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Arista Edge Threat Management NG Firewall vs OPNsense comparison

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Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Sep 16, 2024

Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Categories and Ranking

Fortinet FortiGate
Sponsored
Ranking in Firewalls
1st
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
580
Ranking in other categories
Secure Web Gateways (SWG) (2nd), Intrusion Detection and Prevention Software (IDPS) (1st), Software Defined WAN (SD-WAN) Solutions (1st), WAN Edge (1st), ZTNA (1st), Unified Threat Management (UTM) (1st)
Arista Edge Threat Manageme...
Ranking in Firewalls
39th
Average Rating
7.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.6
Number of Reviews
3
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
OPNsense
Ranking in Firewalls
4th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.6
Number of Reviews
44
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of January 2026, in the Firewalls category, the mindshare of Fortinet FortiGate is 18.8%, down from 20.7% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Arista Edge Threat Management NG Firewall is 0.2%, up from 0.1% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of OPNsense is 11.2%, down from 13.1% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Firewalls Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Fortinet FortiGate18.8%
OPNsense11.2%
Arista Edge Threat Management NG Firewall0.2%
Other69.8%
Firewalls
 

Featured Reviews

Vasu Gala - PeerSpot reviewer
Manager, Information Technology Operation/Presales at TechMonarch
A stable solution with an intuitive interface and quick customer service
I have been working with Fortinet FortiGate, WatchGuard, Sophos, and SonicWall. I'm not as comfortable with SonicWall because of their UI and limitations. I prefer Fortinet above all other options. When it comes to configuration, I am confident in my ability to handle various tasks, including creating policies such as firewall rules, web policies, and application policies. Additionally, I can configure VPNs and implement load balancing, among other tasks. Overall, I feel much more comfortable working with Fortinet. Fortinet has made significant improvements by integrating AI with firewalls for threat analysis and prevention. In the past 2-3 years, they have launched FortiSASE and SIEM, and they also provide SOC services. Both Palo Alto and Fortinet FortiGate are excellent. While Fortinet FortiGate comes at higher prices, the functionality and support justify the cost. They promptly resolve firmware issues and inform all support providers about configuration changes.
reviewer2785293 - PeerSpot reviewer
systems engineer at a computer software company with 51-200 employees
Perimeter security has reduced botnet attacks and now needs better interface and logging
The best features Arista Edge Threat Management NG Firewall offers are its ability to push a lot of traffic along with bandwidth management and traffic policy. Bandwidth management and traffic policy help my organization by keeping our internet subscription low. Arista Edge Threat Management NG Firewall has positively impacted my organization by reducing botnet attacks. Immediately after I installed the firewall, it stopped a few botnet attacks.
Moutaz Sheikh Alard - PeerSpot reviewer
ISO 27001 Lead Implementer at a consultancy with 11-50 employees
Has helped simulate enterprise security setups and strengthens network segmentation practices
For my capstone, I use OPNsense for my project and its broader benefits for enterprise and cybersecurity context. OPNsense is an open source based firewall and routing platform. It offers enterprise-grade features such as intrusion detection and prevention system, VPN support, traffic shaping, and web filtering, all without license cost. This platform has a modular design, a clean web-based GUI, and frequent updates that prioritize security and usability. It competes with commercial firewalls such as Cisco ASA, FortiGate, and Palo Alto, but stands out because it's community-driven, cost-effective, and transparent. I find OPNsense's feature of acting as a central firewall and gateway most valuable, providing robust point segmentation between the internal network and DMZs in my capstone project, intrusion detection to monitor malicious traffic, VPN services for secure remote access, and logging and monitoring for compliance and auditing. This allows me to simulate a real-world enterprise environment on a smaller scale, demonstrating both security hardening and network efficiency. OPNsense impacts my projects and home network positively because its cost-effectiveness is perfect for lab and enterprise setup without expensive licensing. The flexibility, easy VLAN and DMZ configuration supports different zones such as web servers, mail servers, and log servers. The security-first design for IDS/IPS integration helps me showcase modern defense-in-depth strategies. The user-friendly management through the web GUI makes it possible to manage complex firewall rules clearly, which is critical when documenting and presenting a capstone. Scalability is also an advantage. Although my project is lab-based, OPNsense can scale into production deployments in SMBs and enterprise.

Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Pros

"We have found the product to be scalable."
"The primary feature I appreciate about Fortinet FortiGate is the ease of setup."
"Initial setup is easy to configure."
"I rate this solution a nine out of ten."
"Fortinet FortiGate serves as the first line of defense, it is robust and easy to configure, and I haven't seen any breaches happening when configured properly based on best practices."
"Fortinet FortiGate has a threat detection capacity compared to other vendors."
"You can create multiple Virtual Domains (VDOMs), which are treated as separate firewall instances."
"Fortinet FortiGate is good for helping you secure and protect mission-critical data."
"Arista Edge Threat Management NG Firewall has positively impacted my organization by reducing botnet attacks."
"Phish Blocker is a valuable feature."
"The product's initial setup phase is easy."
"I find the solution to be user-friendly. It has a lot of reports and easy settings."
"The most valuable features in OPNsense are reporting and visibility."
"What I like best about OPNsense is that, as a firewall, it's pretty good. I'm quite impressed with it. I had an excellent experience with OPNsense, which helped me achieve the targets I wanted."
"It has firewall and VPN capabilities, which are very valuable features."
"The initial setup is easy. It only takes 15-30 minutes to deploy."
"What I like the most about OPNsense is that it offers an easy-to-use dashboard for device management and control."
"I feel that its valuable features are that it is simple and free."
"We have found pretty much all the features of the solution to be valuable."
 

