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iptables vs firewalld: catalog facts
iptables	firewalld
Free Free and open source, maintained by the netfilter project.	Free Free and open source.
Linux, Command line	Linux, Command line
Ships with or is packaged for nearly every Linux distribution Very large body of existing guides and rule sets	Zones set trust levels per connection or interface Changes apply without restarting the service
Linux only Rule syntax is terse and easy to get wrong	Linux only Zone concepts take some learning compared with plain rule lists
Downloadable app	Downloadable app
Open source	Open source
License: GPL-2.0	License not stated
No account needed	No account needed
Works offline	Works offline
Official website Full listing and sources Checked October 2, 2026	Official website Full listing and sources Checked September 23, 2026

Catalog facts only. Anything “not stated” is unconfirmed. Check full listings for details.