UniFi UDM-Pro vs UDM-SE: 180 W of PoE

These two are the closest pair in the rack half of the range, sharing a quad-core A57 at 1.7 GHz, 4 GB of memory, the same 3.5 Gbps IDS/IPS rating, the same 1U case at 442.4 × 43.7 × 285.6 mm, and identical ratings for 100+ UniFi devices, 1,000+ users, and 24 HD cameras.

So the comparison is not about ceilings, because those match. It is about whether the gateway also feeds the devices around it, and that turns on one number: 180 W. How to choose a UniFi gateway places both among the eight gateways this site tracks.

A hundred and eighty watts is a real switch's worth of budget rather than a token port. It carries roughly eight G6 Bullet cameras at 9.9 W each with headroom, or a mix of cameras and access points — a U7 Pro draws up to 21 W on PoE+.

That is the case for the SE stated plainly: for a small site, it removes a device from the rack. A PoE switch costs more than $120 and takes another rack unit, so where the camera count fits inside 180 W the SE is the cheaper and tidier build. PoE budget planning works through the arithmetic before the order.

Past that budget the logic inverts, because a site with twenty cameras needs a switch regardless, and then the UDM-Pro's $120 saving is simply a saving.

For a fibre line terminated on SFP+, this row does not matter, since both take 10G there. For a copper handoff from a multi-gig ONT or cable modem, it decides the build: the SE takes that line directly, and the UDM-Pro needs the service to arrive on fibre or be stepped down to a gigabit.

Both rate IDS/IPS at 3.5 Gbps, so inspection is not the constraint on either. UniFi uplinks and aggregation covers what the SFP+ side can carry.

The drive is a user-supplied purchase on both, and the camera ratings are identical, so the recording capability is the same on paper. The SSD on the SE holds the system and gives the appliance somewhere faster to work than eMMC.

Memory matches at 4 GB, and Ubiquiti rates both for the same 100+ UniFi devices and 1,000+ users. If those ratings are the constraint rather than PoE, the step to take is the Dream Machine Pro Max rather than either of these.

That matters for a UPS calculation more than an electricity bill, because a rack sized for a 33 W appliance is not sized for one that can pass another 180 W to cameras. Work from the loaded figure, not the idle one.

The SE is also the heavier unit at 5 kg against 3.9 kg, which is the power supply and the PoE circuitry. Both occupy 1U, both list a 1.3-inch touchscreen, and both operate from -10 to 40 °C.

The routing ceilings are identical, so this is a question about what plugs in behind the gateway.

Buy the Dream Machine SE if:

• Cameras or access points need power. 180 W is the whole argument, and it usually saves buying a switch.
• Your line arrives on copper above a gigabit. Its 2.5 GbE WAN takes that directly.
• You want fewer boxes in the rack. Gateway, PoE, and Protect in one unit.

Buy the UDM-Pro if:

• A PoE switch is already racked. The SE's main feature is then redundant, and $120 stays with you.
• Nothing needs more than gigabit on copper. Both have 10G SFP+ for anything faster.
• The rack is power-budgeted tightly. 33 W against 50 W before any PoE draw.

If the constraint is scale rather than power, UDM-Pro vs Dream Machine Pro Max is the step up, and Cloud Gateway Fiber vs UDM-Pro asks whether a rack is needed at all.