Best Network Firewall Software in 2026
Updated
In short: OPNsense is ranked #1 of 19 as of 3 October 2026, ahead of AWS Network Firewall and Arista NG Firewall. The best-ranked option with a free plan is Arista NG Firewall. The lowest first paid tier on this page is AWS Network Firewall at $0.07/mo.
19 network firewall software ranked on what their makers publish — plans and prices, free tiers, platforms and the facts on their own pages.
| # | Platform | Score | Why | From | Free plan | Paid from | Deployment model | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | OPNsense | 8.6 | RecognisedAPIDocumented | — | Yes | — | hybrid | View |
| 2 | AWS Network Firewall | 7.6 | RecognisedAPIDocumented | $0.07/mo | No | — | cloud | View |
| 3 |  Arista NG Firewall | 7.4 | RecognisedAPIDocumented | $22.50/mo | Yes | 25 /mo | hybrid | View |
| 4 |  pfSense | 7.1 | RecognisedAPIDocumented | — | Yes | — | hybrid | View |
| 5 | Oracle Cloud Infrastructure Secret Management | 7.0 | RecognisedAPIDocumented | Free | Yes | — | cloud | View |
| 6 | FortiGate | 6.8 | RecognisedAPIDocumented | — | — | — | — | View |
| 7 | IPFire | 6.7 | RecognisedAPIDocumented | Free | Yes | — | hybrid | View |
| 8 | NethSecurity | 6.7 | RecognisedAPIDocumented | — | Yes | — | hybrid | View |
| 9 |  Cisco Catalyst Center | 6.5 | RecognisedAPIDocumented | — | — | — | hybrid | View |
| 10 | Forcepoint Next Generation Firewall | 6.0 | RecognisedAPIDocumented | — | — | — | — | View |
| 11 | Azure Firewall Premium | 5.7 | RecognisedAPIDocumented | — | — | — | — | View |
| 12 |  Firewalla | 5.5 | RecognisedAPIDocumented | — | No | — | hybrid | View |
| 13 |  Alibaba Cloud Cloud Firewall | 5.5 | RecognisedAPIDocumented | $0.36/mo | — | — | — | View |
| 14 |  Huawei Cloud Firewall | 5.3 | RecognisedAPIDocumented | — | No | — | cloud | View |
| 15 | Cloudflare Magic Firewall | 5.2 | RecognisedAPIDocumented | — | — | — | — | View |
| 16 |  OpenWrt | 5.2 | RecognisedAPIDocumented | — | — | — | hybrid | View |
| 17 |  Little Snitch | 5.1 | RecognisedAPIDocumented | €59/mo | No | — | — | View |
| 18 |  Juniper Security Director | 5.0 | RecognisedAPIDocumented | — | — | — | hybrid | View |
| 19 |  Sophos Central Firewall Management | 4.5 | RecognisedAPIDocumented | — | — | — | — | View |
Is your platform on this list?
Numbered spots on this list can be sponsored. They are labelled, and the editorial order and scores never change for payment.
Questions about this list
Which network firewall software is ranked first on Inferse?
OPNsense is ranked #1 of 19 with a score of 8.6. AWS Network Firewall is second and Arista NG Firewall third.
How many of these have a free plan?
5 of the 19 on this page publish a free plan on their own pricing pages.
Which is the cheapest paid option?
On this page, AWS Network Firewall has the lowest first paid tier we found: $0.07/mo.
How is this list ranked?
Ranked on what each maker publishes, open and connectable first: a public API, open-source code, the depth of its documentation and a free tier to try it on. Model lists are sorted by the figure in their title, exactly as each provider publishes it. Paid placements never change a rank.