pfSense vs. Surfshark

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
pfSense
Score 9.9 out of 10
N/A
pfSense is a firewall and load management product available through the open source pfSense Community Edition, as well as a the licensed edition, pfSense Plus (formerly known as pfSense Enterprise). The solution provides combined firewall, VPN, and router functionality, and can be deployed through the cloud (AWS or Azure), or on-premises with a Netgate appliance. It as scalable capacities, with functionality for SMBs. As a firewall, pfSense offers Stateful packet inspection, concurrent…
$179
per appliance
Surfshark
Score 7.9 out of 10
N/A
N/A
$1.99
per month
Pricing
pfSenseSurfshark
Editions & Modules
SG-1100
$179
per appliance
SG-2100
$229
per appliance
SG-3100
$399
per appliance
SG-5100
$699
per appliance
XG-7100-DT
$899
per appliance
XG-7100-1U
$999
per appliance
XG-1537
$1,949
per appliance
XG-1541
$2,649
per appliance
SurfShark Starter - 24 months
$1.99
per month
SurfShark One - 24 months
$2.49
per month
SurfShark Starter - 12 months
$2.99
per month
SurfShark One - 12 months
$3.39
per month
SurfShark One+ - 24 months
$3.99
per month
SurfShark One+ - 12 months
$5.99
per month
SurfShark Starter - 1 month
$15.45
per month
SurfShark One - 1 month
$17.95
per month
SurfShark One+ - 1 month
$20.65
per month
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
pfSenseSurfshark
Free Trial
NoNo
Free/Freemium Version
NoNo
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
NoNo
Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
Additional Details
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
pfSenseSurfshark
Features
pfSenseSurfshark
Firewall
Comparison of Firewall features of Product A and Product B
pfSense
7.6
Ratings
13% below category average
Surfshark
-
Ratings
Identification Technologies5.00 Ratings00 Ratings
Visualization Tools7.00 Ratings00 Ratings
Content Inspection4.00 Ratings00 Ratings
Policy-based Controls10.00 Ratings00 Ratings
Active Directory and LDAP7.00 Ratings00 Ratings
Firewall Management Console9.50 Ratings00 Ratings
Reporting and Logging8.00 Ratings00 Ratings
VPN10.00 Ratings00 Ratings
High Availability10.00 Ratings00 Ratings
Stateful Inspection7.00 Ratings00 Ratings
Proxy Server6.10 Ratings00 Ratings
Virtual Private Network
Comparison of Virtual Private Network features of Product A and Product B
pfSense
-
Ratings
Surfshark
8.4
Ratings
7% below category average
AES 256-bit Encryption00 Ratings9.00 Ratings
Kill Switch00 Ratings9.00 Ratings
Multi-Platform Support00 Ratings7.00 Ratings
IP Address Masking00 Ratings8.00 Ratings
No-Logs Policy00 Ratings9.00 Ratings
Multiple Server Locations00 Ratings9.00 Ratings
Automatic Wi-Fi Protection00 Ratings8.00 Ratings
Best Alternatives
pfSenseSurfshark
Small Businesses
Sophos UTM
Sophos UTM
Score 8.1 out of 10
Norton 360
Norton 360
Score 7.0 out of 10
Medium-sized Companies
Quantum Firewalls and Security Gateways
Quantum Firewalls and Security Gateways
Score 9.6 out of 10
Quantum Firewalls and Security Gateways
Quantum Firewalls and Security Gateways
Score 9.6 out of 10
Enterprises
Palo Alto Networks Virtualized Next-Generation Firewalls - VM Series
Palo Alto Networks Virtualized Next-Generation Firewalls - VM Series
Score 10.0 out of 10
Quantum Firewalls and Security Gateways
Quantum Firewalls and Security Gateways
Score 9.6 out of 10
All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
User Ratings
pfSenseSurfshark
Likelihood to Recommend
9.6
(0 ratings)
8.0
(0 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
-
(0 ratings)
9.0
(0 ratings)
Usability
10.0
(0 ratings)
8.0
(0 ratings)
User Testimonials
pfSenseSurfshark
Likelihood to Recommend
pfSense is incredibly budget friendly and capable for organizations of all sizes. My specific scenario, working for a non-profit organization, requires budget consciences decisions without compromising security and function. pfSense has helped tremendously in accomplishing this. It specifically tackles advanced routing, static routing, remote access, intrusion prevention, in a single platform, mostly available for free.
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At the price point this product sits at, it's well worth the additional layer of security. Surf shark isnt a security silver bullet, more of a additional security weapon to add to the arsenal and used properly, can augment and compliment your overall security posture. Using the search function when searching on sensitive subjects is helpful, using the site checker to ascertain for breaches is a valuble tool and the VPN is always on and is solid
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Pros
  • Easy to use. Good user interface design! Easy to understand and easy to set up.
  • Lower hardware requirement. 3 years ago, we used an old PC to run it. Now, we have changed to a router device with Celeron CPU and 8GB RAM. It runs smoothly with a 1000G commercial broadband.
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  • VPN works very well
  • Checks sites that have been breached in real time
  • Allows you to search (like google) in privacy
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Cons
  • There is no API for making changes. This can be a hindrance in environments where auto-deploying something needs firewall rules or HAProxy configs updated. Since all settings are stored in an XML file and then configs are generated from that, even manually updating config files cannot be done.
  • Beware that some network cards can have issues. pfSense is based on FreeBSD, so it's best to look on their compatibility list before deploying.
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  • It can sometimes not play well with some websites
  • updates sometimes a little buggy
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Likelihood to Renew
No answers on this topic
Because we have renewed and it is constantly improved
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Usability
pfSense can be a very elementary firewall but can also be as comples as you want, according your needs. I'd always reccomend a HA solution when used in a company and, for bigger companies, commercial license is recommended. It's also very adptable to everyone's needs.
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Product is great, but occasional issues with some sites. The user interface is clean and simple to navigate and work through. Making it fairly idiot proof is welcome for a techno novice like myself! All of the key tools are listed on the lefthand side and are easy to click through and activate/use
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Support Rating
pfSense+ basic provides "As Available" email support. pfSense+ Pro offers 24 hr turn around email support. pfSense+ Enterprise offers 24/7 phone support.
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No answers on this topic
Alternatives Considered
PFSense is not a fully featured and supported enterprise-grade solution; however, it does offer a lot of similar functionality at a fraction of the cost for more minor requirements.
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Surfshark's VPN (Virtual Private Network) is simply better in every way than any of the competitors that we have used every time. This is the jewel in the crown of the product. With the tools such as the search function, site breach detection and other tools such as antivirus etc it makes it a compelling suite
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Return on Investment
  • pfSense has only had positive impacts on our company. We are not a huge company so not having to buy licenses to get all these features have been excellent.
  • I was not around when our current sysadmin decided to use pfSense, but I am assuming from day one it was probably a 100% return on investment since it does everything we need it to and it was open source software.
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  • It allows us to bolster our security posture
  • secures our wifi when travelling
  • allows us to make sure sites haven't suffered recent breaches and if they have to take remediation action
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ScreenShots