Barracuda CloudGen Firewall vs SonicWall NSv comparison

Barracuda Networks and SonicWall are both solutions in the Firewalls category. Barracuda Networks is ranked #27 with an average rating of 8.3, while SonicWall is ranked #28 with an average rating of 8.2. Barracuda Networks holds a 0.5% mindshare in Firewalls, compared to SonicWall’s 0.1% mindshare. Additionally, 94% of Barracuda Networks users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 85% of SonicWall users who would recommend it.

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Sep 16, 2024

Barracuda CloudGen Firewall and SonicWall NSv compete in the firewall solutions category. SonicWall NSv has an edge due to its comprehensive features and high performance, despite higher costs and complexity.

Features: Barracuda CloudGen Firewall has strong SD-WAN capabilities, diverse integration options, and advanced threat protection. SonicWall NSv excels in virtual firewall features, scalability, and high performance in cloud environments.

Room for Improvement:Barracuda could enhance reporting capabilities, refine its configuration process, and improve user interface design. SonicWall NSv needs better documentation, a simpler setup procedure, and clearer pricing structure transparency.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Barracuda CloudGen Firewall offers easy deployment and strong customer service, ensuring a reliable setup. In contrast, SonicWall NSv presents a more complex deployment process with varied customer service experiences.

Pricing and ROI: Barracuda CloudGen Firewall features competitive setup costs and satisfactory ROI, attracting cost-conscious buyers. SonicWall NSv, despite higher initial investments, delivers a high ROI due to its advanced capabilities.

To learn more, read our detailed Barracuda CloudGen Firewall vs. SonicWall NSv Report (Updated: April 2025).

Buyer's Guide

Barracuda CloudGen Firewall vs. SonicWall NSv

April 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:

Categories and Ranking

Fortinet FortiGate

Mindshare comparison

As of May 2025, in the Firewalls category, the mindshare of Fortinet FortiGate is 21.4%, up from 17.7% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Barracuda CloudGen Firewall is 0.5%, up from 0.4% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of SonicWall NSv is 0.1%, up from 0.1% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Firewalls

Featured Reviews

EhabAli

Sr. Cybersecurity Solutions Architect at BMB

Efficient, user-friendly, and affordable

In the past, NSS Labs was utilized to test files and verify the numbers and datasheets. It would be beneficial to have an organization or testing lab that can verify the numbers in our datasheets since changes are frequently made, which can be inconvenient for review. For instance, when comparing different competitors such as Forcepoint, Palo Alto, and Check Point, the throughput or numbers in the datasheet may be lower than the actual numbers. Conversely, Fortinet typically reports very high numbers, but they cannot be replicated in the real world. Therefore, it would be advantageous for them to partner with a neutral testing organization such as NSS Labs to validate these numbers, thus providing more credibility and comfort to everyone regarding the accuracy of the datasheets. For the migration, everyone has a firewall in use and I am selling Fortinet. Typically, I am replacing another firewall. Previously, there was a tool available to convert configurations from one firewall, such as Palo Alto, to Fortinet, but this tool is no longer free. If it could be made free again, it would be very beneficial. This tool shows a lot of promise and is very good. Making it free would help many companies deliver their products in a more efficient and integrated way. It would also be more valuable to include the tool with the firewall package or license instead of having to pay extra for it. Paying extra puts more pressure on small companies to deliver the firewall and complete the configuration, especially if they have hundreds or thousands of policies. It's very painful to move through these policies line by line. The stability has room for improvement. When it comes to Secure SD-WAN, everything is fine. They are going the right way. SD-WAN is very promising. They can provide the SD-WAN solution separately, but they will not take this approach because even the smallest firewall can support the features, so there is no need to have a separate service or appliance. They are following the right steps, and there is nothing to be improved. Feature-wise, I'm really satisfied with the new release, and the features they have added. For now, it's fine.

