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Check Point Quantum Force (NGFW) vs Fortinet FortiGate-VM vs Sophos UTM 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:
 

ROI

Sentiment score
5.7
Companies report high ROI with Fortinet FortiGate due to cost-effectiveness, security, performance, and ease of management.
Sentiment score
7.3
Check Point Quantum Force enhances security, boosts productivity, and offers cost savings, delivering high ROI satisfaction despite calculation challenges.
Sentiment score
8.2
Fortinet FortiGate-VM enhances network stability and security, offering cost savings and scalability, though ROI perceptions vary among users.
Sentiment score
6.9
Sophos UTM offers competitive pricing and extensive security coverage, leading to swift ROI and improved network management efficiency.
Clients are now comfortable and not wasting productive hours on IT support.
The automation part is giving us a cost benefit and speed; we can react faster.
It's a very useful tool to mitigate and protect your enterprise.
This is a time-saving measure because we don't need to deploy a cluster or a firewall each time; we just create a virtual system on the management server using the same appliance.
Without the firewall, the incident could have taken hours to contain and cost tens of thousands in potential damage and downtime.
Incident response time has reduced significantly, and downtime due to network issues has been minimized, leading to an improved return on investment.
I observed a fifty to sixty percent reduction in operational costs after migrating to FortiGate VM.
They have a platform that organizes their networks and access effectively.
We haven't used MPLS for over five years now, and it was extremely beneficial to see the changes from MPLS to SD-WAN using Fortinet FortiGate.
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
6.4
Fortinet FortiGate's service is praised for good documentation but receives mixed feedback on technical support speed and effectiveness.
Sentiment score
6.4
Check Point Quantum Force support is mixed; responsive for critical issues but inconsistent for non-critical and advanced support.
Sentiment score
6.6
Fortinet FortiGate-VM support is praised for responsiveness but faces criticism for response times, expertise, and regional consistency.
Sentiment score
6.9
Sophos UTM is praised for responsive, knowledgeable support, despite occasional complaints, earning high marks for customer service.
They offer very accurate solutions.
The quick resolution of issues with Fortinet FortiGate is due to the support of the company and the fact that the equipment is easy to work with.
I would rate the technical support for Fortinet FortiGate a ten out of ten.
The support team we engaged was knowledgeable and well-versed with the application.
We have escalated issues to Check Point technical support multiple times and have received timely and very good responses.
Even challenging issues like those with VPNs have been resolved efficiently with their help.
The speed of Fortinet's technical support is significantly faster compared to Palo Alto.
Their support is helpful and effective.
The end-user support is delayed at levels L2 and L3.
The technical support by Sophos is amazing, especially when I pay for the enhanced support.
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
7.0
Fortinet FortiGate offers scalable, adaptable solutions for varied business sizes, despite some hardware limitations in large deployments.
Sentiment score
8.0
Check Point Quantum Force handles scalability and high-throughput demands effectively, ensuring performance through clustering and Maestro technology.
Sentiment score
8.1
Fortinet FortiGate-VM offers scalable and efficient performance in virtual environments, with flexibility and enhanced capacity compared to hardware.
Sentiment score
8.5
Sophos UTM scales well with proper sizing, enabling easy expansion in various environments from small setups to large networks.
They scale up really well from smaller models like the FortiGate 40 and 50 to bigger sites with the FortiGate 100 for more throughput - up to enterprise datacenters.
The variation comes in terms of the interfaces and throughputs, but from a security perspective, you get the same benefit, irrespective of whether you have an entry-level unit or an enterprise.
We determine sizing based on multiple factors: number of users, available links, traffic types, server count, services in use, and whether services will be published.
If specified correctly, even the smaller boxes offer high session and bandwidth rates, making the solution highly scalable, even up to telco-level requirements.
It is easy to scale up by adding capacity through clustering or upgrading the license, and it effectively handles spikes in remote user connections or increased east-west traffic without noticeable bottlenecks.
Its modular architecture allows us to add interfaces or upgrade throughput as our network grows without replacing the entire appliance.
Scalability is well-supported, with the notable ability to implement features easily.
It can start with a single core and scale up to a 32-core license for a robust deployment.
We currently have a little over 2,000 users working with Fortinet FortiGate in our environment.
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
7.5
Fortinet FortiGate is stable and reliable with updates addressing high CPU usage, memory constraints, and firmware bugs efficiently.
Sentiment score
7.9
Check Point Quantum Force (NGFW) is highly reliable, with robust stability, prompt support, and minimal downtime through frequent hotfixes.
Sentiment score
7.9
Fortinet FortiGate-VM is generally reliable, with occasional stability issues that improve with proper sizing, configuration, and updates.
Sentiment score
8.3
Sophos UTM is stable and reliable, with minimal issues, though updates can occasionally cause temporary problems.
We're experiencing 99.999% availability consistently.
I would rate the stability of Fortinet FortiGate a ten out of ten.
Currently, we are experiencing a general outage of one of the main internet service providers of the Dominican Republic, and we have not been impacted in our operations because with SD-WAN, we have another internet service provider and we are working with the second WAN connection without any disruption.
High-availability features, including clustering and redundant components, ensure continuous protection even during maintenance or hardware failure.
While the solution is generally stable, there are complications, such as requiring SmartConsole for deployment and upgrades, which can be time-consuming.
I have worked with Check Point products for 15 years and haven't found any stability or performance issues.
The product has been very stable, based on my ten to eleven years of experience.
In the past couple of years, they started releasing numerous new features, and things have become somewhat unstable.
The traffic is stable and seamless.
 

