Is the UniFi EFG Worth the Premium Price?

In this video, I put Ubiquiti’s two most powerful #UniFi gateways head-to-head: the UDM Pro Max vs the Enterprise Fortress Gateway (EFG). On paper, the EFG looks like a monster — an 18-core ThunderX2 CPU, 25-gig SFP28 ports, more RAM, higher IDS/IPS ratings, and a price tag that’s more than double the UDM Pro Max. But specs don’t move packets — real networks do. I’ve been running the UDM Pro Max in production with a 5-gig Internet connection and a router-on-a-stick VLAN design, and I started noticing some things didn’t line up with the performance claims. Once I got my hands on an EFG, I decided it was time to stop guessing and start testing. What’s covered in this video: • UDM Pro Max vs EFG hardware and feature breakdown • UniFi IDS/IPS throughput claims vs real-world results • 5-gig Internet speed tests directly from each gateway • Real inter-VLAN routing performance using iperf3 • Router-on-a-stick design explained (North-South vs East-West traffic) • Why CPU-based routing still limits UniFi gateways • Honest thoughts on value, pricing, and who each device is actually for Real-world testing (not marketing slides): • UDM Pro Max Internet throughput results • EFG Internet throughput (empty + in-production) • Inter-VLAN routing performance comparison • Why neither device comes close to line-rate routing at 10G+ My honest take: If you’re buying UniFi gear for raw packet-pushing performance, you might be disappointed. But if you’re buying it for the UniFi experience, tight integration, and that sweet single-pane-of-glass dashboard — well… that’s a different story. **GET SOCIAL AND MORE WITH US HERE!** Get help with your Homelab, ask questions, and chat with us! 🎮 https://discord.gg/5TcfBWBB7S **Check out HomeLab Gear for all your homelab needs!** 💿 https://homelabgear.shop/ Subscribe and follow us on all the socials, would ya? 📸 https://instagram.com/2guystek 💻 https://facebook.com/2guystek Find all things 2GT on our website! 🌍 https://2guystek.tv/ More of a podcast kinda person? Check out our Podcast here: 🎙️ https://www.buzzsprout.com/1852562 **TIME STAMPS** 0:00 | Intro 0:59 | Feature comparison between UDM Pro Max and EFG 2:40 | Level setting on the UDM Pro Max and the EFG 3:18 | My feelings on the UDM Pro Max up till now 4:00 | Let's talk about network design and how my network is built 4:55 | Testing Internet throughput on the UniFi UDM Pro Max and EFG 6:58 | Testing inter-VLAN routing throughput on the UDM Pro Max and EFG 8:27 | The truth about Ubiquiti's inter-VLAN routing 9:00 | Final thoughts and opinions on the UDM Pro Max and the UniFi EFG 11:32 | Closing! Thank you to our supporters!