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Check Point Cloud Firewall (formerly CloudGuard Network Security) vs OPNsense comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Apr 15, 2026

Review summaries and opinions

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

ROI

Sentiment score
7.0
Check Point Cloud Firewall offers ROI by reducing costs, enhancing security, and improving efficiency with flexible application management.
Sentiment score
3.0
Numerous users reported substantial financial savings and improved network security with OPNsense compared to alternatives like FortiGate or Sophos.
The value lies in maintaining operational integrity with zero downtime or incidents, facilitating secure, ongoing business operations.
Cybersecurity consultant at a comms service provider with 51-200 employees
Implementing CloudGuard has resulted in an excellent return on investment over one hundred percent ROI.
Android Developer at Droidforge
The unified policy is comprehensive and helps me to create firewall policies that are shared across all our facilities and plants.
System engineer at a manufacturing company with 1,001-5,000 employees
The network attacks reduced by approximately 60% after using that, even without customizing the custom configuration yet.
Senior IT Infrastructure Engineer at a real estate/law firm with 11-50 employees
For a very little investment, I was able to increase the security of my network.
Administrator at a retailer with 10,001+ employees
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
7.2
Check Point Cloud Firewall customer service is praised for prompt, professional support despite occasional regional delays in response.
Sentiment score
5.3
OPNsense users mostly find community forums and documentation sufficient, though some express dissatisfaction with official support availability and cost.
They usually respond quite fast, and they are very knowledgeable about what they do.
Network security engineer at a tech services company with 201-500 employees
We had an endless loop of emails trying to fix this, and the suggestion was to reinstall the gateway and do it from scratch, which was not an option at that point because it would leave that specific location without access.
System administrator at a consultancy with 201-500 employees
Available twenty-four by seven.
Android Developer at Droidforge
Compared to some open-source projects with weak support, OPNsense stands out for having both a strong community and commercial backing options.
ISO 27001 Lead Implementer at a consultancy with 11-50 employees
I mainly rely on community support since the solution is open source.
Senior Client Solutions Architect at a tech services company with 1,001-5,000 employees
If you say you do not have one, it is finished. This is where the monopoly starts.
Senior Solutions Engineer at a educational organization with 201-500 employees
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
7.7
Check Point Cloud Firewall scales efficiently, supports growth, and meets diverse needs with smooth performance despite occasional complexities.
Sentiment score
6.8
OPNsense offers scalable and flexible network solutions, effectively supporting mid-sized to enterprise needs with appropriate hardware or virtualization.
It is capable of managing the increased load and performs well as our needs expand.
IT Security Analyst at Eos Energy Enterprises, Inc.
I can deploy it everywhere I need it.
Security & Network Services at a tech company with 201-500 employees
We have transitioned from 1,000 to 500 users without any issue.
Cloud Infrastructure Engineer at delaware BeLux
OPNsense is an extremely scalable solution.
Owner at Networks srl
I use Zenarmor, pinning it to one core for packet inspection, and the CPU performance seems very good.
Senior Client Solutions Architect at a tech services company with 1,001-5,000 employees
OPNsense's scalability is excellent; I just need to resize my hardware and upgrade the server, and voilà, I am good to go.
Senior IT Infrastructure Engineer at a real estate/law firm with 11-50 employees
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
8.0
Check Point Cloud Firewall is reliable with high uptime, integrating well despite occasional provider-related and deployment issues.
Sentiment score
7.3
OPNsense is stable with occasional issues; praised for security and UI, performance varies with hardware and resource availability.
I have not observed any downtime.
Sales manager/ project manager at Atea
For instance, when we are working on a release and do an upgrade, we start experiencing unexpected issues.
Chief Technology Officer at Chief Security Officers
The solution is stable.
Network administrator at Helios IT Service GmbH
For home and small network use, OPNsense is also reliable, providing enterprise-grade security at no cost.
ISO 27001 Lead Implementer at a consultancy with 11-50 employees
The only challenge faced was its inadequacy to manage large voice traffic effectively, even with dedicated hardware.
Senior Network Engineer at a comms service provider with 11-50 employees
At the latest code level, I haven't experienced any crashes.
Senior Client Solutions Architect at a tech services company with 1,001-5,000 employees
 

Room For Improvement

Check Point Cloud Firewall needs better API integration, documentation, user experience, threat detection, and affordability for small businesses.
OPNsense users face VPN setup issues, inadequate documentation, performance shortfalls, high pricing, and request better usability and features.
Scalability could be improved as well; needing to purchase a new license each time I want to add a new interface is not ideal.
Security architect at Twinformatics
Better documentation would be welcome.
Network security engineer at a tech services company with 201-500 employees
The user interface could be more intuitive, and the initial setup and configuration can be complex, requiring a technical team.
Android Developer at Droidforge
I would like the APIs to be more mature and more developed and have more options to automate threat hunting.
Owner at Networks srl
Enhancing its performance for significant amounts of data traffic would make it closer to a perfect solution.
Senior Network Engineer at a comms service provider with 11-50 employees
It would be beneficial if they could create some videos on how to set it up themselves.
Administrator at a retailer with 10,001+ employees
 

