Security Gateway vs Edge Router from Ubiquiti Networks spec comparison

The Internet has made the entire world a global village. However, the primary equipment you would need for a perfect internet surfing experience is a router. If you are looking for the best-secured browsing experience, we have picked two edge routers you can put to great use. Let us check out the two networking equipment – Ubiquiti Unifi Security Gateway and Ubiquiti EdgeRouter and compare the two (Security Gateway vs Edge Router) of them concerning their features and functionality.

Related: Best Dual WAN Routers

Security Gateway Browser – An Overview

Unifi Security Gateway (USG) by Ubiquiti

Check on Amazon

The Unifi Security gateway, known popularly as USG, is small-sized hardware gateway device without the wireless connectivity. You would find it offering you the features beyond the ones found on the regular home-based router. One of the features that would make it one of the best options is the ability to block the incoming and outgoing IP addresses.

Source: Ubiquiti Networks

In addition to the feature, it also lets you set up a Virtual Local Area network with your USG. Another excellent feature we love with the router is that it offers you access to the updates for free and thus does not come with any sort of additional licensing costs.

The router comes with three Gigabit Ethernet ports and a console port as well. One of them is the WAN port. One of the ports is meant for VOIP calls as well. The router also offers you a Layer 3 (L3) capability. It also comes with 2 GB of RAM and 4GB of flash storage.

The Security gateway is a great product and works skillfully when used with Unifi products. The router is quite powerful, robust, and faster. The price point that it is made available at is what would make it a great choice. The compact design will help you make it an excellent option in terms of the placement of the equipment in your home or small office spaces.

The enterprise-grade router offers you an exceptional level of Advanced Security, Monitoring, and Management. The router also comes with the integration with UniFi® Controller Software.

The main difference between the UAG and ER is that the EdgeRouter has an onboard web user interface, while the GUI for the USG is done through the UniFi controller. Officially, the VOIP port is meant to be reserved for future use, but it can be enabled as an additional LAN port through the CLI (Command Line Interface). The CLI also allows for much greater configuration and control which is currently not present on the GUI.

EdgeRouter – An Introduction

Check on Amazon

EdgeRouter is yet another excellent option for securing your office or home networking needs and is arguably one of the most inexpensive options at that. Like its sibling USG that we just discussed, EdgeRouter also comes without any wireless functionality.

It is not much like the traditional routers we have been using. In sharp contrast to the modern routers that come with innovative and strange looks, the design offered by EdgeRouter is quite small and straightforward. You get a rectangular box-like structure without any fancy design. Of course, the earlier versions of EdgeRouter like EdgeRouter Lite came with a plastic appearance, but the new version is metallic.

Source: Ubiquiti Networks

Do note that the router is not the regular consumer type of options you would ideally get your hands on. It comes with EdgeOS and lets you configure it exactly the way you would want to. It allows you to set two of the ports as WAN for the continuous functionality of your internet. You can even use it as an OpenVPN server as well. However, all these aspects require you to learn it through a steeper learning curve.

The router offers you Advanced Security, Monitoring, and Management functionalities for enhanced performance. It also comes with high-performance Gigabit ports for enhanced communication and connectivity. Additionally, the UNMS app makes it possible to manage the EdgeRouter remotely from your Android or iOS devices.

The Comparison Chart for the Two Routers: Security Gateway vs Edge Router

Having gone through the two routers through a concise review of both of them, it may be a great option to compare the two of them through a side by side comparison chart. You can get a clear differentiation between the two routers and compare their features in a head to head comparison.

That was a complete comparison between a few salient features and functions offered by each of the router options. Please note that USG is available in two options like Security gateway and Security gateway Pro. Likewise, you can find the EdgeRouter in a few multiple versions – EdgeRouter Lite, EdgeRouter 4 and EdgeRouter PoE to name a few of them. We have compared the EdgeRouter Lite and Security Gateway non-Pro version for the sake of this comparison.

We assume that the comparison as featured in the above chart would provide you a brief idea into the features that the two routers offer you.

The Concluding Thoughts

Well, that is precisely what we have with respect to the two routers – USG and Security Gateway – and a brief comparison between the two competing siblings. Of course, the two routers are designed explicitly for varied purposes and should work efficiently in a scene that they have been developed for.

Have you used either of those routers for your application areas? If you have, do share your thoughts and experiences with either of them through the comments section here below.