Pfsense vs Edgerouter OS – Which is the better router software

Pfsense and edgerouter both give effective and understandable solutions to most router software needs, but which one should you get?

If you have been looking for an Operating system to manage and control your router system, then pfsense and Edgerouter have probably been on your radar. Both Operating Systems have the capacity to offer excellent hardware and software solutions to all routing problems. It is important to know that pfsense is purely a software, though it helps users build their own routers, therefore you would either have to buy your own routers first or be willing to build your own. With this in mind, we seek out to pit the two against each other and see which one works for you.

What are the differences between pfsense vs edgerouter?

Feature
Pfsense
Edgerouter (Winner)
Price
Free
Operating system
Free BSD
Edge OS / UNMS
Open VPN Server and client
Yes (Via Graphical User Interface)
Yes (Via Command line)
DNS and GelP filtering
Yes ( Via Pfblocker)
No
Loan Balancing WAN
Yes
Yes (Via command line)
WAN failover
Yes
Yes
Primary Functionality
Core router
Edge router
User Interface
Graphical User Interface
Both a Command Line Interface and an Edge OS Configuring Interface

Pfsense vs Edgerouter OS- How do they compare?

Pricing

Pfsense is free and open source while edge router is a paid for router solution. However, it would be important to note that for pfsense, the software works both when the user builds their own router from scratch and if configured to an already built router, both firmware devices which are not available for free. On the other hand, the edge router package comes with both the hardware and software components. Therefore, it would be suitable for a potential user to weigh both options depending on their individual objectives.

User Interface

Pfsense uses a Graphic User Interface which is visually appealing and relatively easy to use while Edgerouter uses a combination of a command line interface and an Edge OS Configuring interface. Commonly, a GUI is more visually appealing while a CLI has faster and more efficient implementation. In this case, Edgerouter goes the extra mile to add the visually appealing Edge OS Configuring interface on top of the CLI to make it visually appealing to the user, while still maintaining the effectiveness of the CLI.

Additional features

Being a specific router software, Edgerouter has limited additional features to pfsense. Pfsense is widely used primarily as a firewall then as a router building software and as a networking software, so it is fairly easy to gauge its wide array of additional firewall features such as supporting site to site IPsec VPN and client, as well as PPTP client. It also has intrusion detection and prevention in transparent mode, to mean it works in the background adding an added layer of network monitoring capabilities as well as added security.

Primary functionality

Pfsense functions as a core router while edgerouter is as its name suggests. The difference between the two is that a core router is essential in allowing devices in a given network to connect to others in an external network while a core router manages connections between devices in the same network. Some of the added features on pfsense can be used to give it some functionalities of an edgerouter while edgerouter OS is not limited to internal-external connections. It all depends on your individual specifications.

Pfsense vs edgerouter- A comparison review

Pfsense

Pfsense is an open source software that was first released around 2006 as a firewall as well as a routing software. It is unique in that it encourages and enables its users to build their own routers from scratch as well as set up and manage their own information network system. Being primarily used as a firewall, it has a load of additional security features as well as helper applications that can be downloaded with the software such as supporting site to site IPsec VPN and client.

One of the perks of using pfsense as a router software is that because you build and set up your own router, it allows for multiple configurations and specific routing. This feature enables you to route different specific networks across diverse subnets across the system. This is instrumental in monitoring and controlling the information that flows to each subnet which is useful for selective dissemination of information. It also has a custom host file. This file functions by controlling the whole host file block list which pushes out to all the devices connected on the network from one selected device accessible by a specific user, the administrator. This is an effective information security measure as well as a measure that saves on internet resources.

Pros

  • It is free and open source
  • It encourages and allows the user to build their own router from scratch
  • It has a lot of additional firewall features

Cons

  • It may be a bit confusing to navigate for an inexperienced user.

Edgerouter

The Edgerouter Operating System is a sophisticated and powerful Operating system that is designed to help the user manage their Edgerouter as well as the devices connected to that network. It does this by offering a Command Line interface for advanced configuration as well as a browser-based interface, which is referred to as the Edge Operating System Configuration Interface, for easy configuration. This gives the user the best of both worlds with the effectiveness of a CLI being combined with the visual appeal of a GUI.

Pros

  • It combines a CLI with a configuration software which combines the benefits of using a CLI and a GUI
  • The package comes with high quality router devices
  • The company offers excellentsupport. There is also a lot of documentation for using it is available online.

Cons

  • The software is paid for

Conclusion

Both Pfsense and edgerouter have amazing functionalities as router software. The niche that pfsense has would be that it encourages the user to build their router from scratch as well as its additional firewall features, while that of edgerouter is that they combined a CLI with their own configuration interface as well as coming with high quality router devices. The race is very close, so picking one out of these two is really a matter of personal requirements and preference.

Verdict – So which is betterPfsense orEdgerouter OS?

Both Operating software are great, with each shining in its own respect. However, for matters routing, I would definitely go for edgerouter OS.

FAQs

What is an Edge Router?

An edge router is a router that is specialized and located at the boundary of a given information network to enable certain devices from the internal network to connect to external networks. They are used primarily at two demarcation points which are the internet and the WAN (Wide Area Network)

How much is Edge router?

It all depends on the package that you choose to get, check the website.

Is Pfsense still free?

It is and can be downloaded from the internet on their official website.

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