At a custom company with several locations.
System Implementer at a tech vendor with 201-500 employees
Highly scalable, open source solution, fast and simple to set up
Pros and Cons
- "The initial setup was simple and fast."
- "ClamAV AntiVirus can cause some crashes. That service should be improved."
What is our primary use case?
How has it helped my organization?
It has improve my organization through the services that can be added, which makes it highly scalable, from graphic monitoring services to load balancing or captive portal.
What is most valuable?
It is very difficult to decide one, as they all complement each other, from the DHCP administration to the captive portal. in my case, I would say OpenVPN has helped me to interconnect the company network in a secure and manageable way.
What needs improvement?
ClamAV AntiVirus can cause some crashes. That service should be improved.
Buyer's Guide
Netgate pfSense
September 2025

Learn what your peers think about Netgate pfSense. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: September 2025.
868,787 professionals have used our research since 2012.
For how long have I used the solution?
For two years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
I consider it very stable.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
It is highly scalable. All services are free.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
No, there was no firewall implemented.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup was simple and fast.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
It is an open source firewall.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
Yes, OPNsense. It is very similar and better than PfSense.
What other advice do I have?
You should try it.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
On-premises
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.

Sans emploi at a pharma/biotech company with 51-200 employees
Simple no-cost solution
Pros and Cons
- "pfSense allows us to spread the hours of connection and do the filtering on the pfSense site."
- "The integration could be improved."
How has it helped my organization?
pfSense allows us to spread the hours of connection and do the filtering on the pfSense site.
What is most valuable?
The most valuable feature of this solution is its simplicity.
What needs improvement?
The integration could be improved.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using this solution for more than ten years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
This is a very stable solution.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
This solution is scalable.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup was easy and took about 50 minutes.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
This is a no-cost solution.
What other advice do I have?
I would rate this solution as eight out of ten because it's a central solution.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
Private Cloud
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
Buyer's Guide
Netgate pfSense
September 2025

Learn what your peers think about Netgate pfSense. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: September 2025.
868,787 professionals have used our research since 2012.
System Administrator at a tech services company with 51-200 employees
Affordable and scalable but some features are difficult to configure and enable
Pros and Cons
- "Sophos Intercept X is scalable. Currently, we have almost 30 people using it in our company."
- "It would be great to add more to security."
What is our primary use case?
Our primary use case for this solution is Endpoint Advanced. I have set it up for the firewall and the open VPN connections.
What needs improvement?
It would be great to add more to security.
I know that pfSense has a lot of features, but I don't know how to configure and enable them. That is why I am looking into my support options. I am looking for better security and performance.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using this solution for almost two years.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
pfSense is scalable. Currently, we have almost 30 people using it in our company.
How are customer service and support?
I'm currently struggling with deploying pfSense more extensively. Right now, we are not getting much support on their end.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
My opinion about pfSense's pricing is good. They are open source.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
On-premises
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
Owner at It logic
Easy to use, open-source, stable, and easy to install
Pros and Cons
- "It is a better firewall than others and it has better features."
- "The security could be improved."
What is our primary use case?
We use pfSense as a firewall in the healthcare sector, education sector, and banking sector.
What is most valuable?
pfSense is very easy to use.
It is a better firewall than others and it has better features.
What needs improvement?
They do not provide support in India.
The security could be improved.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been selling pfSense for 12 years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
pfSense is a very stable solution.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
We have 50 customers who use this solution.
How are customer service and technical support?
We provide local support to our customers.
How was the initial setup?
It is very easy to install.
We only need one person to install and maintain this solution.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
When compared with other firewalls, the price is reasonable.
There is an open-source community version that is available.
What other advice do I have?
I would rate pfSense a nine out of ten.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
On-premises
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
Full Stack Developer at Infrassist Technologies Pvt. Ltd.
A scalable solution with an easy setup
Pros and Cons
- "A valuable feature is that the solution is open source."
- "The stability could be improved."
What is most valuable?
While it is difficult for me to point to any one specific advantage of the solution in respect of the firewall, I do know that it has many benefits. For one, it is open source.
What needs improvement?
The stability could be improved. Whenever there is an update, in spite of developments I may have made, I am required to make certain changes to the coding.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using pfSense for perhaps two or three years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
The stability could be better.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
The solution seems to be scalable.
How was the initial setup?
The solution is easy to set up.
What other advice do I have?
I develop the solution on behalf of my company.
With my scant knowledge of networking and the firewall I would rate pfSense as an eight out of ten.
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
Director at Pixels IoT Ltd
Excellent at blocking problematic IP addresses
Pros and Cons
- "Is good at blocking IP addresses."
- "Lacks instructional videos."
What is our primary use case?
My primary use case is for controlling incoming traffic from various countries and blocking IP addresses if necessary. I'm the company director and a user of pfSense.
What is most valuable?
A key feature is being able to block IP addresses. This is a good product and I have no issues with it.
What needs improvement?
I'd like to see some instructional videos as opposed to documentation. It would be helpful for beginners and start-up companies.
For how long have I used the solution?
I've been using this solution for a couple of months.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
This solution is stable.
What other advice do I have?
It's worth giving this product a shot and testing it out because it's free and community based.
I would rate the community version a 10 out of 10.
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
Senior System Administrator at KnowledgeNet
Is stable and easy to install
Pros and Cons
- "It is a stable solution. It is also easy to install and can be deployed and maintained by one team member."
- "pfSense has some limitations in detecting site sessions. We want to control internet usage based on sites and their content, and pfSense doesn't perform this function."
What is most valuable?
It is a stable solution. It is also easy to install and can be deployed and maintained by one team member.
What needs improvement?
pfSense has some limitations in detecting site sessions. We want to control internet usage based on sites and their content, and pfSense doesn't perform this function.
The site itself could be improved; it's not easy to find the things that you want to implement and apply.
It would be good if it had more features like Sophos does.
For how long have I used the solution?
I've been using pfSense for two years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
It is a stable product.
How was the initial setup?
The installation was easy. I was able to install it in two hours maximum. Only one person is needed for deployment and maintenance.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
Currently, we don't pay for a license.
What other advice do I have?
We have fifty users in our organization, and I can recommend pfSense. On a scale from one to ten, I would rate it at eight.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
On-premises
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
Owner with 11-50 employees
An open source firewall solution with many valuable features, but there are some bias and network intrusion issues
Pros and Cons
- "I mostly like all of it. Whatever we use is valuable."
- "There are some bias issues and some intrusions in our network that have to be addressed. So, we're thinking of changing this firewall to something like a professional hardware-enabled firewall."
What is our primary use case?
We use pfSense as a firewall and proxy server. We use it to apply different restrictions for different users from some data locations.
What is most valuable?
I mostly like all of it. Whatever we use is valuable.
What needs improvement?
There are some bias issues and some intrusions in our network that have to be addressed. So, we're thinking of changing this firewall to something like a professional hardware-enabled firewall.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been working with pfSense for many years now.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
pfSense is a stable solution.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
pfSense is a scalable solution. We have about 200 users in our company.
What other advice do I have?
On a scale from one to ten, I would give pfSense a seven.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
On-premises
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.

Buyer's Guide
Download our free Netgate pfSense Report and get advice and tips from experienced pros
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Updated: September 2025
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Buyer's Guide
Download our free Netgate pfSense Report and get advice and tips from experienced pros
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