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Airlock Digital Application Control vs WatchGuard Firebox comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Feb 15, 2026

Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

ROI

Sentiment score
5.5
Airlock Digital enhances security, saves 30% time, reduces incidents by 60%, and simplifies audits, boosting IT productivity and focus.
Sentiment score
6.1
WatchGuard Firebox delivers reduced incidents, better security, and savings, despite some difficulty quantifying ROI, enhancing productivity and peace of mind.
We estimated that support tickets related to unauthorized software decreased by around thirty-five to forty percent, and the time spent investigating suspicious or unknown executables was reduced from several hours to less than thirty minutes because administrators could quickly verify application status through centralized policies and audit records.
Business Development Manager at Digitaltrack
The return on investment is that in five years, we have never had a breach or a malware event that has been a result of Airlock Digital Application Control.
Group Chief Technology Officer & Privacy Officer at a construction company with 201-500 employees
I would say Airlock Digital Application Control saves around thirty percent of our time.
Senior Systems Engineer at a outsourcing company with 1,001-5,000 employees
From a security standpoint, preventing even a single major security incident or prolonged outage can represent significant cost savings.
Professional Services Engineer at Next7 IT
I do not see any return on investment after WatchGuard Firebox implementation in terms of cost reductions.
CEO at ajuntament del Prat
Reduced incidents and easier management helped lower operational cost.
Security Engineer at Antina Empleos
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
7.5
Airlock Digital's support is praised for responsiveness and expertise, with improvement suggested in complex case response times.
Sentiment score
6.5
WatchGuard Firebox support is praised for expertise and responsiveness, with satisfaction noted despite some regional communication challenges.
When you speak and share the problem you are facing, you can troubleshoot things much faster than via chat or email.
Senior Cyber Security Engineer at a government with 10,001+ employees
The technical support of Airlock Digital Application Control receives a rating of 10 because only a few cases were opened and they were handled perfectly.
Server Administrator at Kuwait National Petroleum Company
I would rate the customer support for Airlock Digital Application Control ten out of ten because it helped us considerably.
Software Engineer at Titanslab Inc.
On a scale of one to 10, I would rate the technical support of the WatchGuard Firebox a 10.
Consultant at a tech services company with 51-200 employees
When comparing WatchGuard Firebox with other vendors such as Fortinet, SonicWall, Palo Alto, and Sophos, WatchGuard Firebox performs competitively.
Cyber Security Engineer at Underdefense
Most of the time, support engineers are knowledgeable and able to assist effectively with firewall configuration issues, VPN troubleshooting, firmware updates, and security-related concerns.
Professional Services Engineer at Next7 IT
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
7.4
Airlock Digital scales well across various environments, offering centralized management, though governance is needed for policy and allow list maintenance.
Sentiment score
6.6
WatchGuard Firebox offers scalable solutions for small to mid-sized businesses, efficiently managing growth with flexible upgrades and configurations.
Successful scalability depends not only on the product itself but also on having well-defined governance and policy management processes in place.
Business Development Manager at Digitaltrack
It supports centralized policy management, easy onboarding of new devices, and consistent application control enforcement across diverse environments.
Network Security Engineer at Digitaltrack
I find Airlock Digital Application Control very scalable.
Senior Cyber Security Engineer at a government with 10,001+ employees
Overall, WatchGuard Firebox offers strong scalability for SMBs, MSPs, branch offices, and hybrid environments while keeping deployment and management relatively straightforward.
Professional Services Engineer at Next7 IT
The user interface and features compared to newer firewalls are not up to the mark, which includes functionalities such as filtering, web filtering, threat protection, user identity, and UTM features that need improvement.
Senior Network Consultant at NETOPS
You can choose different models based on throughput and features, which makes it easy to support growing environments.
Security Engineer at Antina Empleos
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
8.5
Airlock Digital ensures stable and reliable application control with consistent policy enforcement and improved performance across large environments.
Sentiment score
8.0
WatchGuard Firebox is praised for stability, minimal downtime, and excellent performance, with prompt resolutions to occasional hardware issues.
After they rolled out 5.2.2, these issues were completely resolved.
Senior Cyber Security Engineer at a government with 10,001+ employees
Any stability issues we have experienced are the result of us blocking the wrong application, which is not the product's fault because it works as advertised.
Sr Coordinator For Cybersecurity System And Networks at Nsw Institute Of Sport
The stability of Airlock Digital Application Control has been excellent, and I rate it a 10.
Group Chief Technology Officer & Privacy Officer at a construction company with 201-500 employees
I have just one WatchGuard Firebox unit that is licensed, and I have no bugs on it, so I am happy with that.
Administrateur Systã¨Mes Et Rã©Seau at Btp Consultants
Once properly configured, the platform handles VPN connectivity, traffic inspection, and security services constantly, even in multi-site environments with remote users.
Professional Services Engineer at Next7 IT
There are issues with traffic hitting the firewall, which could indicate performance problems related to throughput.
Senior Network Consultant at NETOPS
 

