We are using this solution mainly in the education sector, including universities or engineering colleges.
External reviews
External reviews are not included in the AWS star rating for the product.
Secure networking in education has improved and supports unlimited VPN and VLAN customization
What is our primary use case?
What is most valuable?
I have used Netgate pfSense Plus Firewall_VPN_Router VLAN support, and I find VLAN support is good. VLAN support provides unlimited VLANs and is well-implemented.
VPN tunneling has also been good, as it provides unlimited VPN tunneling capabilities.
The load balancing capabilities of Netgate pfSense Plus Firewall_VPN_Router are good.
What needs improvement?
Regarding the drawbacks or weak points I have noticed, I reviewed all current firewalls and it seems all are on an equal level, including Netgate pfSense Plus Firewall_VPN_Router. There are no major differences or drawbacks. You can customize this product and choose your own hardware.
In future releases and updates of Netgate pfSense Plus Firewall_VPN_Router, the basic feature I would like to see is that it remains open-source with no recurring cost, which is a big feature in a country like India. A captive portal would be an additional feature that would be good to have.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been working with this product for nearly 15 to 17 years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
My experience with the product is that it is a stable and good product that is easy to use. It is an open source product.
I would rate stability from one to ten as a nine in comparison to all other firewalls because it is a cheaper option for deployment and price.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
I would rate the scalability of the solution from one to ten as an eight. There is another open-source software, OPNSense, where there is major development compared to Netgate pfSense Plus Firewall_VPN_Router.
How was the initial setup?
The approximate time deployment for Netgate pfSense Plus Firewall_VPN_Router requires only one hour or a maximum of two hours. It is user-friendly.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
I am not currently working only with Netgate pfSense Plus Firewall_VPN_Router, as we work with other firewalls also. However, it is a good choice for users.
The other firewalls I am using include Fortinet and Sophos.
What other advice do I have?
I would assess the effectiveness of Netgate pfSense Plus Firewall_VPN_Router's traffic shaping as good, but I would give a six marks only for that compared to others because in the past few years, there has been a stop of improvement or lack of improvement showing in Netgate pfSense Plus Firewall_VPN_Router. That is why OPNSense is quite good now.
The benefits of Netgate pfSense Plus Firewall_VPN_Router VPN services to my remote access strategy are comparatively the same with all others. The basic thing is that all these modules or VPN tunneling or others are unlimited use in Netgate pfSense Plus Firewall_VPN_Router, and in other firewalls, you need to purchase additionally.
I do use Netgate pfSense Plus Firewall_VPN_Router Multi-WAN capabilities. Basically, it is customized, so you can choose your own hardware. It is scalable, depending on your requirements.
My job position is that I am an owner of a company that is involved in managed networks. I rate this product overall as a nine out of ten.
robust networking solution
- ability to provide configurations for firewalls and traffic monitoring
- native integration with WireGuard and Tailscale
- native pfblockerng capability
Reliable VLAN and dual VPN setup has strengthened network management and improved load balancing
What is our primary use case?
I have used the VLAN support of Netgate pfSense Plus Firewall_VPN_Router. We actually use two types of VPN, OpenVPN and WireGuard, and both of them are working perfectly fine; it is great.
What is most valuable?
The load balancing capabilities have helped my IT infrastructure. It has helped our network management, as we have a couple of LAN networks and WAN networks.
What needs improvement?
The effectiveness of Netgate pfSense Plus Firewall_VPN_Router traffic shaping is quite good, but I am not very satisfied with the interface for control. It needs some upgrading in speed, so I would not say it is too complicated or obsolete.
For how long have I used the solution?
As a firm, we have been using Netgate pfSense Plus Firewall_VPN_Router for a couple of years, and for me, it has been around one year, as long as I have been here.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
I do not use the multi-WAN capability of Netgate pfSense Plus Firewall_VPN_Router.
What other advice do I have?
I do not have complaints about Netgate pfSense Plus Firewall_VPN_Router with Firewall, VPN, and Router; it is really comfortable for use, and it does a pretty good job.
I would rate my experience with Netgate pfSense Plus Firewall_VPN_Router as eight out of ten. Mostly the interface is the reason I rate it eight out of ten, but I do not have anything else I would alter or improve. My overall review rating for this product is eight out of ten.
