Check Point Quantum Force (NGFW) vs McAfee StoneGate [EOL] comparison

Check Point Software Technologies and McAfee are both solutions in the Firewalls category. Additionally, 96% of Check Point Software Technologies users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 66% of McAfee users who would recommend it.

Check Point Quantum Force (...

Read 346 Check Point Quantum Force (NGFW) reviews

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20,605 Comparison Views

96% willing to recommend

McAfee StoneGate [EOL]

Read 3 McAfee StoneGate [EOL] reviews

66% willing to recommend

Check Point Quantum Force (...

McAfee StoneGate [EOL]

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Nov 23, 2025

McAfee StoneGate EOL and Check Point Quantum Force NGFW compete in the network security market. Check Point Quantum Force NGFW has the upper hand for those valuing comprehensive security solutions due to its advanced features.

Features: McAfee StoneGate EOL provides solid traffic management, effective intrusion prevention, and affordable security. Check Point Quantum Force NGFW offers extensive threat prevention technologies, superior integration options, and advanced security features, making it a preferred choice for comprehensive security needs.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: McAfee StoneGate EOL has a straightforward deployment model and reliable customer support, reducing setup complexity. Check Point Quantum Force NGFW stands out with a refined deployment process and enhanced support services, ensuring rapid deployment and dependable assistance.

Pricing and ROI: McAfee StoneGate EOL offers competitive pricing and reasonable ROI, appealing to budget-conscious buyers. Check Point Quantum Force NGFW, despite higher initial costs, provides significant ROI through extensive features and security enhancements, making it worth the investment for organizations prioritizing robust security.

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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

Check Point Quantum Force (...

Average Rating

8.8

Reviews Sentiment

7.2

Number of Reviews

346

Ranking in other categories

Firewalls (6th), Unified Threat Management (UTM) (2nd)

McAfee StoneGate [EOL]

Average Rating

7.0

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Featured Reviews

Dev Saini

Network Security Engineer at Connecting Cyber Networks

Advanced threat prevention has protected our perimeter and simplifies daily security operations

Check Point Quantum Force (NGFW) can be improved in several areas. First, the interface could be a little more intuitive for new users. The Smart Console is powerful, but it has a steep learning curve when you start using it. Some simple functions for common tasks would help. Second, the initial setup and configuration take quite a bit of time and expertise. It would be helpful if there were more guides, wizards, or templates to speed that up. Third, the price model could be more transparent and flexible. The license cost can add up quickly, specifically when you want to add more advanced features. Finally, I would appreciate seeing better integration with some third-party security tools we use. Right now, we have to do a lot of manual work to make everything talk to each other. Overall, these are minor things. The core product is really solid and does what it is supposed to do very well. The documentation could be more comprehensive in some areas. When we run into issues, the documentation does not have clear answers, so we end up contacting support. Speaking of support, the response time could be faster sometimes. We have had cases where we need help with a certain security issue, and it takes longer than we would prefer to get a response. As for features, it would be nice to have more general reporting options so we can customize reports for different teams and stakeholders without having to do manual work afterward. One more thing, better mobile access to the dashboard would be helpful. Sometimes we need to check on security alerts when we are away from the office, and the mobile experience is not as smooth as it could be. Again, these are improvements that would make it even better, not issues with the core product itself.

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it_user935460

Computer Framework at a healthcare company with 1,001-5,000 employees

It works well with a highly-active cluster.

It is important for us in case of a disaster, or in case of a failure of one server. This means that the high availability is the most important part for us. It is important for us that the system is available and no connection is going to be lost if the system is restarting one note, or something like that. This is the main request for us for a good firewall protection product.

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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

"It has various features, like Threat Prevention and Antivirus. It is easier to use and have knowledge of a single device rather than multiple devices/technologies when doing an installation. It is also easy to use because of having Antivirus and Threat Prevention features within the same firewall."

"It helped clients get through big audits for PCI, which has been very cost-effective for them."

"As a system administrator my favourite part of Check Point is the smart view tracker. This alone is a must-have tool for tracking all traffic traversing the Check Point appliance."

"The Check Point smart dashboard has made things easier for administration and we've been able to manage all the Check Point devices from one place which is very useful."

"Deep packet inspection, Layer 7, and application layer monitoring and detection are the great features of Check Point Next-Generation Firewalls that greatly improve and protect an organization, its staff, and its resources."

"The product is flexible."

"Check Point Quantum Force (NGFW) has impacted our organization positively because it acts as a first layer of defense, providing security, reducing security incidents, and minimizing the time required by our engineers."

"It is giving us a greater reach for greater prevention and is proactively protecting our employees."

More Check Point Quantum Force (NGFW) pros

"We did not have issues with scalabiliy."

"The stability of the product is fantastic; it is a really proven system and I never had any type of problem where the system was unstable or had a software failure."

"It has given us better application control."

"High availability is very consistent and provides good firewalling and stability."

"It works well with a highly-active cluster."

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."

"My experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing is that the setup cost was significant, pricing is substantial, and licensing is very pricey."

"The pricing could be better."

"The perimeter antivirus can be improved. It's not as good as other leaders."

"Sometimes when they bring on new upgrades, they affect something else."

"The smart console is heavy."

