Compare OPNsense vs pfSense (2024)

FAQs

Is OPNsense better than pfSense? ›

Our reviewers agree that OPNsense is easy to install and easy to use, while pfSense was less so. One area where pfSense did come out on top was in the free support category. To learn more, read our detailed OPNsense vs. pfSense Report (Updated: January 2023).

OPNsense is a favorite security solution among reviewers for a number of reasons. Two of those reasons include the user-friendliness of the solution, which makes it easy to use, and its ability to easily scale. For many, a user-friendly solution is essential.

OPNsense is an easy-to-use open source firewall and routing platform. Based on FreeBSD, OPNsense combines the rich functionality that is otherwise known only from commercial firewalls, with the benefits of open and verifiable sources.

Finally, you will deploy OPNsense as a next-generation firewall solution that extends OPNsense's capabilities so that they're at the same level as the premium commercial solutions, which filter packets in layer4 to layer7 in a few steps.

My PFSense box got TOTALLY HACKED. Didn't believe it was possible, as it had snort, and many other security measures discussed in Lawrence. And I mean totally hacked, which led to escalation hack on computer, and now totally worhtless (an Apple Macmini.)

OPNsense started as a fork of pfSense® and m0n0wall in 2014, with its first official release in January 2015. The project has evolved very quickly while still retaining familiar aspects of both m0n0wall and pfSense. A strong focus on security and code quality drives the development of the project.

OPNsense is a Open Source Firewall Distribution, which is based on the FreeBSD operating system and its packet filter pf. For use as a firewall, DHCP server, DNS server or VPN, it can be installed both on a physical server and in a virtual machine.

PfSense. Widely regarded as the world's most trustworthy open-source firewall, PfSense is a free-to-use solution for securing your business. Thousands of enterprises rely on this software to securely connect to the cloud and keep business data under wraps.

You should see the login page for the OPNSense GUI. Log in with the default username and passphrase ( root / opnsense ).

pfSense installs with what most security experts would agree is the most secure settings by default. No ports are left open, and most users will see this as a good, secure starting point and, in some cases, will not require many additional changes from a security standpoint.

Does OPNsense do routing? ›

Within the routing section of your firewall you can keep track of configured routes and define static routes yourself to teach your firewall which path it should take when forwarding packets to a specific network.

OPNsense includes a stateful packet filter that can be used to deny or allow network packets from and/or to specific networks, as well as influence how a packet is forwarded. OPNsense firewall rules are the policies that apply to your network, organized by an interface.

OPNsense is an open source, FreeBSD-based firewall and routing software developed by Deciso, a company in the Netherlands that makes hardware and sells support packages for OPNsense. It is a fork of pfSense, which in turn was forked from m0n0wall built on FreeBSD. It was launched in January 2015.

pfSense Plus software is a Netgate product - branched from pfSense project - and it is closed source, just as Factory Edition was.

Although wireless networks are supported in OPNsense, result may vary.

Full installs can run on solid-state disks (SSD), hard disk drives (HDD), or SD memory cards. The option to install an embedded OPNsense image has been supported since version 15.1.

1GB or more RAM. 8 GB or larger disk drive (SSD, HDD, etc) One or more compatible network interface cards. Bootable USB drive or high capacity optical drive (DVD or BD) for initial installation.

pfSense® software offers several VPN options: IPsec, OpenVPN, WireGuard and L2TP. This section provides an overview of VPN usage, the pros and cons of each type of VPN, and how to decide which is the best fit for a particular environment.

In addition, pfSense is feature-rich, has a mature platform, is customizable, is flexible by design, and can be used on a small home router as well as run the entire network of a large corporation. pfSense puts you in control of your networking, is regularly updated, and works to promptly patch security issues.

Do businesses use pfSense? ›

Many consulting companies offer solutions based on pfSense® software to their customers.

pfsense has many features and advanced capabilities that ensure it always follows either default or custom rules. It also filters traffic separately whether it's coming from your internal network of devices or the open internet, allowing you to set different rules and policies for each.

It is currently used around the world from companies like Check Point, Cisco PIX, Cisco ASA, Juniper, Sonicwall, Netgear and Watchguard. “pfSense software includes a web interface for the configuration of all included components.

OPNsense can be installed on all virtual machines that support FreeBSD (such as Bhyve, VirtualBox).

We had technical reasons to fork. As much as we love the functionality/feature set of pfSense, we do not enjoy the code quality and dispersed development method. We like structure, achievable goals set forth in a roadmap with regular releases and a decent framework.

