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ESET EDR/XDR vs WatchGuard Firebox comparison

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Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Aug 5, 2025

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
Sponsored
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
574
Ranking in other categories
Secure Web Gateways (SWG) (2nd), Firewalls (1st), Intrusion Detection and Prevention Software (IDPS) (1st), Software Defined WAN (SD-WAN) Solutions (1st), WAN Edge (1st), ZTNA (2nd), Unified Threat Management (UTM) (1st)
ESET EDR/XDR
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
7.2
Number of Reviews
2
Ranking in other categories
Authentication Systems (53rd), Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) (58th), Extended Detection and Response (XDR) (36th)
WatchGuard Firebox
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.5
Number of Reviews
125
Ranking in other categories
Data Loss Prevention (DLP) (11th), Firewalls (13th), Intrusion Detection and Prevention Software (IDPS) (4th), Anti-Malware Tools (10th), Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) (20th), Application Control (6th), Unified Threat Management (UTM) (4th)
 

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.
PB
Achieves robust data protection and reliable security with the help of advanced automation features
We promote customers to purchase our ESET EDR_XDR and Data Loss Prevention (DLP) solutions. In our office, with about one hundred and fifty people, we use ESET EDR_XDR personally to protect data from unauthorized threats and gain early awareness to protect against cyber attacks The cost and basic…
ScottEastman - PeerSpot reviewer
Reduces the risks of sending data where it shouldn't be going
We use the solution to ensure that no data breach, such as credit card details and national insurance numbers, leaves the company. However, we have to allow some information to go through because we send a lot of information to the National Healthcare Service If we don't want specific data sent…

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The pipe filter application is an outstanding feature."
"Overall, I would rate Fortinet FortiGate a ten out of ten."
"The most valuable feature is the ease of use."
"For application filtration, I really appreciate many features of Fortinet FortiGate because it is more reliable, easy to use, and the reports are easy to read and understand."
"The most valuable feature is the bundled subscription, which is IPS, TV and web filtering."
"I would recommend using Fortinet FortiGate because of its usability."
"UTM/NGFW features and FortiCloud for logs and backups are awesome."
"It's an easy solution to set up."
"The initial setup of ESET EDR_XDR is very simple, easy to deploy, and manage."
"The solution is easy to use."
"WatchGuard Firebox is easy to configure and has a nice user interface."
"Two of the functionalities we use most are the traffic monitoring and the full panel dashboard. Those are two things that are very useful for us... In addition, it provides us with layered security. It allows us to determine what types of access, to which networks, we want to allow or deny."
"WatchGuard Firebox's two-factor authentication feature is particularly useful and provides an added layer of protection."
"The set up was quite straightforward and we handled it in-house. It took a few hours to deploy the product."
"I haven't a problem with anti-virus stability using WatchGuard for over two years."
"The main reason we went with it was the security protocols. They were more robust on this device."
"Basically, we have received a good return on investment."
"It works right out of the box. You just have to enable it and you can start working."
 

