Best value firewallFirewalla Purple SE (Gigabit Smart Firewall)
Purple SE brings the same app, parental controls and threat blocking as its bigger siblings at an entry price. It is the right first firewall for any home on an internet plan up to about 500 Mbps.
Comparing? Is Firewalla worth it? Which model to buy →List price checked Oct 10, 2026 — the retailer's current price may differ. As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases.
What we like
Worth knowing
Why we recommend it
Purple SE brings the same app, parental controls and threat blocking as its bigger siblings at an entry price. It is the right first firewall for any home on an internet plan up to about 500 Mbps.
The highlights are clear: full Firewalla app features with no subscription; parental controls, ad blocking and intrusion alerts; tiny, portable, low power.
It is not perfect — rated for plans up to about 500 Mbps, so gigabit homes need the Gold SE; no WiFi radio — pair with an access point or router. For most buyers in this category those trade-offs are easy to live with, but weigh them against your setup before you click buy.
Want remote access to your home network through this box? The one-tap VPN server (and the per-device VPN client) is walked through in how to set up a VPN at home.
At a glance
Where this product shows up in our guides
- How to Set Up a VPN at Home (2026): App, Router or Your Own Server'Set up a VPN at home' means two completely different things. Work out which one you want, then follow the 10-minute path for it — most people never need port forwarding at all.
- What Happened to CUJO, Akita, RATtrap, Dojo & the Other 'Smart Firewall' Boxes — and What to Buy InsteadWe reviewed most of these boxes when they launched. Nearly all are gone — some are bricks. Here is the status of each, why the category died, and what replaced it.
- Best Router for Parental Controls in 2026Ranked on the thing most reviews skip: how easily kids can get around the controls. Free-forever picks first, subscription traps named.
- Firewalla vs pfSense for Home: The Honest Total-Cost ComparisonThe app-first appliance against the build-it-yourself firewall. The honest total cost — money and hours — decides it.
- Home Network Security: The Complete 2026 GuideEverything that actually matters, in the order it matters: router hardening, WiFi, guest networks, IoT, and when dedicated hardware earns its keep.
- How to Use Firewalla with eero or Deco Mesh (Bridge Mode)Keep the mesh you love, add the firewall it lacks: the working setup for Firewalla with eero and Deco, and the double-NAT trap to avoid.
How it compares in Firewalls & Network Security
| Product | Our score | Price | Best for | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Firewalla Purple SE this review | 8.9/10 | $289 | budget, first firewall | |
| Firewalla Gold SE | 9.4/10 | $519 | families, prosumers | Review of Firewalla Gold SE → |
| Ubiquiti UDR7 | 9.1/10 | $279 | prosumers, UniFi ecosystems | Review of Ubiquiti UDR7 → |
| Firewalla Gold Pro | 9/10 | $939 | 10G fiber, small business | Review of Firewalla Gold Pro → |
| Fortinet FortiGate 40F | 8.8/10 | $650 | small business, branch office | Review of Fortinet FortiGate 40F → |
| GL.iNet Flint 2 | 8.8/10 | $160 | VPN power users, OpenWrt tinkerers | Review of GL.iNet Flint 2 → |
| FortiGate 50G | 8.6/10 | $850 | small offices, FortiGate 40F upgraders | Review of FortiGate 50G → |
Full ranking with the reasoning behind each score: all Firewalls & Network Security reviews.
