NethSecurity review
A capable open-source UTM with broad networking, VPN and intrusion-prevention features.
Reviewed by iTechGuides Editors · Editorial team · Updated Oct 2026
NethSecurity is an OpenWrt-based unified threat management firewall for small and medium-sized businesses. It combines stateful firewall rules, zones, NAT, port forwarding, multi-WAN routing, content filtering, deep packet inspection and intrusion prevention in a web-managed deployment. Teams can install it on bare metal, virtual machines or cloud VPS infrastructure, with an optional centralized controller for administration. Its open-source Community edition makes it a strong fit for organizations that want modern UTM capabilities without committing immediately to a paid subscription.
The feature set is broad for a firewall product in this segment. Snort 3 provides intrusion prevention, traffic analysis and rule policies, while Threat Shield supports IP and DNS blocking. VPN coverage includes OpenVPN, IPsec and WireGuard tunnels, plus site-to-site connections. Backup and restore features are included, alongside subscription-based automatic cloud backup. The combination gives network teams a single platform for perimeter rules, WAN management, application and protocol filtering, remote access and inter-site connectivity. NethSecurity also offers SSL/TLS certificate and reverse-proxy capabilities, though its published feature set does not describe SSL traffic inspection.
The Community plan is free and includes community blocklists and forum access, with a maximum of three units without a subscription. A 30-day trial activates the Business plan, while Personal and Business subscriptions add professional support and access to enterprise blocklists from Yoroi for an additional fee. Business includes two support tickets per year; Personal includes no support ticket, and Partner is intended for partners with more than 20 active subscriptions and adds professional email, SSH and phone support. Choose NethSecurity if open-source control, flexible deployment and a wide UTM feature set matter most. Consider another option if you need a simpler firewall, built-in SSL traffic inspection or support terms beyond those available in the selected plan.
NethSecurity pros and cons
- Where it wins
- Open-source Community edition with firewalling and multi-WAN routing
- Snort 3 intrusion prevention, deep packet inspection and threat blocking
- OpenVPN, IPsec, WireGuard and site-to-site VPN support
- Where it doesn't
- Community plan is limited to three units without a subscription
- Personal plan includes professional support but no support ticket
- Enterprise blocklists on paid plans cost an additional fee
NethSecurity fact sheet, pricing and score →
Advertiser disclosure: iTechGuides is reader-supported. Vendors can pay for top positions in our rankings and for a place on other products' pages, and we may earn a commission when you click some links. Bought places stand at the number bought; this page and our disclosure say so. Paying vendors may get a fuller, more detailed review from our editors, and that review can change their score. How we rank.
Last updated · How we research and update