Software Alternatives & Reviews

pfSense

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

pfSense Reviews and details

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  • pfSense Landing page
    Landing page //
    2021-09-20

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Videos

pfsense Firewall Setup and Features in Depth Version 2.4

Pfsense: 5 Reasons to Use It

Netgate SG-3100 Teardown / Speedtest / Review of this powerful pfsense packet pusher!

Social recommendations and mentions

We have tracked the following product recommendations or mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you see what people think about pfSense and what they use it for.
  • 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
  • Unbound Python Mode
    For example: In Python Mode, if I run a dig command to pfsense.org the query time is 419 msec. If I run it a second time, the query time is 587 msec. Source: about 2 years ago
  • pfSense Internet Connectivity Issues , Slow GUI
    I recently installed pfSense on bare metal and not able to connect pfSense to the internet. I can ping 1.1.1.1 from Diagnosis -> ping. But cannot ping pfsense.org from Diagnosis -> ping. System does not show update information with "Unable to check for updates". Same with Package, I am receiving "unable to receive package information" message. GUI takes forever to load as well. Source: about 2 years ago
  • ACB Backup Failed 500
    Thank you! I am not able to reach netgate.com or pfsense.org either, the weird part is that I have been receiving this error for almost 1 week now at exactly 9pm every day. I wonder if this is when most systems backup, so it floods the server. Source: almost 3 years ago
  • ACB Backup Failed 500
    Https://netgate.com is down currently due to some DNS issues. This error is likely related to that - nothing on your end. Keep monitoring. If you can reach netgate.com in your browser and ACB still fails, we have an issue after all. But I would hazard a guess you will be OK. pfsense.org also effected. Same issue. Source: almost 3 years ago
  • Long-term planning for 10Gbps
    Both the aruba and brocade switches are L3 which means they can be routers. But they do not do NAT functionality. You're going to need to do a Router or Firewall on a stick topology for the NAT functionality. My suggestion is to build a Firewall/router or buy a pre-made one pfsense.org or opnsense.org. Source: about 3 years ago

External sources with reviews and comparisons of pfSense

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 certain drawbacks, one of which is the...
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 to medium-sized businesses, educational...
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 documentation and the biggest community....
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.
10 Best pfSense Alternatives and Similar Firewalls
Unlike other free pfSense competitors, the functionality provided by it enables it to be compared with proprietary firewalls. And, based on the amount of protection and security you want, as well as your technical skills, you may tailor the pfSense firewall to meet your requirements.
5 Router OS Turns Old PC Into High Performance Router And Enterprise Network Switch
pfSense is a free, open source customized distribution of Small FreeBSD iconFreeBSD tailored for use as a firewall, and router. In addition to being a powerful, flexible firewalling and routing platform, it includes a long list of related features and a package system allowing further expandability without adding bloat and potential security vulnerabilities to the base distribution, making it a fully qualified UTM...
8 Best Open Source Firewall to Protect Your Network
pfSense looks promising and worth giving a try. Check out Kamatera if looking for pfSense hosting.
Best free Linux firewalls of 2020: go beyond iptables for desktops and servers
pfSense describes itself as the most trusted open source firewall. The original FreeBSD-based firewall distro, pfSense shares many similarities with OPNsense. For instance, in addition to being a powerful, flexible firewalling and routing platform, it includes a long list of related features. To begin with, just like with OPNsense, you can use pfSense to deploy an intrusion prevention system as well as enable VPN...
The Hunt For the Ultimate Free Open Source Firewall Distro
I am a hobby sys-admin who uses NS on a standalone firewall/web filter at a 20-ppl company company, and at home in a container. I went through almost all of the options you mention in this article and none of the other Firewalls matched NS in function (support for multi-WAN in particular is much better),, except for PFSense, which I've been using initially but replaced after testing NS as I prefer linux-based...

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This is an informative page about pfSense. You can review and discuss the product here. The primary details have not been verified within the last quarter, and they might be outdated. If you think we are missing something, please use the means on this page to comment or suggest changes. All reviews and comments are highly encouranged and appreciated as they help everyone in the community to make an informed choice. Please always be kind and objective when evaluating a product and sharing your opinion.