Fortinet FortiGate-VM vs SonicWall NSV comparison

Cancel
You must select at least 2 products to compare!
Comparison Buyer's Guide
Executive Summary

We performed a comparison between Fortinet FortiGate-VM and SonicWall NSV based on real PeerSpot user reviews.

Find out in this report how the two Firewalls solutions compare in terms of features, pricing, service and support, easy of deployment, and ROI.
To learn more, read our detailed Fortinet FortiGate-VM vs. SonicWall NSV Report (Updated: May 2023).
708,544 professionals have used our research since 2012.
Featured Review
Quotes From Members
We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use.
Here are some excerpts of what they said:
Pros
"With the pandemic, people began working from home. That was a pretty big move, having all our users working from a home. More capacity needed to be added to our remote VPN. ASA did this very well.""It just works for us.""I like that it is easy to change the settings.""They are easy to maintain.""For our very specific use case, for remote access for VPN, ASAs are very good.""All the rules are secure and we haven't had a significant malware attack in the five years that we've been using ASA Firewall. It has been a tremendous improvement for our network. However, I can't quantify the benefits in monetary terms.""Cybersecurity resilience has been paramount. Because there is a threat of losing everything if ransomware or another sort of attack were to happen, the cybersecurity resilience has been top-notch.""Cisco's technical support is the best and that's why everybody implements their products."

More Cisco Secure Firewall Pros →

"The most valuable features are network security, VLAN, network protection, and encryption are very valuable to us.""The solution integrates well with other Fortinet products.""Fortinet FortiGate-VM is easy to use.""It is very versatile.""The dashboards are a good feature.""FortiGate-VM's firewall is excellent.""I've found the UTM features and the SD-WAN to be most valuable.""I find the simplicity to be most valuable."

More Fortinet FortiGate-VM Pros →

"The customization of firewall rules provides great value to our customers as it allows them to lock things up in the way that they desire. When it is used for internal access, with a VPN in place for remote workers, the firewalling services provided by Azure, such as the default services that can be turned on, are applied. However, the use of a software-based virtual firewall gives us greater flexibility in introducing security controls for customers who are publishing applications that are publicly accessible from the public cloud. This virtual firewall provides an additional layer of security and more extensive security control options to ensure the protection of our customers' valuable information and assets.""We purchased the AGSS Bundle (Advanced Gateway Security Suite) for the security services, such as antivirus, intrusion prevention system, and anti-spyware botnet GUI."

More SonicWall NSV Pros →

Cons
"An area for improvement is the graphical user interface. That is something that is coming up now. They could make the product more user-friendly. A better GUI is something that would make life much easier.""The application detection feature of this solution could be improved as well as its integration with other solutions.""The reporting and other features are nice, but there is an issue with applying the configuration. That part needs some improvement.""We are replacing ASA with FTD which offers many new features not available using ASA.""The maturity needs to be better.""We are Cisco partners, and when we recommend Cisco FirePower to customers, they always think that FirePower is bad. For a single installation of FirePower, if I have to write about 18 tickets to Cisco, it's a big problem. There was an issue was related to Azure. We had Active Directory in Azure. The clients had to connect to FirePower through Azure. We had a lot of group policies. After two group policies, we had to make groups in Azure, and they had to sign in and sign back. It was a triple-layer authentication, and there was a big problem, so we didn't use it.""It would be great to have all the data correlated to have an overview and one point of administration.""The Firepower FTD code is missing some old ASA firewalls codes. It's a small thing. But Firepower software isn't missing things that are essential, anymore."

More Cisco Secure Firewall Cons →

"In the next releases, it would be nice to see central cloud management.""FortiGate-VM could be improved by making it cloud-based. I'd like it to be a cloud-based management solution instead of just a dedicated management orchestration tool.""Technical support could be improved.""The key activation is very complicated at times.""FortiGate's application load balancing has to be improved. They need to improve a lot on the load balancing and RAF side. They are far behind Citrix in that regard.""In terms of improvement, there have been some problems with the bandwidth of the security layer.""The solution should provide more useful GUI features.""The price is problematic."