Setup Cost

Check Point Cloud Firewall offers flexible pricing and features like scalability, with varying user opinions on cost-effectiveness against competitors.
OPNsense is a cost-effective, open-source solution for enterprises, reducing expenses compared to FortiGate and Palo Alto alternatives.
The pricing and licensing are expensive, costing between seven thousand to eight thousand dollars.
Android Developer at Droidforge
Check Point is expensive, however, with the features and capabilities, I can justify the cost.
Manager, Managed Security Services at a tech vendor with 51-200 employees
It is the highest in the market.
System engineer at a manufacturing company with 1,001-5,000 employees
I consider the pricing of OPNsense to be high when compared with other market products.
Senior Network Engineer at a comms service provider with 11-50 employees
OPNsense is free, the licensing and setup was easy.
Administrator at a retailer with 10,001+ employees
 

Valuable Features

Check Point Cloud Firewall offers advanced security, scalability, and integration to enhance cloud migrations and operational efficiency.
OPNsense provides user-friendly configuration, robust security features, and adaptability, making it ideal for enterprise and IT network management.
One of the most valuable features is the automated threat prevention, which helps us detect and block potential cyberattacks in real-time, minimizing data breaches.
Android Developer at Droidforge
Centralized management is the feature I like best, resulting in reduced workload and more continuous policy.
Security & Network Services at a tech company with 201-500 employees
Network Security provides us with unified security management across hybrid and cloud as well as on-prem.
Manager, Managed Security Services at a tech vendor with 51-200 employees
The most valuable features include the basic firewall functionality and the GeoIP location services.
Senior Network Engineer at a comms service provider with 11-50 employees
I can have a Wi-Fi VLAN and feel secure that the server network or the VM network that I have on a different VLAN are isolated, and they cannot talk to one another, which adds a great level of security.
Administrator at a retailer with 10,001+ employees
It offers enterprise-grade features such as intrusion detection and prevention system, VPN support, traffic shaping, and web filtering, all without license cost.
ISO 27001 Lead Implementer at a consultancy with 11-50 employees
 

Categories and Ranking

Check Point Cloud Firewall ...
Ranking in Firewalls
8th
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.4
Number of Reviews
166
Ranking in other categories
Managed Security Services Providers (MSSP) (1st), Software Defined WAN (SD-WAN) Solutions (3rd), Cloud and Data Center Security (5th), WAN Edge (3rd), Unified Threat Management (UTM) (4th)
OPNsense
Ranking in Firewalls
5th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.6
Number of Reviews
47
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of July 2026, in the Firewalls category, the mindshare of Check Point Cloud Firewall (formerly CloudGuard Network Security) is 2.6%, up from 0.5% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of OPNsense is 8.2%, down from 10.8% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Firewalls Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
OPNsense8.2%
Check Point Cloud Firewall (formerly CloudGuard Network Security)2.6%
Other89.2%
Firewalls
 

