Overview

NethSecurity is an OpenWrt-based unified threat management product for small and medium-sized businesses. It suits administrators who want firewalling, VPN and traffic controls in a self-managed deployment. Its broad network toolkit is a strong fit for that job, but the x86-64 hardware requirement and subscription gates on central management and backups narrow its appeal.

Key features

NethSecurity brings firewall, multi-WAN, content filtering, deep packet inspection, intrusion prevention and VPN into one system. Multi-WAN can balance traffic across connections, while traffic shaping sets minimum and maximum bandwidth to prioritize traffic. Those controls make it useful where a business needs to manage both security and competing demands on its network, rather than just filter traffic at the perimeter.

VPN support includes IPsec, OpenVPN and WireGuard, including site-to-site VPN. Threat Shield blocks attacks from known malicious IP addresses using named blocklists and confidence scores. Netify Informatics can use DPI metadata to provide network intelligence and visibility, but it is a third-party cloud service—not a local capability of the firewall alone.

The optional NethSecurity Controller runs on NethServer 8 and remotely manages multiple installations. Without a subscription, it can register up to three community firewalls. A valid subscription removes the unit cap, but only subscribed firewalls can be registered. Nightly automatic cloud backups also require a subscription, so teams that need a central view across a larger fleet or managed backups should factor recurring subscription costs into their decision.

Pricing

NethSecurity uses a freemium model, with a free plan and a 30-day trial. The Community plan has no published price, allows three units without a subscription and covers approximately 400 detected DPI applications. It is the natural starting point for a small deployment, but the three-firewall Controller limit and narrower application detection make it less suited to larger or DPI-intensive networks.

Personal and Business cover approximately 2,000 detected DPI applications. Business also includes two support tickets per year, making it a better fit for organizations that want a defined route to professional help. The Partner plan is intended for more than 20 active subscriptions and offers unlimited units; the Partner +20 active subscriptions option is billed as a yearly partnership fee, includes unlimited support tickets and requires contacting sales. These plans have no published prices, so buyers should compare custom pricing with their support and fleet needs before committing.

The 30-day trial activates the Business plan, but excludes services with additional fees and does not allow commercial support requests. Subscription support response time is one business day during Monday-to-Friday business hours in the Italian time zone, excluding Italian holidays. That is a useful target for business-hours support, not round-the-clock coverage.

Platforms

NethSecurity is listed for Linux, self-hosted and web environments, with a hybrid deployment model. In practice, its hardware requirement is more specific: it currently runs only on x86-64, with at least 1 vCPU/core, 1 GB RAM, 1 GB disk and two Ethernet cards. That modest minimum may suit small deployments, but the architecture restriction rules out other hardware platforms.

Who it's for

NethSecurity is best for small and medium-sized businesses with administrators who can manage a self-hosted network appliance and want several security and traffic functions in one product. It is especially relevant to teams that need multiple VPN protocols, connection balancing or traffic prioritization. Organizations that need remote management across more than three firewalls or nightly cloud backups should plan for a subscription; those that need non-x86-64 hardware or support during the trial should look elsewhere.

Pros and cons

Pros: Firewall, intrusion prevention, content filtering, DPI, VPN and traffic management are combined in one product, reducing the need to assemble those controls separately.
Pros: IPsec, OpenVPN and WireGuard support gives administrators several options for remote and site-to-site VPNs.
Pros: The Community plan permits three units without a subscription, providing a way to start with a small Controller-managed deployment.
Cons: Controller registration above three firewalls and automatic cloud backup require a subscription, limiting the free option for larger deployments.
Cons: The x86-64-only requirement and two-Ethernet-card minimum constrain hardware choice.
Cons: Commercial support is unavailable during the trial, and the subscription support commitment applies only during Italian business hours on weekdays.

Alternatives

Network Firewall Software is a useful category starting point for comparing products in this space.

Choose pfSense if an open-source firewall and router software package with a free Community Edition is a better match; its Plus plan has no published price.

Sangfor EasyConnect is a paid alternative for readers seeking a product listed across mobile, desktop and web platforms.

WatchGuard FireCloud may suit buyers who prefer per-user annual licensing: its Internet Access plan is 97.75 USD per year for 1–50 licenses.

Zscaler Private Access is another paid option for readers looking for private-access plans, including a Standard tier limited to 5% of users.

Cato SASE Platform is worth considering if a sales-led, tailored pricing discussion is preferable.

Arista NG Firewall offers a free tier with basic security and connectivity capabilities, though its free plan is described as limited.

Endian Firewall Community may suit readers who want a free open-source Linux firewall and can do without professional support.

IPFire is a free, open-source firewall operating system for readers who prefer an option without feature tiers or licence renewals.

Verdict

Choose NethSecurity if you run a small or medium-sized business, have x86-64 hardware and want firewall, VPN, intrusion-prevention and traffic controls together in a self-managed product. Its strongest case is breadth: one deployment covers security and traffic management, with an optional Controller for multiple installations. Look elsewhere if your hardware is not x86-64, or if you need fleet management and cloud backups without a subscription.

	NethSecurity	Zyxel SD-WAN
Free plan	Yes
Free trial	Yes
Platforms	Linux, self-hosted, Web	Web
Free plan	Yes	No
Deployment model	hybrid	appliance
Intrusion prevention	Yes	Yes
Site-to-site VPN	Yes	Yes
SSL inspection		Yes

NethSecurity vs Zyxel SD-WAN

NethSecurity

Zyxel SD-WAN