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Should I use Zenarmor?

2026 SASE Product of the Year — next-gen firewall security for OPNsense and beyond - zenarmor.com

Depends. Buy it if you already run OPNsense and want app-layer filtering; the free tier is genuinely good. Skip it if you don't run OPNsense, or if you expect enterprise support and a clear return on the paid Home tier.

Confidence

Medium. Based on 20+ public sources; thin on verified pricing numbers and G2 review volume.

Ratings

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

Pricing

$0

Free

ModelNot disclosed
Monthly feesNot disclosed
HardwareNot disclosed
Free tierYes
HomeSubscription; price not listed in reviewed sources

Best for

  • Existing OPNsense users
  • Homelabbers on the free tier
  • Small orgs replacing pricey commercial NGFWs
  • Schools and libraries (E-Rate context)

Not for

  • Anyone not running OPNsense
  • Large enterprises needing a full SASE suite with SLAs
  • Homelabbers unwilling to pay for Home edition
  • Teams that need guaranteed vendor support

Gotchas - check before you buy

high

Home subscription pricing repeatedly questioned by homelab users as not worth it

medium

Free edition lacks features Home has; check the comparison before relying on it

medium

Paid Home plan still has policy count limits users call 'ridiculous'

medium

Home users have publicly canceled subscriptions citing value and commitment concerns

Pros and cons

Pros

  • Adds app-layer filtering and reporting to a free OPNsense firewall
  • Free tier called 'almost perfect' by users
  • Called a viable alternative to commercial NGFWs like Untangle
  • Won 2026 SASE Product of the Year award
  • Runs on existing OPNsense hardware, no new appliance needed

Cons

  • Home edition widely called expensive for homelab use
  • Too few G2 reviews to validate at scale
  • Public 'Deep Disappointment' thread about vendor commitment
  • Stability complaints in some user threads
  • Tied to OPNsense ecosystem; little value elsewhere

Sources & method

Analyzed 9/26/2026 - 10 sources - No breach reports found; one MongoDB-related CVE thread involving Zenarmor on the OPNsense forum.

official x2review x5security x1news x2
  • CVE-2025-14847 (MongoDB) discussed in OPNsense forum, Dec 2025 forum thread ties this MongoDB vulnerability discussion to Zenarmor deployments; treat as a patch-verification item.

Key stats

  • Value for money: 3/5

    Rating

  • $0

    Starting price

  • 10

    Sources

  • Analyzed

  • Value for money: 3/5. Free tier strong; Home pricing publicly criticized
  • Ease of use: 3/5. Simple plugin install; tuning complexity reported
  • Feature depth: 4/5. NGFW-grade app control inside OPNsense
  • Support quality: 2/5. Public forum complaints about vendor commitment
  • Security posture: 3/5. One CVE discussed; no breach reports found
  • Yes Free tier Free edition installs as an OPNsense plugin
  • $639.5K Crunchbase funding Sunny Valley Networks, per Crunchbase
  • 2026 SASE Product of the Year Award TMC / Cloud Computing Magazine
  • Sparse G2 reviews G2 lists 'not enough reviews' for a rating

Pricing

Free

$0

  • Installs as OPNsense plugin
  • Core app-layer filtering
  • Fewer features and reports than Home

Home

Subscription; price not listed in reviewed sources

  • Advanced policies and reporting
  • Policy count limits still apply
  • Per-year subscription model

Security

No breach reports found; one MongoDB-related CVE thread involving Zenarmor on the OPNsense forum.

  • CVE-2025-14847 (MongoDB) discussed in OPNsense forumDec 2025 forum thread ties this MongoDB vulnerability discussion to Zenarmor deployments; treat as a patch-verification item.⁷

Companies that use it

  • 5th Mountain
  • Nebulex
Full analysis

Based on 20+ public sources; thin on verified pricing numbers and G2 review volume.

Strong free app-layer add-on for OPNsense; paid Home tier feels overpriced for homelabs. Useless without OPNsense.

Methodology

Based on 20+ public sources; thin on verified pricing numbers and G2 review volume.

Sources

  1. Zenarmor Free vs Home Editionszenarmor.com
    official
  2. The OPNsense Plugin You Must Install in 2025virtualizationhowto.com
    review
  3. OPNsense vendor docs: Zenarmor (Sensei)docs.opnsense.org
    official
  4. Zenarmor Home is expensive for a homelab (Reddit)reddit.com
    review
  5. Pricing: Am I missing something? (Reddit)reddit.com
    review
  6. Deep Disappointment with Zenarmor's Commitment (OPNsense forum)forum.opnsense.org
    review
  7. CVE-2025-14847 Mongo Database thread (OPNsense forum)forum.opnsense.org
    security
  8. Zenarmor wins 2026 SASE Product of the Yearfinance.yahoo.com
    news
  9. Crunchbase: Sunny Valley Networkscrunchbase.com
    news
  10. G2 reviews: Zenarmorg2.com
    review

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