OPNsense vs SELKS
OPNsense
opnsense.org
SELKS
stamus-networks.comSide by side
| Figure | OPNsense | SELKS |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | Free | Free |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | — | — |
| Open source | Yes | Yes |
| Web | Yes | Yes |
| Windows | — | Yes |
| Linux | — | Yes |
| iOS | Yes | — |
| Android | Yes | — |
| API | Yes | — |
| Self-hosted | Yes | Yes |
| Plans published | 6 | 1 |
| Spec score · Intrusion Detection and Prevention Software | 9.1 (#2) | 8.3 (#7) |
| Documentation depth | Official documentation covers feature guides, API reference, architecture, security, releases, hardware, installation, virtualization, and troubleshooting. | The project wiki includes user setup, Docker and ISO installation, developer build/customization material, tutorials, Splunk documentation and older-version guides. |
| Founded | 2014 | 2014 |
| Licence | OPNsense code is released under the OSI-approved BSD 2-Clause Simplified licence, allowing modification and redistribution subject to its conditions. | SELKS is released under the GNU GPL version 3 license. |
| License | OPNsense is available under the Open Source Initiative approved 2-clause BSD license. | SELKS is free and open source under the GPL 3.0-or-later license. |
| Rating on G2 | 4.8 out of 5 from 5 reviews. | The surfaced G2 listing was for related Suricata Turnkey GUI, rated 4.0 out of 5 from 2 reviews; it was not a SELKS product profile. |
| Security updates | OPNsense provides weekly security updates and follows a cycle of two major releases annually. | Stamus Networks says it may evaluate community bug-fix requests or pull requests individually, but has no planned SELKS releases after January 1, 2025. |
| Support | Commercial support offers network-design advice, issue solving, and custom development for an annual fee. | The maker directs users to GitHub for documentation, issues, and the wiki, and to Discord for questions and help. |
| What it does | OPNsense is a FreeBSD-based open-source firewall and routing platform administered through a web interface. | SELKS combines Suricata intrusion detection/prevention, network-security monitoring and threat hunting in a turnkey Debian-based distribution. |
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
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.
SELKS
SELKS is a free, open-source software package for network intrusion detection and prevention, network security monitoring, and threat hunting, built around Suricata. Its web interface manages Suricata rulesets, threat intelligence sources, custom rules, and IoC data files. Predefined filters and contextual views support threat hunting; thresholding and suppression can help reduce noisy alerts. SELKS 10 includes Suricata, Elasticsearch, Logstash, Kibana, Stamus Community Edition, and functionality from Arkime, Evebox, and CyberChef. It can capture packets tied to detection events and export session PCAP files for investigation or playback in SELKS or other tools. Deployment options include Docker Compose for Linux and Debian-based ISO images, with or without a desktop, on bare metal or a virtual machine. SELKS is licensed under GPL 3.0-or-later. Stamus Networks says it stopped actively enhancing the legacy product on January 1, 2025, and has no future releases planned. The maker says SELKS was not designed for enterprise deployment.