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I have been using pfSense Plus as my firewall software for a couple years and have been impressed with its performance and features. I am running it on a dedicated Netgate Device (an older SG-5100 model). Even though this piece of hardware has been discontinued from production, I am under the impression that the pfSense software will continue to be compatible and maintained to run on this device for quite some time. If and when I DO have to migrate, I appreciate that the Community Edition (or open-source pfSense CE) is similar enough to the Plus version that I could just as easily run the software on my own dedicated hardware of choice. I also understand that there is an option to purchase a license to the Plus version which unlocks the ability to run the Plus version on a DIY machine.
At this stage in the game, running the commercial version of the pfSense Plus (closed source) firewall makes the most sense to me. The inherent simplicity and reliability of a full-fledged package with its own specialized hardware and software implemented with added features seems like a decent enough business model for a company - and I have no qualms with this approach. There are certainly FOSS purists among us who will adamantly disagree and oppose Netgate's shift away from the single-stream development model of the firewall software... but I am not one of them, and I appreciate all that the company has to offer.
The web-based user interface of pfSense is straightforward to use, which is important for me as someone who doesn't have a ton of experience with firewall software. The dashboard provides a helpful overview of the system status and traffic, configuration pages are intuitive, for they allow me to customize settings without feeling as overwhelmed as one might with a command-line interface. I also appreciate that the firewall rule builder is easy to use and allows complex rules to be easily created. The software supports various VPN protocols, which has been helpful for me because I have to connect to a VPN occasionally. Additionally, there are several packages that be installed on top of the stock firewall software - which can provide a network administrator with even more customization and other powerful tools.
One thing to note is that pfSense may require more technical knowledge than other firewall software options. However, there is a large and helpful community that provides documentation and support, so I haven't found this to be an issue. Overall, I would highly recommend pfSense Plus as a powerful and easily customized firewall platform that can meet the needs of organizations of all sizes. Although I am running a rather simple network in a small home office environment, I am enticed by the fact that the software is not only highly effective when applied to a niche use-case scenario - but it is just as capable when used in an enterprise-level network build. I am happy that I have become accustomed to the experience of hardening my network against intrusion and malicious attacks by using pfSense Plus. I feel reassured when I consider all the company has to offer, and I look forward to seeing what else they can come up with in terms of community support and feature development. I am looking forward to the years ahead - with what I hope is continued stability and reliability from both an excellent hardware vendor and a great software development firm! Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.
I find that the business model of providing support packages on a subscription basis is well out of my reach, financially - but I am happy to know that a decent amount of community support is available on the forums of Netgate and elsewhere on the internet as well. Also, if I were to nitpick upon the gritty details of the matter, I would like to see additional transparency and clarity regarding the shift to closed-source software - and what this means for the future of the Community Edition of pfSense. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.
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319 out of 320 Total Reviews for Netgate pfSense
Overall Review Sentiment for Netgate pfSense
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Awesome product I have ever seen in free of cost.
Very powerfull opensource Firewall with full bundeled packed.
Its very easy to use software and hardware, I can customize many things as like I can add additional ports and SSD ect..
I took only 30 minutes to make this product live very smooth and easy to implimentation.
Yes, I have TAC Enterprice support so I get very good quick and premium support as I usually get from many other premium Firewall provider. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.
Since this is opensource, If you know the concept then only this product is helpfull or else you will feel very dificylty to impliment itself. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.
Easy to install, Easy to understand, Easy to implement, rules creation and log check process use full and easy tounderstand and reporting pasrt also very stroing and use full bandwidth management and capping very easy.Very fast customer/tesc support. User it on daily basis. easy to integrated packages. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.
Backup process may have auto process for tackn and installation. CLI past have some comlications. path and storage auto cleaning process issue and version dependancey. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.
pfsense allow you to build your own router using your CPU that is no longer in use. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.
It is a bit hard to configure for the first time. But netgate did provide the user guide for installation/configuration that you can use as reference. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.
Is easy manage using the web interface. Comes with a good logic and help to solve the basics needs for standard connections Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.
