Netgate pfSense vs Sangfor NGAF comparison

Netgate and Sangfor are both solutions in the Firewalls category. Netgate is ranked #1 with an average rating of 8.8, while Sangfor is ranked #18 with an average rating of 7.9. Netgate holds a 13.3% mindshare in Firewalls, compared to Sangfor’s 1.3% mindshare. Additionally, 93% of Netgate users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 90% of Sangfor users who would recommend it.

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Apr 6, 2025

Netgate pfSense and Sangfor NGAF compete in the firewall market. Sangfor NGAF seems to have the upper hand due to its powerful application control and integration capabilities.

Features: Netgate pfSense is notable for its open-source nature, extensive customization options, and affordability, offering VPN, routing, and firewall functionalities. Sangfor NGAF is recognized for its powerful application control, SSL VPN, and deep packet inspection, with strong integration capabilities.

Room for Improvement: Users of Netgate pfSense desire improvements in the user interface, integration with other solutions, and centralized management, along with better SD-WAN integration. Sangfor NGAF could improve its user interface, enhance SD-WAN support, and refine application control policies, with users wanting more detailed logging and real-time reporting improvements.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Netgate pfSense offers versatile deployment options across various cloud environments and benefits from community support, though some users seek more structured support. Sangfor NGAF provides a smoother hybrid cloud deployment experience, but documentation and support structure need enhancement, benefitting from its centralized orchestration.

Pricing and ROI: Netgate pfSense is cost-effective, especially with its free community edition, but transition to pfSense Plus received mixed feedback. Sangfor NGAF is affordable compared to brands like Fortinet and Cisco, though concerns exist over potential price increases. It offers substantial ROI with its comprehensive features at a competitive price.

To learn more, read our detailed Netgate pfSense vs. Sangfor NGAF Report (Updated: April 2025).

Buyer's Guide

Netgate pfSense vs. Sangfor NGAF

April 2025

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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

Mindshare comparison

As of May 2025, in the Firewalls category, the mindshare of Fortinet FortiGate is 21.4%, up from 17.7% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Netgate pfSense is 13.3%, down from 22.0% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Sangfor NGAF is 1.3%, up from 0.9% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Firewalls

Featured Reviews

EhabAli

Sr. Cybersecurity Solutions Architect at BMB

Efficient, user-friendly, and affordable

In the past, NSS Labs was utilized to test files and verify the numbers and datasheets. It would be beneficial to have an organization or testing lab that can verify the numbers in our datasheets since changes are frequently made, which can be inconvenient for review. For instance, when comparing different competitors such as Forcepoint, Palo Alto, and Check Point, the throughput or numbers in the datasheet may be lower than the actual numbers. Conversely, Fortinet typically reports very high numbers, but they cannot be replicated in the real world. Therefore, it would be advantageous for them to partner with a neutral testing organization such as NSS Labs to validate these numbers, thus providing more credibility and comfort to everyone regarding the accuracy of the datasheets. 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. This tool shows a lot of promise and is very good. Making it free would help many companies deliver their products in a more efficient and integrated way. It would also be more valuable to include the tool with the firewall package or license instead of having to pay extra for it. Paying extra puts more pressure on small companies to deliver the firewall and complete the configuration, especially if they have hundreds or thousands of policies. It's very painful to move through these policies line by line. The stability has room for improvement. When it comes to Secure SD-WAN, everything is fine. They are going the right way. SD-WAN is very promising. They can provide the SD-WAN solution separately, but they will not take this approach because even the smallest firewall can support the features, so there is no need to have a separate service or appliance. They are following the right steps, and there is nothing to be improved. Feature-wise, I'm really satisfied with the new release, and the features they have added. For now, it's fine.

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Vincent Hamm

CIO and President at Aim High! Inc.

