Firewalla looks like ~$500 for a $50 device, closed source, includes free VPN, and ad blocking DNS…
Seems like all you can do I hope they do not spy on your traffic and sell data. I run a reputable VPN for that very reason I don’t trust even my publically traded ISP.
IDK, seems suspect. Or at least requires more trust than I am willing to hand out.
You seem to be confusing the built in VPN server for a VPN provider. I do not see a "free VPN" mentioned anywhere on the website or in the app. All this enables you to do is access your home network remotely, your data isn't being funneled to a third party server because the server is your router.
The DNS defaults to Cloudflare if I remember correctly. You can replace it with Unbound or DNS over TLS with your provider of choice.
The ad blocking is done with locally downloaded blocklists.
And you can do much more than VPN/DNS, so I'm not sure why you walked away with the impression that this is all you can do. You can configure VLANs, you get IPS/IDS, push alerts to your phone, tons of other features that put it more than on par with OPNSense/PFSense for my use case.
Regarding price, the value is in the software. Firewalla's UX is so far ahead of OPNSense or a UDM that I can't fathom going back to one of those. Seriously, both feel positively prehistoric in comparison. And I'm fine with paying for that, because software is expensive, and apparently no one else has managed easy to use software that supports a prosumer featureset, and I was sick of spending hours configuring my UDM or OPNSense router.
I get your concern about closed source, but that's not a problem for me personally - most of my devices run closed source code, including my Ubiquiti gear, and it's not like anyone compiles OPNSense or PFSense from scratch when installing onto their router anyways.
The thing cools fanlessly/passively, can do IDS/IPS + WireGuard server and client at 1Gb speeds, and is trivially easy to configure even with a smartphone, which neither my OPNSense DEC-840 or my UDM Pro could do (at much greater price points.) If you can find similar functionality and ease of use at a lesser price point, I'd love to know.
I had hesitation paying so much for a gateway but I gave it a shot and it’s amazing. It does what a gateway should do - notify you when things join your network, let you know if something is using “abnormal” amounts of data.. playing games (kids)… the device is worth $50.. but the software is worth the other $450 easily. If you have any care what goes on on your home network, buy a Firewalla. I’m honestly shocked they haven’t got bought and forced to some monthly subscription BS.
> I’m honestly shocked they haven’t got bought and forced to some monthly subscription BS.
Give it time. Nothing has made me believe in community-driven FOSS like watching the alternatives over a long enough time span. And to be fair, sometimes it really is a long time span, but the outcome is nearly always the same in the end.
Seems like all you can do I hope they do not spy on your traffic and sell data. I run a reputable VPN for that very reason I don’t trust even my publically traded ISP.
IDK, seems suspect. Or at least requires more trust than I am willing to hand out.