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Juniper vSRX vs Netgate pfSense Plus Firewall/VPN/Router comparison

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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

Fortinet FortiGate
Sponsored
Ranking in Firewalls
1st
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
591
Ranking in other categories
Secure Web Gateways (SWG) (2nd), Intrusion Detection and Prevention Software (IDPS) (1st), Software Defined WAN (SD-WAN) Solutions (1st), WAN Edge (1st), ZTNA (1st), Unified Threat Management (UTM) (1st)
Juniper vSRX
Ranking in Firewalls
34th
Average Rating
7.8
Reviews Sentiment
7.1
Number of Reviews
36
Ranking in other categories
Virtualization Security (3rd), Unified Threat Management (UTM) (11th)
Netgate pfSense Plus Firewa...
Ranking in Firewalls
24th
Average Rating
9.0
Reviews Sentiment
4.3
Number of Reviews
5
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Featured Reviews

Abhinandan Yadav - PeerSpot reviewer
Network Security Engineer at Arrow PC Network Pvt Ltd
Unified security and sd-wan have improved uptime and cut wan costs for multi-site branches
Users report stability issues in certain versions, which requires regular updates. Real-world attacks have also highlighted the need for urgent patching of vulnerabilities.Fortinet FortiGate, while a powerful and feature-rich web firewall, could improve in areas like firmware stability, documentation, and ease of use. The learning curve can be steep for some users. For beginners, support quality can vary, and frequent updates with occasional vulnerabilities call for careful patch management. However, once Fortinet FortiGate is configured, it remains highly reliable and efficient. Customer support needs improvement, as I find it very slow, with reports from other users reflecting that customer support is inadequate.
Stratos-Margaritis - PeerSpot reviewer
Solutions Architect at Navarino SA
The ease of installation and licensing are also significant advantages
We use the application filtering, content filtering, and intrusion prevention system (IPS) features. These features are crucial for our network security. The ease of installation and licensing are also significant advantages, as it allows us to have one license for all products, which simplifies upgrading and maintenance. Additionally, the ease of deployment is critical for us.
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

"Simple interface and easy to deploy."
"The main benefits of Fortinet FortiGate are security and the ability to manage all information throughout the company, including managing all data inside the company to prevent intrusions from outside."
"The product is easy to install since we only need to follow the user manual, documents, and articles provided by Fortinet to install the product."
"Fortinet FortiGate is a simple solution, and the integration with other solutions in the Fortinet portfolio, such as the Security Fabric integration, is competitive."
"I've found the solution to be very good."
"The FortiGate controls the user's activities and maximizes my bandwidth use overall."
"It has improved our organization with control data."
"The most helpful features of FortiGate include its firewall policy, specifically the user-based policy, which I find to be quite beneficial in managing our network security effectively."
"The initial setup was very straightforward; there was no problem and the initial deployment took about one hour."
"The valuable features are threat prevention to work like Jira Trust Network Access."
"Juniper is more flexible with the commit check and the commit confirmed command. The design of the forwarding and contract plan in the operating system is very important for the performance when we have very big traffic."
"I'm told the solution is the fastest, and, so far, I do find that to be the case."
"The dashboard, customization, API, and pricing are good."
"The ease of installation and licensing are also significant advantages, as it allows us to have one license for all products, which simplifies upgrading and maintenance."
"Juniper is better than Cisco for management."
"Easy to maintain. Easy to use. Easy to set up. It is easy for me to go in and update settings, make changes, or add/remove rules or security."
"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."
"They are more satisfied with Netgate pfSense Plus Firewall_VPN_Router in terms of its flexibility and customer support."
"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."
"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."
 

