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Check Point SandBlast Network vs Palo Alto Networks WildFire vs Symantec Advanced Threat Protection comparison

 

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:
 

Mindshare comparison

As of July 2026, in the Advanced Threat Protection (ATP) category, the mindshare of Check Point SandBlast Network is 3.4%, down from 3.7% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Palo Alto Networks WildFire is 7.1%, down from 11.0% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Symantec Advanced Threat Protection is 2.1%, up from 1.6% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Advanced Threat Protection (ATP) Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Palo Alto Networks WildFire7.1%
Check Point SandBlast Network3.4%
Symantec Advanced Threat Protection2.1%
Other87.4%
Advanced Threat Protection (ATP)
 

Featured Reviews

Karan Pichlangia - PeerSpot reviewer
Assistant General Manager at Sunteck Realty Pvt Ltd
Advanced threat analysis has reduced malware incidents and gives our security team more confidence
The best features that Check Point SandBlast Network offers include threat emulation for zero-day attacks, which I truly appreciate, and deep file analysis across multiple OS environments. The deep file analysis from Check Point SandBlast Network makes my daily workflow much easier, as I am able to analyze everything in terms of a report about my network. Check Point SandBlast Network has positively impacted my organization, as I have seen huge changes with a notable drop in malware incidents, especially with suspicious attachments; it gives the security team confidence that known or zero-day files are checked automatically. Regarding the huge drop in malware incidents, I estimate that it may be around 20%.
RK
Engineer at Taalumgroup
Achieve effective threat prevention and seamless integration with powerful technical support
Integration with third-party products is possible. For example, connecting a mail gateway with Palo Alto Networks WildFire allows them to handle prevention. Palo Alto Networks WildFire is a cloud-based sandboxing solution. The firewall is connected to WildFire, and XDR performs sandboxing from the cloud. WildFire conducts malware scanning and emulation, then informs the firewall to block threats based on the response. It also generates reports regarding malware and other issues. The sandboxing process involves sending sample files to the cloud for scanning, checking file authenticity, certificates, and detecting malicious code. WildFire performs multiple checks and informs the XDR agent about file status. This automatic process occurs within minutes or seconds. For unknown or suspicious files, immediate blocking occurs while samples are sent to WildFire for identification. I rate Palo Alto Networks WildFire a 9 out of 10.
Dennis O'Reilly - PeerSpot reviewer
Cyber SecOps Principal at Dotcom Security
Provides end-to-end antivirus protection and has good stability
Symantec Endpoint Protection provides end-to-end protection. Along with antivirus protection, it has a lot of key areas, including intrusive prevention, firewall features, and application and device control. It can integrate with other Broadcom solutions, such as Symantec Messaging Gateway and Symantec DLP. If you want to send an email, it gets scanned through endpoint protection and DLP. We get all Symantec functionality in a single pane.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"It seems like it works all the time. We have never had an issue. We have never had something go undetected, anything major. All in all, it works pretty well."
"SandBlast Network enhances security by providing advanced threat prevention."
"Preventing zero-day threats and extracting potential threats from incoming files with Threat Extraction is the most valuable feature for us."
"You do not need to risk your network by using the in-line sandbox."
"The most valuable feature is comprehensive threat prevention, whether signature-based or a zero-day secure network."
"The overall security of the environment has been greatly improved by the Check Point NGFWs with the SandBlast Network blade activated."
"We didn't really have any IPS before. So, Check Point has improved our security posture. People get used to doing things certain ways, which might not be the best or most secure way, and they can't do that now, which just requires more education of the user base. With the endpoint client, we've started to use Check Point for remote access."
"The specific security feature that stands out to me in Check Point SandBlast Network is its real-time protection, which extracts, emulates, and blocks traffic if any malicious signatures are present."
"Stability is never a concern."
"Being an application-based firewall, this is one of the critical focus factors along with the threat prevention services it provides."
"For example, if a security Intel threat talks about an IOC. We can then go to our MSP and say, "Is there a signature for this particular type of malware that just came out?" And if they'll say yes, then we'll say, "Okay. Does it apply to these firewalls? And have we seen any hits on it?" There's absolutely value in it."
"From my perspective, Palo Alto is the best solution in the market."
"The solution has plenty of features."
"The primary use case for this solution is the attention to detail, and it is also easy to manage and easy to use."
"I give the initial setup an eight out of ten."
"After implementing the Palo Alto firewalls, they have achieved more than what is expected, and we are able to control the number of applications; who gets to have access, and what is flowing inside the network."
"The most valuable feature is Click-time URL protection."
"Technical support has been helpful and responsive."
"What I like most about Symantec Advanced Threat Protection is its notification capability."
"The most valuable feature is NetFlow threat protection."
"Real-time threat analysis is quick and takes action on threats immediately."
"The Application Control code and the easy integration are valuable features."
"Currently we have 800-plus nodes connected with this solution, without any issues. The solution is scalable."
"All of the solution's features are quite valuable for us, and we especially like the threat protection it provides."
 

