Check Point NGFW vs Palo Alto Networks K2-Series comparison

Check Point NGFW vs. Palo Alto Networks K2-Series

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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 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

Manager, Information Technology Operation/Presales at TechMonarch

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.

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Hailemichael Yigrem

Senior Cyber Security Engineer at Deliver ICT and Telecommunication Technology PLC

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.

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Krishnakumar M

enterprise architect at a tech services company with 1-10 employees

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.

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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

"The most valuable feature of Fortinet FortiGate is the simple configuration."

"The stability of the solution is excellent, as it is with other Fortinet products."

"Security, SD-WAN, and Streetscape are valuable features."

"Fortinet FortiGate is a stable solution."

"One of the nice things about FortiGate is that it can be deployed on the cloud or on-premises. You can actually do both. That's the biggest reason why I stick with this solution as opposed to something like Cisco Meraki. Another nice thing is that I can log directly into a FortiGate or get to it through their FortiCloud access products. They're pretty reliable and consistent. One of the reasons why I started using the product was their single pane of management. I can deploy their line of firewalls in conjunction with their switching and access points, and I can manage the entire network from one interface. I don't have to log into one interface for the firewall, another one for the access points, and another one for the switches. These firewalls have access point controller functionality built right into the system, so I don't even have to purchase additional devices to manage them."

"The tool is a nice product and easy to handle. The software's user interface is also good. You can easily implement remote access in the solution."

"The SD-WAN is the most valuable feature."

"This product is definitely scalable."

More Fortinet FortiGate pros

"There are also additional features, compared to a Layer 4 or Layer 3 firewall, such as AV signatures and devices, which are very helpful for securing the company's network."

"Check Point's rule management helped us simplify access control. At one point, we had more than 1,000 access control policies, and it was challenging to manage them all. We cut it down to 300 policies using Check Point's management features, and we are still working on reducing this further to achieve the best way to manage policies. Its logging and monitoring enable us to trace and investigate suspicious traffic."

"The feature I like the most is their central management, the Smart controller which you can use to manage all the firewalls from one location... Being able to access almost everything in one location — manage all your gateways and get all your logs — for me, is the best feature to work with."

"Investing in Check Point NGFW has saved us a lot of money by protecting us from many cyberattacks, thus maintaining our security posture."

"I would absolutely recommend this solution to others for its robust security and scalability."

"The most valuable feature is the central management system through the Security Management Server. Apart from that, the graphical user interface helps us to do things easily."

"The price point is good."

"One of the most valuable features is performance improvement, wherewith ClusterXL and CoreXL, you can improve performance."

More Check Point NGFW pros

"As long as the solution is kept updated, it's pretty stable."

"Palo Alto has better and finer controls than, say, Cisco or Check Point."

"Simple integrations with the domain controllers and other inventories"

"The company is inventive and always adds a lot of great features."

"The most valuable feature of Palo Alto Networks K2-Series is the configuration, it is very clear."

"The most valuable feature is availability."

"The scalability of the product is quite high."

"One of the most valuable features is Palo Alto's firewall management. We find it easier to manage the firewall centrally."

More Palo Alto Networks K2-Series pros

Cons

"The central management for the FortiGate Fortinet Firewall needs improvement. They have the manager to do the essential management for both SD-WAN and for the security policy. They should also improve the SD-WAN function."

"I would like to see a more intuitive dashboard."

"The Wi-Fi controller needs a lot of improvement."

"FortiOS is not simple."

"This product needs to have an analysis feature, rather than having the analysis done through the integration of a different product."

"The pricing could be a bit better, especially when you consider how they have the most basic offering priced."

"The configuration part was challenging, especially converting configurations from another OEM to FortiGate."

"They are doing good, but they can improve the distributor assignment. The availability of the product and the timeline of delivery are the main things. The distribution should be swift, and the distributor should not reach out to end customers directly. They should work as a distributor. There should also be one more local distributor. Currently, there is only one distributor in Pakistan, and the rest of them are in UAE. It is difficult to work with only one distributor. Sometimes, you don't get along with the same distributor, and that's why they should have one more distributor. Their licensing should also be improved. The activation or renewal of the product should be done from the date of renewal, not from the date on which the license expired."

More Fortinet FortiGate cons

"If you check each and every point from this part, you will find some flow in an area, or you will discover another flow in another area."

"I hope for product simplification. It would be better to use one security console, instead of many of them (for licensing and monitoring). The solution is hard for newcomers and takes much time to deep in. Also, I want a historical graph for throughput and system resources usage. Maybe it will be great to make easy step-by-step installation and configuration cookbooks as Fortinet did, and integrate the documentation within the solution."

"The policy installation length is still too long. It was promised that the time would be severely reduced in newer versions, but it is still too long."

"The tool must improve its support."

"There is room for improvement in application-based filtering, as with other firewalls available in the market today."

"The client for the central tools is very big - maybe using web access in future releases, similar to other vendors should be possible."

"For the user or anyone else who is using Check Point, they are more into the GUI stuff. Check Point has its SmartConsole. On the console, you have to log into the MDS or CMS. Then, from there, you have to go onto that particular firewall and put in the changes. If the management console could be integrated onto the GUI itself, that would be one thing that I would recommend."

"You need to merge all the old consoles into one new one and make the interface more convenient for the novice administrator."

More Check Point NGFW cons

"Threat prevention could use improvement. Not just in malware exploits and C2 traffic; enhancing web traffic protection would be a great upgrade."

"They should implement the features that the other firewalls have."

