IPFire vs Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls comparison

Why PeerSpot?

IPFire Project and Palo Alto Networks are both solutions in the Firewalls category. IPFire Project is ranked #28 with an average rating of 8.0, while Palo Alto Networks is ranked #5 with an average rating of 8.9. IPFire Project holds a 0.9% mindshare in Firewalls, compared to Palo Alto Networks’s 5.3% mindshare. Additionally, 100% of IPFire Project users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 96% of Palo Alto Networks users who would recommend it.

IPFire

Read 4 IPFire reviews

4,084 Views
4,002 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

Palo Alto Networks NG Firew...

Read 200 Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls reviews

25,898 Views
24,862 Comparison Views

96% willing to recommend

IPFire

Palo Alto Networks NG Firew...

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Jan 25, 2026

Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls and IPFire compete in the network security domain. Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls seem to have the upper hand in advanced security features and enterprise-level support, while IPFire benefits from open-source flexibility and cost-effectiveness.

Features: Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls offer threat prevention, application control, and advanced security analytics, suitable for large enterprises. IPFire provides versatility, ease of use, and modularity, with features like intrusion detection and customizable firewalls.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls offer comprehensive customer support and detailed deployment guides suitable for extensive infrastructures. IPFire is praised for simplicity and easy installation, with community-driven support valuable for flexible setups.

Pricing and ROI: Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls have higher setup costs, offering substantial ROI by improving security measures. IPFire, as an open-source solution, has lower setup costs, delivering high ROI through its cost-effective approach, ideal for small to medium-sized networks.

To learn more, read our detailed IPFire vs. Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls Report (Updated: September 2026).

Buyer's Guide

IPFire vs. Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls

September 2026

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Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:

Categories and Ranking

IPFire

Ranking in Firewalls

28th

Average Rating

8.0

Reviews Sentiment

6.9

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Palo Alto Networks NG Firew...

Ranking in Firewalls

5th

Average Rating

8.6

Reviews Sentiment

7.1

Number of Reviews

200

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of October 2026, in the Firewalls category, the mindshare of IPFire is 0.9%, down from 2.1% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls is 5.3%, up from 4.3% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Firewalls Mindshare Distribution
Product	Mindshare (%)
Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls	5.3%
IPFire	0.9%
Other	93.8%

Firewalls

Featured Reviews

Agharinma Ehiedu

Chief Technology Officer at Agileware Limited

Firewall deployment has secured mission-critical public apps and simplifies Linux-based management

The best features IPFire offers include its very intuitive nature because, even though it has a Linux back-end, in terms of configuration, it has a very rich GUI interface. The GUI and configuration features of IPFire have made my work easier and more efficient because their positioning and the sequence with which I follow is easy. In terms of all the processes, what you need to do at first and the next thing that you need to do is clear. The GUI is well arranged in sequential order, so you can follow that from whatever you want to do until you get the target objective. IPFire includes features with a very robust and rich community that is very much valid in terms of content. IPFire has positively impacted my organization by giving us some mileage. At least, a lot of organizations now know that we have a solution that can deliver the same value.

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Nitin Yadav

Network & Security Engineer at Arrow PC Network Pvt.Ltd.

Strong threat prevention has reduced phishing and malware while I monitor traffic in depth

Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls offers application and user awareness, which allow me to control traffic based on threats. The product includes threat prevention, advanced threat prevention, and deep packet inspection that really helps prevent issues in our network. Deep packet inspection inspects full traffic content, even inside applications and encrypted sessions. Deep packet inspection makes a very practical difference day to day because it lets me see and control what is actually inside the traffic, not just the open port or IP. I have real visibility of which application is running instead of just seeing HTTPS. Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls WildFire sandboxing is really good at detecting and blocking zero-day malware automatically, along with its GlobalProtect and DNS security features. Using Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls positively impacts my organization by providing strong security, better visibility, faster response, and simplified operations. After deploying Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls in our network, it blocks malicious traffic and prevents compromises that occurred before Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls. I can now block outside IPs to prevent issues. After Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls installation, I reduced 60 to 70 percent of malware and phishing attacks. Its threat prevention and DNS security features detect these attacks, block malicious domains, and reduce manual efforts for the security team.

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Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:

Pros

"IPFire has prevented any kind of hacking and enables us to comply with customer requirements."

"What I appreciate the most about IPFire is that it is simple, and I learned it when I was in school, so that is really something simple and I know it, so I continue to use it."

