Based on 23 reviews and ratings
Based on 64 reviews and ratings
Highlights
MikroTik and pfSense both offer firewall solutions that leverage software to allow devices to function as network firewalls. MikroTik primarily provides routers and switches, but their RouterOS software acts as a software based firewall solution. pfSense is an open source firewall solution that businesses are able to access for free. Most likely due to pricing, pfSense is most popular with small businesses.
Features
MikroTik and pfSense can both be used to protect business networks through firewalls, but they also have a few standout features that set them apart from each other.
MikroTik’s RouterOS software is very low demand and flexible enough to fit on most devices or virtual machines without taking up much space. MikroTik RouterOS can also be installed on all sorts of drives, from USB to SATA. This makes MikroTik a good choice for organizations looking for software that can function on low performance machines.
pfSense firewall is an open source tool, making it highly customizable for a skilled team that can take advantage of access to the source code. Additionally, pfSense includes advanced features such as SSL encryption and customizable content filtering. pfSense is an ideal choice for businesses looking for a highly customizable, high performance firewall option.
Limitations
MikroTik and pfSense both provide essential firewall features, such as customizable routing, but they also have a few limitations that are important to consider.
MikroTik RouterOS is a proprietary firewall solution, so it isn’t as accessible, or as customizable as open source solutions like pfSense. Additionally, MikroTik provides excellent routing features but is weaker when it comes to features like SSL encryption. Businesses looking for more powerful security features may prefer a solution like pfSense.
pfSense offers significant flexibility and powerful features, but it is also a heavier piece of software compared to RouterOS. Businesses looking for the lightest possible software that can run on very low power machines may prefer Mikrotik’s firewall solution. Support for pfSense is also limited for businesses that use pfSense for free rather than purchasing hardware from pfSense.
Pricing
Pricing for bothe MikroTik firewall solutions and pfSense firewall solutions is highly dependent on how it is used. MikroTik hardware including their firewall solutions start as low as $70.00
Businesses can access and utilize pfSense firewall for free, but it is also included in their hardware and cloud packages. Cloud pricing starts as low as $0.08 per hour. In contrast, hardware packages including firewalls start as low as $150.00.
Provided by the TrustRadius Research Team
Published on August 3, 2020
Feature Set Ratings
Firewall

MikroTik Routers and Switches

pfSense
Identification Technologies


Visualization Tools


Content Inspection


Policy-based Controls


Active Directory and LDAP


Firewall Management Console


Reporting and Logging


VPN


High Availability


Stateful Inspection


Proxy Server


Attribute Ratings
- MikroTik Routers and Switches is rated higher in 1 area: Likelihood to Recommend
Likelihood to Recommend

MikroTik Routers and Switches

pfSense
Usability

MikroTik Routers and Switches

pfSense
Support Rating

MikroTik Routers and Switches

pfSense
Likelihood to Recommend
MikroTik Routers and Switches
pfSense
Pros
MikroTik Routers and Switches
- Affordable, it has more features compared to other brand at the same price.
- Widely available, by today it's easy to obtained one, even online retailers sell it.
- Highly customizable, you may write a powerful script to enhance the function.
- Flexible, you can make different configuration approach based on you needs.
pfSense
- pfSense is an excellent firewall - It logs all of your traffic. It has packages you can install to snort bad traffic.
- pfSense has a tool called "p0f" which allows you to see what type of OS is trying to connect to you. You can filter these results and you can also block a specific OS from connecting to you.
- pfSense is an excellent load-balancer: (Multi-WAN and Server Load Balancing) The fail-over/aggregation works very well. This is perfect if your business uses multiple ISP's to ensure your customers are always able to access their data. Also helps with bandwidth distribution as well.
- VPN's - I am not entirely sure if this package was free with pfSense, but it does offer the ability to use OpenVPN which is what I am familiar with.
- They also have IPsec in the settings as well, but I am not familiar with that enough to go into any detail with it.
- As I mentioned I do use OpenVPN the only thing I don't care for with it is I can create OpenVPN configs for each user I want to be able to VPN into the network and I assumed each one would be "unique" but this does not seem to be the case. I could be doing it wrong, but if I create a config for a specific employee I would expect only that employee should be able to use that config, but I have been able to login to everyone that I made using my credentials.
- I mentioned earlier that pfSense had a GUI.
- I personally really think it is cool because it has a bunch of reporting graphs for monitoring your networks. I think when I become the full-time admin at the company I am going to try to talk them into getting me a TV I can mount on the wall and display all the graphs and real-time info pfSense shows so I can monitor what is going on with the network(s) at all times. Plus I think it would look rad.
Cons
MikroTik Routers and Switches
- Some of the wiki articles have not been updated or are not accurate enough. We spent a couple of days trying to find an example of implementing a mobile IPSec client solution. But once this has been implemented, it has been solid (always worked). A bigger community would help, and I am finding it hard to find the time to contribute to these articles.
pfSense
- There is no API for making changes. This can be a hindrance in environments where auto-deploying something needs firewall rules or HAProxy configs updated. Since all settings are stored in an XML file and then configs are generated from that, even manually updating config files cannot be done.
- Beware that some network cards can have issues. pfSense is based on FreeBSD, so it's best to look on their compatibility list before deploying.
Pricing Details
MikroTik Routers and Switches
General
Free Trial
—Free/Freemium Version
—Premium Consulting/Integration Services
—Entry-level set up fee?
Starting Price
—MikroTik Routers and Switches Editions & Modules
Additional Pricing Details
—pfSense
General
Free Trial
—Free/Freemium Version
—Premium Consulting/Integration Services
—Entry-level set up fee?
Starting Price
pfSense Editions & Modules
Edition
SG-1100 | $1791 |
---|---|
SG-2100 | $2291 |
SG-3100 | $3991 |
SG-5100 | $6991 |
XG-7100-DT | $8991 |
XG-7100-1U | $9991 |
XG-1537 | $1,9491 |
XG-1541 | $2,6491 |
- per appliance
Additional Pricing Details
—Usability
MikroTik Routers and Switches
pfSense
Support Rating
MikroTik Routers and Switches
pfSense
Alternatives Considered
MikroTik Routers and Switches
pfSense
Return on Investment
MikroTik Routers and Switches
- First of all it's cheaper than Cisco routers.
- It has more functionality than Cisco routers that cost 4 times more.
- It has a GUI. But it has CLI too.
pfSense
- Moving to a FWaaS solution installed on a decent computer the initial investment was moderate to cover 50 to 250 users, but still being cheaper that a Fortinet, Cisco ASA, or a Sophos UTM.
- Paying only for support can be a double edge knife, cause you need to identify what's the goal of the request, or your drown into a an endless list of requirements.
- To stay in the top with the half of a regular investment pFSense gives a wide variety of plugins that will give you a deep knowledge of your security flaws and strong points.