F-Secure Total vs WatchGuard Firebox comparison

F-Secure and WatchGuard are both solutions in the Anti-Malware Tools category. F-Secure is ranked #13 with an average rating of 9.0, while WatchGuard is ranked #12 with an average rating of 7.6. Additionally, 100% of F-Secure users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 95% of WatchGuard users who would recommend it.

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Aug 5, 2025

WatchGuard Firebox and F-Secure Total compete in the cybersecurity sector. WatchGuard Firebox appears to have the upper hand in terms of cost-effectiveness and flexibility, but F-Secure Total justifies its higher cost with robust security features.

Features: WatchGuard Firebox offers comprehensive security measures with advanced threat detection, network control, and versatile configurations suited for varied network environments. F-Secure Total provides extensive protection across devices and networks, with a focus on malware protection and privacy tools, emphasizing a holistic approach to security.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: WatchGuard Firebox supports both on-premises and cloud setups, known for efficient customer service offering quick issue resolution. F-Secure Total ensures a user-friendly installation process, highlighting remote management capabilities, though its customer service may experience delays during peak times.

Pricing and ROI: WatchGuard Firebox has a pricing model recognized for its good long-term value, with relatively low initial setup costs. F-Secure Total is seen as premium-priced, delivering high ROI through robust protection features, making the initial expense worthwhile for many.

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January 2025

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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

Fortinet FortiGate

Featured Reviews

Vasu Gala

Manager, Information Technology Operation/Presales at TechMonarch

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.

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Mauro Spinazzè

Computer Scientist at Comune di Eraclea

Easy to setup and stable solution

It's a good product for us. The reports and notifications are very good for us. There is room for improvement in pricing. In future releases, I would like to see improvements in EDR protection. So, the only thing that I would like to see in the future is EDR protection and a lower price for…

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Rajesh Makwana

Regional Pre-Sales Engineer at Roundrobin Tech

Efficient bandwidth management and secure network access with a strong firewall

The primary use case of the Firebox mainly revolves around bandwidth management, unnecessary web blocking, application control, and protection against brute force attacks. It is also implemented for load balancing, SD-WAN, and branch-to-branch connectivity from one location to another. We also use…

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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

"I think that the UTM features are the most value, as it truly protects my infrastructure."

"FortiGate is more feature-rich and has a broader range of hardware. T"

"Reliability is the best feature. We faced some issues when we were setting it up, but the service, portal, and administration are good."

"I would recommend using Fortinet FortiGate because of its usability."

"Mainly the FortiGate reporting system is very good. It guides us through all the expectations of security. Fortinet provides us all that we need for security. Also, Fortinet FortiGate is a next-generation firewall. It is much more advanced than others."

"It does a lot for you for intrusion protection and as an antivirus. The threat management bundle is worth the money. You don't need another company to monitor your web traffic for you. You can do everything yourself on the firewall. You restrict your own black list for people on the firewall. You don't need to pay some other company for another product to do that for you. The firewall can do that for you. So, it's an easy-to-use product for people to be independent. They don't need to rely on other vendors to do what the firewall can do. They can do everything."

"The signature database and zero-day detection are Fortinet FortiGate's most valuable features."

"It is useful for protecting and segregating the internal networks from the internet. Most of our customers also use the FortiGate client to connect to their offices by using the VPN client, and of course, they usually activate the antivirus, deep inspection, and intrusion prevention services. They are also using it for web filtering and implementing various policies dealing with forwardings, NAT, etc."

More Fortinet FortiGate pros

"It's a good product for us. The reports and notifications are very good for us."

"WatchGuard Firebox's two-factor authentication feature is particularly useful and provides an added layer of protection."

"WatchGuard is easy to implement and inexpensive. When we get a bulk-off license, we get a very discounted price that is competitive with alternative or competitor solutions."

"WatchGuard is very user-friendly. It provides us with all of the security services we need."

"Regarding the reporting, I was in the Dimension server earlier today. It's very powerful. I like it. And the management features are easy to use. I like the fact that I can open up the System Manager client or I can just do it through the web if I'm making a quick change."

"I recommend Firebox since this device will not let anyone down."

"One of the most valuable features is the Geolocation. Because we aren't a multinational corporation, it allows me to look at things which might be suspicious to make sure that they are legitimate transactions rather than people sniffing around the network."

"Their centralized console simplifies management for organizations with multiple Fireboxes."

"On a scale of one to 10, I would rate the technical support of the WatchGuard Firebox a 10."

