Juniper SRX Series Firewall vs OPNsense comparison

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Fortinet Logo
120,425 views|88,209 comparisons
90% willing to recommend
Juniper Logo
14,215 views|8,554 comparisons
85% willing to recommend
OPNsense Logo
105,864 views|93,109 comparisons
96% willing to recommend
Comparison Buyer's Guide
Executive Summary
Updated on Jul 11, 2023

We performed a comparison between Juniper SRX Series Firewall and OPNsense based on our users’ reviews in five categories. After reading all of the collected data, you can find our conclusion below.

Features: Juniper SRX Series Firewall is highly regarded for its user-friendly interface, ease of use, and exceptional support. It boasts advantageous features such as site-to-site VPN functionality and a robust command line. OPNsense is appreciated for its scalability and remarkable features such as guest access capabilities and dashboards. Additionally, the availability of a free version is highly valued. OPNsense also offers features such as IDS and IPS, effortless configuration, and compatibility with pfSense.

Juniper SRX Series Firewall would benefit from enhancements in capacity limitations, reporting and alerts, user interface, device reliability, documentation, and feature enhancements. OPNsense needs improvements in the interface, bandwidth management, high availability, logging, integration, updates, IPS solution, hardware updates, installation, reporting, SSL inspection, and learning curve.

Service and Support: The customer service for Juniper SRX Series Firewall is highly regarded for its knowledgeable and supportive technical assistance. However, there have been occasional delays in response times. OPNsense's customer service has garnered both positive and negative feedback, with some users describing it as exceptional while others believe there is room for improvement.

Ease of Deployment: The setup process for Juniper SRX Series Firewall can be challenging and time-consuming, depending on the environment and integration needs. OPNsense provides a simple and quick setup that can be accomplished within a few hours, even by individuals without IT expertise.

Pricing: Juniper SRX Series Firewall has a relatively simple setup process, although configuring security settings may require additional time. OPNsense is a cost-effective open-source solution that does not necessitate licensing fees. However, there are associated expenses related to equipment, installation, resources, personnel, and training.

ROI: Juniper SRX Series Firewall provides reliability, consistent operation, and advanced security capabilities, leading to a favorable return on investment. OPNsense delivers a return on investment within a short timeframe of under three months and eliminates the need for ongoing payments.

Comparison Results: Juniper SRX Series Firewall is the preferred product in comparison to OPNsense. It offers a simple and fast setup process, a user-friendly interface, great support, and a wide range of useful features. Users appreciate its stability, scalability, and competitive pricing.

To learn more, read our detailed Juniper SRX Series Firewall vs. OPNsense Report (Updated: May 2024).
770,616 professionals have used our research since 2012.
Featured Review
Quotes From Members
We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use.
Here are some excerpts of what they said:
Pros
"Its stability is the most valuable.""Anti-Spam web content filterinG.""The customization potential is quite impressive.""Provides good firewall security and has great VPN features.""It is quite easy to handle.""LinkGreat firewall capabilities""Fortinet FortiGate is scalable for our users. Right now, we have almost 70 users. We do not have any plan to increase our usage of FortiGate. For maintaining the firewall solution, one staff member is enough.""Fortigate represents a really scalable way of delivering perimeter network security, some level of layer 7 security, WAF, and also a way to create a meshed ADVPN solution."

More Fortinet FortiGate Pros →

"Troubleshooting with the solution is quite easy. If you compare the process to, for example, Fortigate, Juniper is much easier.""The command line in Juniper SRX is extremely powerful, in my opinion. It's one of the best command lines I've used in networking products.""The user interface is good.""Juniper SRX Series Firewall is a stable solution.""If we need to define our user system from an anti-spam perspective, we can constantly update the antivirus.""Juniper is a highly flexible platform, and you get more bang for your buck compared to a Cisco product.""From a protection perspective, it provides a network perimeter security function for our company.""I've found the security features, such as IDS and the VPN most valuable."

More Juniper SRX Series Firewall Pros →

"The interface and the dashboard are the most valuable features of this solution.""We have been operating here in our lab for several months, and everything appears to be extremely stable.""What I like best about OPNsense is that, as a firewall, it's pretty good. I'm quite impressed with it. I had an excellent experience with OPNsense, which helped me achieve the targets I wanted.""OPNsense could improve by making the configuration more web-based rather than shell or command-line-based.""The initial implementation process is simple.""The VPN server feature is the most valuable. It is integrated with Radius and AAA for doing accounting and authentication. Insight view is also an important feature for me at this time. It allows me to assess our network traffic. I also like the firewall feature. The BSD kernel has a packet filter. It is one of the most solid frameworks for firewalls. Its user interface is one of the best interfaces I have used.""We can open a new VPN connection easily. It's much easier than with Fortinet in our experience.""The most valuable features of OPNsense are the GUI and frequent updates."

