No, the firewall is of course free of charge. What costs money is the additional protection which is called NETGEAR Armor Cybersecurity. With this solution, the router can protect the entire network against malware. This is additional software, which of course costs money. If you don't use it, you still have the firewall, which costs nothing extra. The good thing about NETGEAR Armor Cybersecurity is that it protects everything that is connected to the network, including a wireless WiFi lamp or a smart air purifier. However, there are other manufacturers that offer such solutions free of charge (e.g. TP-Link in the X20 WiFi 6 Mesh Router, where the free security solution is called Home Care).