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Quick answer
ProtonVPN is the best VPN for pfSense for most users, particularly if you want a provider with documented pfSense support for both OpenVPN and WireGuard. Private Internet Access is especially strong if you prefer OpenVPN and want instructions aligned with current pfSense CE releases, while NordVPN remains a practical choice when you want a conventional OpenVPN client configuration with extensive pfSense-specific documentation.
At a glance
See the full comparisonBest overall
ProtonVPN
Official pfSense guides for both WireGuard and OpenVPN, including routing and DNS configuration
Current OpenVPN setup
Private Internet Access
Dedicated pfSense CE 2.8.1 OpenVPN guide covering interface assignment, NAT, routing, and verification
Documented OpenVPN deployment
NordVPN
Detailed pfSense-specific OpenVPN instructions and separate manual-service credentials
The important difference between choosing a VPN for pfSense and choosing one for a laptop is that pfSense does not normally run the provider’s consumer VPN application. You configure the tunnel yourself, assign it as an interface, create the necessary outbound NAT rules, route selected firewall rules through its gateway, and make sure DNS follows the same path. A provider can therefore be excellent on Windows or Android yet awkward on pfSense if it does not expose suitable manual configuration files, service credentials, endpoint information, or router-specific documentation.
On this page 21 sections
Best VPNs for pfSense compared
| VPN | Best pfSense use case | What makes it relevant | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| ProtonVPN | Best overall | Official pfSense guides for both WireGuard and OpenVPN, including routing and DNS configuration | #1 |
| Private Internet Access | Current OpenVPN setup | Dedicated pfSense CE 2.8.1 OpenVPN guide covering interface assignment, NAT, routing, and verification | #2 |
| NordVPN | Documented OpenVPN deployment | Detailed pfSense-specific OpenVPN instructions and separate manual-service credentials | #3 |
| Surfshark | Manual protocol flexibility | pfSense OpenVPN documentation plus downloadable manual WireGuard configurations for compatible routers | #4 |
| ExpressVPN | Straightforward OpenVPN | Official pfSense OpenVPN guide with manual credentials and location-specific configuration files | #5 |
| CyberGhost | Manual OpenVPN users | Provides downloadable OpenVPN material suitable for users comfortable translating router configuration into pfSense | #6 |
| IPVanish | Experienced pfSense administrators | More appropriate when you are comfortable building the pfSense client from manual OpenVPN parameters without relying on a current pfSense-specific walkthrough | #7 |
Why pfSense VPN requirements are different from normal VPN apps
On a normal computer, the VPN provider controls almost the entire connection process. Its app selects the endpoint, creates the tunnel, adds routes, changes DNS behavior, applies a kill switch, and reconnects automatically when something fails.
pfSense separates those functions into different parts of the firewall configuration.
A typical commercial VPN client on pfSense can involve:
- VPN client: the actual OpenVPN or WireGuard tunnel.
- Assigned interface: an OPT interface representing the VPN connection.
- VPN gateway: the gateway pfSense can use for policy routing.
- Outbound NAT: translation of LAN addresses before traffic leaves through the tunnel.
- Firewall rules: rules deciding which VLANs, hosts, or aliases use the VPN gateway.
- DNS routing: configuration preventing DNS queries from continuing over WAN while data traffic uses the VPN.
- Gateway monitoring: pfSense’s determination of whether the VPN route is actually usable.
A provider that gives you a working OpenVPN profile but poor information about authentication, CA certificates, TLS keys, server addresses, or WireGuard peers can therefore require substantially more manual work than one designed with router deployments in mind.
1. ProtonVPN – best VPN for pfSense overall
ProtonVPN takes first place because its pfSense support addresses the complete router workflow rather than stopping after the VPN tunnel itself comes online.
Proton publishes dedicated instructions for OpenVPN on pfSense and separate instructions for WireGuard. Its WireGuard documentation is particularly relevant on newer pfSense 2.7.x installations because Proton explicitly recommends WireGuard there over OpenVPN. The process includes generating a router-specific WireGuard configuration, installing pfSense’s WireGuard package, creating the tunnel and peer, assigning the interface, and routing traffic through the resulting gateway.
The OpenVPN instructions are similarly detailed. They cover importing the certificate authority, creating the OpenVPN client, assigning it as an interface, modifying outbound NAT, policy-routing the LAN rule through the VPN gateway, and changing DNS Resolver behavior so queries follow the VPN path rather than bypassing it.
That last part matters. A pfSense OpenVPN client can show an “up” state while LAN clients still use the ordinary WAN route or send DNS queries elsewhere. Proton’s documentation recognizes that the VPN client, firewall, NAT, and resolver are separate layers that all have to agree.
