Netgate pfSense vs Stormshield Network Security comparison

Netgate and Stormshield are both solutions in the Firewalls category. Additionally, 94% of Netgate users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 85% of Stormshield users who would recommend it.

Netgate pfSense

Read 221 Netgate pfSense reviews

34,005 Views
31,965 Comparison Views

94% willing to recommend

Stormshield Network Security

Read 18 Stormshield Network Security reviews

3,755 Views
1,727 Comparison Views

85% willing to recommend

Netgate pfSense

Stormshield Network Security

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Executive Summary

We performed a comparison between Netgate pfSense and Stormshield Network Security based on real PeerSpot user reviews.

Find out in this report how the two Firewalls solutions compare in terms of features, pricing, service and support, easy of deployment, and ROI.

To learn more, read our detailed Netgate pfSense vs. Stormshield Network Security Report (Updated: August 2026).

Buyer's Guide

Netgate pfSense vs. Stormshield Network Security

August 2026

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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

Netgate pfSense

Average Rating

8.6

Reviews Sentiment

7.2

Number of Reviews

221

Ranking in other categories

Firewalls (2nd)

Stormshield Network Security

Average Rating

7.8

Reviews Sentiment

5.4

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Unified Threat Management (UTM) (14th)

Featured Reviews

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.

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Zsolt Jónás

System Administrator at NaxoNet

Advanced GUI and layered security have supported compliance and simplified intrusion prevention

I haven't had a task that I couldn't solve with Stormshield Network Security. The active-active high availability solution would be beneficial because currently, if you build a high availability solution with Stormshield Network Security, you have a main device and another one is a backup device. The HA can switch between them, but it would be good to have a master-master solution, not just a master-slave one. I could set a URL that I can call to update the DNS record. Currently, Stormshield Network Security devices support DynDNS, which is not a usual feature request from a server environment. I have my own solution instead of DynDNS because I don't prefer it, so I have my own service for that. However, the GUI does not support using a custom service instead of DynDNS. I had to solve it in the console on Stormshield Network Security device, but it would be much better if it was reachable on the GUI. I had to figure out a trick for the IPsec configuration. In the IPsec config, we have to provide the remote side's IP address, but it's always changing. This means that an office, for example a company that has an office but without a fixed IP address, cannot be used with IPsec VPN.

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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 built-in open VPN and the VPN Client Export are the solution's most valuable aspects."

"PfSense is very valuable as previously I had to use Microsoft's TMG solution, and after some research I noticed that pfSense, as a firewall, uses less resources and has shown me how I can benefit from open source software."

"The quality of support is great."

"The most valuable aspects of pfSense are the stability, hardware compatibility, and low cost."

"Creation of certificates and the facility to administer services are valuable features."

"I have found pfSense to be stable."

"pfSense is a straightforward, feature-rich firewall."

"pfSense makes everything easier compared to Cisco or Fortinet."

More Netgate pfSense pros

"The tool's most valuable feature is its dashboard, which helps you manage different aspects of a single page."

"Stormshield is pretty robust, compared to other products like Fortinet, as you get more security with Stormshield and spend less money."

"Stormshield is a very strong firewall and very easy to configure and maintain."

"The tool's most valuable feature is its dashboard, which helps you manage different aspects of a single page. The intrusion detection system helps our organization by automatically detecting and responding to potential threats. It operates similarly to Darktrace, which detects and responds automatically based on the security rules you apply. Initially, you configure everything to block, and then you can whitelist specific items as needed."

"Filters and URL filtering helped us to optimize our bandwidth."

"This solution is quick and easy to configure."

"Customer service is very good, because of their presales support helping me with initial setup I decided to go with NetASQ in the first place, and support after the sale has been equally good as well."

"I like how you can configure the rules. There is the task for the rules and a task for the network configuration. It also provides SMD filtering, and it can be integrated with the active directory for the users, their mission, and the VPN configuration. We are here in Sudan, and Stormshield didn't work in Sudan for more than a decade. Stormshield is a very strong firewall and very easy to configure and maintain. I am just working with the firewall solution, and we don't have any other solutions like endpoint solutions or something like that."

More Stormshield Network Security pros

Cons

"They could improve their commercial stance and be more agile when it comes to the commercial pricing of enterprise deals."

"I would like more add-ons/packages for extending pfSense which are approved by the main community."

"The solution could be more user-friendly, and the graphical interface needs some work so that someone without an IT background can use the application. I would like the ability to manage the on-premise appliance from the cloud. When I'm not in the office, it would be great to connect to the pfSense server and administer the network remotely."

"The technical support needs to be improved."

"My only observation is about the quality of the IPSec logs, which are difficult to interpret and are poor in filters."

"It needs to be more secure."

"Maybe Netgate needs to see if a medium-level Netgate pfSense Plus can be created for smaller organizations."

