VPN, PFSense vs UDM, Features, Cost Worth It?

VPN
1

So I’m fairly new at networking and have been running just ISP modem/router historically (I’m a terrible person I know). I want something better now that I’m out of school, have a kid on the way, a growing number of smart devices, and will be moving to a bigger place sometime within the next 2 years.

I have AT&T fiber internet.

I know I want UNIFi switch and APs. I know VLANs and the ability to add more APs in the future is my path ahead.

WAF is already low over sticker shock given our current wifi is fine in her opinion. If she doesn’t understand it, it’s a waste of money.

I know from research, UDM Pro doesn’t support OpenVPN or have a ad blocker built in like PFSense does.

Questions/struggle point that hopefully you all can help me with.

  1. Do you use a VPN?
  2. Do you do it per device or are you using the un-officially supported script?
  3. Do I even need a VPN for home use (I don’t torrent or anything else to necessarily “hide”?
  4. Are you using PI hole?
  5. Do you notice a noticable difference with blocking ads?

I’m not sure if these features are nice to haves or something I should be going after. The 6100 PFSense box is more than double the UDM Pro. I’d like to buy once, cry once (hopefully for several years at least) but also don’t have money for just “nice to have” when this is all so expensive.
Note: I don’t have extra computer sitting around nor do I really trust myself to build a rig for PFSense.

Thank you all in advance for any assistance and insights! I appreciate it!

2

Thank you very much for the very detailed and complete answer! It’s really appreciated.

I know just enough to know what I don’t know and the learning curve ahead of me so filling in some of the blanks paints a better picture.

You are also correct about my question referring to a actually service, not external remoting in.

I’ll have to look more into OPNense now and the mentioned Atom system.

3

Wow! Thanks again! This is definitely a above and beyond reply.

I’m glad I have the weekend here to dig into all of this more!