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BigID Next vs WatchGuard Firebox comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Jan 22, 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
7.3
BigID Next offers strong ROI through compliance, data management integration, cost savings, automation, and reduced staffing, avoiding fines.
Sentiment score
6.1
WatchGuard Firebox delivers reduced incidents, better security, and savings, despite some difficulty quantifying ROI, enhancing productivity and peace of mind.
It is one of the best tools in the market.
Senior Manager at KPMG
We have seen returns across all three aspects: fewer employees needed, money saved, and time saved with BigID.
Senior Security Consultant at a consultancy with 10,001+ employees
I have seen a return on investment from using BigID, particularly as it is a regulatory and compliance tool that helps avoid potential penalties for non-compliance.
Senior Security Consultant at a consultancy with 10,001+ 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
6.9
BigID Next's support is praised for responsiveness, efficiency, and high customer satisfaction, despite occasional delays and time-consuming initial contact.
Sentiment score
6.5
WatchGuard Firebox support is praised for expertise and responsiveness, with satisfaction noted despite some regional communication challenges.
BigID has one of the best technical support teams.
Senior Manager at KPMG
I would rate the customer support a six because you cannot directly reach out to L3 or L2 support if there's a major issue.
Senior Security Consultant at a consultancy with 10,001+ employees
developing the custom connectors was relatively easy because of the courses I attended at BigID University and the support given by the BigID engineering team.
Senior Security Consultant at a consultancy with 10,001+ employees
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
6.9
BigID Next is scalable with mixed opinions, excelling in large environments but facing data handling and presentation challenges.
Sentiment score
6.6
WatchGuard Firebox offers scalable solutions for small to mid-sized businesses, efficiently managing growth with flexible upgrades and configurations.
I have added very large data sources to the BigID environment, and it remains stable.
Senior Security Consultant at a consultancy with 10,001+ employees
BigID is scalable, allowing you to purchase as many scanners as you want.
Senior Security Consultant at a consultancy 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
7.5
BigID Next is often seen as reliable with some stability concerns but praised for data security and ease of use.
Sentiment score
8.0
WatchGuard Firebox is praised for stability, minimal downtime, and excellent performance, with prompt resolutions to occasional hardware issues.
BigID is generally stable, however, there is a noted issue with bulk tagging that can affect scan results.
Senior Associate - IT Governance and Compliance at Fulcrum Digital Inc
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

BigID Next needs enhancements in file access, security, automation, UI navigation, deployment, data governance, and support features.
WatchGuard Firebox needs better analytics, performance, usability, pricing, support, learning resources, and cloud integration compared to high-end competitors.
There is also an issue with incident tagging, where all objects get tagged without an option to untag specific ones, and reverting changes is only possible through MongoDB Central, which can lead to data loss for certain periods.
Senior Associate - IT Governance and Compliance at Fulcrum Digital Inc
I want them to focus on data mapping, assessment, automation workflow, and privacy incident management.
Senior Manager at KPMG
BigID deserves recognition for the data discovery part, which has been wonderful and quite accurate, along with the confidence level process that allows us to fine-tune results for better accuracy from the database.
Assistant Manager - Cyber : Digital Privacy and Trust at Deloitte
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

BigID Next offers premium, capacity-based pricing; valued by large enterprises for advanced features, less feasible for smaller businesses.
WatchGuard Firebox offers affordable pricing and comprehensive security, appealing to small and mid-sized businesses with flexible licensing.
BigID might be expensive as it involves various paid services, like data retention and graphic rights management.
Senior Associate - IT Governance and Compliance at Fulcrum Digital Inc
The pricing is competitive in the market, however, I need to ask for the right price.
Senior Manager at KPMG
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