I appreciate the depth of what the solution can do and the simplicity of the initial setup

We do a lot of managed services and are currently trying to get people off of L2TP VPN. Apparently, we can download a mobile config file from a configured NetGate device, and we're primarily Apple. We've experimented with it on a device that's not a production device, and we can't seem to get the phase one IPSec set correctly so that the Apple config will accept it. We've tried looking at the documentation but haven't found anything. While it's not the highest priority, it is rather frustrating. We'd like to do this, and the feature is right there, but we can't get it configured. We certainly don't want to try it on a production machine because it will break the current VPN. I would like to download the Apple mobile config so that I can tell it to configure my VPN connection to do that. We have some cross-platform things. So there's also a Windows VPN. You can download a script or a PowerShell, put it on a Windows machine, and it can connect to the VPN. It would be nice if I could say I want Mac only, Windows only, or both. I wish it could configure the IPSec phase one and phase two, or at least give me solid instructions on how to configure that. It doesn't supply out-of-the-box visibility to drive decisions. You get 75 log lines, so if you're trying to troubleshoot something, you have to look at one log and then another. It integrates with SysLog systems, but our customers are not at the level where they want to pay for some third-party SysLog system. Usually, we can get things taken care of fairly quickly. I would like to have the ability to control all my devices from one place. With Ubiquiti, you can get a controller that allows you to control all of your Wi-Fi devices, switches, and routers. From one area, you can switch to that customer and see what's happening in their environment. That's not part of pfSense. I understand why it's not because pfSense is open source and community supported. That's something that someone in the community needs to pick up and run with. It's not something the pfSense can easily implement. If they could, that'd be great.

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Zaid Farooqui

CIO at Indus Motor Company

Enhanced threat detection with integrated security features and good support

We are using application firewalling, WAF, and SD-WAN. The capabilities are mostly within the box. For example, you will get web application firewall WAF as part and parcel of this. SD-WAN is also bundled. It integrates with their SIEM and SOAR solutions very nicely. Lastly, the pricing point is very cost-efficient as well.

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Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The usage in general is pretty good."

"The secure web gateway module and the application control module are valuable. HA operations are very easy."

"Fortinet FortiGate provides superior protection compared to other firewalls, with high processing capabilities."

"It's a good product that significantly enhances security and protects organizational data."

"It's very easy to set up, it's very easy to make policies and, for an organization, that means you don't need IT expert in firewalls. You just need to have somebody who knows a little bit of IT, and that's it. With other products, you need someone with a "Masters" degree in firewalls."

"The virtual firewall feature is the most valuable. We have around 1,500 firewalls. We did not buy individual hardware, and the virtual firewalls made sense because we don't have to keep on buying the hardware. FortiGate is easier to use as compared to Checkpoint devices. It is user friendly and has a good UI. You don't need much expertise to work on this firewall. You don't need to worry much about DCLA, commands, and things like that."

"The most valuable feature is the SSL VPN, as it allows us to connect and it separates this product from other firewalls."

"The most valuable features are the possibility of having one fabric for switching on security."

More Fortinet FortiGate pros

"PfSense was quite a bit less expensive than some other alternatives, and it's worked as well as we could hope."

"I like the connectivity to the open VPN. It's very smooth."

"The solution's most valuable features are its ease of use and versatility."

"The features I have found best are ease of use, GUI, and performance."

"The scalability is very good, where you can do an HA configuration and then bring in another box, if necessary."

"Good basic firewall features."

"The most valuable features of pfSense are security, user-friendliness, and helpful online management."

"I like pfSense's reports and how I can control access to the policies on the firewall."

More Netgate pfSense pros

"We've found the technical support to be helpful."

"In our hospital, Sangfor NGAF works well for us in terms of ensuring confidentiality and availability, which are crucial in the healthcare industry."

"So far, the performance and reliability of the product have supported our company's critical network traffic."

"It is a stable solution."

"The absolute best part of Sangfor NGAF is their support. It's a 24/7 support channel, and the last time I requested their assistance I got a reply within three minutes. They helped solve the problem immediately."

"Sangfor NGAF's standout feature is its powerful application control, enabling precise restrictions on mobile user access to approved applications."

"In terms of the most valuable features, the IPS report is quick and updated. Performance is also valuable."

"It's a very simple to use product."

More Sangfor NGAF pros

Cons

"The solution's framework needs to be frequently updated in order to have a stable solution."

