Ubiquiti UniFi Cloud Gateway Fiber vs Ubiquiti Dream Machine Special Edition (UDM-SE): Specs & Price Comparison

Ubiquiti UniFi Cloud Gateway Fiber

★ 5.0 Value Score

Firewall Throughput: Not published by Ubiquiti; 5 Gbps IDS/IPS-secured routing throughput is the only headline figure (reviewer and retailer listings)
Threat Prevention Throughput: 5 Gbps IDS/IPS
IPsec VPN Throughput: Not published
Max Sessions: Not published; 500+ simultaneous users and 4,000-entry MAC address table
New Sessions/sec: Not published
Interfaces: 2x 10G SFP+; 1x 10GbE RJ45 (10G/2.5G/1G); 4x 2.5GbE RJ45 (2.5G/1G/100M/10M); 2 of the 6 WAN-capable ports are default WAN (1x 10G SFP+ and 1x 10GbE RJ45), with the other ports selectable as WAN
Form Factor: Compact desktop; 212.8 x 127.6 x 30 mm; 675 g without SSD
CPU / RAM: Quad-core ARM Cortex-A73 at 2.2 GHz / 3 GB RAM
Storage: Optional NVMe SSD up to 2 TB (NVR storage)
PoE Budget: 30W total from one PoE+ port (port 4)
Max Power Consumption: 29.4W excluding PoE output

✔ Pros: Lowest-cost Ubiquiti gateway with 5 Gbps IDS/IPS, rated above the UDM-SE's 3.5 Gbps at a lower launch price ($279 MSRP vs. $499); Multi-gig flexibility with 10GBASE-T, dual SFP+ and four 2.5GbE ports; Compact desktop design with optional NVMe storage for UniFi Protect/NVR use; Supports site-to-site VPN plus OpenVPN, WireGuard and L2TP server functions, with integrated PoE+ for one device; Managed through the UniFi Network controller with 500+ simultaneous user capacity
✘ Cons: No official routing, IPsec or WireGuard throughput figures published by Ubiquiti; community WireGuard numbers (around 400-500 Mbps) are unverified; Only one PoE+ output port (30W total) versus eight PoE ports on the UDM-SE; Lower device and user capacity and less storage expansion than the UDM-SE; No published IPsec tunnel or concurrent session limits; Reseller prices now often run above the launch MSRP (about $320-$346 USD at US resellers)
Est. Price: $279 - $346

Ubiquiti Dream Machine Special Edition (UDM-SE)

★ 4.3 Value Score

Firewall Throughput: Not published by Ubiquiti
Threat Prevention Throughput: 3.5 Gbps IDS/IPS (Ubiquiti spec page; one retailer notes it was measured with iPerf3)
IPsec VPN Throughput: Not published by Ubiquiti; no UDM-SE-specific benchmark found
Max Sessions: Not published; Ubiquiti spec page lists 150 simultaneous users and marketing cites 1,000+ client support
New Sessions/sec: Not published by Ubiquiti
Interfaces: 8x 1GbE PoE/PoE+ LAN ports, 1x 2.5GbE RJ45 WAN port, 2x 10G SFP+ ports (most listings; one listing shows 1x 10G SFP+ and conflicts with this)
Form Factor: Desktop (1U-class chassis)
Processor: Quad-core ARM Cortex-A57 @ 1.7 GHz
Memory: 4 GB DDR4
Storage: 16 GB eMMC; 3.5-inch HDD bay (drive not included)
PoE Budget: Not confirmed in sources reviewed
Wi-Fi: None (wired gateway only)
VPN Protocols: IPsec, OpenVPN (client and server), L2TP server, PPTP; WireGuard supported per one review

✔ Pros: All-in-one gateway, controller, and PoE switch in a single unit; 8x PoE-capable GbE ports plus 2.5GbE WAN and 10G SFP+ uplinks; 3.5 Gbps IDS/IPS throughput makes it usable for moderate threat-prevention workloads; Lower entry price than UDM-Pro-class gateways with an included 3.5-inch HDD bay for local video storage; Runs UniFi OS with centralized management and frequent firmware updates; Supports multiple VPN protocols including OpenVPN and L2TP
✘ Cons: Ubiquiti does not publish firewall, IPsec VPN, or session-capacity figures, which makes sizing harder; IDS/IPS throughput drops significantly when threat management is enabled on all categories (community testing reports about 8 Gbps falling to about 3.5 Gbps); Only 4 GB RAM and a quad-core ARM CPU limit headroom for heavy IPS, VPN, or deep-inspection workloads; No built-in Wi-Fi, so a separate access point is needed; Conflicting port and session specs across retailer and official sources; Price varies widely by region, and no official USD MSRP was confirmed
Est. Price: $499 - $500

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