Barracuda CloudGen Firewall vs Netgate pfSense Plus Firewall/VPN/Router comparison

Barracuda CloudGen Firewall vs. Netgate pfSense Plus Firewall/VPN/Router

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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

Barracuda CloudGen Firewall

Ranking in Firewalls

15th

Average Rating

8.2

Reviews Sentiment

7.1

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Software Defined WAN (SD-WAN) Solutions (7th), Advanced Threat Protection (ATP) (14th), IoT Security (6th), WAN Edge (6th)

Netgate pfSense Plus Firewa...

Ranking in Firewalls

23rd

Average Rating

9.0

Reviews Sentiment

4.3

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Featured Reviews

Jennifer Bernice

Dotnet Developer at Kohl's

Centralized firewall management has saved time and improved network security across locations

Barracuda CloudGen Firewall could be improved as it has a very high learning curve. It is definitely not a one and done firewall, as a one and done firewall requires a lot of dedicated time to get the machine running the way you want. To improve Barracuda CloudGen Firewall, there should be a lot of tutorials and videos online to help new users. Multiple ways to configure for the same service or feature takes time to determine your customized build. In addition to previous points, the interface can sometimes be clunky when trying to determine how it is organized or arranged.

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Jim Voige

Site Manager at a consultancy with 11-50 employees

High availability routing has secured our network and delivers reliable support every day

One downside of Netgate pfSense Plus Firewall_VPN_Router is the need for a better understanding of what hardware it would run on. Right now, we're using Netgate's hardware, but I'm interested in knowing if there are other hardware options available, particularly heavier duty hardware, because the Supermicro 1537 version we have only has a single power supply, which is a shortcoming in an IT environment where dual power supplies are ideal. The pricing for the hardware of Netgate pfSense Plus Firewall_VPN_Router is steep, which is one reason I'd explore other options. I'm familiar with the costs of Supermicro servers, and I believe Netgate charges a premium for their server hardware without enough upside to justify it. The pricing is not justified.

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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

"Scalability is always good because the company wants to be able to handle large customers."

"Barracuda is very prompt at blocking any new spam which comes out."

"It has a full-feature license, it is easy to adapt the solution to the customer's needs, and it's great to have an unlimited VPN, advanced threat protection, many other features inside the proxy server, and so on."

"This solution has allowed us to use multiple commodity internet connections at our locations, added greater control of internet usage, and enhanced security."

"It can now integrate with Barracuda's XDR."

"The most valuable features of Barracuda CloudGen Firewall include antivirus protection, anti-DDoS, and IPS."

"The most valuable features are SD-WAN, URL filtering, IPS, and virus scanning."

"In addition, during the eight years I have been using Barracuda, I have had hundreds of thousands of attacks on my network and all of the attacks have been addressed by Barracuda with a proper solution for all of them."

More Barracuda CloudGen Firewall pros

"We use pfSense and Netgate pfSense Plus Firewall/VPN/Router to establish a VPN tunnel between our client and our headquarters to transfer data between client and our equipment; it's very simple to use, efficient, up to date, and the hardware is very available; it's very safe."

"They are more satisfied with Netgate pfSense Plus Firewall_VPN_Router in terms of its flexibility and customer support."

"It's very simple to use, efficient, up to date, and the hardware is very available; it's very safe."

"Overall, the entire Netgate pfSense Plus Firewall_VPN_Router product has been reliable, though some of their smaller gear aimed at remote offices hasn't been cost-effective."

"My experience with the product is that it is a stable and good product that is easy to use."

"I do not have complaints about Netgate pfSense Plus Firewall_VPN_Router with Firewall, VPN, and Router; it is really comfortable for use, and it does a pretty good job."

Cons

"There is room for improvement in performance and the support language. The support they're providing right now is from a different country, and in our country, there are people—network admins and IT heads—who don't speak English properly. So Barracuda needs to provide support agents who speak additional languages, such as Bangla."

"Technical support is quite poor, similar to Cisco."

"We are, however, not completely satisfied with their link redundancy handling capabilities."

"We would like to see a solution that is focused on container deployment, which is very important right now."

