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Fortinet FortiGate-VM vs SonicWall NSSP comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Sep 16, 2024

Review summaries and opinions

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

ROI

Sentiment score
4.5
Fortinet FortiGate-VM offers cost-effective security, efficient threat handling, and seamless Microsoft AD integration, enhancing network reliability in Brazil.
Sentiment score
3.5
SonicWall NSSP improved network security, reduced threat management time, increased efficiency, and provided significant cost savings and robust support.
I observed a fifty to sixty percent reduction in operational costs after migrating to FortiGate VM.
Senior Network Consultant at Visionet Systems Inc.
They have a platform that organizes their networks and access effectively.
Pre-Sales Analyst at a comms service provider with 51-200 employees
We haven't used MPLS for over five years now, and it was extremely beneficial to see the changes from MPLS to SD-WAN using Fortinet FortiGate.
Chief Technology Officer at a consultancy with 11-50 employees
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
6.4
Fortinet FortiGate-VM's support is praised for responsiveness and expertise, though some note variability and inefficiency in complex cases.
Sentiment score
7.3
SonicWall NSSP is appreciated for reliability and responsiveness, but some users report dissatisfaction with support team responses.
Their support is helpful and effective.
Senior Network Consultant at Visionet Systems Inc.
The end-user support is delayed at levels L2 and L3.
Chief Executive Officer at a tech services company with 1-10 employees
They support us almost instantly.
Chief Technology Officer at GM Modular
It is very effective because it prevents any indecent behaviors in the network or from outside the network.
Head of IT and Information Security at GLEEDS USA INC
I rate the technical support provided by SonicWall a perfect ten out of ten.
Pre Sales at ITCG SOlutions Pvt Ltd
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
6.6
Fortinet FortiGate-VM is scalable and cost-effective, though some users encounter challenges with scalability and specific modules.
Sentiment score
6.8
SonicWall NSSP offers scalable security features, with user ratings from three to ten, suitable for SMBs and data centers.
Fortinet FortiGate-VM adapts effectively; for example, you have a limited number of VPN connections on VM01, accommodating around 1,000 remote users, and if the customer needs another endpoint, we can deploy VM02 and manage that transition effectively.
EMEA Enterprise Solutions Architect at a tech vendor with 1,001-5,000 employees
Scalability is well-supported, with the notable ability to implement features easily.
Assistant Operation Manger at IIJ Singapore
It can start with a single core and scale up to a 32-core license for a robust deployment.
Chief Executive Officer at a tech services company with 1-10 employees
The scalability rating is nine out of 10.
Head of IT and Information Security at GLEEDS USA INC
SonicWall NSSP offers features such as stateful firewall, deep packet inspections, IPS, application intelligence, user-based policies, centralized visibility from the management console, advanced protection with RFDPI, high-speed scanning, RTDMI technology, Capture ATP, cloud sandboxing, and encrypted traffic inspection with DPI-SSL and TLS.
Pre Sales at ITCG SOlutions Pvt Ltd
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
6.6
Fortinet FortiGate-VM is highly stable with minimal bugs, consistently reliable performance, and improved high availability for network security.
Sentiment score
5.6
SonicWall NSSP is stable, with rare issues and smooth data transfers, but DPI-SSL can impact performance.
The stability of Fortinet FortiGate is excellent.
CEO at Kapstone Technological Services LLP
The product has been very stable, based on my ten to eleven years of experience.
Assistant Operation Manger at IIJ Singapore
In the past couple of years, they started releasing numerous new features, and things have become somewhat unstable.
Chief Technology Officer at a consultancy with 11-50 employees
In 30 years, only three to four boxes out of 1,000 to 2,000 boxes have had issues.
Owner at ANOC
The stability rating is 10 out of 10.
Head of IT and Information Security at GLEEDS USA INC
I think deep packet inspection of SonicWall NSSP is essential, as I require all features, including deep packet inspection, which I can enable and suggest to clients.
Pre Sales at ITCG SOlutions Pvt Ltd
 

Room For Improvement

Fortinet FortiGate-VM needs simplification in activation, integration, interface, and support, with calls for enhancements in features and pricing.
SonicWall needs upgraded reporting, intuitive UI, robust NSM, better EDR/XDR, marketing, and firmware fixes to compete effectively.
You should not look just at a data sheet, but also look at real tests in the field and load tests from companies who are making them.
Founder at a tech services company with 11-50 employees
The API needs better integration to match accounts and objects more effectively.
Senior Network Consultant at Visionet Systems Inc.
Now, these features require separate products like FortiManager, FortiAnalyzer, and a FortiCloud subscription for reporting.
Chief Executive Officer at a tech services company with 1-10 employees
This would help end-user customers understand the impact when those firmwares are pushed into the live environment.
Head of IT and Information Security at GLEEDS USA INC
The issues I have experienced are not hardware-related but firmware-related, as Gen 7 has new hardware, while the firmware contains some issues that could be resolved but may take considerable time.
Pre Sales at ITCG SOlutions Pvt Ltd
 

Setup Cost

Fortinet FortiGate-VM offers competitive pricing with flexible licensing, appealing to medium-large enterprises but challenging for smaller firms.
SonicWall NSSP pricing ranges widely based on licensing, with enterprise users valuing its features despite varying international costs.
The license for Fortinet FortiGate-VM costs 100K to 150K Philippine pesos per year for VM1 or VM2.
System Engineer at Trends and Technologies, Inc
I don't have this experience with Fortinet FortiGate-VM because my colleagues in Germany are reaching better prices than me.
Network Administrator at THK Co Ltd
As long as there is competition, they go with 50% + discounts.
Senior Presales Consultant at a computer software company with 1,001-5,000 employees
When purchasing through local distributors such as ScanSource or Tech Data, they incur around 100% in taxes just for import procedures.
Owner at ANOC
 

