Software Alternatives & Reviews

Pi-hole VS pfSense

Compare Pi-hole VS pfSense and see what are their differences

Pi-hole logo Pi-hole

Pi-hole is a multi-platform, network-wide ad blocker.

pfSense logo pfSense

pfSense is a free and open source firewall and router that also features unified threat management, load balancing, multi WAN, and more
  • Pi-hole Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-07-12
  • pfSense Landing page
    Landing page //
    2021-09-20

Pi-hole videos

Block EVERY Online Ad with THIS - Pi-Hole on Raspberry Pi

More videos:

  • Review - I tried Pi-Hole for the first time... (DNS level Ad Blocker)
  • Review - Pi-hole -- Worth it? Gotchas?

pfSense videos

pfsense Firewall Setup and Features in Depth Version 2.4

More videos:

  • Review - Pfsense: 5 Reasons to Use It
  • Review - Netgate SG-3100 Teardown / Speedtest / Review of this powerful pfsense packet pusher!

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to Pi-hole and pfSense)
Security & Privacy
100 100%
0% 0
Cyber Security
0 0%
100% 100
Ad Blockers
100 100%
0% 0
Monitoring Tools
47 47%
53% 53

User comments

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Reviews

These are some of the external sources and on-site user reviews we've used to compare Pi-hole and pfSense

Pi-hole Reviews

22 NextDNS Alternatives
Pi-hole App contains an informative web interface that shows stats on all the domains being queried on the network that you are using. Pi-hole - Network-wide Ad Blocking is a signifying ad-blocking platform that helps its global users to block all the harmful and unhealthy advertisements on your online networks. You can run Pi-hole in a container or deploy it right to...

pfSense Reviews

The top 10 alternatives to OpenVPN
Netgate offers secure networking solutions, including pfSense Plus and TNSR software, which provide firewall, router, and VPN functionalities. These solutions cater to personal users, professional users, and organizations seeking secure and reliable internet connectivity.
Best pfSense Software Alternatives and Competitors
pfSense Software firewall is a robust, open-source security solution that is compatible with any hardware and can be tailored to meet your specific needs. It is a widely used technology, and many individuals seek dependable, popular software solutions with multi-device support, multiple concurrent connections, and protocol selections. Despite its usefulness, pfSense has...
The Best Open Source Router OS Software for Large or Small Networks
pfSense is a free and open-source router and firewall operating system based on the FreeBSD operating system. It is designed to be used on standard x86 hardware and can be deployed as a virtual machine or on dedicated hardware. pfSense offers advanced features and capabilities that are typically found in commercial routers and firewalls, making it an ideal solution for small...
Best free Linux router and firewall distributions of 2023
pfSense is one of the most popular operating systems today. It's a BSD-based system, similar to OPNSense, but with a longer history. pfSense started in 2004, and since then, it has grown to be the most well-known open-source platform in the industry. Although it gradually loses users to OPNsense, it's still an excellent system for new users because it has the most extensive...
Source: teklager.se
11 Best pfsense Alternatives To Secure Your Network
Unlike those of other available pfSense competitors, its capabilities allow it to be compared to commercial firewalls. You can also customize the pfSense firewall to match your needs based on the level of security and protection you want, as well as your specialist knowledge.

Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, Pi-hole seems to be a lot more popular than pfSense. While we know about 1185 links to Pi-hole, we've tracked only 10 mentions of pfSense. 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.

Pi-hole mentions (1185)

  • Ask HN: For what purposes do you use a Raspberry Pi?
    Pi-hole to block ads and tracking for my less technically savvy relatives https://pi-hole.net/. - Source: Hacker News / 3 months ago
  • Runs on your OpenWrt box: AdGuard Home is network-wide blocking ads and tracking
    I ran a competing project[0] on my home network for a few years before I discovered NextDNS[1]. What I lost in performance (requests don't leave my house) I gained in portability: ALL my devices can take advantage – at home and away – and time-saved. PiHole works 90% of the time, but when it did stop working, I'd have to spend a bit of time fixing it. At $20/year, I simply couldn't compete with NextDNS. Note: This... - Source: Hacker News / 3 months ago
  • YouTube Says It Has More Than 100M Premium and Music Subscribers
    Can the piHole help us eliminate bandwidth wasting ads on TV's? https://pi-hole.net/. - Source: Hacker News / 3 months ago
  • Higher fees, more ads: streaming cashes in by using the old tactics of cable TV
    It definitely IS an option, but at the network level. https://pi-hole.net/ It runs on damn near everything, and is a DNS level adblocker for the whole network. - Source: Hacker News / 4 months ago
  • In 2024, please switch to Firefox
    I recently switched to Wipr [0]. It’s dead simple to use, and will auto update its filter lists in the background. Adguard [1] is a decent free option. I also use a Pi-hole [2] on my network. [0] https://kaylees.site/wipr.html [1] https://adguard.com/en/adguard-safari/overview.html [2] https://pi-hole.net/. - Source: Hacker News / 4 months ago
View more

pfSense mentions (10)

  • Need some help on setting up home network
    Https://pfsense.org (netgate hardware is used in businesses). Source: about 1 year ago
  • Is pfsense.org down, or is it just me?
    I am having trouble seeing available packages, updating pkg, or getting a response from pfsense.org. Is anyone else seeing this or am I going to spend the rest of my day chasing bugs? Source: over 1 year ago
  • Help with VLAN
    From the PIA Client to pfsense.org PING pfsense.org (208.123.73.69) from 10.6.112.128: 56 data bytes 64 bytes from 208.123.73.69: icmp_seq=0 ttl=49 time=49.455 ms 64 bytes from 208.123.73.69: icmp_seq=1 ttl=49 time=51.927 ms 64 bytes from 208.123.73.69: icmp_seq=2 ttl=49 time=49.333 ms 64 bytes from 208.123.73.69: icmp_seq=3 ttl=49 time=49.133 ms 64 bytes from 208.123.73.69: icmp_seq=4 ttl=49 time=49.027 ms ... Source: over 1 year ago
  • Can Surveillance Station record offsite cameras ?
    The above setup is critical to a reliable system. I'd use enterprise quality routers for a store and home connection. I personally use https://pfsense.org but there are many to choose from and several open source. Source: over 1 year ago
  • Exposing Synology to web: best/practical practices?
    What I would do is put that thing in DMZ and install a good router behind it like https://www.pfsense.org. No affiliation, just been my router for many years. There's also it's sibling https://opnsense.org. There are many, just get a enterprise quality router. Source: over 1 year ago
View more

What are some alternatives?

When comparing Pi-hole and pfSense, you can also consider the following products

NextDNS - Block ads, trackers and malicious websites on all your devices.

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

Blokada - The best ad blocker for Android. Free and open source.

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

AdGuard - Surf the Web Ad-Free and Safely. Shield up!

OpenWrt - OpenWrt is an open-source firmware based on Linux for wireless routers