I primarily install and test the solution. I'm not an expert in the solution; I mainly put them in place.
Information Technology at a transportation company with 51-200 employees
Reasonably priced and easy to understand with a straightforward setup
Pros and Cons
- "Some of the terminologies were more familiar to me than it was when I first encountered Cisco."
- "It's just not listed as FIPS compliant for where we're at now in government, which is an issue."
What is our primary use case?
What is most valuable?
The pricing is good.
I have a good understanding of the underlying firewall which I find to be easy to use and comprehend. Some of the terminologies were more familiar to me than they were when I first encountered Cisco.
The initial setup is pretty easy.
The solution has been stable.
From what I can tell, the solution can scale.
What needs improvement?
I can't speak to if there are missing features. I'm not that familiar with it.
The critical issue there for us was the lack of FIPs compliance, however, I don't know if that's something that they would consider adjusting for.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
The product is stable. There are no issues with bugs and glitches. It doesn't crash or freeze. It's reliable.
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What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
While it's my understanding that scaling wouldn't be a problem, I myself have never actually tried to do so. Therefore, I can't speak from personal experience.
How are customer service and support?
I've never dealt with technical support before. I can't speak to how helpful or responsive they are in terms of answering support-related queries.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
I also have an understanding Cisco, which is a bit harder to understand. This product is more straightforward.
How was the initial setup?
In terms of the initial setup, pfSense seems pretty easy. I'd say it's been a few years since we played with it and I don't really remember too much about it other than using it and thinking it was okay. It's just not listed as FIPS compliant for where we're at now in government, which is an issue.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
The solution doesn't come at a high cost. That makes it a very attractive option.
What other advice do I have?
I'd rate the solution at an eight out of ten. I've been pretty satisfied with the product overall.
We are a customer and an end-user. We don't have any business relationship with the solution.
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.

Owner at The Computer Guy
High level protection, fast installation, and good support
Pros and Cons
- "pfSense is a nice product, and I find that there's a lot of information out there. There are some good tutorials on YouTube and other websites with helpful information."
- "pfSense could improve by having a sandboxing feature that I have seen in SonicWall. However, maybe it is available I am not aware of it."
What is most valuable?
pfSense is a nice product, and I find that there's a lot of information out there. There are some good tutorials on YouTube and other websites with helpful information.
What needs improvement?
pfSense could improve by having a sandboxing feature that I have seen in SonicWall. However, maybe it is available I am not aware of it.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using pfSense for approximately three years.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
I have used the SonicWall solution.
How was the initial setup?
Sometimes firewalls can get a little complicated. I think some of the things about the setup could be a little bit clearer. Maybe something like a configuration wizard or something that would guide you on more in-depth projects.
I'm running pfSense on old hardware, it takes all of 10 minutes to install.
What about the implementation team?
I did the implementation of the solution, it is not difficult.
What other advice do I have?
I like pfSense and I have deployed a number of them. I have approximately four of them in the area that I'm using. I have replaced SonicWall with a pfSense unit. It's a more economical way of using a firewall, and the protection it provides is second to none.
Lonnie Buchmann:
I would say give it a serious look. And especially a lot of times when you're in a small business, this is a really good solution that doesn't kill you with all the technology overhead that you deal with nowadays.
I rate pfSense a ten out of ten.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
On-premises
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
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CEO at netison
Reliable, easy to use, and allows us to deploy OpenVPN clients
Pros and Cons
- "My technicians find the pfSense's web interface very useful. It is very easy to use. pfSense is very reliable and stable. We like the OpenVPN clients that can be deployed using pfSense very much."
- "I'd like to find something in pfSense that is more specific to URL filtering. We have customers who would like to filter their web traffic. They would like to be able to say to their employees, "You can surf the web, but you cannot get access to Facebook or other social media," or "You can surf the web, but you're not allowed to gamble or watch porn on the web." My technicians say that doing this kind of stuff with pfSense nowadays is not easy. They can implement some filters using IP addresses but not by using the names of the domains and categories. So, we are not able to exclude some categories from the allowed traffic, such as porn, gambling, etc. To do that, we have to use another product and another web filter that uses DNS. I know that there are some third-party products that could work with pfSense, but I'd like the native pfSense solution to do that."