Room For Improvement

Fortinet FortiGate needs interface improvements, better bandwidth management, enhanced reporting, consistent performance, and streamlined support, licensing, and cloud integration.
Check Point Quantum Force requires enhancements in stability, interoperability, licensing, user interface, support, costs, integration, and management tools.
Fortinet FortiGate-VM requires improvements in UI, stability, support, pricing, cloud integration, analytics, and user-friendly management.
Sophos UTM users seek improved scalability, performance, VPN capabilities, interface usability, cost transparency, support, and simplified management features.
Investing in a solution that can accommodate such growth would be more cost-effective than repeatedly purchasing new hardware.
While Fortinet claims to offer a comprehensive network solution, it falls short in addressing computer application issues, particularly server security.
When considering Sophos XG, which we also use, the logging and reporting functionality is notably more efficient.
Other products, like FortiGate, are perceived as more intuitive because they are easier to configure from the start.
More granularity and control for threat prevention, especially on the OT side, would be beneficial.
It would be beneficial for Check Point NGFW to integrate more advanced AI and machine learning algorithms for better threat detection and response.
The constant daily revisions necessitate meticulous identification of the relevant documents to prevent the use of outdated information that could jeopardize our environment.
I am concerned about Fortinet's ability to help us meet regulatory compliance because its optimal functionality requires deploying all solutions within the mesh as Fortinet products.
The API needs better integration to match accounts and objects more effectively.
I would love to see artificial intelligence capabilities integrated into Sophos UTM.
With artificial intelligence, there is room for improvement in all antivirus and security software.
 

Setup Cost

Fortinet FortiGate offers flexible, competitively priced solutions with excellent price-performance ratio compared to Cisco and Palo Alto.
Check Point Quantum Force's pricing is high but considered justified by its features, though the licensing model is complex.
Fortinet FortiGate-VM is competitively priced, with flexible licensing, though costs can rise with scaling and advanced features.
Sophos UTM offers competitive pricing with varied licensing options, though some users find it costly compared to alternatives.
Last year, I renewed the support for three years, which can sometimes be expensive but depends on the security benefits and how it helps us.
It is about 20% cheaper.
The advantages of Fortinet FortiGate over its competitors include good pricing and meeting our requirements at a lower cost.
In comparison to Fortinet and other products, the pricing may be considered high.
Compared to other solutions, the pricing of Check Point NGFW is high.
The perception is that Check Point NGFW is expensive, especially when all software modules are included.
FortiGate is priced lower than Palo Alto.
The license for Fortinet FortiGate-VM costs 100K to 150K Philippine pesos per year for VM1 or VM2.
They could be slightly cheaper, however, Fortinet offers a good cost-benefit ratio.
Pricing has become expensive recently due to the dollar hike and naira value changes in Nigeria.
The value between what I receive and what I pay is the best in the industry.
 

