Barracuda CloudGen Firewall vs Palo Alto Networks K2-Series comparison

Barracuda CloudGen Firewall vs. Palo Alto Networks K2-Series

December 2025

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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

5.8

Fortinet FortiGate offers cost-effective, robust security, reducing expenses, enhancing efficiency, easy implementation, quick ROI, and improved network management.

Sentiment score

6.9

Barracuda CloudGen Firewall provides network protection with minimal upkeep, proactive threat blocking, centralized management, and cost-effective upgrades.

Sentiment score

6.2

Palo Alto Networks K2-Series improved cybersecurity, efficiency, and cost savings through enhanced visibility, automation, and reduced incident response times.

Clients are now comfortable and not wasting productive hours on IT support.

MURALI NIDAMANURI

Managing Director at a manufacturing company with 10,001+ employees

The automation part is giving us a cost benefit and speed; we can react faster.

Bart Homblé

BDM Fortinet & BDM Teamlead at Exclusive Networks

It's a very useful tool to mitigate and protect your enterprise.

Bernard Samontanes

Staff Infrastructure & Security Engineer at Mozn Systems

For more quotes and insights, download the Fortinet FortiGate report

The centralized management and automation features have reduced manual monitoring efforts, saving our IT team several hours per week.

For more quotes and insights, download the Barracuda CloudGen Firewall report

Offensive Security Analyst at a outsourcing company with 201-500 employees

For CN-Series, there is no competitor which works the same way as Palo Alto does.

For more quotes and insights, download the Palo Alto Networks K2-Series report

Sr. Cloud Security Architect at a tech services company with 11-50 employees

Customer Service

Sentiment score

6.6

Fortinet FortiGate's customer service is generally praised for responsiveness, though some users experience delays in critical situations.

Sentiment score

7.5

Barracuda CloudGen Firewall's support is praised for availability but criticized for inconsistency and complex interfaces needing frequent help.

Sentiment score

8.0

Palo Alto Networks K2-Series support is praised for vendor responsiveness and expertise, though partner support is less reliable.

The quick resolution of issues with Fortinet FortiGate is due to the support of the company and the fact that the equipment is easy to work with.

Alexandre Menezes

IT Manager at a consultancy with 10,001+ employees

I would rate the technical support for Fortinet FortiGate a ten out of ten.

AnishKumar

NAC Support at Rah Infotech Pvt Ltd

As a solution provider, when I encounter problems, I connect directly with Fortinet support, and they provide solutions within a very short time.

Vasu Gala

Manager, Information Technology Operation/Presales at TechMonarch

For more quotes and insights, download the Fortinet FortiGate report

The support team is responsive and knowledgeable, assisting us promptly whenever we have faced configuration questions or technical issues.

Offensive Security Analyst at a outsourcing company with 201-500 employees

Barracuda's partner support is better than the majority, and it stands out as one of their strengths.

Product Manager - Cyber Security at M247 Ltd Miami

The overall security has been satisfactory, with no breaches.

For more quotes and insights, download the Barracuda CloudGen Firewall report

Director Of Technology at PT Exa Teknologi Indonesia

I would rate tech support from Palo Alto Networks at around eight out of ten points because we had dedicated people assigned to us.

Sr. Cloud Security Architect at a tech services company with 11-50 employees

We get Gold support from them, and they are pretty good.

reviewer2224035

Design engineer at a construction company with 201-500 employees

I would rate the technical support for the Palo Alto Networks K2-Series from Palo Alto as nine out of ten points.

For more quotes and insights, download the Palo Alto Networks K2-Series report

Director at MICROLOGIC NETWORKS PRIVATE LIMITED

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score

7.1

Fortinet FortiGate is scalable and popular for SMEs but requires careful design and may incur scaling costs and licensing constraints.

Sentiment score

7.7

Barracuda CloudGen Firewall efficiently scales for various deployments, offering flexibility and cloud features, though may lack some advanced features.

Sentiment score

7.8

Palo Alto Networks K2-Series offers scalable, flexible solutions for organizations, excelling in network expansion and handling diverse environments.

They scale up really well from smaller models like the FortiGate 40 and 50 to bigger sites with the FortiGate 100 for more throughput - up to enterprise datacenters.

