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Networking · head to head

OPNsense vs Twingate

OPNsense logo

OPNsense

Networking

FreeBSD-based firewall and routing platform with weekly updates and a full configuration API

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Twingate logo

Twingate

Networking

Zero trust remote access that publishes individual resources instead of a network

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: OPNsense throughput depends entirely on hardware you selected yourself, and intrusion prevention at multi-gigabit rates will saturate a machine that handled plain firewalling fine, with no vendor sizing commitment to fall back on.; Twingate the control plane is proprietary and hosted, so it cannot be run inside your own boundary and a vendor outage prevents new connections from being established even though the connectors are yours.
  • They diverge on capability: OPNsense covers Stateful firewall on pf, Twingate covers Outbound only connectors.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which OPNsense and Twingate actually diverge.

Attributes where OPNsense and Twingate differ
AttributeOPNsenseTwingate
Pricing modelOpen source, no licence feePer user per month
Platformsx86-64 appliances, Virtual machines, Deciso hardwareWindows, macOS, Linux, iOS, Android, Docker

Identical on both: starting price (Free), free tier (Yes), user rating (Not yet rated), category (Networking).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in OPNsense

  • Stateful firewall on pf
  • VPN suite
  • Suricata IDS and IPS
  • Full configuration API
  • High availability
  • Weekly update cadence

Only in Twingate

  • Outbound only connectors
  • Per resource access
  • Identity provider integration
  • Device posture checks
  • Split routing
  • Access logging

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

OPNsense

  • Replacing a small business firewall appliance whose renewal quote exceeded the cost of the hardwarenot Twingate
  • Branch offices where the firewall configuration must be produced by Ansible rather than by handnot Twingate
  • Sites that need WireGuard and intrusion prevention on the same box without separate feature licencesnot Twingate
  • A homelab or lab network needing VLAN routing, multi-WAN and DNS filtering on one machinenot Twingate

Twingate

  • Retiring a VPN concentrator that grants whole network access to anyone who authenticatesnot OPNsense
  • Giving contractors access to two internal applications without putting them on the corporate networknot OPNsense
  • Reaching private cloud resources across several accounts without building peering and bastion hostsnot OPNsense
  • Producing per user access logs for an audit that a network level VPN cannot supplynot OPNsense

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

OPNsense

  • Throughput depends entirely on hardware you selected yourself, and intrusion prevention at multi-gigabit rates will saturate a machine that handled plain firewalling fine, with no vendor sizing commitment to fall back on.
  • The weekly update cadence is good for security but means more change events than a team used to annual appliance firmware, and occasional regressions reach production installations.
  • FreeBSD underneath limits driver support compared with Linux, so recent network cards and some virtualisation drivers can be unsupported or slow.
  • The plugin ecosystem is uneven in quality; some plugins are maintained by a single contributor and can lag a major release, breaking a function you depended on.
  • Community support is a forum, so an outage at two in the morning on the free edition is your problem alone unless you bought the business subscription in advance.

Twingate

  • The control plane is proprietary and hosted, so it cannot be run inside your own boundary and a vendor outage prevents new connections from being established even though the connectors are yours.
  • Every device needs the client installed and running, so unmanaged machines, appliances and third parties who will not install software are awkward to accommodate.
  • Pricing is per user per month, so an organisation with many occasional contractors pays full seats for accounts that connect twice a month.
  • Connections are client initiated, so server initiated flows back to a user device, and protocols that need arbitrary inbound reachability, do not fit the model.
  • It replaces remote access but not site to site networking, so an organisation that also needs offices and datacentres meshed together still runs a second network product alongside it.

Pricing, plan by plan

OPNsense

Free
  • OPNsense Community EditionFree
    • MIT licence with no feature restrictions
    • All VPN, IDS and HA features included
    • Weekly updates and two major releases a year
  • OPNsense Business Edition$undefined/year
    • Stabilised update track lagging community releases
    • Commercial support from Deciso
    • Additional enterprise plugins and configuration backup

Twingate

Free
  • StarterFree
    • Small number of users
    • Limited remote networks
    • Community support
  • Business$undefined/month
    • Per user per month billing
    • Device posture checks
    • Identity provider group sync
  • Enterprise$undefined/year
    • Custom terms and volume pricing
    • Advanced controls and support commitments
    • Dedicated onboarding

Which should you pick?

Choose OPNsense if

  • You need stateful firewall on pf.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on x86-64 appliances, Virtual machines, Deciso hardware.
  • You also want vpn suite.
OPNsense review

Choose Twingate if

  • You need outbound only connectors.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, Android, Docker.
  • You also want per resource access.
Twingate review

Questions people ask

Is OPNsense or Twingate better?
Neither clearly leads. OPNsense starts at Free and Twingate at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, OPNsense or Twingate?
OPNsense starts at Free and Twingate at Free.
Does OPNsense or Twingate run on more platforms?
OPNsense runs on x86-64 appliances, Virtual machines, Deciso hardware. Twingate runs on Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, Android, Docker.
Can I use OPNsense for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is OPNsense best used for?
OPNsense is most often used for replacing a small business firewall appliance whose renewal quote exceeded the cost of the hardware, branch offices where the firewall configuration must be produced by ansible rather than by hand, sites that need wireguard and intrusion prevention on the same box without separate feature licences, a homelab or lab network needing vlan routing, multi-wan and dns filtering on one machine. Of those, replacing a small business firewall appliance whose renewal quote exceeded the cost of the hardware and branch offices where the firewall configuration must be produced by ansible rather than by hand are not what Twingate is typically brought in for.
What can OPNsense do that Twingate cannot?
OPNsense covers Stateful firewall on pf, VPN suite, Suricata IDS and IPS, Full configuration API. Twingate covers Outbound only connectors, Per resource access, Identity provider integration, Device posture checks.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

OPNsense: How is it different from pfSense?

It is a 2015 fork with an MIT licence, a fixed weekly release cadence, a complete configuration API and a different interface. Feature coverage is comparable; the release process and API are the real differences.

Twingate: Can I self host it?

No. Connectors run in your network but the control plane is a hosted service, which is the main structural difference from the open source mesh tools.

OPNsense: Do I need the Business Edition?

Only if you want commercial support or a slower, stabilised update stream. No features are withheld from the community edition.

Twingate: Does it replace a site to site VPN?

No. It is remote access from users to resources. Connecting networks to each other is a different product category.

OPNsense: Can it handle a gigabit internet connection?

Plain firewalling on modest current hardware, comfortably. With Suricata inspection enabled, expect to need a considerably stronger CPU.

Twingate: What happens if Twingate is unavailable?

Established sessions may continue, but new connections depend on the hosted service to broker them, so plan a break glass path for administrators.

Twingate: Is the free tier usable for a small team?

For a handful of users and a small number of remote networks, yes. Group based policies and posture checks are the practical reason to move up.

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