Azure Firewall Premium vs pfSense
Azure Firewall Premium
azure.microsoft.compfSense
pfsense.orgSide by side
| Figure | Azure Firewall Premium | pfSense |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | — | Free |
| Free plan | — | Yes |
| Free trial | — | Yes |
| Open source | — | — |
| Web | Yes | Yes |
| Linux | — | Yes |
| API | Yes | — |
| Self-hosted | — | Yes |
| Plans published | 7 | 5 |
| Spec score · Network Firewall Software | 7.4 (#16) | 8.0 (#11) |
| Spec score · Intrusion Detection and Prevention Software | 7.4 (#20) | 8.1 (#9) |
| Deployment | Azure Firewall can be set up in the Azure portal or with PowerShell, REST API, or templates. | The software can run on selected hardware, virtual machines, and cloud instances; the project says it is the software portion of the firewall. |
| Free plan | No | Yes |
| Integrations | Azure Firewall integrates with Azure Monitor, and its logs can be sent to Log Analytics, Azure Storage, or Event Hubs. | The feature page names Azure and name.com as dynamic DNS providers, and RADIUS/LDAP as VPN authentication sources. |
| Intended users | Microsoft describes Premium as suitable for highly sensitive and regulated environments, including payment and healthcare industries. | Netgate identifies home and remote workers, businesses, government, education, and service providers as users of pfSense Plus. |
Plans
Azure Firewall Premium
- Premium deploymentPriced on request
- Premium deploymentPrice not published
- Premium data processingPriced on request
- Premium data processingPrice not published
- Premium capacity unitPrice not published
- Premium capacity unitPriced on request
- Azure Firewall PremiumPrice not published
pfSense
- pfSense Plus SoftwarePrice not published
- pfSense Community EditionFree
- pfSense Plus CloudPriced on request
- pfSense Plus on third-party hardware$129 a year
- pfSense Plus on Netgate appliances$189, paid once
In their own words
Azure Firewall Premium
Azure Firewall Premium has no write-up on Specifiction yet; its figures are above.
pfSense
pfSense is a free, open-source firewall and router distribution based on FreeBSD, managed through a web interface. Its firewall uses stateful packet inspection and can block traffic based on policy matches. Routing features include policy-based routing, static routes, and concurrent IPv4 and IPv6 support. Security options include IDS/IPS, Snort packet analysis, Suricata rules, IP block lists, and application detection. It supports IPsec, OpenVPN, and WireGuard for site-to-site and remote-access VPNs. The software can run on selected hardware, virtual machines, and cloud instances, and is available in the Azure and AWS Marketplaces, including their US GovCloud regions. The Community Edition is free and open source. pfSense Plus on third-party hardware starts at $129 a year; on Netgate appliances it starts at $189, paid once, with the software included at no charge with an appliance. The USB installer overwrites the entire hard drive and does not support dual booting.