pfSense is a router software built on the FreeBSD operating system. It allows advanced functionality with your home or business network. Out of the box, pfSense is configured to protect your network by default.
If there's one video that I wish was available when I was first getting started using pfSense, it would be this one by Tom Lawrence. It is lengthy, but is well worth your time. His entire channel is an excellent resource.
Why pfSense?
Here's what I've been able to do on my home network with pfSense. These are not all the features, but they're the ones I have tried.
- Connect to a VPN client such as Mullvad, ProtonVPN or IVPN. All devices on the network are tunneled over the VPN. Pick and choose which devices get tunneled and which don't.
- Host a VPN server to retrieve data from home network and access information from anywhere in the world.
- Install a package called pfblockerNG to remove ads at the router level, protecting all devices on the network.
- Set up guest networks and sub-networks for specific use cases. Segregate devices to different networks so certain devices can't access other devices on different networks.
- Inspect data usage of particular devices.
- Monitor traffic download/upload speeds and throttle if necessary
- Use the router as a reverse proxy with HAProxy package, create ACME certificates for hosting websites.
- Set up a fail-over, whereby if the primary internet connection goes down, the secondary connection will automatically kick in.
pfSense has plenty more features to explore and experiment with.
Hardware Requirements
To use pfSense, it is ideal to run this on a spare computer (not a virtual machine). It needs at least 2 network ports. Make sure they are Intel network cards (as opposed to RealTek). You can use an old desktop computer.
It's up to you what hardware you want to run pfSense on. Here's some ideas:
- QotomPC - China based MiniPC. Can be found on Aliexpress.
- Protectli - US based MiniPC.
- PC Engines - EU based MiniPC.
- pfSense - buy the cheapest unit from Netgate, the developers of pfSense, directly. Take a look at their forums for more Hardware ideas.
- Any spare PC with a 2 or 4 port NIC. Look up Intel i340 or i350 on eBay or gumtree and put it into your computer.
One network port will be the Wide Area Network (WAN). The other port will be for the Local Area Network (LAN).The WAN will connect to your modem and is generally assigned an IP address by your Internet Service Provider (ISP).
I would suggest utilising your existing consumer grade wifi router and putting it into Access Point mode. Plug one end of the ethernet cable into the LAN port of your pfSense router and the other end in to the WAN port of your existing wifi router. This will allow you to access wifi and plug into the remaining 4 ports of your consumer grade router.
Software requirements
If you've bought hardware with a preinstalled software, you should be good to go from the moment it arrives. But if you're using your own device, you'll need to install pfSense. The download page can be a little confusing. What you're likely after is
- AMD64 (64-bit)
- USB Memstick installer
- VGA
Download this file, flash it on to a USB drive using Etcher and boot from it on the device you want to install pfSense on.
The setup wizard is fairly intuitive. Follow Tom's video from here.
Resources
FAQs
pfSense® software is primarily used as a router and firewall software and is frequently set up as a DHCP server, DNS server, WiFi access point, and VPN server, all on the same physical device.
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.
Is pfSense just a firewall? ›
pfSense software is a stateful firewall, which means it remembers information about connections flowing through the firewall so that it can automatically allow reply traffic. This data is retained in the State Table.
Why use pfSense instead of router? ›
Easier home network upgrades - replace one or the other (or both) when you choose and as your budget allows. Improved security feature set, e.g., stronger encryption, firewalls and VPN. Greater control over your home network, especially useful given the increasing need to manage home IoT.
Is pfSense completely free? ›
pfSense® software is a free, open source customized distribution of FreeBSD specifically tailored for use as a firewall and router that is entirely managed via web interface.
Is there anything better than pfSense? ›
Other important factors to consider when researching alternatives to Netgate pfSense include user interface and availability. The best overall Netgate pfSense alternative is Check Point Next Generation Firewalls (NGFWs).
What should you run pfSense on? ›
We recommend a modern 1.0 GHz Intel or AMD CPU.
Does pfSense need a hard drive? ›
The minimum hardware requirements for pfSense® software on hardware not sold by Netgate are: 64-bit amd64 (x86-64) compatible CPU. 1GB or more RAM. 8 GB or larger disk drive (SSD, HDD, etc)
Do you have to pay for pfSense? ›
pfSense Pricing Overview
pfSense has 8 pricing edition(s), from $179 to $2,649. Look at different pricing editions below and read more information about the product here to see which one is right for you.
Does pfSense do WIFI? ›
pfSense supports Wi-Fi standards up to 802.11na (2.4Ghz and 5Ghz), if you have an adapter that works well. Some 802.11n adapters are detected as 802.11g and won't work at full speed. In addition, some cards will work only as a client, while you want to use them as an access point.
pfSense can run on any x86 or x86_64 hardware, from embedded devices to servers. pfSense provides a web-based interface for managing and configuring various network services, such as DHCP, DNS, VPN, NAT, firewall rules, traffic shaping, and more.
Do companies use pfSense? ›
Around the world in 2024, over 2728 companies have started using pfSense as Perimeter Security And Firewalls tool.
Do I need pfSense for home? ›
What kind of security do you have in mind? If your home have many devices like children or teens using devices then yes you need pfsense.
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.
Can pfSense prevent DDoS? ›
Pfsense can handle massive amounts of incoming traffic. You need to tune it and how it handles connections. I use it as DDoS protection and it works perfectly.
Is pfSense a WIFI router? ›
pfSense supports Wi-Fi standards up to 802.11na (2.4Ghz and 5Ghz), if you have an adapter that works well. Some 802.11n adapters are detected as 802.11g and won't work at full speed. In addition, some cards will work only as a client, while you want to use them as an access point.
What are the capabilities of pfSense? ›
VPN
- IPsec and OpenVPN.
- Site-to-site and remote access VPN support.
- SSL encryption.
- VPN client for multiple operating systems.
- L2TP/IPsec for mobile devices.
- Multi-WAN for failover.
- IPv6 support.
- Split tunneling.
Companies using pfSense for perimeter-security-and-firewalls are majorly from United States with 810 customers. 44.02% of pfSense customers are from the United States. Other top countries using pfSense are Brazil and France with 239(12.99%) and 149(8.10%) customers respectively.