Cons

"One area for improvement involves FortiAnalyzer, specifically regarding the SOC part and log interpretation. Sometimes interpretation is very difficult."
"The pricing could always be better."
"Some of the filtering is not robust, you can escape it with a VPN. Some of the users bypass some of the filters. It catches some but it also misses some, that area could be improved. It's functioning reasonably but there's room for improvement in that area."
"The scalability could be better."
"For the migration, everyone has a firewall in use and I am selling Fortinet. Typically, I am replacing another firewall. Previously, there was a tool available to convert configurations from one firewall, such as Palo Alto, to Fortinet, but this tool is no longer free. If it could be made free again, it would be very beneficial."
"If they could extend their fabric towards other vendor environments for integration, that would be great."
"We would like to see better pricing."
"The solution could be more evenly structured."
"The documentation is not clear."
"Arista Edge Threat Management NG Firewall can be improved, particularly the user interface, which is not very good, and also the logs, which are not very good."
"The product has a lot to improve in the area of policy implementation."
"The interface of the solution is an area with shortcomings."
"The ability to set the VPN IP address would be a welcome addition."
"The solution would not be suitable for anything large-scale."
"They should improve IPEs for security in the future."
"The solution could be more secure."
"There is room for improvement in SSL inspection."
"OPNsense could be improved with a better wizard, as when I first installed it, it seemed difficult to know where to go."
"There are issues with stability and reliability."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"When I look around at other products, such as Sophos, Fortinet FortiGate is 20% to 30% more expensive with our current cost."
"We find the most valuable aspect of this solution is the price. It is affordable, and cheaper than other firewalls."
"Fortinet is reasonable in pricing and licensing. Overall, FortiGate is affordable. The licensing fee can be a little high, depending on the budget for your project."
"The price of Fortinet FortiGate is reasonable for an SME."
"The price is fair compared to the other competitors."
"We purchased a five-year bundle package, which worked out cheaper than competing solutions."
"The price of Fortinet FortiGate is affordable. Most of our customers are on a three-year license to use the solution. All the features and support are included in the price."
"The pricing for this solution is reasonable."
"I consider it an averagely-priced tool."
"The tool is quite cheap."
"I would rate the pricing a nine out of ten, especially considering the availability of a free community edition."
"There are no licensing costs for OPNsence."
"We are not paying any licensing fees. OPNsense is completely free for us."
"OPNsense is an open-source solution and it is free to use."
"The price of OPNsense is good."
"OPNsense is open source software so at this time it is free for us to use."
"It's a free solution."
"As an appliance, it's in the medium price range."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
12%
Comms Service Provider
9%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Financial Services Firm
6%
No data available
Comms Service Provider
17%
Computer Software Company
11%
Manufacturing Company
6%
University
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business357
Midsize Enterprise133
Large Enterprise188
No data available
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business30
Midsize Enterprise5
Large Enterprise8
 

Questions from the Community

Which is the better NGFW: Fortinet Fortigate or Cisco Firepower?
When you compare these firewalls you can identify them with different features, advantages, practices and usage a...
What is the biggest difference between Sophos XG and FortiGate?
From my experience regarding both the Sophos and FortiGate firewalls, I personally would rather use FortiGate. I know...
What are the biggest technical differences between Sophos UTM and Fortinet FortiGate?
As a solution, Sophos UTM offers a lot of functionality, it scales well, and the stability and performance are quite ...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Arista Edge Threat Management NG Firewall?
I consider it an averagely-priced tool. Adding additional features does not cost extra. My small company pays around ...
What needs improvement with Arista Edge Threat Management NG Firewall?
The product has a lot to improve in the area of policy implementation. If our company wants to give a separate policy...
What advice do you have for others considering Arista Edge Threat Management NG Firewall?
The product offers DPI capability. My company does not use the DPI capabilities. I recommend the tool to those who pl...
What is the difference between PfSense and OPNsense?
Two of the most common and well recognized firewalls, PfSense and OPNsense both support site-to-site IPsec VPN and cl...
What do you like most about OPNsense?
What I like the most about OPNsense is that it offers an easy-to-use dashboard for device management and control.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for OPNsense?
My experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing is that since OPNsense is free, the licensing and setup was eas...
 

Also Known As

Fortinet FortiGate Next-Generation Firewall
No data available
No data available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Amazon Web Services, Microsoft, IBM, Cisco, Dell, HP, Oracle, Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile, Sprint, Vodafone, Orange, BT Group, Telstra, Deutsche Telekom, Comcast, Time Warner Cable, CenturyLink, NTT Communications, Tata Communications, SoftBank, China Mobile, Singtel, Telus, Rogers Communications, Bell Canada, Telkom Indonesia, Telkom South Africa, Telmex, Telia Company, Telkom Kenya
Information Not Available
1. Deciso B.V. 2. iXsystems, Inc.  3. EuroBSDCon  4. Netgate  5. Claranet  6. Voleatech  7. Open Systems AG  8. Securebit AG  9. Proxmox Server Solutions GmbH  10. AVM Computersysteme Vertriebs GmbH  Additional customers include: T-Systems International GmbH, Deutsche Telekom AG, Vodafone GmbH, 1&1 IONOS SE, OVHcloud, Hetzner Online GmbH, Strato AG, PlusServer GmbH, Host Europe GmbH, United Internet AG, 1&1 Versatel Deutschland GmbH, QSC AG, Bechtle AG, Cancom SE, Computacenter AG & Co. oHG, T-Systems Multimedia Solutions GmbH, Atos SE, Capgemini SE, Accenture plc, IBM Corporation, Hewlett Packard Enterprise Company, Cisco Systems, Inc.
Find out what your peers are saying about Arista Edge Threat Management NG Firewall vs. OPNsense and other solutions. Updated: December 2025.
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