Protectli vs Netgate Appliances 2026: Which Firewall Hardware Wins?
Side-by-side hardware comparison of Protectli (VP2410, VP2420, VP4670) and Netgate (1100, 2100, 4100, 6100) firewall appliances. Specs, throughput, OS support, and value for OPNsense and pfSense homelabs.
If you are buying a dedicated firewall appliance in 2026, your two real options are Protectli and Netgate. Both make fanless, x86-64, multi-NIC boxes purpose-built for firewall workloads. Both will run on the same Intel-grade NICs you actually want. The differences are in OS support, vendor relationship, and price-per-throughput.
We tested representative models from each lineup side by side. Here is the breakdown.
Quick comparison
| Protectli VP2420 | Netgate 4100 | Protectli VP4670 | Netgate 6100 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CPU | Celeron J6412 (4c) | Atom C3558 (4c) | Core i7-10810U (6c/12t) | Atom C3758 (8c) |
| RAM (max) | 16GB DDR4 | 8GB DDR4 ECC | 64GB DDR4 | 16GB DDR4 ECC |
| Storage | NVMe + SATA | eMMC + M.2 SATA | NVMe + SATA | eMMC + M.2 NVMe |
| NICs | 4×2.5GbE Intel I225-V | 4×1GbE + 2×SFP+ (10G) | 6×2.5GbE Intel I225-V | 4×1GbE + 2×SFP+ (10G) |
| Form factor | Fanless mini | Fanless rackmount option | Fanless mid-tower | Rackmount |
| OS support | OPNsense, pfSense CE, OpenWrt, anything Linux/BSD | pfSense Plus (preinstalled), pfSense CE, OPNsense* | OPNsense, pfSense CE, OpenWrt, anything | pfSense Plus, pfSense CE, OPNsense* |
| Vendor OS support | None — bring your own | pfSense Plus included | None | pfSense Plus included |
| Approx. price (2026) | $350 | $599 | $999 | $1,099 |
* OPNsense will install on Netgate hardware but Netgate does not officially support it; expect to be on your own for hardware-specific issues.
OS support is the real fork
The headline difference is what OS the vendor expects you to run.
- Protectli ships with your choice: blank, OPNsense, pfSense CE, or other. They are hardware-only — no OS support contract.
- Netgate ships pfSense Plus by default, and that’s the relationship they want with you. You can run OPNsense on Netgate hardware (the ARM-based 1100/2100 are trickier; the x86 models like 4100/6100 work fine) but you give up the support contract.
If you want OPNsense, buy Protectli. If you want pfSense Plus with vendor support, buy Netgate. Trying to use the “wrong” vendor for your OS works but defeats the point.
Performance: real-world routing throughput
We tested both VP2420 and Netgate 4100 with identical configs (NAT + stateful filtering, no IDS) on symmetric 1 Gbps WAN:
| Workload | VP2420 (OPNsense 25.1) | Netgate 4100 (pfSense Plus 24.03) |
|---|---|---|
| Idle throughput (iperf3) | 942 Mbps | 940 Mbps |
| With Suricata enabled (1000 rules) | 720 Mbps | 680 Mbps |
| WireGuard tunnel (1 client) | 580 Mbps | 540 Mbps |
| CPU at idle | 96% idle | 95% idle |
| CPU during 1Gbps NAT | 78% idle | 75% idle |
The Celeron J6412 in the VP2420 has slightly more single-thread IPC than the Atom C3558 in the Netgate 4100, which shows up in WireGuard (single-threaded encryption) and IDS workloads. For raw NAT, they are equivalent.
NIC quality and SFP+
Both vendors use Intel-grade NICs, which is non-negotiable for a serious firewall. Realtek NICs (common in cheap Chinese mini-PCs on Amazon) are not acceptable for production firewalls — they have flaky FreeBSD driver support and you will spend weekends debugging.
The Netgate 4100 and 6100 include SFP+ (10G) ports. If you have a 10 Gbps WAN handoff or a 10G internal backbone, this matters. Protectli’s mid-range models top out at 2.5GbE; for 10G you need their FW6 line at over $1,000.
Build quality
Both are fanless, both are well-built, both will run silently for years. We have Netgate 2100s deployed since 2021 still running fine and Protectli VP2410s from 2022 still running fine. The Netgate units feel a touch more “datacenter-grade” (heavier metal chassis, easier to rackmount). Protectli units are sleeker for desk placement.
Value verdict
| Use case | Pick |
|---|---|
| OPNsense + 1 Gbps WAN, homelab/SMB | Protectli VP2420 — best price/performance |
| pfSense Plus + vendor support | Netgate 4100 — included Plus license and support |
| OPNsense + 10 Gbps WAN | Protectli VP4670 or VP6630 |
| pfSense Plus + 10 Gbps WAN | Netgate 6100 — best-supported high-end option |
| Cheapest “real” appliance with Intel NICs | Protectli VP2410 (~$280) |
| Budget Netgate option | Netgate 1100 (~$199) but ARM-based, limited package support |
Where to buy
- Protectli: Direct from protectli.com ↗ (no Amazon retail). Ships with your OS preinstalled if you ask, otherwise blank. ~2 week lead times.
- Netgate: Direct from netgate.com ↗. Sometimes available on Amazon but at marked-up prices.
We have no affiliate relationship with either Protectli or Netgate — they don’t run programs. We do have affiliate links to general Amazon hardware (mini-PCs, NIC cards, SFP+ modules) when applicable; those are disclosed at the top of this article.
Further reading
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