# Can pfSense be used as a router?

Can pfSense be used as a router?

##### Post Metadata
- Posted at: over 3 years ago
- Author title: Pinned by G2 as a common question



## Comments
### Comment 1

Yes

##### Comment Metadata
- Posted at: 9 months ago



### Comment 2

Absolutely! pfSense was designed to be a fully extensible security appliance to include routing and firewall protection just to name 2 features.

##### Comment Metadata
- Posted at: over 3 years ago
- Author title: retired



### Comment 3

Yes*

*It's original purpose is as an internet gateway / NAT router / edge device, but it is possible to set it up as a router-only device, although that setup is much more complicated than a dedicated router.

##### Comment Metadata
- Posted at: over 3 years ago
- Author title: Sr. DevOps architect at Panera Bread



### Comment 4

Yes

##### Comment Metadata
- Posted at: over 3 years ago
- Author title: Network security tech lead at Performanta 



### Comment 5

Yes

##### Comment Metadata
- Posted at: over 3 years ago
- Author title: Systems Engineer



### Comment 6

Yes

##### Comment Metadata
- Posted at: over 3 years ago
- Author title: Potato



### Comment 7

Yes, buy its very nature it is routing packets from one network to another

##### Comment Metadata
- Posted at: over 3 years ago
- Author title: Director of Information Technology



### Comment 8

The short answer is, "Yes", the long answer is more nuanced. Router devices typically have a lot of ports. Are you going to run it on a device with a lot of ports? Further, you might find a dedicated router device (possibly using pfSense internally) simpler to use than wading through all the pfSense options yourself. But if you like to know all the details, go for pfSense!

##### Comment Metadata
- Posted at: over 3 years ago
- Author title: Sole proprietor



### Comment 9

Yes.  The machine that pfSense is installed on would need at least two network cards (NICs).   One connected to your ISP device (external internet), and one connected to your internal network's switch.   As traffic enters the first NIC, it is routed to the other NIC by pfSense's rules and settings (and vise versa).

##### Comment Metadata
- Posted at: over 3 years ago
- Author title: System Administrator



### Comment 10

Yes, of course. That's its primary purpose. 

##### Comment Metadata
- Posted at: over 3 years ago
- Author title: Helping individuals, non-profits, and businesses use data to lower their operating costs.



### Comment 11

pfSense is an open-source firewall and router software distribution based on FreeBSD. It supports NAT and different types of interfaces (WAN, LAN, DMZ). It can absolutely work as a router, but you’ll want to dig into the details of what you need, and compare it to the features of this very powerful and extendable system.

##### Comment Metadata
- Posted at: over 3 years ago
- Author title: Senior Unix/Linux Systems Administrator (Owner)




## Related Product
[Netgate pfSense](https://www.g2.com/products/netgate-pfsense/reviews)

## Related Category
[Firewall Software](https://www.g2.com/categories/firewall-software)

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