HisnLabs makes FireAI, so read this as a comparison written by one of the two sides. Every statement about LuLu comes from the Objective-See product page and the LuLu source repository, linked in the sources and checked on 3 October 2026, and where LuLu is the better choice we say so. Both are outbound firewalls for macOS: they decide which connections each app may open, which Apple’s built-in firewall, a filter for incoming connections only, does not do.
The short answer
LuLu is free, open source and runs on a wide range of Macs, including Intel models and macOS versions back to Catalina. If you want a simple, auditable outbound firewall and are happy to answer its alerts yourself, it is hard to argue against. FireAI is a paid app that adds an on-device AI reviewer, plain-language commands, security modes, threat lists checked on your Mac and parental controls. The question is not which one blocks better, since both block what you tell them to, but how much of the deciding you want to do yourself and what you are willing to pay for help with it.
LuLu in 2026
LuLu is made by Objective-See, the non-profit foundation behind a set of free macOS security tools. Its source code is published on GitHub under the GPL-3.0 licence, and version 4.5.1 was released on 5 August 2026. The app we downloaded is a universal binary, so it runs natively on Intel Macs as well as on Apple silicon, and the project lists macOS 10.15 or later as its requirement. It costs nothing; the project is funded through GitHub Sponsors and the foundation’s supporters.
LuLu alerts you when an app it does not know tries to connect out, shows whether the app is signed and by whom, and lets you check the binary on VirusTotal on request. A rule can cover the whole process or a single endpoint, and can be made to expire. A passive mode allows new traffic without alerts, there are allow and block lists for hostnames and IP addresses, and profiles let you keep separate rule sets. The documentation is open about one limit: blocking by hostname only works for apps that use Apple’s Network.framework or NSURLSession, so browsers such as Chrome can be blocked by IP address but not by name. LuLu does not offer AI features.
FireAI in 2026
FireAI, from HisnLabs, has per-app rules that allow or block by host, domain, IP address or port and follow the app’s code signature, and it asks before an unknown app connects. For apps that resolve names themselves, as many browsers do, it reads the DNS answer so the hostname is still attached to the connection. An optional on-device model, a one-time download of about 1.5 GB that stays on the Mac, reviews connections from apps you have not decided on yet, explains its reasoning in the prompt and turns each decision into a visible rule you can undo. FireAI Pilot keeps separate learning for each Wi-Fi network and each security mode, and Ask FireAI takes orders such as “block Microsoft Teams” in any of its 16 languages. None of your traffic is sent to HisnLabs.
Around that sit four security modes (Home, Coffee shop, Paranoid and Under attack), a kill switch that cuts the internet but keeps the local network, six free public threat lists checked on the Mac, Parental Controls shields for whole categories of sites, a strip that names the app using the camera or microphone, alerts for unusual uploads to a country, and an Agent profile that learns where 19 AI agents such as Claude Code and Cursor normally connect and flags a first-time destination. FireAI needs macOS 14 or later, on Apple silicon or Intel; on an Intel Mac its AI runs through the free Ollama app. It costs €49, $49 or £49 once for personal use, or €6 per Mac per month billed yearly for business, and every feature is free for 17 days without a card.
| LuLu 4.5.1 | FireAI 1.0.5 | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | €49 once; business €6 per Mac per month |
| Source code | Open source, GPL-3.0 | Not open source |
| Outgoing connections | Alerts and rules | Prompts and rules |
| Rule scope | Whole process or one endpoint; rules can expire | Host, domain, IP address or port; timed rules |
| Hostname rules in browsers | Only for Network.framework or NSURLSession apps; Chrome by IP | Hostname taken from the DNS answer for many browsers |
| Code-signature identity | Yes | Yes |
| Reputation checks | VirusTotal lookup on request | Six public threat lists, checked locally |
| Quiet mode | Passive mode allows new traffic | FireAI Pilot and the optional AI decide, visibly |
| AI review | No | Optional on-device model, about 1.5 GB |
| Profiles | Yes | Security modes and per-network learning |
| Parental controls | No | Six category shields |
| Intel Macs | Yes, universal app | Yes, universal app (the AI through the free Ollama app) |
| Minimum macOS | 10.15 | 14 |
| Trying it | Free for good | 17 days, every feature, no card |
Where LuLu is the better choice
- You do not want to pay. LuLu is free, and it does the core job of an outbound firewall well.
- You want to read or audit the code. LuLu is open source; FireAI is not.
- You have an older Mac on macOS 10.15 to 13. LuLu runs there; FireAI needs macOS 14.
- You would rather not download a 1.5 GB model, or you simply prefer to make every decision yourself.
- You already use other free Objective-See tools and like having them from one non-profit source.
Where FireAI is different
- An on-device reviewer handles first connections from apps you have never decided on, shows why, and can always be overruled.
- Hostnames stay attached to browser connections, so you can block a site by name in browsers that resolve DNS themselves.
- Threat lists are checked on your Mac continuously, rather than looking one app up on request.
- Security modes, a kill switch and Parental Controls shields cover common situations in one click.
- You give orders in plain language in 16 languages, and an Agent profile watches AI coding agents for new destinations.
Can you run both?
We advise against it. Each installs a network filter that sees every connection, and when two firewalls both ask about the same app, it becomes hard to tell which rule decided. Try them one at a time instead. LuLu costs nothing to keep installed for comparison later, and FireAI exports its rules to a file, so nothing you build during the trial is lost if you switch back.
How to choose
Choose LuLu if you want a free, open-source outbound firewall, if you are on an older macOS, or if you are comfortable answering every alert yourself. Choose FireAI if you want help with the deciding: an AI that reviews on your own Mac, in your own language, with every decision visible and reversible, plus modes, threat lists and family controls. Either one is far better than leaving outgoing traffic unfiltered. Whichever you pick, keep Apple’s built-in firewall on for incoming connections.
How FireAI and HisnLabs fit in
If LuLu is enough for you, keep it, it is a good free firewall; if you want an on-device AI to share the deciding, FireAI is free for 17 days.
FireAI is HisnLabs’ own product: an on-device AI firewall for Mac. It shows every connection your apps make, in plain language, and lets you decide what leaves your Mac — its AI runs locally, so your traffic is never sent to us or anyone else. HisnLabs’ security research team is the group that keeps that decision-making accurate: cataloguing which domains are ordinary telemetry versus a real product, tracking the country and network behind a connection, and training the on-device model (its FireAI Pilot feature) on real traffic patterns, all without any of it leaving your Mac.
You can read the technical decisions behind it, or try FireAI for 17 days, at FireAI, by HisnLabs.