Netgate pfSense Plus TAC Lite Available for $129/year

At Netgate, we value our relationship with our community of contributors, supporters, customers and users. We aligned our actions with our open source ethos and made a no cost pfSense Plus Home+Lab version available for, specifically, home and lab users.  We did this because we want to encourage pfSense users to learn and avail themselves of the best technology available in order to make both their career path and the pfSense community better.

We did not set out to make a commercial fork of the pfSense project that would be weaponized against us and the community. Recent discoveries have caused us to question who is benefiting from the work we do: pfSense Plus has been illegally copied, modified *, installed, and resold on third-party hardware and in the cloud in direct violation of our terms of use. These events and bad actors have caused us to reconsider the availability of the pfSense Plus Home+Lab as a free install.

The net result is we reacted too quickly, and doing so, we made mistakes. We apologize for the distress and confusion we caused in the community.  During the past few days we’ve received a lot of feedback which will help inform how we move forward.

Many of our customers and community members have suggested we go ahead and turn on the pfSense+ TAC Lite subscription, to make this the path for individuals, and we will do so during the next few days.  This said, if a pfSense Plus subscription is not in the cards for you, you can always move to the pfSense Community Edition. It's straightforward to do so - please see our documentation.  

While some detractors question our commitment to the Community Edition, we are still actively working on it. We will be producing a release of pfSense Community Edition to bring it up to parity with pfSense Plus 23.09, with special emphasis on including OpenSSL 3.0.12. By making these releases, both pfSense Plus and pfSense CE will be based on current versions of these important software components.

Netgate does understand the importance of maintaining a strong relationship with our community. Existing Home+Lab users will be able to select TAC Lite to continue receiving updates to their pfSense Plus implementations, and to maintain protecting their home networks with the most robust and cost-effective firewall/VPN/routing solution. This offers several benefits:

• Timely Updates: With TAC Lite, users can stay up to date with the latest pfSense Plus releases, leveraging new technology, features and security patches.

• "Zero to Ping" Customer Service: Our 24/7/365 support organization is here to provide technical assistance whenever needed. See further details here.

No Impact on Netgate Appliance Owners: We want to reassure our Netgate appliance owners that this change does not affect your status. All Netgate appliances receive complimentary TAC Lite support for the life of the appliance. Updates will continue to be provided free of charge. The adjustments above only apply to those running pfSense Plus on third-party hardware or in virtual environments.

How to Get TAC Lite: For new installations, use the Netgate Store's new subscription option. If you're already using pfSense CE or pfSense Plus Home+Lab and wish to upgrade to a TAC Lite subscription, you can make the purchase through the Netgate Store. Just ensure you have your NDI (Netgate Device Identifier) handy for a smooth transaction. Please note that existing Home+Lab users who choose not to purchase a TAC Lite subscription will not receive updates when they are released.

Transition Process: For those interested in implementing pfSense Plus today, the process involves installing pfSense CE initially and then upgrading to pfSense Plus after purchasing TAC Lite. We acknowledge that this process can be smoother, and we are actively working on software changes to offer an installer for direct pfSense Plus installations in the near future.

We're committed to providing a secure experience for our user community. These changes are aimed at protecting the integrity of our software while continuing to support our dedicated customers and community. We appreciate your understanding and cooperation in these adjustments, and we're here to assist you every step of the way. If you have any questions or concerns, please don't hesitate to reach out.

Thank you for your continued trust in Netgate. We are here for you.

*Supply chain attacks. Be wary, be safe.