Mikrotik vs pfsense (2024)

List of content you will read in this article:

  • 1. Mikrotik—Pros and cons
  • 2. Pfsense—Pros and Cons
  • 3. The main difference between Mikrotik and pfsense
  • 4. Final Words

Let's see what features each one has.

Mikrotik—Pros and cons

One of the best points that Mikrotik Manufacturer routers have is that they are diverse, and from home use to enterprise use, this brand offers choices, active in IT and its hardware. This Latvian company was founded in 1996 and is considered one of the giants of the ISP systems market and the routers required by the modern IT world.

  • The chief product of the brand is a dual-band 2.4/5 GHz base station powered by a powerful built-in sector receiver, PoE support, Gigabit Ethernet and SFP.

The main features of the product include:

  • Configuration,
  • Firewall,
  • Routing,
  • MPLS,
  • VPN,
  • Wireless,
  • DHCP,
  • Hotspot,
  • Quality of Service,
  • Proxy.

Overall, it is proved that Mikrotik provides customers with all the features needed for network administrators to establish online safety and hardware immunity and monitor the networks. This suits companies of various sizes, from small to town-like ones like Meta! The solution is ideal for dishing out Wi-Fi hotspots, connecting multiple servers, setting up firewalls and VPNs, and distributing bandwidth. Some of the features the thing has are as follows:

  • Stateful packet inspection;
  • Layer-7 protocol detection;
  • Peer-to-peer protocols filtering.

Considering all the above, it is appropriate that you include this Latvian option among your shopping priorities. Providing this part is one of the services that will not be challenging for us at a modest price.

  • The software of this widely used piece works under Linux, which is based on the Linux kernel.

As a final point, at odds with all the advantages, it has its drawback: when there is high traffic of users, it may trouble you and be insufficient. However, the good user experience it provides may be an unrivalled advantage, at least until further notice.

Seamlessly integrate with various Linux-based applications and enjoy the flexibility to scale resources as required. Take advantage of the opportunity to buy a Linux VPS from 1gbits and unlock a world of possibilities for your online presence.

Pfsense—Pros and Cons

pfSense is a kind of firewall and load management digital product, available on the open source pfSense community edition; likewise, there is a licensed edition, pfSense Plus—known as pfSense Enterprise in retrospect. The product provides a combined firewall, VPN, router functionality etc.

pfSense Plus product can also be configured to function as an anti-virus proxy using the HAVP package.

  • Antivirus proxies do like traditional web proxies, except when they scan all content passing by through the proxy for virus or malware signatures.

That this product is free and available to everyone, you might think it does not compete with commercial and paid products. Your assumption is wrong. It is an ideal home-based product, replacing older, expensive options. The popularity of this product among all users looking for such a solution among other competitors has been reported at about 52%. This multipurpose firewall can be economical for medium, large, and small businesses.

One reason it is the current choice; it offers several VPN features: IPsec, OpenVPN, WireGuard and L2TP. This section helps with an overview of a VPN option that best fits a categorical environment.

One potential disadvantage of using PfSense is that it can be complicated to be configured, crucially if you're unfamiliar with firewall architecture. Moreover, although PfSense offers a wide range of options, some users may find the User Interface and the experience of doing with that too overwhelming or disturbing.

Our personal experience says that PFSense can always be a part of the solution, while many of the options we have had to use for years have themselves become part of the problem.

The main difference between Mikrotik and pfsense

Both Mikrotik and pfsense, have good packet filtering aptitudes. Although, RouterOS for Mikrotik are significantly based on packet filtering, which requires developers to adhere to and consumes a lot of time, perspiration and resources to its packet filtering operation to make it more effective than the packet filtering provided by ordinary pfsense routers.

Furthermore, some experts say that pfsense is more of a Security appliance that runs additional security options at the top of the Firewall like IPS/IDS, AMP, etc. Mikrotik is bigger than a Networking stack workaround from Switches, APs, PtP and PtMP wireless links and Routers with a custom kernel and includes third-party free software packages for additional functionality.

On the other side, MikroTik RouterOS has an empowered firewall operation with features, including stateful packet inspection—layer-7 protocol detection. Peer-to-peer protocols filtering.

As a final point, MikroTik offers more granular flexibility at the cost of usability, while pfsense offers a smoother yet rough user interface.

And at the end, reviewers decided to do business with pfsense at the end of the day. They felt that pfSense obviates the needs of their business better than other products.