Valuable Features

Fortinet FortiGate is valued for its diverse features, cost-efficiency, and scalability, offering comprehensive network protection and easy management.
Check Point Quantum Force enhances security with centralized management, robust threat prevention, real-time AI intelligence, and advanced VPN functionality.
Fortinet FortiGate-VM provides robust security, easy management, seamless integration, flexibility, and cost-effective protection with comprehensive features and control.
Sophos UTM provides scalable security with web protection, VPN, centralized management, and integration, suitable for all business sizes.
In terms of security, we have not experienced any security flaws or loopholes, and it has proven to be quite stable.
FortiGate has helped reduce the risk of cyberattacks that might disrupt our client's production.
These features help reduce our downtime, manage the ISPs, and deploy SLAs for all the website traffic.
The firewall's default behavior of blocking all traffic, including a cleanup rule that blocks everything from external to internal sources, is highly valuable for protecting our network.
The most valuable features in my experience include perimeter firewalling, cloud and mobile security, application control, URL filtering, DLP, threat prevention, intrusion protection, and safeguarding against malware, botnets, and zero-day attacks.
Since implementing it, we have noticed a lot less getting through that maybe other antivirus within firewalls had failed to catch.
The more integrated we become, the less we spend on solving bugs and issues, allowing us to reduce time focusing on understanding and improving our network.
Fortinet is the only provider to have successfully set up a unified operating system on all its products in the network security ecosystem.
I appreciate FortiGate's flexibility, which allows for centralized management through FortiManager.
The zero-day protection and firewall rules are some of the most effective features for threat management.
This integration of the antivirus and the firewall works together to enhance security.
 

Mindshare comparison

Firewalls Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Check Point Quantum Force (NGFW)2.8%
Fortinet FortiGate20.1%
Netgate pfSense11.1%
Other66.0%
Firewalls
Firewalls Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Fortinet FortiGate-VM1.8%
Fortinet FortiGate20.1%
Netgate pfSense11.1%
Other67.0%
Firewalls
Unified Threat Management (UTM) Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Sophos UTM14.0%
WatchGuard Firebox13.2%
Cisco Meraki MX11.6%
Other61.2%
Unified Threat Management (UTM)
 

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.
Mohammed Tanveer - PeerSpot reviewer
AI-driven threat prevention consistently reduces incidents and saves time for strategic tasks
While Check Point Quantum Force (NGFW) is a robust and high-performance solution, the reporting and analytics customization could be enhanced. Though the Smart Console provides comprehensive visibility, more advanced, customizable dashboards and reports would help the team quickly focus on the metrics that matter most to them. Integration with third-party tools presents challenges. While Quantum Force works well within the Check Point ecosystem, integration with other tools such as SIEM, ticketing, and monitoring tools can be extremely difficult. However, once integrated, these tools provide very good visibility. The initial deployment complexity, especially for new organizations or smaller teams, can be challenging. More guidance, a setup wizard, or pre-configured templates for common scenarios could reduce the learning curve. Additionally, there have been occasional issues with the Check Point support team.
Khushru_Mistry - PeerSpot reviewer
Simple to use and does a wonderful job in protecting enterprises
At this moment, we believe that Fortinet FortiGate should be improved by injecting more AI because the kind of threats we are seeing are more ransomware threats. Fortinet FortiGate is able to ensure these threats do not enter, but we would prefer to see more proactive alerting mechanisms come out.
Samaila Yusuf - PeerSpot reviewer
Network protection strengthens through effective threat management features and secure access control
The zero-day protection and firewall rules are some of the most effective features for threat management. I can set the rules and features, and also use IPsec to connect all my on-premises servers and link them to Sophos UTM so that they are protected even when in the cloud. Additionally, I use it to control access into the building through a captive portal integrated across all the PCs we have, ensuring secure access only for authenticated users.
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
16%
Comms Service Provider
9%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Financial Services Firm
6%
Computer Software Company
15%
Financial Services Firm
10%
Comms Service Provider
6%
Manufacturing Company
6%
Computer Software Company
17%
Comms Service Provider
7%
Financial Services Firm
7%
Government
6%
Computer Software Company
14%
Comms Service Provider
8%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Government
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business261
Midsize Enterprise99
Large Enterprise143
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business131
Midsize Enterprise98
Large Enterprise195
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business68
Midsize Enterprise29
Large Enterprise33
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business70
Midsize Enterprise26
Large Enterprise26
 

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...
Which would you recommend - FortiGate VM or Azure Firewall?
Both of these solutions are excellent options that provide flexible scalability and solid security. Fortinet Fortigat...
What do you like most about Fortinet FortiGate-VM?
An enhanced security solution for any kind of alert that we have configured.
What do you like most about Sophos UTM?
The most valuable feature of Sophos UTM is the endpoint protection feature.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Sophos UTM?
The value between what I receive and what I pay is the best in the industry.
What needs improvement with Sophos UTM?
With artificial intelligence, there is room for improvement in all antivirus and security software. However, the bad ...
 

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
FortiGate Virtual Appliance, FortiGate-VM
Astaro
 

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
Security7 Networks, COOPENAE
One Housing Group
Find out what your peers are saying about Fortinet, Netgate, OPNsense and others in Firewalls. Updated: August 2025.
866,685 professionals have used our research since 2012.