Faronics Deep Freeze review

Faronics Deep Freeze is computer management software built around reboot-to-restore. The company’s homepage says it reverts unwanted operating-system and software changes when a computer restarts, returning it to a saved state. That makes it a fit for shared PCs where users should not leave lasting changes behind—not a tool that prevents every change from happening in the first place.

Faronics offers on-premise versions and Deep Freeze Cloud. The product range includes tools for application management, Windows updates, kiosk configuration, desktop lockdown and remote control through Cloud. The specific options depend on the product and deployment; the published pricing information does not publish full feature-by-plan comparisons.

The practical trade-off is straightforward: changes that need to persist require a planned update process. A Reddit user describes scheduling a thaw period for updates, while another says patching is the biggest headache on computers used around the clock. Deep Freeze is best understood as a way to restore a known state after reboot, not as a replacement for patch management or endpoint security.

The clearest use case is a computer that should look the same after every user session. Public-library, hotel and shared-lab operators on Reddit describe using Deep Freeze to return public or guest machines to a steady state. A commenter in a Mac sysadmin thread says their customer used it to keep shared iMacs clean. Those are user reports, not a guarantee that every setup will behave the same way.

The reboot-based reset is the product’s central advantage: unwanted operating-system and installed-software changes are reverted on restart, according to Faronics. That can reduce the manual cleanup involved in restoring shared endpoints. Cloud adds management tools around the core function, including application management, Windows update management and remote control; Faronics also lists kiosk and desktop lockdown capabilities.

Pricing gives smaller Cloud deployments a visible starting point. The pricing information lists Deep Freeze Basic at $2.89 per device per month on a yearly subscription, with self-serve purchase up to 49 licences and a 30-day trial that requires no credit card. Ultimate is listed at $6.42 per device per month, also yearly, with the same self-serve cap. These prices make it easier to estimate a small Cloud rollout than the on-premise options, whose prices are not published.

Reboot-to-restore does not remove the need to patch. A commenter on r/sysadmin calls patching the main headache, especially for PCs used around the clock, because updates need a scheduled thaw window. In an r/Action1 thread, users likewise describe scheduling a thaw period for updates; one reports an update loop after a second reboot left Deep Freeze enabled. Treat maintenance windows and update-tool compatibility as part of the deployment, not an afterthought.

It is also not a complete security control. A commenter on r/sysadmin warns that ransomware can involve data theft, which a reboot cannot undo, and says users with local administrator rights may be able to disable or undermine Deep Freeze. That commenter was unsure whether the issue had been mitigated. A separate commenter notes the product needs a restart to restore the state. Deep Freeze can help reset a machine, but it does not replace endpoint protection, access controls or backups.

Price transparency is limited beyond two Cloud tiers. Basic and Ultimate are listed as yearly subscriptions; monthly prices are not published. Premium and the on-premise Standard, Enterprise, Server and Mac editions require a quote or have no listed price. Basic and Ultimate self-serve purchases stop at 49 licences; 50 or more require a sales quote. Overage costs and the Cloud Connector add-on price are not published.

The lowest published price is $2.89 per device per month for Cloud Deep Freeze Basic, billed as a yearly subscription. It covers one computer per licence; you can buy up to 49 licences yourself, while 50 or more require a sales quote. Ultimate costs $6.42 per device per month on a yearly subscription—about 2.2 times Basic—and also switches to quote-based sales at 50 licences. Both list a 30-day trial with no credit card required.

Cloud Premium has no published price or seat limit. On-premise Standard, Enterprise, Server and Mac plans also require a quote; Standard is intended for 1–10 workstations, while Enterprise covers 1–1,000+ workstations. Monthly billing prices are not published, and the listed Cloud prices do not state an annual total. Add-ons are extra: listed prices include Anti-Virus at $9.99 and Anti-Executable at $34.67, but their billing basis is not published. Cloud Connector and overage costs are also unpublished.

Treat a move to Deep Freeze as an endpoint-policy change, not just a software install. The product’s central behavior is to revert unwanted operating-system and software changes on restart, so first identify which computers should reset and how updates and other intended changes will be applied. The published product and pricing information does not publish migration steps, data-export formats, or a tool for transferring settings from another product. Confirm those details with Faronics before planning a rollout.

Before leaving, check how you will replace any Cloud application management, Windows update, kiosk, lockdown or remote-control functions you rely on; the published information does not describe an export or migration path for those settings either. It also does not include Reddit posts, so we can’t substantiate a claim about why users tend to leave. Ask the vendor about uninstalling, policy removal and retained data, then pilot a small group before changing shared or classroom computers.