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RobertSmith15

Product Manager - Cyber Security at M247 Ltd Miami

Ensures data security with advanced intrusion prevention and 24/7 monitoring

I rate the initial setup as ten out of ten. It is straightforward to set up a CloudGen file, taking a couple of hours. Once we have the configuration agreed with the customer, the setup and onboarding are completed within a few hours. We receive the box from Barracuda or from our stores, pre-stage it into our network for initial configuration and Soak testing to ensure functionality. The customer can install it at their location, or we do it on their behalf. We run the firewall in simulation mode to observe traffic and ensure service transition is effective. After confirming functionality with the customer, we transition to a live service.

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Sumesh Panikkar

Senior IT Infrastructure Engineer at Khansaheb

Provides effective threat prevention and helps improve security

We face some challenges when we upgrade the solution. If I use NSv 400, I can't upgrade to the next generation. We cannot upgrade the VM to the next generation. We have to rebuild a new VM and copy the configurations. We cannot upgrade straightaway. The solution must allow us to upgrade the same machine to a newer version without many changes.

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Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Good load balancing feature."

"The IPS is good. It protect my network from attackers."

"The ability to set up remote systems is the most valuable feature."

"The scalability of Fortinet FortiGate is good."

"The most valuable feature is the policy routing and application control."

"Fortinet FortiGate is easy to use."

"The signature database and zero-day detection are Fortinet FortiGate's most valuable features."

"The most valuable feature is the FortiManager for centralized management."

More Fortinet FortiGate pros

"We enjoy the reduction in terms of labor."

"Ability to manage multiple firewalls."

"One of the most important parts is, there is auto-upgrade of the hardware every fourth year."

"We use Barracuda NG Firewall as a border firewall. We trough it to control all in/out Internet traffic."

"Inbound and outbound traffic analysis, rule creation wizard, and the GUI portal are among the key features."

"It is a very stable solution."

"I wanted to go to a software-defined WAN and in Barracuda they have a specific protocol called TINA (Transport Independent Network Architecture). You can create a master policy over the internet and it allows you to do Quality of Services on top of it. That is really helpful for me."

"I think Barracuda CloudGen Firewall is one of the most advanced firewall platforms. I also like that it's easy to get top-level support right away. You get that security, and if you make a mistake, it doesn't break."

More Barracuda CloudGen Firewall pros

"For my small NFB banking services, when they are expanding their branches, I could incorporate a little bit easier."

"SonicWall NSV is easy to use, and you can use it to manage the logs easily."

"The security of this system is fantastic, including the IPS and IDS."

"One of the standout features of SonicWall is its simplicity in creating and managing rules."

"The customization of firewall rules provides great value to our customers as it allows them to lock things up in the way that they desire. When it is used for internal access, with a VPN in place for remote workers, the firewalling services provided by Azure, such as the default services that can be turned on, are applied. However, the use of a software-based virtual firewall gives us greater flexibility in introducing security controls for customers who are publishing applications that are publicly accessible from the public cloud. This virtual firewall provides an additional layer of security and more extensive security control options to ensure the protection of our customers' valuable information and assets."

"We purchased the AGSS Bundle (Advanced Gateway Security Suite) for the security services, such as antivirus, intrusion prevention system, and anti-spyware botnet GUI."

"The product helps improve our security."

"SonicWall excelled in threat management, evident in how users handled it effectively."

More SonicWall NSv pros

Cons

"I would like some automated custom reporting."

"They sometimes hide some features and if you want to enable them, you have to go in the CLI, enable the feature and configure it through the CLI. Customers, typically, like everything to be done by the GUI."

"Fortinet technical support is lacking, as OEM support is slightly better."

"The main aspect of FortiGate that could be improved is load balancing. Our management team does not want to buy another appliance for only load balancing."

"Its customer service could be better."

"The solution needs to improve its integration with cybersecurity."

"The debugging and troubleshooting has room for improvement."

"The cloud management and automation capability could be improved."

More Fortinet FortiGate cons

"The biggest issue that I have with this solution is that it is not super intuitive. Once you know what to do, things make sense, but you can't just open the program and start doing things. It would be great if there was a little bit more guided usage inside the program."

"Technical support used to be at a very high level but it is now a bit less so."