Secure multi-WAN setup has simplified managing VLAN segments and reliable failover
What is our primary use case?
I primarily use this for a small single-site, multi-source setup with multi-WAN inputs. I have a main fiber connection and a couple of failovers, and I manage different networks across different segments.
What is most valuable?
I really enjoy the flexibility of the interface setup configuration for my network VLANs. It is very easy to configure and set, and when I am doing multi-inputs with internet providers coming in, it is very easy to manage and set up with very little effort.
What needs improvement?
I think the package management and the updating process in Netgate pfSense could be better. Whenever there is a release, knowing that you cannot update any of the packages until you have done the actual operating system update can be confusing. Beyond that, I do not have any major issues. There are generally some user interface updates and tweaks here and there, but this is a lower priority.
They come out about every 12 months, and I know that is one criticism against Netgate pfSense that they are a little slower on development, but honestly, that is probably preferable because it is not constantly updating.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using Netgate pfSense for about eight years in my career.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
Netgate pfSense rates a 10 for stability, and I have experienced no issues there.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
Scalability works well. I would say it is probably going to be a nine.
How are customer service and support?
They are very responsive. Within an hour, two hours, or three hours, I generally get a response. I have only had to contact them maybe two or three times for very minor issues, but there is no issue there. I think they are very responsive.
How would you rate customer service and support?
Positive
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
I have used UniFi primarily in the last couple of years, probably three years now, and I have it as a separate site. It is nice, but it is not nearly as configurable. The biggest differentiator is the Netgate pfSense software, particularly the ability to do VPN with regard to Tailscale and OpenVPN, which is very easy to use, whereas UniFi is not ideal. Additionally, the security in UniFi is open by default versus Netgate pfSense, which is closed, and closed is always going to be preferable.
How was the initial setup?
For an entirely new site, it would take some time to configure and set up. If you are coming from an existing setup or configuration, you effectively export the configuration, upload it, and make some minor updates. Even with a booting environment, it is easy to go back or revert to an existing configuration if you make a mistake, so it might take some time, but it is not overly complicated. I would say it requires minimal effort, especially if there is a plan in place ahead of what the structure will be.
What other advice do I have?
One person can do it, but you are going to need to be testing. Honestly, it is not anywhere near as complicated as a larger, more legacy offering, so I think it is very easy.
You are going to have manual updates in terms of the releases, checking those out, doing some testing, and confirming in non-prod environments. It is not that complicated. Even if you have the boot states, you can pretty easily do an operating system update and it is easy to manage.
High availability routing has secured our network and delivers reliable support every day
What is our primary use case?
We use Netgate pfSense Plus Firewall_VPN_Router as a high availability BGP solution.
What is most valuable?
My favorite feature about Netgate pfSense Plus Firewall_VPN_Router is the fact that it's open source, so if you go online and look at other people's comments and reviews, you find it's transparent with nothing hidden and no additional charges for software.
Netgate pfSense Plus Firewall_VPN_Router is extremely scalable; we chose the highest end product at that time and have greatly expanded its capabilities. We needed to upgrade the RAM in the firewall, and I found compatible RAM on Newegg, receiving it in just 24 hours. Overall, we've been very happy with it being a Supermicro-based server, which we already use in production.
What needs improvement?
One downside of Netgate pfSense Plus Firewall_VPN_Router is the need for a better understanding of what hardware it would run on. Right now, we're using Netgate's hardware, but I'm interested in knowing if there are other hardware options available, particularly heavier duty hardware, because the Supermicro 1537 version we have only has a single power supply, which is a shortcoming in an IT environment where dual power supplies are ideal.
The pricing for the hardware of Netgate pfSense Plus Firewall_VPN_Router is steep, which is one reason I'd explore other options. I'm familiar with the costs of Supermicro servers, and I believe Netgate charges a premium for their server hardware without enough upside to justify it. The pricing is not justified.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using Netgate pfSense Plus Firewall_VPN_Router since 2018.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
In terms of stability, we've experienced a couple of upgrades that didn't affect functionality, but other smaller issues arose. For the most part, the hardware is rock solid. I haven't faced total failures, which was a significant problem with the Ubiquiti gear that had power supply failures. Overall, the entire Netgate pfSense Plus Firewall_VPN_Router product has been reliable, though some of their smaller gear aimed at remote offices hasn't been cost-effective.
