Check Point UTM-1 [EOL] vs Netgate pfSense comparison

Why PeerSpot?

Check Point Software Technologies and Netgate are both solutions in the Firewalls category. Additionally, 84% of Check Point Software Technologies users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 94% of Netgate users who would recommend it.

Check Point UTM-1 [EOL]

Read 19 Check Point UTM-1 [EOL] reviews

84% willing to recommend

Netgate pfSense

Read 221 Netgate pfSense reviews

33,789 Views
31,762 Comparison Views

94% willing to recommend

Check Point UTM-1 [EOL]

Netgate pfSense

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive Summary

We performed a comparison between Check Point UTM-1 [EOL] and Netgate pfSense based on real PeerSpot user reviews.

Find out what your peers are saying about Fortinet, Netgate, Cisco and others in Firewalls.

To learn more, read our detailed Firewalls Report (Updated: September 2026).

Buyer's Guide

Firewalls

September 2026

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Helped 913,683 peers since 2012

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

Check Point UTM-1 [EOL]

Average Rating

8.2

Reviews Sentiment

7.4

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Netgate pfSense

Average Rating

8.6

Reviews Sentiment

7.2

Number of Reviews

221

Ranking in other categories

Firewalls (2nd)

Featured Reviews

William Cambronero

Consultant at ITQS

Great firewalls, VPN, and Intrusion prevention capabilities

Some features that could be improved are advanced threat protection, sandboxing, and vulnerability management. Another point is to improve the technical support provided by Check Point UTM-1. Although the company offers different standards, including basic and premium, by mail and by telephone, they present a very large deficiency in the time it takes to comply with the provisions of the SLA. Coordinating a meeting is complicated by the schedules. The documentation should also be improved by having it unified.

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Juan-Arias

Principal Cloud Architect - Software Engineer at a consultancy with 11-50 employees

Rapid VPN setup has connected offices in minutes and brings live insights for proactive issue control

What I appreciate the most about Netgate pfSense is the ease and straightforward nature of the platform. I can set up a new office in less than 10 minutes. The benefits of using Netgate pfSense are that I can set up VPNs in less than two to three minutes, and then just deploy the file across my networks, where everybody would be connected in less than an hour. The dashboards of Netgate pfSense bring all the necessary information that I need at a glance, and it is actually a live update every three to five seconds. It is spotless, and I have been able to catch issues before they hit operations.

Read full review

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The solution came to give us an elimination of having independent products such as antivirus firewalls and all the types of applications that were previously used for this type of content filtering, and now it is a single solution."

"The most important features are performance and ease of management."

"The firewall allows the logging of traffic, and it has an easy to use VPN."

"The filtering was very good."

"Check Point is not cheap when compared to other solutions, but it provides high level security, and as an organization we are fully satisfied with this product."

"We can create a domain to separate and segregate some functions, some services."

"When we were evaluating services, we knew we needed something robust and easy to implement with the old equipment and something that was safe."

"It provides visibility and drives organizational security."

More Check Point UTM-1 [EOL] pros

"The solution's web interface is very feature-rich and well-supported."

"As a first-time NetGate pfSense user, I've been impressed by several features: easy integration for blocking traffic by country, straightforward creation and management of firewall rules, and the ability to extend functionality through plugins."

"There is so much stuff you can do with it."

"I was using another product, but it didn't have a bandwidth controller and monitoring tool like this product does, so I switched because I can find everything in one window."

"The most valuable feature is that it's robust; in terms of resources, utilization assets, CPU utilization, and a lot of memory, it's very good, and the concurrent users are perfect for us."

"This is definitely one of the most powerful firewalls for peace of mind."

"The power to use old hardware allows an exceptional ROI the investment is little just a few network cards"

"The ability to perform packet captures on the command line and via the GUI is useful for diagnosing problems."

More Netgate pfSense pros

Cons

"Specifically on the user experience, sometimes the set up of things, such as the VPN SSL, takes a lot of time to load and a lot of time to get up and running on every session."

