Budget DIY firewallProtectli Vault FW4C (4-port, 8GB/120GB)
The FW4C is where most people should start with DIY firewalls: cheap enough to experiment, capable enough to protect a gigabit home for years. Step up to the VP2420 only if you need multi-gig throughput.
List price checked Jul 30, 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
The FW4C is where most people should start with DIY firewalls: cheap enough to experiment, capable enough to protect a gigabit home for years. Step up to the VP2420 only if you need multi-gig throughput.
The highlights are clear: four 2.5 GbE ports at a starter-friendly price; fanless, compact and completely silent; handles gigabit routing with IDS enabled; same coreboot openness as pricier Vaults.
It is not perfect — older CPU limits multi-gig and heavy VPN loads; no OS preinstalled — bring pfSense or OPNsense. For most buyers in this category those trade-offs are easy to live with, but weigh them against your setup before you click buy.
At a glance
Where this product shows up in our guides
- 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.
How it compares in Firewalls & Network Security
| Product | Our score | Price | Best for | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Protectli FW4C this review | 8.5/10 | $359 | first pfSense build, gigabit homes | |
| 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 → |
| Firewalla Purple SE | 8.9/10 | $289 | budget, first firewall | Review of Firewalla Purple SE → |
| 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 → |
Full ranking with the reasoning behind each score: all Firewalls & Network Security reviews.