"Check Point can improve in the VPN sector because I still have a problem using VPN in active-active with its R82 feature since it can only incorporate with active tunnel route mode to route mode and policy-based to policy-based."

"Support needs to show greater consistency and speed, especially in the area of non-enterprise clients or smaller customers."

More Check Point Quantum Force (NGFW) cons

"The hardware needs improving as we had a lot of problems with the hard drive reliability, both with the firewall and the intrusion protection system."

"HA failover is not stable."

"After some experience with the solution, we had to do some redesign, but generally, we were happy with the product."

Pricing and Cost Advice

"There are competitors that have more expensive solutions than Check Point NGFW, such as Palo Alto. There are times when Check Point NGFW can have good offerings with a three-year license. The presence of Palo Alto has been heavily invested in marketing."

"The price of this product is not too costly and you do not need to pay for all of the features."

"The pricing is a bit high, but obviously it gives you advanced features. If you want to buy the best thing on the market, you have to pay extra money."

"When comparing the price of Check Point NGFW to other solutions it's difficult to compare because even though everything is included in the Fortinet price, there are large differences between the models. You need to go to a quite expensive Fortinet firewall to receive the same throughput and functionality as in a Check Point firewall. In the end, they are quite similar in price, Fortinet might be a bit cheaper."

"Check Point offers the same applications and features as Palo Alto for roughly a third of the price."

"This product is not cheap and there are additional costs that depend on what model or package that you buy."

"The tool is a bit expensive."

"Check Point NGFW is not a cheap solution."

More Check Point Quantum Force (NGFW) pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Outsourcing Company

19%

Construction Company

11%

Financial Services Firm

10%

Computer Software Company

No data available

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	164
Midsize Enterprise	94
Large Enterprise	198

No data available

Questions from the Community

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). -Check Point GUI is a bit complicated, -Application and Web filtering are better t...

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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 cloud platform, autoscaling, and the ability for users to create virtual IP addr...

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What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Check Point NGFW?

Our experience with pricing for Check Point Quantum Force (NGFW) has been mixed. The initial setup costs were fairly significant because we needed to buy the hardware appliances and then pay for th...

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Comparisons

Fortinet FortiGate vs Check Point Quantum Force (NGFW)

Compared 17% of the time

Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls vs Check Point Quantum Force (NGFW)

Compared 15% of the time

Cisco Secure Firewall vs Check Point Quantum Force (NGFW)

Compared 11% of the time

Sophos Firewall vs Check Point Quantum Force (NGFW)

Compared 4% of the time

Juniper SRX Series Firewall vs Check Point Quantum Force (NGFW)

Compared 4% of the time

More Check Point Quantum Force (NGFW) Competitors

Cisco Secure Firewall vs McAfee StoneGate [EOL]

Compared 62% of the time

More McAfee StoneGate [EOL] Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Check Point Quantum Force (NGFW)

August 2026

Download Check Point Quantum Force (NGFW) product report

Buyer's Guide

Firewalls

August 2026

Download McAfee StoneGate [EOL] product report

Also Known As

Check Point NG Firewall, Check Point Next Generation Firewall

McAfee Next Generation Firewall, Stonesoft, Intel Next Generation Firewall, Intel Security StoneGate

Overview

Check Point Quantum Force NGFW provides centralized management with scalable security for network perimeters. As a reliable firewall, it ensures advanced threat prevention and offers seamless integration, making it suitable for various network environments.

Offering comprehensive security, Check Point Quantum Force NGFW helps control ingress and egress traffic, secures data center firewalls, and integrates seamlessly with cloud and on-premises setups. Users appreciate its application control, deep packet inspection, and identity awareness features for enhanced protection against cyber threats. Despite pricing issues and interface complexity, its IPsec VPN and robust logging provide valuable insights into network activities.

What are the key features of Check Point Quantum Force NGFW?

Centralized Management: Simplifies administrative tasks across different environments.
Advanced Threat Prevention: Shields against evolving cyber threats with real-time protection.
Deep Packet Inspection: Analyzes traffic to prevent intrusions without impacting performance.
Application Control: Manages access to applications, enhancing security policies.
IPsec VPN: Secures remote connections with encrypted tunnels.

What benefits should users consider for Check Point Quantum Force NGFW?

Scalability: Adapts to the changing needs of organizations of different sizes.
Integration Capabilities: Works alongside existing systems for a comprehensive defense strategy.
Logging and Reporting: Offers detailed insights into network activity and threats.
User-Friendly Interface: Streamlines management with intuitive controls despite initial complexity.

Check Point Quantum Force NGFW is deployed across industries for securing network boundaries, supporting critical data center operations, and enabling secure VPN connections. In finance, it helps meet stringent compliance standards, while in healthcare, it's crucial for protecting sensitive patient data through robust security protocols.

Check Point Software Technologies

StoneGate is a Highly Available Firewall/VPN. The StoneGate fault-tolerant VPN maintains sessions across multiple VPN devices and multiple Internet or network connections, regardless of device or connection failures. StoneGate provides Security, Manageability, Availability, and Scalability thus reducing network security complexity and costs. Stonesoft was the inventor of high availability for security solutions and a recognized leader in network security.

McAfee

Sample Customers

Control Southern, Optimal Media

Avency, R€SLER Oberfl_chentechnik GmbH, MAUSER Group, CEMEX, Cegedim, Fusion Media Networks

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