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Check Point Cloud Firewall (formerly CloudGuard Network Security) vs Juniper Contrail SD-WAN comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Apr 15, 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
7.0
Check Point Cloud Firewall offers ROI by reducing costs, enhancing security, and improving efficiency with flexible application management.
Sentiment score
4.9
Juniper Contrail SD-WAN offers enhanced performance, faster deployments, cost efficiencies, robust security, and improved visibility, simplifying management and reducing errors.
The value lies in maintaining operational integrity with zero downtime or incidents, facilitating secure, ongoing business operations.
Cybersecurity consultant at a comms service provider with 51-200 employees
Implementing CloudGuard has resulted in an excellent return on investment over one hundred percent ROI.
Android Developer at Droidforge
The unified policy is comprehensive and helps me to create firewall policies that are shared across all our facilities and plants.
System engineer at a manufacturing company with 1,001-5,000 employees
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
7.2
Check Point Cloud Firewall customer service is praised for prompt, professional support despite occasional regional delays in response.
Sentiment score
1.0
Juniper Contrail SD-WAN support is rated highly, with responsive service and effective assistance from Juniper and local partners.
They usually respond quite fast, and they are very knowledgeable about what they do.
Network security engineer at a tech services company with 201-500 employees
We had an endless loop of emails trying to fix this, and the suggestion was to reinstall the gateway and do it from scratch, which was not an option at that point because it would leave that specific location without access.
System administrator at a consultancy with 201-500 employees
Available twenty-four by seven.
Android Developer at Droidforge
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
7.7
Check Point Cloud Firewall scales efficiently, supports growth, and meets diverse needs with smooth performance despite occasional complexities.
Sentiment score
6.8
Juniper Contrail SD-WAN excels in scalability for large enterprises, despite security challenges and evolving competition from companies like Fortinet.
It is capable of managing the increased load and performs well as our needs expand.
IT Security Analyst at Eos Energy Enterprises, Inc.
I can deploy it everywhere I need it.
Security & Network Services at a tech company with 201-500 employees
We have transitioned from 1,000 to 500 users without any issue.
Cloud Infrastructure Engineer at delaware BeLux
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
8.0
Check Point Cloud Firewall is reliable with high uptime, integrating well despite occasional provider-related and deployment issues.
Sentiment score
6.5
Juniper Contrail SD-WAN is praised for stability and reliability, with users favoring it over Cisco and reporting no performance issues.
I have not observed any downtime.
Sales manager/ project manager at Atea
For instance, when we are working on a release and do an upgrade, we start experiencing unexpected issues.
Chief Technology Officer at Chief Security Officers
The solution is stable.
Network administrator at Helios IT Service GmbH
 

Room For Improvement

Check Point Cloud Firewall needs better API integration, documentation, user experience, threat detection, and affordability for small businesses.
Juniper Contrail SD-WAN needs better training, user-friendly demo, improved support, integration, marketing, and optimized cost and UI/UX design.
Scalability could be improved as well; needing to purchase a new license each time I want to add a new interface is not ideal.
Security architect at Twinformatics
Better documentation would be welcome.
Network security engineer at a tech services company with 201-500 employees
The user interface could be more intuitive, and the initial setup and configuration can be complex, requiring a technical team.
Android Developer at Droidforge
 

Setup Cost

Check Point Cloud Firewall offers flexible pricing and features like scalability, with varying user opinions on cost-effectiveness against competitors.
Juniper Contrail SD-WAN offers cost-effective, flexible licensing with competitive pricing, ensuring excellent ROI for large enterprises.
The pricing and licensing are expensive, costing between seven thousand to eight thousand dollars.
Android Developer at Droidforge
Check Point is expensive, however, with the features and capabilities, I can justify the cost.
Manager, Managed Security Services at a tech vendor with 51-200 employees
It is the highest in the market.
System engineer at a manufacturing company with 1,001-5,000 employees
 

Valuable Features

Check Point Cloud Firewall offers advanced security, scalability, and integration to enhance cloud migrations and operational efficiency.
Juniper Contrail SD-WAN boosts security, visibility, and performance, excels in cloud integration, and simplifies operations through automation and acquisitions.
One of the most valuable features is the automated threat prevention, which helps us detect and block potential cyberattacks in real-time, minimizing data breaches.
Android Developer at Droidforge
Centralized management is the feature I like best, resulting in reduced workload and more continuous policy.
Security & Network Services at a tech company with 201-500 employees
Network Security provides us with unified security management across hybrid and cloud as well as on-prem.
Manager, Managed Security Services at a tech vendor with 51-200 employees
 