More WatchGuard Firebox pros

Cons

"FortiOS is not simple."

"The initial setup and configuration are not intuitive and require training."

"Its reporting can be improved. Sometimes, I don't get proper reports."

"Fortinet FortiGate could be improved in terms of user friendliness at the policy level and assigning URL based and keyword based features."

"My only complaint about FortiGate is a lack of QinQ VLAN tunneling. I haven't found this feature in any Fortinet product. You can do this on all Cisco routers, including the smaller models. However, QinQ isn't available on the biggest, most expensive Fortinet units. They still don't have that. I think now we're on software version 6.0, and they still haven't found a solution for QinQ. It isn't a dealbreaker, but that's my main complaint."

"The visibility of the network can be better. The GUI can be improved for better visibility of the network flow. Other solutions have better GUI in terms of network visibility."

"It needs to improve its ISP load balancing."

"From a reporting perspective, there's room for improvement. They're providing FortiAnalyzer through which one can get some enhancements, but the visibility and reporting still need slight improvement."

More Fortinet FortiGate cons

"I would like to see in the future is EDR protection and a lower price for F-Secure Total."

"The solution's pricing could be improved."

"The drawbacks are just sometimes not having the technical information that we need in order to easily make connections with all of our Internet-based clients."

"It would be wonderful if the WatchGuard team develops nice products for threat intelligence."

"I would like to see more training become available for us."

"Setup of this solution is complex, it's not plug and play."

"The performance of the solution's processor needs to be faster."

"Last year, I had an issue with one of the Fireboxes going down. It was overheated, because my server room became overheated and this fried it."

"They could expand the amount of applications that are on the list, but it's pretty intensive anyway, so it's pretty good."

More WatchGuard Firebox cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"When you look at these end security systems and firewalls, these firewalls even five years ago were $50,000 or perhaps $25,000 to implement in some types of customer sites. Now we're talking about tools that are $1,000. In this case, it might have been $500 or something like that."

"The pricing for the product is alright."

"It is an inexpensive solution."

"No comment."

"The pricing is justified. It's a little pricey, but what you pay for is what you get."

"Easy to understand licensing requirements."

"The price of Fortinet FortiGate could improve, it is expensive."

"It's very competitive."

More Fortinet FortiGate pricing and cost advice

"We can easily scale and improve security, but the cost is high for us."

"The cost three years ago was about $800."

"It has a very good price. It is not the most expensive one, and it is also not the cheapest one. It is just spot-on in terms of price."

"WatchGuard Firebox has good quality, but it is expensive."

"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."

"The price of the WatchGuard Firebox is reasonable."

"The pricing was in line with everyone else; maybe slightly higher."

"The two larger devices are about $1,000 each and the smaller ones are about $500 or $600 each... It's cheaper and you have more control because it's self-managed."

"The solution is cheap."

More WatchGuard Firebox pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

16%

Comms Service Provider

Manufacturing Company

Financial Services Firm

Comms Service Provider

26%

Computer Software Company

20%

Non Profit

Manufacturing Company

Computer Software Company

14%

Comms Service Provider

11%

Retailer

Manufacturing Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

No data available

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...

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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...

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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 ...

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What do you like most about F-Secure Total?

It's a good product for us. The reports and notifications are very good for us.

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What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for F-Secure Total?

The product is expensive for us. We pay a little fee for the vendor data systems in some cases.

See all answers

What needs improvement with F-Secure Total?

There is room for improvement in pricing. In future releases, I would like to see improvements in EDR protection. So,...

See all answers

What is your primary use case for WatchGuard Firebox?

We are providing our services to all WatchGuard customers in the region.

See all answers

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...

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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.

See all answers

Comparisons

Sophos XG vs Fortinet FortiGate

Compared 20% of the time

Cisco Secure Firewall vs Fortinet FortiGate

Compared 12% of the time

Netgate pfSense vs Fortinet FortiGate

Compared 11% of the time

Meraki MX vs Fortinet FortiGate

Compared 5% of the time

OPNsense vs Fortinet FortiGate

Compared 4% of the time

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Microsoft Defender for Endpoint vs F-Secure Total

Compared 37% of the time

Avast One vs F-Secure Total

Compared 10% of the time

ESET PROTECT Enterprise vs F-Secure Total

Compared 8% of the time

AVG Internet Security Business Edition vs F-Secure Total

Compared 7% of the time

TotalAV Total Security vs F-Secure Total

Compared 7% of the time

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OPNsense vs WatchGuard Firebox

