IPFire vs KerioControl comparison

Why PeerSpot?

IPFire Project and GFI are both solutions in the Firewalls category. IPFire Project is ranked #29 with an average rating of 8.0, while GFI is ranked #26 with an average rating of 9.0. IPFire Project holds a 0.9% mindshare in Firewalls, compared to GFI’s 1.2% mindshare. Additionally, 100% of IPFire Project users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 88% of GFI users who would recommend it.

IPFire

Read 3 IPFire reviews

4,023 Views
3,943 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

KerioControl

Read 58 KerioControl reviews

8,062 Views
5,563 Comparison Views

88% willing to recommend

IPFire

KerioControl

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive Summary

We performed a comparison between IPFire and KerioControl based on real PeerSpot user reviews.

Find out in this report how the two Firewalls solutions compare in terms of features, pricing, service and support, easy of deployment, and ROI.

To learn more, read our detailed IPFire vs. KerioControl Report (Updated: September 2026).

Buyer's Guide

IPFire vs. KerioControl

September 2026

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Helped 913,806 peers since 2012

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

IPFire

Ranking in Firewalls

29th

Average Rating

8.0

Reviews Sentiment

8.3

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

KerioControl

Ranking in Firewalls

26th

Average Rating

8.2

Reviews Sentiment

6.9

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Intrusion Detection and Prevention Software (IDPS) (13th), Unified Threat Management (UTM) (8th)

Mindshare comparison

As of September 2026, in the Firewalls category, the mindshare of IPFire is 0.9%, down from 2.1% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of KerioControl is 1.2%, down from 1.3% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Firewalls Mindshare Distribution
Product	Mindshare (%)
KerioControl	1.2%
IPFire	0.9%
Other	97.9%

Firewalls

Featured Reviews

Agharinma Ehiedu

Chief Technology Officer at Agileware Limited

Firewall deployment has secured mission-critical public apps and simplifies Linux-based management

The best features IPFire offers include its very intuitive nature because, even though it has a Linux back-end, in terms of configuration, it has a very rich GUI interface. The GUI and configuration features of IPFire have made my work easier and more efficient because their positioning and the sequence with which I follow is easy. In terms of all the processes, what you need to do at first and the next thing that you need to do is clear. The GUI is well arranged in sequential order, so you can follow that from whatever you want to do until you get the target objective. IPFire includes features with a very robust and rich community that is very much valid in terms of content. IPFire has positively impacted my organization by giving us some mileage. At least, a lot of organizations now know that we have a solution that can deliver the same value.

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Constantnos Achilleos

Product manger at Asbis Mediteranean

Leveraging geo-tagging and web filtering for enhanced network security

The solution is used for site-to-site VPN connections and it is valued for its cost efficiency and easy connectivity. It is especially beneficial for multi-site VPNs and is used in about fifteen different components KerioControl has provided a financial benefit as it allows purchasing one license…

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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

"IPFire has prevented any kind of hacking and enables us to comply with customer requirements."

"Regarding IPFire's AI capabilities, I think they are quite focused; in all the deployments I have done, I have not had any incidents or breaches."

"I would rate the stability as ten out of ten for IPFire."

"The solution’s firewall and intrusion detection features are quite good because you can see exactly who is attacking you and who is getting blocked."

"I love the VPN that we set up. A few of us have it on our computers so that if we leave, we can still access the stores. And we can work from home if needed. When I sign into that Kerio VPN, it links me like I'm sitting in the store. It puts me in our secure network so that I can sign on to each individual store and I can run numbers... If I have to work from home, it's so much faster than the way we used to do it."

"I am impressed with the tool's firewall filtering capacity."

"Kerio Control is easy to use and provides the ability to deliver customized solutions."

"The routing of the multiple internet physical routers I have is the most valuable feature of this solution. Instead of me physically unplugging a cable from one router to the server, if one connection goes down, it automatically switches for me. So I can have all three of them plugged in. If one goes down, it just picks up the other one automatically. There's no physical cable swapping."