Cons

"There are some problems that support cannot give you a logical reason as to why it happened. For example, I had a case where I was dealing with a WhatsApp application that was giving issues. Technical support gave more than one reason it could be giving issues, but none of them solved the problem. Eventually I solved the problem, but it was far from the solutions that support had given."
"In our case, the deployment options of FortiGate Next Generation Firewall (NGFW) are not scalable, but in terms of connectivity to other companies, that's exactly what we needed, and that's exactly what it does perfectly, what is needed."
"We'd like more management across other integrations."
"The solution could be more evenly structured."
"One issue that I have had is that sometimes I need to monitor the traffic, so I need to filter it according to the user and which user is using it the most. I experience a bottleneck most of the time, particularly at the peak time when the number of contracts and users are at maximum."
"While FortiGate is cheaper than most other solutions, we're seeing increased license renewal costs. Most of our clients are asking for more significant discounts because the price is going up."
"The cloud management and automation capability could be improved."
"Currently, FortiGate is providing SSL VPN. But they're missing some features that are available in Palo Alto's SSL VPN."
"The solution could improve how it scours each website."
"ESET EDR_XDR needs to conduct more research and development and innovations in early detection of attacks."
"WatchGuard Data Loss Prevention catches so little. When I've implemented it, it just can't look at the traffic in a thorough enough manner to capture as much as it should. And I find that I'm disenchanted with all data loss protection solutions I've tested and looked at."
"It can have a couple of false positives, but after you add them to your allow list, it works fine. It could have better Mac support. I am pretty sure it doesn't have much support for Mac. It can be installed on a Mac, but it is not that good."
"The documentation for the System Manager/Dimension configuration, could be a little bit clearer... The use case where you have multiple sites with multiple firewalls, and one site that has the System Manager server and the Dimension server, wasn't really well defined. It took me a little bit of digging to get that to actually work."
"It would be wonderful if the WatchGuard team develops nice products for threat intelligence."
"Make WatchGuard Firebox capable of integrating with third-party vendors like FireMon, Splunk, Tenable, etc."
"The licensing can be a bit expensive."
"In WatchGuard Firebox, the antivirus and malware detection systems are areas with shortcomings that require improvement since they are the most important elements of a cybersecurity tool."
"Sometimes, the writing rules are a little confusing in how am I doing them."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Here in Brazil, we're going through difficult economic times and the tax on the dollar is high. All the solutions from minor competitors are growing in the market. The prices have come more competitive."
"It is somewhat expensive compared to other solutions such as Sophos."
"The licensing costs are very low."
"We are on an annual license to use Fortinet FortiGate."
"Cost-wise, there is not much difference from Sophos, but feature-wise, we get more features."
"Their licensing costs are annual. The UTM feature license along with their support is called FortiCare. We include that as a part of the annual maintenance cost. Palo Alto or Juniper also have an annual subscription charge for UTM. Price, of course, can always be more competitive, but it is not the most expensive product. The price-performance ratio is quite high for FortiGate."
"The licensing scheme of Fortinet is better than Cisco. It is more logical."
"Fortinet is the least expensive solution."
"I rate the solution’s pricing a six or seven out of ten.."
"The pricing is competitive."
"WatchGuard Data Loss Prevention's pricing is expensive. I rate it a seven out of ten."
"We don't have any other costs other than the licensing stuff."
"For what we use, the tool's price has been reasonable, but it is not the cheapest. The tool has been quite reasonable."
"WatchGuard had a very competitive price. It was only 10 to 20 percent more than a single instance device but with that extra cost it provided a second load balancing device... unlike other brands whose method of hardware and software licensing would have doubled our cost."
"We are utilizing an MSP licensing model and are content with the minimal amount spent on the devices rather than committing to long-term licensing."
"Their price point worked, which is the reason why we stayed with WatchGuard."
"I haven't seen the pricing since 2017, but it was competitive. SonicWall, Barracuda, and WatchGuard were all about the same price when we did our last pricing."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
15%
Comms Service Provider
9%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Financial Services Firm
6%
Comms Service Provider
17%
Financial Services Firm
12%
Computer Software Company
11%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Computer Software Company
14%
Comms Service Provider
11%
Manufacturing Company
6%
Retailer
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business350
Midsize Enterprise130
Large Enterprise187
No data available
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business91
Midsize Enterprise25
Large Enterprise15
 

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 ...
What needs improvement with ESET EDR/XDR?
ESET EDR_XDR needs to conduct more research and development and innovations in early detection of attacks. Improvemen...
What is your primary use case for WatchGuard Firebox?
We are providing our services to all WatchGuard customers in the region.
What is your primary use case for WatchGuard Firebox?
We just use it as a secondary WiFi device. We're a small office and we needed to set up a WiFi device for a few of ou...
What is your primary use case for WatchGuard Firebox?
We're a hospital and we use it for developing our incoming and outgoing policies, and we also use it for VPN.
 

Also Known As

No data available
ESET Secure Authentication
WatchGuard Threat Detection and Response, WatchGuard Application Control, WatchGuard Data Loss Prevention, WatchGuard Gateway AntiVirus, WatchGuard Intrusion Prevention Service
 

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
Mitsubishi Motors, Canon
Ellips, Diecutstickers.com, Clarke Energy, NCR, Wrest Park, Homeslice Pizza, Fortessa Tableware Solutions, The Phoenix Residence
Find out what your peers are saying about ESET EDR/XDR vs. WatchGuard Firebox and other solutions. Updated: September 2025.
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