"It is recommended that the Palo Alto Networks K2-Series be implemented step by step for the Panorama. Sometimes we can't overwrite the configurations because it fails."

"When it comes to renewing the solution, they tend to try to jack up the pricing."

"The ease of management and configuration should be improved."

"The scalability for on-premises version is limited as it depends on the model."

"Its networking features could be better."

"The URL Filtering module needs to have more categories added to it."

More Palo Alto Networks K2-Series cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"It's very affordable."

"Fortinet FortiGate is reasonably priced."

"It is a good product from a price perspective versus functionality."

"The main reason we chose Fortinet FortiGate was that the price was better than the competition."

"We find the most valuable aspect of this solution is the price. It is affordable, and cheaper than other firewalls."

"I would rate the pricing a five out of ten"

"On a scale of one being cheap and ten being expensive, I rate the tool's price as an eight."

"Its pricing is good. The advantages of Fortinet FortiGate over its competitors include good pricing and meeting our requirements at a lower cost."

More Fortinet FortiGate pricing and cost advice

"The price could be decreased, because the competitors of Check Point Firewall are giving lower prices in comparison."

"The licensing fees are paid on a monthly basis and I am happy with the pricing."

"The technology itself is impressive, but I find the pricing a bit on the higher side."

"Palo Alto is somehow not as good as Check Point, budget-wise and performance-wise. Palo Alto is more costly than Check Point."

"The solution is indeed costly."

"We pay the licensing fees on a yearly basis."

"While it may be slightly more expensive, when compared with competition it is reasonable."

"Licensing is on a yearly basis and I am happy with the pricing."

More Check Point NGFW pricing and cost advice

"Pricing is a sensitive issue because the cost is high in this market."

"If you compare K2-Series' quality with its price, I think it is reasonable."

"This product is designed for large companies. The price would not be suitable for a small or medium size company."

"The overall price of Palo Alto Networks K2-Series could be reduced."

"This is an expensive solution, although you will get value for the price."

"The price of this solution is too high."

"This solution is expensive compared to other, similar products."

"Palo Alto Networks K2-Series is an expensive solution, the price could be reduced. They are more expensive than some of their competitors."

More Palo Alto Networks K2-Series pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

15%

Educational Organization

11%

Comms Service Provider

Manufacturing Company

Educational Organization

34%

Computer Software Company

11%

Financial Services Firm

Comms Service Provider

Computer Software Company

19%

Performing Arts

14%

Manufacturing Company

10%

Comms Service Provider

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 do you like most about Palo Alto Networks K2-Series?

It is a stable solution.

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.

Sophos XG vs Fortinet FortiGate

Comparisons

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Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls vs Fortinet FortiGate

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Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls vs Check Point NGFW

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Netgate pfSense vs Check Point NGFW

Compared 8% of the time

Sophos XG vs Check Point NGFW

Compared 8% of the time

Cisco Secure Firewall vs Check Point NGFW

Compared 6% of the time

OPNsense vs Check Point NGFW

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Product Reports

Fortinet FortiGate

Download Fortinet FortiGate product report

Check Point NGFW

Download Check Point NGFW product report

Palo Alto Networks K2-Series

June 2025

Download Palo Alto Networks K2-Series product report

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

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

Check Point NGFW provides comprehensive firewall protection, managing VPNs, and securing network perimeters with advanced threat prevention techniques. It's widely used to protect businesses, data centers, and ensure secure traffic management.

Check Point NGFW offers robust security for companies, delivering security features like threat prevention, URL filtering, and intrusion prevention across both layer 3 and layer 7. It supports remote access, web filtering, application control, and safeguards against malware, botnets, and zero-day attacks. With its intuitive management console, deep packet inspection, centralized management capabilities, and sophisticated threat detection, Check Point NGFW enhances network security and productivity. The system integrates seamlessly with other technologies and provides real-time monitoring, detailed reporting, and automated policy management. Additionally, its setup is straightforward, it scales well, and offers comprehensive logging.

What are the key features?

VPN capabilities: Ensures secure remote access and encrypted communications.
Intuitive management console: Simplifies administration with an easy-to-use interface.
Application control: Provides extensive control over applications running on the network.
Deep packet inspection: Examines data packets in detail to detect and prevent threats.
Intrusion prevention system: Protects against unauthorized access and attacks.
Centralized management: Manages all security policies and devices from one location.
Automated policy management: Reduces administrative tasks through automation.
Advanced threat detection: Identifies sophisticated threats in real-time.
Real-time monitoring: Continuously monitors network traffic and security events.
Easy setup and scalability: Simplifies deployment and scales with business needs.

What are the benefits?

Enhanced security: Provides comprehensive protection against a range of cyber threats.
Increased productivity: Simplifies security management, allowing IT teams to focus on other tasks.
Improved visibility: Detailed reporting and monitoring provide insights into network activity.
Reduced risk: Automated threat detection and policy management mitigate potential risks.
Cost efficiency: Consolidates multiple security functions, reducing the need for additional solutions.

Check Point NGFW is implemented in industries like finance, healthcare, and retail, where protecting sensitive data and ensuring compliance are critical. Its advanced security features and ease of management make it suitable for large enterprises and data centers, ensuring reliable and secure network operations.

Check Point Software Technologies

Designed to handle growing throughput needs due to increasing amounts of application-, user-, and device-generated data, the K2-Series offers amazing performance and threat prevention capabilities to stop advanced cyberattacks and secure mobile network infrastructure, subscribers, and services.

Palo Alto Networks

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

Check Point NGFW vs. Palo Alto Networks K2-Series