Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

FreeBSD VS VyOS

Compare FreeBSD VS VyOS and see what are their differences

FreeBSD logo FreeBSD

FreeBSD is an advanced operating system for x86 compatible (including Pentium® and Athlon™)...

VyOS logo VyOS

VyOS in an open source Linux-based operating system sold and distributed by Sentrium corporations. It is geared toward IT specialists and network administrators for the purpose of securing network and company data... read more.
  • FreeBSD Landing page
    Landing page //
    2018-09-29
  • VyOS Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-09-14

FreeBSD videos

FreeBSD 12 Review - Used as my daily OS

More videos:

  • Review - A Look and brief introduction to FreeBSD 12.1
  • Review - I tried FreeBSD! - here's what I think of it

VyOS videos

VYOS Reihe by Mr Beard Review Release April 19

More videos:

  • Review - VyOS as a Simple Lab Router
  • Review - VyOS Router Install and Configuration (New version)

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to FreeBSD and VyOS)
Operating Systems
40 40%
60% 60
Linux
46 46%
54% 54
Linux Distribution
100 100%
0% 0
Perimeter Security And Firewalls

User comments

Share your experience with using FreeBSD and VyOS. For example, how are they different and which one is better?
Log in or Post with

Reviews

These are some of the external sources and on-site user reviews we've used to compare FreeBSD and VyOS

FreeBSD Reviews

Best free Linux router and firewall distributions of 2023
OpenBSD and FreeBSD are actively developed and are very capable, but these systems require a high level of understanding of operating system internals and low-level networking to be used as routers.
Source: teklager.se
Avoid The Hack: 11 Best Privacy Friendly Operating Systems (Desktops)
With "Linuxulator," FreeBSD has compatibility with Linux binaries. Linuxulator can run unmodified Linux binaries without using virtual machines or emulation. Additionally, FreeBSD has tens of thousands ported libraries and applications.

VyOS Reviews

Best pfSense Software Alternatives and Competitors
VyOS is a community clone of Vyatta which is a Linux-based network operating system that has software-based routing, firewall, and virtual private network (VPN) capabilities. VyOS firewall offers network security services such as a web proxy, DHCP server and relay, and DNS forwarding. The VyOS firewall is compatible with IPv4 and IPv6, zone-based firewalls, and numerous NAT...
The Best Open Source Router OS Software for Large or Small Networks
One of the strengths of VyOS is its command-line interface (CLI), which allows for detailed configuration of networking features. The CLI is similar to the Juniper Networks Junos CLI, making it a good choice for users familiar with that platform. Additionally, VyOS includes a web-based GUI for configuring basic networking settings. VyOS’s strengths also include its advanced...
Best free Linux router and firewall distributions of 2023
VyOS must be managed from the command line, and it requires a high level of expertise to maintain and use. If you are a Linux expert, have some time on your hands, and love the command line interface, you can give it a shot - some of our customers use it successfully. However, it's not a good choice if you are a home user who just wants to get things done. There are two...
Source: teklager.se
5 Router OS Turns Old PC Into High Performance Router And Enterprise Network Switch
VyOS runs on a wide range of hardware from small office routers to large servers, as well as virtual machines and multiple cloud providers. VyOS is not just a router, it’s an open, customizable platform for network devices. Fully Open Source: Its entire codebase and build toolchain are available to everyone for auditing, building customized images, and contributing.
The Hunt For the Ultimate Free Open Source Firewall Distro
Thank you for the post! I would like to add a point if possible. As far as i know VyOS has dmvpn functionality available, which is a thing to consider for large-scale and rapidly growing companies. Other software routers do not have such thing as far as know.

Social recommendations and mentions

VyOS might be a bit more popular than FreeBSD. We know about 30 links to it since March 2021 and only 21 links to FreeBSD. We are tracking product recommendations and mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you identify which product is more popular and what people think of it.