"The entire GUI, look and feel of the application."

"The solution should be more user-friendly."

"What has been the issue of firewalls is they ask me for policies and content filtering application control and all these features that are now part of Harmony."

"The interface needs improvement."

"Customer Service: Horrible. It takes them days, sometimes weeks, until they try to help, and then they don't help enough."

"The physical memory is insufficient for installing policies and some other operations."

"Memory and processing power: These devices are strictly for small business applications."

More Check Point UTM-1 [EOL] cons

"I think if you have paid for a year of service, it shouldn't matter how many times you need to request to rekey the license as long as it is not every other day."

"The downsides of Netgate pfSense include a lack of graphics to show a customer."

"The initial approach is very complex because of the multiple functions, but after a short learning curve it is able to handle the standard functions."

"It is not centrally managed, where you log into the website and can see all your services there. We would like to be able to see is all the configurations from a central interface on all our pfSenses."

"The router monitoring needs improvement when compared with Sonicwall."

"It would be great to add more to security."

"It needs to be more secure."

"For the third-party packages, I'd rather have it built-in, like a core feature of pfSense, part of the core model."

More Netgate pfSense cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"This cost is between 3,000 and 5,000 euros per year, so some other solutions are cheaper and the pricing should be improved."

"The pricing is too high."

"Its price is fair. I buy the Netgate hardware so that I can support pfSense and Netgate and I have somebody designing the next layer of software for me in the future. I like their model. It is a high-value piece of equipment with a great team behind it."

"The solution is free. However, you need to pay for support."

"I spent a couple of $1,000 on hardware, and the OS was free. A comparable firewall would cost me probably 20 grand. It saved a lot of money."

"I am using the community version of the solution which is free."

"They are on the higher end, but you do not get stuck with spending thousands of dollars every year. You do not have recurring license costs to have people use a simple feature like VPN. That makes it more cost-effective in the long term."

"pfSense is open-source, but the support is something that the customer pays for."

"pfSense Plus is cost-effective for what we're getting."

"I use the product's free version."

More Netgate pfSense pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Construction Company

19%

Marketing Services Firm

15%

Financial Services Firm

13%

Outsourcing Company

Comms Service Provider

12%

Computer Software Company

10%

Manufacturing Company

Outsourcing Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	10
Midsize Enterprise	6
Large Enterprise	6

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	171
Midsize Enterprise	33
Large Enterprise	29

Questions from the Community

Ask a question

Earn 20 points

Help me find the best open source router

You don't really specify what type of router you are looking for but if you are talking about a gateway router I recommend PFSense. This software solutions can be installed on youf own hardware or ...

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How do I choose between Fortinet FortiGate and pfSense?

Fortinet’s Fortigate is a firewall solution we use and are very much satisfied with its performance. We find Fortigate both cost-effective and efficient. One of the features we like most is that Fo...

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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 client, Open VPN and client, and PPTP client. Both also have intrusion detection a...

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Comparisons

Fortinet FortiGate vs Check Point UTM-1 [EOL]

Compared 18% of the time

Check Point Quantum Force (NGFW) vs Check Point UTM-1 [EOL]

Compared 12% of the time

Sophos Cyberoam UTM vs Check Point UTM-1 [EOL]

Compared 11% of the time

Sophos UTM vs Check Point UTM-1 [EOL]

Compared 11% of the time

Cisco Secure Firewall vs Check Point UTM-1 [EOL]

Compared 9% of the time

More Check Point UTM-1 [EOL] Competitors

OPNsense vs Netgate pfSense

Compared 51% of the time

Fortinet FortiGate vs Netgate pfSense

Compared 8% of the time

Cisco Secure Firewall vs Netgate pfSense

Compared 4% of the time

Sophos Firewall vs Netgate pfSense

Compared 3% of the time

Sophos UTM vs Netgate pfSense

Compared 3% of the time

More Netgate pfSense Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Check Point UTM-1 [EOL]

September 2026

Download Check Point UTM-1 [EOL] product report

Buyer's Guide

Netgate pfSense

September 2026

Download Netgate pfSense product report

Overview

Check Point UTM-1 delivers proven, best-in-class security ideal for use in industrial Ethernet and SCADA environments. Robust performance and central management provide unmatched value in a simple, all-in-one solution.

