OpenWrt vs DDWrt
Dec 2020 update: still all-in with OpenWRT, everything works beautiful.
Overall, OpenWRT if you really want flexibility. I dumped DD-WRT (WRT54G) for OpenWRT (ASUS WL-500gP) because of this (related to this), haven't had a regretful moment yet. Not even close.
- reliability – I am not aware that one is significantly more reliable than the other. Both have quite lengthy release cycles, which have yet another bunch of users complaining.
- performance – I'm pretty certain it mostly depends on the hardware device and best compatible drivers most of all.
- configurability – OpenWRT package management system should win easily here.
- ease of use – I liked DD-WRT web UI, I don't have a particular problem with LuCI either. LuCI just got bumped to 0.10 branch in 10.03.1-rc5, which is another step up. But overall I'm definitely loving OpenWRT's /etc. Things in there make sense when you need them to.
- support/docs – Both have phpBB forums with significant traffic.
OpenWRT all the way. Reasons:
- complete control
- modularity
- well organized
Given these parameters, you can judge the coding is in good hands. I am a developer, and I find OpenWRT very modular, very organized, with no limitations imposed. I can pick the modules I like, there are so many available. I can write an application straight in C or C++ and make it work under OpenWRT. I can change the device driver code to suit my needs.
And the whole procedure is documented well enough. Even if you are not a developer, you will find the modular approach in defining your system, stunning. A job well done by the OpenWRT team. And yes, I have used DD-WRT before using OpenWRT.