"Fortinet FortiGate needs to improve the protection, it did not prevent us from being attacked. Additionally, Fortinet FortiGate could provide more features for WAF devices. I should not have to purchase two solutions, it would be a benefit to combine these features into one solution."

"The cloud features and integration could be improved."

"The license renewal process, annual renewal price, and the web application firewall features should be improved."

"Fortinet Fortigate could benefit by simplifying some of their processes."

"The anti-malware engine could use an upgrade."

"I would like reporting to be improved and should offer a lot more tools to monitor the products."

"Though the tool's GUI is user-friendly, it can be considered as an area with certain shortcomings where improvements are required."

More Fortinet FortiGate cons

"The stability could be improved."

"We appreciate the flexibility of the Netgate pfSense solution, but we have waited approximately two years for new updates to the Community Edition. We are now moving to OPNsense."

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

"The intrusion protection system is provided by a third-party provider that's verified by pfSense. It would be best to have an option for IPS because when you deploy pfSense to a SOC, you have to subscribe to another IPS provider. The IPS should be a default feature. On the other hand, that's also the benefit of pfSense because you can also acquire another IPS solution."

"Multi-appliance monitoring and management, like a single pane of glass, would be very nice to have. A centralized management console would help us."

"Adjustment in the interfaces: I had to adjust those interfaces manually and of course that is a great feature that you can restore it but it is immediately also one point for improvement. If you don't have to adjust, if it's just stamped and it works, that's great."

"The product could offer more integrated plugins."

"Netgate pfSense can improve by adding a different OS layer other than FreeBSD."

More Netgate pfSense cons

"The tool is expensive."

"Sangfor could improve by providing better real-time reporting, as the current reports don't offer the level of detail we need, especially for runtime insights."

"The support for YouTube or the Internet is not enough."

"Sangfor need greater exposer in the market because the market is mainly saturated by Fortinet. The user experience of Fortinet is quite different compared to NGAF. If we want to switch our users from Fortinet to NGAF, we have to convince them that the user experience will be much easier once once they start to use it."

"An area of improvement for Sangfor NGAF could be in the field of reporting and logging."

"They need to increase the number of ports in the firewall."

"Our experience with its customer support was quite challenging."

"The cost of licensing is very high compared to other firewalls available here."

More Sangfor NGAF cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"We have the full version of Fortinet FortiGate and we are on a three-year contract with a commitment of five years."

"The price is fair compared to the other competitors."

"I think the price of Fortinet FortiGate is very reasonable."

"Fortinet has one or two license types, and the VPN numbers are only limited by the hardware chassis make."

"By default, they give SD-WAN along with the firewall. They don't have separate licensing for the SD-WAN functionality. However, they have security licenses that are sold separately on a subscription basis. Customers can consume these security features to protect their users from internet traffic."

"The main reason we chose Fortinet FortiGate was that the price was better than the competition."

"For our organization, the licensing costs are approximately $7,000 per year."

"The price of FortiGate support is too expensive."

More Fortinet FortiGate pricing and cost advice

"Unlike many firewalls that require annual licensing fees, making them expensive for small businesses, pfSense is an affordable option."

"It is economical (i.e., free)."

"The cost of other firewalls goes to thousands and lakhs of rupees compared to pfSense, which costs zero. If we opt for Fortinet, it costs about one lakh thirty thousand Indian rupees for the firewall, and then it costs up to almost fifteen to twenty thousand annually for the user subscription. With Netgate pfSense, all those things get covered at zero cost."

"From Sonic Wall, their price is much higher, because for every feature that you want to add, you have to pay. I can do the same things with pfSense, but everything is included in one price."

"I would recommend it for a small business or a startup as a starting point. It's also good for companies that are on a tight budget."

"PfSense's pricing is reasonable. However, support is relatively expensive for smaller customers, and you need to pay per device to get it. So if Customer A is having an issue, I have to get support, and then I have to get support for Customer B, and so on. It would be nice as a managed services provider to get support for my company rather than individual devices."

