IPFire vs Untangle NG Firewall comparison

Why PeerSpot?

IPFire Project and Arista are both solutions in the Firewalls category. IPFire Project is ranked #28 with an average rating of 8.0, while Arista is ranked #30 with an average rating of 8.0. IPFire Project holds a 0.9% mindshare in Firewalls, compared to Arista’s 1.1% mindshare. Additionally, 100% of IPFire Project users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 94% of Arista users who would recommend it.

IPFire

Read 4 IPFire reviews

4,084 Views
4,002 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

Untangle NG Firewall

Read 26 Untangle NG Firewall reviews

5,261 Views
4,419 Comparison Views

94% willing to recommend

IPFire

Untangle NG Firewall

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive Summary

We performed a comparison between IPFire and Untangle NG Firewall 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.

To learn more, read our detailed IPFire vs. Untangle NG Firewall Report (Updated: September 2026).

Buyer's Guide

IPFire vs. Untangle NG Firewall

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

Untangle NG Firewall

Ranking in Firewalls

30th

Average Rating

8.6

Reviews Sentiment

7.0

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Unified Threat Management (UTM) (10th)

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 Untangle NG Firewall is 1.1%, up from 1.0% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Firewalls Mindshare Distribution
Product	Mindshare (%)
IPFire	0.9%
Untangle NG Firewall	1.1%
Other	98.0%

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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Panagiotis Kontaxis

Information Technology System Administrator at Ίδρυμα Ευγενίδου / Eugenides Foundation

Firewall and VPN have strengthened security and now provide reliable bandwidth control

The impact of high-performance packet inspection on network performance metrics is very good. My network has good performance with very low CPU and memory usage. Real-time alerts from Untangle NG Firewall are important for me because every alert I have is sent to my email. The impact of these real-time alerts on my productivity is significant, as I may not be present, but I receive notifications about any problems in my WANs or network and sent to my emails, or something the firewall blocks. I would rate Untangle NG Firewall as an eight overall, considering all the features and capabilities.

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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."

"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."

"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."

"Web filtering is very reliable."

"What I like about this product, which is the reason that we continue to use it, is that you can install the software version on your own hardware. In case there is a problem with the hardware, we can just install the firewall in another machine and restore the configuration."

"We find the web filter very valuable."

"We have had incredibly good results with all of its features."

"Untangle NG Firewall is something that I recommend, although we have only tried the software version."

"It is not attached to an appliance, meaning if you get a good PC/server, then you can already run a firewall."

"They have a command center that makes it easy to log into and see all of your appliances nationwide."

"The features I have found the most useful are the web filter, the captive portal, the SSL inspector, and the ad-blocker. They're awesome."

More Untangle NG Firewall pros

Cons

"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."

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

"Accessing the internet was a bit complicated."

"The web content filtering needs improvement."

"The hardware can be improved."

"For the web filter, I think they can do better especially on the free model."

"The product should improve reporting."

"There is room for improvement in the logs. Like with Cisco, I can do almost everything and know almost anything about what's running. Untangle works very much out of the box. It's very user-friendly, but it's not engineer-friendly. So, it's good for a home user. For something fairly easy, but at the same time, with good technology to have at home, because at home, I'm not a millionaire or anything like that. So it's not like I'm worried to get hacked. I didn't want something like a Cisco firewall; it would be a bit overkill to have at home. So that's why I went for Untangle. But it lacks a few features. It's just a tick-box kind of thing. So they have apps and turn on and off the apps. The VPN's configuration is all very ticked. They have a few custom configurations, but it's not that much."

"Whenever there are a large number of endpoint VPN clients, connectivity becomes slow."

"The common center facility that Untangle provides should be available on-premises. There are great corporations here in Mexico that like the Untangle solution, but they don't like the fact that the monitoring and access to the appliance are in the cloud. They request for the common center facility to be available and installed on-premises."

"On their low-end appliance, they could have more memory and the largest storage space. The low-end appliance comes with a too-small hard drive, and it could use a little extra room. It only comes with about 4 gigs or 8 gigs of memory, and the hardware space is only 40 gigs, which is really small."

More Untangle NG Firewall cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

Information not available

"It is not expensive. It is cheaper than Fortinet."

"The setup cost is about $2000 to $3000 per year."

"The tool's pricing is moderate, and licensing costs are yearly."

