NethSecurity vs Smoothwall Express
NethSecurity
nethsecurity.orgSmoothwall Express
smoothwall.orgSide by side
| Figure | NethSecurity | Smoothwall Express |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | €12.50/mo | Free |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | Yes | — |
| Open source | Yes | — |
| Web | Yes | Yes |
| Linux | Yes | Yes |
| API | Yes | — |
| Self-hosted | Yes | Yes |
| Plans published | 5 | 1 |
| Spec score · Firewall Software | 8.9 (#8) | 7.9 (#40) |
| Architecture | The project is primarily designed for x86_64 systems. | The listed downloads support Intel i586 32-bit and AMD/Intel 64-bit processors. |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Purpose | NethSecurity is an OpenWrt-based unified threat management solution designed for small and medium-sized businesses. | Smoothwall Express is a free, open-source network firewall intended for home and small-business users. |
| Support | The subscription page states that professional support response time is one business day during Monday-to-Friday business hours in the Italian time zone, excluding Italian holidays. | The download page recommends a my.smoothwall profile for manuals and patch or update email notifications, and directs users to the community for help and feedback. |
Plans
NethSecurity
- CommunityFree
- PartnerFree
- Personal€150 a year
- Business€297 a year
- Partner +20 active subscriptionsPriced on request
In their own words
NethSecurity
NethSecurity is an OpenWrt-based unified threat management solution for small and medium-sized businesses. It combines firewall, multi-WAN, content filtering, deep packet inspection, intrusion prevention, and VPN capabilities, including IPsec, OpenVPN, and WireGuard. Multi-WAN can balance connections, while traffic shaping applies minimum and maximum bandwidth settings. Threat Shield blocks known malicious IP addresses using named blocklists and confidence scores. NethSecurity is an open-source project and is currently available only for x86-64 systems; minimum requirements are 1 vCPU/core, 1 GB RAM, 1 GB disk, and two Ethernet cards. Its optional Controller runs on NethServer 8 and manages multiple installations remotely. Without a subscription, it can register up to three community firewalls; with a valid subscription, there is no unit limit, but only subscribed firewalls can be registered. Nightly automatic cloud backup is subscription-only. A 30-day trial activates the Business plan, but commercial support cannot be requested during the trial. Professional support response time is one business day during specified Italian business hours, excluding Italian holidays.
Smoothwall Express
Smoothwall Express has no write-up on Specifiction yet; its figures are above.