Valuable Features

Fortinet FortiGate-VM combines strong security, ease of use, scalability, and affordability with advanced threat detection and centralized management.
SonicWall NSSP offers strong security with user-friendly management, scalable features, real-time threat blocking, and comprehensive protection.
The more integrated we become, the less we spend on solving bugs and issues, allowing us to reduce time focusing on understanding and improving our network.
Pre-Sales Analyst at a comms service provider with 51-200 employees
Fortinet is the only provider to have successfully set up a unified operating system on all its products in the network security ecosystem.
System Administrator, Security Engineer, Security Result at a tech vendor with 201-500 employees
For what we need to do, which is setting up a VPN connection between both sides and using it for SSL VPN connections for remote users, it works effectively and we haven't encountered vulnerabilities.
EMEA Enterprise Solutions Architect at a tech vendor with 1,001-5,000 employees
SonicWall uses this information in real-time to enhance security functions such as firewall, DPI-SSL, ATP, and IPS to block threats at the network edge before they reach users.
Pre Sales at ITCG SOlutions Pvt Ltd
Every time I have had a concern, they have resolved it in a single call.
Head of IT and Information Security at GLEEDS USA INC
 

Categories and Ranking

Fortinet FortiGate-VM
Ranking in Firewalls
11th
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
6.7
Number of Reviews
151
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
SonicWall NSSP
Ranking in Firewalls
31st
Average Rating
8.8
Reviews Sentiment
6.6
Number of Reviews
10
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of August 2026, in the Firewalls category, the mindshare of Fortinet FortiGate-VM is 2.2%, up from 1.8% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of SonicWall NSSP is 0.5%, up from 0.1% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Firewalls Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Fortinet FortiGate-VM2.2%
SonicWall NSSP0.5%
Other97.3%
Firewalls
 

Featured Reviews

Ehab Ali - PeerSpot reviewer
Senior Presales Consultant at a computer software company with 1,001-5,000 employees
Unified security fabric has simplified multi-country deployments and strengthened threat response
FortiGate VM delivers exceptional performance and security with no degradation of service or protection (same features as the HW option). As part of the Fortinet Security Fabric, it extends across clouds and distributed locations, mitigating blind spots in virtual infrastructures. FortiGate VM can be rapidly deployed, managed through a centralized platform, and offers a range of purchasing options to suit every need. Also, FortiGate VM offers versatile deployment options across both public and private clouds, supporting all major public clouds including AWS, Azure, and Google as well as most hypervisors such as VMware, Hyper-V, and KVM. These deployments enable organizations to create scalable, high-performance firewalls that can be tailored to different virtualized environments and hyper-scale public cloud infrastructures. FortiGate VM integrates seamlessly with various infrastructure as code (IaC) tools such as Jenkins and GitLab, supporting security as code practices.
SyedTaha - PeerSpot reviewer
Head of IT and Information Security at GLEEDS USA INC
Support has resolved concerns promptly and security tools have strengthened intrusion prevention and access control
The service we received from SonicWall NSSP and their distributors has been excellent. Every time I have had a concern, they have resolved it in a single call. The interface of SonicWall NSSP console is user-friendly with comprehensive features. The web filtering and access control policy are top priorities for me. It is very effective because it prevents any indecent behaviors in the network or from outside the network. Half of the task is completed by the intelligence based on the behavior. Installation was easy because our infrastructure has minimal requirements. For expanded infrastructure, support from a SonicWall NSSP technical team may be required. We have implemented it on our own.
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
8%
Construction Company
8%
Computer Software Company
7%
Outsourcing Company
7%
Construction Company
22%
Comms Service Provider
18%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Outsourcing Company
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business74
Midsize Enterprise35
Large Enterprise43
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business7
Large Enterprise3
 

Questions from the Community

Features comparison between Palo Alto and Fortinet firewalls
In the best tradition of these questions, Feature-wise both are quite similar, but each has things it's better at, it kind of depends what you value most. PA is good at app control, web filtering a...
Which would you recommend - FortiGate VM or Azure Firewall?
Both of these solutions are excellent options that provide flexible scalability and solid security. Fortinet Fortigate VM integrates well and has excellent centralized reporting. It is very easy to...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Fortinet FortiGate-VM?
I am not involved in the pricing and costs associated with Fortinet FortiGate-VM, as those are handled by the CFO. We are in operations, and we just access the product as it is and take care of the...
What needs improvement with SonicWall NSSP?
In my opinion, SonicWall NSSP needs improvements, particularly in Gen 7 devices, where I face high data plane and management plane issues, especially when enabling User Level Authentication. I beli...
What is your primary use case for SonicWall NSSP?
I recommend SonicWall NSSP for multiple clients, including manufacturers and pharmaceutical clients, and based on the requirement, I perform proper sizing and suggest the appropriate model.
 

Also Known As

FortiGate Virtual Appliance, FortiGate-VM
SonicWall Network Security Services Platform
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Security7 Networks, COOPENAE
Comlogic, Depaul, Hutt City Council
Find out what your peers are saying about Fortinet FortiGate-VM vs. SonicWall NSSP and other solutions. Updated: August 2026.
909,948 professionals have used our research since 2012.