# Alternatives to LuLu Free open source Mac firewall. LuLu ranks #3 of 7 in Firewall software, with an Alt Score of 65. It is licensed under GNU General Public License v3.0, donationware from Free and available on macOS. 9 of 9 checklist rows are verified against a public source. Source: https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/lulu/ Category: Firewall software ## Where LuLu stands out - **Profiles (home, public)** — 3 of 7 apps with a verified answer have this ## Overview - **Who it's for**: Privacy-conscious macOS users and security-minded admins who want visibility into which applications are phoning home, including protection against malware command-and-control traffic and unwanted data exfiltration. - **What you get**: A free, open-source firewall that alerts on and blocks unknown outgoing network connections. You can approve or deny connections as they happen, build rules by program or remote endpoint (with wildcard/regex support), import or export rule sets, and run in standard (alerting), passive (silent), or block-all modes. It also supports allow/block lists from local or remote sources, VirusTotal lookups, code-signing checks, and a built-in network monitor (Netiquette). - **How it works**: LuLu runs as a macOS System Extension using the Network Extension framework (not a kernel extension) to intercept outgoing connections in real time, then permits or denies each one based on user-defined or automatically generated rules. ## Profile - **License**: GNU General Public License v3.0 (verified 2026-07-09) - **Pricing model**: Donationware (verified 2026-07-09) - **Starts at**: Free (verified 2026-07-09) - **Platforms**: macOS - **Status**: active (verified 2026-07-09) ## Ranked alternatives | # | App | Alt Score | Licence | Platforms | |---|-----|-----------|---------|-----------| | 1 | [pfSense](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/pfsense.md) | 75 | Apache-2.0 | Web | | 2 | [NetGuard](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/netguard.md) | 70 | GPL-3.0-only | Android | | 3 | [Little Snitch](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/little-snitch.md) | 60 | Proprietary | macOS | | 4 | [GlassWire](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/glasswire.md) | 55 | Proprietary | Windows, Android | | 5 | [OPNsense](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/opnsense.md) | 55 | BSD-2-Clause | Web | | 6 | [Portmaster](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/portmaster.md) | 55 | GNU General Public License v3.0 | Windows, Linux | Alt Score = Verified coverage (90%) + Visibility (10%). See https://altcatalog.com/how-alt-score-works/ ## Feature comparison Legend: Yes / No / Partial / ? (not verified). | Firewall software checklist | LuLu | pfSense | NetGuard | Little Snitch | GlassWire | OPNsense | |---|---|---|---|---|---|---| | Pricing model | Donationware | OSS + paid hosting | Freemium | One-time | Freemium | OSS + paid hosting | | Starts at | Free | $269 | Free | €59 | Free | Free | | License | GNU General Public License v3.0 | Apache-2.0 | GPL-3.0-only | Proprietary | Proprietary | BSD-2-Clause | | Platforms | macOS | Web | Android | macOS | Windows, Android | Web | | Outbound connection alerts | Yes | Partial | Yes | Yes | Yes | Partial | | Per-app rules | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | | Network-wide (router / gateway) | No | Yes | No | No | No | Yes | | Profiles (home, public) | Yes | No | No | Yes | Yes | No | | Open source | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | Yes | | One-time purchase option | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | ? | | Traffic monitoring UI | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | | IDS/IPS | No | Yes | No | No | Partial | Yes | | Low overhead | Partial | Yes | Yes | ? | ? | No | ## Sources Sources for LuLu. Each alternative is sourced on its own page. - **Pricing model**: Donationware — (verified 2026-07-09) - Note: Free; README links to Patreon for support donations. - Quote: “LuLu is a free, open-source firewall that blocks unknown outgoing connections, protecting your privacy and your Mac.” - **Platforms**: macOS — (verified 2026-07-09) - Quote: “v4.3.2 · macOS 10.15+” - **License**: GNU General Public License v3.0 — (verified 2026-07-09) - Quote: “GNU GENERAL PUBLIC LICENSE Version 3, 29 June 2007” - **Starts at**: Free — (verified 2026-07-09) - Quote: “LuLu is a free, open-source firewall” - **Status**: active — (verified 2026-07-09) - Quote: “updated: 2026-07-09, archived: False” - **Outbound connection alerts**: Yes — (verified 2026-07-09) - Quote: “LuLu's purpose is to alert you anytime a new (unauthorized) outgoing network connection is created.” - **Per-app rules**: Yes — (verified 2026-07-09) - Quote: “enter the path to the program … Then, enter the remote address or domain, remote port, and finally select 'Block' or 'Allow'. Click 'Add' to add the rule, which will be persistently saved” - **Network-wide (router / gateway)**: No — (verified 2026-07-09) - Note: Host-based macOS application firewall; installs on individual Macs only. - Quote: “LuLu only monitors outgoing traffic” - **Profiles (home, public)**: Yes — (verified 2026-07-09) - Quote: “Recently profiles were added to LuLu (v4.0+). A profile defines a set of rules and settings.” - **Open source**: Yes — (verified 2026-07-09) - Quote: “LuLu is the free open-source macOS firewall” - **One-time purchase option**: No — (verified 2026-07-09) - Note: Entirely free; optional Patreon donation. - Quote: “LuLu is a free, open-source firewall” - **Traffic monitoring UI**: Yes — (verified 2026-07-09) - Quote: “click the 'Network Monitor' menu option in LuLu's status bar menu... This will launch Objective-See's Netiquette, a network monitor application, that has been packaged into LuLu.” - **IDS/IPS**: No — (verified 2026-07-09) - Note: Firewall only; no intrusion detection/prevention engine. - Quote: “LuLu is a free, open-source firewall that blocks unknown outgoing connections” - **Low overhead**: Partial — (verified 2026-07-09) - Note: Uses Apple's Network Extension framework; no explicit overhead benchmark. - Quote: “LuLu leverages Apple's new Network Extension framework.” --- Ranked by verified data, never by who paid. https://altcatalog.com/trust/