"It's a little bit complex in terms of handling. If you implement a change, there is a specific point where you have to commit it. It's not like you just push a button and it's always committed. If you don't know to check whether your commit command has been executed or not... that is something Barracuda needs to work on."

"There could be improvements in licensing."

"Command line could be more user friendly."

"I would like to see the connection improved."

"The interface of Barracuda CloudGen Firewall is not as user-friendly as others. It is a bit complicated and could be improved."

"When you do any commit, it locks your next access. If you are making a change to the device, from the security standpoint it's fine, but from the admin side it's not good. When you make changes, after each and every one it becomes locked."

More Barracuda CloudGen Firewall cons

"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."

"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."

"An area that could be improved is the export and import settings functionality."

"SonicWall NSV's SSL VPN could increase its number of users to 100-plus users."

"I would like to see the reporting opened up and have several more opportunities for automatic reports."

"We face some challenges when we upgrade the solution."

More SonicWall NSv cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The price depends on the size of the company. From the beginning, you just want to know the internet bandwidths, speed, and the number of users to be able to offer the right product and model. They have a lot of products in FortiGate according to the size of the company, like 200D and 300D."

"It is an inexpensive solution."

"We just pay a flat monthly fee to the vendor for the support."

"While Fortinet FortiGate has a higher price point compared to Sophos XG, its user-friendly interface justifies the cost."

"The pricing of the solution is very competitive."

"Fortinet has one or two license types, and the VPN numbers are only limited by the hardware chassis make."

"The price for the device and software is high. However, the solution is of good quality and has a lot of features."

"I would say that all things considered, the pricing is pretty good."

More Fortinet FortiGate pricing and cost advice

"The pricing is very cheap compared to Cisco ASA, which we used before, and compared to Palo Alto Networks and Fortinet. Barracuda has different solutions for different people. So for my SMB-level infrastructure, Barracuda has given me a proper solution that is half of the price of Palo Alto or Fortinet."

"In general, it tends to be cheaper than most solutions."

"It's not the most expensive, but it's certainly not cheap."

"Purchasing through AWS Marketplace was good. We did it because it was easy."

"The 600 series is about USD $10,000 a year and the 80 is USD $400 a year."

"Pricing is good. Licensing is pretty much automatic if using Control Center."

"It is a product with a very transparent model of licensing. In the sense of hidden expenses, they do not exist with this model. "

"It would be nice if the pricing and licensing offered for less."

More Barracuda CloudGen Firewall pricing and cost advice

"We are currently using the trial version."

"The tool is moderately priced."

"The solution's pricing is good for the technology it offers."

"The solution’s pricing is less compared to other products."

"Our initial purchase, which included a three-year term of support, was about $25,000 USD."

"SonicWall NSV is not very costly."

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Educational Organization

20%

Computer Software Company

14%

Comms Service Provider

Manufacturing Company

Computer Software Company

16%

Government

Retailer

Financial Services Firm

Computer Software Company

24%

Government

Real Estate/Law Firm

Retailer

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...

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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...

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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 ...

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What do you like most about Barracuda CloudGen Firewall?

The encryption and the security standards are valuable.

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What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Barracuda CloudGen Firewall?

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

See all answers

What needs improvement with Barracuda CloudGen Firewall?

The interface of Barracuda CloudGen Firewall is not as user-friendly as others. It is a bit complicated and could be ...

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What do you like most about SonicWall NSV?

The product helps improve our security.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for SonicWall NSV?

The tool is moderately priced. We need to purchase an additional license for NSM. We can manage all the firewalls thr...

See all answers

What needs improvement with SonicWall NSV?

The price is a significant factor. Mostly in India, the customer service has many hurdles to get real support. If I w...