Cons

"It should come integrated or have its own type of network monitor tool in a module."
"More advanced AI capabilities would be beneficial in future updates."
"I have found the support from Fortinet FortiGate very poor. I do not use them anymore because they are not very good."
"A couple of things I've seen that need improvement, especially in terms of a hard coding. The driver-level active moment really is out-of-the-box and we have to have contact the customer support and sometimes it is difficult to resolve."
"There have been several vulnerabilities in the firewall. It is hackable, some of the images are hackable."
"Maybe they can offer a smaller scope for a cheaper price for smaller organizations."
"I feel they need to work on the alert and event logs."
"There's always something new that can be added or fixed."
"The GUI interface needs improvement."
"Right now, we are going through issues and problems where the product gets dropped with the connection or during the authentication initial phase. While it could be our problem, we would like to see more stability in this area."
"It is pretty complex to manage and could be easier."
"Some people complain that the solution tends to have a steep learning curve."
"I would like to see an activity sensor for malicious content or sensor for viruses and malware."
"We worked with Cisco's support and Juniper's support and there are some differences, to be honest, Cisco is more available and is more competent at addressing our cases."
"It could use more tutorials. I think there's a step missing or the use cases are missing information."
"VPN access is an area that needs improvement."
"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."
"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."
"The most significant drawback in recent years has been the cessation of firmware release downloads."
"The pricing for the hardware of Netgate pfSense Plus Firewall_VPN_Router is steep, which is one reason I'd explore other options."
"They have to learn something more from FortiGate."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Fortinet's pricing is more straightforward than other solutions. If Fortinet doesn't stick out when you're searching for a solution, you are a glutton for punishment. You only need to know two things when purchasing a Fortinet solution: your total bandwidth and bandwidth at the site. You need to estimate the future bandwidth with other solutions if your customer plans to upgrade."
"If we have an older version, the support costs get quite high."
"The product is expensive compared to one of its competitors."
"I pay €1,200 per year for the license along with Fortinet's 81E firewall appliance. I would rate this pricing as 3/5 stars, and I believe the price is reasonably similar to its competitors in the market, being somewhere in the middle."
"Pricing for Fortinet FortiGate SWG is more suitable for enterprise or large-sized organizations because they are the ones who can afford it versus small and medium-sized organizations."
"The license is yearly. We pay for the top end. It's called 360."
"The pricing for the product is alright."
"Setup costs and pricing depends on many variables, but it's mostly affordable."
"We like pricing through the AWS Marketplace."
"After some research, I think that the cost of Juniper is more than Check Point, Palo Alto, and Fortinet."
"Our experience purchasing the solution through the AWS Marketplace was good."
"The solution is inexpensive."
"The ongoing licensing cost seems to be pretty standard. There are no additional costs."
"As a customer, the pricing is good for us."
"The pricing is reasonable."
"It is not that costly."
Information not available
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
10%
Comms Service Provider
10%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Financial Services Firm
7%
Construction Company
10%
Comms Service Provider
8%
Outsourcing Company
7%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Construction Company
39%
Comms Service Provider
11%
Healthcare Company
8%
Financial Services Firm
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business367
Midsize Enterprise135
Large Enterprise193
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business23
Midsize Enterprise8
Large Enterprise9
No data available
 

Questions from the Community

Which is the better NGFW: Fortinet Fortigate or Cisco Firepower?
When you compare these firewalls you can identify them with different features, advantages, practices and usage a...
What is the biggest difference between Sophos XG and FortiGate?
From my experience regarding both the Sophos and FortiGate firewalls, I personally would rather use FortiGate. I know...
What are the biggest technical differences between Sophos UTM and Fortinet FortiGate?
As a solution, Sophos UTM offers a lot of functionality, it scales well, and the stability and performance are quite ...
What do you like most about Juniper vSRX?
One of Juniper vSRX's most valuable features is its integration with safety applications. It keeps the software secur...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Juniper vSRX?
The pricing is competitive, being neither the most expensive nor the cheapest option. It falls within the medium to h...
What needs improvement with Juniper vSRX?
I would suggest improving the pricing, particularly the licensing model. Although it is currently quite reasonable, m...
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 ...
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 a...
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 effect...
 

Also Known As

Fortinet FortiGate Next-Generation Firewall
No data available
No data available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Amazon Web Services, Microsoft, IBM, Cisco, Dell, HP, Oracle, Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile, Sprint, Vodafone, Orange, BT Group, Telstra, Deutsche Telekom, Comcast, Time Warner Cable, CenturyLink, NTT Communications, Tata Communications, SoftBank, China Mobile, Singtel, Telus, Rogers Communications, Bell Canada, Telkom Indonesia, Telkom South Africa, Telmex, Telia Company, Telkom Kenya
Expedient Data Centers
Information Not Available
Find out what your peers are saying about Juniper vSRX vs. Netgate pfSense Plus Firewall/VPN/Router and other solutions. Updated: April 2026.
894,738 professionals have used our research since 2012.