FRITZ!Box VPN or a ready-made kit? A fair comparison

How does a FRITZ!Box VPN differ from a ready-made kit?

With a FRITZ!Box VPN, your router at home is the VPN server and every device you travel with needs a VPN app. A ready-made kit like Homvoya brings its own home box and travel box; your devices simply join the travel box’s Wi-Fi. Both routes use your connection at home, and so your home IP.

General comparison. Individual FRITZ!Box models and FRITZ!OS versions may differ.

What do I need for a VPN to my FRITZ!Box?

You need a FRITZ!Box that gets a public IPv4 address or an IPv6 address from your provider, a MyFRITZ! address it can be reached at, and a VPN app on every device. The FRITZ!Box supports IPSec and WireGuard. AVM’s current WireGuard guide applies to FRITZ!OS 8.20 or later.

• Reachability: according to AVM’s WireGuard guide, the FRITZ!Box must get either an IPv6 address or a public IPv4 address from the provider.
• MyFRITZ!: AVM recommends registering the FRITZ!Box with MyFRITZ!Net so it can always be reached at a fixed MyFRITZ! address.
• An app on every device: for WireGuard you install the WireGuard app on your phone or tablet (Android, iOS); AVM has separate guides for computers.
• A suitable model: AVM says the FRITZ!Box 6590 Cable and 6490 Cable don’t support WireGuard.

A wizard on the FRITZ!Box walks you through setup. On phones, AVM says scanning a QR code is often all it takes, and many operating systems support IPSec out of the box. So you need some technical confidence, but no extra hardware.

Does the FRITZ!Box VPN work on DS-Lite?

Only partly. On DS-Lite your FRITZ!Box has no public IPv4 address of its own and can only be reached from outside over IPv6. The VPN then only works if the network you’re on also supports IPv6 – and AVM notes that some mobile networks and Wi-Fi hotspots don’t.

On a trip, that means it depends on the local network: it may work in one hotel and not the next. Port forwarding won’t change that, because the IPv4 address belongs to your provider. AVM describes the IPv6-only reachability on DS-Lite in its MyFRITZ! article.

Your provider may offer two ways out. If it supports the Port Control Protocol (PCP), the FRITZ!Box can set up port forwarding directly at the provider, says AVM. Or you can ask for a public IPv4 address or dual stack. Whether that’s possible, and on what terms, depends on your provider and tariff.

To check whether you have DS-Lite and what it means technically, read DS-Lite and CGNAT explained simply.

A VPN app on every device or one travel router for all?

A VPN app is handy if you only take a phone or a laptop. Once more devices come along – a tablet, TV, games console or a work laptop you can’t install software on – a travel router is more convenient. It builds the tunnel once, and every device on its Wi-Fi uses it automatically, with no app.

• VPN app: no extra hardware. But it has to be set up and switched on on every device, and devices without a suitable app are left out.
• Travel router: one more small gadget in your bag. In return, your laptop, phone and TV just see a normal Wi-Fi network, and nothing gets installed on them.

You can set up a travel router yourself, too: AVM documents WireGuard connections between a FRITZ!Box and routers from other manufacturers. The same requirement applies as with the app, though – your FRITZ!Box has to be reachable from outside.

The Homvoya Kit is exactly that kind of travel router, already paired with a home box. Because both boxes connect out to a relay server in the EU on their own, your line needs neither a public IPv4 address nor port forwarding. The step-by-step picture is on how Homvoya works.

What do setup and running cost?

The FRITZ!Box VPN is part of FRITZ!OS, so if you already own a suitable FRITZ!Box it costs nothing extra – mainly your time for MyFRITZ!, the VPN wizard and the apps. The Homvoya Kit costs 149 € one-off, with no subscription, and arrives pre-configured. With both, your home upload caps the speed.

Be honest about your time with the DIY route: on DS-Lite, calls to your provider and testing on different networks can add up. If you enjoy that, you save money. For the kit we recommend at least 10 Mbit/s upload; our guide to upload speed explains why it matters so much.

When is the FRITZ!Box route the better choice?

The FRITZ!Box route wins if your FRITZ!Box is reachable from outside, you’re comfortable setting it up, you only need a phone or laptop on the road and you don’t want to spend money. A ready-made kit suits DS-Lite or CGNAT lines, several devices or devices without an app, or not wanting to set anything up.

Go DIY with your FRITZ!Box if …

• your FRITZ!Box has a public IPv4 address, or the places you travel to reliably offer IPv6,
• you can set up MyFRITZ!, the VPN wizard and the app without help,
• you only use one or two of your own devices on the road and are allowed to install apps on them,
• you don’t want to buy extra hardware.

Choose a ready-made kit if …

• your line uses DS-Lite or CGNAT and you don’t want to depend on the hotel having IPv6,
• several devices, or devices without a VPN app, should use your home connection,
• you’d rather not deal with port forwarding and VPN profiles,
• the limits work for you: your home upload is the ceiling, your home connection must stay on, and the relay server is an extra hop.

Run the compatibility check to see whether your connection suits the kit.