More OPNsense Pros →

Cons
"Web security solutions can be improved.""Monitoring and reporting could be better.""Fortinet already improved FortiGate, but in the current market, many brands of security devices have improved together. Fortinet still needs to catch up with market standards. Fortinet is lacking in features in comparison to competitors.""Technical support needs to be improved.""The stability could be a bit better.""The support we receive when we need to upgrade is not satisfactory and has room for improvement.""I think that the infrastructure for the VPN could be improved. The way that it is bundled also made it difficult to use and sell as it is too expensive.""The solution is very expensive."

More Fortinet FortiGate Cons →

"The visibility/reporting could be better. To see something, you have to export the log to a syslog and then process with another product.""it would be more powerful if Juniper brought out a security product other than the firewall, like anti-spam, endpoint protection, etc. Customers who want to deploy security solutions are not just thinking about firewalls... Juniper should have an end-to-end solution, from the endpoint to the network level.""Juniper SRX is stable, but it could improve. FortiGate has better stability than Juniper SRX.""In the next release, I would like to have a better web interface. It needs to be more user-friendly. Right now, you can only access many features through the console.""There are a lot of features that customers do not know about and I think that better documentation would help when it comes to learning how to use the product.""Juniper needs to focus more on their perimeter firewalls.""It could have features that other products support like blade options and stand-alone endpoint security.""J-Web, Juniper Web, is sometimes not working great when users are increasing their internet use. Additionally, they need to improve the GUI, graphical user interface, and the firewall management needs to improve. Their CLI is good, but sometimes the GUI is very slow."

More Juniper SRX Series Firewall Cons →

"While they do have paid options that actually gives better features, for most of the clients, if they tend to take a paid option will instead opt for Fortinet.""The IPS solution could be more reliable.""Given that OPNsense plays a pivotal role as a firewall, safeguarding against various threats, having a reliable backup ensures uninterrupted protection even if unforeseen events impact the primary virtual machine.""OPNsense showed me some problems when using it in different environments. The problem is integration with a virtual server.""The solution could be more secure.""The interface isn't so friendly user. But we have some technicians here who are quite confident with this tool. OPNSense could maybe add sets of rules so it's simpler to manage different groups with particular needs.""OPNsense could improve by making the configuration more web-based rather than shell or command-line-based.""There should be more technical documentation."

More OPNsense Cons →

Pricing and Cost Advice
  • "Fortinet has one or two license types, and the VPN numbers are only limited by the hardware chassis make."
  • "These boxes are not that expensive compared to what they can do, their functionality, and the reporting you receive. Fortinet licensing is straightforward and less confusing compared to Cisco."
  • "Go for long term pricing negotiated at the time of purchase."
  • "Work through partners for the best pricing."
  • "The value is the capability of having multiple services with one unique license, not having the limitation per user licensing schema, like other vendors."
  • "Easy to understand licensing requirements."
  • "​We saved a bundle by not needing all the past appliances from an NGFW.​"
  • "The cost is too high... They have to focus on more features with less cost for the customer. If you see the market, where it's going, there are a lot of players offering more features for less cost."
  • More Fortinet FortiGate Pricing and Cost Advice →

  • "The prices are very good as compared to other vendors."
  • "Pricing is very good, not expensive."
  • "I would say about $20,000 for a SRX650 with IDP licence."
  • "Small enterprises or telco have variant licenses, and this licensing should be improved."
  • "We were able to lower our overall operating costs over a three year period by 25%, mostly recovered from maintenance/support costs."
  • "Pricing is good. Most of the costs are in the UTM (IDS/IPS, virus scanning, etc) subscription."
  • "Palo Alto was nice, but much more expensive."
  • "It is not that expensive."
  • More Juniper SRX Series Firewall Pricing and Cost Advice →