"A rule for email announcements, when configured hits occur, would be a great improvement for a more efficient experience."

"When you login from some sources, there is no feature in this box which can log you out after a certain timeout."

"However we found the product a little harder to configure than others, and so it´s not a product for unskilled/inexperienced administrators."

"To start working with spam, it takes a while because the product has to see that multiple emails are coming in with all the spam. If it could reduce that amount of time, then we would reduce the amount of users who are receiving spam."

More Barracuda CloudGen Firewall cons

"The effectiveness of Netgate pfSense Plus Firewall_VPN_Router traffic shaping is quite good, but I am not very satisfied with the interface for control."

"The pricing for the hardware of Netgate pfSense Plus Firewall_VPN_Router is steep, which is one reason I'd explore other options."

"The most significant drawback in recent years has been the cessation of firmware release downloads."

"I would assess the effectiveness of Netgate pfSense Plus Firewall_VPN_Router's traffic shaping as good, but I would give a six marks only for that compared to others because in the past few years, there has been a stop of improvement or lack of improvement showing in Netgate pfSense Plus Firewall_VPN_Router."

"They have to learn something more from FortiGate."

Pricing and Cost Advice

"In general, it tends to be cheaper than most solutions."

"Its licensing is on a yearly basis. There is an upfront purchase price, and there is also an annual maintenance fee. There are no additional fees."

"The 600 series is about USD $10,000 a year and the 80 is USD $400 a year."

"We pay around 150 to 200 Euros per year and there are no additional costs."

"The solution costs more than 800 Euros to purchase an F18, which is an entry model, and then another 500 Euros for instant replacement, and 500 Euros for energized updates. The total package would be around 1,900 Euros for five years license and all updates for an entry model."

"It's not the most expensive, but it's certainly not cheap."

"We evaluated a lot of different options. We concluded that Barracuda NG Firewall provided the most features for an exemplary price. "

"My advice is to try and evaluate it (Barracuda offers a trial period of one month)."

More Barracuda CloudGen Firewall pricing and cost advice

Information not available

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Financial Services Firm

13%

Construction Company

12%

Manufacturing Company

Comms Service Provider

Construction Company

38%

Comms Service Provider

10%

Healthcare Company

Manufacturing Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	32
Midsize Enterprise	10
Large Enterprise	13

No data available

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Barracuda CloudGen Firewall?

Although I am not directly involved in that particular segment, from what I understood from the pricing information, it is a very cost-effective solution compared with other well-known firewall ven...

What needs improvement with Barracuda CloudGen Firewall?

When I consider what I dislike about Barracuda CloudGen Firewall, there are a lot of competitors in the market. Next-gen firewalls offer a lot of capabilities. From a capability standpoint, competi...

What is your primary use case for Barracuda CloudGen Firewall?

I use Barracuda CloudGen Firewall for multiple functionalities. One function is an email security gateway. It also acts for network security protection, network security and threat protection, whic...

What needs improvement with Netgate pfSense Plus Firewall/VPN/Router?

Netgate pfSense Plus Firewall/VPN/Router regularly provides updates. One aspect they can improve is that most people ask whether an antivirus scanning system is available in pfSense. Other companie...

What is your primary use case for Netgate pfSense Plus Firewall/VPN/Router?

We work with Netgate products. We are a reseller and consultant. We have been working with Netgate and Fortinet for around two years.

What advice do you have for others considering Netgate pfSense Plus Firewall/VPN/Router?

For metrics to measure its impact, we do not measure in a formal way. We use bandwidth monitoring to check how effective the solution is. I have not encountered customers asking for additional feat...

Fortinet FortiGate vs Barracuda CloudGen Firewall

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Compared 42% of the time

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Product Reports

Barracuda CloudGen Firewall

Download Barracuda CloudGen Firewall product report

Netgate pfSense Plus Firewall/VPN/Router

Download Netgate pfSense Plus Firewall/VPN/Router product report

Netgate pfSense Plus Firewall/VPN/Router report

Also Known As

Barracuda NextGen Firewall, Barracuda CloudGen Firewalls

No data available

Overview

Barracuda CloudGen Firewall offers strong VPN, scalable network management, and advanced threat protection. Its capabilities include dynamic VPN, SD-WAN, URL filtering, and malware protection, making it essential for network security in distributed environments.