"I saw there was a list of features at the bottom of product page, so I had to select the features I wanted, but I couldn't have all the features at the same time, and the website would prevent me from adding extra features, which actually was the cause for the order to fail."

More Netgate pfSense cons

"Improvement is also needed in terms of the technical support of the manufacturer, they're not very responsive when it comes to technical support."

"This solution has a big problem with web filtering and it needs to be improved."

"The filtering configuration could be better. We have some difficulties with the filtering configuration and the filter extension."

"The SD card could be more secure."

"It could be better if it were more user-friendly for us as we dont use it very often even if we never had problems to modify setup when needed."

"The stability is not that good based on my experience. We have a lot of disruptions when it comes to Stormshield."

"The pricing of this solution needs to be decreased."

"I don’t recommend this product at all."

More Stormshield Network Security cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"There is no license. You don't have to pay anything. It's completely 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."

"This solution provides enterprise-level features at a fraction of the cost of an enterprise firewall."

"I prefer the software licensing model."

"Spend at least $300 or more on a good pfSense box. Use a hard drive, and not a USB flash drive for pfSense storage."

"Unless they have specific requirements that demand a particular device, I always suggest pfSense specifically because of the absence of pricing and licensing."

"I use the free version."

"pfSense's pricing or licensing model is very affordable."

More Netgate pfSense pricing and cost advice

"We chose Stormshield for its price, as the Azure firewall was too expensive."

"The price of this solution and the price of support are ok."

"The pricing could be better."

"For mid-sized companies, they sell their appliances for good prices."

"We bought a three-year license, and we renew it whenever it expires. The price could be better. It's always very expensive."

"The SN200 series costs between $500 USD and $600 USD per year, whereas the SN700 series costs approximately $1,000 annually."

"I think the price is good."

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Comms Service Provider

12%

Computer Software Company

10%

Manufacturing Company

Financial Services Firm

Comms Service Provider

15%

Manufacturing Company

11%

Construction Company

11%

Computer Software Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

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

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	11
Midsize Enterprise	5
Large Enterprise	2

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 ...

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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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What needs improvement with Stormshield Network Security?

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What is your primary use case for Stormshield Network Security?

I already use Stormshield Network Security, and I am now looking for a new solution. I am already working with Stormshield Network Security, and the official reseller of Stormshield.

See all answers

What advice do you have for others considering Stormshield Network Security?

The pricing is increasing, and I would say it is a bit expensive. Palo Alto and others are much more expensive, but Stormshield Network Security is also not inexpensive. My overall review rating fo...

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Comparisons

OPNsense vs Netgate pfSense

Compared 53% 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

Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls vs Netgate pfSense

Compared 1% of the time

More Netgate pfSense Competitors

Fortinet FortiGate vs Stormshield Network Security

Compared 17% of the time

Sophos UTM vs Stormshield Network Security

Compared 9% of the time

OPNsense vs Stormshield Network Security

Compared 5% of the time

Sophos Firewall vs Stormshield Network Security

Compared 5% of the time

WatchGuard Firebox vs Stormshield Network Security

Compared 5% of the time

More Stormshield Network Security Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Netgate pfSense

July 2026

Download Netgate pfSense product report

Buyer's Guide

Stormshield Network Security

July 2026

Download Stormshield Network Security product report

Also Known As

No data available

NETASQ Firewalls

Overview

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

Stormshield Network Security offers comprehensive protection with features like backup inspection, scalable interface, and load balancing, suitable for network security management.

Stormshield Network Security is designed for organizations requiring reliable IT infrastructure protection, providing firewall capabilities, intrusion detection, and application control. Users find VPN support, URL filtering, and UTM functions beneficial for network management. Models like SN200 and SN910 are used globally in clustered configurations, addressing different demands. Challenges include pricing, interface friendliness, filtering configurations, and technical support.

What are the key features of Stormshield Network Security?

Backup Inspection: Enhances reliability and recovery options.
Antivirus Controls: Provides robust virus protection.
Intrusion Detection: Alerts on potential threats.
Load Balancing: Distributes network traffic efficiently.
URL Filtering: Blocks malicious websites for safe browsing.

What benefits should users seek in reviews?

Scalability: Adapts to each organization's growing needs.
Reliability: Supports clustered configurations for uptime.
Management Ease: Intuitive dashboard aids network oversight.
Performance: High throughput with efficient clustering.

Stormshield Network Security is widely implemented in industries needing IT infrastructure protection, like finance or healthcare. Organizations deploy it in data centers or branch offices, benefiting from features ensuring safety and performance. The tool supports environments that demand high security levels and robust network monitoring.

Stormshield

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

ACESUR group, Ministry of Education Oman, Anios Laboratories, Zain, DLM Location

Buyer's Guide

Netgate pfSense vs. Stormshield Network Security

August 2026

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