Final Words

Here, we've covered a lot of things in this short content, so you know what to choose for your home or workplace regarding Mikrotik or pfsense. What you should choose is not something we can decide upon without knowing the specific needs of your workplace or home office. You can contact our experts for more. Also, we offer service packages that you should be sure to consider.

People also read:

Mikrotik vs pfsense (2024)

FAQs

Which is better MikroTik or pfSense? ›

Peer-to-peer protocols filtering. As a final point, MikroTik offers more granular flexibility at the cost of usability, while pfsense offers a smoother yet rough user interface.

What is better than pfSense? ›

If you prioritize an easy-to-use interface and frequent updates, instead, OPNsense may be better. Ultimately, pfSense offers more flexibility for seasoned users, but OPNsense provides a more polished out-of-box experience.

Why Cisco is better than MikroTik? ›

One of the most significant differences between Cisco and MikroTik is their pricing. Cisco devices, known for their premium quality and extensive feature set, come with a higher price tag. This makes Cisco more suitable for organizations with larger budgets and demanding networking requirements.

What is the advantage of MikroTik router? ›

The article lists 11 reasons why MikroTik is a great networking solution for businesses of all sizes. These include affordability, flexibility, advanced features, scalability, security, centralized management, protocol support, regular updates, a strong community, and good performance.

What are the disadvantages of pfSense? ›

Challenging web GUI setup and management: Non-expert users may find it challenging to set up and manage the web GUI, particularly when it comes to assigning WAN and LAN interfaces. Limited API and scripting capabilities: Some reviewers have highlighted the lack of an API for making changes in pfSense.

Do companies use pfSense? ›

Around the world in 2024, over 2744 companies have started using pfSense as Perimeter Security And Firewalls tool.

Is MikroTik better than Ubiquiti? ›

Choosing between Ubiquiti and MikroTik is a matter of personal needs and preferences. Although MikroTik has a steeper learning curve than Ubiquiti, it offers more tools to help tune and maintain your home network.

Which country made MikroTik router? ›

About us. MikroTik is a Latvian company which was founded in 1996 to develop routers and wireless ISP systems. MikroTik now provides hardware and software for Internet connectivity in most of the countries around the world.

What is the best signal strength for MikroTik? ›

Re: LTE Signal - What is considered normal

RSRP higher than -100dBm is decent, RSRP higher than -85dBm is pretty good, RSRP higher than -70dBm is excellent and RSRP higher than -50dBm is excessive (and might overwhelm receiver). RSRQ below -8dB is bad, anything between -5dB and -8dB is good and above -5dB is great.

What is the disadvantage of MikroTik? ›

Expensive Load Balancing: Several users have mentioned that load balancing requires multiple MikroTik devices, making the implementation more expensive. This additional cost can be a barrier for small businesses or individuals looking to implement load balancing on their network.

What is the lifespan of MikroTik router? ›

Re: MTBF of RouterBOARD

From my knowledge MikroTik doesn't have such data (because no official tests are preformed to determine MTBF). However from my observation you can expect around 4-5 years lifetime (for 24x7 scenario). In my opinion 3 years is a sensible rotation period due to technology evolution.

What is special with a MikroTik router? ›

Their network equipment is known as RouterBoard, which is a strong brand that Mikrotik has created. Combined with their Linux-based operating system called RouterOS, it offers various functions such as Firewall, VPN, Proxy, QoS, Hotspots, Bandwidth Control, and others depending on the acquired license.

Why use pfSense instead of router? ›

pfSense is typically configured and operated though a user-friendly web interface, making administration easy even for users with limited networking knowledge. Generally, one never needs to use terminal or edit config files to configure the router. Even software updates can be run from the web UI.

Is pfSense the best open source firewall? ›

pfSense describes itself as the most trusted open source firewall. The original FreeBSD-based firewall distro, pfSense shares many similarities with OPNsense. For instance, in addition to being a powerful, flexible firewalling and routing platform, it includes a long list of related features.

Is MikroTik better than ubiquiti? ›

Choosing between Ubiquiti and MikroTik is a matter of personal needs and preferences. Although MikroTik has a steeper learning curve than Ubiquiti, it offers more tools to help tune and maintain your home network.

What is so good about pfSense? ›

You could say: pfSense is more secure because it supports DNS over TLS and, I presume, DNS over HTTPS (DoT/DoH) on the local network. Yes, that is true, but why bother? The local network is secured against interlopers via other means e.g. wired infrastructure, wireless WPA, MAC ACLs, 802.1Q, 802.1X etc.

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