Free firewall — the words that sell Untangle. But which apps are actually free, which are lite, and which stop working when the trial ends? This is the honest map, so your office policy never gets built on a feature you do not own.
Most arguments about Untangle being free or not free happen because nobody lists the apps. So here they are: the free core, the lite versions, and the subscription apps under Arista in 2026 — plus the trial mistake that catches offices out, and a calm method for deciding whether you ever need to pay.
Lets be precise about what "free" buys, because it is more than people expect. The Firewall app gives proper rule-based traffic control. Intrusion Prevention watches for attack patterns with updated signatures. OpenVPN is fully included — the owner working from home costs nothing extra. Reports is complete, and it is the app small offices end up valuing most. Add Captive Portal for guest-style access control, Phish Blocker and Ad Blocker, and the lite versions of virus, spam and application control, and a small office can run for years on the free set — many do. The video's core claim, that a company without a firewall budget can protect itself for zero licence cost, is true for this layer.
The subscription line runs exactly where advanced convenience begins. Full Web Filter with its complete category database, Threat Prevention, and SSL Inspector for looking inside encrypted traffic are paid. So are WireGuard and IPsec VPN (site-to-site links to another office usually land here), Bandwidth Control, the WAN Balancer and Failover apps for two internet lines, and Policy Manager for different rule sets per group or time. Individually or as the NG Firewall Complete bundle, these are business subscriptions priced by device count — get the current figure from Arista or a partner rather than trusting any blog's number, including this one, because lists change.
The 30-day complete trial switches everything on, and that creates a predictable accident: you build your office policy on trial apps — category blocking, multi-WAN failover — the trial ends, the apps stop, and the network quietly loses the behaviour everyone now depends on. Arista's own note is fair: the basic free features remain after the trial. But anything you configured inside a paid app stops with the app. Protect yourself with one rule — during the trial, write down every paid app you actually rely on. On day 25, that list is your real subscription decision, made with evidence instead of a countdown timer.
Run the free core for a month. Then ask three questions. One — do the reports show a real need to block categories, or is usage already sane? Two — do you have a second internet line that failover would protect, or is that a future plan? Three — does anyone need site-to-site VPN or WireGuard specifically? If all three answers are no, stay free with a clear conscience. If one is yes, price the subscription for your device count and compare it against the cost of the problem it solves. That is business maths, not fear — and it is exactly how the video frames the product: free first, pay only when a feature earns it.
Watch the video tour, then check your own plan against this free and paid map.
▶️ Watch Full VideoThe paid apps stop working; the free core keeps running. Arista states that the basic free features remain available after the trial. Anything you configured inside a paid app — like full category blocking — stops with that app, so note during the trial which paid apps you truly depend on.
OpenVPN is included free, and so is Tunnel VPN. The subscription VPN apps are WireGuard and IPsec. For one owner or a few staff connecting from home, the free OpenVPN is usually enough; IPsec matters mainly for site-to-site links to other firewalls.
Subscription pricing and bundles are set by Arista and partners and do change over time, and they are typically based on the number of devices behind the firewall. Treat any price printed on a blog as history, and get the current quote for your device count before budgeting.