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."The simplicity of the configuration and the stability of the product are most valuable. The VPN concentrator is very useful."
"I have found Fortinet FortiGate to be scalable."
"There is an easy process for configuring it, and it is straightforward to implement the device from scratch."
"The security fabric is excellent."
"We use a lot of function on the IPS and it works well for us."
"Our security improved from being able to put in rules and close off unwanted traffic."
"The threat prevention is the solution's most valuable aspect."
"The pricing is excellent. It's much less expensive than Cisco."
"The main features of this solution are customization and ease to use."
"It is a stable solution."
"Content protection, content inspection, and the application level firewall."
"One of the advantages of pfSense is that it is very easy to work with. It is a very good open-source solution, and it works really well. pfSense provides a complete package. For some features, it could be the first solution in the world. It is a very good alternative in the market for a firewall solution. You don't need to go to Cisco or other brands with expensive firewalls. pfSense also allows us to offer some support services."
"The initial setup was straightforward, therefore I wanted to continue using the product."
"The initial setup was simple and fast."
"Great extensibility of the platform."
"The documentation is very good."
"The most valuable features of the solution stem from web filtering, malware protection, and antivirus."
"The solution can scale well."
"This is a capable appliance and the standard features work well for us."
"It is very expensive, and their support is not very good. I hope that their technical support will be better in the future."
"I would like to see improvements in the product's application rules."
"The performance could be a bit better. Right now, I find it to be lacking. Having good performance is very important for our work."
"It could use better throughput on some of the smaller boxes for the branch offices."
"The process of configuring firewall rules appears excessively complex."
"It would be a benefit if Fortinet would release a one-stop solution that is better integrated with other products and an automated emergency response system."
"Scalability is one of the disadvantages. When it comes to scalability, you have to actually change the box. If you want to upgrade it, you need to actually change the existing box and probably you take the system off to other sites."
"FortiGate should have a better way of detecting and managing the system memory because otherwise if the memory is too low, a system restart is required."
"The solution could be more user-friendly, and the graphical interface needs some work so that someone without an IT background can use the application. I would like the ability to manage the on-premise appliance from the cloud. When I'm not in the office, it would be great to connect to the pfSense server and administer the network remotely."
"Many people have problems setting up the web cache for the web system."
"The main problem with pfSense is that it lacks adequate ransomware protection."
"A malware blocker should be included. I do not know if it is included yet. However, until now, we have not experienced a large malware invasion."
"There is more demand for UTMs than a simple firewall. pfSense should support real-time features for handling the latest viruses and threats. It should support real-time checks and real-time status of threats. Some other vendors, such as Fortinet, already offer this type of capability. Such capability will be good for bringing pfSense at the same level as other solutions."
"This solution is good for small businesses but it is not as stable as other competitors such as Fortinet."
"If a user doesn't have a large amount of experience in Linux systems, they will have problems using this solution. Users need to be highly skilled in troubleshooting competency. Users who do not have such skills will find the product difficult to use."
"We are at the moment looking to use it as a proxy service so that we can limit what websites people go and view and that sort of thing. That's an area I've struggled with a little bit at the moment and it could be a bit easier to set up."
"Sometimes it reboots when you least expect it, and that's the main issue."
"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."
More Zyxel Unified Security Gateway Pricing and Cost Advice →
Netgate pfSense is ranked 1st in Firewalls with 128 reviews while Zyxel Unified Security Gateway is ranked 10th in Unified Threat Management (UTM) with 3 reviews. Netgate pfSense is rated 8.6, while Zyxel Unified Security Gateway is rated 6.0. The top reviewer of Netgate pfSense writes "User-friendly, easy to manage the firewall, rule-wise and interface-wise". On the other hand, the top reviewer of Zyxel Unified Security Gateway writes "Offers good anti-spam and web filtering features but needs to improve in the area of scalability". Netgate pfSense is most compared with OPNsense, Sophos XG, KerioControl, Sophos UTM and Stormshield Network Security, whereas Zyxel Unified Security Gateway is most compared with OPNsense, Sophos XG, WatchGuard Firebox, SonicWall TZ and Meraki MX. See our Netgate pfSense vs. Zyxel Unified Security Gateway report.
See our list of best Firewalls vendors.
We monitor all Firewalls reviews to prevent fraudulent reviews and keep review quality high. We do not post reviews by company employees or direct competitors. We validate each review for authenticity via cross-reference with LinkedIn, and personal follow-up with the reviewer when necessary.