Categories and Ranking

Check Point Cloud Firewall ...
Ranking in Software Defined WAN (SD-WAN) Solutions
3rd
Ranking in WAN Edge
3rd
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.4
Number of Reviews
167
Ranking in other categories
Firewalls (8th), Managed Security Services Providers (MSSP) (1st), Cloud and Data Center Security (5th), Unified Threat Management (UTM) (4th)
Juniper Contrail SD-WAN
Ranking in Software Defined WAN (SD-WAN) Solutions
13th
Ranking in WAN Edge
8th
Average Rating
7.8
Reviews Sentiment
5.4
Number of Reviews
7
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of July 2026, in the Software Defined WAN (SD-WAN) Solutions category, the mindshare of Check Point Cloud Firewall (formerly CloudGuard Network Security) is 3.1%, up from 1.3% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Juniper Contrail SD-WAN is 2.2%, up from 0.9% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Software Defined WAN (SD-WAN) Solutions Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Check Point Cloud Firewall (formerly CloudGuard Network Security)3.1%
Juniper Contrail SD-WAN2.2%
Other94.7%
Software Defined WAN (SD-WAN) Solutions
 

Featured Reviews

reviewer2875401 - PeerSpot reviewer
Network Engineer at a outsourcing company with 10,001+ employees
Unified security policies have protected our hybrid network with deep, user-based controls
The main limitations of Check Point Cloud Firewall (formerly CloudGuard Network Security) are not in Check Point itself but in the cloud platforms on which it is deployed. Because not all clouds have L2 infrastructure, you cannot build a unified clustering system everywhere. As a result, the problem usually is not with Check Point, but with the cloud. The main problem with Check Point Cloud Firewall (formerly CloudGuard Network Security) is that it uses a separate thick client instead of a browser. A browser-based SmartConsole exists, but it still has a number of limitations, while the thick client, the so-called SmartConsole, often works unstably, freezes, and has to be restarted. I do not recommend using Check Point Cloud Firewall (formerly CloudGuard Network Security) as a VPN hub for site-to-site VPN because it is inconvenient to monitor the state of its tunnels, especially visually. It does not have a convenient snap-in and everything can be checked only via the console, which is very inconvenient. Check Point is not the most universal solution as a device that provides routing and administration capabilities in addition to security. It is an excellent firewall, but it has a number of limitations in terms of routing and in creating VPN sessions, especially in terms of displaying their states.
IS
Solution Architect at Posteo
Has automation features but provisioning new branches or making changes to the existing ones is difficult
I've worked with several SD-WAN solutions over the past few years, and the product felt more like an automated provisioning tool. Unlike solutions from Palo Alto or other SD-WANs orchestrated by a SaaS solution, Juniper Contrail SD-WAN already had the files and built their SaaS to orchestrate the configuration. Initially, you didn't do much, but then it started adding some routing capabilities. The automation features do help with network operations. Manually configuring SD-WAN is complicated, so the automation simplifies that. However, the initial SD-WAN solution had many limitations, particularly regarding its features. At some point, the tool began looking for other solutions and bought the 128T, which led to implementing a different SD-WAN approach. It also acquired another company for its session smart router, and then it began to develop the exact SD-WAN solution on the Mist Cloud.
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Construction Company
16%
Outsourcing Company
11%
Financial Services Firm
10%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Financial Services Firm
14%
Media Company
14%
Comms Service Provider
8%
Healthcare Company
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business72
Midsize Enterprise39
Large Enterprise81
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business7
Large Enterprise1
 

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Check Point CloudGuard Network Security?
Check Point Cloud Firewall (formerly CloudGuard Network Security) is comparatively conservative in terms of pricing; it is not a very expensive product. If you are a Check Point shop with multiple ...
What needs improvement with Check Point CloudGuard Network Security?
Check Point Cloud Firewall (formerly CloudGuard Network Security) is definitely lagging behind its peers. I am not sure what the reason is. Compared to Palo Alto, they are not there in terms of cap...
What is your primary use case for Check Point CloudGuard Network Security?
Check Point Cloud Firewall (formerly CloudGuard Network Security) is a cloud-native application protection platform and a suite of multiple products. We primarily use it for our hybrid multi-cloud ...
What needs improvement with Juniper Contrail SD-WAN?
There might be additional features that would be beneficial to have in the Juniper Contrail SD-WAN solution, including potential design improvements and UI/UX issues that have been observed.
What is your primary use case for Juniper Contrail SD-WAN?
Some time back, I conducted research on our website, PeerSpot.com, about IT solutions, specifically about Huawei Wireless and Juniper Mist Wireless Access Points. I am not selling anything or worki...
What advice do you have for others considering Juniper Contrail SD-WAN?
I was wondering if it would be acceptable to ask you a few questions about your experience with Juniper solutions. I would be interested to know your relationship with Juniper, whether you are a cu...
 

Also Known As

CloudGuard IaaS, Check Point vSEC, CloudGuard IaaS, Check Point Virtual Systems, Check Point CloudGuard Network Security
Contrail SD-WAN
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Physicians Choice Laboratory Services, Helvetica Insurance
Allied Pinnacle
Find out what your peers are saying about Check Point Cloud Firewall (formerly CloudGuard Network Security) vs. Juniper Contrail SD-WAN and other solutions. Updated: June 2026.
905,526 professionals have used our research since 2012.