Room For Improvement

Airlock Digital Application Control needs user interface, policy control, integration, automation, and documentation improvements for better administration.
WatchGuard Firebox needs better analytics, performance, usability, pricing, support, learning resources, and cloud integration compared to high-end competitors.
I think more guides on how to onboard and bring Airlock Digital Application Control into production would be helpful; these aren’t technical needs, more around documentation and potentially some videos on how to onboard or how to bring it into your organization more efficiently.
OT Cyber Specialist at a tech services company
Simpler policy creation for large or complex environments is needed in Airlock Digital Application Control.
Network Security Engineer at Digitaltrack
Some of the vulnerabilities that are meant for CVEs specific to Airlock Digital Application Control need to be addressed in newer versions.
Manager Mssp & Cybersecurity at a consultancy with 501-1,000 employees
It gives good visibility and control over the traffic, and the UI makes it easy to manage policies and respond quickly when something comes up.
Manager at Cyvogenix
Some improvements in threat intelligence integrations and SIEM integration as an out-of-the-box context would be beneficial.
SPC L2 Analyst at a tech services company with 51-200 employees
The cost for renewal after three years is 75% of the hardware cost, which is a significant problem.
Owner at it logic
 

Setup Cost

Enterprise buyers find Airlock Digital cost-effective and transparent, with predictable licensing, low infrastructure costs, and easy scalability.
WatchGuard Firebox offers affordable pricing and comprehensive security, appealing to small and mid-sized businesses with flexible licensing.
It is a good quality product that always works, and I do not think it is overpriced in any way.
Group Chief Technology Officer & Privacy Officer at a construction company with 201-500 employees
The initial setup cost was reasonable because the deployment did not require significant additional infrastructure beyond what we already had in place.
Business Development Manager at Digitaltrack
Pricing and setup cost for Airlock Digital Application Control are very low.
Software Engineer at Titanslab Inc.
When we tried to renew the Palo Alto license, the cost was beyond any reasonable range.
Digital Solution Designer at Accenture
Fortinet is more expensive than WatchGuard.
Security Engineer at Antina Empleos
I find WatchGuard Firebox to be cost-effective.
Chief Technology Officer at Falcon Automation
 

Valuable Features

Airlock Digital Application Control enhances security with application whitelisting, real-time visibility, and seamless integration for improved endpoint management.
WatchGuard Firebox offers robust firewall capabilities, centralized management, and AI-enhanced security, making it ideal for scalable network protection.
With Airlock Digital Application Control, we have proper governance in place because by default, everything is blocked. We follow the policy of zero trust. Anything which is not known is completely blocked.
Senior Cyber Security Engineer at a government with 10,001+ employees
When whitelisting something, it applies immediately over the network.
Server Administrator at Kuwait National Petroleum Company
The policy change history feature helps us improve our auditability and governance over policies by allowing us to report to our auditors if they have any questions about how we use it and what we do with it.
Group Chief Technology Officer & Privacy Officer at a construction company with 201-500 employees
The Firebox offers valuable features such as network security, URL filtering, UTM features, intrusion prevention and detection, and authentication.
Solution Architect at Simvicitsolutions
The features of WatchGuard Firebox are most valuable for maintaining network security.
Cyber Security Engineer at Underdefense
Some of the best features of WatchGuard Firebox in my experience are its ease of management, strong VPN capabilities, and integrated security services.
Professional Services Engineer at Next7 IT
 

Categories and Ranking

Airlock Digital Application...
Ranking in Application Control
3rd
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.0
Number of Reviews
12
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
WatchGuard Firebox
Ranking in Application Control
4th
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
143
Ranking in other categories
Data Loss Prevention (DLP) (10th), Firewalls (12th), Intrusion Detection and Prevention Software (IDPS) (4th), Anti-Malware Tools (7th), Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) (10th), Unified Threat Management (UTM) (3rd)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of August 2026, in the Application Control category, the mindshare of Airlock Digital Application Control is 10.1%, up from 8.8% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of WatchGuard Firebox is 10.7%, up from 3.1% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Application Control Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Airlock Digital Application Control10.1%
WatchGuard Firebox10.7%
Other79.2%
Application Control
 

