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Check Point Quantum Force (NGFW) vs Netgate pfSense Plus Firewall/VPN/Router comparison

 

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

Check Point Quantum Force (...
Ranking in Firewalls
6th
Average Rating
8.8
Reviews Sentiment
7.2
Number of Reviews
346
Ranking in other categories
Unified Threat Management (UTM) (2nd)
Netgate pfSense Plus Firewa...
Ranking in Firewalls
25th
Average Rating
9.0
Reviews Sentiment
4.3
Number of Reviews
5
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of August 2026, in the Firewalls category, the mindshare of Check Point Quantum Force (NGFW) is 2.9%, up from 2.9% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Netgate pfSense Plus Firewall/VPN/Router is 0.2%. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Firewalls Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Check Point Quantum Force (NGFW)2.9%
Netgate pfSense Plus Firewall/VPN/Router0.2%
Other96.9%
Firewalls
 

Featured Reviews

DS
Network Security Engineer at Connecting Cyber Networks
Advanced threat prevention has protected our perimeter and simplifies daily security operations
Check Point Quantum Force (NGFW) can be improved in several areas. First, the interface could be a little more intuitive for new users. The Smart Console is powerful, but it has a steep learning curve when you start using it. Some simple functions for common tasks would help. Second, the initial setup and configuration take quite a bit of time and expertise. It would be helpful if there were more guides, wizards, or templates to speed that up. Third, the price model could be more transparent and flexible. The license cost can add up quickly, specifically when you want to add more advanced features. Finally, I would appreciate seeing better integration with some third-party security tools we use. Right now, we have to do a lot of manual work to make everything talk to each other. Overall, these are minor things. The core product is really solid and does what it is supposed to do very well. The documentation could be more comprehensive in some areas. When we run into issues, the documentation does not have clear answers, so we end up contacting support. Speaking of support, the response time could be faster sometimes. We have had cases where we need help with a certain security issue, and it takes longer than we would prefer to get a response. As for features, it would be nice to have more general reporting options so we can customize reports for different teams and stakeholders without having to do manual work afterward. One more thing, better mobile access to the dashboard would be helpful. Sometimes we need to check on security alerts when we are away from the office, and the mobile experience is not as smooth as it could be. Again, these are improvements that would make it even better, not issues with the core product itself.
Jim Voige - PeerSpot reviewer
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.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"We haven't had any security breaches, so it's been good."
"The support offers the best services I have experienced. It's better than any other IT vendor."
"The VPN tunnels are very effective in terms of stability and quick connection."
"The security posture assessment with two-factor authentication has saved more time and commercial costs by avoiding deploying having to deploy another solution."
"With this firewall on the perimeter, we detect a lot of attacks with the IPS and the antivirus blades, and with SmartLog for our team that operates the solution, we have a very intuitive way of searching the logs and seeing events, when compared to other vendors that we also have."
"If you have comparatively small branch offices, in addition to administrative workload, instead of spending money for security products such as proxy or IPS, Check Point Next Generation Firewalls could meet your requirements."
"The solution boasts a host of features that we like."
"Check Point is more expensive but easier to manage, and their presales and after-sale support are way better than Fortinet's."
"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."
"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."
"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."
"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."
 

Cons

"Check Point should improve services related to the cloud-based solution."
"Internet load balancing provides either active/passive or active/active load balancing, however, I would like to see more options that provide SD-WAN capabilities while also allowing for more than two links."
"If you have the standard support level, sometimes they take a long time to understand or even give you a solution or good workaround to a problematic situation."
"The management of memory in the hardware needs to improve. They have had a lot of issues with memory leakage."
"While not being cheap, their pricing models are competitive. In the pricing structure, however, they need improvement."
"The biggest improvement they could make is having one software to install on all three levels of their products, so that the SMBs, the normal models, and the chassis would all run the same software. Now, while there is central management, everything that has to be configured on the gateway itself works differently on the three kinds of devices."
"One thing to improve is the VSX gateway. It is quite complex to work with VSX and they are quite easy to break if you aren't familiar with them."
"Their technical support can be better."
"The pricing for the hardware of Netgate pfSense Plus Firewall_VPN_Router is steep, which is one reason I'd explore other options."
"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."
"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 most significant drawback in recent years has been the cessation of firmware release downloads."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"It's reasonably priced, but competitors offer much cheaper options."
"Check Point NGFW is not a cheap solution."
"The price could be decreased, because the competitors of Check Point Firewall are giving lower prices in comparison."
"Its cost is a little higher than other products."
"The pricing falls in the middle, meaning it's neither cheap nor expensive."
"You get licensing bundles, so depending on which features you want to activate, your license is going to be more expensive. Some things, like Threat Extraction and Threat Emulation, require subscriptions."
"The price is too high."
"I don't see that Check Point is very high, but it is geared more towards enterprises."
Information not available
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Outsourcing Company
19%
Construction Company
10%
Financial Services Firm
10%
Computer Software Company
8%
Construction Company
35%
Comms Service Provider
10%
Healthcare Company
8%
Manufacturing Company
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business164
Midsize Enterprise94
Large Enterprise198
No data available
 

Questions from the Community

How does Check Point NGFW compare with Fortinet Fortigate?
I have experience on both from Disti and channel experience. Please find below my comments (nothing new as such). -Check Point GUI is a bit complicated, -Application and Web filtering are better t...
Which would you recommend - Azure Firewall or Check Point NGFW?
Azure Firewall is easy to use and provides excellent support. Valuable features include integration into the overall cloud platform, autoscaling, and the ability for users to create virtual IP addr...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Check Point NGFW?
Our experience with pricing for Check Point Quantum Force (NGFW) has been mixed. The initial setup costs were fairly significant because we needed to buy the hardware appliances and then pay for th...
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...
 

Also Known As

Check Point NG Firewall, Check Point Next Generation Firewall
No data available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Control Southern, Optimal Media
Information Not Available
Find out what your peers are saying about Check Point Quantum Force (NGFW) vs. Netgate pfSense Plus Firewall/VPN/Router and other solutions. Updated: August 2026.
909,725 professionals have used our research since 2012.