Netgate pfSense vs Sangfor NGAF comparison

Netgate and Sangfor are both solutions in the Firewalls category. Netgate is ranked #2 with an average rating of 8.8, while Sangfor is ranked #20 with an average rating of 7.8. Netgate holds a 10.8% mindshare in Firewalls, compared to Sangfor’s 1.2% 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 Jul 13, 2025

Netgate pfSense and Sangfor NGAF are leading competitors in the network security category. Each platform offers unique advantages, with Sangfor focusing on ease of use and built-in security features, while pfSense stands out for its flexibility and broad functionality.

Features: Netgate pfSense is highly praised for its scalability and modularity, offering extensive customization options, robust community support, and the ability to deploy multiple VPN types such as OpenVPN. Its flexibility allows it to be configured on a variety of hardware, making it a cost-effective solution for many. Sangfor NGAF is lauded for its next-generation firewall capabilities, reliability, and integrated security features, including comprehensive intrusion detection and application control that enhances the protection of networks.

Room for Improvement: Netgate pfSense could improve by offering more streamlined integration with external solutions like VPN and antivirus tools and enhancing package support. Users have also requested a more intuitive dashboard for easier management. Sangfor NGAF could enhance its reporting and logging capabilities and expand its SD-WAN functionalities. Both could benefit from refined support platforms and more centralized management interfaces.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Netgate pfSense is primarily deployed in on-premises and private cloud environments, with a reliance on community support owing to its open-source nature. Customers view its technical support as knowledgeable, though somewhat variable in responsiveness. Sangfor NGAF is considered simpler to manage with direct product support but requires licensing for full feature access, making the deployment process more straightforward and reliable.

Pricing and ROI: Netgate pfSense is an open-source solution, which allows it to be more cost-effective with optional enterprise support that can lead to lower total ownership costs. Sangfor NGAF, while competitively priced against similar commercial solutions, mandates a licensing model that may impact long-term costs positively for small enterprises seeking comprehensive security features. Both solutions provide good ROI, but the initial cost dynamics differ due to pfSense's open-source model.

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

Buyer's Guide

Netgate pfSense vs. Sangfor NGAF

September 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 October 2025, in the Firewalls category, the mindshare of Fortinet FortiGate is 20.4%, up from 19.1% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Netgate pfSense is 10.8%, down from 18.5% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Sangfor NGAF is 1.2%, up from 1.0% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Firewalls Market Share Distribution
Product	Market Share (%)
Fortinet FortiGate	20.4%
Netgate pfSense	10.8%
Sangfor NGAF	1.2%
Other	67.6%

Firewalls

Featured Reviews

Vasu Gala

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.

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Jean-Pierre DAREYS

Director, Latin America at Bradmark Technologies, Inc.

Easy to use, configurable, flexible, excellent user group support

I'm not knowledgeable enough to suggest new features. The use has been very straightforward. Whatever questions I've had, I've found videos to help me on YouTube, or I've been able to ask the forums. I've also reached out to technical support and I've received help although there could be more videos or tutorials from Netgate, in addition to third parties who have already implemented it, which is great. I have suffered a lot of problems over time but I don't think the problems are related to the hardware or the software. I am convinced that the problems have been related to hacking during configuration. During the setup process, while experimenting, the device would stop working or the password would suddenly not allow access, requiring re-installation and re-configuration, it was very slow going until I moved to the cloud. The dashboard is a little bit slow and the reporting isn't always current or immediate but acceptable. I'm not sure I can make data-driven decisions due to insufficient volume. I would need enhanced reporting, statistics, playback. I haven't looked at the reports a lot since because you have to access the log files, time is an issue, I use it in a home office environment.

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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

"Whenever we raise a complaint with FortiGate, their response and resolution times are minimal."

"When I survey FortiGate products, I see that they have a good performance, especially in terms of next generation firewalls."

"I find that Fortinet FortiGate is pretty easy to use and integrated, offering many features in one box at a decent price compared to other enterprise vendors."

"Offers good security and filtering."

"Fortinet FortiGate is a very light product. It's easy to understand."

"Web filters, particularly web application controls, grant us the ability to regulate user access effectively."

"One of the features I appreciate the most is application control which offers great flexibility."

"This solution has solid UTM features combined with a nice GUI."

More Fortinet FortiGate pros

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

"Its scalability is a strong point."

"The initial setup is not complex."

