Netgate pfSense vs Zyxel Unified Security Gateway comparison

Netgate and Zyxel are both solutions in the Firewalls category. Additionally, 93% of Netgate users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 50% of Zyxel users who would recommend it.

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Executive Summary

We performed a comparison between Netgate pfSense and Zyxel Unified Security Gateway 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 Netgate pfSense vs. Zyxel Unified Security Gateway Report (Updated: September 2025).

Buyer's Guide

Netgate pfSense vs. Zyxel Unified Security Gateway

September 2025

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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

Fortinet FortiGate

Featured Reviews

Vasu Gala

Manager, Information Technology Operation/Presales at TechMonarch

A stable solution with an intuitive interface and quick customer service

I have been working with Fortinet FortiGate, WatchGuard, Sophos, and SonicWall. I'm not as comfortable with SonicWall because of their UI and limitations. I prefer Fortinet above all other options. When it comes to configuration, I am confident in my ability to handle various tasks, including creating policies such as firewall rules, web policies, and application policies. Additionally, I can configure VPNs and implement load balancing, among other tasks. Overall, I feel much more comfortable working with Fortinet. Fortinet has made significant improvements by integrating AI with firewalls for threat analysis and prevention. In the past 2-3 years, they have launched FortiSASE and SIEM, and they also provide SOC services. Both Palo Alto and Fortinet FortiGate are excellent. While Fortinet FortiGate comes at higher prices, the functionality and support justify the cost. They promptly resolve firmware issues and inform all support providers about configuration changes.

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Jean-Pierre DAREYS

Director, Latin America at Bradmark Technologies, Inc.

Easy to use, configurable, flexible, excellent user group support

I'm not knowledgeable enough to suggest new features. The use has been very straightforward. Whatever questions I've had, I've found videos to help me on YouTube, or I've been able to ask the forums. I've also reached out to technical support and I've received help although there could be more videos or tutorials from Netgate, in addition to third parties who have already implemented it, which is great. I have suffered a lot of problems over time but I don't think the problems are related to the hardware or the software. I am convinced that the problems have been related to hacking during configuration. During the setup process, while experimenting, the device would stop working or the password would suddenly not allow access, requiring re-installation and re-configuration, it was very slow going until I moved to the cloud. The dashboard is a little bit slow and the reporting isn't always current or immediate but acceptable. I'm not sure I can make data-driven decisions due to insufficient volume. I would need enhanced reporting, statistics, playback. I haven't looked at the reports a lot since because you have to access the log files, time is an issue, I use it in a home office environment.

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Alexander Azikov

It Manager at Diamond Braces

A robust appliance that is reasonably priced and straightforward to set up

Although manageable, the user interface is a little bit slow and could be improved. There are two user interface options available, namely the basic and the advanced. The basic UI is not very good and doesn't have a lot of features, although it is fast. The advanced UI allows me to do whatever I want, but this is where the issue of speed exists. At one of our sites, the CPU utilization was very high, and for no reason. Technical support needs to be more responsive to requests.

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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

"Fortinet FortiGate protects against internet-based threats, both internal and external. It is scalable, stable, easy to use, and easy to install."

"The solution has improved my organization significantly, with impactful capabilities such as sandboxing and cloud solutions, such as XDR, MDR, and EDR."

"The most effective features for threat prevention are the IPS, content filter, and SD-WAN capabilities."

"The solution is very stable."

"The most useful feature of FortiGate IPS for me is Application Control."

"This solution has solid UTM features combined with a nice GUI."

"The FortiGate controls the user's activities and maximizes my bandwidth use overall."

"The product has an inbuilt IPS software. We can configure it to block specific anonymous attacks that are happening."

More Fortinet FortiGate pros

"The solution is fairly scalable when it comes to integrating with other applications and data sets."

"The visibility in pfSense helps optimize performance."

"Stability has been excellent. We have experienced no issues; it never fails."

"The initial setup was straightforward, therefore I wanted to continue using the product."

"I like how easy it is to access VPNs and stuff like that. It's so simple to set up a site-to-site VPN."

"The solution's most valuable features are high availability and the VPN options."

"The stability is good. I haven't had any issues with the firewall crashing spontaneously."

"It is a very good solution for enterprises that need a VPN for their employees. It is the best way to provide a remote work facility to employees at a very low cost. Other solutions that I have had in the past were very expensive. Enterprises don't always have that kind of money to invest."

