Software Alternatives & Reviews

Ubuntu VS pfSense

Compare Ubuntu VS pfSense and see what are their differences

Ubuntu logo Ubuntu

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

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
  • Ubuntu Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-09-12
  • pfSense Landing page
    Landing page //
    2021-09-20

Ubuntu videos

Ubuntu 19.10 Review | The Best GNOME Desktop, Yet?

More videos:

  • Review - Review: Ubuntu 19.10 "Eoan Ermine"
  • Review - Ubuntu 19.04, My Review (And Why Most Users Should Avoid It)

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 Ubuntu and pfSense)
Linux
100 100%
0% 0
Cyber Security
0 0%
100% 100
Operating Systems
84 84%
16% 16
Monitoring Tools
0 0%
100% 100

User comments

Share your experience with using Ubuntu and pfSense. For example, how are they different and which one is better?
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Reviews

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

Ubuntu Reviews

Top 9 Fastest Linux Distros in 2024
Ubuntu and Mint are both based on Debian and share many similarities. However, some differences may impact performances in certain use cases. For example, Ubuntu tends to be more resource-heavy than Mint, especially the GNOME desktop environment, on the other hand, is known for its lightweight Cinnamon desktop environment, which can be more responsive & faster.
Source: linuxsimply.com
10 Most Popular Linux Distros of the Year 2023
Ubuntu also has some lightweight games like chess and Sudoku. GNOME Files, formerly known as Nautilus, is the default file manager. It is recognized for its strong community support, regular releases, and focus on user experience. There are several Ubuntu flavors available as well per the demand of users such as Ubuntu Studio for users who need the best multimedia-supported...
12 Best Linux Distros You Should Use
Ubuntu uses Snaps for package management, and the latter is the reason the Linux community has started repelling it. They completely dropped out-of-the-box support for Flatpaks, as we mentioned in our Ubuntu 23.04 features list. Although it’s a good starting point for a complete beginner, we would argue there are better Linux distros to try than Ubuntu.
Source: beebom.com
Finding the Best Linux Distro for Your Organization
Based on the open source Ubuntu community, Canonical provides commercial support and services for Ubuntu Enterprise deployments. Ubuntu Enterprise is known for its ease of use, regular updates, and compatibility with cloud environments. Commercial versions include Ubuntu Desktop, Ubuntu Server, Ubuntu for IoT, and Ubuntu Cloud -- all optimized versions for their...
The best Linux distributions (operating systems)
Around since 2004, Ubuntu is a classic Linux distribution. The operating system is aimed at different user groups and simplifies the first steps for beginners. On the one hand, Ubuntu is customizable, but also offers numerous technical tools to simplify installation and configuration. Many programs are pre-installed, and additional packages can be conveniently added. Ubuntu...
Source: www.ionos.com

pfSense Reviews

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.
Top 7 pfSense Alternatives
Wait, I said alternatives to pfSense so what is this doing on the list? pfSense Plus recently forked away from pfSense community edition (CE). Over time pfSense Plus and pfSense CE will continue to diverge. pfSense Plus is expected to have more features.

Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, Ubuntu seems to be a lot more popular than pfSense. While we know about 229 links to Ubuntu, 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.

Ubuntu mentions (229)

  • `Nano`sphere
    So, yeah, no .deb file, no curl/wget, no apt repository that they maintain. OK, cool 😎 no problem. I'll keep looking on Ubuntu side to see if Ubuntu has something 😁 you know. I could see that GNU Aspel's appendix does seem to have a recipe for how to make it myself if I wanted to go that route, as I pointed out earlier, however, since I have Ubuntu, I kept stomping the pavement and then it happened, I was able to... - Source: dev.to / 3 months ago
  • Microsoft Edge ignores user wishes, slurps tabs from Chrome without permission
    * As always, Ubuntu(https://ubuntu.com/) All solid, functional, and not treating you like cattle. - Source: Hacker News / 3 months ago
  • Any ideas on how to fix
    Yes, visit this website and install: https://ubuntu.com/. Source: 5 months ago
  • Multipass: Ubuntu Virtual Machines Made Easy
    $ multipass shell server Welcome to Ubuntu 22.04.3 LTS (GNU/Linux 5.15.0-87-generic x86_64) * Documentation: https://help.ubuntu.com * Management: https://landscape.canonical.com * Support: https://ubuntu.com/advantage System information as of Fri Nov 10 01:32:53 CST 2023 System load: 0.0 Processes: 90 Usage of /: 30.9% of 4.67GB Users logged in: 0 ... - Source: dev.to / 6 months ago
  • How to rescue an encrypted LUKS partition that was partially modified by a Windows tool?
    The Linux installation is/was Ubuntu with an encrypted LUKS partition and before applying a week-old backup I thought that there might be a change of rescuing some data. Source: 6 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 Ubuntu and pfSense, you can also consider the following products

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.

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.

Fedora - Fedora creates an innovative, free, and open source platform for hardware, clouds, and containers that enables software developers and community members to build tailored solutions for their users.

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