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Networking · head to head

pfSense vs Thanos

pfSense logo

pfSense

Networking

Open source firewall software with a free Community Edition and a separate commercial Plus edition sold by Netgate

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Thanos logo

Thanos

Cloud

Highly available Prometheus with long-term object storage

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: pfSense pfSense CE and pfSense Plus are not simply the same software with a support contract layered on top; Plus is a separately developed edition with its own feature set, and moving between them is a migration, not a toggle; Thanos several components — sidecar, store, querier, compactor, ruler — each with its own configuration and failure modes
  • They diverge on capability: pfSense covers Stateful firewall and NAT, Thanos covers Global query.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which pfSense and Thanos actually diverge.

Attributes where pfSense and Thanos differ
AttributepfSenseThanos
Pricing modelOpen source Community Edition, free; commercial Plus edition sold separately by NetgateOpen source, no licence fee
PlatformsLinuxKubernetes, Linux, Docker
CategoryNetworkingCloud

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

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 pfSense

  • Stateful firewall and NAT
  • VPN support
  • Traffic shaping and QoS
  • Package ecosystem
  • CE and Plus editions

Only in Thanos

  • Global query
  • Object storage retention
  • Deduplication
  • Downsampling

What people use each for

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

pfSense

  • A home user or small business wanting a free, fully-featured firewall on commodity hardware with no licence costnot Thanos
  • A business wanting an integrated firewall appliance with vendor support, typically buying a Netgate appliance bundled with pfSense Plusnot Thanos
  • A team wanting to evaluate advanced features like real-time threat intelligence before committing to Netgate hardware or a Plus migrationnot Thanos
  • An organisation replacing an expensive commercial firewall with an open source alternative while retaining the option to add commercial support laternot Thanos

Thanos

  • Querying metrics across many clusters or regions from one placenot pfSense
  • Retaining metrics for years without local disk growthnot pfSense
  • Removing the gap that appears when a single Prometheus instance restartsnot pfSense

Where each one falls short

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

pfSense

  • pfSense CE and pfSense Plus are not simply the same software with a support contract layered on top; Plus is a separately developed edition with its own feature set, and moving between them is a migration, not a toggle
  • Running Plus on non-Netgate hardware depends on Netgate's current migration terms, which have changed over time, so a buyer planning to use white-box hardware with Plus should verify current eligibility rather than assume it works as it did previously
  • CE has no official vendor support channel; a business relying on it for production firewalling without a support contract is self-supporting on community forums
  • Some newer features and threat intelligence integrations are Plus-only, so CE users do not get feature parity going forward even though both editions remain under active development
  • Netgate's own appliance pricing and the terms of the CE-to-Plus migration path are not always clearly presented in one place, requiring some digging to understand the real total cost of a Plus deployment on non-Netgate hardware
  • As with any self-managed firewall, security depends on the operator applying updates and correctly configuring rules; there is no managed security operations layer included even in Plus

Thanos

  • Several components — sidecar, store, querier, compactor, ruler — each with its own configuration and failure modes
  • The compactor is a common source of operational trouble and must not run twice against the same bucket
  • Query latency over object storage is meaningfully higher than local Prometheus
  • Object storage costs and API request charges become real at high volume

Pricing, plan by plan

pfSense

Free
  • pfSense CEFree
    • Full firewall and routing functionality
    • No vendor lock-in to hardware
    • Community support
  • pfSense Plus (via Netgate appliance)$undefined/one-time
    • Bundled with Netgate hardware appliances from around $189
    • Threat intelligence feeds
    • Certified support tiers

Thanos

Free
  • ThanosFree
    • Full functionality
    • No usage limits
    • Community support

Which should you pick?

Choose pfSense if

  • You need stateful firewall and nat.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Linux.
  • You also want vpn support.
pfSense review

Choose Thanos if

  • You need global query.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Kubernetes, Linux, Docker.
  • You also want object storage retention.
Thanos review

Questions people ask

Is pfSense or Thanos better?
Neither clearly leads. pfSense starts at Free and Thanos at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, pfSense or Thanos?
pfSense starts at Free and Thanos at Free.
Does pfSense or Thanos run on more platforms?
pfSense runs on Linux. Thanos runs on Kubernetes, Linux, Docker.
Can I use pfSense for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is pfSense best used for?
pfSense is most often used for a home user or small business wanting a free, fully-featured firewall on commodity hardware with no licence cost, a business wanting an integrated firewall appliance with vendor support, typically buying a netgate appliance bundled with pfsense plus, a team wanting to evaluate advanced features like real-time threat intelligence before committing to netgate hardware or a plus migration, an organisation replacing an expensive commercial firewall with an open source alternative while retaining the option to add commercial support later. Of those, a home user or small business wanting a free, fully-featured firewall on commodity hardware with no licence cost and a business wanting an integrated firewall appliance with vendor support, typically buying a netgate appliance bundled with pfsense plus are not what Thanos is typically brought in for.
What can pfSense do that Thanos cannot?
pfSense covers Stateful firewall and NAT, VPN support, Traffic shaping and QoS, Package ecosystem. Thanos covers Global query, Object storage retention, Deduplication, Downsampling.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

pfSense: What is the difference between pfSense CE and pfSense Plus?

CE is the free, open source edition installable on any compatible hardware; Plus is a commercial edition from Netgate with additional features and support, typically bundled with Netgate appliances.

Thanos: Is Thanos free?

Yes, open source and CNCF-incubating. Costs are the object storage it uses.

pfSense: Can I run pfSense Plus on my own hardware?

It is possible through a migration from a CE installation via Netgate's official channel, but the terms and availability of that path have changed over time and should be confirmed directly with Netgate.

Thanos: Does Thanos replace Prometheus?

No. It runs alongside existing Prometheus servers, adding global query, deduplication and long-term storage.

pfSense: Is pfSense CE really free with no catch?

Yes, CE has no licence fee and no hardware lock-in, though it comes with community rather than vendor support.

Thanos: Thanos or VictoriaMetrics?

Thanos layers onto Prometheus using object storage and is the more established multi-cluster answer. VictoriaMetrics is a separate store aiming at lower resource use and fewer moving parts.

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