Ian Manton

IT Manager at Daltons Limited

The variation comes in terms of the interfaces and throughputs, but from a security perspective, you get the same benefit, irrespective of whether you have an entry-level unit or an enterprise.

reviewer2667480

Cewa Solutions Architect at a tech services company with 11-50 employees

We determine sizing based on multiple factors: number of users, available links, traffic types, server count, services in use, and whether services will be published.

FatmaSamy

General Surgery Specialist at Helwan University Cairo

For more quotes and insights, download the Fortinet FortiGate report

Its flexible licensing and hybrid deployment options allow it to adapt to evolving network requirements, ensuring continuous security and reliable operations.

Offensive Security Analyst at a outsourcing company with 201-500 employees

When positioning into customers, some larger enterprise customers tend to move towards one of the top three: either Cisco, Fortinet, or Palo Alto.

For more quotes and insights, download the Barracuda CloudGen Firewall report

Product Manager - Cyber Security at M247 Ltd Miami

Vertical scaling allows you to purchase more powerful devices with additional RAM, compute, and larger model form factors.

For more quotes and insights, download the Palo Alto Networks K2-Series report

Sr. Cloud Security Architect at a tech services company with 11-50 employees

Stability Issues

Sentiment score

7.7

Fortinet FortiGate is praised for its stability, with effective long-term performance and improvements in newer firmware versions.

Sentiment score

8.2

Barracuda CloudGen Firewall is praised for reliability, stability, minimal downtime, and effective technical support despite occasional bugs.

Sentiment score

7.8

Palo Alto Networks K2-Series is praised for exceptional stability and dependability, with minor configuration and maintenance issues reported.

We're experiencing 99.999% availability consistently.

Ricardo Biggs

Manager, Information Technology at a consumer goods company with 11-50 employees

I would rate the stability of Fortinet FortiGate a ten out of ten.

AnishKumar

NAC Support at Rah Infotech Pvt Ltd

Currently, we are experiencing a general outage of one of the main internet service providers of the Dominican Republic, and we have not been impacted in our operations because with SD-WAN, we have another internet service provider and we are working with the second WAN connection without any disruption.

Juan Frias

CISO at a financial services firm with 1,001-5,000 employees

For more quotes and insights, download the Fortinet FortiGate report

Its robust infrastructure and real-time monitoring give us the confidence that our network remains secure and operational at all times.

Offensive Security Analyst at a outsourcing company with 201-500 employees

We have very few issues with Barracuda Firewall, even in the case of zero-day vulnerabilities.

For more quotes and insights, download the Barracuda CloudGen Firewall report

Product Manager - Cyber Security at M247 Ltd Miami

Version 8.0 had issues, but the newer version 9.0 seems to have improved performance regarding these issues.

Igor Jerebica

System Engineer for Network & Security at Projekt IP d.o.o.

Palo Alto typically doesn't have many glitches.

For more quotes and insights, download the Palo Alto Networks K2-Series report

Sr. Cloud Security Architect at a tech services company with 11-50 employees

Room For Improvement

Fortinet FortiGate needs enhanced UI, simplified licensing, improved performance, reporting, third-party integration, and expanded automation features.

Barracuda CloudGen Firewall needs improvements in GUI, VPN reliability, analytics, email categorization, support, and user-friendliness for better usability.

Palo Alto Networks K2-Series needs better pricing, integration, usability, and AI to address user demands for support and scalability.

These sessions should be around five to ten minutes long, allowing users and partners to quickly grasp the information without disrupting their daily tasks.

MURALI NIDAMANURI

Managing Director at a manufacturing company with 10,001+ employees

The solution should be able to implement machine learning and analytics of all the logs for threat detection and protection.

Elvis Mahadeo

Senior Systems Engineer at Caribbean Development Company

It would be better for customers to get immediate replacements even with a standard subscription.

Pravin Mandlik

Director at a tech services company with 11-50 employees

For more quotes and insights, download the Fortinet FortiGate report

Integration with AI would be helpful as modern attacks often utilize AI.

Director Of Technology at PT Exa Teknologi Indonesia

It would be beneficial to merge the existing application policy with the main policy into a single unified policy to improve manageability.

Igor Jerebica

System Engineer for Network & Security at Projekt IP d.o.o.

One area that could be enhanced is the user interface, making it slightly more intuitive for new users.

For more quotes and insights, download the Barracuda CloudGen Firewall report

Offensive Security Analyst at a outsourcing company with 201-500 employees

Enhancing web traffic protection would be a great upgrade.