More Fortinet FortiGate-VM Cons →

"It has been brought to our attention by a few customers that they are dissatisfied with the fact that our virtualized service is only offered as a subscription option on the cloud. However, it is worth noting that many other similar services are also offered through a subscription model on the cloud and not through perpetual licensing. It is unclear why these customers would have an issue with this subscription service when so many others are utilizing similar methods.""There are limitations to bandwidth management."

More SonicWall NSV Cons →

Pricing and Cost Advice
  • "This solution is expensive and other solutions, such as FortiGate, are cheaper."
  • "Its pricing is good and competitive. There is a maintenance cost. It includes SecureX that makes it cost-effective as compared to the other solutions where you have to pay for XDR and SOAR capabilities."
  • "When we are fighting against other competitors for customers, whether it is a small or big business, we feel very comfortable with the price that Firepower has today."
  • "Pricing is the same as other competitors. It is comparable. The licensing has gotten better. It has been easier with Smart Licensing."
  • "It is expensive. There is a cost for everything. There is per year license cost and support cost. There is also a cost for any training, any application, and any resource. Things are very costly to do with Cisco. Other brands are cheaper. They are also more flexible in terms of training, subscription, and licensing. They give lots and lots of years free. They provide more than Cisco."
  • "When we bought it, it was really expensive. I'm not aware of the current pricing. We had problems with licensing. After our IPS subscription ended, we couldn't renew it because Cisco was moving to the next-generation firewall platform. So, they didn't provide us with the new license."
  • "Its price is moderate. It is not too expensive."
  • "I like its licensing because you buy the license once, and it is yours. We don't have to go for a subscription. So, I liked how they licensed Cisco ASA. Our clients are also very satisfied with its licensing model."
  • More Cisco Secure Firewall Pricing and Cost Advice →

  • "At present, the SD-WAN licenses are on an annual basis."
  • "The customer must buy his own license."
  • "Licensing is pretty standard. It's approximately 15% of the total cost per year as a subscription cost."
  • "It's a mid-ranged product."
  • "We pay for a yearly license."
  • "With Fortinet FortiGate-VM you can bring your own licensing, or it can be paid on a yearly basis."
  • "There are no additional costs beyond the standard fee."
  • "There is an annual license required to use the solution."
  • More Fortinet FortiGate-VM Pricing and Cost Advice →

  • "We are currently using the trial version."
  • More SonicWall NSV Pricing and Cost Advice →

    report
    Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Firewalls solutions are best for your needs.
    708,544 professionals have used our research since 2012.
    Questions from the Community
    Top Answer: When you compare these firewalls you can identify them with different features, advantages, practices and… more »
    Top Answer:One of our favorite things about Fortinet Fortigate is that you can deploy on the cloud or on premises. Fortinet… more »
    Top Answer:It is easy to integrate Cisco ASA with other Cisco products and also other NAC solutions. When you understand the Cisco… more »
    Top Answer:In the best tradition of these questions, Feature-wise both are quite similar, but each has things it's better at, it… more »
    Top Answer:Both of these solutions are excellent options that provide flexible scalability and solid security. Fortinet Fortigate… more »
    Top Answer:We work in the archiving domain where a secure environment is very important. We have some special requirements… more »
    Top Answer:The customization of firewall rules provides great value to our customers as it allows them to lock things up in the way… more »
    Top Answer:We are currently using the trial version. The price is reasonable.
    Top Answer:It has been brought to our attention by a few customers that they are dissatisfied with the fact that our virtualized… more »
    Comparisons
    Also Known As
    Cisco ASA Firewall, Cisco Adaptive Security Appliance (ASA) Firewall, Cisco ASA NGFW, Cisco ASA, Adaptive Security Appliance, ASA, Cisco Sourcefire Firewalls, Cisco ASAv, Cisco Firepower NGFW Firewall
    FortiGate Virtual Appliance, FortiGate-VM
    SonicWall Network Security Virtual
    Learn More
    Overview

    Cisco Secure Firewall, including Firepower, is a powerful perimeter security solution used for network security, data center protection, advanced malware protection, and site-to-site VPNs. Its most valuable features include NGIPS, application visibility and control, VLAN implementations, intrusion prevention, threat defense, and NAT. 