Check Point Software Technologies

Netgate pfSense is an open-source firewall and router software known for scalability, cost-effectiveness, and community support. It includes customizable packages for varied network management needs, offering solid performance and straightforward management for diverse setups.

Netgate pfSense provides an impressive range of functionalities including firewall capabilities, VPN options, and extensive customization through packages. Its low resource usage and high availability make it viable for businesses of all sizes, especially when dealing with tailored network demands. Despite its strengths, users suggest improvements in ease of use, mobile compatibility, and support for plug-ins. Enhanced centralized management, better documentation, and additional security features are frequent requests.

What are the key features of Netgate pfSense?

Scalability: Suits any network size from small home setups to large enterprises.
Open-source: Offers transparency and flexibility, allowing for community-driven development.
Firewall Capabilities: Provides robust protection against unauthorized access.
VPN Options: Supports secure remote connectivity with various VPN protocols.
Customizable Packages: Allows users to personalize functionalities to fit network needs.
High Availability: Ensures continuous network operations with redundancy features.
Load Balancing: Distributes traffic efficiently across multiple paths or connections.
Traffic Shaping: Manages bandwidth allocation to optimize network performance.

What benefits should users consider in reviews?

Cost-effectiveness: Significant savings due to low operational costs and open-source nature.
Performance: Reliable service delivery with minimal hardware demands.
User-friendly Interface: Intuitive design that simplifies complex network management.
Community Support: Access to extensive community resources for troubleshooting and advice.
Comprehensive Documentation: Detailed guides and tutorials to facilitate installation and configuration.

In education and healthcare, Netgate pfSense is employed for secure connectivity and efficient traffic management, accommodating distinct demands of remote access and content filtering. Organizations in these sectors often utilize features such as load balancing and VPNs to maintain secure and reliable network operations while integrating with services like Active Directory for streamlined identity management. Small to medium-sized enterprises benefit from its affordability and robust functionality, making it a go-to choice for managed service environments requiring effective network security and control.

Netgate

Sample Customers

AccessIT Group Inc., Accuvant, Cadre Computer Resources Inc., Compuquip Technologies Inc, Dimension Data North America Inc., Forsythe Solutions Group, Gotham Technology Group LLC, GuidePoint Security LLC, Iovations, IPS

Nerds On Site Inc., RKC Development Inc., Expertech, Fisher's Technology, Ncisive, Consulting, CPURX, Vaughn's Computer House Calls, Imeretech LLC, Digital Crisis, Carolina Digital Phone, Technigogo Technology Services, The Simple Solution, SwiftecITInc, Rocky Mountain Tech Team, Free Range Geeks, Alaska Computer Geeks, Lark Information Technology, Renaissance Systems Inc., Cutting Edge Computers, Caretech LLC, GoVanguard, Network Touch Ltd, P.C. Solutions.Net, Vision Voice and Data Systems LLC, Montgomery Technologies, Techforce, Concero Networks, ASONInc, CPS Electronics and Consulting, Darkwire.net LLC, IT Specialists, MBS-Net Inc., VOICE1 LLC, Advantage Networking Inc., Powerhouse Systems, Doxa Multimedia Inc., Pro Computer Service, Virtual IT Services, A&J Computers Inc., Envision IT LLC, CommunicaONE Inc., Bone Computer Inc., Amax Engineering Corporation, QPG Ltd. Co., IT 101 Inc., Perfect Cloud Solutions, Applied Technology Group Inc., The Digital Sun Group LLC, Firespring

Find out what your peers are saying about Fortinet, Netgate, Cisco and others in Firewalls. Updated: September 2026.

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