This is how I currently have my network set up. This can give you the “best of both worlds” and will allow you to use pfSense as your firewall/router, with Unifi switches/access points behind it. While you can technically purchase pfSense or Unifi networking gear, another thing to keep in mind is that you can use pfSense with Unifi switches and access points if you’d like.

There isn’t a right or wrong answer as far as which path you should take, but it’s important to realize that you have many different options and can buy an all-in-one device without configuration if you’d like – something that’s not possible with pfSense. If you want to have a more powerful network setup, you can buy a Unifi Dream Machine Pro, Unifi Switch, a Unifi Access Point, and you’ll have a system that’s extremely customized and will fulfill just about any requirements you throw at it. If you want an all-in-one device, you can buy something like a Unifi Dream Machine or Unifi Dream Router. Unifi HardwareĬomparing pfSense to the Unifi devices that you can purchase from Ubiquiti, there are tons of different hardware combinations that will fulfill just about everyone’s desires. The key point to remember here is that pfSense is software and that you will have a plethora of options as far as the physical hardware goes. You can also entirely bypass purchasing a router and dedicate an old desktop PC with something like an Intel i350 NIC to run an extremely budget-friendly pfSense setup. You also can entirely bypass purchasing the device from Netgate, and instead, purchase something like a Protectli Vault FW2B or Protectli Vault FW4B which will allow you to easily install pfSense on it and run your own router/firewall hardware. You can get pfSense working with Wi-Fi, but the general consensus (from Netgate) is that external access points will function better. You can purchase supported hardware from a company called Netgate, but the key point that you need to be aware of is that the hardware offered is generally a router and firewall ONLY. pfSense HardwareĪs mentioned above, pfSense is a software solution, rather than a hardware solution.

We’re going to break down the different hardware choices you have below. We’re going to break down this debate into various sections so that you can learn some of the key differences between both of these devices.

Netgate pfsense router