    The solution has helped organizations discover their environment, improve security, implement dynamic policies, reduce operational costs, and protect against threats from outside and within the data center. Overall, Cisco Secure Firewall is a valuable tool for securing organizations and providing visibility into threats.

    FortiGate Virtual Appliances allow you to mitigate blind spots by implementing critical security controls within your virtual infrastructure. They also allow you to rapidly provision security infrastructure whenever and wherever it is needed. FortiGate virtual appliances feature all of the security and networking services common to traditional hardware-based FortiGate appliances. With the addition of virtual appliances from Fortinet, you can deploy a mix of hardware and virtual appliances, operating together and managed from a common centralized management platform.

    SonicWall NSV is a software-based virtual firewall that provides additional security for customers with public-facing servers or services on Microsoft Azure. The AGSS Bundle is considered the most valuable feature, providing security services such as antivirus, intrusion prevention system, and anti-spyware botnet GUI. 

    Additionally, customization of firewall rules provides great value to customers, allowing them to lock things up in the way they desire. SonicWall NSV offers extensive security control options to protect customers' valuable information and assets.

    Offer
    Learn more about Cisco Secure Firewall
    Learn more about Fortinet FortiGate-VM
    Learn more about SonicWall NSV
    Sample Customers
    There are more than one million Adaptive Security Appliances deployed globally. Top customers include First American Financial Corp., Genzyme, Frankfurt Airport, Hansgrohe SE, Rio Olympics, The French Laundry, Rackspace, and City of Tomorrow.
    Security7 Networks, COOPENAE
    Comlogic, Depaul, Hutt City Council
    Top Industries
    REVIEWERS
    Financial Services Firm15%
    Comms Service Provider13%
    Computer Software Company12%
    Manufacturing Company8%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Computer Software Company19%
    Comms Service Provider11%
    Educational Organization10%
    Government7%
    REVIEWERS
    Comms Service Provider16%
    Manufacturing Company11%
    Financial Services Firm9%
    Computer Software Company9%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Computer Software Company24%
    Comms Service Provider11%
    Government7%
    Financial Services Firm6%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Computer Software Company22%
    Non Profit8%
    Real Estate/Law Firm7%
    Outsourcing Company7%
    Company Size
    REVIEWERS
    Small Business35%
    Midsize Enterprise24%
    Large Enterprise41%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Small Business28%
    Midsize Enterprise21%
    Large Enterprise51%
    REVIEWERS
    Small Business51%
    Midsize Enterprise24%
    Large Enterprise25%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Small Business31%
    Midsize Enterprise17%
    Large Enterprise52%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Small Business45%
    Midsize Enterprise21%
    Large Enterprise33%
    Buyer's Guide
    Fortinet FortiGate-VM vs. SonicWall NSV
    May 2023
    Find out what your peers are saying about Fortinet FortiGate-VM vs. SonicWall NSV and other solutions. Updated: May 2023.
    708,544 professionals have used our research since 2012.

    Fortinet FortiGate-VM is ranked 9th in Firewalls with 48 reviews while SonicWall NSV is ranked 31st in Firewalls with 2 reviews. Fortinet FortiGate-VM is rated 8.6, while SonicWall NSV is rated 8.0. The top reviewer of Fortinet FortiGate-VM writes "Flexible with good cloud management and a straightforward user interface". On the other hand, the top reviewer of SonicWall NSV writes "Reliable, easy to scale, and reasonably priced ". Fortinet FortiGate-VM is most compared with Azure Firewall, Fortinet FortiGate, pfSense, Palo Alto Networks VM-Series and Zyxel Unified Security Gateway, whereas SonicWall NSV is most compared with Azure Firewall, SonicWall NSa and SonicWall TZ. See our Fortinet FortiGate-VM vs. SonicWall NSV report.

    See our list of best Firewalls vendors.

    We monitor all Firewalls reviews to prevent fraudulent reviews and keep review quality high. We do not post reviews by company employees or direct competitors. We validate each review for authenticity via cross-reference with LinkedIn, and personal follow-up with the reviewer when necessary.