More Netgate pfSense pros

"This is a capable appliance and the standard features work well for us."

"The solution can scale well."

"The most valuable features of the solution stem from web filtering, malware protection, and antivirus."

Cons

"I would like to have SD-WAN as a part of the Next Generation Firewall. It would enhance high availability."

"The web filtering categories could improve in Fortinet FortiGate IPS. There are too many websites under the category of Unknown and the other categories are not featuring all the necessary sites."

"They should provide us with a CSV number for patch updates. It will help us block specific signatures as well."

"The prevention mechanisms and implementation are not easy."

"I think Fortinet FortiGate is stable because previously it had a hiccup around a bug within the authentication VPN due to the firmware, but after updating, it's easier to control."

"In the next release, I would like to see the interface simplified to be more user-friendly."

"There are too many updates coming for VPN, and the VPN keeps disconnecting frequently, which I find problematic."

"Fortinet FortiGate SWG could improve the price, it is expensive."

More Fortinet FortiGate cons

"This product needs improvements with respect to reporting and auditing."

"PfSense has the bare necessities essentially, but it isn't an advanced firewall that protects against layer 7 attacks or DDoS. It's not on the same level as Palo Alto, for instance. You can add some higher-level security features, but it doesn't do that out of the box. Maybe there's another thing we can add to it, but it feels like it's not catching more advanced attacks."

"The tool is just a little bit slow to release patches, so it is probably one of the things where the tool can improve."

"I would prefer being able to click a button that says," I am upgrading, so uninstall everything and store in the configuration file what I had installed.""

"I like the plugin systems, even though I feel like I'm playing roulette. I'm not sure if it does what I want it to do or if it will break the original capability of pfSense."

"I'm trying to set up a gaming server for multiplayer games like 7 Days to Die. I spent three or four days trying to publish a private IP address through pfSense to the outside world. Some commercial and consumer-grade routers can do this, specifically gaming routers, but pfSense is not intended for this usage."

"Improve analysis of logs and dashboards (control panel) with improved alert functionality."

"I would like to see SD1 integration into the software. That would be fantastic."

More Netgate pfSense cons

"Although manageable, the user interface is a little bit slow and could be improved."

"The product has some scalability and data management issues where improvements are required."

"Sometimes it reboots when you least expect it, and that's the main issue."

Pricing and Cost Advice

"It is around $50,000 per month."

"We pay for the license of Fortinet FortiGate IPS annually. There are not any extra costs."

"Fortinet is the least expensive solution."

"The pricing is better compared to other solutions like Check Point, Arista, or Cisco."

"These boxes are not that expensive compared to what they can do, their functionality, and the reporting you receive. Fortinet licensing is straightforward and less confusing compared to Cisco."

"The price could be lower."

"The price depends on the size of the company. From the beginning, you just want to know the internet bandwidths, speed, and the number of users to be able to offer the right product and model. They have a lot of products in FortiGate according to the size of the company, like 200D and 300D."

"Their licensing costs are annual. The UTM feature license along with their support is called FortiCare. We include that as a part of the annual maintenance cost. Palo Alto or Juniper also have an annual subscription charge for UTM. Price, of course, can always be more competitive, but it is not the most expensive product. The price-performance ratio is quite high for FortiGate."

More Fortinet FortiGate pricing and cost advice

"I spent a couple of $1,000 on hardware, and the OS was free. A comparable firewall would cost me probably 20 grand. It saved a lot of money."

"Netgate pfSense stands out as a cost-effective option that delivers excellent value."

"Its price is pretty fair."

"It is open source."

"I am using the free version of pfSense."

"The solution's pricing is comparable to other products."

"Netgate pfSense is fairly priced."

"We just have a yearly support subscription."

More Netgate pfSense pricing and cost advice

"This gateway is pretty cheap."

"The price of Zyxel Unified Security Gateway is good compared to other similar products in the market."

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

15%

Comms Service Provider

Manufacturing Company

Financial Services Firm

Computer Software Company

16%

Comms Service Provider

13%

University

Educational Organization

Comms Service Provider

22%

Computer Software Company

15%

Outsourcing Company

Non Profit

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	350
Midsize Enterprise	130
Large Enterprise	187

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	166
Midsize Enterprise	33
Large Enterprise	28

No data available

Questions from the Community

Which is the better NGFW: Fortinet Fortigate or Cisco Firepower?