How are customer service and support?
We use their technical support services and have been very happy with their online technical support people.
The support is included, and it comes with a four-hour response time, so it's fairly high-end technical support. The quality of their answers is impressive; the support team is humble and knowledgeable. I've dealt with many customer support professionals over the years, and the support group at Netgate pfSense Plus Firewall_VPN_Router is by far the best. They identify problems quickly and connect you with the right specialist without hesitation, working diligently to resolve issues, even if it takes hours, which is refreshing compared to many tech support experiences I've had.
I give Netgate pfSense Plus Firewall_VPN_Router a 10 out of 10 for support because we have a great deal of confidence that any outage we encounter will be resolved quickly with their help. Overall, I rate Netgate pfSense Plus Firewall_VPN_Router a 10 out of 10; they are an impressive company with interconnected teams, making it easy to get consistent answers from both sales and tech support.
How would you rate customer service and support?
Positive
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
I've used a whole bunch of Ubiquiti gear; we used exclusively Ubiquiti before switching to Netgate pfSense Plus Firewall_VPN_Router.
I prefer Netgate pfSense Plus Firewall_VPN_Router because it provides regular updates and has longevity, meaning I don't worry about it going obsolete. Many IT products have maybe a three-year lifecycle, and once you stop receiving updates for a product, it becomes practically useless. We've faced problems with Ubiquiti gear that has gone obsolete, where updates would trash our system, requiring us to revert to old versions. Netgate is good about ensuring updates won't disrupt my system.
I saw benefits from Netgate pfSense Plus Firewall_VPN_Router after we made the change in 2019, due to power supply issues with our Ubiquiti gear when we couldn't obtain replacements. That prompted our decision to switch to Netgate pfSense Plus Firewall_VPN_Router, as it proved to be a more robust product.
How was the initial setup?
The initial deployment of Netgate pfSense Plus Firewall_VPN_Router was extremely easy thanks to an incredible amount of documentation online, user videos, and a robust user community that quickly helps troubleshoot issues.
The first deployment took about four hours, even though we had a pretty complicated situation, as we were integrating multiple features from the Ubiquiti world into the Netgate pfSense Plus Firewall_VPN_Router setup, which I consider quite fast.
What about the implementation team?
Two people were involved in the initial deployment of Netgate pfSense Plus Firewall_VPN_Router.
What other advice do I have?
We use the Plus version of Netgate pfSense Plus Firewall_VPN_Router, which comes automatically with any Netgate hardware, so really, I'm paying for it once.
We do all our own maintenance on Netgate pfSense Plus Firewall_VPN_Router, reaching back to pfSense only when we encounter issues unfamiliar to our IT people or if it's something highly specialized. Currently, we're using the premium support product for quick callbacks.
My overall rating for Netgate pfSense Plus Firewall_VPN_Router is a 10 out of 10.
Simplified firewall management has reduced costs and improved network visibility for clients
What is our primary use case?
I use Netgate pfSense for my side gig customers' firewalls, and also for my home firewall.
What is most valuable?
One aspect I appreciate most about Netgate pfSense is that it is easy to administer and very straightforward.
I see the benefits of Netgate pfSense immediately due to cost. It costs significantly less than Ubiquiti, Cisco, or other firewalls out there, and it is just easy to manage, which saves me and my customers money.
The packet inspection feature of Netgate pfSense is valuable; I have had to use it for troubleshooting and it provided the necessary data.
The dashboards for managing network traffic patterns and security threats in Netgate pfSense are simple and give me what I need.
Netgate pfSense's plugin ecosystem is very easy to manage; I simply point and click on the plugin and it installs directly, which is very well done.
The stability of Netgate pfSense is rock solid; I have never had any problems with stability.
The initial deployment of Netgate pfSense is very easy; you install it and it just works on the first try.
What needs improvement?
The downsides of Netgate pfSense include a lack of graphics to show a customer. I would prefer to see a more graphical UI similar to Ubiquiti.
Setting up fault tolerance on Netgate pfSense is difficult to do, and I do not enjoy that part.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using Netgate pfSense for approximately 15 years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
The stability of Netgate pfSense is rock solid; I have never had any problems with stability.