"I would rate the stability as ten out of ten for IPFire."

"Regarding IPFire's AI capabilities, I think they are quite focused; in all the deployments I have done, I have not had any incidents or breaches."

"The initial setup was very easy."

"Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls have a very nice interface for logging and monitoring. I find it easy to navigate and use, and the interface is organized as well. I can find answers within a couple of hours and have seen time savings."

"The application layer to the hardware layer is good, as are all layers it offers, and it's a very comprehensive solution."

"Though it's pricey, customers ultimately realize Palo Alto is the best security solution because it's stable and the network security functions are practical."

"A feature introduced by Palo Alto with the version 10-OS is embedded machine learning in the core of the firewall to provide inline, real-time attack prevention. Machine learning analyzes the network traffic and detects if there is any usual traffic coming from outside to inside. Because of Palo Alto, organizations detect around 91% of malicious attacks using machine learning. The machine learning helps customers by implementing firewalls in critical and air gap areas so there is no need to integrate with the cloud sandbox."

"The way that the new hardware handles URL filtering, threat protection, and GlobalProtect has been pretty solid."

"All the features are valuable, but my main one is the straightforward and well-designed GUI. I'm over 50 and have been in this business since the internet started. I'm not a GUI guy; I prefer using the command line. The product's GUI is excellent, and so is the threat intelligence. It's also straightforward to configure and flexible. The solution even has good networking, such as VLAN and subinterfaces, which is great because, in my experience, if the firewall is good, then the router usually isn't and vice-versa, but Palo Alto has both."

"The most valuable feature of Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls is its application visibility, which allows us to see all users and their accessed resources."

More Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls pros

Cons

"If anything, a graphical interface would be what I want."

"The graphical interface could be much better."

"I would rate IPFire 8 out of 10 because I do not think there is any solution anywhere in the world that is 100 percent efficient."

"Accessing the internet was a bit complicated."

"The support could be improved. They could be faster."

"It is a complete product, but the SSL inspection feature requires some improvements. We need to deploy certificates at each end point to completely work out the UTM solutions. If you enable SSL encryption, it is a tedious process. It takes a lot of time to deploy the certificates to all endpoints. Without SSL inspection, UTM features will not work properly. So, we are forced to enable this SSL inspection feature."

"The technical support from Palo Alto could be better; I find that it can be improved. The issues are mainly with response time and quality, as their first level support used to be better a couple of years ago, but now you sometimes get support that isn't as good."

"The level of control and granularity in terms of rule customization could be enhanced. However, compared to our previous solution, Palo Alto provides much better drill-down capabilities."

"Technical support in Cisco is better than Palo Alto."

"In the cloud, the HA could be a lot better. Its price could also be better. It is very expensive."

"Palo Alto could improve its machine-learning capabilities. That's all new. They integrate the telemetry data and analytics up to the cloud, where they can analyze for security policies and best practices like DNS Security. It uses AI tools to sort through all the massive logs and highlight where you can take action or be aware of what's happening. If you don't have many tools in your organization, it's nice to have one tool that does an excellent job across the board."

"Enhancements could potentially be made to the firmware to improve its inspectability."

More Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

Information not available

"This is an expensive product and there is a subscription cost."

"Overall, it is commercially competitive compared to Cisco and Fortinet."

"Don't buy a device with more power than you really need, because licensing depends on the cost of the box you have."

"It is expensive."

"Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls have a higher price tag, costing roughly twice as much as competing products."

"Its price can be better. Licensing is on a yearly basis."

"The solution provides good protection and is worth the price."

"Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls are affordable, and we get what we pay for."

More Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Comms Service Provider

20%

University

Computer Software Company

Government

Outsourcing Company

11%

Manufacturing Company

10%

Financial Services Firm

Computer Software Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

No data available

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	77
Midsize Enterprise	56
Large Enterprise	89

Questions from the Community

What needs improvement with IPFire?

IPFire can be improved, but so far, there are no functionalities that have not been able to meet my needs. I wish IPFire could do more, but so far, I am happy with the solution. If there are other ...

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What is your primary use case for IPFire?

My main use case for IPFire is usually for security, functioning as a firewall for organizations that run public-facing applications. I will give you a typical example: there is an agency of the fe...

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What advice do you have for others considering IPFire?

I would rate IPFire 8 out of 10 because I do not think there is any solution anywhere in the world that is 100 percent efficient. In elementary physics, we are told that no machine can be 100 perce...