What is our primary use case?
We are an MSP. We have some customers who have on-prem networks, and they want to have their networks protected by a firewall. They are quite small customers with 10 to 50 users. We use pfSense in order to protect our customers' network, to make some network automation, and especially to make VPNs to some remote branches to enable remote users to get access to the enterprise network.
It is deployed on a private cloud and on-prem.
What is most valuable?
My technicians find the pfSense's web interface very useful. It is very easy to use.
pfSense is very reliable and stable. We like the OpenVPN clients that can be deployed using pfSense very much.
What needs improvement?
I'd like to find something in pfSense that is more specific to URL filtering. We have customers who would like to filter their web traffic. They would like to be able to say to their employees, "You can surf the web, but you cannot get access to Facebook or other social media," or "You can surf the web, but you're not allowed to gamble or watch porn on the web." My technicians say that doing this kind of stuff with pfSense nowadays is not easy. They can implement some filters using IP addresses but not by using the names of the domains and categories. So, we are not able to exclude some categories from the allowed traffic, such as porn, gambling, etc. To do that, we have to use another product and another web filter that uses DNS. I know that there are some third-party products that could work with pfSense, but I'd like the native pfSense solution to do that.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using this solution for five years.
What other advice do I have?
I would rate pfSense a nine out of 10. It is a very good product.
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
Managing Director at GCET
Excellent technical support of a stable and easy to use solution
Pros and Cons
- "Technical support is perfect, excellent."
- "The integration should be improved."
What is our primary use case?
We primarily use the solution to help our customers with firewall integration.
What is most valuable?
I like the solution's stability and ease of use.
What needs improvement?
There is a need to increase the technology on the area of WAF, the web application firewall. I would like to be more knowledgeable about the firewall, so I may best use it to solve customer problems.
The integration should be improved.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using pfSense for around six years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
The solution is stable.
How are customer service and support?
Technical support is perfect, excellent.
How was the initial setup?
The solution is easy to install for one who properly understands the nitty gritty of the firewall and network.
It is my engineers who are responsible for the installation, not I, so I cannot comment on its duration, although I know that it does not take them long.
What about the implementation team?
We don't buy the PS from Sophos, because we have in-house training and in-house trained engineers who always handle the implementation.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
Our customers must pay for an annual license.
What other advice do I have?
The solution can be deployed both on-cloud and on-premises.
When it comes to Sophos, we have around 18 to 20 customers making use of it.
I would recommend the solution to others.
I rate pfSense as an eight out of ten. It is good.
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: Partner
Sr. Network Administrator at ACMC
Stable, scalable, and effective traffic blocking
Pros and Cons
- "The most valuable features of pfSense are the reports, monitoring, filtration, and blocking incoming and outgoing traffic."
- "The usage reports can be better."
What is our primary use case?
I am using pfSense as a secondary firewall and network management.
What is most valuable?
The most valuable features of pfSense are the reports, monitoring, filtration, and blocking incoming and outgoing traffic.
What needs improvement?
The usage reports can be better.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using pfSense for approximately six years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
The solution is stable.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
I had 20 to 30 users using the solution.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
I have used Sophos and Cyberoam solutions.
How was the initial setup?
The installation is very easy.
What about the implementation team?
I did the implementation of the solution.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
I am using the free version of pfSense.
What other advice do I have?
I would recommend this solution to others.
I have been 100% satisfied with the solution.
I rate pfSense an eight out of ten.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
On-premises
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
IT Manager at a marketing services firm with 1,001-5,000 employees
Easy to use, simple configuration, and stable
Pros and Cons
- "The solution is very easy to use and configure."
What is our primary use case?
We are using pfSense as a personal firewall for our systems and network protection.
What is most valuable?
The solution is very easy to use and configure.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using pfSense for approximately five years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
The solution is stable.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
I am only using the solution for personal use and have not tried to scale it.
