Compare products

Put two or three cybersecurity products side by side and see how they differ on deployment, pricing, features, integrations and compliance.

pfSense CEVersa NGFW2 of 3 products

Side-by-side comparison of pfSense CE, Versa NGFW
Product	pfSense CE by Netgate View product	Versa NGFW by Versa Networks View product
Overview
What it is	pfSense CE is an open source firewall & router software from Netgate. Learn how it supports firewall / NGFW, what features stand out and which Firewall tools compete.	Versa NGFW by Versa Networks is a next-generation firewall. Key features include anti-malware. Compare deployment, integrations and top Firewall alternatives.
Product type	Open Source Firewall & Router Software	Next-Generation Firewall (NGFW)
Best for	Cross-industry, SMBs, Homelab, Small Business, IT Admins	Cross-industry, Retail, Financial Services, Healthcare, Service Providers
Pricing
Pricing model	Contact Vendor	Contact Vendor
Free trial	Free trial: yes	Free trial: no
Deployment
Deployment options	On-Premise	CloudOn-Premise
Deployment details	Software; Open Source; Bare-metal; Bare-metal x86 hardware; Virtual machines	Hardware appliance; Virtual; Cloud; Firewall as a Service; Physical appliance; Virtual appliance; Cloud; Firewall as a Service
Data residency	On-premises; Customer Network	Customer-controlled or selected Versa cloud gateways
Key features
What it offers	Stateful firewall OpenVPN/WireGuard Suricata/Snort DNS resolver DHCP server CARP HA Firewall / NGFW Network Security	Single-pass inspection Application identification User and device-aware policies Intrusion prevention Anti-malware URL and DNS filtering SSL/TLS decryption AI-based threat detection
Platform & access
API access	API access: no	API access: yes
Single sign-on (SSO)	SSO: no	SSO: yes
Role-based access (RBAC)	RBAC: yes	RBAC: yes
Multi-tenant	Multi-tenant: no	Multi-tenant: yes
Mobile app	Mobile app: no	Mobile app: no
Supported platforms	x86 Bare-metalVMware ESXiProxmoxHyper-VKVM	Versa appliancesVMware ESXiKVMAWSMicrosoft AzureGoogle Cloud
Compliance	Open Source ComplianceGPL/Apache-style	FIPS 140-2 (select platforms)
Integrations & coverage
Integrations	FreeBSDOpen-source packagesSyslog	Versa ConcertoVersa DirectorMicrosoft Entra IDOktaAWSMicrosoft AzureGoogle CloudSIEM tools
Industries	Cross-industrySMBsHomelabSmall BusinessIT Admins	Cross-industryRetailFinancial ServicesHealthcareService Providers
Regions	Global	Global
Vendor
Company	Netgate	Versa Networks
Headquarters	Austin, Texas, USA	Santa Clara, California, USA
Company size	201-500	1,000+
Founded	2000	2012

pfSense CE

by Netgate

View product

Versa NGFW

by Versa Networks

View product

Overview

What it is

pfSense CE

pfSense CE is an open source firewall & router software from Netgate. Learn how it supports firewall / NGFW, what features stand out and which Firewall tools compete.

Versa NGFW

Versa NGFW by Versa Networks is a next-generation firewall. Key features include anti-malware. Compare deployment, integrations and top Firewall alternatives.

Product type

pfSense CE

Open Source Firewall & Router Software

Versa NGFW

Next-Generation Firewall (NGFW)

Best for

pfSense CE

Cross-industry, SMBs, Homelab, Small Business, IT Admins

Versa NGFW

Cross-industry, Retail, Financial Services, Healthcare, Service Providers

Pricing

Pricing model

pfSense CE

Contact Vendor

Versa NGFW

Contact Vendor

Free trial

pfSense CE

Versa NGFW

Deployment

Deployment options

pfSense CE

On-Premise

Versa NGFW

CloudOn-Premise

Deployment details

pfSense CE

Software; Open Source; Bare-metal; Bare-metal x86 hardware; Virtual machines

Versa NGFW

Hardware appliance; Virtual; Cloud; Firewall as a Service; Physical appliance; Virtual appliance; Cloud; Firewall as a Service

Data residency

pfSense CE

On-premises; Customer Network

Versa NGFW

Customer-controlled or selected Versa cloud gateways

Key features

What it offers

pfSense CE

Stateful firewall
OpenVPN/WireGuard
Suricata/Snort
DNS resolver
DHCP server
CARP HA
Firewall / NGFW
Network Security

Versa NGFW

Single-pass inspection
Application identification
User and device-aware policies
Intrusion prevention
Anti-malware
URL and DNS filtering
SSL/TLS decryption
AI-based threat detection

Platform & access

API access

pfSense CE

Versa NGFW

Single sign-on (SSO)

pfSense CE

Versa NGFW

Role-based access (RBAC)

pfSense CE

Versa NGFW

Multi-tenant

pfSense CE

Versa NGFW

Mobile app

pfSense CE

Versa NGFW

Supported platforms

pfSense CE

x86 Bare-metalVMware ESXiProxmoxHyper-VKVM

Versa NGFW

Versa appliancesVMware ESXiKVMAWSMicrosoft AzureGoogle Cloud

Compliance

pfSense CE

Open Source ComplianceGPL/Apache-style

Versa NGFW

FIPS 140-2 (select platforms)

Integrations & coverage

Integrations

pfSense CE

FreeBSDOpen-source packagesSyslog

Versa NGFW

Versa ConcertoVersa DirectorMicrosoft Entra IDOktaAWSMicrosoft AzureGoogle CloudSIEM tools

Industries

pfSense CE

Cross-industrySMBsHomelabSmall BusinessIT Admins

Versa NGFW

Cross-industryRetailFinancial ServicesHealthcareService Providers

Regions

pfSense CE

Global

Versa NGFW

Global

Vendor

Company

pfSense CE

Netgate

Versa NGFW

Versa Networks

Headquarters

pfSense CE

Austin, Texas, USA

Versa NGFW

Santa Clara, California, USA

Company size

pfSense CE

201-500

Versa NGFW

1,000+

Founded

pfSense CE

2000

Versa NGFW

2012