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OPNsense Review

Depends

Should I use OPNsense?

Free, open-source FreeBSD firewall/router with commercial-grade features, backed by Deciso B.V. - opnsense.org

· 1 month ago

Buy it if you have networking skills and want enterprise firewall features without license fees. Skip it if you want plug-and-play, or can't commit to dedicated hardware and prompt patching.

Confidence

Medium. Based on 30+ public sources: reviews, forums, official docs, pricing pages, and CVE databases. Some review snippets truncated.

Ratings

  • Value for money
  • Ease of use
  • Feature depth
  • Support quality
  • Security posture

Pricing

Free

Community Edition

ModelNot disclosed
Monthly feesNot disclosed
HardwareNot disclosed
Free tierYes
Business Edition (3Yr)€447

Best for

  • Homelab builders
  • SMBs wanting enterprise firewall features free
  • pfSense defectors
  • VPN/VLAN/IDS-heavy networks

Not for

  • Anyone wanting plug-and-play Wi-Fi
  • Offices with no IT admin
  • Teams that skip security updates
  • Buyers needing vendor SLA without paying

Gotchas - check before you buy

high

Internet-facing firewall must be patched fast; pre-26.1.8 had authenticated RCE

medium

Free edition means community support only; SLAs require paid Business Edition

medium

Security scanners may report unrelated CVEs for months

medium

Migration is manual; users blog about leaving over configuration complexity

Pros and cons

Pros

  • Free community edition includes commercial-grade firewall, VPN, and IDS/IPS
  • Users report stable, reliable long-term operation
  • Sleek web UI; switchers from pfSense report happy upgrades
  • Update quality has 'improved dramatically' per long-time reviewers
  • Users praise affordable pricing versus commercial firewalls

Cons

  • One former user calls it 'a complicated mess of a system'
  • Two authenticated RCE vulnerabilities disclosed in 2026
  • Scanners flagged lingering CVEs for months after updates
  • Requires dedicated hardware, setup skill, and constant updates
  • Business Edition support costs €447 per three years

Sources & method

- 12 sources - Actively patched open-source firewall; two authenticated RCE CVEs disclosed and fixed in 2026 releases.

official x3review x6security x3
  • CVE-2026-44194, Authenticated remote code execution, versions prior to 26.1.8
  • CVE-2026-44193, Remote code execution via XMLRPC
  • GHSA-f59w-m967-9rf6, Authenticated RCE in user management, disclosed via GitHub advisory

Key stats

  • Value for money: 5/5

    Rating

  • Free

    Starting price

  • 12

    Sources

  • Analyzed

  • Value for money: 5/5. Free core; paid tier cheap vs commercial firewalls
  • Ease of use: 3/5. Slick UI praised, but steep for beginners
  • Feature depth: 5/5. VPN, IDS/IPS, routing rival commercial firewalls
  • Support quality: 3/5. Community forums; real support needs paid edition
  • Security posture: 2/5. Two 2026 authenticated RCE CVEs; patch fast
  • Free Starting price Community edition, full core features
  • €447 Business Edition 3-year license
  • 2 2026 RCE CVEs Authenticated RCEs, fixed in 26.1.x
  • Deciso B.V. Backed by Founded the OPNsense project

Pricing

Community Edition

Free

  • Full firewall, VPN, IDS/IPS
  • Community support

Business Edition (3Yr)

€447

  • Professional support from Deciso
  • Business repository updates

Security

Actively patched open-source firewall; two authenticated RCE CVEs disclosed and fixed in 2026 releases.

  • CVE-2026-44194Authenticated remote code execution, versions prior to 26.1.8⁷
  • CVE-2026-44193Remote code execution via XMLRPC⁸
  • GHSA-f59w-m967-9rf6Authenticated RCE in user management, disclosed via GitHub advisory⁹

What users say

Long-term users praise stability and value, while some defectors find it overly complex to configure and maintain.

“OPNSense is a complicated mess of a system”
Blog, ramble.moe
“Things have improved dramatically. You no longer have to worry about upd…”
Lawrence Systems forum
“OPNsense is stable in my experience and has been reliab…”
AWS Marketplace review
Full analysis

Based on 30+ public sources: reviews, forums, official docs, pricing pages, and CVE databases. Some review snippets truncated.

Free commercial-grade firewall: powerful and cheap, but needs tech skill, dedicated hardware and prompt patching.

Methodology

Based on 30+ public sources: reviews, forums, official docs, pricing pages, and CVE databases. Some review snippets truncated.

Read how a report is made.

Sources

  1. OPNsense official siteopnsense.org
    official
  2. OPNsense Shop — Software & Licensesshop.opnsense.com
    official
  3. I switched from pfSense to OPNsense (XDA)xda-developers.com
    review
  4. Moving Away From OPNsense (ramble.moe)ramble.moe
    review
  5. Long-Term Experiences for OPNsense (Reddit)reddit.com
    review
  6. OPNsense AWS Marketplace reviewsaws.amazon.com
    review
  7. CVE-2026-44194 — NVDnvd.nist.gov
    security
  8. CVE-2026-44193 — SentinelOnesentinelone.com
    security
  9. RCE advisory — GitHubgithub.com
    security
  10. OPNSense real world feedback — Lawrence Systemsforums.lawrencesystems.com
    review
  11. OPNsense Support Options (official docs)docs.opnsense.org
    official
  12. OPNsense reviews — PeerSpotpeerspot.com
    review

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