The feature set of OPNsense includes high-end features such as forward caching proxy, traffic shaping, intrusion detection and easy OpenVPN client setup. The latest release is based on a recent FreeBSD for long-term support and uses a newly developed MVC-framework based on Phalcon.

A critical vulnerability has been discovered in a plugin of Netgate's pfSense firewall. The flaw is tracked as CVE-2022-31814 and can expose the affected instances to unauthenticated remote code execution attacks. pfSense is an open-source firewall and router software distribution based on FreeBSD.

pfBlockerNG is an excellent Free and Open Source package developed for pfSense® software that provides advertisem*nt blocking and malicious content blocking, as well as geo-blocking capabilities. By installing pfBlockerNG, you can not only block ads but also web tracking, malware and ransomware.

OPNsense is a free, open-source solution, ready to protect your network from intrusion.

What port does OPNSense use? ›

By default, LAN is assigned to port 0 and WAN is assigned to port 1. Assignments can be changed by going to Interfaces ‣ Assignments. This lists existing interfaces, with the interface name on the left and the physical port selected in the dropdown.

pfSense supports Wi-Fi standards up to 802.11na (2.4Ghz and 5Ghz), if you have an adapter that works well. Some 802.11n adapters are detected as 802.11g and won't work at full speed. In addition, some cards will work only as a client, while you want to use them as an access point.

pfSense also allows for installation of third party open source packages such as Snort or Squid through a built in Package Manager, making it the default choice of many network administrators. pfSense is flexible by design. It can be used on a small home router as well as run the entire network of a large corporation.

Current versions of pfSense software are compatible with 64-bit (amd64, x86-64) architecture hardware and Netgate ARM-based firewalls. Alternate hardware architectures such as Raspberry Pi, other Non-Netgate ARM devices, PowerPC, MIPS, SPARC, etc. are not supported.

pfSense is an open source firewall/router computer software distribution based on FreeBSD. FreeBSD supports the bridge device. A bridge interface device can be created using pfSense.

pfSense is a firewall/router computer software distribution based on FreeBSD.

oneplane on Jan 2, 2022 | parent | context | favorite | on: Portmaster – Open-source network monitor and firew... Yes, you can install OpenWRT or OpnSense on a Raspberry Pi. If you don't want to replace your current OS on the Pi, you'll have to manually work with iptables (if you use linux) or pf (if you use BSD).

Application Detection on pfSense® Software

Thanks to the Snort package and OpenAppID, pfSense® is now application-aware. This layer 7 functionality arrives through an upgraded version of the Snort package for pfSense software.

pfSense bandwidth monitoring

Firewall Analyzer for pfSense provides you a unique way to monitor the Internet traffic of the network in near real-time. pfSense firewall traffic data is collected and analyzed to get granular details about the traffic across each firewall.

Palo Alto next-generation firewalls classify all traffic, including encrypted and internal traffic, based on application, application function, user and content. Users can create security policies to enable only authorized users to run sanctioned applications.

Does pfSense cost money? ›

Securely Connect to the Cloud Virtual Appliances

Full firewall/VPN/router functionality all in one available in the cloud starting at $0.08/hr.

PfSense is a free open-source network firewall and router based on FreeBSD. PfSense is known for its reliability and comes with many features that only commercial firewalls offer. PfSense is included in many third-party free software packages. You can install PfSense on both physical and virtual machines.

The default for pfSense is to block all incoming connections on the WAN interface and to allow all incoming connections on the LAN interface. That is any traffic initiated from the LAN is allowed through the firewall and any traffic hitting the WAN interface is dropped…

pfSense^® software is a free, open source customized distribution of FreeBSD specifically tailored for use as a firewall and router that is entirely managed via web interface.

pfSense is the #3 ranked solution in best firewalls. PeerSpot users give pfSense an average rating of 8.4 out of 10. pfSense is most commonly compared to OPNsense: pfSense vs OPNsense. pfSense is popular among the large enterprise segment, accounting for 51% of users researching this solution on PeerSpot.

pfSense is a perfect network security solution that turns your device into a more robust home router. However, it only works on devices that support amd64 architecture; thus, it won't be able to run on a Raspberry Pi device that includes arm64 architecture.

¶ OPNsense is an open source firewall and routing software based on FreeBSD operating system which is developed by Deciso. It is a fork of pfSense, which in turn was forked from m0n0wall.

Disadvantages. One potential disadvantage of using PfSense is that it can be complex to configure, particularly if you're not familiar with firewall configuration. Additionally, while PfSense offers a wide range of features, some users may find the interface to be overwhelming or confusing.