Netgate

What Netgate does

Netgate, operated by Rubicon Communications LLC and headquartered in Austin, Texas, develops and commercializes open-source-based secure networking software — primarily pfSense Plus and TNSR — distributed under the exclusive pfSense trademark license from Electric Sheep Fencing LLC (ESF). pfSense Plus is an all-in-one firewall, router, and VPN solution built on FreeBSD with Snort-based IDS/IPS, available as pre-loaded Netgate-branded hardware appliances (1100 through 8300 series), bare-metal or virtual-machine software, and cloud instances on AWS and Azure Marketplaces. TNSR is a high-performance software router leveraging Vector Packet Processing (VPP) with DPDK to deliver ASIC-class routing throughput (10–100+ Gbps) for service-provider, edge, and multi-cloud deployments, managed via CLI and RESTCONF APIs with integrations to Ansible, SaltStack, Puppet, and Chef. In January 2026, Netgate launched Netgate Nexus Multi-Instance Management, a controller-based management plane using a zero-trust VPN (Noise Protocol Framework) for centralized administration of hundreds of pfSense Plus instances.

The company monetizes through a hybrid model combining one-time hardware appliance sales ($179 to $3,148+), annual/multi-year software subscriptions (pfSense Plus and TNSR), tiered TAC support subscriptions (Lite, Pro, Enterprise) with 24x7x365 SLAs, and professional services and training. Go-to-market is multi-motion: product-led growth and self-serve e-commerce for pfSense Plus, enterprise field sales for TNSR deployments, and a partner channel of resellers, VARs, and managed service providers complemented by global AWS and Azure Marketplace distribution (including GovCloud). Netgate serves horizontal customer segments spanning home/SOHO, SMB, service providers, government and defense (including TAA-compliant deployments), and healthcare, with over 7 million cumulative installs worldwide, 28,000+ open-source code commits, and 97%+ TAC customer satisfaction. The company remains privately held with 101–250 employees and no disclosed institutional funding.

Name

Netgate

Legal name

Rubicon Communications LLC

Website

https://netgate.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2002

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Netgate (Rubicon Communications LLC) develops open-source-based secure networking software — pfSense Plus firewall/router/VPN and TNSR high-performance software router — sold via appliances, cloud marketplaces, and subscriptions to home, SMB, service-provider, and government customers globally.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Network Security Software

NAICS

Wired Telecommunications Carriers (517111), Computing Infrastructure Providers, Data Processing, Web Hosting, and Related Services (5182), Wired and Wireless Telecommunications Carriers (except Satellite) (51711)

SIC

Computer Communications Equipment (3576), Communications Equipment, Nec (3669)

akta.pro primary industry

VPN Gateways & Concentrators (IPsec/SSL) (HDAFAFAC)

akta.pro secondary industries

Cloud Networking & Virtual Networking (VPC/VNet) (HDABAFAG), NFV Infrastructure (NFVI), Virtual Network Functions (VNFs) & Cloud-Native Network Functions (CNFs) (HDAIAIAB), Private Cloud Networking & SDN/NFV Management (HDABABAK), Small Business/SoHo Routers & Gateways (HDAFAIAH)

Keywords

• Network security software
• Open source firewall
• VPN solutions
• High performance routing
• Network security appliances

Headquarters

HQ city

Austin

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Technology or R&D, Personnel, Supply Chain, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Hardware Appliances: Sale of Netgate-branded hardware appliances (1100, 2100, 4200, 6100, 8200, 8300) pre-loaded with pfSense Plus or TNSR software. Appliances range from home/small office microdevices to enterprise rack-mount units.
2. Software Subscriptions: pfSense Plus and TNSR software subscriptions available as annual or multi-year licenses. Software subscriptions include access to updates, upgrades, and are required for cloud deployments via AWS/Azure Marketplaces.
3. Netgate Nexus Licensing: Netgate Nexus Multi-Instance Management bundled with pfSense Plus, with additional managed instances available for purchase at Netgate store.
4. Support Subscriptions (TAC): Technical Assistance Center (TAC) support subscriptions including TAC Lite, TAC Pro, and TAC Enterprise tiers providing 24x7x365 support with SLAs for business assurance.
5. Professional Services and Training: Consulting, implementation, and training services for deployment, configuration, and optimization of Netgate products.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Netgate develops and sells pfSense Plus (firewall, router, VPN software) and TNSR (high-performance software router) for secure network connectivity. These products are delivered as Netgate-branded hardware appliances (1100 through 8300 series), as virtual machine software for third-party hardware, and as cloud instances on AWS and Azure Marketplaces. The portfolio is complemented by Netgate Nexus multi-instance management, 24/7 TAC support subscriptions, and professional services and training.

