We performed a comparison between Netgate pfSense and Stormshield Network Security 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.
"Virtual Domains (VDOMs) are a feature that we found valuable."
"The performance is good."
"The ease of setting the solution up is a valuable aspect for us."
"We use the filtering feature the most. It has filtering and inbuilt securities. We can create customized rules to define which users can access a particular type of site. We can create policies inside the firewall."
"Overall, the pricing of the solution is very good. The product offers good value."
"Whenever we raise a complaint with FortiGate, their response and resolution times are minimal."
"Fortinet FortiGate is a scalable solution."
"It can expand easily."
"The most valuable feature, for instance, is the ease of migrating configurations between different Netgate devices housed in the same box."
"We can run it on any hardware."
"The intrusion detection feature is the most valuable. It is an open-source firewall, so there is a lot of material on it. I also find the open VPN capability very nice. It is pretty customizable. The clustering and the high availability are the two biggest things to be able to get out of a firewall."
"I like pfSense's reports and how I can control access to the policies on the firewall."
"pfSense is a nice product, and I find that there's a lot of information out there. There are some good tutorials on YouTube and other websites with helpful information."
"A free firewall that is a good network security appliance."
"This solution has increased the level of security, given us more control, provided a deep insight into network traffic, and is a great VPN solution."
"We generally use it because it's cheap. When we need something more robust we use Barracuda and Sony Wireless Routers. For certain clients, we use pfSense because it's compatible with the VoIP platform."
"I like that it works fine. Stormshield is a very good solution."
"Ease of use is the best feature of the product."
"Easily manageable in a variety of environments."
"The most valuable features are the IPS, the firewall function, and the price."
"A very robust product."
"I like how you can configure the rules. There is the task for the rules and a task for the network configuration. It also provides SMD filtering, and it can be integrated with the active directory for the users, their mission, and the VPN configuration. We are here in Sudan, and Stormshield didn't work in Sudan for more than a decade. Stormshield is a very strong firewall and very easy to configure and maintain. I am just working with the firewall solution, and we don't have any other solutions like endpoint solutions or something like that."
"This solution is quick and easy to configure."
"The solution has improved my organization because I can see what traffic is happening and I can use it to block and prevent attacks."
"I would like to see improvements in the support from Fortinet. Here in the Philippines, whenever we have problems with a Fortinet product, we mostly ask for support from distributors and resellers and not directly from Fortinet."
"There are some cloud-based features that could be much more flexible than they currently are."
"I have to say that the initial setup was complex. The deployment took a few days to get set up. Initially, we were using an IPVanish. We switched to this tool since we thought it would be easier. But it turns out it wasn't easier to set up and run."
"For the migration, everyone has a firewall in use and I am selling Fortinet. Typically, I am replacing another firewall. Previously, there was a tool available to convert configurations from one firewall, such as Palo Alto, to Fortinet, but this tool is no longer free. If it could be made free again, it would be very beneficial."
"I'm not sure if it's something that they already have or are developing something, however, we need some dedicated features for container security."
"A couple of things I've seen that need improvement, especially in terms of a hard coding. The driver-level active moment really is out-of-the-box and we have to have contact the customer support and sometimes it is difficult to resolve."
"Its reporting can be improved. Sometimes, I don't get proper reports."
"I think they need to improve more in order to be a competitor with the leaders of the field."
"The security could be improved."
"Lacks instructional videos."
"It requires more attention to provide a better alternative for open source to small government or educational institutions with reduced budgets in terms of technology."
"The integration should be improved."
"I'd like to find something in pfSense that is more specific to URL filtering. We have customers who would like to filter their web traffic. They would like to be able to say to their employees, "You can surf the web, but you cannot get access to Facebook or other social media," or "You can surf the web, but you're not allowed to gamble or watch porn on the web." My technicians say that doing this kind of stuff with pfSense nowadays is not easy. They can implement some filters using IP addresses but not by using the names of the domains and categories. So, we are not able to exclude some categories from the allowed traffic, such as porn, gambling, etc. To do that, we have to use another product and another web filter that uses DNS. I know that there are some third-party products that could work with pfSense, but I'd like the native pfSense solution to do that."
"They could improve their commercial stance and be more agile when it comes to the commercial pricing of enterprise deals."
"Improve analysis of logs and dashboards (control panel) with improved alert functionality."
"For the third-party packages, I'd rather have it built-in, like a core feature of pfSense, part of the core model."
"It could be better if it were more user-friendly. It's too complicated for us to use it. The price could be better as well."
"This is not a next-generation firewall."
"The biggest issue was their support department was not able to help us, then everything stops. This is a no-go area for me."
"This solution has a big problem with web filtering and it needs to be improved."
"The product must improve its pricing."
"With Stormshield, there are difficulties joining things, and it can be complex depending on the architecture."
"Stormshield Network Security is quite expensive."
"Not all the fields are activated yet and we were informed that it will take at least one month."
Netgate pfSense is ranked 1st in Firewalls with 128 reviews while Stormshield Network Security is ranked 9th in Unified Threat Management (UTM) with 16 reviews. Netgate pfSense is rated 8.6, while Stormshield Network Security is rated 7.8. 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 Stormshield Network Security writes "Handles monitoring, collection, analysis, and reporting of data in our HQ and branches". Netgate pfSense is most compared with OPNsense, Sophos XG, Sophos UTM, KerioControl and Azure Firewall, whereas Stormshield Network Security is most compared with OPNsense, Sophos XG, Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls, WatchGuard Firebox and Cisco Secure Firewall. See our Netgate pfSense vs. Stormshield Network Security report.
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