pfSense
A network security appliance and VPN solution built on open-source technology, deployed in millions of installations across homes, businesses, and enterprise en
- Vendor
- Netgate
- Also known as
- pfsense
Available worldwide
What is pfSense?
A widely-deployed open-source firewall platform providing network edge and cloud security with VPN capabilities. Available as turnkey appliances, cloud instances, or software for third-party hardware.
pfSense pricing
Plans, per-tier features and add-ons, dated and linked to live pricing. Pricing changes often; always verify at source before you rely on it.
From $189 (hardware) or $129/yr (software only). 30-day cloud trial.
Hardware Appliance
Netgate physical appliances with integrated pfSense Plus software and lifetime software upgrades
Cloud Marketplace
Virtual machine instances via AWS or Azure marketplaces
Software for Third-Party Hardware
pfSense Plus software subscription for deployment on third-party hardware via Netgate Installer
What pfSense does
The capabilities that matter for firewalls, normalised so it lines up with every alternative. “-” means we haven't confirmed it, not that it's missing.
- Form factor
- Hardware appliance
- Ips ids inline
- -
- App id l7 filtering
- -
- Tls ssl inspection
- -
- Sdwan integrated
- -
- Threat intel feed
- -
- Central management console
- -
- Ha clustering
- ✓
- Site to site VPN
- -
- Remote access VPN ZTNA
- -
- Fips 140 validated
- -
- Common criteria certified
- -
- Open source
- ✓
- Pricing model
- -
Platform & deployment
Independently observed- CLI
- Web
- Cloud / SaaS
- On-premise
- Self-hosted
Integrations (10)
Independently observed- AWS Marketplace
- Azure Marketplace
- FreeBSD
- FD.io VPP
- DPDK
- OpenVPN
- IPsec
- WireGuard
- Snort
- Suricata
pfSense FAQ
Common questions about pfSense, answered from independent, dated evidence.
What is pfSense?
A widely-deployed open-source firewall platform providing network edge and cloud security with VPN capabilities. Available as turnkey appliances, cloud instances, or software for third-party hardware. It is indexed under Firewalls.
How much does pfSense cost?
pfSense is a paid product; published pricing starts at $0.08. It is sold across 3 plans (Netgate Appliance, Cloud and Software). There is no free tier. Prices are published openly on the vendor's own pricing page. Pricing changes often, so verify at source before relying on it.
What platforms does pfSense support?
pfSense supports the web and a command-line interface. Platforms we have not confirmed are simply not listed here rather than ruled out.
Can pfSense be self-hosted?
Yes. pfSense can be deployed cloud / SaaS, on-premise and self-hosted, so it does not have to run on the vendor's infrastructure.
What does pfSense integrate with?
We have confirmed 10 integrations for pfSense, including AWS Marketplace, Azure Marketplace, FreeBSD, FD.io VPP, DPDK, OpenVPN, IPsec and WireGuard, plus 2 more. This is what we could verify from public sources, so the vendor may support others we have not indexed.
What security certifications does pfSense have?
We have independently confirmed GDPR for pfSense. Certifications we do not list are ones we have not been able to verify from public sources, which is not the same as pfSense not holding them. Always confirm compliance directly before you rely on it.
Source: https://www.netgate.com/blog/8300-product-line-and-taa-compliance-options
pfSense alternatives
Other firewalls we track, ranked by the same independent score.
- Check Point QuantumSecurity monitoring and diagnostic support services for gatewaysmedium · 63%
- Zscaler Internet AccessCloud-native secure web gateway that inspects all internet and SaaS traffic to protect users, devices, and datalow · 6%
- Sophos FirewallA unified firewall platform that consolidates network security and threat defense for hybrid environmentslow · 6%
- Palo Alto Networks NGFWA machine learning-powered firewall designed to detect and stop network threats.low · 7%
- VyOSOpen-source network operating system for routing, firewalling, and VPNlow · 5%
Compare pfSense
Side by side against other firewalls, attribute by attribute, with a source on every value.
The vioscaleAI score: one lens on the evidence
Not user reviews and not a paid placement: a confidence-weighted blend of the independent signals below (adoption, activity, security posture, and more), which you can sort and re-weight yourself. Vendors can correct their listing but can never move their rank, and stars are weighted low as a vanity metric. It is one way to read the evidence for pfSense, not the verdict.
| Signal | Score | Weight | Contribution | Evidence |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pricing transparency | 75 | 0.05 | 3.9 | ✓ |
| Capabilities | 46 | 0.05 | 2.3 | ✓ |
| Integrations | 30 | 0.05 | 1.5 | ✓ |
| Price level | 25 | 0.04 | 1.1 | ✓ |
| Reliability | 0 | 0.09 | 0.0 | - |
| Security posture | 5 | 0.21 | 0.0 | - |
Computed . Re-weight it by intent, or see the full method.
All data & sourcesshow ↓
Every value we hold, with its source, retrieval date, and confidence. This is the evidence behind the score: don't trust it, verify it.
Content
| Attribute | Value | Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| Faq | 6 items | mediumsource · 2026-09-10 · 62% |
Features
| Attribute | Value | Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| Capabilities | Form factor: hardware_appliance · Open source: Yes · Ha clustering: Yes | mediumsource · 2026-09-28 · 60% |
Integrations
| Attribute | Value | Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| Count | 10 | mediumsource · 2026-08-19 · 60% |
Market
| Attribute | Value | Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| Availability | PrimaryMarkets: … · AvailabilityScope: global · AvailableCountries: … · NotAvailableCountries: … | mediumsource · 2026-09-28 · 50% |
Pricing
Security
Is pfSense the right choice for you?
Tell us the job, the constraints and what you weigh most, and we will rank pfSense against the rest of the firewalls we index, using the same dated evidence weighted your way.
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