Krishnakumar M

enterprise architect at a tech services company with 1-10 employees

L1 engineers cannot work on the Palo Alto Networks K2-Series because it's too complex, which requires L2 and above level of engineers.

Director at MICROLOGIC NETWORKS PRIVATE LIMITED

With AI, if there is a Precision AI bundle that you're planning on exploring, then that definitely needs a significant uplift because currently it doesn't work for all the known models.

For more quotes and insights, download the Palo Alto Networks K2-Series report

Sr. Cloud Security Architect at a tech services company with 11-50 employees

Setup Cost

Enterprise buyers find Fortinet FortiGate costly initially, but cheaper overall, despite some high renewal and setup costs.

Barracuda CloudGen Firewall offers reasonable pricing with a flexible, competitive model, plus perks like free hardware upgrades and easy purchasing.

Palo Alto Networks K2-Series is expensive, suitable for large enterprises, with straightforward licensing but requires frequent price negotiations.

Last year, I renewed the support for three years, which can sometimes be expensive but depends on the security benefits and how it helps us.

AiméKouchade

Network & System Admin at Invoke Studios

It offers cost savings as it is generally cheaper than the competition.

NilsPaley

IT Infrastructure Architect at Apotek 1

It is about 20% cheaper.

MithatBulut

Network Security Engineer at TD SYNNEX

For more quotes and insights, download the Fortinet FortiGate report

Our experience with Barracuda CloudGen Firewall pricing and licensing has been reasonable and transparent.

Offensive Security Analyst at a outsourcing company with 201-500 employees

The license price of Barracuda CloudGen Firewall is lower than others, and maintenance or support is included.

For more quotes and insights, download the Barracuda CloudGen Firewall report

Director Of Technology at PT Exa Teknologi Indonesia

It is neither the cheapest nor the most expensive option available.

Igor Jerebica

System Engineer for Network & Security at Projekt IP d.o.o.

It's a little bit expensive.

Krishnakumar M

enterprise architect at a tech services company with 1-10 employees

The pricing for the Palo Alto Networks K2-Series solution is affordable.

For more quotes and insights, download the Palo Alto Networks K2-Series report

Director at MICROLOGIC NETWORKS PRIVATE LIMITED

Valuable Features

Fortinet FortiGate provides robust, flexible security solutions with key features like web filtering, SSL VPN, SD-WAN, and centralized management.

Barracuda CloudGen Firewall provides robust security, user-friendly management, and enhanced performance with features like VPN, TINA tunnels, and threat protection.

Palo Alto Networks K2-Series provides advanced, scalable security with AI-driven features, strong threat prevention, and user-friendly management.

These features help reduce our downtime, manage the ISPs, and deploy SLAs for all the website traffic.

Syed Ali Waqas

Head IT at Burraq Cyber Security Solutions

The most valuable feature of FortiGate is FortiView which provides proactive monitoring.

Viraj Fernandopulle

General Manager Group IT at DART GLOBAL LOGISTICS PTE. LTD.

We got a firewall and gave an SSL VPN to my client to connect to their servers, after which, such kind of activities involving ransomware attacks stopped.

VINAY GUJARATHI

Owner at Mindware Computer Solutions

For more quotes and insights, download the Fortinet FortiGate report

This integration helps secure our data and applications from attackers trying to gain access and detect malicious activity.

Product Manager - Cyber Security at M247 Ltd Miami

The real-time monitoring helps us quickly identify unusual traffic patterns and potential threats, allowing us to respond immediately and maintain secure and uninterrupted network operations.

Offensive Security Analyst at a outsourcing company with 201-500 employees

The most valuable features of Barracuda CloudGen Firewall include antivirus protection, anti-DDoS, and IPS.

For more quotes and insights, download the Barracuda CloudGen Firewall report

Director Of Technology at PT Exa Teknologi Indonesia

Overall, the K2-Series helps in much more protection, and dashboard compliances are being met.

Director at MICROLOGIC NETWORKS PRIVATE LIMITED

We had configured dynamic user groups and App-ID based policies, which makes it all Zero Trust.

