What is Netgate and what does it offer?

Updated

Netgate is an open-source driven secure networking company that provides appliance and software-based firewall, VPN, and routing solutions, including pfSense. It offers two main software products — pfSense Plus and TNSR — plus hardware appliances, services, and training. It is aimed at home users, remote workers, businesses, and service providers who need firewall, router, and VPN functionality.

What Netgate provides

Netgate's core offerings fall into a few categories:

  • Software: pfSense Plus and TNSR, two different secure networking solutions.
  • Hardware appliances: Netgate sells appliances that run its software (the site describes "appliance and software-based" solutions).
  • Services and training: The site lists consulting among its pricing pages, indicating paid services and training are available.

pfSense Plus vs. TNSR

Netgate describes these as "two very powerful, but different, secure networking solutions." The table below summarizes how the site positions each.

Dimension pfSense Plus TNSR
Primary role All-in-one network firewall, router, and VPN High-performance software router
Best suited for Home, remote worker, business, and service provider connectivity and protection Demanding service provider and business edge, campus, data center, and cloud environments requiring high-speed routing and encrypted traffic handling
Key strength Many router and firewall features typically found only in expensive commercial routers; robust and stable Industry-leading price-performance and scalability
Performance approach Not specified on the page Vector Packet Processing (VPP) with Data Plane Development Kit (DPDK), enabling up to two orders of magnitude speed gain over traditional kernel-based packet processing
Scalability Not specified on the page Software scalable to 10, 25, 40, 100 Gbps and beyond
Typical uses Firewall, routing, VPN, plus extensibility via third-party packages Edge and core routing, site-to-site VPN, cloud connectivity, large-scale NAT
Management Web GUI; described as easy to install and maintain CLI and/or RESTCONF API
Deployment On-premises and cloud Not specified beyond the environments above

The site also notes pfSense Plus is "highly extensible with 3rd party packages to support block lists, content filtering, intrusion prevention, policy-based routing and more."

Who each product fits

  • Choose pfSense Plus if you want an all-in-one firewall, router, and VPN with a web GUI, and you value ease of installation and maintenance plus extensibility through third-party packages. The site positions it for home, remote worker, business, and service provider use.
  • Choose TNSR if you need high-speed routing and encrypted traffic handling at scale — the site cites edge and core routing, site-to-site VPN, cloud connectivity, and large-scale NAT, with management via CLI and/or RESTCONF API.

Netgate frames the trade-off directly: pfSense Plus is the approachable, feature-rich all-in-one, while TNSR targets performance and scale. The site says TNSR "achieves super-scale routing without the six-figure price tag" and directs users to contact sales for pricing.

Deployment scenarios the site highlights

Netgate organizes its home-oriented messaging around three environments:

  • Home: Prioritized office, IoT, and entertainment traffic; intrusion prevention; affordable next-gen firewall protection.
  • Office: Secure network access for work-from-home; staying connected with speed and reliability; secure remote access to other offices and cloud.
  • Cloud: High-speed inter- or intra-cloud connectivity; protecting cloud-hosted applications and data; running your own VPN service or high-speed site-to-cloud secure connections.

Pricing and getting started

The site links to separate pricing pages for pfSense Plus, TNSR software, and services/training, and includes a "Get Started" path. TNSR pricing is handled through sales contact rather than a listed figure. For current prices and terms, check the linked pricing pages directly, since the available material does not state specific amounts or whether any tier is free.