"When it comes to Netgate pfSense, I use the basic TAC Lite license, which comes for about 100 USD."

"The product is cheap."

More Netgate pfSense pricing and cost advice

"If one is very cheap and ten is very expensive, I rate the tool's price as three out of ten."

"The solution has a TCO that is 32% to 50% less than Sophos, Fortinet, and SonicWall."

"I rate the product price as one on a scale of one to ten, where one is low price and ten is high price."

"In my opinion, the price of the tool is good in the Pakistani market. We can easily get discounts if needed."

"It costs about 8 to 10 thousand dollars per year for 500 users, standard licensing fees included."

"The price is unmatcheable."

"The license of Sangfor NGAF can be purchased at different interval lengths, such as annually or three years. They offer a range of packages to choose from, such as combo or hybrid packages. We are using the complete solution package which includes IM, NGF and SSL VPN, and WAF."

"Sangfor is cheaper than competing vendors."

More Sangfor NGAF pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Educational Organization

19%

Computer Software Company

14%

Comms Service Provider

Manufacturing Company

Computer Software Company

16%

Comms Service Provider

11%

Educational Organization

Government

Computer Software Company

13%

Manufacturing Company

10%

Financial Services Firm

Educational Organization

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

Questions from the Community

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You don't really specify what type of router you are looking for but if you are talking about a gateway router I reco...

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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 Fortigat...

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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 cl...

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What do you like most about Sangfor NGAF?

I think Sangfor NGAF is more valuable than Cisco products because of its simplicity and ease of management. If I comp...

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What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Sangfor NGAF?

The licensing cost is quite high compared to other available firewalls in the market.

See all answers

What needs improvement with Sangfor NGAF?

The cost of licensing is very high compared to other firewalls available here. There should be improvements in hardwa...

See all answers

Comparisons

Sophos XG vs Fortinet FortiGate

Compared 21% of the time

Cisco Secure Firewall vs Fortinet FortiGate

Compared 11% of the time

WatchGuard Firebox vs Fortinet FortiGate

Compared 5% of the time

SonicWall TZ vs Fortinet FortiGate

Compared 5% of the time

More Fortinet FortiGate Competitors

OPNsense vs Netgate pfSense

Compared 34% of the time

Sophos XG vs Netgate pfSense

Compared 9% of the time

KerioControl vs Netgate pfSense

Compared 4% of the time

Cisco Secure Firewall vs Netgate pfSense

Compared 3% of the time

Sophos UTM vs Netgate pfSense

Compared 2% of the time

More Netgate pfSense Competitors

Sophos XG vs Sangfor NGAF

Compared 16% of the time

Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls vs Sangfor NGAF

Compared 4% of the time

Sophos XGS vs Sangfor NGAF

Compared 4% of the time

Check Point NGFW vs Sangfor NGAF

Compared 3% of the time

Cisco Secure Firewall vs Sangfor NGAF

Compared 3% of the time

More Sangfor NGAF Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Fortinet FortiGate

May 2025

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Buyer's Guide

Netgate pfSense

May 2025

Download Netgate pfSense product report

Buyer's Guide

Sangfor NGAF

April 2025

Download Sangfor NGAF product report

Also Known As

FortiGate 60b, FortiGate 60c, FortiGate 80c, FortiGate 50b, FortiGate 200b, FortiGate 110c, FortiGate, Fortinet Firewall

No data available

Sangfor NGAF Firewall Platform

Overview

Fortinet FortiGate offers comprehensive network security and firewall protection across multiple locations. It effectively manages data traffic and secures environments with features like VPN, intrusion prevention, and UTM controls.

Organizations rely on Fortinet FortiGate for its robust integration with advanced security policies, ensuring significant protection for enterprises, cloud environments, and educational sectors. It facilitates network segmentation, application-level security, and authentication management, securing communication within and between locations such as branches and data centers. Its efficient SD-WAN and UTM features enable streamlined data management and enhanced threat protection capabilities. Users appreciate its centralized management, facilitating seamless operations across diverse environments.

What are the key features of Fortinet FortiGate?

