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Netgate pfSense Plus Firewall/VPN/Router vs SonicWall NSv comparison

Why PeerSpot?
 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary

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

Netgate pfSense Plus Firewa...
Ranking in Firewalls
22nd
Average Rating
9.0
Reviews Sentiment
4.3
Number of Reviews
5
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
SonicWall NSv
Ranking in Firewalls
14th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.4
Number of Reviews
27
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of October 2026, in the Firewalls category, the mindshare of Netgate pfSense Plus Firewall/VPN/Router is 0.3%. The mindshare of SonicWall NSv is 0.5%, up from 0.2% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Firewalls Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
SonicWall NSv0.5%
Netgate pfSense Plus Firewall/VPN/Router0.3%
Other99.2%
Firewalls
 

Featured Reviews

Jim Voige - PeerSpot reviewer
Site Manager at a consultancy with 11-50 employees
High availability routing has secured our network and delivers reliable support every day
One downside of Netgate pfSense Plus Firewall_VPN_Router is the need for a better understanding of what hardware it would run on. Right now, we're using Netgate's hardware, but I'm interested in knowing if there are other hardware options available, particularly heavier duty hardware, because the Supermicro 1537 version we have only has a single power supply, which is a shortcoming in an IT environment where dual power supplies are ideal. The pricing for the hardware of Netgate pfSense Plus Firewall_VPN_Router is steep, which is one reason I'd explore other options. I'm familiar with the costs of Supermicro servers, and I believe Netgate charges a premium for their server hardware without enough upside to justify it. The pricing is not justified.
SG
Senior Cybersecurity Analyst at a tech company with 10,001+ employees
Secures east-west cloud traffic and improves threat visibility through deep inspection
SonicWall NSv offers great features. I cannot pinpoint a single best feature, but the best feature is the ability to deliver the full, high-efficiency inspection power of a physical SonicWall, including zero-day defense using Real-Time Deep Memory Inspection to the cloud, efficiently removing the performance versus cloud trade-off typically associated with virtual firewalls. Regarding deep memory inspection and real-time zero-day defense in SonicWall NSv, deep memory inspection is distinct from traditional sandboxing methods because it is focused on what is happening in the memory during file execution time, rather than just observing file system behavior. The deep memory inspection process addresses all challenges by employing a proprietary technique within the secure analysis environment, focusing on CPU-level analysis and real-time verdict. Those are the key points. SonicWall NSv's user interface is quite clear and easy to navigate. If someone has not worked with SonicWall and this is their first experience with the platform, I would highly recommend it. It is very easy to navigate and very user-friendly. SonicWall NSv has positively impacted our organization because we gained clear visibility into our network, and it helps to identify potential security issues that we had. We were able to remediate those issues, and so far, we have had a great experience with SonicWall NSv. We were able to manage approximately 99% of network-based attacks through this platform.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"I do not have complaints about Netgate pfSense Plus Firewall_VPN_Router with Firewall, VPN, and Router; it is really comfortable for use, and it does a pretty good job."
"They are more satisfied with Netgate pfSense Plus Firewall_VPN_Router in terms of its flexibility and customer support."
"My experience with the product is that it is a stable and good product that is easy to use."
"It's very simple to use, efficient, up to date, and the hardware is very available; it's very safe."
"Overall, the entire Netgate pfSense Plus Firewall_VPN_Router product has been reliable, though some of their smaller gear aimed at remote offices hasn't been cost-effective."
"We use pfSense and Netgate pfSense Plus Firewall/VPN/Router to establish a VPN tunnel between our client and our headquarters to transfer data between client and our equipment; it's very simple to use, efficient, up to date, and the hardware is very available; it's very safe."
"For my small NFB banking services, when they are expanding their branches, I could incorporate a little bit easier."
"SonicWall NSv has positively impacted my organization by allowing our customers to access data 24 hours, seven days a week, making it a wonderful feature for business continuity for our customers."
"SonicWall NSv is more stable and less of a headache compared to Palo Alto because we did not have any issues."
"SonicWall NSv has positively impacted my organization; one specific outcome I have noticed is the low cost of licensing and that it is a trusted security appliance."
"Out of ten, I would rate the solution at an eight."
"The product helps improve our security."
"SonicWall NSv has positively impacted my organization by regenerating the network infrastructure, making it more efficient and useful for all of the company's site-to-site VPNs."
"SonicWall NSV is a stable solution."
 

