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Check Point NGFW vs Palo Alto Networks K2-Series comparison

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Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Apr 6, 2025

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
Sponsored
Ranking in Firewalls
2nd
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.1
Number of Reviews
373
Ranking in other categories
Software Defined WAN (SD-WAN) Solutions (1st), WAN Edge (1st)
Check Point NGFW
Ranking in Firewalls
5th
Average Rating
8.8
Reviews Sentiment
7.4
Number of Reviews
324
Ranking in other categories
Unified Threat Management (UTM) (1st)
Palo Alto Networks K2-Series
Ranking in Firewalls
34th
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.7
Number of Reviews
34
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of July 2025, in the Firewalls category, the mindshare of Fortinet FortiGate is 21.2%, up from 17.7% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Check Point NGFW is 3.0%, down from 3.2% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Palo Alto Networks K2-Series is 0.1%, up from 0.0% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Firewalls
 

Featured Reviews

Vasu Gala - PeerSpot reviewer
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.
Hailemichael Yigrem - PeerSpot reviewer
Advanced security features enhance threat detection and prevention
Check Point NGFW provides granular application control and detailed visibility over application and user activity. It integrates with the ThreatCloud ecosystem, enabling real-time threat detection and prevention. The User Identity Awareness blade integrates with Active Directory, identifying user traffic sources. Check Point NGFW is highly scalable and has centralized management through SmartConsole, which manages policies, logs, and threat data. It reduced our incidents and decreased the time to analyze cyber threats by 70 percent.
Krishnakumar M - PeerSpot reviewer
One of the best tools for the prevention of evasive threats
There is a feature called granular application controls, which I liked. Instead of relying on ports and IP addresses, they use AMP ID. This kind of solution is very good. Another valuable feature is the prevention of evasive threats, which is one of the best tools I've encountered. SSL decryption and app ID-based SSL decryption are also impressive, along with the integration with user ID. Identity-based policies ensuring only authorized users can access specific resources are excellent features. Normally, there is something called SIM or SCIM in IDA IDM, but this feature is provided on the box, which is exemplary.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"It is user friendly, and has all the features you need."
"We are using the FortiGate 100D series. VPN, firewall, anti-malware, OTM, and intrusion prevention are useful features."
"The solution is stable."
"What I appreciate about Fortinet FortiGate is that the UI is easier than what I've previously known from Sophos."
"The product is very stable, easy to troubleshoot, and configure, so it has reduced the time it takes for support."
"The network security and cloud security are most valuable."
"The security fabric is excellent."
"The most valuable feature is the ease of use."
"Its greatest asset lies in its user-friendly interface, making it exceptionally suitable and reliable for managing gateways."
"The uncomplicated configuration ensures that mistakes are avoided and rules are easily audited."
"The spoofing prevention feature is the most valuable feature."
"Another thing I like is that whenever we make changes on the firewall, we first need to publish them and then install the policies. This allows us to double-check the policies before they are implemented, which is helpful."
"Investing in Check Point NGFW has saved us a lot of money by protecting us from many cyberattacks, thus maintaining our security posture."
"Check Point has a really cool GUI."
"My experience with Azure DevOps shows it's a very powerful platform; it's helped us streamline our development processes significantly, and I would definitely recommend it."
"If there is a critical issue observed, the Check Point support team can create a custom package that we can deploy on the gateway to mitigate critical issues/bug fixes."
"Mainly, it is very easy to understand, and the logs are very good."
"K2-Series' best features include its scalability, which is the best on the market."
"This is a very reliable firewall and we have never had problems with it."
"Simple integrations with the domain controllers and other inventories"
"This firewall is very good for our customers because they don't have to write their own rules for adding an application."
"Overall, this is a very simple and very effective firewall, and I am satisfied with it."
"Overall product rating: Nine out of ten."
"Palo Alto firewalls are scalable enough. We have about 110 employees in our company, and we are about to expand to 130."
 

