Simplewall Vs Untangle – Which is the better firewall software

In the search for the most efficient yet affordable firewall software, Simplewall and Untangle often come up in close rank and rating, but which one is the best fit for your requirements?

Simplewall and Untangle stand out in the market because of their diversity and number of features, both firewall features and service applications. They both offer applications and features that go beyond basic firewalling and give the user a lot of rule customization power and increased efficiency for their network system. Their developers are keen on offering email and customer care support to ensure that the users get the most out of the software. However, they have a few differences, which are what make them suitable to different users, with the major one being that Simplewall is free while Untangle is paid.

What are the differences between Simplewall and Untangle?

Simplewall Vs Untangle- How do they compare?

Pricing

Simplewall is a free product, while Untangle is a paid one. This is one of the major differences between the two, because Simplewall offers the user a wider range of features and application than would be available on Untangle for free. Untangle does give a potential user the option of going for the 14 day free trial to try it out and see whether it is a good fit for them which is useful when making the buy decision. In conclusion, Simplewall ranks far above Untangle when comparing their price to functionality and applications.

This makes Simplewall preferable because it has just as many features as Untangle, but it is free.

Variety of features

Apart from offering security to their system networks, Users often require additional features and applications that increase the security of their network while increasing its efficiency. In this respect, Simplewall rates far above Untangle because it has a lot of additional features that Untangle does not have including Customizable signatures for system administrators to add an extra layer of security and rule-based allocation for bandwidth as it pertains to web traffic which is a useful monitoring tool as well as system control feature.

This makes the features and applications of Simplewall better than those of Untangle

Updates

Regular updates are a highly desired feature for software, especially security software. This is because hackers spend their time assessing and looking for bugs in security software, through which the protected system can be hacked and regular updates are instrumental in fixing these bugs and improving functionality based on customer feedback. Untangle has regular updates on the software and its documentation to meet these needs, while Simplewall has not been updated since 2016.

Therefore, Untangle is preferable to use because it is regularly updated to fix bugs and better serve the customers.

Simplewall Vs Untangle- A comparison review

Simplewall

Simplewall is a fairly new firewall software solution that has become popular because of its amazing range of features and applications, both security and additional, that come at no cost. The most significant Security feature would be Customizable signatures for system administrators that are put in place to prevent and detect intrusion attempts. It has bandwidth allocation on split conditions, both Fixed and percentage determined, which is based on modifiable customized rule sets, which is essential in making sure that bandwidth is distributed fairly or in the ratios that favour the level and areas of high performance that are preferred by the administrator. It also has rule-based content filtering that goes beyond the basic packet filters in most firewall software, to give the user additional room to block or allow web content into the system as desired. Simplewall supports site-to-site VPN as well as VPN client, which is hard to find in free firewall software. It has very basic and easy configuration protocols that make it simple to install and later navigate and use.

Pros

• It has a lot of features and applications
• It offers a very long leash for customization of rules and features
• It is easy to configure and use
• The developers offer email and customer care support

Cons

• The project seems to be inactive, it was last updated in 2016

Untangle

Untangle is a paid firewall that is very popular because of its ease of use coupled with its great and diverse features and applications. They offer different packages that are tailor made to suit different users, by packaging applications and features for home and different levels of businesses. This is useful as it eliminates the aspect of user’s paying for products that are not applicable to them or that they would not use, all to get that one application they require. They also offer a 14 day free trial period that has full access to all features and applications which is very good because it allows the user to familiarize themselves with the system’s functionalities as well as making it easy for them to point out the features that would work best for them.The firewall features that are available in Untangle allow the user to control the entire firewall from web catching to rule based content filtering while giving the system administrator to remotely access the network and even enforce policies. It has other additional applications that include security as service applications like virus blockers, policy makers, brand managers and WAN loading and failover.

Pros

• It offers a detailed pricing model to account for its features
• It is affordable
• It has a wide range of features
• It has a 14 day trial that allows a potential user to become familiar with the system

Cons

• It is a paid product

Conclusion

Simplewall and Untangle have great features and impressive efficiency in carrying out their firewalling and service tasks. The major differences between the two are that Simplewall is free while Untangle is paid and Untangle has regular system updates while Simplewall has not been updated since 2015.

Verdict- So which is better, Simplewall or Untangle?

The competition between Simplewall and Untangle is very steep because they both have great features and functionalities. However, Simplewall comes out on top because it has all this, and its licensing is free.

FAQs

Is Simplewall free?

Yes it is and can be downloaded from the official Simplewall website. However, a user has the option of paying for premium product support, which involves Skype calls to ask questions on functionalities, bug fixes and additional specific custom software configurations.

Is Untangle free?

No it is not. Untangle is a paid software product and it comes in various packages that are tailor suited to meet either home or business use. They offer a 14 day full trial that is designed to help the user decide which features and applications they would like to purchase. Information for this can be found on their official website.