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Huawei NGFW vs Netgate pfSense Plus Firewall/VPN/Router comparison

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Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary

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

Huawei NGFW
Ranking in Firewalls
35th
Average Rating
7.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.2
Number of Reviews
22
Ranking in other categories
Unified Threat Management (UTM) (12th)
Netgate pfSense Plus Firewa...
Ranking in Firewalls
22nd
Average Rating
9.0
Reviews Sentiment
4.3
Number of Reviews
5
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of October 2026, in the Firewalls category, the mindshare of Huawei NGFW is 1.2%, up from 1.0% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Netgate pfSense Plus Firewall/VPN/Router is 0.3%. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Firewalls Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Netgate pfSense Plus Firewall/VPN/Router0.3%
Huawei NGFW1.2%
Other98.5%
Firewalls
 

Featured Reviews

VZ
Senior Manager Technology at CNS Engineering
GUI application allows for easy monitoring and analysis of potential intrusions but needs improvement in threat prevention signatures
Based on the threat prevention signatures, they need updates. They should add some machine learning features and Machine learning detection. In future releases, I would like to see improvements in CDR technology. Forcepoint is pitching CDR technology, which extends sandboxing. Configuring data on the console needs enhancement. Huawei also need to improve spam techniques and add a web application firewall. Currently, Huawei does not have a built-in web application firewall (WAF) like Fortinet does. Tools like SIEM, SOAR, and Tenable can be integrated, but they require additional setup and should be integrated via API. For external threat detection, using the TAXII or STIX protocol, would be an improvement over the current features.
Jim Voige - PeerSpot reviewer
Site Manager at a consultancy with 11-50 employees
High availability routing has secured our network and delivers reliable support every day
One downside of Netgate pfSense Plus Firewall_VPN_Router is the need for a better understanding of what hardware it would run on. Right now, we're using Netgate's hardware, but I'm interested in knowing if there are other hardware options available, particularly heavier duty hardware, because the Supermicro 1537 version we have only has a single power supply, which is a shortcoming in an IT environment where dual power supplies are ideal. The pricing for the hardware of Netgate pfSense Plus Firewall_VPN_Router is steep, which is one reason I'd explore other options. I'm familiar with the costs of Supermicro servers, and I believe Netgate charges a premium for their server hardware without enough upside to justify it. The pricing is not justified.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"I am impressed with the product's antivirus features, strong encryption, policy implementation and easier installation."
"The solution's initial setup process is easy."
"The solution's implementation is pretty easy."
"The solution's performance is good with IPSec."
"The operational management dashboard is easy to use for the customers."
"It enables us to configure different policies and restrictions for specific users within the same subnet."
"The setup is quite easy."
"The feature set is rich."
"Overall, the entire Netgate pfSense Plus Firewall_VPN_Router product has been reliable, though some of their smaller gear aimed at remote offices hasn't been cost-effective."
"It's very simple to use, efficient, up to date, and the hardware is very available; it's very safe."
"They are more satisfied with Netgate pfSense Plus Firewall_VPN_Router in terms of its flexibility and customer support."
"We use pfSense and Netgate pfSense Plus Firewall/VPN/Router to establish a VPN tunnel between our client and our headquarters to transfer data between client and our equipment; it's very simple to use, efficient, up to date, and the hardware is very available; it's very safe."
"My experience with the product is that it is a stable and good product that is easy to use."
"I do not have complaints about Netgate pfSense Plus Firewall_VPN_Router with Firewall, VPN, and Router; it is really comfortable for use, and it does a pretty good job."
 

Cons

"With the Huawei firewall, none of the features comes at the top. We found out later that customer support is really not good. For this firewall, because of our customers' routine, for example, every six months they'll do a penetration test to find weaknesses. So whenever they came up with VAPT reports, they are looking to Huawei for help. I think that's basically because it's a different culture. Chinese culture and our culture is different. They have always tried to help find some excuses or say some other things that cannot help you solve the problem immediately."
"The firewall needs to be more configurable."
"Huawei NGFW should have better reporting and a dashboard for the visibility of traffic."
"Huawei also need to improve spam techniques and add a web application firewall. Currently, Huawei does not have a built-in web application firewall (WAF) like Fortinet does."
"The documentation needs to be improved. When they retire old models, they also retire the documentation. However, if you are still using an older model, you still need access to that documentation. And yet, they go ahead and removed it. It's gone. You are therefore stuck with a device with no documentation and technical support that isn't very helpful as they also remove support assistance as well."
"Without a proper contract in place, you can't really access the technical support you need."
"The IPS feature must be improved."
"Huawei should improve their threat intelligence."
"I would assess the effectiveness of Netgate pfSense Plus Firewall_VPN_Router's traffic shaping as good, but I would give a six marks only for that compared to others because in the past few years, there has been a stop of improvement or lack of improvement showing in Netgate pfSense Plus Firewall_VPN_Router."
"The pricing for the hardware of Netgate pfSense Plus Firewall_VPN_Router is steep, which is one reason I'd explore other options."
"The most significant drawback in recent years has been the cessation of firmware release downloads."
"They have to learn something more from FortiGate."
"The effectiveness of Netgate pfSense Plus Firewall_VPN_Router traffic shaping is quite good, but I am not very satisfied with the interface for control."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The pricing is cheap."
"Huawei is 30% cheaper than Arista."
"When you compare the price with other products, it's quite cost-effective. But the problem is always after, let's say, two years or three years later because they are not able to provide updates or patches very quickly."
"The solution isn't cheap. It's market price."
"The price of the license of this solution is high."
"The solution is inexpensive."
"I believe that we are entitled to a one-year extension on our licensing."
"Licensing fees are billed on an annual basis."
Information not available
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
15%
Manufacturing Company
13%
Construction Company
13%
Outsourcing Company
9%
Construction Company
34%
Comms Service Provider
12%
Healthcare Company
8%
Manufacturing Company
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business10
Midsize Enterprise6
Large Enterprise7
No data available
 

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Huawei NGFW?
The pricing is quite cheap compared to other NGFWs like Palo Alto or Cisco.
What needs improvement with Huawei NGFW?
Huawei should improve their threat intelligence. They need to have a more diversified platform and continuously update it with information from all vendors. Without diversified threat intelligence,...
What is your primary use case for Huawei NGFW?
Huawei products NGFW is commonly used to protect enterprise networks, secure internet access, and prevent unauthorized traffic. Its firewall policies, intrusion prevention, and application control ...
What needs improvement with Netgate pfSense Plus Firewall/VPN/Router?
Netgate pfSense Plus Firewall/VPN/Router regularly provides updates. One aspect they can improve is that most people ask whether an antivirus scanning system is available in pfSense. Other companie...
What is your primary use case for Netgate pfSense Plus Firewall/VPN/Router?
We work with Netgate products. We are a reseller and consultant. We have been working with Netgate and Fortinet for around two years.
What advice do you have for others considering Netgate pfSense Plus Firewall/VPN/Router?
For metrics to measure its impact, we do not measure in a formal way. We use bandwidth monitoring to check how effective the solution is. I have not encountered customers asking for additional feat...
 

Also Known As

Huawei USG Firewalls, USG9500 Series, USG6600 Series, USG6300 Series
No data available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

KMITL, Peking University
Information Not Available
Find out what your peers are saying about Huawei NGFW vs. Netgate pfSense Plus Firewall/VPN/Router and other solutions. Updated: September 2026.
916,771 professionals have used our research since 2012.