OPNsense
Open-source, FreeBSD-based firewall and router distribution with a web-based management interface.
Recommended as a reliable firewall and router to replace consumer routers,123 with a web UI that some find easy to configure45 and built-in extras like WireGuard, Suricata and plugins.67 The most common complaints are about the web interface, from poor screen-reader accessibility to a preference for plain config files,8910 and one user finds upgrades on a headless box nerve-wracking.11
Why people recommend it
Reliability · 3
Long-time users describe it as reliable and working well for years.
“I switched to OPNsense as a direct replacement for our Asus "WiFi routers", and it has been phenomenal, reliable”
“I switched, about 7-8 years ago to a Protectli box running Coreboot and OPNSense and haven't looked back”
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“it's just been the best option for me”
Firewall features · 3
Firewall rules, blocklists, WireGuard, Suricata and plugins come built in or run natively.
“I’ve been using OpnSense/pfsense [0] for years and would highly recommend it.”
“I use OPNSense Firewall rules to enforce any DNS request to Pihole.”
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“I switched to OPNsense as a direct replacement for our Asus "WiFi routers", and it has been phenomenal, reliable”
Router replacement · 3
Users moved to it from TP-Link and Asus routers and are trying it as a Cisco ASA replacement.
“I switched, about 7-8 years ago to a Protectli box running Coreboot and OPNSense and haven't looked back”
“I switched to OPNsense as a direct replacement for our Asus "WiFi routers", and it has been phenomenal, reliable”
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“the messing around I've done so far has been positive. It's aged nicely.”
Easy configuration · 2
Some find its web UI more streamlined than OpenWRT, MikroTik or the Linux terminal.
“I really liked using Opnsense before I switched to Openwrt and I always want to go back, because it was just so much more streamlined and easy to configure”
“I’ve been using OpnSense/pfsense [0] for years and would highly recommend it.”
Free · 1
Listed among free software that users call excellent.
“Most of the stuff I use is free and excellent.”
Caveats and dissent
Accessibility · 1
A screen reader user says promised web interface accessibility fixes never arrived.
“they made a big song and dance about fixing 11y on there web interface. In the end they did fuck all.”
Web UI · 2
Some dislike the UI or prefer editing config files on plain BSD.
“I find editing a few config files much more convenient than clicking around in web interfaces.”
“it's just been the best option for me”
Upgrade anxiety · 1
One user had a bad upgrade and worries during upgrades on a headless unit.
“It works very well and I enjoy it.”
FreeBSD quirks · 1
One user is annoyed by FreeBSD's ppp and the Python framework.
“I use opnsense, which of course has it's origins in pfsense. it's a great project”
DHCP migration · 1
ISC DHCP is being deprecated for Kea, though one user found the migration painless.
“OPNSense deprecated (is deprecating?) the included ISC DHCP server and now has the Kea DHCP server as standard.”
Often compared with
2 moved from OPNsense to OpenWrt
1 moved from OPNsense to OpenBSDRouterOS1 comment mention both
1 moved from OPNsense to RouterOS
Who recommends it in their own words
Threads where it came up
- OpenWrt One – Open Hardware Router 6 mentions
- HomeLab #1: MikroTik as a Home Router 2 mentions
- Wanted to download an ISO, ended up writing a kernel exploit 1 mention
- Ask HN: Do you want a router that has DD-WRT pre-installed? 1 mention
- ChatGPT now knows what you do on other websites via ad collector 1 mention
- Improving GPT-5.6 Sol in ChatGPT—and expanding access for free users 1 mention
Data: opnsense.json. Quotes are verbatim; the verdict and theme labels are written by a model from these comments, and every clause links to its sources.
All comments 23
“I switched, about 7-8 years ago to a Protectli box running Coreboot and OPNSense and haven't looked back”
“an old PC running OPNsense -- or even stick with OpenWRT”
“bundled with opnsense for example if you also want a firewall”
“Most of the stuff I use is free and excellent.”
“OpnSense router -> Traefik -> Docker container.”
“I really liked using Opnsense before I switched to Openwrt and I always want to go back, because it was just so much more streamlined and easy to configure”
“I highly recommend after installing a firewall appliance (for example OPNsense”
“I'm not doing much with OpnSense”
“they made a big song and dance about fixing 11y on there web interface. In the end they did fuck all.”
“the messing around I've done so far has been positive. It's aged nicely.”
“It works very well and I enjoy it.”
“I switched to OPNsense as a direct replacement for our Asus "WiFi routers", and it has been phenomenal, reliable”
“it's just been the best option for me”
“NGINX firewall aliases feeding OPNSense firewall rules”
“I use OPNSense Firewall rules to enforce any DNS request to Pihole.”
“I find editing a few config files much more convenient than clicking around in web interfaces.”
“I need to manage multiple FreeNAS, OPNsense, and Proxmox installations”
“running opnsense”
“I use opnsense, which of course has it's origins in pfsense. it's a great project”
“I’ve been using OpnSense/pfsense [0] for years and would highly recommend it.”
“before that I ran ClearOS for a couple years, and before that I ran OpnSense for a couple years. They all work fine”
“OPNSense deprecated (is deprecating?) the included ISC DHCP server and now has the Kea DHCP server as standard.”
“For Tor, I use [1] (formats in json, txt, md) on OPNsense”