Proton also supports a useful pfSense design where selected clients bypass the tunnel. You can create a higher-priority LAN firewall rule for a particular host or alias and set its gateway to WAN while the general LAN rule continues through Proton.
Best fit: pfSense users who want a well-documented deployment and the choice between OpenVPN and WireGuard rather than being locked into one manually supported protocol.
2. Private Internet Access – best for a current OpenVPN pfSense configuration
Private Internet Access is particularly compelling for an OpenVPN-based pfSense installation because its current setup documentation targets pfSense CE 2.8.1 rather than relying only on screenshots and menu names from much older releases.
The workflow follows the architecture you actually need on pfSense: download the PIA OpenVPN configuration material, import the required certificate authority, create the OpenVPN client, assign the VPN interface, configure outbound NAT, route LAN traffic through the VPN gateway, and confirm that traffic exits through the expected public IP.
That makes PIA easier to recommend than a service whose router documentation simply gives you an .ovpn file and assumes the firewall will automatically start using it.
There is also a practical troubleshooting advantage. Because the PIA configuration produces a conventional assigned OpenVPN interface and gateway, you can inspect each layer independently. If the OpenVPN status is connected but your public IP has not changed, you know to inspect the LAN rule, gateway selection, and outbound NAT rather than repeatedly recreating the VPN client.
Best fit: users running a recent pfSense CE release who want a conventional OpenVPN deployment backed by documentation that closely resembles the current interface.
3. NordVPN – strong pfSense support if you want OpenVPN
NordVPN has one of the more established pfSense setup paths, but there is an important distinction between NordVPN on pfSense and NordVPN in the company’s own apps.
On pfSense, NordVPN’s documented setup uses OpenVPN. You download the appropriate manual configuration information, use NordVPN’s separate service credentials rather than the normal account password, build the OpenVPN client, assign the resulting interface, create NAT rules, and policy-route LAN traffic through the VPN gateway.
NordLynx should not be treated as interchangeable with ordinary WireGuard in this context. NordVPN’s own pfSense material states that NordLynx cannot simply be configured through pfSense’s WireGuard client as though it were a standard manual WireGuard endpoint. That means a pfSense installation does not get the same protocol choice you see in the NordVPN desktop application.
NordVPN’s pfSense documentation is nevertheless useful because it goes beyond basic authentication. The setup includes interface assignment, outbound NAT, LAN gateway selection, DNS configuration, and checking the OpenVPN service state after the firewall rules are applied.
Best fit: users who specifically want NordVPN and are comfortable using OpenVPN on pfSense instead of expecting NordLynx to work exactly as it does in the provider’s own applications.
4. Surfshark – good when you want several manual configuration paths
Surfshark is interesting on pfSense because it exposes both conventional OpenVPN manual configurations and WireGuard configuration material rather than forcing router users into one protocol family.
Surfshark has a dedicated pfSense OpenVPN tutorial that covers manual credentials and the tunnel configuration. Its documentation is older in version-specific terms than PIA’s current pfSense CE 2.8.1 material, so some pfSense menu labels and fields can differ on newer installations.
Surfshark also allows customers to generate WireGuard key pairs and download router-oriented WireGuard configuration files. That gives experienced pfSense administrators the information needed to construct a WireGuard peer using pfSense’s WireGuard package, even though Surfshark’s generic WireGuard router documentation is not as pfSense-specific as Proton’s.
This makes Surfshark more flexible than it first appears. You can stay with the easier-to-document OpenVPN route or build a WireGuard configuration if you are comfortable translating the supplied peer information into pfSense.
Best fit: users who want manual OpenVPN and WireGuard options and are comfortable adapting generic router instructions when necessary.
5. ExpressVPN – straightforward official OpenVPN support for pfSense
ExpressVPN is a good pfSense option when your priority is a conventional OpenVPN deployment with an official setup procedure.
ExpressVPN’s current pfSense documentation instructs users to obtain separate manual-configuration credentials and download an .ovpn file for the desired location. The pfSense setup then builds an OpenVPN client from those details and routes the network through the resulting tunnel.
One limitation is that this does not reproduce the ExpressVPN application inside pfSense. ExpressVPN explicitly notes that its manual OpenVPN configuration differs from the security and privacy behavior of its native application, and not every ExpressVPN location is necessarily available for manual connections.
That distinction matters when comparing pfSense providers. Features associated with a provider’s proprietary application should not automatically be assumed to exist merely because pfSense can connect to the same company’s OpenVPN server.