Product overview

Netgate offers two primary secure networking software products: pfSense Plus and TNSR, available as turnkey appliances, bare metal/virtual machine software for 3rd-party hardware, and cloud virtual machine instances on AWS and Azure. pfSense Plus is the world's most popular open-source firewall, router, and VPN solution ideal for home, remote workers, SMBs, and service providers, offering flexible VPN options, IDS/IPS with Snort, and easy-to-use web GUI management. TNSR is a high-performance software router using Vector Packet Processing (VPP) with DPDK, designed for demanding service provider and business edge environments at 10-100+ Gbps throughput. Netgate Nexus provides Multi-Instance Management for pfSense Plus, enabling centralized management of hundreds of instances through a unified zero-trust interface. The company also offers a range of purpose-built hardware appliances (1100 through 8300 series), TAC support subscriptions (Lite, Pro, Enterprise), professional services, and training. The product portfolio serves markets ranging from home users to enterprise data centers, with deployments spanning every vertical and continent.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• pfSense Plus Software World's most popular open-source firewall, router, and VPN solution. Available as appliance, bare metal/virtual machine software, and cloud options. Features advanced firewall filtering, flexible VPN options, multi-WAN load balancing, IDS/IPS with Snort, and intuitive web GUI management.
• TNSR Software High-performance software router using Vector Packet Processing (VPP) with Data Plane Development Kit (DPDK) for up to two orders of magnitude speed gain over traditional kernel-based packet processing. Ideal for demanding service provider and business edge, campus, data center, and cloud connectivity environments at 10, 25, 40, 100 Gbps and beyond.
• Netgate Nexus Multi-Instance Management Multi-Instance Management system that enables managing hundreds of pfSense Plus instances through a secure, unified interface. Uses zero-trust VPN based on Noise Protocol Framework for secure communication between controller and managed instances. Bundled with pfSense Plus software version 25.11 or newer.
• Netgate 1100 Appliance Entry-level microdevice for home and small office networks with up to 1 Gbps routing and 607 Mbps firewall throughput. Cost-efficient, low power consumption, fanless silent operation, compact form factor.
• Netgate 2100 Appliance Mid-range security gateway for home, remote workers, and small business deployments. Upgradeable storage and enhanced resources for multiple add-on packages and VPN performance. Powers Aerostar International stratospheric balloon operations at temperatures as low as -80C.
• Netgate 4200 Appliance Versatile security gateway utilizing 4-core Intel Atom C1110 CPU delivering benchmark results up to three times faster than previous generation. Delivers over 9.2 Gbps of L3 routing across four independent 2.5 GbE flexible WAN/LAN ports.
• Netgate 6100 Appliance Security gateway for pro-home, SMB, or edge deployments supporting 1 to 10 Gbps WAN capabilities across RJ45, SFP, and SFP+ ports. Features QuickAssist and AES-NI cryptographic acceleration, High Availability support. Runs pfSense Plus or TNSR software.
• Netgate 8200 Appliance 1U rack mount security gateway for remote office, SMB, MSP, and enterprise networks with high-speed 10 GbE routing requirements. Expandable memory and storage, AES-NI, optional cryptographic accelerator card with QuickAssist Technology. Runs pfSense Plus or TNSR software.
• Netgate 8300 Appliance Most powerful Netgate appliance for medium to large business data centers, server rooms, or service providers. 1U rack mount with 11 flexible ports for WAN/LAN configuration, optional 25G and 100G network ports, hot-swappable 500W PSU. Supports TAA compliance options.
• TAC Support Subscriptions Technical support subscription tiers including TAC Lite, TAC Pro, and TAC Enterprise with 24x7x365 availability. TAC Pro and Enterprise include priority response, advanced troubleshooting, and business SLAs.
• Professional Services Consulting, implementation, and custom development services for Netgate products including network design, deployment, and optimization for enterprise and service provider customers.
• Training Services pfSense Fundamentals and Advanced Application training courses with certifications for customers and end users, delivered as formal training programs.

