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Netgate pfSense vs Zyxel Unified Security Gateway 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

Fortinet FortiGate
Sponsored
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
411
Ranking in other categories
Firewalls (2nd), Software Defined WAN (SD-WAN) Solutions (1st), WAN Edge (1st)
Netgate pfSense
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.0
Number of Reviews
218
Ranking in other categories
Firewalls (1st)
Zyxel Unified Security Gateway
Average Rating
6.6
Reviews Sentiment
4.9
Number of Reviews
4
Ranking in other categories
Unified Threat Management (UTM) (14th)
 

Featured Reviews

Vasu Gala - PeerSpot reviewer
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.
Jean-Pierre DAREYS - PeerSpot reviewer
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.
Alexander Azikov - PeerSpot reviewer
A robust appliance that is reasonably priced and straightforward to set up
Although manageable, the user interface is a little bit slow and could be improved. There are two user interface options available, namely the basic and the advanced. The basic UI is not very good and doesn't have a lot of features, although it is fast. The advanced UI allows me to do whatever I want, but this is where the issue of speed exists. At one of our sites, the CPU utilization was very high, and for no reason. Technical support needs to be more responsive to requests.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The centralized management allowed us to manage 50 devices effectively, which I found better than Cisco."
"The most valuable feature is the web filter."
"Its administrative panel is very intuitive and simple. It is simpler than the other solutions that we had. As an administrator, we are always looking for the easiest solution to manage network policies. We are able to filter everything on our network and also use the VPN feature, which is important these days when people are working remotely during COVID."
"The base firewall features are quite valuable to us."
"The most valuable feature of Fortinet FortiGate is URL filtering."
"The solution provides good threat intelligence feeds."
"Fortinet FortiGate is a very light product. It's easy to understand."
"It is user friendly, and has all the features you need."
"The Tailscale integration is very helpful. The DHCP and DNS server functionalities, as well as the package manager, are also good."
"The initial setup was simple and fast."
"The performance and functionality are good."
"The open-source nature of pfSense, paired with the amount of support we receive, has been great."
"The classic features such as content inspection, content protection, and the application-level firewall, are the most important."
"The plugins or add-ons are most valuable. Sometimes, they are free of charge, and sometimes, you have to pay for them, but you can purchase or download very valuable plugins or add-ons to perform internal testing of your network and simulate a denial-of-service attack or whichever attack you want to simulate. You can also remote and monitor your network and see where the gap is. Did you forget a printer port? Most attacks at the moment are happening through printers, and they can tell you immediately that you forgot to close the port of the printer. There are more than one million printers that are in danger, and everybody knows that hackers are using them to enter the network. So, you can download plugins to protect your network."
"Deploying pfSense is easy. I'm not a network administrator, but I'm familiar with computers. I can install it on a USB and set it up like any other operating system. The documentation is excellent. I can configure it based on that, and many YouTubers cover it."
"The solution is very easy to use and configure."
"This is a capable appliance and the standard features work well for us."
"The solution can scale well."
"The most valuable features of the solution stem from web filtering, malware protection, and antivirus."
 

