We performed a comparison between Meraki MX and OPNsense based on real PeerSpot user reviews.
Find out in this report how the two Firewalls solutions compare in terms of features, pricing, service and support, easy of deployment, and ROI."Their proxy-based inspection is responsive and secure."
"The most valuable features of Fortinet FortiGate are the APIs. They are the most widely known."
"It is easy to use. We chose this product for the possibility to have virtual domains (VDOMs). We are building another company in the group, and we would like to split the firewalling rules and policies between these two companies. Each company would be able to manage its own policies and security rules, which is an advantage of Fortinet FortiGate. We can define VDOMs, and every company can manage its own VDOM as if it has its own physical firewall, but in fact, we would be using the same physical appliance because we are also using the same internet lines. So, it allows us to reuse the existing resources without the disadvantage of having to compromise on policies and security. Each company can choose its own way of working."
"Easy to implement, and it is also reliable."
"Allows for firewall rules to be programmed and named in a way that makes it “readable”"
"The UTM feature is quite good. FortiAP is easy to deploy because both Fortigate and FortiAP are under the same brand. Otherwise, you need to do more work on the configuration."
"The simplicity of the product is great. It's very easy to use, which is a compliment we get all the time in terms of feedback."
"Its user interface is good, and it is always working fine."
"In general, Meraki MX is easy to work with."
"I like the automatic firmware updates. We use the Active Directory to authenticate VPN users."
"Very easy to use and navigate."
"They have very good technical support and I have relied heavily on them."
"Easy to deploy with a simple configuration."
"The cloud management system is really valuable."
"It is easy to manage, which is one of the most important things for us. It is also flexible, stable, and scalable."
"What I like best about Meraki MX is that it's easy to deploy remotely. The product works. It has automatic updates. I also like that Meraki MX is a brilliant device. You turn it on, stick the key in there, activate it, and then you're done. Meraki MX does what my customers need at the end of the day, so I also like that."
"I feel that its valuable features are that it is simple and free."
"I find the solution to be user-friendly. It has a lot of reports and easy settings."
"The technical support is very good."
"OPNsense is highly stable."
"The most valuable features in OPNsense are reporting and visibility."
"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."
"One of the most valuable features is the network checking. Additionally, the firewall and web filtering functionalities are highly useful."
"One of the problems I was having was with user mapping, and it is an issue for which I have escalated tickets with Fortinet support."
"They have to just improve its performance when we enable all UTM features. When you enable all the features, the performance of FortiGate, as well as of Sophos and SonicWall, goes down."
"Difficult to add or define, and not that easy to configure and manage."
"The pricing could always be better."
"The command line is complicated, and the interface could be better."
"Technical support could be better. You don't always get the level of help you need right away."
"The solution can have more features in a single box that can be multi-applied to integrate everything."
"We would like to see a better training platform implemented."
"Load balancing options and ability to manage a couple of Internet connections."
"Meraki MX can come across as an expensive solution."
"The whole Cisco Meraki range requires easier access for cameras. For a security center, it would be helpful to have easier access to cameras through the portal. Its licensing cost could also be better."
"It is very expensive."
"When we do API integrations with Meraki, they have always been hard as well as tedious to build. The data that we want out of the API integrations has been only recently available. Six months ago, it was hard to get someone to build something correctly or useful with Meraki APIs. Recently, they have made more data available on the API, but it is just a start. They need to do more."
"We can’t access GUI management and CLI opening features when the Internet is unavailable."
"FortiGate is cheaper than Meraki. Even the license renewal is less than Meraki."
"It would be nice if the different services, including the SIEM SOC and endpoint detection and response (EDR) were integrated into one, so that I don't have to go to different vendors for different services."
"The solution would not be suitable for anything large-scale."
"An area for improvement in OPNsense is the hardware, which needs to be updated more frequently. DNS blocking is another good feature I want to be added to the solution. pfSense has a peer-blocking feature that I also want to see in OPNsense."
"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."
"You will need additional training before you can actually start to use it."
"There should be more technical documentation."
"The support for OPNsense is good because we have documents available on the internet. The support could improve a little."
"The only thing that I would like to see improved is the Insight or the NetFlow analysis part. It would be good to have the possibility to dig down on the Insight platform. Right now, we can easily do only a few analyses. If this page becomes more powerful, it surely will be a well-adopted platform."
"In terms of improvement, the performance could be enhanced."
Meraki MX is ranked 2nd in Unified Threat Management (UTM) with 58 reviews while OPNsense is ranked 3rd in Firewalls with 36 reviews. Meraki MX is rated 8.2, while OPNsense is rated 8.4. The top reviewer of Meraki MX writes "Cost-effective, simplified, easy to manage, and reliable with advanced security features and granular visibility". 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". Meraki MX is most compared with Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls, Cisco Secure Firewall, Sophos XG, SonicWall TZ and Azure Firewall, whereas OPNsense is most compared with Netgate pfSense, Sophos XG, Untangle NG Firewall, Sophos UTM and IPFire. See our Meraki MX vs. OPNsense report.
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