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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...

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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 ...

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Help me find the best open source router

You don't really specify what type of router you are looking for but if you are talking about a gateway router I reco...

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How do I choose between Fortinet FortiGate and pfSense?

Fortinet’s Fortigate is a firewall solution we use and are very much satisfied with its performance. We find Fortigat...

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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 cl...

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What do you like most about Zyxel Unified Security Gateway?

The most valuable features of the solution stem from web filtering, malware protection, and antivirus.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Zyxel Unified Security Gateway?

I cannot definitively comment on whether Zyxel Unified Security Gateway is an affordable product as I haven't done co...

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What needs improvement with Zyxel Unified Security Gateway?

The integration capability is quite challenging. The system is very complicated, and many features are hidden. I'm lo...

See all answers

Comparisons

Sophos XG vs Fortinet FortiGate

Compared 18% of the time

Cisco Secure Firewall vs Fortinet FortiGate

Compared 11% of the time

OPNsense vs Fortinet FortiGate

Compared 4% of the time

Cisco Meraki MX vs Fortinet FortiGate

Compared 4% of the time

WatchGuard Firebox vs Fortinet FortiGate

Compared 4% of the time

More Fortinet FortiGate Competitors

OPNsense vs Netgate pfSense

Compared 42% of the time

Sophos XG vs Netgate pfSense

Compared 7% of the time

Cisco Secure Firewall vs Netgate pfSense

Compared 3% of the time

KerioControl vs Netgate pfSense

Compared 2% of the time

WatchGuard Firebox vs Netgate pfSense

Compared 2% of the time

More Netgate pfSense Competitors

OPNsense vs Zyxel Unified Security Gateway

Compared 11% of the time

WatchGuard Firebox vs Zyxel Unified Security Gateway

Compared 7% of the time

Sophos XG vs Zyxel Unified Security Gateway

Compared 6% of the time

Sophos UTM vs Zyxel Unified Security Gateway

Compared 5% of the time

Fortinet FortiGate-VM vs Zyxel Unified Security Gateway

Compared 5% of the time

More Zyxel Unified Security Gateway Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Fortinet FortiGate

October 2025

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Buyer's Guide

Netgate pfSense

October 2025

Download Netgate pfSense product report

Buyer's Guide

Unified Threat Management (UTM)

October 2025

Download Zyxel Unified Security Gateway product report

Overview

Fortinet FortiGate excels in providing integrated VPN, firewalling, and Unified Threat Management (UTM) with centralized management and high availability. It supports remote access and comprehensive threat protection, making it a preferred choice for securing networks.

Fortinet FortiGate offers a robust security platform with features such as strong intrusion prevention, application control, and web filtering. Its integration with Active Directory and SD-WAN functionality provides scalable solutions for large networks. Users appreciate its ease of use through centralized management interfaces, ensuring robust security with flexible configurations. However, FortiGate could enhance its graphical interface and technical support responsiveness, address firmware bugs and costly licensing, improve logging, integrate better with third-party tools, and strengthen scalability and memory for log storage. Complexity in configuration and the need for intuitive features are noted challenges, and there's a demand for advanced security, zero-trust capabilities, and AI integration.

What are the key features of Fortinet FortiGate?

VPN: Secure remote access and connectivity.
Firewalling: Protects networks from unauthorized access and attacks.
UTM: Offers a comprehensive approach to threat management.
SD-WAN: Optimizes traffic routing for efficient network performance.
Web Filtering: Controls and monitors web access and ensures Internet security.

What benefits or ROI should be considered?

Centralized Management: Simplifies administration and monitoring.
High Availability: Ensures consistent security and network availability.
Scalability: Adapts to the needs of growing networks.
Comprehensive Threat Protection: Provides robust security measures.
Ease of Use: Minimizes the complexity of security management.

Fortinet FortiGate is widely implemented across industries like education, finance, and government. Companies use it for firewall protection, VPN, and SD-WAN capabilities, ensuring secure perimeter and data center security. It facilitates remote access management and traffic routing optimization, offering reliable security and connectivity solutions.

Fortinet

Netgate pfSense is widely leveraged by organizations for its comprehensive capabilities in firewalls, VPN servers, and bandwidth management. It suits LAN, WAN, and DMZ networks, offering secure, scalable, and efficient networking solutions.

