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Netgate pfSense vs Sangfor NGAF comparison

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Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Jan 25, 2026

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

Netgate pfSense
Ranking in Firewalls
3rd
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.1
Number of Reviews
223
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Sangfor NGAF
Ranking in Firewalls
31st
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.5
Number of Reviews
34
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of November 2026, in the Firewalls category, the mindshare of Netgate pfSense is 6.6%, down from 10.6% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Sangfor NGAF is 1.4%, up from 1.2% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Firewalls Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Netgate pfSense6.6%
Sangfor NGAF1.4%
Other92.0%
Firewalls
 

Featured Reviews

Juan-Arias - PeerSpot reviewer
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.
AK
Network Administrator at GC University Lahore
Leverage detailed reporting for effective attack management
We are hosting applications over the platform, including websites and NAT traffic from our side. Because it's deployed in our data center, which is fully operational, we have various applications hosted there, websites, FTP portals, making it quite comprehensive. Essentially, it performs all the…

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"This is a good product and I have no issues with it."
"The developers of pfSense follow the principles of open-source."
"The interface is straightforward and easy to use."
"I have been 100% satisfied with the solution."
"I really enjoy the flexibility of the interface setup configuration for my network VLANs; it is very easy to configure and set, and when I am doing multi-inputs with internet providers coming in, it is very easy to manage and set up with very little effort."
"I evaluate specific metrics and ROI by noting that our clients have become almost fully remote, so in the sense that they would not have been able to go fully remote without this investment, the ROI is almost close to 100%, definitely over 90%."
"pfSense is a straightforward, feature-rich firewall."
"I have found the most valuable features to be antivirus and malware protection."
"The price versus value is good because the solution is less expensive than Sophos, Fortinet, or SonicWall."
"Sangfor is a good solution that provides a WAF and firewall solution; most other vendors, like Sophos and Fortinet and Cisco, only provide one solution, and that's a valuable feature of Sangfor."
"I think the tool has the feature to detect and kill ransomware in three seconds."
"Sangfor NGAF specializes in ransomware detection and helps to protect our network from ransomware threats and malware."
"The VPN connectivity feature is really nice."
"It offers good value for money and is much cheaper compared to other firewalls."
"It seems to be a durable, stable product."
"You might try Sangfor if you are on a tight budget. The price is affordable, and Sangfor offers a lot of features. We don't have any complaints about Sangfor."
 

Cons

"Their UI could have hidden some of the complexity better so that it was easy to understand or more general. They could have given some more clarification on the markings on the outside of the machine."
"As per my understanding VPN, Captive Portal user-level and MAC-level filtering need to be improved."
"I would like to see multiple DNS servers running on individual interfaces."
"From the hardware perspective, it seems like there has been a lot of turnover at Netgate. It comes with the territory because processors and other boards change so fast. But I'd like to see more continuity in the product line and a longer lifespan for a specific series. The operating system side of it has been rock solid, and the appliances have been great. I just want to not support many different appliances. I want one we can standardize for several years."
"Reporting and real-time monitoring, since I'm used to Watchguard's reporting features, it would be nice to have an embedded solution for reporting."
"The product could offer more integrated plugins."
"My technicians say that doing this kind of stuff with pfSense nowadays is not easy."
"We had a stability issue. A handful of times the firewall box froze and needed a power cycle."
"It does not offer any recommendations on how to mitigate or control attacks."
"The interface and user experience are horrible."
"Scalability for any network device is not very easy in terms of vertical scalability."
"We have deployed many firewalls and have faced two or three faulty devices that we have to replace over a year because their power supply was faulty."
"Our experience with its customer support was quite challenging."
"It would be ideal if the solution offered SD-WAN capabilities."
"I feel Sangfor should follow the hierarchy and close deals via resellers instead of closing it all with their own team."
"The GUI needs to be improved, lacks logic in some areas."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Hardware costs more than $500. The cloud version costs me $50 a month."
"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."
"Our customers must pay for an annual license."
"When it comes to Netgate pfSense, I use the basic TAC Lite license, which comes for about 100 USD."
"It is free. It is open source."
"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."
"The pricing seems fair overall, but I think they need more reasonably priced options for very small offices."
"While pfSense hardware from Netgate might have a higher upfront cost, I've had very little trouble with it. Plus, buying from them directly helps fund the software's development, making it a worthwhile investment in my eyes."
"Sangfor NGAF is a cheaply priced product, especially if I consider the previous product that was used in my company."
"Sangfor is cheaper than competing vendors."
"We purchased one year technical support and return to factory support, and we also purchased one-year technical support services. So those were additional."
"Sangfor NGAF price is reasonable and there is an annual license. However, the maintenance cost can be a bit high."
"It costs about 8 to 10 thousand dollars per year for 500 users, standard licensing fees included."
"For four to five physical appliances for a licensed firewall, it costs approximately $4,000."
"I rate the product price as one on a scale of one to ten, where one is low price and ten is high price."
"If one is very cheap and ten is very expensive, I rate the tool's price as three out of ten."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Comms Service Provider
12%
Computer Software Company
9%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Outsourcing Company
7%
Comms Service Provider
13%
Manufacturing Company
12%
Financial Services Firm
10%
Construction Company
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business172
Midsize Enterprise34
Large Enterprise29
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business15
Midsize Enterprise10
Large Enterprise10
 

Questions from the Community

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 ...
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...
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...
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.
What needs improvement with Sangfor NGAF?
The cost of licensing is very high compared to other firewalls available here. There should be improvements in hardware scalability, allowing for more storage and memory capacity. Making the soluti...
What is your primary use case for Sangfor NGAF?
We are hosting applications over the platform, including websites and NAT traffic from our side. Because it's deployed in our data center, which is fully operational, we have various applications h...
 

Also Known As

No data available
Sangfor NGAF Firewall Platform
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

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.
Find out what your peers are saying about Netgate pfSense vs. Sangfor NGAF and other solutions. Updated: November 2026.
920,769 professionals have used our research since 2012.