Budget DIY firewall
Protectli 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.
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What we loved
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.
In our testing the highlights were 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.