Quantifiable outcome

• Up to 100x speed gain over traditional kernel-based packet processing with TNSR VPP technology
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

Yes

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration9 records

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Hurricane ElectriccoreTechnology or Integration · 24 July 2024Hurricane Electric added TNSR software to its IPv6 Tunnel Broker service as a supported operating system. This integration simplifies the process of setting up IPv6 tunnels for TNSR customers, providing auto-generated tunnel broker configurations that can be copied and pasted, reducing configuration time and potential errors.
• Amazon Web Services (AWS)coreTechnology or IntegrationNetgate offers pfSense Plus and TNSR on AWS Marketplace with CloudFormation templates for automated deployment. EC2 instance options range from micro to large. Available across US, EU, Asia-Pacific, South America, Africa regions and GovCloud. Hourly and annual subscription models.
• Microsoft AzurecoreTechnology or IntegrationNetgate offers pfSense Plus and TNSR on Azure Marketplace as virtual machine instances. Available across North America, Europe, South America, Asia, and African regions including US Gov regions. Hourly and monthly subscription options.
• Electric Sheep Fencing LLC (ESF)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNetgate is the exclusive licensee of ESF, the company which owns the pfSense trademark. Netgate operates the pfSense.org website on behalf of ESF. ESF owns the pfSense trademark while Netgate develops and commercializes pfSense Plus software.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• OPNsense (Deciso): Direct open-source firewall/router/VPN fork of pfSense created in 2015, maintained by Deciso. Targets the same SMB/SOHO user base with a fully open-source, BSD-licensed product and commercial hardware, making it the closest 1:1 competitor to pfSense Plus.
• WatchGuard Technologies: Specialist in network security appliances and unified threat management for SMB and mid-market, distributed through MSPs and resellers. Closely comparable to Netgate in target segment, appliance-led GTM, and channel-heavy distribution.
• SonicWall: Long-standing SMB firewall appliance vendor with TZ and NSa series appliances sold predominantly via channel partners. Closely comparable form factor, segment, and pricing band to Netgate's 1100–6100 appliance family.

Broad incumbents

• Sophos: Established cybersecurity vendor offering XGS-series firewall appliances, SD-WAN, and managed detection and response. Overlaps directly with Netgate's pfSense Plus appliance line in SMB and mid-market firewall deployments.
• Fortinet: Broad-line cybersecurity vendor with FortiGate firewalls, SD-WAN, and ASIC-accelerated performance similar to Netgate's VPP/DPDK story. Competes with Netgate in mid-market, enterprise edge, and service-provider deployments.
• Palo Alto Networks: Enterprise firewall leader (PA-Series, Prisma) increasingly moving down-market with ruggedized and cloud-native firewalls. Represents the primary enterprise incumbent against which Netgate's price-performance and open-source positioning is differentiated.
• Ubiquiti: Ubiquiti UniFi gateways (UDM, UDM-Pro) compete in the prosumer/SOHO and small-business segment with integrated routing, firewall, and Wi-Fi. Overlaps with Netgate 1100/2100 use cases and pricing tier, though with a broader networking portfolio.
• Check Point Software Technologies: Enterprise network security vendor (Quantum firewalls, Harmony SASE) with significant SMB/mid-market exposure through appliance and cloud-delivered offerings. Comparable to Netgate in the firewall/VPN/SMB edge market.
• Cisco (Meraki and Secure Firewall): Cisco's Meraki MX series and Secure Firewall portfolio compete across SMB, branch, and enterprise edge segments with deep channel reach and managed-service programs. The dominant incumbent in the networking and security appliance categories Netgate addresses.

Emerging players

• VyOS Networks: Open-source network operating system for routers and firewalls, competing in the same open-source ecosystem as pfSense/TNSR. Comparable as an alternative for cost-conscious operators and service providers evaluating Netgate's routing and VPN stack.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/netgateusa
• GitHubgithub.com/Netgate
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UC3Cq2kjCWM8odzoIzftS04A
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/netgate

Compliance4 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Netgate