We performed a comparison between Palo Alto Networks and pfSense based on our users’ reviews in five categories. After reading all of the collected data, you can find our conclusion below.
Comparison Results: pfSense has an edge in this comparison as it is a free, open-source solution while Palo Alto Networks is considered expensive by its users.
"It's very easy to set up, it's very easy to make policies and, for an organization, that means you don't need IT expert in firewalls. You just need to have somebody who knows a little bit of IT, and that's it. With other products, you need someone with a "Masters" degree in firewalls."
"The SD-WAN is the most valuable feature."
"Fortinet FortiGate is stable. It's used across all the countries, this is the way most multinationals run their system."
"A strong point of FortiGate is that the graphical interface is complete and easy to use, especially if we think there is a list of operations that we are able to perform inside."
"The technical support is great."
"This version is stable. I don't have any issues with this solution, in our environment, it works well."
"The most valuable features of Fortinet FortiGate are the APIs. They are the most widely known."
"One of the valuable features is a standardized OS."
"A free firewall that is a good network security appliance."
"The solution is very easy to use and configure."
"Easy to deploy and easy to use."
"I like pfSense's reports and how I can control access to the policies on the firewall."
"The ability to perform packet captures on the command line and via the GUI is useful for diagnosing problems."
"Easy to deploy and easy to use."
"A valuable feature is that the solution is open source."
"The most valuable features are the VPN and the capture photo."
"We have found the application control to be the most valuable feature. Also, Layer 7, because all other products are working up to the maximum capacity. But Palo Alto is benefiting us, especially in application control management. We are able to differentiate between Oracle traffic and SQL traffic."
"This is arguably the best security protection that you can buy."
"DNS Security is a good feature because, in the real world with web threats, you can block all web threats and bad sites. DNS Security helps to prevent those threats. It's also very helpful with Zero-day attacks because DNS Security blocks all DNS requests before any antivirus would know that such requests contain a virus or a threat to your PC or your network."
"Flexible and integrates well with apps and other security tools."
"Ability to log each and every application."
"We have found the DPI ability to understand web applications and build access rules on web application categories first to be a great feature."
"It's a next-generation firewall and it's pretty stable. You don't have to worry about if you restart it for some maintenance. It will just come back."
"The most important part of this solution is its reliability, as it just works without any fancy features."
"Fortinet currently has many products bundled with FortiGate including the basic firewall and load balancer, and I think that that they need to have separate product portfolios for each of these specialized services."
"The price of FortiGate should be reduced because there are some other leading products that are cheaper."
"The initial setup is complex."
"Scalability for Fortinet FortiGate needs to be improved. SD-WAN security for this solution also needs some improvement."
"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."
"Fortinet needs to overhaul its documentation."
"Fortinet FortiGate can improve by integrating the web application firewall and the DDoS protection part of the solution. Having a WAF feature, web application firewall, and proxy together would be a good benefit."
"The reporting in Fortinet FortiGate could improve. Customers are having to purchase additional reporting components. When I have used the Sophos solution it is a complete solution, in Fortinet FortiGate you have to use additional tools to have the features needed."
"There's a bit of a learning curve during the initial implementation."
"The solution’s interface must be improved."
"This solution is good for small businesses but it is not as stable as other competitors such as Fortinet."
"Other solutions provide more scope for growth. For instance, we can have only 10 to 20 employees on VPN, but other solutions can support more users. We also have more capabilities to increase the performance of the solution."
"Web interface could be enhanced and more user friendly."
"The stability could be improved."
"Improve analysis of logs and dashboards (control panel) with improved alert functionality."
"The product must provide integration with other solutions."
"The solution is not straightforward."
"We would like to see improvement in the web interface for this solution, so that it can handle updates without manual intervention to put the data in order."
"Its stability can be better. Their technical response from the support side can also be better."
"There is room for improvement in the area of customer service."
"The solution would benefit from having a dashboard."
"The stability, scalability for enterprise-level organizations, and technical documentation have room for improvement."
"The price could be more friendly, which would be good for Palo Alto and us. If the price were a little lower, then it would be a viable option for mid-level businesses, who may not be able to deploy at the current price point."
"I would like to see more integration."
More Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls Pricing and Cost Advice →
Netgate pfSense is ranked 1st in Firewalls with 128 reviews while Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls is ranked 6th in Firewalls with 161 reviews. Netgate pfSense is rated 8.6, while Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls is rated 8.6. 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 Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls writes "We get reports back from WildFire on a minute-by-minute basis". Netgate pfSense is most compared with OPNsense, Sophos XG, Sophos UTM, KerioControl and Check Point NGFW, whereas Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls is most compared with Check Point NGFW, Azure Firewall, Meraki MX, Sophos XG and Cisco Secure Firewall. See our Netgate pfSense vs. Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls report.
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