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Azure Firewall vs SonicWall NSv comparison

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Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Sep 16, 2024

Review summaries and opinions

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

Categories and Ranking

Fortinet FortiGate
Sponsored
Ranking in Firewalls
2nd
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.2
Number of Reviews
357
Ranking in other categories
Software Defined WAN (SD-WAN) Solutions (1st), WAN Edge (1st)
Azure Firewall
Ranking in Firewalls
13th
Average Rating
7.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.2
Number of Reviews
41
Ranking in other categories
Microsoft Security Suite (11th)
SonicWall NSv
Ranking in Firewalls
28th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
10
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of June 2025, in the Firewalls category, the mindshare of Fortinet FortiGate is 21.4%, up from 17.8% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Azure Firewall is 2.1%, down from 2.6% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of SonicWall NSv is 0.2%, up from 0.1% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Firewalls
 

Featured Reviews

Jorge Martínez - PeerSpot reviewer
Offers good SD-WAN capabilities and integrates easily with Fortinet devices
I am not part of the initial setup or deployment process since I work in presales. The setup or deployment is quite easy, as you can do a one-touch deployment that automatically connects to the FortiManager cloud when you connect it to a broadband or dynamic IP, allowing you to start the configuration from that point. We usually sell it for on-premises setups. It's on the cloud only when the client has virtual machines or their own service. Sometimes they have a service on the cloud like AWS, but it's more difficult to sell now because AWS has an e-commerce option where you can buy FortiGate directly. The only thing you need is someone to manage and configure.
AnvarSadique - PeerSpot reviewer
Easy setup and effective traffic routing enhance security
In terms of improvements, I think the price could be a concern as Azure ( /products/microsoft-azure-reviews ) services are often more expensive compared to other firewalls. However, the functional aspects of Azure Firewall met our needs. While I found the interface not particularly user-friendly, this is a common issue across vendors.
Sileesh Sivadasan - PeerSpot reviewer
Helps small businesses expand branches more easily
The price is a significant factor. Mostly in India, the customer service has many hurdles to get real support. If I want to talk to a customer executive, they ask many trivial questions. Even if I explain that I am asking for a Dell partner, they still ask specific questions, and they will explain many unnecessary questions.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Fortinet FortiGate has very good support."
"Its performance in fulfilling our requirements has been satisfactory."
"This solution made it very easy to manage our bandwidth."
"Whenever we raise a complaint with FortiGate, their response and resolution times are minimal."
"Advanced routing (RIP, OSPF, BGP, PBR). It gives you a seamless and simple integration into a large network."
"The most valuable features of Fortinet FortiGate are the rules and quality of service."
"FortiGate is flexible and easy to use."
"For the performance they provide, the price is acceptable."
"The Layer four features are okay and meet my business needs."
"Network filtering is valuable. The scalability capability from the cloud-native service helps us a lot because it simplifies our day-to-day maintenance activity."
"The solution can autoscale."
"The most valuable feature is threat intelligence. It is based on filtering and can identify multiple threats."
"It's auto-scalable, which is a great feature."
"Azure Firewall is integrated well with Microsoft ecosystem."
"The solution has many useful features. For example, the solution allows users to create virtual IP addresses."
"The solution has FQDN integration."
"For my small NFB banking services, when they are expanding their branches, I could incorporate a little bit easier."
"We are very impressed with it."
"We purchased the AGSS Bundle (Advanced Gateway Security Suite) for the security services, such as antivirus, intrusion prevention system, and anti-spyware botnet GUI."
"SonicWall excelled in threat management, evident in how users handled it effectively."
"Out of ten, I would rate the solution at an eight."
"One of the standout features of SonicWall is its simplicity in creating and managing rules."
"The product helps improve our security."
"The solution has no additional charges and no restrictions on the number of users."
 