Best fit: users who want ExpressVPN specifically and prefer a documented OpenVPN deployment rather than building an unsupported or improvised protocol configuration.
6. CyberGhost – workable for manual OpenVPN, but less pfSense-specific
CyberGhost makes more sense for pfSense users who already understand how to translate a provider’s OpenVPN configuration into pfSense fields than for someone who wants a current pfSense-specific walkthrough.
CyberGhost’s manual router setup process can provide the pieces an administrator expects from OpenVPN: generated credentials, a certificate authority file, client certificate, client key, and an OpenVPN configuration file.
On pfSense, however, those files are only the first stage. You still need to reproduce the configuration under VPN > OpenVPN, assign the resulting client as an interface, create the correct outbound NAT mapping, point the desired firewall rules at its gateway, and verify DNS behavior.
That extra translation is why CyberGhost ranks below providers with maintained pfSense-specific instructions.
Best fit: experienced pfSense users who are comfortable extracting parameters from OpenVPN files and building the remaining routing and NAT configuration themselves.
7. IPVanish – better suited to users who do not need a pfSense-specific wizard
IPVanish sits lower in this ranking because pfSense is easiest to maintain when the provider publishes current instructions for the exact firewall platform.
That does not mean a manually configurable VPN cannot work. pfSense is fundamentally capable of acting as an OpenVPN client when you have the correct endpoint, authentication, CA material, encryption parameters, and routing rules.
The difference is operational. When the provider does not give you a current pfSense-specific configuration procedure, every change in OpenVPN defaults, certificate handling, authentication, or pfSense’s interface becomes something you have to reconcile yourself.
Best fit: administrators who already know pfSense’s OpenVPN, NAT, routing, and DNS workflow and therefore do not depend heavily on provider-specific documentation.
OpenVPN vs WireGuard on pfSense
The protocol decision is much more significant on pfSense than it is inside a normal VPN app.
OpenVPN is deeply integrated into the pfSense interface and is still the easiest commercial-VPN protocol to find provider-specific documentation for. A typical provider gives you an .ovpn profile, CA certificate or embedded certificate, endpoint, port, and separate manual credentials.
WireGuard uses a different model. You normally work with:
- a private key for the local pfSense tunnel;
- a public key for the VPN peer;
- an endpoint IP address and port;
- an interface address;
- allowed IP networks;
- sometimes an additional DNS address.
On current pfSense installations, WireGuard is installed as a package rather than configured through the OpenVPN client interface. You then assign the WireGuard tunnel as an interface if you want to use it as a policy-routing gateway.
ProtonVPN is particularly strong here because it documents the pfSense WireGuard process directly. Surfshark supplies manual WireGuard router material but requires more interpretation. NordVPN is the important counterexample: NordLynx is based on WireGuard technology, but NordVPN’s documented pfSense configuration remains OpenVPN because NordLynx is not exposed as an ordinary manual WireGuard peer.
Why simply creating the VPN client is not enough
A common pfSense mistake is to stop as soon as Status > OpenVPN shows the client as connected.
That only confirms the tunnel itself.
LAN traffic can still leave through WAN unless the rest of the configuration sends it through the VPN.
A complete setup normally looks like this:
| pfSense component | What it does | What happens if it is wrong |
|---|---|---|
| VPN client or tunnel | Establishes the connection to the VPN server | No VPN interface exists |
| Interface assignment | Makes the VPN usable as a pfSense interface and gateway | Policy routing and NAT become harder to control |
| Outbound NAT | Translates private LAN addresses through the VPN interface | Traffic may reach the tunnel but fail to return correctly |
| LAN firewall rule | Selects the VPN gateway for matching clients | Clients continue using WAN |
| DNS Resolver settings | Controls where DNS queries leave the firewall | Data can use the VPN while DNS still follows another route |
Policy routing is the real advantage of using a VPN on pfSense
The strongest reason to put a commercial VPN on pfSense is not merely that every device can use one tunnel. pfSense allows much more precise routing than most ordinary consumer routers.
For example, you can create aliases such as:
- VPN_CLIENTS for devices that should always use the VPN;
- WAN_ONLY for devices that must bypass it;
- STREAMING for a VLAN routed through a particular VPN gateway;
- VPN_BYPASS_DESTINATIONS for destinations that should remain on WAN.
A LAN or VLAN firewall rule can then specify the VPN gateway under advanced routing options. A higher-priority rule can send selected hosts through WAN instead.
This is fundamentally different from conventional application-level split tunneling. pfSense is making the routing decision at the firewall based on source, destination, protocol, alias, subnet, or VLAN.