For more quotes and insights, download the Palo Alto Networks K2-Series report

Sr. Cloud Security Architect at a tech services company with 11-50 employees

Mainly, it is very easy to understand, and the logs are very good.

reviewer2224035

Design engineer at a construction company with 201-500 employees

Categories and Ranking

Fortinet FortiGate

Mindshare comparison

As of January 2026, in the Firewalls category, the mindshare of Fortinet FortiGate is 18.8%, down from 20.7% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Barracuda CloudGen Firewall is 0.7%, up from 0.4% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Palo Alto Networks K2-Series is 0.2%, up from 0.0% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Firewalls Market Share Distribution
Product	Market Share (%)
Fortinet FortiGate	18.8%
Palo Alto Networks K2-Series	0.2%
Barracuda CloudGen Firewall	0.7%
Other	80.3%

Firewalls

Featured Reviews

Vasu Gala

Manager, Information Technology Operation/Presales at TechMonarch

A stable solution with an intuitive interface and quick customer service

I have been working with Fortinet FortiGate, WatchGuard, Sophos, and SonicWall. I'm not as comfortable with SonicWall because of their UI and limitations. I prefer Fortinet above all other options. When it comes to configuration, I am confident in my ability to handle various tasks, including creating policies such as firewall rules, web policies, and application policies. Additionally, I can configure VPNs and implement load balancing, among other tasks. Overall, I feel much more comfortable working with Fortinet. Fortinet has made significant improvements by integrating AI with firewalls for threat analysis and prevention. In the past 2-3 years, they have launched FortiSASE and SIEM, and they also provide SOC services. Both Palo Alto and Fortinet FortiGate are excellent. While Fortinet FortiGate comes at higher prices, the functionality and support justify the cost. They promptly resolve firmware issues and inform all support providers about configuration changes.

Read full review

Centralized security management has protected our hybrid network and supports secure remote work

Offensive Security Analyst at a outsourcing company with 201-500 employees

Overall, Barracuda CloudGen Firewall is very effective, but there is always room for improvement. One area that could be enhanced is the user interface, making it slightly more intuitive for new users. Additionally, advanced reporting and analytics could be more customized to provide deeper insights. Despite this, the firewall performs reliably and meets most of our organizational needs. One additional improvement that could enhance the experience is faster troubleshooting support or more detailed guided documentation for complex configurations. While the firewall is reliable, having more step-by-step tutorials or video guidance could help new users set up and optimize. Overall, the enhancement would make the platform even more user-friendly without affecting its current strong performance.

Read full review

Has provided strong traffic visibility and efficient policy management for advanced network environments

Sr. Cloud Security Architect at a tech services company with 11-50 employees

Palo Alto Networks K2-Series could be improved, though I don't think of much. I'm unsure how widespread the adoption for K2-Series alone is. Looking at the base Palo Alto capabilities, they are going in the right direction. K2 specifically about its efficacy with all these 5G protocols, the GPRS tunneling protocol performed without many hiccups during testing. With AI, if there is a Precision AI bundle that you're planning on exploring, then that definitely needs a significant uplift because currently it doesn't work for all the known models. There are many false positives that need to be addressed. While it's still ahead of its competitors, on the AI security side, there is quite a room for improvement.

Read full review

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881,114 professionals have used our research since 2012.

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

12%

Comms Service Provider

Manufacturing Company

Financial Services Firm

Computer Software Company

Manufacturing Company

Financial Services Firm

Construction Company

Performing Arts

23%

Computer Software Company

13%

Manufacturing Company

Comms Service Provider

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	357
Midsize Enterprise	133
Large Enterprise	188

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	30
Midsize Enterprise	9
Large Enterprise	6

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	14
Midsize Enterprise	8
Large Enterprise	13

Questions from the Community

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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 your experience regarding pricing and costs for Barracuda CloudGen Firewall?

Our experience with Barracuda CloudGen Firewall pricing and licensing has been reasonable and transparent. The setup ...

What needs improvement with Barracuda CloudGen Firewall?

Overall, Barracuda CloudGen Firewall is very effective, but there is always room for improvement. One area that could...

What is your primary use case for Barracuda CloudGen Firewall?

My main use case for Barracuda CloudGen Firewall is for our network security and network traffic management. I rely o...

Features comparison between Palo Alto and Fortinet firewalls

In the best tradition of these questions, Feature-wise both are quite similar, but each has things it's better at, it...

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Palo Alto Networks K2-Series?

The pricing for the Palo Alto Networks K2-Series solution is affordable and there are no complaints about the licensing.