  • "We are not paying any licensing fees. OPNsense is completely free for us."
  • "It costs about $1000."
  • "There are no licensing costs for OPNsence."
  • "OPNsense is open source software so at this time it is free for us to use."
  • "OPNsense is a well known open-source tool."
  • "It is not an expensive product. Basically, I deployed it because it was the fastest solution to satisfy our needs in open source."
  • "OPNsense is an open-source solution and it is free to use."
  • "The solution is not expensive."
  • More OPNsense Pricing and Cost Advice →

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    Questions from the Community
    Top Answer: When you compare these firewalls you can identify them with different features, advantages, practices and usage at… more »
    Top Answer:From my experience regarding both the Sophos and FortiGate firewalls, I personally would rather use FortiGate. I know… more »
    Top Answer:As a solution, Sophos UTM offers a lot of functionality, it scales well, and the stability and performance are quite… more »
    Top Answer:Juniper SRX Series Firewall is a stable solution.
    Top Answer:In my opinion, the Juniper SRX Series Firewall is cheaper than other products. We have a five-year license for the… more »
    Top Answer:Currently, we are using the solution as a data center firewall, but we previously used Juniper on all my segments. Since… more »
    Top Answer:Two of the most common and well recognized firewalls, PfSense and OPNsense both support site-to-site IPsec VPN and… more »
    Top Answer:What I like the most about OPNsense is that it offers an easy-to-use dashboard for device management and control.
    Comparisons
    Also Known As
    FortiGate 60b, FortiGate 60c, FortiGate 80c, FortiGate 50b, FortiGate 200b, FortiGate 110c, FortiGate
    Juniper SRX
    Learn More
    OPNsense
    Video Not Available
    Overview

    Fortinet FortiGate enhances network security, prevents unauthorized access, and offers robust firewall protection. Valued features include advanced threat protection, reliable performance, and a user-friendly interface. It improves efficiency, streamlines processes, and boosts collaboration, providing valuable insights for informed decision-making and growth.

    Juniper SRX is a next-generation security solution that enables users to expand and secure their networks without incurring heavy costs or sacrificing performance.

    Benefits of Juniper SRX

    Some of the benefits of using Juniper SRX include:

    • Easily manage and view every aspect of your system’s security. Juniper SRX enables users to manage their security from a centralized location. The central control center can control and view every Juniper connected device in a user’s network. Once a device meets the desired security requirements, an administrator can configure the device’s policy to match the other machines in their network. This both simplifies the way that the network operations run and decreases the number of resources that are needed to ensure that operations run smoothly.
    • Secure your system with a flexible and comprehensive security suite. Juniper SRX’s firewalls are flexible enough that they always match the type of applications that they are supposed to be protecting. Its security features uniformly protect your applications. This is true regardless of how your application is deployed. It can integrate with everything from cloud-based applications to those stored on physical servers in a data center. This makes it easy for administrators to maintain consistency across their systems.
    • Protect yourself from advanced threats. Juniper SRX is equipped with powerful security automation features. They can detect a wide range of known and unknown threats as soon as they appear. Once malware is detected, Juniper SRX begins to analyze it and determines what response fits the situation. Additionally, the threats are prioritized according to their severity. Administrators are then given a selection of response options from which they can choose. This enables users to prevent the spread of these threats.
    • Increase your ability to scale your security. Juniper SRX makes it easy for users to scale up their security to meet their specific needs. Its service processing cards (SPC) are designed to enable a user to meet all of their needs. Administrators do not need to buy specific hardware every time that they need to get something done. Their SPCs can be quickly and easily customized. The addition of SPCs enables users to scale up according to the particular project that they are working on at that time.
    • Reduce the number of resources that you need to expend. Juniper SRX enables users to add expansion modules to their network without expanding the cost to run their network. They accommodate growth without adding to the overall cost. Administrators will not need to spend money on more space, cooling power, or maintenance. Additionally, they will not have to dedicate more time to maintaining the network. Your network may grow, but the cost of running your system will not.

    Reviews from Real Users

    Juniper SRX stands out among their competitors for a number of reasons. Two major ones are their central management capabilities and the robustness of their suite of security features. Juniper SRX is designed to make it easy for users to take control of their network’s security. From one location, administrators can manage all aspects of their infrastructure’s security. The many features that it offers allows users to tailor their security to meet their specific needs.