"The most valuable features are the alerting and local monitoring."

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

"pfSense helped us during COVID-19 because we used OpenVPN to connect from home."

"Netgate is constantly releasing patches and updates, which is nice."

"My favorite thing about pfSense is its overall stability of the product. It's rock solid and low maintenance. I like that aspect. It doesn't cost much, and it's feature-rich, including mobile VPN, pfBlocker, and IPS."

More Netgate pfSense pros

"The price versus value is good because the solution is less expensive than Sophos, Fortinet, or SonicWall."

"The most valuable features are the WAN optimization, the internet access gateway (IAG), and the central console, which allows us to implement on their firewall."

"The VPN connectivity feature is really nice."

"Sangfor NGAF specializes in ransomware detection and helps to protect our network from ransomware threats and malware."

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

"The stability of Sangfor NGAF is good."

"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."

"SSL VPN is the best feature."

More Sangfor NGAF pros

Cons

"The performance can be improved."

"Fortinet FortiGate can improve performance. There was a huge challenge in terms of CPU and memory where the IPS engine would keep triggering. There were random spikes of overutilization in the CPU and memory resources. They have to work on CPU and memory stability considering these IPS engines. A few versions were very unstable."

"There should be better customization in the IPS."

"We'd like more management across other integrations."

"Integrating OpenVPN with FortiGate would provide a powerful combination of secure remote access and comprehensive network security."

"Due to its higher cost, Fortinet FortiGate can lead to increased operational expenses."

"Fortinet FortiGate could improve by having a frequent ask questions(FAQ) area for people to receive quick answers to popular questions. Additionally, it would be beneficial to have an SMS notification feature. For example, if you cannot access your email you could receive an SMS message."

"One area of improvement I've noticed is the lack of built-in monitoring capabilities in the firewall. Currently, we rely on third-party solutions for monitoring purposes. However, I believe the firewall itself has the potential to do a better job in this aspect. Another aspect of Fortinet that concerns me is related to redundancy. We have a setup with two firewalls working in parallel, which requires a highly adaptable configuration. However, it feels unfair that clients need to purchase two licenses, especially when one of the firewalls serves as a backup. We have noticed that other manufacturers have different policies on this matter."

More Fortinet FortiGate cons

"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."

"The solution requires a lot of administration."

"Strategy and vision of the product are the areas with shortcomings where improvements can be made so that Netgate pfSense can figure out where the product should go in the future."

"The GUI. There are TONS of plugins for pfSense, as such, if a user wants to add quite a bit of functionality, the GUI will feel a little congested."

"There could be a way to remote to it through a mobile app. You can always browse through your browser on your mobile phone or tablet, but it would be good to have a dedicated app. I understand that iOS and Android developers are expensive, but there should be a mobile app."

"The tool is just a little bit slow to release patches, so it is probably one of the things where the tool can improve."

"We're doing a lot of OpenVPN tunnels, and some of the fields in the OpenVPN setup on the server side do not lend themselves to multiple sites. It's kind of ugly. It's a big list of allowed IP addresses. I'd much rather see that via the table individually."

"The integration could be improved."

More Netgate pfSense cons

"They need to improve their research team and they need to study their data to analyze it and build the product."

"The reporting and log management could be improved."

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

"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."

"I feel Sangfor should follow the hierarchy and close deals via resellers instead of closing it all with their own team."

"The setup phase is quite complex."

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

"An area for improvement would be the number of ports defined on the box. In the next release, I would like them to develop their provisioning stage of enrolling end devices."

More Sangfor NGAF cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"They are very competitive, but we like to have the factory warranty taken care of."

"We have the full license that included all of the features and support."

"FortiGate Next Generation Firewall is an expensive solution with a yearly subscription."

"Cost-wise, there is not much difference from Sophos, but feature-wise, we get more features."

"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."

"There is a license to use Fortinet FortiGate."

"It is an expensive solution."

"The price of FortiGate is average and I would say that based on the top five products available on the market, it is in the affordable range."

More Fortinet FortiGate pricing and cost advice

"They have a free community version and a paid version. The free version works if you are a home user who needs a fixed cost, but that's not my use case."

"I would like to see the solution's price reduced."

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

"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."

"I am using the community version of the solution and it is priced well. There is a cost of learning how to use the solution, if it was free it would be better."

