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Barracuda Web Security and Filtering vs SonicWall CFS comparison

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Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary

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

Barracuda Web Security and ...
Ranking in Web Content Filtering
2nd
Average Rating
7.6
Reviews Sentiment
6.6
Number of Reviews
11
Ranking in other categories
Secure Web Gateways (SWG) (26th)
SonicWall CFS
Ranking in Web Content Filtering
9th
Average Rating
0.0
Reviews Sentiment
8.7
Number of Reviews
1
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of October 2026, in the Web Content Filtering category, the mindshare of Barracuda Web Security and Filtering is 12.4%, up from 8.2% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of SonicWall CFS is 4.5%, up from 3.2% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Web Content Filtering Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Barracuda Web Security and Filtering12.4%
SonicWall CFS4.5%
Other83.1%
Web Content Filtering
 

Featured Reviews

SC
Assistant Product Manager at Mentholatum (Asia Pacific) Limited
Efficient email blocking safeguards our communication, though advanced features remain needed
They need to provide a Sandbox to safely examine phishing links within emails without infecting our network. Also, I would like more end-to-end email tracing for a clearer understanding of why an email was blocked or not blocked. The current version is somewhat outdated, and I am looking for advanced features in the premium version.
DS
Consultant at a media company with 51-200 employees
Reliable content filtering but need more traffic control
To deploy it as a proxy, we use this solution for content filtering, URL filtering, and solution filtering on the user end. When the user is connecting to the internet and should not access some social media website or malware sites, we can block it through SonicWall CFS. CFS is our content…

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The support is fantastic, which is one of the reasons that I love the solution."
"I would recommend this product to others as it has been serving its purpose in our environment and we never had any major issues with it."
"The support is fantastic."
"The overall performance of the product is great."
"The Barracuda solution has improved the way we function by consolidating threat management and network optimization in one standalone appliance."
"It is straightforward to deploy and manage."
"Barracuda Web Security and Filtering efficiently blocks phishing emails and provides flexible policy settings."
"The solution is very simple to use and implement."
"It is very stable."
"When the user is connecting to the internet and should not access some social media website or malware sites, we can block it through SonicWall CFS."
 

Cons

"Barracuda products are cheap."
"The AD agent is an issue which my customers and I have encountered. Sometimes it refuses to start and, only as time goes by, does it become apparent that things are not working the way they should."
"With the level of customer service from Barracuda I would rate them an 8/10. We find them polite and helpful, however you do wait quite a while to speak to someone."
"Our problem is that it's a virtual appliance and we're moving to a new platform and, for whatever reason, we can't move it as it is... When we were migrating our virtual machines from the old to the new system, we determined rather quickly that it wouldn't migrate over."
"It doesn't allow adding DNS filtering for off-site clients."
"If they're not able to help us get their product over to a new platform, that's not very good."
"The solution’s customer support should be improved."
"We have been using the 310 model since 3 years and recently the appliance started hanging up and needs a reboot to fix."
"It has to be able to control more than just web traffic. Malware, scanning, capture, and integration should be included with the content filtering."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"It is a cost-effective solution."
"The solution's pricing is neither cheap nor expensive."
"Barracuda products are cheap."
"The price could be better. Barracuda started adding more features at the end of 2022. There was no price increase if you bought the maintenance package before the end of 2022. If you signed a three-year contract, you are lucky because there won't be a price increase on those features. Their pricing has increased if you wanted to install all of their features. But they are segmenting. You can buy the whole group, or you can get pieces. But it's tedious. The cost is getting higher than it should."
"The pricing and licensing are comparatively reasonable."
"Licensing is on a yearly basis and the pricing is very reasonable."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Construction Company
24%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Government
8%
Outsourcing Company
8%
No data available
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business10
Midsize Enterprise1
Large Enterprise1
No data available
 

Questions from the Community

What needs improvement with Barracuda Web Security Gateway?
They need to provide a Sandbox to safely examine phishing links within emails without infecting our network. Also, I would like more end-to-end email tracing for a clearer understanding of why an e...
What is your primary use case for Barracuda Web Security Gateway?
Mainly, I use it for blocking suspicious emails, such as malware or phishing emails, so they don't pass through our email gateway and reach my colleagues' mailboxes.
What advice do you have for others considering Barracuda Web Security Gateway?
Those who want to use Barracuda Web Security and Filtering should look for more up-to-date and advanced functionality to compete with other vendors. I rate the overall solution six out of ten.
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Also Known As

Barracuda Web Security Gateway, Barracuda Web Filter
SonicWall Content Filtering Service
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Citizen Farmers Finance, Osoyoos Credit Union, Supreme Services, Camden County Technical Schools, Frederick County Schools, Pine Belt Mental Healthcare, Paulsboro Public Schools, Dysart Unified School District, St. Michael's Grammar School, Southfield Schools District, Total Threat Protection - Wade Ford, Alain Pinel Realtors, Southfield Public Schools, Major League Baseball (MLB)
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Find out what your peers are saying about iboss, Barracuda Networks, Smoothwall and others in Web Content Filtering. Updated: August 2026.
915,287 professionals have used our research since 2012.