What a pfSense VPN kill switch actually looks like
A pfSense kill switch is also different from the toggle you see inside a desktop VPN app.
Suppose a LAN firewall rule explicitly sends traffic through the VPN gateway. If that gateway becomes unavailable, you do not necessarily want pfSense to silently route the same traffic through the default WAN gateway.
The safest design is therefore based on firewall policy rather than assuming that “VPN disconnected” automatically means “internet blocked.”
A strict VPN-only VLAN can be designed so that:
- its normal pass rule uses only the VPN gateway;
- there is no later general rule permitting that VLAN to exit through WAN;
- DNS is also forced through the intended interface;
- IPv6 is either configured deliberately through the VPN or blocked for that segment.
The exact rule set depends on your network. The important point is that pfSense’s firewall determines fallback behavior. The commercial VPN provider’s desktop kill-switch setting is irrelevant because the provider’s application is not running on pfSense.
DNS leaks on pfSense are usually routing problems
A commercial VPN can be connected correctly while pfSense continues resolving DNS through another route.
This happens because DNS Resolver is a firewall service in its own right. It does not automatically inherit the gateway selected by a LAN client’s policy-routing rule.
With providers such as ProtonVPN, the documented setup therefore includes changing DNS server and DNS Resolver behavior in addition to creating the VPN interface.
If an IP-check site shows the VPN address but a DNS test shows your ISP or another unexpected resolver, inspect pfSense’s DNS configuration before assuming the OpenVPN or WireGuard tunnel itself is leaking.
How pfSense hardware affects VPN speed
On pfSense, the firewall hardware performs the encryption for every device routed through the tunnel.
That means VPN performance is tied to the CPU in the pfSense box rather than the processing power of the laptop, phone, TV, or access point behind it.
OpenVPN performance can become CPU-bound on lower-power hardware, especially when one tunnel has to process a fast internet connection. WireGuard is often attractive on pfSense because its implementation can deliver high throughput with lower processing overhead, although actual performance still depends on the CPU, package version, MTU, NICs, and provider endpoint.
This is also why a result such as “the VPN only reaches 300 Mbps on my gigabit line” cannot automatically be blamed on the provider. Check pfSense CPU utilization while running the test. If one or more cores are saturated, changing to another nearby server may not solve the bottleneck.
What to do if your pfSense VPN is connected but nothing uses it
The VPN client says “up” but the public IP is unchanged
Check Firewall > Rules on the LAN or VLAN generating the traffic. The matching pass rule must use the VPN gateway if you are relying on policy routing.
Then inspect Firewall > NAT > Outbound and confirm that traffic from the relevant internal subnet is translated on the VPN interface.
The VPN works until you enable manual outbound NAT
Switching from automatic NAT to manual NAT changes responsibility for maintaining the mappings. Make sure the LAN or VLAN network has a NAT rule on the VPN interface.
Hybrid Outbound NAT can sometimes be easier when you need manual VPN mappings without completely replacing pfSense’s automatically generated WAN rules.
Some websites work but others stall
MTU or MSS can be involved, particularly when the VPN tunnel adds enough overhead to make packets exceed the usable path MTU.
Do not begin by changing random cipher or DNS values. Check whether small requests succeed while larger transfers hang, compare another VPN endpoint, inspect the VPN log, and then investigate MSS clamping or MTU if the symptoms fit fragmentation.
Traffic bypasses the VPN after the gateway goes down
Review the complete firewall rule path for that interface. A later rule may permit traffic using the default gateway.
A VPN-only segment should not have a permissive fallback rule that effectively restores WAN access when the VPN rule stops matching or its gateway is unavailable.
IPv4 uses the VPN but IPv6 exposes the normal connection
An IPv4-only commercial VPN configuration does not automatically provide equivalent IPv6 routing.
Either configure IPv6 through a provider and protocol that supports the intended setup or block IPv6 on the VPN-only client segment. Do not assume an IPv4 VPN gateway covers IPv6 traffic.
DNS still shows the ISP
Inspect System > General Setup and Services > DNS Resolver. Determine whether pfSense itself is forwarding or resolving DNS over WAN even though client application traffic is policy-routed through the VPN.
OpenVPN credentials may be different from your normal account login
Several providers issue dedicated credentials for manual router connections.
NordVPN’s documentation specifically instructs pfSense users to use its service credentials for manual OpenVPN connections. ProtonVPN likewise uses separate OpenVPN credentials, and Surfshark generates manual setup credentials.
This is one of the most common reasons a pfSense OpenVPN client fails authentication even though the same email address and password work in the provider’s website or application.