    Shashidhara N., director of technology solutions & services at Connectivity IT Services Private Limited, writes, “On the SRX box, it has what I call a one model concept for security. I work especially with hybrid environments. With an SRX we have a single management dashboard. We can manage the internal framework easily with the centralized management component. You can work with threat prevention, you can work with integration, you can work with traffic management. Another good part about SRX is that you have opportunities for automation. Another thing that is very good is that all the operating systems for all Juniper boxes are the same. You do not work on different operating systems using different boxes.”

    Pradip J., the owner of Shree Atharva Sales Corporation, writes, “It is a complete security bundle. The cloud-based Sky Advanced Threat Prevention feature is very valuable. I am 100% satisfied with the performance of the Juniper firewall. It has a very good throughput. It works very fine. We use our firewall as a site-to-site VPN or Software-Defined Wide Area Network (SD-WAN). In both cases, it has a very good and optimum performance.Their service support is very good in India. I get really good support from the Juniper team."

    OPNsense is a user-friendly, fast-track, open-source FreeBSD-based firewall and routing platform. This software offers features that are generally available from costly commercial firewalls, with the added benefit of open and verifiable sources. The firewall provides users, developers, and organizations with an advantageous environment through transparency. The development of this project is driven by a strong focus on security and code quality.

    The solution offers a variety of components, such as:

    • Weekly security updates. These updates provide the user with the ability to reach new emerging threats in a timely manner through small increments.

    • Two major releases every year. These yearly releases are on a fixed release cycle and provide organizations with the ability to plan ahead of an upcoming upgrade.

    • A roadmap of instructions. Each major release provides a guide and a set of clear goals.

    A team of professionals developed OPNsense. Other professional and experienced software architects, engineers, and developers are encouraged to join in the development of the solution to make it as successful as possible. OPNsense offers a variety of rich features with each release. Each upgrade is based on FreeBSD for continual, long-term support and utilizes a freshly advanced MVC framework based on Phalcon. OPNsense is committed to helping businesses, school networks, remote offices, hotels, and other markets in keeping their data protected.

    OPNsense Core Features

    OPNsense continually offers a free, complete, high-end security platform with new releases and features. With each release, OPNsense focuses on providing more unique and better security features in a timely manner. These features include:

    • Captive Portal
    • Built-in reporting and monitoring tools including RRD Graphs
    • Network Flow Monitoring
    • Traffic Shaper
    • Support for Plugins
    • Granular Control Over State Table
    • Dynamic DNS
    • Two-factor authentication throughout the system
    • Netflow Exporter
    • Encrypted Configuration Backup to Google Drive
    • Forward Caching Proxy (transparent) with Blacklist Support
    • Stateful inspection firewall
    • DNS Server & DNS Forwarder
    • High Availability & Hardware Failover (with configuration synchronization & synchronized state tables)
    • DHCP Server and Relay
    • Virtual Private Network (site to site & road warrior, IPsec, OpenVPN & legacy PPTP support)
    • Intrusion Detection and Prevention
    • 802.1Q VLAN support

    Reviews from Real Users

    OPNsense is a favorite security solution among reviewers for a number of reasons. Two of those reasons include the user-friendliness of the solution, which makes it easy to use, and its ability to easily scale.

    For many, a user-friendly solution is essential. FiorindoDi A., a system administration specialist at a tech vendor, says, "The graphic user interface is very good and it is user-friendly, which makes the product easy-to-use."

    Peerspot reviewers speak of the scalability of the solution. For example, an anonymous cloud and infrastructure manager at a venture capital and private equity firm reviewer notes, "OPNsense is easy to scale when running on the hardware."

