Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

OPNsense VS Python

Compare OPNsense VS Python and see what are their differences

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OPNsense logo OPNsense

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

Python logo Python

Python is a clear and powerful object-oriented programming language, comparable to Perl, Ruby, Scheme, or Java.
  • OPNsense Landing page
    Landing page //
    2021-12-26
  • Python Landing page
    Landing page //
    2021-10-17

OPNsense features and specs

  • Open Source
    OPNsense is open-source, which means it is free to use, modify, and distribute. This allows for community contributions and transparency in code.
  • Regular Updates
    The project provides regular updates and patches, ensuring the software is up-to-date with the latest features and security fixes.
  • User-Friendly Interface
    The user interface is clean and intuitive, making it easier for both beginners and advanced users to configure and manage the firewall and other network settings.
  • Comprehensive Feature Set
    Includes a wide range of features such as VPN capabilities, IDS/IPS, Web Proxy, and more, making it a versatile solution for various networking needs.
  • Strong Community Support
    The active community and forums provide robust support, tutorials, and shared knowledge, which can be very helpful in troubleshooting and optimizing the system.

Possible disadvantages of OPNsense

  • Hardware Requirements
    To run efficiently, OPNsense can require relatively high hardware specifications, which might be an issue for some users with older or less powerful equipment.
  • Steeper Learning Curve
    While the interface is user-friendly, the complexity of the features and settings can be overwhelming for users who are not already familiar with network security or firewall concepts.
  • Limited Commercial Support
    Being an open-source project, it lacks the extensive professional support structures that come with paid enterprise solutions, although commercial support is available through third parties.
  • Documentation Gaps
    Although there is a good amount of documentation available, some users find it lacking in detail, especially for more advanced configurations and troubleshooting scenarios.
  • Compatibility Issues
    There might be compatibility issues with certain hardware or software components, requiring users to invest additional time in ensuring everything works correctly.

Python features and specs

  • Easy to Learn
    Python syntax is clear and readable, which makes it an excellent choice for beginners and allows for quick learning and prototyping.
  • Versatile
    Python can be used for web development, data analytics, artificial intelligence, machine learning, automation, and more, making it a highly versatile programming language.
  • Large Standard Library
    Python comes with a comprehensive standard library that includes modules and packages for various tasks, reducing the need to write code from scratch.
  • Strong Community Support
    Python has a large and active community, which means a wealth of third-party packages, tutorials, and documentation is available for assistance.
  • Cross-Platform Compatibility
    Python is compatible with major operating systems like Windows, macOS, and Linux, allowing for easy development and deployment across different platforms.
  • Good for Rapid Development
    The high-level nature of Python allows for quick development cycles and fast iteration, which is ideal for startups and prototyping.

Possible disadvantages of Python

  • Performance Limitations
    Python is generally slower than compiled languages like C or Java because it is an interpreted language, which can be a drawback for performance-critical applications.
  • Global Interpreter Lock (GIL)
    The GIL in CPython, the most used Python interpreter, prevents multiple native threads from executing Python bytecodes at once, limiting multi-threading capabilities.
  • Memory Consumption
    Python can be more memory-intensive compared to some other languages, which might be a concern for applications with tight memory constraints.
  • Mobile Development
    Python is not a primary choice for mobile app development, where languages like Java, Swift, or Kotlin are more commonly used.
  • Runtime Errors
    Being a dynamically typed language, Python code can sometimes lead to runtime errors that would be caught at compile-time in statically typed languages.
  • Dependency Management
    Managing dependencies in Python projects can sometimes be complex and cumbersome, especially when dealing with conflicting versions of libraries.

OPNsense videos

Introduction to OPNSense firewall the PFsense fork. Overview

More videos:

  • Review - pfSense vs OPNsense
  • Review - ✅ OPNsense Install - not what i was expecting!

Python videos

Creator of Python Programming Language, Guido van Rossum | Oxford Union

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to OPNsense and Python)
Operating Systems
100 100%
0% 0
Programming Language
0 0%
100% 100
Perimeter Security And Firewalls
OOP
0 0%
100% 100

User comments

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Reviews

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

OPNsense Reviews

Best pfSense Software Alternatives and Competitors
OPNsense is the best open-source and free firewall alternative to pfSense Software. OPNsense is a user-friendly, open-source, FreeBSD firewall and router. Most of the same capabilities are available in this fork of pfSense Software. It distinguishes itself from other firewalls by combining highly sophisticated features with an open-source system. First, the OPNsense firewall...
The Best Open Source Router OS Software for Large or Small Networks
OPNsense is an open-source router OS software that is based on FreeBSD. It is designed to be used as a firewall, router, and VPN gateway, and it includes a range of advanced networking features. OPNsense is a fork of the pfSense project, and it is actively maintained by the OPNsense community.
Best free Linux router and firewall distributions of 2023
OPNsense makes the top of the list in 2023 because, for the last four years of maintaining this list, it has proved to be one of the most quickly developing operating systems on the market. It's an easy to use, mature system with a slick UI. OPNSense includes most, if not all, features found in expensive enterprise commercial firewalls. It has the quality of a commercial...
Source: teklager.se
11 Best pfsense Alternatives To Secure Your Network
By screening out unnecessary network traffic and malicious apps, firewall software protects networks and computers from attacks. For safeguarding your secure network from malware attacks and unauthorized access, OPNsenseis arguably top on our list of pfSense alternatives.
Top 7 pfSense Alternatives
OPNSense is a rising star in the router software arena. It is powered by HardenedBSD, which is a security-oriented fork of FreeBSD. Its current development pace is rapid, and it’s packed with features. It also has one of the best user interfaces of all of these options. Like a lot of these options, its primary weakness is its Wi-Fi support. A lot of OPNSense users started...