How are customer service and support?
I have contacted Netgate technical support regarding Netgate pfSense once. I had a hardware failure in one of my Netgate pfSense nodes and they provided an easy fix and got the customer back online quickly.
How would you rate customer service and support?
Negative
How was the initial setup?
The initial deployment of Netgate pfSense is very easy; you install it and it just works on the first try.
For a new technician with no experience with any Netgate pfSense products, it would be easy for them to deploy for the first time because they can reference Google or the Netgate pfSense community web pages.
What about the implementation team?
One person can easily do this.
What was our ROI?
Netgate pfSense costs significantly less than Ubiquiti, Cisco, or other firewalls out there, and it is easy to manage, which saves me and my customers money.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
The pricing of Netgate pfSense is incredible; I love the pricing, which is the best part.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
I prefer Ubiquiti because of the ease in setting up fault tolerance and the user interface on Ubiquiti.
What other advice do I have?
Netgate pfSense requires just a monthly reboot on the firewalls and that is all. I would give them a 10 out of 10 as they are good. I give this product an overall rating of 8.
Rapid VPN setup has connected offices in minutes and brings live insights for proactive issue control
What is our primary use case?
I would use Netgate pfSense both at work and at home, as I really love their interface, the rule management, and their collaboration, especially with FreeBSD. Everything that they have done with the OpenVPN parameters is impressive, and it is basically everything I need. The ease of use is exceptional, and whatever I need to do and change is just two to three clicks away.
What I appreciate the most about Netgate pfSense is the ease and straightforward nature of the platform. I can set up a new office in less than 10 minutes.
What is most valuable?
What I appreciate the most about Netgate pfSense is the ease and straightforward nature of the platform. I can set up a new office in less than 10 minutes.
The benefits of using Netgate pfSense are that I can set up VPNs in less than two to three minutes, and then just deploy the file across my networks, where everybody would be connected in less than an hour.
The dashboards of Netgate pfSense bring all the necessary information that I need at a glance, and it is actually a live update every three to five seconds. It is spotless, and I have been able to catch issues before they hit operations.
What needs improvement?
Something that I do not appreciate about Netgate pfSense and I wish they would change would be the feature limitations. If I have pfSense Plus, I have all of the features, but if I am using my own spin-off server, which I cannot get pfSense Plus with, I do not get all the features, so I have to forcibly buy the hardware to get pfSense Plus.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using Netgate pfSense since before they were acquired by Netgate, so it was more than 10 years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
Regarding the stability of Netgate pfSense, I have not seen any instability regarding lagging, crashing, or downtime. It all depends on the hardware on my home-brewed pfSenses. If I am using their hardware, it has been spotless with no issues.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
The scalability of Netgate pfSense is great, as it can grow with what you need. It all depends on the equipment that you have, and at this moment, I have their highest tier, and I have been able to allocate more than 15,000 users, and it has not even reached 60% of utilization, so I am satisfied with four 10 gig uplinks.
How are customer service and support?
I have contacted customer support of Netgate for all the equipment that I have bought, and it has been hands-on and perfect. I have needed images and I get the images in less than 24 hours when I need to do a special type of format that I do not have access to anymore, and I need to perform a format on it. In less than 24 hours, I would have the latest image which I could then install on the equipment. Hardware-wise, I would get in less than 48 hours the RAM or hard drives that have failed and were under warranty, so no issues on that.
If I were to put the support of Netgate pfSense on a scale from 1 to 10, I would give a score of nine.
How would you rate customer service and support?
Positive
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
I have used alternatives to Netgate pfSense, and it would be OpenSense. I just used it for not more than 20 minutes and I said goodbye to it.
How was the initial setup?
The initial deployment of Netgate pfSense will be easy, since I have done it a couple of hundred times.
The deployment of Netgate pfSense goes the following way: the first thing is to just set up my WAN, my LAN, setting up the netmask, subnet, and gateways, and then just opening the NAT and doing all the NAT configurations, which is automatic if you have it set on auto. Then I just create my first firewall rule for an allow-all, and the setup is complete. Then I just need to start doing all the pretty tough magic that might be required, so for my type of setups, everything is less than 30 to 45 minutes. Afterwards, hardening depends on the business case.