Cons

"The effectiveness of Netgate pfSense Plus Firewall_VPN_Router traffic shaping is quite good, but I am not very satisfied with the interface for control."
"The most significant drawback in recent years has been the cessation of firmware release downloads."
"They have to learn something more from FortiGate."
"The pricing for the hardware of Netgate pfSense Plus Firewall_VPN_Router is steep, which is one reason I'd explore other options."
"I would assess the effectiveness of Netgate pfSense Plus Firewall_VPN_Router's traffic shaping as good, but I would give a six marks only for that compared to others because in the past few years, there has been a stop of improvement or lack of improvement showing in Netgate pfSense Plus Firewall_VPN_Router."
"I would like to see the reporting opened up and have several more opportunities for automatic reports."
"While I have not encountered significant challenges, during the configuration part, I noticed that some features, such as user-based policy for web filtering, are not available in SonicWall NSv compared to other firewalls."
"Currently, we are getting challenges with user-wise reports and other reporting details. At present, they do not provide detailed reports compared to other products."
"It has been brought to our attention by a few customers that they are dissatisfied with the fact that our virtualized service is only offered as a subscription option on the cloud. However, it is worth noting that many other similar services are also offered through a subscription model on the cloud and not through perpetual licensing. It is unclear why these customers would have an issue with this subscription service when so many others are utilizing similar methods."
"The price is a significant factor."
"An area that could be improved is the export and import settings functionality."
"The management UI sometimes feels outdated and less intuitive compared to some newer firewall platforms."
"For example, compared to Cisco, reporting is better than it is in SonicWall."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

Information not available
"The solution’s pricing is less compared to other products."
"The tool is moderately priced."
"Our initial purchase, which included a three-year term of support, was about $25,000 USD."
"We are currently using the trial version."
"SonicWall NSV is not very costly."
"The solution's pricing is good for the technology it offers."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Construction Company
34%
Comms Service Provider
12%
Healthcare Company
8%
Manufacturing Company
6%
Manufacturing Company
14%
Outsourcing Company
13%
Security Firm
9%
Construction Company
9%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business10
Midsize Enterprise8
Large Enterprise9
 

Questions from the Community

What needs improvement with Netgate pfSense Plus Firewall/VPN/Router?
Netgate pfSense Plus Firewall/VPN/Router regularly provides updates. One aspect they can improve is that most people ask whether an antivirus scanning system is available in pfSense. Other companie...
What is your primary use case for Netgate pfSense Plus Firewall/VPN/Router?
We work with Netgate products. We are a reseller and consultant. We have been working with Netgate and Fortinet for around two years.
What advice do you have for others considering Netgate pfSense Plus Firewall/VPN/Router?
For metrics to measure its impact, we do not measure in a formal way. We use bandwidth monitoring to check how effective the solution is. I have not encountered customers asking for additional feat...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for SonicWall NSV?
My experience with the pricing, setup cost, and licensing of SonicWall NSv has been mostly positive, though there are a few areas that can be improved in licensing. Pricing for SonicWall NSv is com...
What needs improvement with SonicWall NSV?
Overall, SonicWall NSv is a strong and reliable virtual firewall, but based on my hands-on experience, there are a few areas where it can definitely be improved. The first area is the management in...
What is your primary use case for SonicWall NSV?
The main use case for SonicWall NSv is to secure virtual and cloud-based infrastructure by providing centralized firewall security, including VPN access and traffic inspections. In one of our envir...
 

Also Known As

No data available
SonicWall Network Security Virtual
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Information Not Available
Comlogic, Depaul, Hutt City Council
Find out what your peers are saying about Netgate pfSense Plus Firewall/VPN/Router vs. SonicWall NSv and other solutions. Updated: September 2026.
917,433 professionals have used our research since 2012.