Free pfSense Alternatives
The best free alternative to pfSense is OPNsense, which is also Open Source. If that doesn't suit you, our users have ranked more than 25 alternatives to pfSense and 18 is free so hopefully you can find a suitable replacement. Other interesting free alternatives to pfSense are NethServer, IPFire, Endian Firewall Community and ClearOS.
pfSense alternatives are mainly Firewalls but may also be VPN Services or Operating Systems. Filter by these if you want a narrower list of alternatives or looking for a specific functionality of pfSense.
- Free • Open Source
- Self-Hosted
OPNsense includes most of the features available in expensive commercial firewalls, and more in many cases. It brings the rich feature set of commercial offerings with the benefits of open and verifiable sources.
OPNsense vs pfSense opinions
ZazuckiRead this: https://teklager.se/en/pfsense-vs-opnsense/ Especially the part under "Politics, drama & bad blood between the two projects"
Stability is the in the center of OPNsense distribution. To achieve this goal, only a limited number of plugins are available, but they are well tested and upgraded together with the core.
OPNSense has the lost features in pfSense.
- Free • Open Source
- Linux
- Self-Hosted
- CentOS
NethServer is a CentOS-based Linux distribution for servers. The product's main feature is a modular design which makes it simple to turn the distribution into a mail server and filter, web server, groupware, firewall, web filter, IPS/IDS or VPN server.
NethServer vs pfSense opinions
AasMulti purpose server. Not just firewall.
pfSense is a firewall and router, NethServer is a Linux server platform for running other types of services
An orange is not like a piece of cheese
atomicwritespfSense is a dedicated firewall but this is a general turnkey server.
It's main function (server) does not match pfSense (firewall)
IPFire is a server distribution with intended to use as a firewall. It focuses on flexibility, and scales from small to middle sized business networks and home networks.
- Free Personal • Open Source
- Linux
Endian Firewall Community (EFW) is a "turn-key" linux security distribution that turns every system into a full featured security appliance with Unified Threat Management (UTM) functionality.
ClearOS is a family of operating systems for the enterprise, small business, and home. There are three editions to choose from depending on your needs and suitable to your abilities. They are: ClearOS Enterprise, ClearOS Home, and ClearOS Core.
- Free • Open Source
- Linux
- Self-Hosted
Zeroshell is a Linux distribution for servers and embedded devices aimed at providing the main network services a LAN requires. It is available in the form of Live CD or Compact Flash image and you can configure and administer it using your web browser.
Discontinued
From the Zeroshell website (translated from Italian to English)Disposal of the Zeroshell projectThe project has now reached the end of its life. Zeroshell was born in June 2006 and has over 200,000 installations worldwide. Any security updates will be guaranteed until September 30, 2021. I thank everyone who believed and contributed in various ways to improving the project. The zeroshell.org domain will be divested or sold on September 30, 2021
A modern replacement for Sophos UTM based on Sophos, Cyberoam and Astaro technology combined.
IPCop Firewall is a Linux firewall distribution geared towards home and SOHO (Small Office/Home Office) users. The IPCop interface is very user-friendly and task-based.
Discontinued
The project seems to be no longer updated. Last version, 2.1.9, released in February 2015, can be still downloaded from the official website.
IPCop vs pfSense opinions
Low HW needs, easy to use.
- Free • Proprietary
- Linux
- OpenWrt
- LEDE - Linux Embedded Development Environment
LibreMesh is a set of modules extending the OpenWrt router distribution to create self-configuring wireless and wired mesh networks.
No screenshots yet
The SmoothWall Open Source Project was set up to develop and maintain SmoothWall Express - a Free firewall that includes its own security-hardened GNU/Linux operating system and an easy-to-use web interface.
Discontinued
The site says the last release was October 2014.