Featured Reviews

Viral Shaa - PeerSpot reviewer
IT Security Analyst at Eos Energy Enterprises, Inc.
Cloud security has unified hybrid policies and now protects critical energy workloads continuously
I would say Check Point Cloud Firewall (formerly CloudGuard Network Security) is valuable due to its hybrid cloud security features. It offers granular policy management across the on-premises and cloud environments, giving administrators consistent control for configuration drift. We need to change the policy and the inbound and outbound traffic settings, indicating what traffic must be blocked or allowed, and this capability with Check Point provides significant input into our security strategy. Check Point Cloud Firewall (formerly CloudGuard Network Security) provides unified security management across both hybrid clouds and on-premises environments. Unified security management affects my security operations positively, as we maintain critical systems on the cloud that require strong security and air gap networks. This cloud-native routing and policy installation helps close gaps in protecting critical applications and environments from exposure to the public cloud. From an administrator's perspective, Check Point Cloud Firewall (formerly CloudGuard Network Security) enhances our organization with clearer and more intuitive logging, making decisions easier to understand without deep investigation. In the CloudGuard UI, I can see which threats have triggered alerts, and this information is available on the unified dashboard that provides details of the threat analysis upon alert. As a small team, we log into the console to check specific alerts for high or low network usage or machine shutdowns. If needed, I tune the configuration policy, and the visualizing tools with reporting functionality simplify tracking changes made on the firewall, including the relevant source IP or device names. We ingest logs into our SIEM for detailed oversight, which allows us to monitor any administrative changes. Check Point Cloud Firewall (formerly CloudGuard Network Security) has significantly reduced our organizational risk. We clearly understand our threat landscape and the associated risks. Onboarding the CloudGuard solution directly into our cloud environment has significantly lowered the risks throughout the network and it is easy to launch. When we assess our security posture with third-party assessments, we gain granular visibility into our network pre- and post-CloudGuard installation, showing how we have addressed significant risks and secured vulnerabilities.
Moutaz Sheikh Alard - PeerSpot reviewer
ISO 27001 Lead Implementer at a consultancy with 11-50 employees
Has helped simulate enterprise security setups and strengthens network segmentation practices
For my capstone, I use OPNsense for my project and its broader benefits for enterprise and cybersecurity context. OPNsense is an open source based firewall and routing platform. It offers enterprise-grade features such as intrusion detection and prevention system, VPN support, traffic shaping, and web filtering, all without license cost. This platform has a modular design, a clean web-based GUI, and frequent updates that prioritize security and usability. It competes with commercial firewalls such as Cisco ASA, FortiGate, and Palo Alto, but stands out because it's community-driven, cost-effective, and transparent. I find OPNsense's feature of acting as a central firewall and gateway most valuable, providing robust point segmentation between the internal network and DMZs in my capstone project, intrusion detection to monitor malicious traffic, VPN services for secure remote access, and logging and monitoring for compliance and auditing. This allows me to simulate a real-world enterprise environment on a smaller scale, demonstrating both security hardening and network efficiency. OPNsense impacts my projects and home network positively because its cost-effectiveness is perfect for lab and enterprise setup without expensive licensing. The flexibility, easy VLAN and DMZ configuration supports different zones such as web servers, mail servers, and log servers. The security-first design for IDS/IPS integration helps me showcase modern defense-in-depth strategies. The user-friendly management through the web GUI makes it possible to manage complex firewall rules clearly, which is critical when documenting and presenting a capstone. Scalability is also an advantage. Although my project is lab-based, OPNsense can scale into production deployments in SMBs and enterprise.
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Construction Company
16%
Financial Services Firm
10%
Outsourcing Company
9%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Comms Service Provider
17%
Computer Software Company
9%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Financial Services Firm
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business72
Midsize Enterprise39
Large Enterprise80
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business32
Midsize Enterprise6
Large Enterprise8
 

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Check Point CloudGuard Network Security?
Check Point Cloud Firewall (formerly CloudGuard Network Security) is comparatively conservative in terms of pricing; it is not a very expensive product. If you are a Check Point shop with multiple ...
What needs improvement with Check Point CloudGuard Network Security?
Check Point Cloud Firewall (formerly CloudGuard Network Security) is definitely lagging behind its peers. I am not sure what the reason is. Compared to Palo Alto, they are not there in terms of cap...
What is your primary use case for Check Point CloudGuard Network Security?
Check Point Cloud Firewall (formerly CloudGuard Network Security) is a cloud-native application protection platform and a suite of multiple products. We primarily use it for our hybrid multi-cloud ...
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...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for OPNsense?
Setup cost is almost zero as one can simulate the whole environment using open source version. Pricing seems fair enough. Open source license allows a beginner to have a complete firewall solution ...
What needs improvement with OPNsense?
When I talk about VPN, I am not completely satisfied with the VPN functions of OPNsense. What I have received so far is that sometimes the VPN route caches for some time and sometimes I want to cha...
 

Also Known As

CloudGuard IaaS, Check Point vSEC, CloudGuard IaaS, Check Point Virtual Systems, Check Point CloudGuard Network Security
No data available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Physicians Choice Laboratory Services, Helvetica Insurance
1. Deciso B.V. 2. iXsystems, Inc.  3. EuroBSDCon  4. Netgate  5. Claranet  6. Voleatech  7. Open Systems AG  8. Securebit AG  9. Proxmox Server Solutions GmbH  10. AVM Computersysteme Vertriebs GmbH  Additional customers include: T-Systems International GmbH, Deutsche Telekom AG, Vodafone GmbH, 1&1 IONOS SE, OVHcloud, Hetzner Online GmbH, Strato AG, PlusServer GmbH, Host Europe GmbH, United Internet AG, 1&1 Versatel Deutschland GmbH, QSC AG, Bechtle AG, Cancom SE, Computacenter AG & Co. oHG, T-Systems Multimedia Solutions GmbH, Atos SE, Capgemini SE, Accenture plc, IBM Corporation, Hewlett Packard Enterprise Company, Cisco Systems, Inc.
Find out what your peers are saying about Check Point Cloud Firewall (formerly CloudGuard Network Security) vs. OPNsense and other solutions. Updated: June 2026.
904,146 professionals have used our research since 2012.