Firewalla review
A straightforward appliance platform for firewalling, monitoring, VPN, and segmentation.
Reviewed by iTechGuides Editors · Editorial team · Updated Oct 2026
Firewalla is a network security platform centered on dedicated firewall appliances for homes, small offices, businesses, and professionally managed networks. It combines firewall rules and ingress/egress traffic control with network flow visibility, intrusion detection and prevention through Active Protect, segmentation, zero-trust controls, content filtering, ad blocking, and regional blocking. VPN server, VPN client, and site-to-site VPN features extend its use beyond basic traffic filtering. Administration is available through web, iOS, Android, and API access, giving small networks several ways to manage the appliance.
The published pricing model is hardware-first: the cheapest currently listed appliance is Purple SE at $289 as a one-time purchase, with availability and prices varying by region. Optional Firewalla MSP capabilities are subscription-based and support centralized management of multiple boxes. The platform also connects with Slack, IFTTT, and webhooks, which can fit notification and automation workflows without changing the core appliance model. There is no free plan, so the initial purchase is part of the evaluation for any small network.
Firewalla’s strongest fit is a small environment that wants one appliance covering firewalling, monitoring, network segmentation, DNS over HTTPS, Unbound DNS, filtering, and VPN functions. Its hybrid model also gives managed networks a path to oversee multiple boxes through MSP. Firewalla states that it does not decrypt or inspect the contents of encrypted HTTPS traffic, so organizations specifically requiring TLS inspection should choose an alternative. Overall, Firewalla suits buyers who value broad network controls in a dedicated device and a clear one-time entry price, but it is less suitable for teams seeking a free deployment or encrypted-traffic inspection.
Firewalla pros and cons
- Where it wins
- Firewall, Active Protect intrusion prevention, and traffic monitoring
- VPN server, client, and site-to-site VPN support
- Centralized management through Firewalla MSP
- Where it doesn't
- Requires an upfront hardware purchase starting at $289
- Firewalla does not inspect encrypted HTTPS traffic
- Some MSP capabilities require a subscription
Firewalla fact sheet, pricing and score →
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