"We are using the open-source version which is free. We are testing the solution to see if we are going to go to the enterprise version which requires a license and is not free."

"The price point is highly competitive."

"It is an open source firewall."

More Netgate pfSense pricing and cost advice

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

"For four to five physical appliances for a licensed firewall, it costs approximately $4,000."

"The product is very cost-effective compared to other brands or vendors."

"Sangfor is cheaper than competing vendors."

"Price-wise, I would not consider Sangfor NGAF to be a cheap product. It is an expensive firewall solution, though not as expensive as something like Palo Alto, which is costly. However, the higher price point is justifiable given the feature set the tool provides that other firewalls may not offer in a single dedicated appliance."

"We purchased one year technical support and return to factory support, and we also purchased one-year technical support services. So those were additional."

"When it comes to the price of firewall solutions, Sangfor NGAF takes the cake."

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

More Sangfor NGAF pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

15%

Comms Service Provider

Manufacturing Company

Financial Services Firm

Computer Software Company

16%

Comms Service Provider

13%

Educational Organization

University

Manufacturing Company

11%

Computer Software Company

10%

Financial Services Firm

Comms Service Provider

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	350
Midsize Enterprise	130
Large Enterprise	187

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	166
Midsize Enterprise	33
Large Enterprise	28

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	15
Midsize Enterprise	10
Large Enterprise	10

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 17% of the time

Cisco Secure Firewall vs Fortinet FortiGate

Compared 11% of the time

OPNsense vs Fortinet FortiGate

Compared 4% of the time

Cisco Meraki MX vs Fortinet FortiGate

Compared 4% of the time

WatchGuard Firebox vs Fortinet FortiGate

Compared 4% of the time

More Fortinet FortiGate Competitors

OPNsense vs Netgate pfSense

Compared 41% of the time

Sophos XG vs Netgate pfSense

Compared 7% of the time

Cisco Secure Firewall vs Netgate pfSense

Compared 3% of the time

KerioControl 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 17% of the time

Cisco Secure Firewall vs Sangfor NGAF

Compared 6% of the time

Sophos XGS vs Sangfor NGAF

Compared 6% of the time

H3C SecPath Firewalls vs Sangfor NGAF

Compared 5% of the time

Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls vs Sangfor NGAF

Compared 4% of the time

More Sangfor NGAF Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Fortinet FortiGate

September 2025

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Buyer's Guide

Netgate pfSense

September 2025

Download Netgate pfSense product report

Buyer's Guide

Sangfor NGAF

September 2025

Download Sangfor NGAF product report

Also Known As

No data available

Sangfor NGAF Firewall Platform

Overview

Fortinet FortiGate excels in providing integrated VPN, firewalling, and Unified Threat Management (UTM) with centralized management and high availability. It supports remote access and comprehensive threat protection, making it a preferred choice for securing networks.

Fortinet FortiGate offers a robust security platform with features such as strong intrusion prevention, application control, and web filtering. Its integration with Active Directory and SD-WAN functionality provides scalable solutions for large networks. Users appreciate its ease of use through centralized management interfaces, ensuring robust security with flexible configurations. However, FortiGate could enhance its graphical interface and technical support responsiveness, address firmware bugs and costly licensing, improve logging, integrate better with third-party tools, and strengthen scalability and memory for log storage. Complexity in configuration and the need for intuitive features are noted challenges, and there's a demand for advanced security, zero-trust capabilities, and AI integration.

What are the key features of Fortinet FortiGate?

VPN: Secure remote access and connectivity.
Firewalling: Protects networks from unauthorized access and attacks.
UTM: Offers a comprehensive approach to threat management.
SD-WAN: Optimizes traffic routing for efficient network performance.
Web Filtering: Controls and monitors web access and ensures Internet security.

What benefits or ROI should be considered?

Centralized Management: Simplifies administration and monitoring.
High Availability: Ensures consistent security and network availability.
Scalability: Adapts to the needs of growing networks.
Comprehensive Threat Protection: Provides robust security measures.
Ease of Use: Minimizes the complexity of security management.

Fortinet FortiGate is widely implemented across industries like education, finance, and government. Companies use it for firewall protection, VPN, and SD-WAN capabilities, ensuring secure perimeter and data center security. It facilitates remote access management and traffic routing optimization, offering reliable security and connectivity solutions.

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

September 2025

Free Report: Netgate pfSense vs. Sangfor NGAF

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