Netgate pfSense Reviews & Product Details

Netgate pfSense is firewall and router software from a technology company focused on network security and performance. It is built to address businesses’ and organizations’ need for secure, reliable networking.

What company sizes and industries is Netgate pfSense the best fit for?

Netgate pfSense shows its strongest fit among small businesses, with mid-market organizations also well represented. Its use spans several industries, with reviewer presence clustering around technology and education-related fields.

Company size — Small business: The most represented segment, including teams using it for business networks and client deployments.
Company size — Mid-market: Also well represented, including organizations using it across sites and network environments.
Industry — Technology and networking: Information technology and services, computer and network security, computer software, and computer networking appear prominently.
Industry — Education: Education management, higher education, and primary/secondary education are also represented.

How long does it take to implement Netgate pfSense across a team?

Implementation time varies with the setup, but getting to go-live in under a day is the most common reported experience. Other implementations take longer, especially when the configuration is more involved.

Time to go live	Relative frequency
Under 1 day	Most common
Under 1 month	Also frequently reported
1–3 months	Less common
3–6 months or over 12 months	Occasionally reported

What customer support options does Netgate pfSense provide, and how do users find the overall support experience?

Support experiences are mixed: users describe knowledgeable, responsive help, while others find responses slow or the support process frustrating. The quality can depend on the issue and the support path involved; community resources and documentation are also part of how users find help.

What is the experience like for teams switching to Netgate pfSense from another tool?

Moving to Netgate pfSense from other firewall, router, and network-management products is often motivated by the need for more control and capability without the same licensing burden. Users describe gaining flexible configuration, broader features, and easier administration, though getting familiar with its approach can take some adjustment. Prior tools named include SonicWall, Cisco and Juniper products, Fortinet, and Ubiquiti systems.

What tools and platforms does Netgate pfSense integrate with, and how do these integrations help users get more value from the product?

Netgate pfSense offers 3 integrations. Users describe using integrations and connected services to extend network access and connect firewall management with other systems.

Cloud and developer tools: AWS Lambda
Firewall and security: Sophos Firewall
Networking and VPN: Tailscale

In practical use, these kinds of connections can complement network and VPN workflows, while reviewers also describe linking pfSense with identity services and cloud environments.

What features or capabilities could make Netgate pfSense even more useful?

Teams would benefit most from easier fleet management, more automation, and smoother administration for complex configurations. The recurring improvement requests include:

Centralized management: Manage and synchronize settings across multiple pfSense installations from one place.
API and automation support: Make deployments and routine configuration changes easier to automate.
Clearer administration and learning tools: Improve navigation, guidance, and explanations for settings and advanced features.
Smoother upgrades and recovery: Make updates more predictable and simplify backup, restore, and rollback workflows.

Is Netgate pfSense considered safe and secure for handling data?

Netgate pfSense is used to protect networks through firewall rules, segmentation, VPN access, and intrusion-detection or prevention tools. Users often value the control and visibility it provides, while also emphasizing that secure results depend on careful configuration; missing native multi-factor authentication for administrator access is a concern for some teams.

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Paul V.

Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.)

2/21/2023

"Open Source FTW!!"

5/5

What do you like best about Netgate pfSense?

Who would have thought you could leverage enterprise firewall security for free?? I was surprised at the robust features available with pfSense. I was able to start with the Community Edition (CE) for free and register for the official version at no additional cost. With the official version, I have the option of purchasing professional support at a very reasonable expense. The cost/benefit of pfSense is over the top and well worth investigating. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

What do you dislike about Netgate pfSense?

As flexible as pfSense is, there are some caveats during implementation. The biggest limitation I found was during implementation in a virtual environment. DO NOT add more than three virtual network adapters. Use one virtual adapter and make it a VLAN trunk. Then inside pfSense, use the excellent VLAN features to create interfaces. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

Justin T.

Director Of Information Technology

Mid-Market (51-1000 emp.)

2/20/2023

"pfSense is the most stable firewall/router I have ever used"

5/5

What do you like best about Netgate pfSense?

The number one thing for me is the community license. I currently use it at home, but now that I have experienced several updates and learned the pfSense UI, I plan to use it professionally, as well. I am working on a plan to use something like a Netgate 4100 or 6100 as an 'introduction' to my company. Assuming all of that goes well, I would be strongly researching/considering the enterprise rackmount, HA solutions. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

What do you dislike about Netgate pfSense?

Mostly that I wish features came a little quicker. The stability is absolutely the main reason I like pfSense so much, but I wouldn't mind a few more updates if it meant features were coming sooner. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

What problems is Netgate pfSense solving and how is that benefiting you?