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What is a better choice, Azure Firewall or Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls?

Azure Firewall Vs. Palo Alto Network NG Firewalls Both solutions provide stellar stability and security. Azure Firewall is easy to use and provides excellent support. Valuable features include int...

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Features comparison between Palo Alto and Fortinet firewalls

In the best tradition of these questions, Feature-wise both are quite similar, but each has things it's better at, it kind of depends what you value most. PA is good at app control, web filtering a...

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Which is better - Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls or Sophos XG?

Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls have both great features and performance. I like that Palo Alto has regular threat signatures and updates. I also appreciate that I can just import addresses and URL...

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Comparisons

OPNsense vs IPFire

Compared 51% of the time

Netgate pfSense vs IPFire

Compared 10% of the time

Sophos Firewall vs IPFire

Compared 6% of the time

Fortinet FortiGate vs IPFire

Compared 5% of the time

KerioControl vs IPFire

Compared 3% of the time

More IPFire Competitors

Cisco Meraki MX vs Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls

Compared 23% of the time

Fortinet FortiGate vs Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls

Compared 22% of the time

Cisco Secure Firewall vs Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls

Compared 11% of the time

Check Point Quantum Force (NGFW) vs Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls

Compared 7% of the time

Check Point Cloud Firewall (formerly CloudGuard Network Security) vs Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls

Compared 4% of the time

More Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Firewalls

October 2026

Download IPFire product report

Buyer's Guide

Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls

October 2026

Download Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls product report

Also Known As

No data available

Palo Alto NGFW, Palo Alto Networks Next-Generation Firewall

Overview

IPFire enhances network security and protects against cyber threats. It provides a secure firewall, secure remote access, and customizable options. Users praise its ease of use, flexibility, and reliability for network monitoring and traffic shaping. Its valuable features include efficient firewall capabilities, a user-friendly interface, and reliable network performance.

IPFire Project

Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls deliver advanced threat protection with machine learning, enhancing security through real-time attack prevention. Known for application visibility and a user-friendly interface, they offer robust network protection and flexibility in rule creation.

Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls are designed to secure environments with features like GlobalProtect VPN, WildFire malware detection, and unified platform integration. Their strong firewall capabilities and high-performance throughput make them suitable for perimeter and data center protection, VPN configurations, application control, and network segmentation. Users consistently highlight the ease of managing network security policies and integrating third-party tools, ensuring a comprehensive protection strategy. While enhancements in support, training resources, and configuration simplicity are needed, these firewalls are integral for securing both on-prem and cloud environments, aligning with platforms like Azure and AWS.

What are the key features of Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls?

Application Visibility: Provides insight into network traffic for better control.
Threat Prevention: Uses machine learning for real-time attack prevention.
GlobalProtect VPN: Secures remote access efficiently.
WildFire Malware Detection: Detects and prevents advanced threats.
Unified Platform Integration: Enhances network security through seamless integration with other tools.

What benefits should be evaluated when considering Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls?

Flexibility in Rule Creation: Allows customized security policies to meet specific needs.
High-Performance Throughput: Ensures efficient network operations under high load.
Comprehensive Policy Management: Simplifies overseeing and adjusting security policies.
Robust Endpoint Security: Protects endpoints against sophisticated threats.
Seamless Integration: Works well with third-party tools for a comprehensive solution.

Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls are commonly implemented across industries for securing LAN environments, URL filtering, and ensuring Zero Trust security. They secure both on-premises and cloud infrastructures, often becoming integral parts of security frameworks within enterprises. Leveraging these firewalls in conjunction with Azure or AWS enhances the overall network protection strategies employed by organizations.

Palo Alto Networks

Sample Customers

1. Siemens 2. IBM 3. Cisco 4. Dell 5. HP 6. Intel 7. Oracle 8. Google 9. Microsoft 10. Amazon 11. Apple 12. Facebook 13. Twitter 14. Netflix 15. Adobe 16. SAP 17. VMware 18. Juniper Networks 19. Ericsson 20. Nokia 21. AT&T 22. Verizon 23. T-Mobile 24. Vodafone 25. Orange 26. Deutsche Telekom 27. British Telecom 28. Comcast 29. Time Warner 30. Sony 31. Samsung 32. LG

SkiStar AB, Ada County, Global IT Services PSF, Southern Cross Hospitals, Verge Health, University of Portsmouth, Austrian Airlines, The Heinz Endowments

Buyer's Guide

IPFire vs. Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls

September 2026

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