Overview
What is pfSense?
pfSense is a firewall and load management product available through the open source pfSense Community Edition, as well as a the licensed edition, pfSense Plus (formerly known as pfSense Enterprise). The solution provides combined firewall, VPN, and router functionality, and…
pfSense great for home offices
pfSense provides excellent routing and firewalling capabilities
TrustRadius Insights
pfSense - Security guaranteed by transparency
Review for pfSense
pfSense for High security
Pfsense for best security features
Pfsense review
Extremely flexible with a vast range of configurations and features for very little cost. Highly reliable.
pfSense: The best of all worlds, community and enterprise supported
The best small-to-medium business software based firewall
pfSense - A great middle of the road solution
pfSense Review from an SME IT manager
Very competitive reliable solution
pfSense is rock solid
Popular Features
- VPN (11)10.0100%
- Policy-based Controls (11)10.0100%
- Reporting and Logging (11)8.080%
- Content Inspection (11)4.141%
Reviewer Pros & Cons
Video Reviews
2 videos
Pricing
SG-1100
$179
SG-2100
$229
SG-3100
$399
Entry-level set up fee?
- No setup fee
Offerings
- Free Trial
- Free/Freemium Version
- Premium Consulting/Integration Services
Product Demos
PFSense 2.4.4 with LCDproc on Broadband9 Firewall appliance! Tested with 100Mbit leased line
Introduction of PFSense Open Source Firewall and Router
pfSense installation and setup demo (VirtualBox)
Building cloud firewall-router appliances for free: Installing Pfsense in Hyper-V
pfSense Tutorial - How to enforce Google Safe Search using PfSense - Guide and Demo
1. How to Install and Configure BGP in GNS3 using pfSense
Features
Firewall
A firewall is a filter that stands between a computer or computer network and the Internet. Each firewall can be programmed to keep specific traffic in or out
- 5Identification Technologies(10) Ratings
Policy-based visibility and control over applications, users and content
- 7Visualization Tools(8) Ratings
Visualization tools present administrators with data on applications traversing the network, who is using them, and the potential security impact.
- 4.1Content Inspection(11) Ratings
Inspecting permitted application traffic by means of threat prevention, URL filtering and data filtering
- 10Policy-based Controls(11) Ratings
Firewall policy controls enable administrators to create firewall policies controlling what data is allowed to traverse the firewall
- 7Active Directory and LDAP(9) Ratings
Integration with Active Directory and LDAP directories
- 9.5Firewall Management Console(10) Ratings
Either command-line or web-based interface for centralized control and management
- 8Reporting and Logging(11) Ratings
Custom and summary reports, and log files enabling analysis of security incidents, application usage and traffic patterns
- 10VPN(11) Ratings
VPN's implement encryption and anonymize IP addresses
- 10High Availability(11) Ratings
Built-in capacity to prevent exposure if primary firewall stops working
- 7Stateful Inspection(11) Ratings
Stateful inspection analyzes packet headers and contents of packets
- 6Proxy Server(11) Ratings
A proxy server changes your IP address and masks the origin of your network traffic
Product Details
- About
- Tech Details
What is pfSense?
pfSense is a firewall and load management product available through the open source pfSense Community Edition, as well as a the licensed edition, pfSense Plus (formerly known as pfSense Enterprise). The solution provides combined firewall, VPN, and router functionality, and can be deployed through the cloud (AWS or Azure), or on-premises with a Netgate appliance. It as scalable capacities, with functionality for SMBs.
As a firewall, pfSense offers Stateful packet inspection, concurrent IPv4 and IPv6 support, and intrusion prevention. Within its VPN capabilities, it provides SSL encryption, automatic or custom routing, and multiple tunneling options. pfSense also supports optional clustering and load-balancing, along with proxying and content filtering services. The product can also monitor and report on network traffic.
pfSense Videos
pfSense Technical Details
Deployment Types | On-premise |
---|---|
Operating Systems | Windows |
Mobile Application | No |
Comparisons
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Reviews and Ratings
(70)Community Insights
- Business Problems Solved
- Pros
- Cons
- Recommendations
pfSense has proven to be a versatile and reliable network solution, addressing various use cases for organizations of different sizes and industries. Users have successfully managed multiple ISPs and performed load balancing, ensuring efficient internet connectivity and reducing downtime. The ability to quickly backup and restore configurations has been appreciated by customers, providing peace of mind and minimizing disruptions. The stability and ease of management have been particularly important for small IT teams, allowing them to efficiently handle network operations.