Cons

"SandBlast takes longer than FortiSandbox to complete a scan."
"There have been a couple of things that we've tried where we read through the documentation, and we were really looking for some help in implementing, and technical support wanted me to try it first, then call them if it breaks. It would be nicer if they would hold my hand a bit more. It makes me nervous in production, as I don't have a lab."
"The Threat Emulation software blade significantly affects the performance of the NGFWs, we have a significant increase in the CPU and memory consumption."
"Most of the time stability is okay, but sometimes, we're not able to contact the cloud. It won't last for long. The product could be faster."
"We would like to see this solution reach mobile devices more efficiently, through apps or more specific products."
"The response times were slower, and getting support personnel on the call was more difficult."
"They need to improve the GUI interface."
"The technical support could use some work, but it's okay. It's a little bit of a tedious process to get through."
"The solution can improve its traffic management."
"It would be nice if there was an easier way to install and deploy it, such as through the inclusion of wizards."
"Improving detection on non-Windows formats would be beneficial as there are many samples, such as Linux or ransomware for macOS."
"Other vendors have some sort of bandwidth management built into the firewall itself and Palo Alto is missing that."
"The automation and responsiveness need improvement."
"We also found that several websites do not function well with the SSL Decryption feature."
"The price could be better."
"The support is quite difficult to access promptly. I rate it as seven out of ten."
"The administration interface needs a lot of improvement. It should be UI-based and simple."
"The product's support services need improvement."
"The support team that Symantec offers didn't know how to solve issues even though they referred to themselves as "engineers"."
"There are some ‎features that would add value to this product. One of them would be a graphical presentation of threats that the system has encountered."
"It's a strange situation where the infrastructure of the consumer or customer is behind some kind of firewall and they have always used some kind of customized proxy. In this situation, the ATP has a very tough time to pass the information to the cloud and back. To fix, it requires a more elaborate and complex configuration for that particular case."
"Symantec appliances need improvement. The whole appliance environment is a robust system and it needs a massive amount of storage space. If you have to increase or speed up the background storage it's a pretty complicated process. The scalability and sizing is critical, and if you do it wrong you run into issues pretty quickly."
"Not ideal for advanced threat protection."
"There are limits with respect to blocking files by hash value or blocking IP addresses, and these limits should be removed."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The cost is not significantly high and it can be negotiated during any purchase of NGFW."
"The pricing is quite effective, not excessively high. On a scale of one to ten, where ten is the highest price, I rate the pricing a nine."
"We have seen ROI."
"Choosing the correct set of licenses is essential because, without the additional software blade licenses, the Check Point gateways are just a stateful firewall."
"We would like to try the Threat Extraction blade, but you need to buy a license. Check Point is expensive. I would like to buy things, but I would need the funding."
"I think the overall cost for introducing Check Point with SandBlast was reasonable and competitive in the market."
"The cost of Check Point SandBlast Network is annually, and there is only a standard license."
"The product's cost is high."
"The pricing is affordable and fixed."
"WildFire is a little bit pricey. Sometimes it's difficult to sell it to customers at the current price."
"Palo Alto Networks WildFire is a product with a high price."
"The pricing is highly expensive."
"The price is expensive but is reasonable considering overall functionality."
"It is a reasonable price compared to other solutions on the market."
"Palo Alto Networks WildFire is an expensive product."
"Palo Alto Networks solutions are typically on the higher end of pricing, but considering the value and integration with our existing infrastructure, it is worth the investment."
"The price is quite expensive."
"Pricing is good. It is nice to have a great product at a fair price."
"Symantec Advanced Threat Protection's pricing is comparable."
"Symantec Endpoint Protection has an average price."
"The pricing of this solution is inexpensive and affordable."
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Comparison Review

it_user206346 - PeerSpot reviewer
Security Consultant at Webernetz.net - Network Security Consulting
Mar 11, 2015
Cisco ASA vs. Palo Alto Networks
Cisco ASA vs. Palo Alto: Management Goodies You often have comparisons of both firewalls concerning security components. Of course, a firewall must block attacks, scan for viruses, build VPNs, etc. However, in this post I am discussing the advantages and disadvantages from both vendors concerning…
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Outsourcing Company
12%
Construction Company
11%
Financial Services Firm
10%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Manufacturing Company
11%
Comms Service Provider
8%
Computer Software Company
8%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Financial Services Firm
11%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Outsourcing Company
10%
Marketing Services Firm
9%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business31
Midsize Enterprise8
Large Enterprise13
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business38
Midsize Enterprise15
Large Enterprise29
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business9
Midsize Enterprise3
Large Enterprise13
 

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Check Point SandBlast Network?
My experience with pricing and setup cost is that pricing was a bit high, but the setup cost was initially justified.
What needs improvement with Check Point SandBlast Network?
I feel that Check Point SandBlast Network could be improved with slight delays in cleaning the file delivery. Additio...
What is your primary use case for Check Point SandBlast Network?
My main use case for Check Point SandBlast Network is advanced threat protection, especially for scanning emails, att...
How does Cisco Firepower NGFW Firewall compare with Palo Alto Networks Wildfire?
The Cisco Firepower NGFW Firewall is a very powerful and very complex piece of anti-viral software. When one conside...
Which is better - Wildfire or FortiGate?
FortiGate has a lot going for it and I consider it to be the best, most user-friendly firewall out there. What I like...
How does Cisco ASA Firewall compare with Palo Alto's WildFire?
When looking to change our ASA Firewall, we looked into Palo Alto’s WildFire. It works especially in preventing advan...
What needs improvement with Symantec Advanced Threat Protection?
One area for improvement could be the pricing model. Future releases could further enhance integration capabilities w...
What is your primary use case for Symantec Advanced Threat Protection?
Our primary use case for the product is to provide advanced threat protection to our clients, primarily in the bankin...
What advice do you have for others considering Symantec Advanced Threat Protection?
Symantec ATP has proven to be a reliable and effective solution. I rate it a nine out of ten.
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Edenred, State Transport Leasing Company (STLC), Edel AG, Laurenty, Conseil Départemental du Val de Marne, Koch Media
Novamedia, Nexon Asia Pacific, Lenovo, Samsonite, IOOF, Sinogrid, SanDisk Corporation
ECI
Find out what your peers are saying about Palo Alto Networks, Proofpoint, Microsoft and others in Advanced Threat Protection (ATP). Updated: July 2026.
907,664 professionals have used our research since 2012.