Known for its robust security and user-friendly management, Barracuda CloudGen Firewall helps safeguard networks, manage traffic, and secure connections across distributed sites. It provides critical security features and solutions like firewalling and intrusion prevention for protecting environments such as data centers, offices, and remote locations. Room for enhancement includes the user interface, needing better tutorials, improved load balancing, and stronger tech support.

What are the most valuable features?

Seamless VPN capabilities enhance secure remote access for users.
Scalable network management supports large distributed architectures.
Advanced threat protection defends against malware and unauthorized access.
Dynamic VPN offers flexible secure connectivity options.
SD-WAN functionality optimizes application performance and cost-efficiency.
Robust URL filtering enhances security by blocking malicious sites.

What benefits or ROI should users look for?

Cost efficiency is achieved by combining security features with network management.
Centralized management allows configuration and policy updates from one interface, improving control.
Real-time monitoring boosts operational efficiency by promptly addressing threats.
Policy updates and instant changes help organizations stay responsive to security needs.

Barracuda CloudGen Firewall is leveraged by industries to enhance network security and application performance. It caters to sectors requiring strong protection for IT infrastructure, managing traffic in data centers, and ensuring secure connectivity for distributed workforces, which is crucial in sectors like finance, healthcare, and education.

Barracuda Networks

Netgate pfSense Plus Firewall/VPN/Router offers open-source, license-free software with strong VPN options and robust networking capabilities, supporting secure, scalable, and reliable IT infrastructure integration.

Netgate pfSense Plus Firewall/VPN/Router stands out with its open-source framework, providing organizations the freedom from annual license renewals and enabling focus on CAPEX. It integrates seamlessly within IT environments, offering extensive package availability for broad functionality. Equipped with WireGuard, OpenVPN, and IPsec, it ensures robust VPN configurations. Its traffic shaping, load balancing, and failover functionalities enhance network performance, while Multi-WAN connections boost uptime. Users benefit from its affordability, scalability, VLAN support, and consistent secure operations. However, clearer communication on antivirus capabilities and interface improvements for speed is needed. The equipment's transition to cloud-based firmware updates has seen mixed reception.

What are the key features of Netgate pfSense Plus Firewall/VPN/Router?

License-Free Software: Avoid annual renewals, allowing financial focus on CAPEX.
Strong VPN Options: Supports WireGuard, OpenVPN, and IPsec for secure connections.
Traffic Shaping and Load Balancing: Optimizes network performance and reliability.
Multi-WAN Capability: Enhances connectivity and ensures consistent uptime.
VLAN Support: Allows efficient network segmentation and management.
Open-Source Nature: Provides transparency and continuous community-driven enhancements.

What benefits and ROI should users look for in reviews?

Cost Efficiency: Reduces expenditure with license-free, open-source software.
Scalability: Grows with organizational demands without added costs.
Reliability: Ensures secure, stable connections with minimal downtime.
Ease of Use: Simplified configuration and management for technical teams.
Community Support: Backed by a knowledgeable user community for ongoing support.

In educational settings, such as universities and engineering colleges, Netgate pfSense Plus Firewall/VPN/Router facilitates secure VPN tunnels for data transfer. It sees application as a high-availability BGP setup among consultants and resellers, ensuring reliability and network efficiency.

Netgate

Sample Customers

ARZ, Bauer, CBCX Technologies, Diamant-groep, Eissmann Group Automotive, European Youth Olympics, Exalo Drilling, FineLine Technologies, Geocell, Grimaldi, Infront Sports & Media, Odlo, Schenker Deutschland AG, Tilak, Verbandsgeneinde Zell, Conservas El Cidacos S.A., Institute for Emergency Medicine and Medicine Management, Erwin Muller GmbH, Info-Tech: NGF is Champion, Schoellerbank, IZB Informatik-Zentrum, RHI AG, Berglandmilch, Antenne Bayern, Sanochemia

Information Not Available

Barracuda CloudGen Firewall vs. Netgate pfSense Plus Firewall/VPN/Router