Many organizations rely on pfSense as their primary firewall, utilizing its features for load balancing, failover, and hosting software and services. The support for multi-WAN and load balancing at both the WAN and load distributing levels has been highly beneficial for users. pfSense has also been successfully used to establish multiple IPsec tunnels for site-to-site VPN connections, enabling secure communication between different locations.
The scalability, flexibility, and cost-effectiveness of pfSense have made it a great solution for small to medium-sized businesses. It can be easily customized and integrated into existing infrastructures, including the implementation of VLANs and time-based rules. The GUI and CLI versions of pfSense have streamlined management tasks, making it accessible to users with varying technical expertise.
Furthermore, the extensive online manual and community support have received praise from users, providing valuable resources for troubleshooting and guidance. The community-supported nature of pfSense ensures that it stays up-to-date with the latest security measures.
Overall, pfSense serves as a reliable network backbone, handling routing, VPN connections, security features, failover scenarios, and inter-VLAN routing. Its versatility eliminates the need for multiple servers in smaller environments while providing essential security functions. Users appreciate its basic security measures and routing features which make it a cost-effective solution for those with limited budgets. With its proven reliability and enterprise-grade features, pfSense continues to be a trusted choice for organizations seeking a powerful network solution.
Intuitive User Interface: Users have consistently praised the intuitive and user-friendly interface of pfSense. Many reviewers have expressed that the well-thought-out web interface makes it easy to configure firewall rules and set up VPNs, allowing them to perform tasks quickly and efficiently.
Informative Dashboard: The extensive dashboard of pfSense has received widespread praise from users. Reviewers have mentioned that the traffic graphics on the dashboard are wonderful and provide all the necessary information at a glance, making it easy to monitor network activity and performance.
Low Hardware Requirements: Users appreciate that pfSense can run smoothly even on older PCs or router devices with lower-end specifications. This is seen as a significant advantage by many reviewers as it allows them to implement pfSense without the need for expensive hardware upgrades.
Inconvenient integration with modems: Several users have expressed frustration that integrating modem functionality into pfSense is not possible, which can be inconvenient for those looking for a more comprehensive solution.
Challenging web GUI setup and management: Non-expert users may find it challenging to set up and manage the web GUI, particularly when it comes to assigning WAN and LAN interfaces.
Limited API and scripting capabilities: Some reviewers have highlighted the lack of an API for making changes in pfSense. This limitation can be a hindrance in environments where frequent updates to firewall rules or HAProxy configs are required.
Users have made several recommendations based on their experiences with pfSense. The most common recommendations are:
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Users recommend reading the documentation and taking official training for pfSense. This suggestion highlights the importance of familiarizing oneself with the product and its features. By investing time in understanding the documentation and receiving official training, users can maximize their proficiency in network administration using pfSense.
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Users suggest making the switch to pfSense and using reliable hardware. This recommendation emphasizes the benefits of utilizing pfSense as a comprehensive solution for routing and firewall requirements in network administration. By switching to pfSense and ensuring the use of reliable hardware, users can optimize their network resource management.
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Users advise doing test builds and hardening before going live with pfSense. This recommendation underscores the importance of thorough testing and securing the system before implementing it in a live environment. By conducting test builds and hardening processes, users can identify potential issues or vulnerabilities, ensuring a smoother transition to pfSense.
These recommendations reflect user opinions on how to effectively utilize pfSense for routing and firewall requirements while optimizing network resource management.
Attribute Ratings
Reviews
(1-19 of 19)pfSense provides excellent routing and firewalling capabilities
Where pfSense far ouclasses Meraki is in the ease of use and the other width of features. These include features such as better VPN interoperability, non-subscription based pricing, auditability, not relying on the infrastructure of a third party, more transparency of what's actually going on, easier to deploy replacements if hardware fails. Additionally, the NAT management for pfSense seems to be a bit better, as you can NAT between any network segment and not just the LAN segments out the WAN interfaces.
pfSense - Security guaranteed by transparency
pfSense for High security
Pfsense for best security features
Extremely flexible with a vast range of configurations and features for very little cost. Highly reliable.
pfSense - A great middle of the road solution
pfSense Review from an SME IT manager
Very competitive reliable solution
pfSense is rock solid
iron firewall for your services
PfSense decent Open Source Firewall to reduce costs!
Robust, configurable, feature-rich, and RELIABLE network infrastructure at the perfect price.
Switching to pfSense allowed us to use professional grade switches and wifi access points, offloading all of the services that the consumer grade products took care of, onto pfSense (DHCP, DNS, routing, firewall, VPN, etc).
PfSense: A powerful tool in your hand
- Opnsense, Ipcop and Smoothwall
Also with pfsense you do not need complex hardware to release all the potential of this solution.