Recently, I have received surveys from Netgate concerning pfSense. Part of the survey talks about new features, premium features, and additional support options. They also ask if I had to pay to get certain features sooner, additional features, and premium support options. While I like free stuff and don’t mind paying a reasonable fee for certain things, I am concerning that whatever they do is not going to be cheap. there are also questions that appear they are considering a subscription model in the future. I sure hope this does not happen. If it does, I hope they are very gentle for the non-commercial use of the software.
quite a few open source projects do seem to go this way. Start by offering premium support then additional features. Some then also limit commercial use or change the “free” version to a point where its useless or does not meet the previous criteria.
Lets hope that Netgate don’t go this way. A more sensibly priced support tier and training would be good though.
It’s hard to start worrying over something you don’t have all the facts to. Until we actually see their business model and pricing then there is no need to get all bent out of shape over it. I believe netgate is fully aware of how everyone feels about pfsense being free but, you as a user need to understand that the people creating these free softwares also need to eat and if they are funded properly they can sink more resources into developing and making pfsense even better. I’m with everyone else and wouldn’t mind paying a small subscription fee for that.
This sort of support model is great, as long as at start its genuinely being supported (no generic third party entity) & that the support continues. I suggested similar to what I’ve read below that if it started as a support model then gradually became a place for some more research/cost intensive features (premium beta vs standard rc and beta) I’d probably be game within reason (nothing more than what gold cost per year).
I’m in the process of updating my current router (R7000 running Tomato) to a Protectli device running pfSense. I was looking for an option to pay for the software in some way, but I am not willing to pay $400/year for my personal router at home.