Cons

"They need to improve their technical support."
"With the reports, you can see it, and you can get good feelings so upper management can go, "Oh, wow. That looks pretty." However, it's very basic."
"Some of the filtering is not robust, you can escape it with a VPN. Some of the users bypass some of the filters. It catches some but it also misses some, that area could be improved. It's functioning reasonably but there's room for improvement in that area."
"The solution could have licensing fees reduced in the future."
"Due to its higher cost, Fortinet FortiGate can lead to increased operational expenses."
"Sometimes you do need to know some CLI commands, so it's a bit harder for technicians or new people that don't know it."
"The cloud management and automation capability could be improved."
"NGN, reporting and controls."
"In the future, some of the features that I would like to see would be the ability to integrate environmental solutions such as the metaverse or blockchain so that we can see them also in applications directly and on mobile devices or natively."
"Timely updates to security databases, firmware, and software are crucial for addressing new threats."
"SmartEvent Settings and Policy GUI, and the rest of external apps should be improved."
"The main thing for a normal operations guy who is creating tools and firewalls, it is quite difficult to manage. It requires an expert level of knowledge in Check Point products to manage these scalable platform appliances and the virtual firewall that comes with it. We have to educate our guys and give them training on a regular basis to work on these products."
"The firewall can improved to make it more user-friendly."
"One of the biggest disappointments is the GUI."
"They have few predefined reports and it would be nice to increase them since the logs are excellent."
"For R80.10 and above, if you want to install a hotfix, then you can't install it through the GUI. I don't know why. In the earlier days, I was able to do the installation of hotfixes through the GUI. Now, Check Point said that you have to install hotfixes through the CLI. If that issue could be resolved, then it would be great because the GUI is more handy than the CLI."
"I'd like to see more data protection on the system."
"They could improve by providing more features in the solution."
"Palo Alto has many other products. It would be nice for these products to be centralized under one tool"
"It would be really helpful to have dashboards that provide information on IOC blockings such as where and how many. It will also be good to know how many hashing files have been reported. It would also be nice to have easy access to this information. Otherwise, it's a painful, manual task."
"They should implement the features that the other firewalls have."
"There are a lot of bugs in this solution."
"Sometimes there are interactions with support or the provider that are not ideal."
"Palo Alto doesn't have extended visibility to the end point in their firewalls."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"It is cost-effective, and provides a good value for your money. The pricing, and license renewal, is very reasonable for us."
"The price is fine."
"Its pricing is competitive with other solutions."
"Fortinet costs are 25% lower than the high-cost provider. There is an equipment cost and a recurring monthly cost for licenses and technical support."
"The pricing for the product is alright."
"Fortinet FortiGate has different licensing models, depending on what you're going to do. Services included would depend on the license model. Licenses can be renewed annually."
"It is affordable. Palo Alto is much more expensive than Fortinet."
"As far as I'm aware, in our case, it's just a yearly pricing arrangement with no additional licensing costs."
"The pricing and licensing part is something that could be improved. Check Point license and pricing are a bit higher compared to competing firewalls. I think they can work on that."
"Licensing is pretty straightforward and is based on the blades available, such as NGFW, NGTP, and NGTX."
"Check Point Firewall costs more compared to the other firewalls in the markets, as pricing is little high. However, it is easy to take the license and use it in the firewall."
"Check Point brings good value for the money and is competitive in the market."
"Check Point offers the same applications and features as Palo Alto for roughly a third of the price."
"The product is not that expensive for what it is offering, but it could be cheaper."
"The price is too high."
"I don't see that Check Point is very high, but it is geared more towards enterprises."
"It is an expensive solution."
"We are on an annual license to use Palo Alto Networks K2-Series."
"When comparing Palo Alto Networks K2-Series with other solutions it is on the higher end of the price scale."
"Palo Alto Networks K2-Series is an expensive solution, the price could be reduced. They are more expensive than some of their competitors."
"The overall price of Palo Alto Networks K2-Series could be reduced."
"Products by the leader in the field are justifiably a bit more expensive compared to other vendors."
"The price of this solution is too high."
"This is an expensive solution, although you will get value for the price."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
15%
Educational Organization
10%
Comms Service Provider
8%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Educational Organization
30%
Computer Software Company
12%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Comms Service Provider
4%
Computer Software Company
18%
Performing Arts
14%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Comms Service Provider
7%
 

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...
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 ...
How does Check Point NGFW compare with Fortinet Fortigate?
I have experience on both from Disti and channel experience. Please find below my comments (nothing new as such). -Ch...
Which would you recommend - Azure Firewall or Check Point NGFW?
Azure Firewall is easy to use and provides excellent support. Valuable features include integration into the overall ...
What do you like most about Check Point NGFW?
Check Point NGFW provides essential security, featuring no-obligation access for secure connections, strong intrusion...
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.
 

Also Known As

FortiGate 60b, FortiGate 60c, FortiGate 80c, FortiGate 50b, FortiGate 200b, FortiGate 110c, FortiGate, Fortinet Firewall
Check Point NG Firewall, Check Point Next Generation Firewall
No data available
 

Overview

 

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
Control Southern, Optimal Media
State of North Dakota, SEGA, Alameda County Office of Education, Temple University, VERGE, CAME
Find out what your peers are saying about Check Point NGFW vs. Palo Alto Networks K2-Series and other solutions. Updated: July 2025.
861,034 professionals have used our research since 2012.