Python Reviews

Pine Script Alternatives: A Comprehensive Guide to Trading Indicator Languages
Technical analysis in trading has come a long way, with various programming languages emerging to support traders in developing custom indicators. While Pine Script has been a popular choice for many, alternatives like Indie, ThinkScript, NinjaScript, MetaQuotes Language (MQL), and even general-purpose languages like Python and C++ are gaining traction. Let’s explore these...
Source: medium.com
Top 5 Most Liked and Hated Programming Languages of 2022
No wonder Python is one of the easiest programming languages to work upon. This general-purpose programming language finds immense usage in the field of web development, machine learning applications, as well as cutting-edge technology in the software industry. The fact that Python is used by major tech giants such as Amazon, Facebook, Google, etc. is good enough proof as to...
Top 10 Rust Alternatives
This programming langue is typed statically and operates on a complied system. It works based on several computing languages Python, Ada, and Modula.
15 data science tools to consider using in 2021
Python is the most widely used programming language for data science and machine learning and one of the most popular languages overall. The Python open source project's website describes it as "an interpreted, object-oriented, high-level programming language with dynamic semantics," as well as built-in data structures and dynamic typing and binding capabilities. The site...
The 10 Best Programming Languages to Learn Today
Python's variety of applications make it a powerful and versatile language for different use cases. Python-based web development frameworks like Django and Flask are gaining popularity fast. It's also equipped with quality machine learning and data analysis tools like Scikit-learn and Pandas.
Source: ict.gov.ge

Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, Python should be more popular than OPNsense. It has been mentiond 288 times since March 2021. 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.

OPNsense mentions (95)

  • US Weighs Banning TP-Link Routers
    >I'm currently upgrading my home network, trying various options, and one of the headaches is provenance of the equipment. If you're concerned about provenance (or even if you're not), I suggest using a general purpose device and rolling your own ala pfSense[0]/OPNSense[1], etc, or just use one of the BSDs or Linux and use native tools or one of the many router/firewall distros[2] [0] https://www.pfsense.org/ [1]... - Source: Hacker News / 6 months ago
  • How to bypass public IP and NAT
    Firmware's like Asuswrt-Merlin or OpenWRT can support dynamic-dns, or you can do like I do and run something like OPNsense in an x86 VM with a NIC passed through, or buy an inexpensive firewall appliance (up to 500mbps/1gbps/10gbps). Source: over 1 year ago
  • Stop ISP from getting into my Router
    The easiest solution is to buy your own router, set it up, disable the router functionality on the Fritzbox 7590 and plug your router into it. It'll be cheaper and easier than a Cisco Firewall, but if you want to go the dedicated firewall route then I would recommenced OPNsense. Source: over 1 year ago
  • OpenBSD Innovations
    BSDs may not have a significant presence on desktops, but they're well known in the networking world for their reliability. They also were the foundation used to build OSes for specific applications. OpnSense and XigmaNAS, for example, are two excellent FreeBSD based applications aimed at firewalling/security and NAS/services. https://opnsense.org/ https://xigmanas.com/xnaswp/. - Source: Hacker News / almost 2 years ago
  • Switches That You Actually Own
    For switches? OpenWrt supports a few models toward the lower end, and SONiC support a bunch at the higher-end datacenter ToR market, but none of these options are SME production-ready like Linux servers or OPNsense firewalls. Source: almost 2 years ago
View more

Python mentions (288)

  • A Beginner's Guide to Auto-Instrumenting a Flask App with OpenTelemetry and SigNoz
    If Python is not installed, download it from python.org or use your system's package manager (e.g., sudo apt install python3 on Ubuntu). - Source: dev.to / 2 months ago
  • Scraping Infinite Scroll Pages with a 'Load More' Button: A Step-by-Step Guide
    Python Installed: Download and install the latest Python version from python.org, including pip during setup. - Source: dev.to / 5 months ago
  • Get Started with Python
    First, you'll need to install Python if you don't have it already. Go to the official Python website python.org, download the latest version, and follow the instructions. - Source: dev.to / 6 months ago
  • Unlocking DuckDB from Anywhere - A Guide to Remote Access with Apache Arrow and Flight RPC (gRPC)
    Python: We’ll use Python for it’s simplicity and accessibility. - Source: dev.to / 6 months ago
  • Python Packaging is Great Now: `uv` is all you need
    Bootstrapping was an often neglected problem. Should we tell people to install Python from https://python.org? The Anaconda distribution? How do we stop folks from using their system package manager and risk breaking everything? - Source: dev.to / 10 months ago
View more

What are some alternatives?

When comparing OPNsense and Python, you can also consider the following products

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

JavaScript - Lightweight, interpreted, object-oriented language with first-class functions

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.

Java - A concurrent, class-based, object-oriented, language specifically designed to have as few implementation dependencies as possible

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

Rust - A safe, concurrent, practical language