We performed a comparison between OPNsense and WatchGuard Firebox based on real PeerSpot user reviews.
Find out in this report how the two Firewalls solutions compare in terms of features, pricing, service and support, easy of deployment, and ROI."It's a firewall that secures our internal network. I have been using it since 2013, and I find that most of the features are advanced, and very user friendly."
"The solution is scalable."
"The most valuable feature is the SSL VPN, as it allows us to connect and it separates this product from other firewalls."
"Web filtering and two-factor authentication are great features."
"The signature database and zero-day detection are Fortinet FortiGate's most valuable features."
"The threat prevention is the solution's most valuable aspect."
"It increases security posture and is helpful for firewall reporting, intrusion protection, web filtering, and SD-WAN implementation."
"Valuable features include the Web Application Firewall, and it even has DLP (data leak prevention)."
"OPNsense could improve by making the configuration more web-based rather than shell or command-line-based."
"What I like best about OPNsense is that, as a firewall, it's pretty good. I'm quite impressed with it. I had an excellent experience with OPNsense, which helped me achieve the targets I wanted."
"The technical support is very good."
"The interface and the dashboard are the most valuable features of this solution."
"The solution has high availability."
"We have found pretty much all the features of the solution to be valuable."
"OPNsense is easy to use and open source."
"I feel that its valuable features are that it is simple and free."
"I have found the DNS Watch feature for intrusion and prevention response and APT Locker most valuable to me."
"It has everything we need in terms of functionality."
"The set up of the VPN is pretty straightforward. Being able to build VPNs on the fly for certain users, if need be, is also valuable."
"It is a scalable solution."
"The most valuable features of this solution are live logging, rule setup and maintenance, and VPN creation."
"The Dimension control, the one-spot reporting and control, has been nice. It's been easy to go in and make sure people are doing what they're supposed to be doing and that only the right stuff is getting in."
"Regarding the reporting, I was in the Dimension server earlier today. It's very powerful. I like it. And the management features are easy to use. I like the fact that I can open up the System Manager client or I can just do it through the web if I'm making a quick change."
"WebBlocker has the best URL category database ever."
"It would be nice if FortiGate incorporated some built-in endpoint protection features. I would also like a built-in SOC dashboard for managing multiple Fortinet firewalls."
"It should be more stable. There should be full integration within Fortinet products themselves as well as with other third-party products. Especially when you're not dealing with SIEM and the correlation of the security box, we want Fortinet to be able to share that information with as many other products as it can."
"The solution could have licensing fees reduced in the future."
"NGN, reporting and controls."
"It claims it does DLP, but the degree and level of controls are very basic."
"The stability could be a bit better."
"One issue that I have had is that sometimes I need to monitor the traffic, so I need to filter it according to the user and which user is using it the most. I experience a bottleneck most of the time, particularly at the peak time when the number of contracts and users are at maximum."
"Monitoring and reporting could be better."
"OPNsense could improve by making the configuration more web-based rather than shell or command-line-based."
"There are issues with stability and reliability."
"I think the most important thing is that it should be easily accessible, but currently, that doesn't seem to be the case. We need a hardware platform that's based on common standards and open computing principles, which would be like a commodity and benefit us greatly."
"In terms of improvement, the performance could be enhanced."
"The interface isn't so friendly user. But we have some technicians here who are quite confident with this tool. OPNSense could maybe add sets of rules so it's simpler to manage different groups with particular needs."
"The scalability needs improvement."
"They should improve IPEs for security in the future."
"While they do have paid options that actually gives better features, for most of the clients, if they tend to take a paid option will instead opt for Fortinet."
"I would like to see more tutorials on setting up the Firebox."
"There is room for improvement on the education side, regarding what does what, rather than just throwing it at a person and assuming they know everything about it. A lot of times, you have to call WatchGuard support to get the solution that will work, rather than their just having it published so that you can fix the problem on your own."
"The software in it could be a bit more friendly for an amateur user. I look at it and don't understand what half the stuff is. Looking at the interface, it is all mumbo-jumbo to me. It's not a simple interface. You have to be an IT guy to understand it. It is not for your average person to use, then walk away from it. It is much more entailed."
"Its documentation could be improved. Sometimes, you need to search a bit longer to find what you are looking for."
"The solution is lacking a professional website, they should be updated more often."
"I believe there is a need for additional measures to connect mobile devices securely to the Firebox router."
"The performance of the solution's processor needs to be faster."
"Sometimes I would like to copy a rule set from one box to another box in a direct way. This is a feature that is not present at the moment in WatchGuard."
OPNsense is ranked 3rd in Firewalls with 36 reviews while WatchGuard Firebox is ranked 13th in Firewalls with 79 reviews. OPNsense is rated 8.4, while WatchGuard Firebox is rated 8.4. The top reviewer of OPNsense writes "Robust network security and management offering a user-friendly interface, open-source flexibility, and cost-effectiveness, with challenges regarding initial setup and the absence of official support". On the other hand, the top reviewer of WatchGuard Firebox writes "Offers a streamlined deployment, intuitive interface and robust security features". OPNsense is most compared with Netgate pfSense, Sophos XG, Untangle NG Firewall, Sophos UTM and Cisco Secure Firewall, whereas WatchGuard Firebox is most compared with Netgate pfSense, Sophos XG, SonicWall TZ, Meraki MX and Cisco Secure Firewall. See our OPNsense vs. WatchGuard Firebox report.
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