Featured Reviews

MB
Business Development Manager at Digitaltrack
Application allow listing has strengthened endpoint security and streamlines software approvals
Airlock Digital Application Control is a solid product, but there are a few areas where it could be improved. The biggest challenge is the ongoing effort required to maintain allow listing policies in the environment where applications are updated frequently. While the initial deployment can be planned carefully, keeping policies current as vendors release new versions requires regular attention, and that can become time-consuming for IT teams managing a large number of endpoints. I would appreciate seeing more automation around approving trusted software updates and better integrations with common software deployment and vulnerability management tools to reduce manual effort. Reporting is another area that could be enhanced, particularly with more customizable dashboards and easier ways to generate compliance and operational reports for different audiences. From an administration perspective, some troubleshooting workflows could be more intuitive, especially when identifying why an application was blocked or determining the exact policy responsible for the decision. These limitations have not been significant enough to outweigh the benefits of the product, but addressing them would make day-to-day management more efficient, reduce administrative overhead, and improve the overall experience for security and endpoint management teams. One additional area for improvement is the overall user and administration experience. While the platform is functional, I think some of the management workflows could be simplified so that common tasks such as reviewing blocked applications, approving legitimate software, or tracing the reason behind a policy decision require fewer steps. For organizations with lean IT teams, a more intuitive interface and clearer guidance during policy creation would help reduce the learning curve for new administrators. I would appreciate seeing broader integrations with the endpoint management, SIEM, and IT service management platforms so application events, approval requests, and policy updates can fit more naturally into existing operational workflows. Better APIs and pre-built integrations would reduce manual work and make automation easier for larger environments. More flexible reporting and customizable dashboards would help different teams, whether security operations or compliance, quickly access the information that is most relevant to them without having to manually compile reports. Addressing these areas would improve efficiency and make the product easier to operate as organizations scale their endpoint environments.
Abhishek Saini - PeerSpot reviewer
Professional Services Engineer at Next7 IT
Centralized security management has improved VPN reliability and simplified daily operations
WatchGuard Firebox is a strong and reliable platform overall, but there are a few areas where improvements could make the experience even better. One area is the user interface and navigation in some management tools. While the platform is powerful, certain configurations and troubleshooting workflows can feel less intuitive compared to some newer cloud-native firewall platforms. Another point is reporting and log analysis. Although the logging features are very useful, deeper analytics and more customizable reporting dashboards would make security monitoring much more effective. Firmware upgrades and policy synchronization can sometimes require careful planning to avoid security interruptions. Overall, the core security and VPN functionality are very solid, but improving usability, reporting, and automation would make the platform even stronger. One area that could be improved is the learning curve for new administrators. While experienced engineers can work with the platform effectively, some advanced networking and security configurations can be a bit complex for junior technicians. More guided configuration workflows, smarter recommendations, and simplified troubleshooting tools would make onboarding easier. Another improvement would be more flexible reporting customization for executive-level and client-facing reports.
report
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Outsourcing Company
34%
Construction Company
10%
Financial Services Firm
7%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Comms Service Provider
12%
Construction Company
9%
Outsourcing Company
8%
Manufacturing Company
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business9
Midsize Enterprise2
Large Enterprise9
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business104
Midsize Enterprise30
Large Enterprise17
 

Questions from the Community

What needs improvement with Airlock Digital Application Control?
Airlock Digital Application Control could be improved with a better management interface, richer reporting and analytics, broader third-party integrations, and simpler policy creation for large or ...
What is your primary use case for Airlock Digital Application Control?
My main use case for Airlock Digital Application Control is to implement application whitelisting, prevent unauthorized software from running, and strengthen endpoint security against malware and r...
What advice do you have for others considering Airlock Digital Application Control?
My advice to others looking into using Airlock Digital Application Control is to start with a clear application control strategy, use audit mode before enforcing policies, involve application owner...
What is your primary use case for WatchGuard Firebox?
We are providing our services to all WatchGuard customers in the region.
What is your primary use case for WatchGuard Firebox?
We just use it as a secondary WiFi device. We're a small office and we needed to set up a WiFi device for a few of our employees.
What is your primary use case for WatchGuard Firebox?
We're a hospital and we use it for developing our incoming and outgoing policies, and we also use it for VPN.
 

Also Known As

No data available
WatchGuard Threat Detection and Response, WatchGuard Application Control, WatchGuard Data Loss Prevention, WatchGuard Gateway AntiVirus, WatchGuard Intrusion Prevention Service
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Information Not Available
Ellips, Diecutstickers.com, Clarke Energy, NCR, Wrest Park, Homeslice Pizza, Fortessa Tableware Solutions, The Phoenix Residence
Find out what your peers are saying about Airlock Digital Application Control vs. WatchGuard Firebox and other solutions. Updated: August 2026.
909,725 professionals have used our research since 2012.