#29 in Application SecurityUpdated 2026-08

pfSense

by pfSense · Open source firewall and router with VPN, multi-WAN and load balancing

35.4 — BenchRank score out of 100

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Overview

pfSense is a free and open source firewall and router that also covers unified threat management, load balancing and multi-WAN. Netgate ships it as pfSense Plus on hardware appliances and as virtual appliances on Amazon AWS and Microsoft Azure for site-to-cloud, cloud-to-cloud and VPC connectivity, with firewall, VPN and routing in one image.

Best for: Organisations of any size wanting an open source firewall, router and VPN they can self-host.
Pricing: The software is described as free and open source; the only figure shown is pfSense Plus cloud virtual appliances starting at $0.08/hr, with appliances, support, professional services and training sold separately at unstated prices.

Strengths and trade-offs

Strengths

Free and open source firewall and router software
Covers UTM, load balancing and multi-WAN in one product
Runs on AWS and Azure from $0.08/hr as a virtual appliance
Official Netgate support, training and professional services

Trade-offs

Support, training and professional services are paid extras
pfSense Plus is tied to Netgate appliances and cloud images
Only one price is published: the $0.08/hr cloud rate

How this score is made up

Each dimension is scored out of 100 and combined into the headline score using fixed weights.

MCP support: 0 out of 100
Documentation: 45 out of 100
Agent friendliness: 49 out of 100
Customer sentiment: 80 out of 100
Changelog: 0 out of 100
Marketing site structure: 65 out of 100
Operational trust: 10 out of 100

Measured, but not part of the score

Useful to know, but not a mark for or against the product — so these do not affect the ranking.

Openness: 60 out of 100
Maintenance: 65 out of 100

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