    Sample Customers
    1. Amazon Web Services 2. Microsoft 3. IBM 4. Cisco 5. Dell 6. HP 7. Oracle 8. Verizon 9. AT&T 10. T-Mobile 11. Sprint 12. Vodafone 13. Orange 14. BT Group 15. Telstra 16. Deutsche Telekom 17. Comcast 18. Time Warner Cable 19. CenturyLink 20. NTT Communications 21. Tata Communications 22. SoftBank 23. China Mobile 24. Singtel 25. Telus 26. Rogers Communications 27. Bell Canada 28. Telkom Indonesia 29. Telkom South Africa 30. Telmex 31. Telia Company 32. Telkom Kenya
    7-Eleven, AARNet Pty Ltd, Allegro Networks, alltours GmbH, Apollo Hotel Papendrecht, Armstrong Atlantic State University, Atlantech Online, Availity, Bajaj Capital, Baloise Insurance, BancABC, BAS Group, Black Lotus, Blue Box, Borealis, Carilion Clinic, Catholic Health System, CATV, Champlain College, Chinas Ministry of Railways, China University of Mining and Technology (CUMT), Cloud Dynamics, CloudSeeds, Cloudwatt, CODONiS, Colt Technology Services, Cork Internet Exchange, CSS Versicherung AG, CyrusOne, Danish Crown, Deloitte Belgium, Department of Energy, Divona Telecom, DQE Communications, DreamHost, European Government Agency, Expedient, Financial Market Information Services Provider, Fluidata, Fonality, Fox Sports, Global Financial Institution, Global Investment Bank, Global Investment Company, Energy Sciences Network (ESnet), Goethe University, HEAnet, High Performance Networks Inc., Hillenbrand
    1. Deciso B.V. 2. iXsystems, Inc.  3. EuroBSDCon  4. Netgate  5. Claranet  6. Voleatech  7. Open Systems AG  8. Securebit AG  9. Proxmox Server Solutions GmbH  10. AVM Computersysteme Vertriebs GmbH  Additional customers include: T-Systems International GmbH, Deutsche Telekom AG, Vodafone GmbH, 1&1 IONOS SE, OVHcloud, Hetzner Online GmbH, Strato AG, PlusServer GmbH, Host Europe GmbH, United Internet AG, 1&1 Versatel Deutschland GmbH, QSC AG, Bechtle AG, Cancom SE, Computacenter AG & Co. oHG, T-Systems Multimedia Solutions GmbH, Atos SE, Capgemini SE, Accenture plc, IBM Corporation, Hewlett Packard Enterprise Company, Cisco Systems, Inc.
    Top Industries
    REVIEWERS
    Comms Service Provider16%
    Computer Software Company9%
    Financial Services Firm8%
    Manufacturing Company7%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Educational Organization20%
    Computer Software Company15%
    Comms Service Provider8%
    Manufacturing Company6%
    REVIEWERS
    Comms Service Provider34%
    Financial Services Firm16%
    Computer Software Company10%
    Manufacturing Company6%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Educational Organization42%
    Computer Software Company10%
    Comms Service Provider6%
    Government5%
    REVIEWERS
    Comms Service Provider24%
    Financial Services Firm18%
    Logistics Company12%
    Aerospace/Defense Firm6%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Comms Service Provider15%
    Computer Software Company15%
    Government8%
    Educational Organization6%
    Company Size
    REVIEWERS
    Small Business48%
    Midsize Enterprise23%
    Large Enterprise30%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Small Business27%
    Midsize Enterprise32%
    Large Enterprise41%
    REVIEWERS
    Small Business44%
    Midsize Enterprise21%
    Large Enterprise35%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Small Business19%
    Midsize Enterprise48%
    Large Enterprise33%
    REVIEWERS
    Small Business71%
    Midsize Enterprise12%
    Large Enterprise18%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Small Business33%
    Midsize Enterprise18%
    Large Enterprise48%
    Buyer's Guide
    Juniper SRX Series Firewall vs. OPNsense
    May 2024
    Find out what your peers are saying about Juniper SRX Series Firewall vs. OPNsense and other solutions. Updated: May 2024.
    770,616 professionals have used our research since 2012.

    Juniper SRX Series Firewall is ranked 18th in Firewalls with 86 reviews while OPNsense is ranked 3rd in Firewalls with 36 reviews. Juniper SRX Series Firewall is rated 7.8, while OPNsense is rated 8.4. The top reviewer of Juniper SRX Series Firewall writes "Highly scalable, user-friendly UI, and easy to maintain". On the other hand, the top reviewer of OPNsense writes "Robust network security and management offering a user-friendly interface, open-source flexibility, and cost-effectiveness, with challenges regarding initial setup and the absence of official support". Juniper SRX Series Firewall is most compared with Cisco Secure Firewall, Palo Alto Networks WildFire, Netgate pfSense, Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls and Sophos UTM, whereas OPNsense is most compared with Netgate pfSense, Sophos XG, Untangle NG Firewall, Sophos UTM and IPFire. See our Juniper SRX Series Firewall vs. OPNsense report.

    See our list of best Firewalls vendors and best Firewalls vendors.

    We monitor all Firewalls reviews to prevent fraudulent reviews and keep review quality high. We do not post reviews by company employees or direct competitors. We validate each review for authenticity via cross-reference with LinkedIn, and personal follow-up with the reviewer when necessary.