How are customer service and technical support?
I have not been in contact with the technical support because everything has been easy with the solution and there is clear documentation available.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
I have used other firewalls, such as Cisco and Netgate.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup is very simple and the configuration is user-friendly. It took me one day for the whole process.
What about the implementation team?
I did the implementation of pfSense myself. The solution does not require much maintenance, we require sometimes to reboot the system.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
I am using the community version of the solution and it is priced well. There is a cost of learning how to use the solution, if it was free it would be better.
What other advice do I have?
A good firewall has to be easy to install, configure, use, and fit the use case. This solution for my usage is very good.
I would recommend this solution to others.
I rate pfSense a nine out of ten.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
Public Cloud
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
Information Technology System Administrator / Director at Legault Joly Thiffault
No license required, improved intrusion prevention, but difficult to configure
Pros and Cons
- "I have found the firewall portion for the blocking most valuable."
- "The VPN feature of the solution could improve by adding better functionality and providing easier configure ability."
What is our primary use case?
We use the solution for a Firewall and a VPN.
How has it helped my organization?
We have found that this solution is better at keeping our business safe by having improved intrusion prevention than competitors.
What is most valuable?
I have found the firewall portion for the blocking most valuable.
What needs improvement?
The VPN feature of the solution could improve by adding better functionality and providing easier configure ability.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using the solution for approximately six months.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
The solution is very stable.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
I have found the solution to be unlimited when it comes to scalability. The more memory and power you give it, it will use it all.
How are customer service and technical support?
I found the technical support of the solution to be not very good at all.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
I have used Fortinet previously and the installation took a lot less time to install. Additionally, I have also used SonicWall before but I switched to the current solution because it was getting too expensive.
How was the initial setup?
The initial installation was very difficult, it took approximately one week.
What about the implementation team?
We did the implementation and maintenance of the solution ourselves.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
The solution software does not require a license, it is free. The support contract is about $600 dollars.
What other advice do I have?
I would recommend for other people looking into implementing the solution to read the manual, go on to the videos, verify everything with the tutorials. Make sure you fully comprehend the size of the software.
I rate pfSense a seven out of ten.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
On-premises
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
Senior System Administrator at Debre Markos University
Great monitoring, easy to install, and very stable
Pros and Cons
- "We like the fact that the product is open-source. It's free to use. There are no costs associated with it."
- "The solution could always work at being more secure. It's a good idea to continue to work on security features and capabilities in order to ensure they can keep clients safe."
What is our primary use case?
We primarily use the solution for security purposes. We use it for a firewall.
What is most valuable?
The solution is quite stable. The performance is very good.
We've found the solution to be very easy to use. It's user-friendly.
The scalability potential of the product is quite good.
We like the fact that the product is open-source. It's free to use. There are no costs associated with it.
The solution is very easy to install.
The solution is quite fast.
It does a good job of monitoring our systems.
What needs improvement?
The solution could always work at being more secure. It's a good idea to continue to work on security features and capabilities in order to ensure they can keep clients safe.
For how long have I used the solution?
I've been using the solution for a while. It's been about six years or so.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
The stability of the solution is very good. There are no bugs or glitches. it doesn't crash or freeze. Its performance is reliable. It's been very good over the years.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
The solution scales quite well. If a company needs to expand it, it can do so with relative ease.
We have a few hundred users at this time.
We do have plans to continue to use the product.
How are customer service and technical support?
We have used technical support in the past. They have always been very helpful and responsive. They are knowledgeable. We have no complaints. We're quite satisfied with their level of service.
How was the initial setup?
The installation of the solution is not overly complex or difficult. It's easy. It's straightforward. e didn't have any issues with eh implementation process. A company should find the setup very simple.
The deployment was very fast. It only took a few minutes.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
The solution is an open-source product. It's free to use. It's extremely affordable.
What other advice do I have?
I'd rate the solution at a ten out of ten. It's been very good in terms of its overall capabilities.
I would recommend this solution to other companies and users. It's very fast and very easy to use.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
Public Cloud
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.

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