"Kerio Control fulfills my needs completely and allows me to get on with my main work without spending any time on security or worrying about threats to the data I have."

"The solution has an app manager and a portal where you can maintain all your Keri products. It is a firewall that includes antivirus and anti-malware, which adds security. The VPNs, both site-to-site and client VPNs, are pretty easy to set up."

"From the old way we used to do things, it is night and day, and the efficiency has doubled."

More KerioControl pros

Cons

"The graphical interface could be much better."

"Accessing the internet was a bit complicated."

"I would rate IPFire 8 out of 10 because I do not think there is any solution anywhere in the world that is 100 percent efficient."

"One of the problems we do have causes problems with the VPN. The software slows the throughput down too much. You could have a one-gigabit connection from the internet, and it slows it down to the area of upload and download is extremely slow. There's too much content filtering at that point."

"The solution's hardware is not that great and could use more improvement. However, the VM software and the virtualized KerioControl itself are pretty good. The software is good; it's just the hardware that needs improvement."

"I find it a bit costly to pay for the products that I am not using. They need to change their model in such a way that you don't have to pay for the products that you are not using. Its local support and scalability are also not good. I am looking forward to a more scalable product that will be able to grow with time and technology."

"My experience with the solutions technical support is fine but they could be faster in responding."

"If a hardware issue arises with a firewall, then it takes at least a week, maybe a week-and-a-half, to get a new firewall sent by GFI; that's really not acceptable."

"The one thing that did put me off of the solution was that, after they were taken over by GFI, the licensing and a few other items have gotten very complicated."

"The denial of service could also be improved. There recently was a big issue with denial of service attacks and it was a bit laborious."

"The only stability issue that we have is with regard to the latency and using MyKerio."

More KerioControl cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

Information not available

"The price is inexpensive."

"Its price is fair. There are no additional costs."

"Pricing is good, but the licensing took a lot of time."

"The fixed model of users and devices is a bit of a problem for us. We want to be able to expand it fast and not have to contact our supplier first to get a license... If they had a larger fixed price with unlimited users or devices, that would help. Now, it's five users each time. A pack of 100 or 200 users for a certain price would make it more dynamic and user-scalable."

"The biggest advice that I could probably give people is when you buy the solution be prepared to either buy the unlimited license or buy more licenses than you think. Each user license gives you one employee and each a user gives you five devices. In the world nowadays where everybody has a cellphone, tablet, desktop, and laptop, that's four devices. You still get one more device per person. That covers your servers and back-ends."

"I think it is a bit on the pricey side, but it's okay. I've got 50 licenses which I think is $250 a year or something like that."

"There is a yearly upkeep fee."

"On the low-end device that I use, it has unlimited IP addresses. So, they have a subscription model where, on the higher models, you pay X dollars for 10 IP addresses. Then, if you want any more, you have to pay more on the model. On the low-end model, it has unlimited IP addresses, because if you have too many users, the thing will just slow you down and stop working. At some point, you need to say, "Okay, I've grown to a point where performance is impacted. I need to get some bigger hardware." If I get to that stage, I will possibly look at using one of the virtual appliances and putting it on some bigger hardware."

More KerioControl pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Comms Service Provider

19%

Computer Software Company

University

Government

Construction Company

11%

Computer Software Company

11%

Comms Service Provider

11%

Outsourcing Company

10%

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

No data available

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	44
Midsize Enterprise	9
Large Enterprise	3

Questions from the Community

What needs improvement with IPFire?

IPFire can be improved, but so far, there are no functionalities that have not been able to meet my needs. I wish IPFire could do more, but so far, I am happy with the solution. If there are other ...

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What is your primary use case for IPFire?

My main use case for IPFire is usually for security, functioning as a firewall for organizations that run public-facing applications. I will give you a typical example: there is an agency of the fe...

