Fortinet FortiGate-VM vs SonicWall NSv comparison

Fortinet and SonicWall are both solutions in the Firewalls category. Fortinet is ranked #9 with an average rating of 8.5, while SonicWall is ranked #28 with an average rating of 8.2. Fortinet holds a 1.9% mindshare in Firewalls, compared to SonicWall’s 0.2% mindshare. Additionally, 98% of Fortinet users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 85% of SonicWall users who would recommend it.

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Sep 16, 2024

Fortinet FortiGate-VM and SonicWall NSv are premium firewall solutions for diverse business needs. Fortinet FortiGate-VM has the upper hand with more advanced features, while SonicWall NSv is preferred for ease of use, making it suitable for users with less technical expertise.

Features: Fortinet FortiGate-VM offers robust security features, policy controls, and comprehensive protection. SonicWall NSv stands out for its seamless integration capabilities, efficient VPN performance, and easy configuration.

Room for Improvement: Fortinet FortiGate-VM can improve its documentation, simplify the configuration process, and enhance user guidance. SonicWall NSv needs more frequent updates, better scalability options, and improved adaptability.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Fortinet FortiGate-VM has a straightforward deployment process, but customer support is noted to be slow. SonicWall NSv features a quick and easy deployment process with responsive customer service.

Pricing and ROI: Fortinet FortiGate-VM has a higher setup cost but offers a better ROI due to its comprehensive features. SonicWall NSv is more budget-friendly with moderate returns.

To learn more, read our detailed Fortinet FortiGate-VM vs. SonicWall NSv Report (Updated: June 2025).

Buyer's Guide

Fortinet FortiGate-VM vs. SonicWall NSv

June 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

Mindshare comparison

As of June 2025, in the Firewalls category, the mindshare of Fortinet FortiGate is 21.4%, up from 17.8% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Fortinet FortiGate-VM is 1.9%, up from 1.6% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of SonicWall NSv is 0.2%, up from 0.1% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Firewalls

Featured Reviews

Jorge Martínez

Presales Engineer at Sencinet

Offers good SD-WAN capabilities and integrates easily with Fortinet devices

I am not part of the initial setup or deployment process since I work in presales. The setup or deployment is quite easy, as you can do a one-touch deployment that automatically connects to the FortiManager cloud when you connect it to a broadband or dynamic IP, allowing you to start the configuration from that point. We usually sell it for on-premises setups. It's on the cloud only when the client has virtual machines or their own service. Sometimes they have a service on the cloud like AWS, but it's more difficult to sell now because AWS has an e-commerce option where you can buy FortiGate directly. The only thing you need is someone to manage and configure.

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Sitti Ridzma Salahuddin

System Engineer at Trends and Technologies, Inc

Integrates seamlessly and helps with real-time threat response

Since the solution we offered was a complete suite with Fortinet FortiGate-VM, it was easier for them to manage because they have FortiManager as well. The main reason they wanted to position FortiGate in the cloud was so that they could easily deploy through FortiManager. That was the selling point we had for them. Especially for their multiple branches, where they had approximately 60 sites, and some assets were in AWS, it was really a good deployment opportunity. FortiManager and FortiAnalyzer were also part of that solution.

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Sileesh Sivadasan

Director at Infosec Infra

Helps small businesses expand branches more easily

The price is a significant factor. Mostly in India, the customer service has many hurdles to get real support. If I want to talk to a customer executive, they ask many trivial questions. Even if I explain that I am asking for a Dell partner, they still ask specific questions, and they will explain many unnecessary questions.

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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

"The ease of setting the solution up is a valuable aspect for us."

"The most valuable feature of Fortinet FortiGate is URL filtering."

"Easy to use support and licensing portal as well as activation process."

"The primary feature I appreciate about Fortinet FortiGate is the ease of setup."

"Initial setup is straightforward. There weren't too many issues with setting it up. It takes one hour or so."

"The best features of Fortinet FortiGate are that it does the job effectively and protects our environment."

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

"FortiGate SD-WAN facilitated a smooth transition for our customers between their two internet service providers, ensuring uninterrupted connectivity without any downtime."

More Fortinet FortiGate pros

"Initial setup was quite straightforward, as we can simply head to the required sections to apply the planned network."