"Untangle is open-source software. So, you can get it for free. That has been a benefit, especially for the residential users because it is free. The license costs start at $25 a month for some additional features, including higher tiers of security intrusion prevention. The free version comes with intrusion detection, and then the license version has intrusion prevention. It also has some additional things for active directory connectors, etc. It starts at $25 a month to cover 12 devices. Then it goes up from $25 to $50 a month for 12 to 25 devices. That's where it really doesn't scale out per site. If you have a site that has more than 50 devices on it, then Untangle quickly becomes cost prohibitive in comparison to several other competitors."

"The solution is fairly priced."

"We pay $350 USD per year for the solution. There are no additional costs. As long as you're not using a physical appliance, that's all you need."

"The pricing model is better than with SonicWall."

"It is the most cost-effective to use."

More Untangle NG Firewall pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Comms Service Provider

19%

University

Computer Software Company

Outsourcing Company

Comms Service Provider

15%

University

10%

Construction Company

Outsourcing Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

No data available

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	26
Midsize Enterprise	1

Questions from the Community

What needs improvement with IPFire?

To be honest, I have not made the updates of IPFire since a long time, so I continue to use the 2017 asset. I do not know if today there is something I can add on it. I am just comfortable with it ...

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What is your primary use case for IPFire?

I am still using IPFire, but at home, not at work. I have my own servers at home, and I have my test infrastructure here. I have my VPN, my DMZ, and my LAN actually on IPFire. I connect to my home ...

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What advice do you have for others considering IPFire?

I would give IPFire a good eight on a scale from one to ten. This review reflects my overall rating of eight.

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What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Untangle NG Firewall?

It is not very expensive, so it is affordable for my budget.

See all answers

What needs improvement with Untangle NG Firewall?

I would appreciate improvements to the ad blocker and SSL Inspector of Untangle NG Firewall.

See all answers

What is your primary use case for Untangle NG Firewall?

My usual use cases for Untangle NG Firewall are just like a firewall and router. The main purpose is for firewall functionality. It has a captive portal, web filter, virus blocker, spam blocker, ba...

See all answers

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

Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls vs IPFire

Compared 4% of the time

More IPFire Competitors

OPNsense vs Untangle NG Firewall

Compared 13% of the time

Fortinet FortiGate vs Untangle NG Firewall

Compared 9% of the time

Sophos UTM vs Untangle NG Firewall

Compared 8% of the time

Netgate pfSense vs Untangle NG Firewall

Compared 7% of the time

Azure Firewall vs Untangle NG Firewall

Compared 2% of the time

More Untangle NG Firewall Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Firewalls

October 2026

Download IPFire product report

Buyer's Guide

Untangle NG Firewall

September 2026

Download Untangle NG Firewall product report

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

Untangle NG Firewall provides a user-centric security firewall solution. It combines ease of integration with features such as comprehensive web filtering, VPN capabilities, and content control, tailored for small businesses and scalable for enterprise deployments.

Untangle NG Firewall is designed to enhance network security for small businesses, law offices, and unions. It offers centralized management and strong performance with features like SSL inspection, application control, and threat detection. Users appreciate customization options, bandwidth management, and tools like OpenVPN. However, there is room for improvement in reporting, hardware specs, and configuration options to match evolving security requirements. The call for a mobile app, better content filtering, and robust VPN capabilities is growing alongside a desire for improved licensing and support structures.

What are the important features?

Web Filtering: Provides comprehensive controls for managing internet access.
VPN Capabilities: Ensures secure remote access via stable VPN connections.
SSL Inspection: Inspects encrypted traffic for threats.
Application Control: Allows management of applications in the network.
Threat Detection: Identifies and mitigates potential security risks.

What benefits and ROI can be found in reviews?

User-Friendliness: Simplifies network management with easy setup and integration.
Cost-Effectiveness: Affordable pricing with potential savings through hardware-as-a-service model.
Security: Offers robust security features and tools to ensure network safety.
Scalability: Accommodates growth from small to enterprise-level networks.

In industries like law offices and unions, Untangle NG Firewall is implemented primarily on-premises and managed via the cloud. Its integration with existing hardware allows for seamless deployment, delivering features such as web filtering, intrusion prevention, and virus blocking. The easy setup and diverse capabilities make it a suitable option for enhancing security in various professional environments.

Arista

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

North American Stamping Group, Cerebral Palsy of North Jersey (CPNJ), Brown County Schools, IN, City of Bridgeton, MO, Lancaster County, SC, Vision Charter School, Clay County Sheriff’s Department, NC, Breakwater School, Boys & Girls Club of Manchester, NH, Admiral Farragut Academy, Flow Companies, No Ordinary Hotel, KECdesign,

Buyer's Guide

IPFire vs. Untangle NG Firewall

September 2026

Free Report: IPFire vs. Untangle NG Firewall

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