware (x86_64) or at least a celeron.
an old desktop computer with a second ethernet port will do nicely and is much(!) faster then high-end home-routers.
how many WAN connections do you plan on using?
I'm currently using the Netgear R6220 with OpenWrt, load-balancing with mwan3 works perfectly for my dual 40Mbps lines. (80Mbps, 10MB/s) while torrenting.
Considering the CPU usage when downloading at full capacity, the hyperthreaded 880Mhz Mediatek processor should handle Gigabit speeds easily.
The router goes for about 2199 rs on Amazon India, has gigabit ports, 128MB flash, 128MB RAM, however, the wireless range is noticeably poor, compared with TP-Link routers.
I'd suggest you go for the EdgeRouter X, you can find them for around 4500 rupees. And also, you can go for SBCs / custom mini-pc from Aliexpress with multiple Ethernet ports. [Orange Pi R1, Banana Pi R1].
I plan on using two with a combined speed of more than 100 Mbps (hence a gigabit router). The options you have given me sound really good. Thanks for this! I am not sure what are your sources but I seem not to be able to find Edgerouter X for that price anywhere.
Dude how did you afford it? You can also get it from aliexpress for quite less. But I think I'll ask someone to get me gl-inet ar750s from Canada.
Aah! I am planning to get myself a gl-inet ar750s from Calgary (strong and "import tax" free 
)
I got in contact with a seller from Chennai through email. He quoted 4500+gst+shipping. I can send you the contact details.
do you really need the portability factor?
the gl-inet 750s will cost you around 5500, you can get the Netgear R6400 for that amount. 1Ghz dual-core Broadcom CPU with AdvancedTomato support, pretty powerful I'd say.
Yes you are right. On the other hand, I am planning to wait for my Mi WiFi 4 to get support.