See all answers

Comparisons

Sophos XG vs Fortinet FortiGate

Compared 22% of the time

Netgate pfSense vs Fortinet FortiGate

Compared 13% of the time

Cisco Secure Firewall vs Fortinet FortiGate

Compared 11% of the time

WatchGuard Firebox vs Fortinet FortiGate

Compared 5% of the time

SonicWall TZ vs Fortinet FortiGate

Compared 5% of the time

More Fortinet FortiGate Competitors

OPNsense vs Barracuda CloudGen Firewall

Compared 12% of the time

Netgate pfSense vs Barracuda CloudGen Firewall

Compared 10% of the time

WatchGuard Firebox vs Barracuda CloudGen Firewall

Compared 9% of the time

Cisco Secure Firewall vs Barracuda CloudGen Firewall

Compared 8% of the time

Azure Firewall vs Barracuda CloudGen Firewall

Compared 8% of the time

More Barracuda CloudGen Firewall Competitors

Azure Firewall vs SonicWall NSv

Compared 32% of the time

SonicWall NSa vs SonicWall NSv

Compared 26% of the time

Stormshield Network Security vs SonicWall NSv

Compared 19% of the time

SonicWall TZ vs SonicWall NSv

Compared 13% of the time

Fortinet FortiGate-VM vs SonicWall NSv

Compared 10% of the time

More SonicWall NSv Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Fortinet FortiGate

May 2025

Download Fortinet FortiGate product report

Buyer's Guide

Barracuda CloudGen Firewall

May 2025

Download Barracuda CloudGen Firewall product report

Buyer's Guide

Firewalls

April 2025

Download SonicWall NSv product report

Also Known As

FortiGate 60b, FortiGate 60c, FortiGate 80c, FortiGate 50b, FortiGate 200b, FortiGate 110c, FortiGate, Fortinet Firewall

Barracuda NextGen Firewall, Barracuda CloudGen Firewalls

SonicWall Network Security Virtual

Overview

Fortinet FortiGate offers comprehensive network security and firewall protection across multiple locations. It effectively manages data traffic and secures environments with features like VPN, intrusion prevention, and UTM controls.

Organizations rely on Fortinet FortiGate for its robust integration with advanced security policies, ensuring significant protection for enterprises, cloud environments, and educational sectors. It facilitates network segmentation, application-level security, and authentication management, securing communication within and between locations such as branches and data centers. Its efficient SD-WAN and UTM features enable streamlined data management and enhanced threat protection capabilities. Users appreciate its centralized management, facilitating seamless operations across diverse environments.

What are the key features of Fortinet FortiGate?

VPN Capabilities: Ensure secure remote access for users and seamless site-to-site connections.
Intrusion Prevention System (IPS): Detect and prevent security threats and vulnerabilities.
Advanced Firewall: Offers robust firewalling with application control and web filtering.
SD-WAN: Optimizes application performance and enhances bandwidth management.
SSL VPN: Provides reliable and secure access for remote workers.

What benefits should users expect from Fortinet FortiGate?

High-performance Security: Delivers effective threat mitigation with high availability.
Centralized Management: Simplifies network operations with cloud-based management tools.
Detailed Analytics: Provides comprehensive insights into network activity and security threats.
Load Balancing: Ensures optimal resource distribution and traffic management.

Fortinet FortiGate is crucial in sectors like education, offering robust networks for secure data flow between campuses and facilitating remote learning. In enterprise environments, it allows efficient management of application traffic and security across multiple branches, while in the cloud, it seamlessly integrates with diverse platforms to enhance security infrastructure.

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

SonicWall NSV is a software-based virtual firewall that provides additional security for customers with public-facing servers or services on Microsoft Azure. The AGSS Bundle is considered the most valuable feature, providing security services such as antivirus, intrusion prevention system, and anti-spyware botnet GUI.

Additionally, customization of firewall rules provides great value to customers, allowing them to lock things up in the way they desire. SonicWall NSV offers extensive security control options to protect customers' valuable information and assets.

SonicWall

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

Comlogic, Depaul, Hutt City Council

Buyer's Guide

Barracuda CloudGen Firewall vs. SonicWall NSv

April 2025

Free Report: Barracuda CloudGen Firewall vs. SonicWall NSv

Find out what your peers are saying about Barracuda CloudGen Firewall vs. SonicWall NSv and other solutions. Updated: April 2025.

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