What about the implementation team?
All of this setup process of Netgate pfSense can be done by one person; you do not need a team for this. You can do it all alone.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
The pricing of Netgate pfSense all depends on the hardware that I need. For a large office, the last appliance that I bought was around $2,000 and it is working perfectly with no issues whatsoever. I have no complaints about it, as my only complaint is when I want to do a home lab or something, and then I need to forcefully buy Netgate products to get pfSense Plus, but besides that, the pricing looks good.
What other advice do I have?
Netgate pfSense requires a little maintenance on my end, as the maintenance part that I only get from them would be their software updates, and that is basically it. After that, everything is on my end: hardening, firewall rules, and all that kind of work. Besides that, it is just their quarterly or twice-a-year updates.
I have not really explored the packet inspection feature of Netgate pfSense that much, so I know I have it; I just have not played around with it right now.
I use the integrated VPN provisioning of Netgate pfSense, and it has not affected my network security setup at all; it has been flawless.
I would rate this product a 10 out of 10.
Open source platform provides cost-effective enterprise-class features with efficient support
What is our primary use case?
The typical use case for Netgate pfSense is VPN connectivity, content blocking, and IDS/IPS. Users typically implement it for these specific purposes.
What is most valuable?
The best features of Netgate pfSense include its open-source nature, and one of the most appealing aspects is the absence of recurring expenses, as there are no licensing fees. Users get enterprise-class firewall networking with this product.
Customers who use other firewall products such as Sophos or FortiGate often conduct research and choose Netgate pfSense because the yearly expenses of other firewall products are higher compared to pfSense, which has no licensing fee. While there is no yearly licensing fee with this product, users still receive all the enterprise-class firewall features.
The stateful packet inspection feature is enterprise-class, and when compared to other firewall products, it matches their capabilities effectively.
What needs improvement?
Areas of Netgate pfSense that can be improved include the customers' requests for antivirus protection, which they refer to as Unified Threat Management, available in other products. Unified Threat Management can match up with other brands as well.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have around one and a half years of experience working with Netgate pfSense.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
Netgate pfSense is definitely a scalable solution.
How are customer service and support?
The technical support from Netgate pfSense deserves a rating of 10 on a scale of one to ten, where one is the worst technical support and ten is the best.
How would you rate customer service and support?
Positive
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup of Netgate pfSense is easy because it has a wizard. Users can run the wizard and set up the firewall within five minutes.
What other advice do I have?
Netgate pfSense comes with Netgate appliances, in which pfSense is loaded, ensuring compatibility with different hardware platforms. The solution proves to be stable in operation.
On a scale of 1-10, I rate this solution an 8.
pfSense - reliable and user friendly.
Stable performance and ease of equipment addition enhance daily operations
What is our primary use case?
We use pfSense and Netgate pfSense Plus Firewall/VPN/Router to establish a VPN tunnel between our client and our headquarters to transfer data between client and our equipment. It's very simple to use, efficient, up to date, and the hardware is very available; it's very safe.
What is most valuable?
We use pfSense and Netgate pfSense Plus Firewall/VPN/Router to establish a VPN tunnel between our client and our headquarters to transfer data between client and our equipment. It's very simple to use, efficient, up to date, and the hardware is very available; it's very safe.
Everything works well inside pfSense. It's affordable. For our use of pfSense, it meets one hundred percent of our needs. It features easy installation, and we use direct installation on the equipment rather than cloud deployment.
What needs improvement?
Regarding tuning, it's not really an advantage as we need that functionality.
The most significant drawback in recent years has been the cessation of firmware release downloads. In the past, when we wanted to update our equipment, we simply downloaded the latest firmware. Now pfSense has changed its policies. Instead of providing firmware for download, they require customers to proceed with updates through the cloud, which isn't an optimal solution for us. I prefer the old method of updating where we could download the latest firmware and install it directly. Without an internet connection, we cannot update our equipment, which is problematic.
For how long have I used the solution?
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
Everything is very stable for us at the moment; we have encountered no problems.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
Adding new equipment is very easy for our organization.
What other advice do I have?
I am not in charge of networking in our company, so I may not be the most appropriate person to answer detailed questions. The solution is used for security to establish private communication.
We use OpenSense for our operations.