Netgate pfSense stands out in diverse environments with its enterprise-grade features and cost-effective operations compared to competitors like Cisco. Deployed as an edge device, it optimizes routing, ad-blocking, content filtering, and traffic shaping. Users benefit from its versatile configurations, robust firewall protection, VPN functionality, and ISP load balancing. The open-source nature allows for extensive customization, integrating plugins like Snort and pfBlockerNG, and compatibility with third-party tools enhances its utility. The intuitive GUI combined with detailed logging and centralized management fortifies network security.

What features define Netgate pfSense?

Firewall: Provides robust network security through advanced filtering and stateful packet inspections.
VPN: Ensures secure remote access with high-performing VPN capabilities.
Load Balancing: Efficiently distributes traffic across multiple ISPs, ensuring uptime and performance.
Customization: Supports various plugins for enhanced functionality, tailor-made to specific needs.
Scalability: Adapts easily to varying network demands, providing high availability and flexibility.

What benefits should be considered for ROI?

Cost-Effectiveness: Delivers premium features at a fraction of the cost of traditional network appliances.
Flexibility: Offers a customizable solution that integrates well with existing infrastructure.
Community Support: Backed by a strong user community offering insights and troubleshooting resources.
Security: Supports VLAN segmentation, enhancing protection and management of network traffic.

Organizations in industries such as finance, healthcare, and education find Netgate pfSense integral due to its advanced security features and cost benefits. Its scalable architecture and strong VPN support are crucial for industries requiring stringent data protection and reliable remote access. The adaptability of pfSense makes it suitable for dynamic environments seeking comprehensive, secure networking solutions.

Netgate

ZyWALL USG Series delivers high-access quality to help businesses satisfy the demand for always-online communications. For internal deployments, the ZyWALL USG Series provides active-passive High-Availability (HA) service to support device or connection failover.

With Device HA Pro service, the ZyWALL USG Series also supports instant failover, so connections are always maintained when a failover event occurs. For external deployments, the ZyWALL USG Series features multi- WAN load balancing/failover and a comprehensive mobile broadband USB modem support list for WAN backup operations. The ZyWALL USG Series also supports IPSec load balancing and failover, providing additional resilience for mission-critical VPN failover with VTI Interface deployments.

ZyWALL USG110/210/310 thoroughly protects networks with industry-leading firewall, Anti-Malware/ Virus, Anti-Spam, Content Filtering, IDP, and Application Patrol functionality. Regulate unauthorized use of Web applications over your network, such as Facebook, Google apps, and Netflix, among others. Zyxel security measures are enhanced with SSL Inspection, blocking threats hidden in SSL-encrypted connections while facilitating deeper policy enforcement. Furthermore, newly improved Content Filtering 2.0 enhances HTTPS Domain Filter, Browser SafeSearch, and Geo IP Blocking for an array of security enhancements to ensure clean Web connections.

Zyxel

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

Nerds On Site Inc., RKC Development Inc., Expertech, Fisher's Technology, Ncisive, Consulting, CPURX, Vaughn's Computer House Calls, Imeretech LLC, Digital Crisis, Carolina Digital Phone, Technigogo Technology Services, The Simple Solution, SwiftecITInc, Rocky Mountain Tech Team, Free Range Geeks, Alaska Computer Geeks, Lark Information Technology, Renaissance Systems Inc., Cutting Edge Computers, Caretech LLC, GoVanguard, Network Touch Ltd, P.C. Solutions.Net, Vision Voice and Data Systems LLC, Montgomery Technologies, Techforce, Concero Networks, ASONInc, CPS Electronics and Consulting, Darkwire.net LLC, IT Specialists, MBS-Net Inc., VOICE1 LLC, Advantage Networking Inc., Powerhouse Systems, Doxa Multimedia Inc., Pro Computer Service, Virtual IT Services, A&J Computers Inc., Envision IT LLC, CommunicaONE Inc., Bone Computer Inc., Amax Engineering Corporation, QPG Ltd. Co., IT 101 Inc., Perfect Cloud Solutions, Applied Technology Group Inc., The Digital Sun Group LLC, Firespring

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Buyer's Guide

Netgate pfSense vs. Zyxel Unified Security Gateway

September 2025

Free Report: Netgate pfSense vs. Zyxel Unified Security Gateway

Find out what your peers are saying about Netgate pfSense vs. Zyxel Unified Security Gateway and other solutions. Updated: September 2025.

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