Compared 6% of the time

SonicWall TZ vs WatchGuard Firebox

Compared 5% of the time

Netgate pfSense vs WatchGuard Firebox

Compared 5% of the time

Sophos XG vs WatchGuard Firebox

Compared 5% of the time

Sophos UTM vs WatchGuard Firebox

Compared 4% of the time

More WatchGuard Firebox Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Fortinet FortiGate

August 2025

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Buyer's Guide

Anti-Malware Tools

January 2025

Download F-Secure Total product report

Buyer's Guide

WatchGuard Firebox

July 2025

Download WatchGuard Firebox product report

Also Known As

FortiGate 60b, FortiGate 60c, FortiGate 80c, FortiGate 50b, FortiGate 200b, FortiGate 110c, FortiGate, Fortinet Firewall

F-Secure Elements for Microsoft 365

WatchGuard Threat Detection and Response, WatchGuard Application Control, WatchGuard Data Loss Prevention, WatchGuard Gateway AntiVirus, WatchGuard Intrusion Prevention Service

Overview

Fortinet FortiGate offers comprehensive network security and firewall protection across multiple locations. It effectively manages data traffic and secures environments with features like VPN, intrusion prevention, and UTM controls.

Organizations rely on Fortinet FortiGate for its robust integration with advanced security policies, ensuring significant protection for enterprises, cloud environments, and educational sectors. It facilitates network segmentation, application-level security, and authentication management, securing communication within and between locations such as branches and data centers. Its efficient SD-WAN and UTM features enable streamlined data management and enhanced threat protection capabilities. Users appreciate its centralized management, facilitating seamless operations across diverse environments.

What are the key features of Fortinet FortiGate?

VPN Capabilities: Ensure secure remote access for users and seamless site-to-site connections.
Intrusion Prevention System (IPS): Detect and prevent security threats and vulnerabilities.
Advanced Firewall: Offers robust firewalling with application control and web filtering.
SD-WAN: Optimizes application performance and enhances bandwidth management.
SSL VPN: Provides reliable and secure access for remote workers.

What benefits should users expect from Fortinet FortiGate?

High-performance Security: Delivers effective threat mitigation with high availability.
Centralized Management: Simplifies network operations with cloud-based management tools.
Detailed Analytics: Provides comprehensive insights into network activity and security threats.
Load Balancing: Ensures optimal resource distribution and traffic management.

Fortinet FortiGate is crucial in sectors like education, offering robust networks for secure data flow between campuses and facilitating remote learning. In enterprise environments, it allows efficient management of application traffic and security across multiple branches, while in the cloud, it seamlessly integrates with diverse platforms to enhance security infrastructure.

Fortinet

Total peace of mind online Our lives are filled with digital moments. F‑Secure Total makes securing those moments brilliantly simple.

F-Secure

WatchGuard Firebox is a high-performance firewall known for its ease of setup, offering robust security with layered protection and centralized management capabilities.

WatchGuard Firebox stands out for its intuitive management and high throughput, addressing security needs with features like VPN, web filtering, and threat detection. Its centralized control and reporting abilities, along with Active Directory integration, make it popular among varied organizations. Its user-friendly interface and ongoing updates enhance usability and reliability. However, there's a call for better cloud-based administration, scalability, and improved integration with third-party vendors.

What are the key features of WatchGuard Firebox?

Ease of Setup: Quick and straightforward installation process.
GUI: User-friendly graphical interface for simplified navigation.
VPN Features: Secure and efficient virtual private network management.
Web Filtering: Advanced filtering for safer browsing experiences.
Threat Detection: Proactive monitoring and detection of cyber threats.

What benefits or ROI should be evaluated?

Centralized Control: Streamlined management from a single point.
High Throughput: Efficient data handling and processing capacity.
Stable Performance: Consistent and reliable operational functionality.
Active Directory Integration: Seamless connection with user directories.
Customer Service: Strong support service for customer inquiries.

WatchGuard Firebox is implemented across industries to secure internet gateways and protect data in multi-site businesses. Its applications span from Unified Threat Management (UTM) and intrusion prevention to compliance support in business environments requiring secure connectivity through VPNs.

WatchGuard

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

Information Not Available

Ellips, Diecutstickers.com, Clarke Energy, NCR, Wrest Park, Homeslice Pizza, Fortessa Tableware Solutions, The Phoenix Residence

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