FreeBSD mentions (21)

  • I've never used FreeBSD and have some questions
    Aside from being UNIX based, what similarities does it share with Linux? Both have monolithic kernels. Source based build systems are offered (ports, which are like the portage system on Gentoo) as well as binary build systems (pkg, which is like apt, yum, pacman, etc.) Both offer a lot of free software, though more licenses are compatible with FreeBSD like CDDL, which is not compatible Linux. Both let you... Source: 7 months ago
  • FreeBSD turns 30 today!
    There's no mention of a birthday on their site, and its footer says 1995-2023. That must be just the site, because Wikipedia tells me FreeBSD's initial release was indeed, but not quite, 30 years ago, November 1st 1993. Still no birthday. Source: 12 months ago
  • Computer
    I'm not the right person to ask this -- I just run it on whatever I happen to have. But I think sleep and wifi (for example) have issues with different hardware, so you'd have to do your homework. The FreeBSD handbook on freebsd.org is always very helpful to me. You can try it out with a live cd / thumbdrive to see how much supported hardware you've got. My Lenovo X1 from a couple years ago works for what I... Source: about 1 year ago
  • Can SGI’s Enthusiast Community Bring IRIX Back to Life?
    People are still actively working on Illumos. The last change was yesterday morning. * https://illumos.org People are still actively working on MirBSD. There's a CVS commit account that can be followed on the FediVerse. * http://www.mirbsd.org It's DragonFly BSD, not Dragon BSD, and the irony of that is that you missed FreeBSD, which is of course still going. * https://dragonflybsd.org * https://freebsd.org As... - Source: Hacker News / about 1 year ago
  • X220 and beer. A lovely combo, especially with FreeBSD.
    A open source free and stable Unix-like operating system. Read more at http://freebsd.org. Source: about 1 year ago
View more

VyOS mentions (30)

  • VyOS From Scratch – Edition 1 (set up your own router)
    Might be worth adding a paragraph about what VyOS is, maybe not for the target audience but certainly for HN. https://vyos.io/ The VyOS website says: > Democratizing how we access networks through a universal Router and Open source software. > Our vision at VyOS is to dramatically change how we access networks so that we can all build the solutions we always dreamed of, without restrictions, limitations, or... - Source: Hacker News / 11 months ago
  • VyOS is the next-generation network operating system
    VyOS is the next-generation network operating system that’s revolutionizing the way businesses manage their networks. With its powerful tools and intuitive interface, VyOS makes it easy to manage and configure even the most complex networks. Plus, with its open-source architecture, you have access to a community of developers and users who are constantly improving and expanding the capabilities of the system. Source: about 1 year ago
  • Advice for a high school networking lab
    VyOS https://vyos.io/ is my go-to for open source CLI focused router platform. Configuration syntax is similar to that of Juniper. I believe as an educational institution you would qualify for free LTS images from them. They’re super friendly to reach out to, and seems like they’re still actively developing some really cool features. They do support WiFi interfaces, among many others. Pretty decent online docs too! Source: about 1 year ago
  • linux network project ideas
    There's VyOS if that's what you're looking for? If you want to do everything from scratch, just use Debian/Ubuntu and configure all the components individually. Source: about 1 year ago
  • VPN Site to SIte (Fortigate or Asus)
    If you absolutely have to do your homelab experiments in production, at least do it properly. Get some decent hardware (I just got a pair of these, they are fun: https://www.pcengines.ch/apu2.htm) and install something like https://vyos.io/ or opnsense or ipfire or something. Then you might actually learn something, plus in my experience these much more stable than cheapass consumer crap. Source: over 1 year ago
View more

What are some alternatives?

When comparing FreeBSD and VyOS, you can also consider the following products

Arch Linux - You've reached the website for Arch Linux, a lightweight and flexible Linux® distribution that tries to Keep It Simple. Currently we have official packages optimized for the x86-64 architecture.

OPNsense - OPNsense® you next open source firewall. Free Download. High-end Security Made Easy™. Offers Intrusion Prevention, Captive Portal, Traffic Shaping and more.

Ubuntu - Ubuntu is a Debian Linux-based open source operating system for desktop computers.

pfSense - pfSense is a free and open source firewall and router that also features unified threat management, load balancing, multi WAN, and more

Linux Mint - Linux Mint is one of the most popular desktop Linux distributions and used by millions of people.

MikroTik RouterOS - The main product of MikroTik is a Linux-based operating system known as MikroTik RouterOS.