Cons

"Palo Alto has a feature called WildFire Analysis that is unavailable in FortiGate. WildFire is better than a sandbox because it can address zero-day threats and vulnerabilities. It can immediately identify zero-day threats from the cloud."
"I would like to see improvements in Fortinet FortiGate regarding the active-active scenario. The active-active scenario is supported but not recommended, whereas other vendors are implementing active-active without issues. Perhaps in the future, we could effectively use both firewalls to increase the throughput. If there are two boxes, they both should be able to work."
"One area for improvement is the performance on the bandwidth demands for smaller devices, as well as better web filtering."
"Fortinet technical support is lacking, as OEM support is slightly better."
"There are mainly two areas of improvement in Fortinet FortiGate— the licensing cost and the timing of upgrading licenses for boxes."
"The reports are very basic."
"The customization could be improved. Cisco, for example, is much better at this. They need to work to be at least as good as they are."
"FortiGate support could do some improvements on their IPv6 configuration. Right now it's still in the very early stage for utilizing in an enterprise level network environment."
"You have to have a defined IP range within your network to associate it with your network. The problem is you have to plan ahead of time if you expect to use the firewall in the future so that you don't have to reconfigure your subnets or that specific IP range. Other than that, I don't any issues. I use it for basic configuration for a single application, so I really don't try to leverage it for multiple applications where I might find some complexity or challenges."
"The threat intelligence part could be better. I don't see why our customers have to get an additional solution with Azure Firewall. It would be great if they made it on par with Palo Alto."
"It would be nice to be able to create groupings for servers and offer groups of IP addresses."
"The product could be made more customizable."
"I would appreciate it if Azure Firewall included built-in VPN capabilities."
"For larger enterprises, they need to adjust the scalability."
"There are a number of things that need to be simplified, but it's mostly costs. It needs to be simplified because it's pretty expensive."
"The solution lacks artificial intelligence and machine learning. It might be in the roadmap. However, currently, it's not available."
"Currently, we are getting challenges with user-wise reports and other reporting details. At present, they do not provide detailed reports compared to other products."
"It has been brought to our attention by a few customers that they are dissatisfied with the fact that our virtualized service is only offered as a subscription option on the cloud. However, it is worth noting that many other similar services are also offered through a subscription model on the cloud and not through perpetual licensing. It is unclear why these customers would have an issue with this subscription service when so many others are utilizing similar methods."
"The price is a significant factor. Mostly in India, the customer service has many hurdles to get real support."
"The price is a significant factor."
"SonicWall NSV's initial setup is complicated and requires good knowledge."
"The engine provided initially was quite heavy, creating a trade-off between software and hardware-based threat management."
"There are limitations to bandwidth management."
"We face some challenges when we upgrade the solution."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Cost-wise, there is not much difference from Sophos, but feature-wise, we get more features."
"The price is high compared to some of the other solutions."
"It is an inexpensive solution."
"Fortinet has one or two license types, and the VPN numbers are only limited by the hardware chassis make."
"The Indian market is different than the European and American markets. When you compare they need to be a bit more aggressive on pricing."
"Licensing is usually on a three-year period."
"We find the most valuable aspect of this solution is the price. It is affordable, and cheaper than other firewalls."
"These boxes are not that expensive compared to what they can do, their functionality, and the reporting you receive. Fortinet licensing is straightforward and less confusing compared to Cisco."
"The total cost of ownership is much less than Palo Alto, Cisco, or any other brand."
"The solution is cheaper than other brands. My company has an enterprise contract and we finally got a good price with Azure."
"Before choosing this solution, we evaluated others, and we found this to be the most cost-effective."
"Azure Firewall is more expensive. If Microsoft can make Azure Firewall cheaper, I can see that all clients will think of using it. One client used FortiGate because it is much cheaper. Some clients ask me for Cisco, but in the cloud estimate, I found its cost is the same as Azure Firewall."
"It is expensive, especially with the premium functions. For one of the clients, it was very expensive. You have to use it more at an enterprise level, and there, it was not at an enterprise level. So, it was very costly, but security-wise, it was a very wise decision to use it that way."
"Azure Firewall comes with Azure native services. We did not buy any kind of license for it. Whether you have a free subscription or a pay-as-you-go model, you can deploy the Azure Firewall service... The amount that you use will determine how much you pay."
"I rate the product pricing a five out of ten."
"Azure Firewall is quite an expensive product."
"We are currently using the trial version."
"The solution's pricing is good for the technology it offers."
"Our initial purchase, which included a three-year term of support, was about $25,000 USD."
"The tool is moderately priced."
"SonicWall NSV is not very costly."
"The solution’s pricing is less compared to other products."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Educational Organization
15%
Computer Software Company
15%
Comms Service Provider
8%
Manufacturing Company
6%
Computer Software Company
16%
Financial Services Firm
10%
Government
9%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Computer Software Company
27%
Real Estate/Law Firm
7%
Retailer
7%
Educational Organization
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

Which is the better NGFW: Fortinet Fortigate or Cisco Firepower?
When you compare these firewalls you can identify them with different features, advantages, practices and usage a...
What is the biggest difference between Sophos XG and FortiGate?
From my experience regarding both the Sophos and FortiGate firewalls, I personally would rather use FortiGate. I know...
What are the biggest technical differences between Sophos UTM and Fortinet FortiGate?
As a solution, Sophos UTM offers a lot of functionality, it scales well, and the stability and performance are quite ...
What is a better choice, Azure Firewall or Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls?
Azure Firewall Vs. Palo Alto Network NG Firewalls Both solutions provide stellar stability and security. Azure Firew...
How does Azure Firewall compare with Palo Alto Networks VM Series?
Both products are very stable and easily scalable. The setup of Azure Firewall is easy and very user-friendly and the...
Which would you recommend - FortiGate VM or Azure Firewall?
Both of these solutions are excellent options that provide flexible scalability and solid security. Fortinet Fortigat...
What do you like most about SonicWall NSV?
The product helps improve our security.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for SonicWall NSV?
I am somewhat satisfied with the price for SonicWall NSv, rating it as eight because, compared to other products, the...
What needs improvement with SonicWall NSV?
Currently, we are getting challenges with user-wise reports and other reporting details. At present, they do not prov...
 

Also Known As

FortiGate 60b, FortiGate 60c, FortiGate 80c, FortiGate 50b, FortiGate 200b, FortiGate 110c, FortiGate, Fortinet Firewall
No data available
SonicWall Network Security Virtual
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Amazon Web Services, Microsoft, IBM, Cisco, Dell, HP, Oracle, Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile, Sprint, Vodafone, Orange, BT Group, Telstra, Deutsche Telekom, Comcast, Time Warner Cable, CenturyLink, NTT Communications, Tata Communications, SoftBank, China Mobile, Singtel, Telus, Rogers Communications, Bell Canada, Telkom Indonesia, Telkom South Africa, Telmex, Telia Company, Telkom Kenya
Information Not Available
Comlogic, Depaul, Hutt City Council
Find out what your peers are saying about Azure Firewall vs. SonicWall NSv and other solutions. Updated: June 2025.
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