BigID Next offers a user-friendly design, seamless Microsoft integration, and powerful data discovery, classification, and protection capabilities.
WatchGuard Firebox offers robust firewall capabilities, centralized management, and AI-enhanced security, making it ideal for scalable network protection.
One of the best features of BigID is its strength in data discovery and governance.
Senior Manager at KPMG
BigID simplifies things by integrating both data protection and data privacy in one environment, making it easier for end users.
Senior Security Consultant at a consultancy with 10,001+ employees
The most valuable feature of BigID is its large number of classifiers, which allow us to scan for specific data such as SSN numbers.
Senior Associate - IT Governance and Compliance at Fulcrum Digital Inc
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

BigID Next
Ranking in Data Loss Prevention (DLP)
13th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.0
Number of Reviews
15
Ranking in other categories
Data Governance (8th), Data Privacy Management Software (1st), Data Security Posture Management (DSPM) (5th), AI Data Analysis (7th), Data Security Platforms (DSP) (1st)
WatchGuard Firebox
Ranking in Data Loss Prevention (DLP)
10th
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
143
Ranking in other categories
Firewalls (12th), Intrusion Detection and Prevention Software (IDPS) (4th), Anti-Malware Tools (7th), Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) (10th), Application Control (4th), Unified Threat Management (UTM) (3rd)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of August 2026, in the Data Loss Prevention (DLP) category, the mindshare of BigID Next is 2.4%, down from 4.1% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of WatchGuard Firebox is 1.2%, up from 0.3% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Data Loss Prevention (DLP) Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
WatchGuard Firebox1.2%
BigID Next2.4%
Other96.4%
Data Loss Prevention (DLP)
 

Featured Reviews

Aniruddha Nath - PeerSpot reviewer
Senior Security Consultant at a consultancy with 10,001+ employees
Data discovery has transformed compliance workflows and automation now speeds up requests and remediation
The best feature that BigID offers is data discovery and classification, which is the most powerful engine. It allows connecting to many different data sources, ranging from cloud to on-premises to structured to unstructured data. If there is no connector available, you can build your own classifiers as well. Regarding the custom classifier option, you can build custom classifiers using regular expressions, and I have done that if you know how to create regular expressions. Custom connectors are something you create to connect to a database where the connector is not available. BigID has positively impacted my organization as it's a very powerful tool, especially with the increasing regulatory compliances for different countries such as GDPR, CCPA, and India's recent DPDPA act. Having these tools in place greatly helps organizations avoid any penal charges for not being compliant with the regulatory compliances. For example, regarding compliance or reduced risks for my clients, the DSAR process I was talking about allows organizations to respond quickly to user data deletion requests under GDPR law, which traditionally has a 30-day or 60-day timeline. In larger organizations, when the number of requests is high, it becomes tedious. However, using DSAR automation with BigID, it's almost instantaneous; instead of 30 days, you can respond in just one day to what users have requested.
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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909,725 professionals have used our research since 2012.
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
18%
Manufacturing Company
11%
Insurance Company
8%
Comms Service Provider
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 Business5
Large Enterprise11
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business104
Midsize Enterprise30
Large Enterprise17
 

Questions from the Community

What needs improvement with BigID?
One improvement I would suggest is addressing the intermittent failures of BigID scans, as there are times when some errors occur. I think the BigID team is aware of this and works on resolving iss...
What is your primary use case for BigID?
BigID's main use case is connecting to various data sources to perform the data discovery process, classify the data within those systems, and identify sensitive information across various structur...
What advice do you have for others considering BigID?
I have covered information regarding data scanning, data classification, and the DSAR module, as these are the parts I have worked on, apart from developing custom connectors for a few data sources...
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

Home Depot, Grant Thornton LLP, Cimpress, Fidelity Investments
Ellips, Diecutstickers.com, Clarke Energy, NCR, Wrest Park, Homeslice Pizza, Fortessa Tableware Solutions, The Phoenix Residence
Find out what your peers are saying about BigID Next vs. WatchGuard Firebox and other solutions. Updated: August 2026.
909,725 professionals have used our research since 2012.