What needs improvement with Palo Alto Networks K2-Series?

Palo Alto Networks K2-Series could be improved, though I don't think of much. I'm unsure how widespread the adoption ...

Sophos Firewall vs Fortinet FortiGate

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Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls vs Fortinet FortiGate

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Cisco Secure Firewall vs Barracuda CloudGen Firewall

Compared 6% of the time

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Compared 5% of the time

Sophos Firewall vs Barracuda CloudGen Firewall

Compared 5% of the time

Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN vs Barracuda CloudGen Firewall

Compared 4% of the time

Check Point CloudGuard Network Security vs Barracuda CloudGen Firewall

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Product Reports

Download Fortinet FortiGate product report

Fortinet FortiGate

January 2026

Barracuda CloudGen Firewall

January 2026

Download Barracuda CloudGen Firewall product report

Palo Alto Networks K2-Series

January 2026

Download Palo Alto Networks K2-Series product report

Also Known As

Fortinet FortiGate Next-Generation Firewall

Barracuda NextGen Firewall, Barracuda CloudGen Firewalls

No data available

Overview

Fortinet FortiGate is a versatile network security tool offering features like VPN, firewall, web filtering, intrusion prevention, and scalability. It is known for its performance and integration with other Fortinet products, making it a preferred choice for robust cybersecurity.

Fortinet FortiGate stands out as a comprehensive cybersecurity solution with strong performance and ease of configuration. It delivers unified threat management, integrating features such as dynamic routing, SD-WAN support, and centralized management. Despite its strengths, improvements in the web interface's stability, pricing structures, and reporting capabilities are needed. Users seek better integration with third-party tools and automation advancements to enhance the experience further. These enhancements, alongside improvements in bandwidth management and the reduction of licensing costs, are points of interest for users looking to capitalize on FortiGate's extensive capabilities.

What are Fortinet FortiGate's key features?

VPN: Ensures secure remote connections.
Firewall: Protects against unauthorized access.
Web Filtering: Blocks malicious sites and content.
Application Control: Manages and controls applications.
Intrusion Prevention: Detects and prevents vulnerabilities.
SSL Inspection: Enhances security by inspecting encrypted traffic.

What benefits should be considered when evaluating Fortinet FortiGate?

Affordability: Offers cost-effective security solutions.
Reliability: Known for consistent and stable performance.
Integration: Seamlessly integrates with other Fortinet products.
Comprehensive Protection: Provides broad threat protection capabilities.

Fortinet FortiGate is widely implemented across industries as a primary firewall system for securing internet gateways and safeguarding data centers. It supports businesses in achieving SD-WAN integration and enhances cybersecurity by providing essential features like antivirus, web filtering, and application control. Enterprises utilize FortiGate for securing remote connections and ensuring compliance with security standards, making it adaptable for different network sizes and industries.

Fortinet

Barracuda CloudGen Firewall is a comprehensive network security solution that provides advanced protection for organizations of all sizes. It offers next-generation firewall capabilities, including application control, intrusion prevention, and web filtering.

With its integrated VPN functionality, it ensures secure remote access for employees. CloudGen Firewall also includes advanced threat intelligence, leveraging real-time updates to detect and block emerging threats. Its centralized management console simplifies administration and provides visibility into network traffic.

CloudGen Firewall can easily adapt to changing business needs based on its scalable architecture.

Barracuda Networks

Designed to handle growing throughput needs due to increasing amounts of application-, user-, and device-generated data, the K2-Series offers amazing performance and threat prevention capabilities to stop advanced cyberattacks and secure mobile network infrastructure, subscribers, and services.

Palo Alto Networks

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

ARZ, Bauer, CBCX Technologies, Diamant-groep, Eissmann Group Automotive, European Youth Olympics, Exalo Drilling, FineLine Technologies, Geocell, Grimaldi, Infront Sports & Media, Odlo, Schenker Deutschland AG, Tilak, Verbandsgeneinde Zell, Conservas El Cidacos S.A., Institute for Emergency Medicine and Medicine Management, Erwin Muller GmbH, Info-Tech: NGF is Champion, Schoellerbank, IZB Informatik-Zentrum, RHI AG, Berglandmilch, Antenne Bayern, Sanochemia

State of North Dakota, SEGA, Alameda County Office of Education, Temple University, VERGE, CAME