Dont have options to interact confortly using CLI or scripting Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.
pfSense is easy and fast to deploy on a variety of platforms, depending on the use case. As an enterprise service provider, we assist our customers with the deployment and hosting of systems in our cloud environment as well as on-prem datacenters. These are typically customers who for reasons of their own are not willing to trust a public cloud with their data. Having the ability to choose a hardware solution or virtualized installation of the pfSense software grants lots of freedom in design and deployment.
The web-based interface is intuitive and responsive. It's certainly competitive with other offerings.
We have engaged with support on a one-off as well as TAC subscription basis and find Netgate / pfSense support to be first rate. We appreciate having a trusted partner. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.
pfSense update management can sometimes be a bit ungainly. We'd really appreciate the ability to enable automated updates, especially to patch security threats. Or perhaps even a notification that would be sent to the pfSense admin when a new update is available.
Oftentimes the only time a user realizes there is an update is when they log into the web interface, and many of our users can go weeks or months between log-ins. A push or email notification would be helpful in this regard.
Lower-end pfSense appliances from Netgate have shown themselves to be a bit flaky. They will lock up on updates, or sometimes lock up for no reason at all. When this happens, we've noted that even a reboot of the system doesn't bring it back online and it must be accessed via emulated serial console (over USB) in order to manually walk it through a startup sequence. This is extremely problematic at remote / unstaffed locations. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.
I have been using pfSense for many years. First on my own hardware and later on netgates hardware. The System is easy enough to use but also gives you the ability to have fine tuned rules.
I think because the pfSense Firewall software is open source and has a very large community you have a higher chance to find solutions to edge cases than with other non-open source firewalls. Some solutions might feel a bit hacky but there's always a way to get the software to behave like you want Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.
I have had a few clients which have the 1000+$ Netgate 7100 hardware firewall which have had heat related problems (total freeze if the temperature exeeds a value that it was easily reaching in normal use).
After opening the case I realized the heat sinks were mounted in the wrong orientation (not with, but against airflow) which seemed to be a production error because later versions of this firewall had the fans on the side and the rotated orientation would make sense there but not with the version my customers had.
After fixing the orientation of the heat sinks I had no more overheating problems though. Thanks to the standard hardware it was easy enough to fix. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.
I can configure just about anything in pfSense. It is a much better value offering than other vendors, and due to its open source nature, I was even able to fix a bug in the ACME package that handles Let's Encrypt certificate renewing.
The interface is not extremely modern but it is very functional.
I also buy Netgate hardware for my devices, but this is not a requirement, which I love. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.
There is controversy in the community about some of Netgate's historical practices around a competing project called OPNsense, so any time a question or problem is posted, a pack of seagulls descend on the post to say they use OPNsense instead. Great, thanks?
I do hope that Netgate continues to ignore the drama and make a great open source product I can depend on. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.
Switching from a rather locked down routing software to PFSense has been a great experience. Configuration of PFsense from the Setup Wizard to customizations such as the implementation of site-to-site VPNs, HAProxy, DNS and PFBlockerNG. The abiliity to also have a Configuraiton Backup and easily spin-up a virtual Router should the physical hardware fail is also a relief. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.
I haven't really experience anything that I dislike all that much. I suppose, it would be nice to have a Dashboard that could auto-populate with features that would be of interest rather than having to determine yourself what you want to visualise. Though, I suppose that's the power of running your own Firewall - You can control what you do and don't want to see. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.
The first upside of using pfSense is of course the ease of use, and the great interface. It may not be as complete as what Palo Alto offers for example but realistically, the price range is not the same. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.
I have to say, I don't really like the firewall logs, I think there is room for improvements like for example pagination on live monitoring.
It would be awesome to see an application based firewall, even if it comes with a specific version of pfSense. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.
The pfSense software is widely-known and very flexible. There are considerable resources on the Internet, from books to videos. Good technical support from Netgate. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.
I'm used to configuring routers and firewalls for my advanced home network. pfSense had a learning curve for me. It would be nice if there were a more intuitive visual interface where it's more obvious that firewall rules and DHCP servers are based on interfaces, and aliases are definitions that go into the rules and such.
Also, it should be much easier to analyze and reduce bufferbloat and other common connection nonidealities. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.
