Three Shields, side by side.
Same calm, local-first foundation. The difference between tiers is what each Shield does on top of protection.
Choose Shield Core
If you want quiet, network-wide protection. Ad, tracker and adult-content blocking, parental controls, SafeSearch, and per-device pause and internet schedules. And you don't need per-device app rules, local file sharing or media streaming.
Choose Shield Edge
If you also want per-device rules — SafeSearch per person, app blocking and schedules for individual devices — plus a private library on your network and travel Wi-Fi where you can plug into a router. And you don't yet need encrypted backups or cable-free travel Wi-Fi.
Choose Shield Vault
If you want all of the above, plus encrypted local storage, Time Machine for Macs, a recycle bin, travel Wi-Fi that joins hotel wireless — no cable needed — and Follow-Me Filtering, so your rules travel with the kids' phones.
Feature comparison
| Feature | Shield Core | Shield Edge | Shield Vault |
|---|---|---|---|
| Security and Privacy | |||
Privacy: no DNS company builds a profile of your householdAt home your Shield answers lookups itself; away, they go encrypted to a provider you choose.How this worksEvery site visit starts with a question — where does this website live? Whoever answers it can profile a household's health, money, faith and routine. Your Shield cuts out the middleman and asks the internet's address servers directly — so no profile lands with a DNS company, the café Wi-Fi, or us. Only your internet provider still sees the names (it already carries your traffic), and even that can be swapped for an encrypted provider you choose. Away from home, encryption hides the questions, not the destinations — the network you're borrowing can't read them. | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| You choose who answersHave the Shield answer for itself, or pick a provider — Cloudflare by default, change it whenever you like | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Nothing is sent to WOMBATSNo telemetry, no query logs, no browsing history — we couldn't read it if we wanted to | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| It still works if WOMBATS doesn'tNo activation server, no cloud login, nothing for us to switch off | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Rules that holdDevices can't slip past the filter using their own DNS settings or Apple Private Relay — and attempts show up on your dashboard | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| No cloud account that could be breachedThe dashboard lives on the Shield, on your network — there is no login for anyone to steal | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
No master key — this Shield only unlocks itselfEvery Shield's system is sealed by its own silicon; on Vault your files can be sealed too — switched on when you first set the drive up.How this worksThe system key is created inside this Shield's own silicon and never leaves it. Move the card to another machine and it is meaningless. There is no master key — not for a thief, not for us (AES-256 LUKS, key material burned into this board's one-time fuses). A drive you add yourself to Edge is yours to encrypt. | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
Private at home, private away — automaticallyIt follows where you are — nothing to set up.How this worksAt home the Shield answers lookups itself. On borrowed Wi-Fi it switches to an encrypted lookup, so the network you are on can't read your lookups — encryption hides the questions, not the destinations; the provider you chose answers them. | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Network Wide Protection | |||
| Adult content, ads, trackers & threats blockedEvery device on the network — computers, phones, tablets, TVs, smart devices | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Kids protected through SafeSearchGoogle, Bing, YouTube & other major search engines | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Block apps & services for the whole homeSocial media, games, streaming — 130+ by name | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Most Australian modems supportedModem Autopilot(setup wizard) configures in minutesover the Shield's own Wi-Fi — no app to install | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Network health & speed testsIs it the Shield, the modem or the internet? | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Per-device pause & internet schedulesPause internet or filtering, relax, excludeBedtime & school-night internet hours | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Per-device filtering & app blockingSafeSearch per personApp blocking & app schedules per device | — | ✓ | ✓ |
| Storage & Streaming | |||
| Family storagePhotos, videos & files, shared with every device in the house (SMB) | — | ✓ | ✓ |
| Local streaming serverMovies, music & photos to smart TVs — even older ones (Jellyfin, DLNA) | — | ✓ | ✓ |
| Local storage spaceEdge — BYO external USBVault — 256 GB internal SSDOptional 1 / 2 / 4 TB upgrade | — | ✓ | ✓ |
| Mac backups — Time MachineEvery Mac in the house backs up automatically | — | — | ✓ |
| Travel & Away From Home | |||
| Your own Wi-Fi wherever you stayPlug into the accommodation's router — your filtered Wi-Fi appears (ethernet uplink) | — | ✓ | ✓ |
| Works from host Wi-Fi — no ethernet cableJoins the hotel or Airbnb wireless — even networks with a login page (Wi-Fi uplink) | — | — | ✓ |
Follow-Me Filtering — your rules on their phones, anywhereKids' phones connect back to your Shield through a free app — the phone's owner can switch it off, and your Shield shows when it last connected.How this worksSame filtering on mobile data, at school, at a friend's place — the filtering still happens at home, on your own device. Set up by scanning a code. No accounts, and no cloud doing the filtering. | — | — | ✓ |
| Founding price (units 1–20) | $449 | $549 | $749 |
| Standard price (from unit 61) | $599 | $689 | $939 |
All Shields are part of the founding batch. Founding pricing is locked in for life. Free AU/NZ dispatch, GST inclusive (AU), international by Express courier. See pricing →
“If WOMBATS ceased to exist tomorrow, your Shield would keep working.”— Founder, WOMBATS Shield
Shield Core
Quiet, network-wide protection.
View detailsShield Edge
Core + per-device rules, private media & files.
View detailsShield Vault
Edge + encrypted backups & cable-free travel Wi-Fi.
View details