Ubiquiti today is launching a new and more affordable way to get into its popular networking platform. The new Gateway Lite arrives with a lower-end price tag as well as a feature set that’s better suited for home usage – rather than some of its higher-end enterprise gear.
If you’ve been looking for a more entry-level solution to dive into the UniFi ecosystem, the Gateway Lite is here. Ubiquiti is slimming down its routers to deliver an even more affordable option for those who want to take advantage of the prosumer perks of the platform, but without having a more full rack mounted setup.
The box is hardly bigger than an Apple TV, and packs in support for most of the company’s usual features. It integrates with the usual UniFi Network Server management interface as you’d expect, but also needs a Cloud Key for any kind of remote access. This is effectively just a new iteration of the USG, which used to be the company’s entry-level solution a few years back.
There are some drawbacks to this approach, mainly in that you’re only looking at a single Ethernet input and output – one for your Internet connection from an ISP and one for plugging into a switch or access point. It’s still powerful enough to handle most home networking tasks, and Ubiquiti specifically mentions that it has 10 times the routing performance compared to that original USG.
The whole UniFi Gateway Lite package is powered just from a USB-C wall adapter, which Ubiquti thankfully includes in the box.
With the more barebones approach, you’re only going to be paying $129. This is hardly a bad price these days for something as robust as Ubiquiti’s ecosystem – but the pricing is going to add up quickly. You’ll need to connect an external access point, as well as a Cloud Key if you want any kind of remove access.
The UniFi Gateway Lite follows up many of the company’s other attempts to bring its networking ecosystem to the masses. We’ve seen quite a few entries into the Dream Machine lineup, which feature all-in-one approaches with both routers and access points combined into a single package.
Catch up on UniFi Diary pieces at Electronicsforward:
- UniFi Diary: Detailing my 80TB Synology NAS, Mac mini, and Ubiquiti setup
- UniFi Diary: After 3 years with the USG, I’m finally upgrading to the Dream Machine Pro
- UniFi Diary: Wi-Fi 6 is finally here, but is it worth upgrading your Ubiquiti setup?
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