Cons

"Fortinet FortiGate can be integrated with different platforms. They have integrations in place, but I can't say they're 100%."
"They can do more tests before they release new versions because I would like to be more assured. We had some experiences where they release something new and great, but some of the old features are disabled or they don't work well, which impacts the product satisfaction. The manufacturer should be able to prove that everything works or not only that it might work. This is applicable to most of the other services, software, and hardware companies. They all should work on this. We cannot trust every new release, such as a beta release, on the first day. We wait for some comments on the forums and from other companies that we know. We always wait a few weeks before we use the updated version. They should also extend the VPN client application, especially for Linux versions. Currently, it has an application for Linux devices, but it doesn't work the way we want to connect to the VPN. They use only the old connection, not the new one. They have VPN client applications for Windows and Mac, but they can add more useful features to better manage the devices and monitor the current health of each device. Such features would be helpful for our company."
"When we cluster the two Fortinet FortiGate boxes together we have some issues."
"The room for improvement is about the global delivery time period. Usually I need to wait for almost one month to deliver it overseas. So if you can shorten the deliver time it'd be great."
"Fortinet technical support is lacking, as OEM support is slightly better."
"Fortinet FortiGate should improve the VPN tokens."
"This product needs to have an analysis feature, rather than having the analysis done through the integration of a different product."
"It should provide better visibility over the network and more information in the form of reports for the end users. Its installation should also be easier."
"Something that we would really love to see is a real single pane of glass management for multiple clients."
"The stability could be improved."
"If the GUI interface were better, that would be a huge benefit. There's a fork of pfSense called OpenSense with a far superior interface. Everything's in the left-hand column. When you click on one item, you see everything listed under a single tab. You don't have to jump back and forth through the program."
"PfSense has the bare necessities essentially, but it isn't an advanced firewall that protects against layer 7 attacks or DDoS. It's not on the same level as Palo Alto, for instance. You can add some higher-level security features, but it doesn't do that out of the box. Maybe there's another thing we can add to it, but it feels like it's not catching more advanced attacks."
"There must be a more easy-to-use GUI."
"The VPN feature of the solution could improve by adding better functionality and providing easier configure ability."
"pfSense lacks a centralized web dashboard for viewing all my clients' pfSense dashboards."
"The solution could improve by having centralized management and API support online."
"Although manageable, the user interface is a little bit slow and could be improved."
"The product has some scalability and data management issues where improvements are required."
"Sometimes it reboots when you least expect it, and that's the main issue."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Fortinet Secure SD-WAN delivered the lowest total cost of ownership (TCO) per Mbps among all other vendors."
"It was worth the money overall. It's good value."
"Our licensing costs are on a yearly basis."
"The pricing of Fortinet FortiGate is average, not cheap or overly expensive compared to other firewall solutions in the market. It's effective and affordable for customers."
"The price range is quite acceptable and normal."
"It is expensive. You need to pay for the subscription every year, which is very expensive. The subscription includes technical support and hardware exchange in case of failure."
"We pay for the solution annually."
"The product pricing is reasonable."
"There are a few features not included, and when you have to use those features, you have to pay for them."
"I will not call it a cheap tool, but it is very cost-efficient."
"Netgate pfSense stands out as a cost-effective option that delivers excellent value."
"Its price is fair. I buy the Netgate hardware so that I can support pfSense and Netgate and I have somebody designing the next layer of software for me in the future. I like their model. It is a high-value piece of equipment with a great team behind it."
"It is free. It is open source."
"Netgate pfSense has a great pricing model."
"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."
"Netgate pfSense is fairly priced."
"This gateway is pretty cheap."
"The price of Zyxel Unified Security Gateway is good compared to other similar products in the market."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
16%
Comms Service Provider
9%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Financial Services Firm
6%
Computer Software Company
16%
Comms Service Provider
12%
Educational Organization
6%
University
6%
Comms Service Provider
20%
Computer Software Company
15%
Retailer
7%
Outsourcing Company
5%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
 

Questions from the Community

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What do you like most about Zyxel Unified Security Gateway?
The most valuable features of the solution stem from web filtering, malware protection, and antivirus.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Zyxel Unified Security Gateway?
I cannot definitively comment on whether Zyxel Unified Security Gateway is an affordable product as I haven't done co...
What needs improvement with Zyxel Unified Security Gateway?
The integration capability is quite challenging. The system is very complicated, and many features are hidden. I'm lo...
 

Also Known As

FortiGate 60b, FortiGate 60c, FortiGate 80c, FortiGate 50b, FortiGate 200b, FortiGate 110c, FortiGate, Fortinet Firewall
No data available
No data available
 

Overview

 

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
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Find out what your peers are saying about Netgate pfSense vs. Zyxel Unified Security Gateway and other solutions. Updated: July 2025.
865,295 professionals have used our research since 2012.