Netgate pfSense
Firewall, router and VPN software and appliances for homes and businesses
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Pricing
From $10.75/mo
Free trial
Yes
API
Yes
Company
Rubicon Communications LLC (Netgate)
Platforms
What is Netgate pfSense?
Netgate pfSense Plus is an all-in-one firewall, router and VPN platform. Netgate sells it on its own hardware appliances, as software for third-party hardware or virtual machines, and as cloud instances on the AWS and Azure marketplaces. You manage it through a web GUI. Third-party packages add block lists, content filtering, intrusion prevention and policy-based routing.
Netgate also sells TNSR, a high-performance software router built on VPP and DPDK. It scales to 10–100 Gbps and beyond and is managed through a CLI or the RESTCONF API. It is aimed at service providers, data centers and cloud connectivity.
Netgate's appliance range runs from the fanless Netgate 1100 for home and small offices up to the rack-mount 8300 for data centers. Paid support comes in three tiers (TAC Lite, Pro and Enterprise), and Netgate also offers professional services and training. pfSense Plus fits home users, remote workers, small and mid-sized businesses and managed service providers that want commercial-grade firewall features without per-feature or throughput charges.
Key features
- Stateful firewall with rule-based traffic filtering
- Routing with traffic prioritization and dual WAN failover
- Site-to-site and remote-access VPN, including IPsec
- High availability with CARP
- Add-on packages for IDS/IPS, block lists and content filtering
- Web GUI management
- Deploy on appliances, bare metal, VMs, AWS or Azure
- TNSR router scaling to 100 Gbps with RESTCONF API
Use cases
Who it's for
Home and small office firewall
Run a compact fanless appliance like the Netgate 1100 to protect a home network and prioritize work, IoT and entertainment traffic.
Remote and branch office VPN
Connect remote workers and other offices to the main network or cloud over encrypted VPN tunnels.
Cloud workload protection
Deploy pfSense Plus instances from the AWS or Azure marketplaces to firewall and route traffic for cloud-hosted applications.
High-throughput edge routing
Service providers and data centers can use TNSR for edge routing, large-scale NAT and high-speed site-to-site IPsec.
Netgate pfSense pricing
From the vendor's site, checked Nov 13, 2026. Prices change — confirm on their pricing page.
Software (3rd-party hardware)
year
$129/yr
- Install via Netgate Installer
- No feature or throughput upcharges
- About $10.75/mo when billed yearly
Cloud (AWS/Azure)
hour
$0.08/hr–$0.40/hr
- Price depends on VM size and provider
- Free 30-day software trial
Netgate Appliance
one-time
From $189
- pfSense Plus included at no charge
- Optional memory/storage, TAC support, extended warranty
TNSR
custom
Contact sales
- Includes TAC Pro support
- Netgate 6100/8200/8300 or AWS/Azure
Which plan do you need?
- Proton VPNVPN Plus$3.49/mo
- Netgate pfSenseSoftware (3rd-party hardware)$10.75/mo
The cheapest paid plan with a published price that fits. Custom and sales-quoted plans aren't included.
Get an email when Netgate pfSense changes its prices
One mail per change, a stop link in each. Nothing else.
How Netgate pfSense compares
- Netgate pfSense has no free plan, while 1 of the 4 alternatives below has one.
- It offers an API, which none of the others do.
| Tool | Starts at | Free plan | Free trial | API | Open source | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NNetgate pfSense | $10.75/mo | — | — | |||
F Fortinet (FortiGate) | Quote | — | — | — | — | Netgate pfSense vs Fortinet (FortiGate) |
P Palo Alto Networks | Quote | — | — | — | — | Netgate pfSense vs Palo Alto Networks |
P Proton VPN | $3.49/mo | — | — | Netgate pfSense vs Proton VPN | ||
N NordVPN | $2.99/mo | — | — | — | — | Netgate pfSense vs NordVPN |
The closest alternatives in our directory by category. “Starts at” is the cheapest paid plan per month, as each vendor lists it.
Pros and cons
Strengths
- No feature or throughput upcharges on pfSense Plus
- Software licence starts at $129/yr for third-party hardware
- pfSense Plus is included free with Netgate appliances, which start at $189
- Free 30-day trial on cloud marketplaces
Limitations
- TNSR pricing is only available through sales
- TNSR has no web GUI and is managed through a CLI or the RESTCONF API
- Phone and priority support require paid TAC subscriptions
Netgate pfSense FAQ
How much does pfSense Plus cost?
Software for third-party hardware starts at $129 per year. Cloud instances cost $0.08 to $0.40 per hour. Netgate appliances start at $189 and include pfSense Plus at no extra charge.
Is there a free trial?
Yes. Free 30-day software trials are available on the AWS and Azure marketplaces.
Where can pfSense Plus be deployed?
On Netgate appliances, on third-party hardware or virtual machines, and in AWS (including GovCloud) and Azure.
What is the difference between pfSense Plus and TNSR?
pfSense Plus is an all-in-one firewall, router and VPN with a web GUI. TNSR is a high-speed software router for 10–100+ Gbps, managed through a CLI or the RESTCONF API.
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Netgate pfSense
From $10.75/mo
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