AlmaLinux OS vs OPNsense
AlmaLinux OS
almalinux.org
OPNsense
opnsense.orgSide by side
| Figure | AlmaLinux OS | OPNsense |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | Free | Free |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | — | — |
| Open source | Yes | Yes |
| Web | — | Yes |
| Windows | Yes | — |
| Linux | Yes | — |
| iOS | — | Yes |
| Android | — | Yes |
| API | Yes | Yes |
| Self-hosted | Yes | Yes |
| Plans published | 1 | 6 |
| Spec score · Operating Systems | 9.0 (#1) | 9.0 (#3) |
| Founded | The Foundation says it was founded in March 2021 to own and manage AlmaLinux OS. | 2014 |
| Headquarters | LinkedIn lists headquarters in Fort Myers, Florida. | Middelharnis, the Netherlands |
| License | The distribution compilation is licensed under GPLv2, while included packages retain their individual upstream licenses; unique non-OS software may use GPLv3 and libraries may use MIT. | OPNsense is available under the Open Source Initiative approved 2-clause BSD license. |
| Rating on G2 | 4.5 out of 5 from 21 reviews | 4.8 out of 5 from 5 reviews. |
| Security updates | The Foundation publishes errata for security issues and bug fixes, with analysis of their significance. | OPNsense provides weekly security updates and follows a cycle of two major releases annually. |
| Support | Community support is available through forums, chat, and Reddit, while commercial support is offered by listed providers including Cybertrust Japan and TuxCare. | Commercial support offers network-design advice, issue solving, and custom development for an annual fee. |
| What it does | AlmaLinux OS is a community-governed enterprise Linux distribution designed for stable production workloads and binary compatibility with RHEL. | OPNsense is a FreeBSD-based open-source firewall and routing platform administered through a web interface. |
Plans
OPNsense
- Business EditionPrice not published
- Business Edition 3YrPrice not published
- Community EditionFree
- OPNsense Business Edition 1yr subscription€149 a year
- OPNsense Business Edition (3Yr)€399, paid once
- OPNsense Business Edition 3Yr€399 a year
In their own words
AlmaLinux OS
AlmaLinux OS is a free, open-source, community-owned enterprise Linux distribution designed for binary compatibility with RHEL. The project presents it as an option for users who need enterprise Linux without a commercial license agreement, including people seeking a CentOS Linux replacement. It can run on servers, workstations, virtual machines, cloud instances, containers, Raspberry Pi devices and Windows Subsystem for Linux environments. ISO downloads cover x86_64, aarch64, ppc64le and s390x architectures. The project also provides cloud images, OCI, Docker and UBI-compatible container images, Vagrant images, and live media with several desktop choices. A WSL image provides a terminal environment on Windows. The Foundation publishes security and bug-fix errata, and packages are GPG-signed and verified by default when installed. OpenSCAP, SCAP Workbench, OVAL streams and CIS tooling are available for auditing or hardening systems. Community support is available through forums, chat and Reddit; commercial support is offered separately by listed providers. The project plans stable updates and security patches for 8.x until 2029 and 9.x until 2032.
OPNsense
OPNsense is an open-source firewall and routing platform based on FreeBSD, available for self-hosted, web, and API use. Its stateful firewall supports IPv4 and IPv6 and provides live views of passed and blocked traffic. VPN integrations include IPsec, OpenVPN, Tinc, and WireGuard. CARP supports automatic hardware failover with state synchronization, and inline intrusion prevention uses Suricata with Proofpoint Emerging Threats Open rules. The modular Model View Controller framework supports extensions and API functionality. Authentication options include LDAP, Active Directory, RADIUS, captive portal authentication, and 802.1X through a plugin. Community Edition is free at free under the 2-clause BSD license, and installation is limited to x86-64 architecture. Official setup guides cover AWS images, OVA images, and an Azure Virtual Appliance. Business subscriptions add commercial features and support; listed prices are €149 a year or €399 a year for three years. The project began in 2014 as a fork of pfSense and m0n0wall, with its first official release in January 2015.