VPN Capabilities: Ensure secure remote access for users and seamless site-to-site connections.
Intrusion Prevention System (IPS): Detect and prevent security threats and vulnerabilities.
Advanced Firewall: Offers robust firewalling with application control and web filtering.
SD-WAN: Optimizes application performance and enhances bandwidth management.
SSL VPN: Provides reliable and secure access for remote workers.

What benefits should users expect from Fortinet FortiGate?

High-performance Security: Delivers effective threat mitigation with high availability.
Centralized Management: Simplifies network operations with cloud-based management tools.
Detailed Analytics: Provides comprehensive insights into network activity and security threats.
Load Balancing: Ensures optimal resource distribution and traffic management.

Fortinet FortiGate is crucial in sectors like education, offering robust networks for secure data flow between campuses and facilitating remote learning. In enterprise environments, it allows efficient management of application traffic and security across multiple branches, while in the cloud, it seamlessly integrates with diverse platforms to enhance security infrastructure.

Fortinet

Netgate pfSense is widely leveraged by organizations for its comprehensive capabilities in firewalls, VPN servers, and bandwidth management. It suits LAN, WAN, and DMZ networks, offering secure, scalable, and efficient networking solutions.

Netgate pfSense stands out in diverse environments with its enterprise-grade features and cost-effective operations compared to competitors like Cisco. Deployed as an edge device, it optimizes routing, ad-blocking, content filtering, and traffic shaping. Users benefit from its versatile configurations, robust firewall protection, VPN functionality, and ISP load balancing. The open-source nature allows for extensive customization, integrating plugins like Snort and pfBlockerNG, and compatibility with third-party tools enhances its utility. The intuitive GUI combined with detailed logging and centralized management fortifies network security.

What features define Netgate pfSense?

Firewall: Provides robust network security through advanced filtering and stateful packet inspections.
VPN: Ensures secure remote access with high-performing VPN capabilities.
Load Balancing: Efficiently distributes traffic across multiple ISPs, ensuring uptime and performance.
Customization: Supports various plugins for enhanced functionality, tailor-made to specific needs.
Scalability: Adapts easily to varying network demands, providing high availability and flexibility.

What benefits should be considered for ROI?

Cost-Effectiveness: Delivers premium features at a fraction of the cost of traditional network appliances.
Flexibility: Offers a customizable solution that integrates well with existing infrastructure.
Community Support: Backed by a strong user community offering insights and troubleshooting resources.
Security: Supports VLAN segmentation, enhancing protection and management of network traffic.

Organizations in industries such as finance, healthcare, and education find Netgate pfSense integral due to its advanced security features and cost benefits. Its scalable architecture and strong VPN support are crucial for industries requiring stringent data protection and reliable remote access. The adaptability of pfSense makes it suitable for dynamic environments seeking comprehensive, secure networking solutions.

Netgate

Sangfor Next Generation Firewall (also known as NGAF) is a converged security solution providing protection against advanced threat, malware, viruses, ransomware and web-based attacks using integrated security features like firewall, IPS, anti-virus, anti-malware, APT, URL filtering, Cloud Sandbox, and WAF. As the world's first AI-enabled and fully integrated Next Generation Firewall & Web Application Firewall (WAF), NGAF offering the security visibility, real-time detection and response, simplified operation and maintenance and high-performance application layer security needed to operate an enterprise network in total security. Tested and proven to provide cutting-edge network security by ICSA Labs and endorsed by Gartner Inc., NGAF harnesses the power of Sangfor’s Neural-X threat intelligence and analytics platform and Engine Zero’s innovative malware detection to provide next-generation protection for today’s enterprise.

Sangfor

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

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

The Ministry of Science, Technology, and Innovation (Indonesia), Lawson, Inc. (Philippines), Universiti Sultan Zainal Abidin (Indonesia), TEK Automotive (Italy), etc.

Buyer's Guide

Netgate pfSense vs. Sangfor NGAF

April 2025

Free Report: Netgate pfSense vs. Sangfor NGAF

Find out what your peers are saying about Netgate pfSense vs. Sangfor NGAF and other solutions. Updated: April 2025.

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