For my home: It gets me all sorts of features, that typical home routers do not. More than that, though, I can trust that the software is safe. I'm looking at you, ASUS-gate. For business: Please note this is not implemented, but I plan to add a small unit to help manage security between my VLANs. Believe it or not, this will simplify the network I inherited. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

Verified User in Computer & Network Security

Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.)

6/22/2023

"Awesome software and good support"

4.5/5

What do you like best about Netgate pfSense?

I have been using pfSense firewalls for years, previously in a HA setup in a production environment, and now as an office firewall for a tech enterprise. pfSense comes with a large feature set, a nice UI and, many hardware options. The documentation is extensive and the support has always been quite responsive. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

What do you dislike about Netgate pfSense?

No problem really. Comparing config backup files can be a pain, but it's something you rarely have to do. A nice additional feature would be to enable admins to export settings in different formats, for example export firewall rules to Excel or PDF format. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

Verified User in Information Technology and Services

Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.)

2/27/2024

"Easy to setup and understand. Lots of features."

5/5

What do you like best about Netgate pfSense?

It has ALOT of the capabilities I am looking to deploy all in a single box. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

What do you dislike about Netgate pfSense?

I am still having issues with multiple wireguard tunnels. Reverted to openvpn. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

Response from Esther Cheng of Netgate pfSense

edit

We're glad to hear that you find Netgate pfSense easy to set up and packed with features!

Martin K.

Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.)

2/18/2023

"Best open source firewall"

5/5

What do you like best about Netgate pfSense?

The best about pfsense is that it is a mature application, which runs under FreeBSD, what causes it to have better networking stack than Linux. It allows packet defragmenting, and can integrate with other useful packages such as OpenVPN, Suricata, Snort, DNS, DHCP, etc. I like I can connect two ISPs and use both at the same time, expanding my bandwidth and/or use as a backup ISP. Don't lose internet connectivity again! Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

What do you dislike about Netgate pfSense?

Nothing to criticize. Some argue that being FreeBSD is different than Linux, that may some feel intimidated by this. But I don't think it's something to dislike. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

Verified User in Education Management

Mid-Market (51-1000 emp.)

2/26/2024

"That was Easy!"

5/5

What do you like best about Netgate pfSense?

Support is fast. Tickets are responded to (near) instantly. Issues understood and speedily resolved. Love it! Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

What do you dislike about Netgate pfSense?

Nothing to dislike really. This was and has been a very easy relationship. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

Response from Esther Cheng of Netgate pfSense

edit

We're glad to hear that you are satisfied with our fast and efficient support. Thank you for your positive feedback!

James C.

Owner

Information Technology and Services

Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.)

Originally submitted 3/30/2023

"Excellent Firewall Full of Features"

5/5

What do you like best about Netgate pfSense?

It is a full-featured firewall that is completely adaptable and customizable for each use case. It is suitable for all uses, from a school district to small offices and enterprise solutions. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

What do you dislike about Netgate pfSense?

There needs to be some sort of central management console to view all the firewalls you have deployed if you are a service provider. Having to come up with alternative solutions that do not entirely lend themselves to the ecosystem of the firewall appliance is not ideal. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

Cliff W.

Mid-Market (51-1000 emp.)

8/14/2023

"Excellent Software and Hardware. Amazing support."

5/5

What do you like best about Netgate pfSense?

Very easy to implement and maintain. Hardware is solid with the newer generation of devices. Being open-source is a plus, and the ability to enable specialized lists for security is fantastic. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

What do you dislike about Netgate pfSense?

The use of eMMC is a little confusing. I understand the use of it for small devices, but for the larger devices for business, it seems to have a high failure rate. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

Chris M.

Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.)

6/23/2023

"Long time user"

4.5/5

What do you like best about Netgate pfSense?

Flexibility of running on any hardware. This has allowed me to recover from disaster recovery situations provided there was a backup of the configuration. pfSense is certainly among one the best value products enabling extremely high firewall speeds in simplistic use case scenarios. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

What do you dislike about Netgate pfSense?

Separating the community and enterprise edition. Tendency for software updates to go wrong. Lack of well integrated NGFW features. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

Laszlo F.

Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.)

7/25/2023

"A SOHO firewall with close-to-large-business capabilities"

5/5

What do you like best about Netgate pfSense?

The functionalities with the additional packages, the forum and the community, the support - all superb for a very reasonable price. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

What do you dislike about Netgate pfSense?

The FreeBSD based OS is not for everyone, if you are a beginner in *NIX systems - practice a bit before you dig in. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.