pfSense CE
Mature FreeBSD-based open-source firewall and router with stateful packet filtering, VPN capabilities, and an extensive community.
About pfSense CE
pfSense is one of the most widely deployed open-source firewall and router platforms. It provides stateful packet filtering, NAT, VPN (IPsec, OpenVPN, WireGuard), captive portal, traffic shaping, DNS/DHCP services, and multi-WAN load balancing through a comprehensive web interface.
The Community Edition (CE) is licensed under Apache 2.0 and is free for all use. pfSense Plus adds enterprise features including a boot environment manager, IPsec enhancements, and Netgate hardware support. pfSense served as the foundation from which OPNsense forked in 2015, and both remain active, widely-used projects.
Key Features
- Stateful packet filtering, NAT, multi-WAN load balancing, and failover
- VPN support: IPsec, OpenVPN, WireGuard, L2TP, and IKEv2
- Captive portal, DNS/DHCP services, and traffic shaping
- Extensive documentation and active community support
Self-Hosting Notes
FreeBSD-based OS. Community Edition (CE) is Apache 2.0 licensed. pfSense Plus is proprietary with additional features. Install via ISO on bare metal or VM. Extensive documentation and community forums. OPNsense forked from pfSense in 2015.
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