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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 January 2026, in the Advanced Threat Protection (ATP) category, the mindshare of Check Point SandBlast Network is 3.1%, down from 4.6% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Palo Alto Networks WildFire is 7.6%, down from 11.9% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Symantec Advanced Threat Protection is 1.9%, up from 1.6% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Advanced Threat Protection (ATP) Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Palo Alto Networks WildFire7.6%
Check Point SandBlast Network3.1%
Symantec Advanced Threat Protection1.9%
Other87.4%
Advanced Threat Protection (ATP)
 

Featured Reviews

MW
Technical Specialist at Softcell Technologies Limited
Comprehensive security solution mitigates advanced threats
Improvements for Check Point SandBlast Network can be seen in dashboard usability; the threat emulation logs and analysis reports could be made more intuitive and visually appealing. Enhancing the system for granular tuning to reduce false positives and allowing benign files to bypass checks more simply for non-expert users would be beneficial. Additionally, faster emulation times could be achieved by increasing file scanning speed through hardware productivity enhancements. A specific instance where file scanning speed posed an issue was when the time taken depended on the file size. Scanning can take less than a minute or up to 2 minutes for larger files. Enhancing the file scanning time would be a significant improvement to the system.
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.
TapabrataSamanta - PeerSpot reviewer
Lead Architect at Zones
Reliable platform with effective integration capabilities
Our primary use case for the product is to provide advanced threat protection to our clients, primarily in the banking and financial sectors Symantec ATP has been beneficial in ensuring robust security for our clients. Its effectiveness in detecting and mitigating threats has improved customer…

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The best feature about Check Point SandBlast Network is its capability to prevent and secure the LAN network from zero-day attacks."
"Securing the environment through the sandboxing feature of Check Point SandBlast Network helps my team catch threats before they reach users, and it gives us more confidence in opening files from outside sources, improving our daily workflow."
"It saves time with us trying to do the analysis. We use it to try to find out how something got into the network. We use it to stop something before it ever gets in."
"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."
"I have seen both money and time saved as a return on investment."
"The most valuable feature of Check Point SandBlast Network is the sandboxing of PDF and Microsoft system files."
"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 product gives us advanced protection, including artificial intelligence and machine learning technologies and services."
"I value the massive usage of artificial intelligence and machine learning technologies."
"Stability-wise, I rate the solution a ten out of ten since we never faced any issues."
"It helps us when segmenting and securing the network and all sort of technologies, all sort of next generation needs. It's next generation phases of firewall like anti-virus, sandboxing, wifi, and VPN."
"I absolutely recommend WildFire because it dramatically reduces response times against zero-day attacks."
"You have better control because you define apps. You just don't define ports. You define apps, and the apps are monitored in the traffic. It is more specific than the Cisco firewall when it comes to our needs."
"Technology-wise, it is good because of the granular controls we get in Palo Alto Networks."
"My primary use case for this solution is for a secure gateway."
"The way that the solution quickly updates to adjust to threats is the solution's most valuable aspect. When there's a security attack, within five minutes, all Wildfire subscribers have access to updates so that all systems will be safe. Its threat prevention is way better than other vendor products."
"The incident management on the solution is very good. You get a lot of detailed information about an incident. You also get a lot of documentation in connection with the CVI or integration."
"Technical support is very responsive. You just have to open a ticket. They respond in a timely manner. Their response is good. I'm satisfied."
"The most valuable feature is NetFlow threat protection."
"The Application Control code and the easy integration are valuable features."
"The technical support services are excellent."
"It has certainly helped out our audit efforts because we each stay compliant in terms of various security standards."
"The great advantage in using this product is it creates multiple services."
"The product integrates well with our systems, and we have not encountered any problems."
 

Cons

"If any file is more than 15 GB, the inspection takes some time, so that can be reduced to make real-time protection much faster."
"I think Check Point provides standard time which ideally most other vendors take to identify behaviors of a file by sending them into a sandbox environment for inspection."
"There should be some customized price reductions in the offered packages."
"In Check Point SandBlast, improvement has to be made with respect to the GUI."
"The customer support for Check Point SandBlast Network could be improved as they are sometimes late with their responses."
"I chose eight out of ten because I feel it is a good application; however, it is not a ten due to cons such as being not ideal for small IT firms with very small budgets, and it needs to be more transparent and user-friendly when getting into and using it."
"The response times were slower, and getting support personnel on the call was more difficult."
"We have noticed a slight performance hit when the Threat Emulation and Extraction features were enabled, but the protection trade-off is worth it for us."
"When comparing this solution to others it is not as good overall."
"The initial setup was a little bit complex, mainly due to the GUI console and management challenges."
"I would like to see them continue on their developmental roadmap for the product."
"The automation and responsiveness need improvement."
"Many years back an update caused an issue with the firewall. However, Palo Alto not only informed us of said issue, they also sent an update that fixed the issue before I even had time to log in to determine if the issue affected our services."
"It would be nice if there was an easier way to install and deploy it, such as through the inclusion of wizards."
"The price could be better."
"It's not really their problem, it's a problem across the board. There will always be problems with interrupted traffic. We have to set it up where we're playing a middle man game where we're stripping it out, looking at it, and then putting it back together and sending it on its way. That requires CPU cycles. And there's some overhead with that."
"An improvement could be made on the reporting because then it would be easier to collect information and submit it for compliance."
"There are limits with respect to blocking files by hash value or blocking IP addresses, and these limits should be removed."
"Entire threat protection is not available for the advanced features."
"The support has dropped down to a five out of ten."
"The product's support services need improvement."
"The administration interface needs a lot of improvement. It should be UI based, and simple. They need to improve it. It's pretty much not that friendly compared to what we were using as Bitdefender before. It's okay but is improving, actually."
"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."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"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."
"I think the overall cost for introducing Check Point with SandBlast was reasonable and competitive in the market."
"The cost is not significantly high and it can be negotiated during any purchase of NGFW."
"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."
"The product's cost is high."
"The cost of Check Point SandBlast Network is annually, and there is only a standard license."
"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."
"The solution is worth its price"
"​More expensive than other firewalls.​"
"The price is fair and comparable to other solutions."
"Pricing could be improved."
"There are different types of licenses."
"The price is a bit higher than the other products such as TrendMicro, or FireEye."
"Palo Alto Networks WildFire is a product with a high price."
"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."
"Symantec Endpoint Protection has an average price."
"Symantec Advanced Threat Protection's pricing is comparable."
"Pricing is good. It is nice to have a great product at a fair price."
"The price is quite expensive."
"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
Computer Software Company
12%
Financial Services Firm
7%
Outsourcing Company
7%
Retailer
6%
Computer Software Company
12%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Government
7%
University
9%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Financial Services Firm
9%
Insurance Company
6%
 

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 Business37
Midsize Enterprise16
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 is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Symantec Advanced Threat Protection?
The price is quite expensive because a different entity has taken over the company.
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...
 

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, Microsoft, Proofpoint and others in Advanced Threat Protection (ATP). Updated: December 2025.
881,346 professionals have used our research since 2012.