How to choose a VPN server for pfSense
A pfSense tunnel is normally long-lived. That makes server choice somewhat different from clicking “Quick Connect” on a laptop.
Start with a nearby endpoint unless you specifically need another country. Then evaluate:
- latency from pfSense to the endpoint;
- sustained throughput through the firewall;
- connection stability over several hours or days;
- whether the hostname resolves reliably after WAN reconnects;
- whether the provider gives you multiple endpoints you can use for failover.
If you operate several VPN clients at once, give them clear names such as PROTON_SE, PROTON_DE, PIA_NL, or SURFSHARK_US rather than leaving them as generic OpenVPN client numbers. The corresponding interfaces and gateways become much easier to identify when writing firewall rules.
Should you use one pfSense VPN tunnel or several?
One tunnel is simpler and is normally the best starting point.
Multiple tunnels become useful when different networks need different exits. You might route:
- your normal LAN through WAN;
- an IoT VLAN through one VPN;
- a streaming VLAN through another location;
- a test machine through a separate provider.
pfSense can handle this through separate assigned interfaces and gateway-based policy routing.
The complexity grows quickly, however. Every additional tunnel can require its own gateway, NAT mappings, monitoring behavior, DNS decisions, firewall rules, and recovery logic.
Proton’s documentation also specifically recommends WireGuard rather than OpenVPN when using multiple connections on supported pfSense versions.
Which VPN should you choose for pfSense?
For most pfSense users, ProtonVPN is the strongest overall choice because it provides first-party instructions for both OpenVPN and WireGuard and explains the pfSense-specific routing, NAT, and DNS work required after the tunnel is created.
Private Internet Access is particularly attractive if you want OpenVPN because its current documentation targets pfSense CE 2.8.1 and covers the complete path from configuration files to routed LAN traffic.
Choose NordVPN if you already prefer NordVPN and are comfortable running OpenVPN rather than expecting NordLynx on pfSense, or Surfshark if you want access to both OpenVPN material and manually generated WireGuard configurations.
ExpressVPN is another well-documented OpenVPN choice, while CyberGhost and IPVanish are better suited to administrators who are already comfortable translating manual VPN configuration into pfSense routing, NAT, and firewall rules.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best VPN for pfSense?
ProtonVPN is our top choice because it has dedicated pfSense documentation for both OpenVPN and WireGuard. Its guides also cover interface assignment, outbound NAT, policy routing, and DNS instead of stopping once the VPN tunnel connects.
Does pfSense support WireGuard?
Yes. On current pfSense releases, WireGuard is available through the WireGuard package. Providers still need to give you usable manual WireGuard peer information if you want to connect pfSense directly to their service.
Can I use NordLynx on pfSense?
Not as a normal manual WireGuard configuration. NordVPN’s pfSense documentation uses OpenVPN, and its own guidance states that NordLynx cannot simply be configured through pfSense’s WireGuard client.
Can I route only some devices through the VPN?
Yes. Assign the VPN as an interface and gateway, then use pfSense firewall rules to policy-route selected source hosts, aliases, subnets, or VLANs through that gateway. Other rules can continue using WAN.
Why does pfSense say the VPN is connected but my IP has not changed?
The VPN tunnel can be established without any LAN traffic being routed through it. Check the LAN firewall rule’s gateway and the outbound NAT rule for the VPN interface.
Do I need outbound NAT for a commercial VPN on pfSense?
In a conventional routed IPv4 setup, yes. Private client addresses behind pfSense generally need to be translated when they leave through the commercial VPN interface. Provider guides from ProtonVPN, PIA, and NordVPN explicitly include outbound NAT as part of the pfSense setup.
Which is better on pfSense, OpenVPN or WireGuard?
WireGuard is attractive when the provider supports a clean manual configuration because it is simpler and can offer better throughput on suitable hardware. OpenVPN remains easier to deploy with many commercial providers because dedicated pfSense instructions and configuration files are more common.
Can a pfSense VPN protect every device on my network?
Yes. Traffic from any device routed through the pfSense VPN gateway can use the tunnel without requiring a VPN app on that device. You can apply the route to an entire LAN or VLAN or only to selected hosts.
Does installing a VPN on pfSense automatically prevent DNS leaks?
No. DNS Resolver and system DNS behavior must also be configured deliberately. A working VPN gateway does not guarantee that pfSense itself sends DNS queries through the same path.
Can I run two different VPN providers on pfSense at the same time?
Yes. Each tunnel can be assigned as a separate interface and gateway, after which firewall policy determines which clients use each one. The main difficulty is maintaining the NAT, DNS, monitoring, and failover behavior for several gateways rather than establishing the tunnels themselves.