"Primarily, the VPN solution is most valuable. It allows you to have more flexibility in terms of what is there on the end-user device, and what is not there. You can check and make sure that they're current. It has more flexibility than just a straight VPN solution. It works really well. It has the features that 99% of people need."

"I would recommend Fortinet FortiGate-VM as a very good solution."

"High network throughput while providing leading edge network security technology for a competitive price."

"The product is quite user-friendly so we didn't have a lot of issues that needed to be addressed."

"The solution is very easy to set up. It doesn't take a lot of time and offers a quick deployment, so you can start using it almost right away."

"It's a relatively simple product that is easy to use. It's not overly complex."

"One notable feature is the SD-WAN, which is a strong component of the FortiGate-VM. The fabric feature is also good, but not all customers use FortiGate's networking components, such as the switches."

More Fortinet FortiGate-VM pros

"The product helps improve our security."

"The security of this system is fantastic, including the IPS and IDS."

"SonicWall excelled in threat management, evident in how users handled it effectively."

"Out of ten, I would rate the solution at an eight."

"For my small NFB banking services, when they are expanding their branches, I could incorporate a little bit easier."

"I would rate the overall product a nine out of ten."

"We purchased the AGSS Bundle (Advanced Gateway Security Suite) for the security services, such as antivirus, intrusion prevention system, and anti-spyware botnet GUI."

"We are very impressed with it."

More SonicWall NSv pros

Cons

"The UI could be improved."

"Vulnerability scanning could be improved."

"In my opinion, Fortinet FortiGate could be improved by making the appliance smaller than what we have here, as it is pretty big."

"The configuration part was challenging, especially converting configurations from another OEM to FortiGate."

"The feedback that I have received is that the performance could be better, and the user experience is not as good compared to a previous solution we used. It could be more user-friendly. Of course, it still works fine for our operations."

"Areas of improvement for Fortinet FortiGate include the need for more training and certification, especially when dealing with distributors globally, which presents challenges in product availability and delivery timelines."

"Fortinet currently has many products bundled with FortiGate including the basic firewall and load balancer, and I think that that they need to have separate product portfolios for each of these specialized services."

"The solution could be improved by addressing limited local reporting. It requires obtaining the FortiAnalyzer for proper visibility because you can't do much from a reporting perspective with just the firewall alone."

More Fortinet FortiGate cons

"The previous version 5.6 had integrated features for logging, monitoring, and management. Now, these features require separate products like FortiManager, FortiAnalyzer, and a FortiCloud subscription for reporting."

"Web filtering is a feature that needs some improvement. There should be some additional features to allow active users to change their own passwords."

"It would be useful to have integration with different reporting tools. This is something we are sorely missing. It would be a plus to have reporting integrations. It would be good to have more integration with the identity suites, such as Office 365 and Azure Active Directory, of different providers that we use. Integrations are already available, but it would be nice to have some more advanced options."

"VM should be more optimized."

"The stability could be improved. I find Cisco to be more stable than Fortigate, which is I major differentiator between the two."

"There should be a bit more automation."

"We'd like to have more customization and easier customization of policies."

"Interoperability could be improved. The API needs better integration to match accounts and objects more effectively."

More Fortinet FortiGate-VM cons

"The price is a significant factor. Mostly in India, the customer service has many hurdles to get real support."

"Currently, we are getting challenges with user-wise reports and other reporting details. At present, they do not provide detailed reports compared to other products."

"SonicWall NSV's SSL VPN could increase its number of users to 100-plus users."

"I would like to see the reporting opened up and have several more opportunities for automatic reports."

"The price is a significant factor."

"There are limitations to bandwidth management."

"The engine provided initially was quite heavy, creating a trade-off between software and hardware-based threat management."

More SonicWall NSv cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The value is the capability of having multiple services with one unique license, not having the limitation per user licensing schema, like other vendors."

"The pricing is fair."

"Fortigate's pricing is competitive."

"Cost-wise, there is not much difference from Sophos, but feature-wise, we get more features."

"It has a competitive price."

"I had to pay for the license for the firewall, but it is guaranteed to have updates. I expect a good service for it. It was about €1000 for a year, and there was no additional cost."