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What advice do you have for others considering IPFire?

I would rate IPFire 8 out of 10 because I do not think there is any solution anywhere in the world that is 100 percent efficient. In elementary physics, we are told that no machine can be 100 perce...

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What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for KerioControl?

KerioControl offers good pricing as one license covers all features needed without extra payment. The price for the product is rated as ten out of ten.

See all answers

What needs improvement with KerioControl?

Regarding KerioControl's application awareness and control feature, I have not used it much.

See all answers

What is your primary use case for KerioControl?

With KerioControl, we usually use them for site-to-site VPNs for most of our clients. With multiple offices, we use KerioControl as our solution.

See all answers

Comparisons

OPNsense vs IPFire

Compared 53% of the time

Netgate pfSense vs IPFire

Compared 9% of the time

Sophos Firewall vs IPFire

Compared 6% of the time

Fortinet FortiGate vs IPFire

Compared 5% of the time

Hillstone E-Series vs IPFire

Compared 2% of the time

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Fortinet FortiGate vs KerioControl

Compared 9% of the time

Netgate pfSense vs KerioControl

Compared 8% of the time

Sophos UTM vs KerioControl

Compared 7% of the time

OPNsense vs KerioControl

Compared 6% of the time

Splunk User Behavior Analytics vs KerioControl

Compared 5% of the time

More KerioControl Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Firewalls

September 2026

Download IPFire product report

Buyer's Guide

KerioControl

September 2026

Download KerioControl product report

Overview

IPFire enhances network security and protects against cyber threats. It provides a secure firewall, secure remote access, and customizable options. Users praise its ease of use, flexibility, and reliability for network monitoring and traffic shaping. Its valuable features include efficient firewall capabilities, a user-friendly interface, and reliable network performance.

IPFire Project

KerioControl is a comprehensive network security solution integrating firewall, antivirus, and VPN in an easy-to-use interface for small to medium businesses seeking robust protection.

KerioControl offers a blend of essential security features wrapped in a user-friendly graphical interface that enables effective network management. It supports firewall protection, intrusion detection, real-time monitoring, and flexible VPN capabilities ensuring high reliability and productivity. Despite being suitable for small to medium enterprises, improvements could enhance its overall performance, such as better GUI updates, stronger connectivity, and advanced VPN functionality. Common uses include unified threat management, bandwidth management, remote access, and web filtering.

What are the important features of KerioControl?

Ease of Use: Intuitive interface for effortless security management.
Firewall and VPN Integration: Combines essential security tools seamlessly.
Real-time Monitoring: Offers constant insight into network activities.
Intrusion Detection: Advanced system for prevention and alerts.
Bandwidth Management: Efficient allocation for optimized network usage.

What benefits and ROI should users consider?

Cost Savings: Economical security solution for smaller businesses.
Productivity Gains: Simplified management increases operational efficiency.
Enhanced Security: Comprehensive coverage with antivirus and malware protection.
Remote Access: Streamlined management of multiple sites and networks.

KerioControl is effectively implemented in industries needing strong security measures, supporting small to medium businesses in sectors like IT services, retail, and education. It's particularly well-suited for companies requiring efficient threat management and convenient internet service management across various sites.

GFI

Sample Customers

1. Siemens 2. IBM 3. Cisco 4. Dell 5. HP 6. Intel 7. Oracle 8. Google 9. Microsoft 10. Amazon 11. Apple 12. Facebook 13. Twitter 14. Netflix 15. Adobe 16. SAP 17. VMware 18. Juniper Networks 19. Ericsson 20. Nokia 21. AT&T 22. Verizon 23. T-Mobile 24. Vodafone 25. Orange 26. Deutsche Telekom 27. British Telecom 28. Comcast 29. Time Warner 30. Sony 31. Samsung 32. LG

Triton Technical, McDonald's

Buyer's Guide

IPFire vs. KerioControl

September 2026

Free Report: IPFire vs. KerioControl

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