Routers

GL.iNet Brume 2 (MT2500) review

Who is this for? Anyone who already has a good router and wants to add VPN for all devices without replacing it. No Wi-Fi needed — purely a VPN gateway. The Brume 3 is the faster successor with 1,100 Mbps WireGuard.

Price: Paid
Updated: March 2026

GL.iNet Brume 2 (MT2500) review

Who is this for? Anyone who already has a good router and wants to add VPN for all devices without replacing it. No Wi-Fi needed — purely a VPN gateway. The Brume 3 is the faster successor with 1,100 Mbps WireGuard.

The Brume 2 is not a router in the traditional sense — it has no Wi-Fi. It is a VPN gateway: a small device you place between your existing modem and router, so all your devices automatically go through WireGuard without configuring each device separately.

Specifications

Property	Value
Processor	MediaTek MT7981 (ARM Cortex-A53, 1.3 GHz, dual-core)
RAM	1 GB DDR4
Storage	8 GB eMMC
Wi-Fi	None
Ethernet	1x 2.5 Gbps WAN, 1x Gigabit LAN
USB	1x USB 3.0
Operating System	OpenWrt
Power	USB-C
Version	MT2500 (plastic) / MT2500A (aluminium)
Price	Paid

How does a VPN gateway work?

Normally you configure WireGuard per device: once on your phone, once on your laptop, and so on. With a VPN gateway you do it once on the gateway, and all devices behind it automatically go through VPN — including devices that cannot run VPN themselves (smart TV, game console, smart home devices).

Setup:

Internet → Modem/ONT → Brume 2 (WireGuard) → Router → all devices

Or if your existing router already works as a modem bridge:

Internet → Modem → Brume 2 (WireGuard) → Switch/Wi-Fi AP → devices

WireGuard performance

The Brume 2 achieves approximately 310 Mbps WireGuard throughput. That is more than enough for most home connections — VPN servers from providers like Mullvad, ProtonVPN and IVPN rarely deliver more than 250–350 Mbps per connection anyway.

For symmetric 1 Gbps fibre, the Brume 2 is a bottleneck. For that, look at the Brume 3 or the Flint 2.

Advantages over VPN on a router

Works with any existing router: You do not replace your router. You place the Brume 2 in front of your existing router. Your Wi-Fi settings, devices, and network name remain unchanged.

Always on, silent, low power: The Brume 2 uses less than 5W. Just leave it running — no laptop required, no VPN app to forget to activate.

1 GB RAM, 8 GB eMMC: Enough for WireGuard, OpenVPN, AdGuard Home and DNS-over-TLS simultaneously without memory pressure.

2.5 Gbps WAN port: Future-proof for faster fibre connections.

Built-in features

Via the GL.iNet web interface (or OpenWrt CLI):

WireGuard and OpenVPN client
DNS-over-TLS and DNS-over-HTTPS
AdGuard Home (built-in DNS ad blocker)
VPN policy per device: route specific devices outside the VPN
Kill switch: block internet if VPN drops

MT2500 vs MT2500A (aluminium)

The only difference is the housing. The aluminium version (MT2500A) has better passive cooling — no fan, more durable for 24/7 use. If you plan to run the Brume 2 continuously, the aluminium version is the better investment.

Who is it for

Buy the Brume 2 if:

You have an existing router and Wi-Fi setup you want to keep
You want all home devices to go through WireGuard without per-device configuration
Your internet connection is under 300 Mbps (or your VPN server is the bottleneck anyway)
You want a simple, silent solution that just works

Choose something else if:

You also need a new router or Wi-Fi solution → Flint 2 or Flint 3
You want speeds above 400 Mbps through WireGuard → Brume 3
You need a travel router → Beryl AX

Caveats

This is not a full router replacement: The Brume 2 solves one problem very well, but only if you already have the rest of your network sorted. If you still need Wi-Fi, switching, or broader network features, you may be buying only half the solution.

Throughput ceiling matters: Around 310 Mbps is fine for many homes, but it is not fine if you specifically bought fast fibre and expect your VPN setup to keep up. In that situation the Brume 2 is no longer “good enough”; it becomes the limiting factor.

Gateway placement adds complexity: Putting a second box between modem and router is manageable, but it still means one more device, one more admin panel, and one more point of failure if something in the network stops behaving.

Pros and cons

Pros

About 310 Mbps WireGuard throughput — sufficient for most home connections
1 GB DDR4 RAM and 8 GB eMMC — can run WireGuard, AdGuard Home, and DNS-over-TLS simultaneously without memory pressure
2.5 Gbps WAN port — future-proof for faster fibre connections
Kill switch blocks internet if VPN drops — no accidental unprotected traffic
Under 5W power consumption — designed to run 24/7 silently

Cons

No Wi-Fi — not a replacement for a router, only adds VPN in front of an existing network
It becomes a bottleneck on faster fibre connections
The aluminium version is more attractive for 24/7 use, but not mandatory for everyone

Conclusion

The Brume 2 solves a specific problem: you want all your home devices to go through VPN without replacing your existing network. Compact, silent, energy efficient, and the 2.5G WAN port gives it some future headroom. For connections up to roughly 300 Mbps, it is a strong full-time WireGuard gateway.