"The price is fair compared to the other competitors."

"Fortinet is reasonable in pricing and licensing. Overall, FortiGate is affordable. The licensing fee can be a little high, depending on the budget for your project."

More Fortinet FortiGate pricing and cost advice

"VMs can be affordable, but for high-demand scenarios, I'd still recommend the hardware. For the cost, it's a ten out of ten."

"The price of the solution could be less expensive. There are some features that have to be purchased separately that have their own license."

"At present, the SD-WAN licenses are on an annual basis."

"The customer must buy his own license."

"The price could be lower."

"The price of the solution is competitive. Fortinet FortiGate-VM had a lot of advantages when it came to pricing. However, the competition has also geared up to a larger extent and it has become comparable now to the other solutions."

"We pay for a yearly license."

"If you are in a licensed solution, like Cisco or Palo Alto, it is cheaper. I do recommend using it with a license, because it is a security solution and it needs updates."

More Fortinet FortiGate-VM pricing and cost advice

"The tool is moderately priced."

"The solution's pricing is good for the technology it offers."

"The solution’s pricing is less compared to other products."

"SonicWall NSV is not very costly."

"Our initial purchase, which included a three-year term of support, was about $25,000 USD."

"We are currently using the trial version."

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Educational Organization

15%

Computer Software Company

15%

Comms Service Provider

Manufacturing Company

Computer Software Company

20%

Financial Services Firm

Government

Comms Service Provider

Computer Software Company

27%

Real Estate/Law Firm

Retailer

Educational Organization

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

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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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...

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Which would you recommend - FortiGate VM or Azure Firewall?

Both of these solutions are excellent options that provide flexible scalability and solid security. Fortinet Fortigat...

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What do you like most about Fortinet FortiGate-VM?

An enhanced security solution for any kind of alert that we have configured.

See all answers

What do you like most about SonicWall NSV?

The product helps improve our security.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for SonicWall NSV?

I am somewhat satisfied with the price for SonicWall NSv, rating it as eight because, compared to other products, the...

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What needs improvement with SonicWall NSV?

Currently, we are getting challenges with user-wise reports and other reporting details. At present, they do not prov...

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Comparisons

Sophos XG vs Fortinet FortiGate

Compared 20% of the time

Netgate pfSense vs Fortinet FortiGate

Compared 12% of the time

Cisco Secure Firewall vs Fortinet FortiGate

Compared 11% of the time

SonicWall TZ vs Fortinet FortiGate

Compared 5% of the time

Sophos UTM vs Fortinet FortiGate

Compared 2% of the time

More Fortinet FortiGate Competitors

Azure Firewall vs Fortinet FortiGate-VM

Compared 25% of the time

Palo Alto Networks VM-Series vs Fortinet FortiGate-VM

Compared 5% of the time

Zyxel Unified Security Gateway vs Fortinet FortiGate-VM

Compared 4% of the time

Sophos XGS vs Fortinet FortiGate-VM

Compared 3% of the time

Cisco Secure Firewall vs Fortinet FortiGate-VM

Compared 3% of the time

More Fortinet FortiGate-VM Competitors

Azure Firewall vs SonicWall NSv

Compared 26% of the time

SonicWall NSa vs SonicWall NSv

Compared 25% of the time

Stormshield Network Security vs SonicWall NSv

Compared 19% of the time

SonicWall TZ vs SonicWall NSv

Compared 11% of the time

Palo Alto Networks VM-Series vs SonicWall NSv

Compared 9% of the time

More SonicWall NSv Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Fortinet FortiGate

June 2025

Download Fortinet FortiGate product report

Buyer's Guide

Fortinet FortiGate-VM

June 2025

Download Fortinet FortiGate-VM product report

Buyer's Guide

Firewalls

May 2025

Download SonicWall NSv product report

Also Known As

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

FortiGate Virtual Appliance, FortiGate-VM

SonicWall Network Security Virtual

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

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.

Fortinet

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.

SonicWall

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

Security7 Networks, COOPENAE

Comlogic, Depaul, Hutt City Council

Buyer's Guide

Fortinet FortiGate-VM vs. SonicWall NSv

June 2025

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