3-year cost calculator
Pre-filled for Palo Alto Networks → pfSense. Adjust every figure with your own numbers.
Every figure here is an illustrative estimate, not a vendor quote. Defaults are editable starting points compiled from public information; real, binding pricing comes from the vendor or an authorized distributor. See our methodology.
Recommended for your requirements: Recommended class: 1U mid-range (2–20 Gbps) — size to 10 Gbps NGFW (threat-protection) throughput and 3 Gbps TLS inspection (decryption reduces effective throughput ~50–70%), 2 Gbps IPSec VPN, ~2M concurrent sessions. Require: IPS, application control, URL filtering, anti-malware/sandboxing, and IPSec + SSL VPN.
All figures are illustrative and fully editable — adjust the cost-per-firewall and migration inputs with your own numbers. Not guaranteed vendor pricing (defaults reviewed May 2026). For a binding quote, use the request form below to reach an authorized distributor or partner.
Quick comparison: Palo Alto Networks vs pfSense
Common trade-offs teams weigh when staying on Palo Alto Networks versus moving to pfSense. These are general, commonly-reported considerations — not statements of fact about any vendor — so check them against your own contract and the vendors' current terms.
- Already in production — no migration effort or risk
- Mature ecosystem with vendor support and SLAs
- Per-appliance plus per-subscription (Threat, URL, WildFire) costs
- Premium NGFW hardware pricing
- Panorama and add-on licensing
- Costly support renewals
- Ongoing per-appliance + subscriptions cost to budget for
- Higher vendor lock-in to weigh
- Open source — no license fees
- No vendor lock-in
- Cost model: Free CE / Plus
- Requires a migration (~18 weeks, high effort)
- Community support by default — paid support optional
- Higher operational learning curve
Why teams evaluate alternatives to Palo Alto Networks
Reasons commonly cited by users and in public industry coverage for re-evaluating Palo Alto Networks. These are general, reported considerations — not statements of fact about Palo Alto Networks — and may not reflect your situation or the vendor's current terms. Verify against your own contract before deciding.
- Per-appliance plus per-subscription (Threat, URL, WildFire) costs
- Premium NGFW hardware pricing
- Panorama and add-on licensing
- Costly support renewals
The migration plan
Roughly 18 weeks for a mid-size estate, in six phases.
Tooling & automation
Recreate policies/NAT in pfSense; migrate IPsec/OpenVPN; add Suricata/Snort; pilot then cut over per site.
OffVendor's wizard pre-fills these scripts with your environment — inventory export, disk/schema conversion, bulk provisioning, and validation.
Frequently asked
Is migrating from Palo Alto Networks to pfSense worth it?
For most teams facing rising Palo Alto Networks costs, yes — pfSense (free ce / plus) typically lowers 3-year total cost of ownership, though the right answer depends on workload complexity and in-house skills. Use the calculator to model your own numbers.
How long does a Palo Alto Networks to pfSense migration take?
A typical mid-size estimate is around 18 weeks across six phases — discovery, design, pilot, waved production migration, validation, and decommission. Larger or more complex estates take longer.
What tools are used to migrate from Palo Alto Networks to pfSense?
Recreate policies/NAT in pfSense; migrate IPsec/OpenVPN; add Suricata/Snort; pilot then cut over per site.