We performed a comparison between Meraki MX and OPNsense 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 IPS is good. It protect my network from attackers."
"The most valuable features are the possibility of having one fabric for switching on security."
"FortiGate firewalls are user-friendly, and I like the security profiling features."
"Fortinet FortiGate is easy to use."
"Fortinet FortiGate protects against internet-based threats, both internal and external. It is scalable, stable, easy to use, and easy to install."
"Whenever we raise a complaint with FortiGate, their response and resolution times are minimal."
"The most valuable feature is the VDOM, which allows the customer to have multiple firewalls in a single campus."
"I really like the captive portal feature for our guest network. It has nice VLAN features in terms of separating our network. The anti-virus is also good."
"What I like best about Meraki MX is that it's easy to deploy remotely. The product works. It has automatic updates. I also like that Meraki MX is a brilliant device. You turn it on, stick the key in there, activate it, and then you're done. Meraki MX does what my customers need at the end of the day, so I also like that."
"Ease of management is the best thing about the solution."
"It has a helpful feature for database troubleshooting issues."
"We work also with domain control (DC) from Microsoft or Amazon. We use a whole virtual appliance with Meraki."
"Real Auto VPN with load balancer without needing a public IP. It is simple and functional."
"The features we have found most valuable are the firewall and the monitoring tools."
"In a week, we can make new policy and view what all our users did."
"The product is quite secure, easy to manage, and well-connected with other devices."
"URL blocking, Wireguard, Tail Scale, Engine Blocker, and VPN are the most valuable features for me."
"OPNsense is highly stable."
"The solution is user-friendly and easy to configure."
"OPNsense could improve by making the configuration more web-based rather than shell or command-line-based."
"We have been operating here in our lab for several months, and everything appears to be extremely stable."
"I feel that its valuable features are that it is simple and free."
"What I like the most about OPNsense is that it offers an easy-to-use dashboard for device management and control."
"The initial setup is easy. It only takes 15-30 minutes to deploy."
"One area for improvement is the performance on the bandwidth demands for smaller devices, as well as better web filtering."
"Tunnel flapping was one of the major things I had seen wherein your internet link remains but your VPN tunnel is down. However, since I got a fix from the TAC team, I have not noticed it, but the customer complained a few times that they couldn't access the internet because of this problem."
"It can be a little bit more user-friendly in terms of policy definition and implementation. It seems a little bit complicated, and it could be simplified."
"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."
"The cloud features can be improved."
"The cloud management and automation capability could be improved."
"Some configuration elements cannot be easily altered once created."
"The performance could be a bit better. Right now, I find it to be lacking. Having good performance is very important for our work."
"We could have more reporting options and the ability to send alarms to the administrator."
"Pricing is an area where the solution lacks since it is an expensive tool."
"An area for improvement in Meraki MX is that it needs some provision, as supplying the unit through Cisco can be tedious at times, but as far as the product itself and its offerings, Meraki MX is five-star all the way."
"Meraki has some hidden features and information that is only privy to their engineers. If that information became available to us, then it would improve our ease of management, and we would be able to make certain adjustments instead of having to go to them."
"The product is quite complex to set up."
"Meraki MX firewalls are great for small to medium-sized businesses, but other solutions are better for enterprise-sized companies."
"Load balancing options and ability to manage a couple of Internet connections."
"The problem is that the two licenses do not currently integrate. We have to create separate companies and do an interconnection."
"An area for improvement in OPNsense is the hardware, which needs to be updated more frequently. DNS blocking is another good feature I want to be added to the solution. pfSense has a peer-blocking feature that I also want to see in OPNsense."
"The scalability needs improvement."
"There are a few weaknesses. For example, there is a lack of some features that I have in certain commercial products."
"We did not like the fact that you have to configure everything with the graphic user interface. We have used other firewalls, such as FortiGate, that you can configure via code. OPNsense is not easy to integrate. When you are deploying via GitHub or another source repository, this is not possible. That's one thing we didn't like much."
"Given that OPNsense plays a pivotal role as a firewall, safeguarding against various threats, having a reliable backup ensures uninterrupted protection even if unforeseen events impact the primary virtual machine."
"OPNsense could improve by making the configuration more web-based rather than shell or command-line-based."
"On the customer-side, because I'm a small business, I need a cheaper or free solution option."
"There are issues with stability and reliability."
Meraki MX is ranked 2nd in Unified Threat Management (UTM) with 57 reviews while OPNsense is ranked 3rd in Firewalls with 36 reviews. Meraki MX is rated 8.2, while OPNsense is rated 8.4. The top reviewer of Meraki MX writes "Cost-effective, simplified, easy to manage, and reliable with advanced security features and granular visibility". On the other hand, the top reviewer of OPNsense writes "Robust network security and management offering a user-friendly interface, open-source flexibility, and cost-effectiveness, with challenges regarding initial setup and the absence of official support". Meraki MX is most compared with Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls, Cisco Secure Firewall, Sophos XG, SonicWall TZ and Azure Firewall, whereas OPNsense is most compared with Netgate pfSense, Sophos XG, Untangle NG Firewall, Sophos UTM and IPFire. See our Meraki MX vs. OPNsense 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.
