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Fortinet FortiGate vs SonicWall NSa comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Sep 1, 2024
 

Categories and Ranking

Fortinet FortiGate
Ranking in Firewalls
2nd
Average Rating
8.4
Number of Reviews
314
Ranking in other categories
Software Defined WAN (SD-WAN) Solutions (1st), WAN Edge (1st)
SonicWall NSa
Ranking in Firewalls
18th
Average Rating
7.8
Number of Reviews
84
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of September 2024, in the Firewalls category, the mindshare of Fortinet FortiGate is 18.4%, up from 16.7% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of SonicWall NSa is 1.4%, up from 1.2% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Firewalls
 

Featured Reviews

DP
Mar 28, 2022
Straightforward implementation and affordable
Whenever we install a new release of an OS we should expect lots of bugs on the system that could break the system. Something that is working fine in the previous system, if we upgrade it, it could break it. Fortinet should work a lot on this to remediate it before releasing any OS. This includes any update and upgrade of FortiOS because I have seen issues when I upgraded, such as the memory and CPU jumping to 100 percent, and some or all functions were not operational. These bugs should be fixed in the firmware. If there is a need for some upgrade or update on an existing system then I will plan ahead, but if it is not stable I will not do it. We have new releases being tested now and once they are rated stable I will upgrade.
GK
Feb 2, 2023
Stable, easy to set up, has a UTM feature, and provides good support locally
I'm using SonicWall NSa as an external firewall For me, the most valuable feature of SonicWall NSa is the UTM. A room for improvement in SonicWall NSa is the log server because it could be more user-friendly compared to Fortinet and Palo Alto Networks. Another area for improvement is the UI of…

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"It has improved our security capabilities."
"The multi-tenancy feature is most valuable. It integrates very well with FortiManager and FortiAnalyzer."
"FortiGate has a very strong unified threat management system."
"SSL-VPN is very useful for us and has been very reliable."
"This version is stable. I don't have any issues with this solution, in our environment, it works well."
"It is a one box solution, which covers most of the edge device’s requirements."
"It's user-friendly and easy to operate."
"The most valuable features are SD-WAN, application control, IPS control, and FortiSandbox."
"I like that SonicWall NSa is a stable product. It's also a scalable product."
"We like the features, but the main thing is from a commercial and cost perspective it is very good."
"Since SonicWall is a UTM, we have enabled all the features: antivirus, IPS, URL filtering, and content filtering. All of these features are working fine."
"The prices are similar to other vendors and the support is good."
"Support is usually good when it comes to helping with issues."
"Valuable features include a web filter, DHCP, and monitoring capabilities."
"SonicWall has USCS and anti-virus at the gateway level. Everything is filtered, and if it detects an intruder, it drops the line."
"The features that I have found most valuable are the firewalling, which is very good and the GUI which is very intuitive. It is easy to use, and provides great security."
 

Cons

"I use the FortiGate 60D model and realized the 300Mbps bandwidth limitation. Because it is a product that offers many services, I think it could have greater bandwidth capacity."
"Difficult to add or define, and not that easy to configure and manage."
"FortiGate should have a better way of detecting and managing the system memory because otherwise if the memory is too low, a system restart is required."
"We would like to see a better training platform implemented."
"The solution can have more features in a single box that can be multi-applied to integrate everything."
"Technical support needs to be improved."
"They have to just improve its performance when we enable all UTM features. When you enable all the features, the performance of FortiGate, as well as of Sophos and SonicWall, goes down."
"The product does need better support in the cloud environment. It's not exactly cloud-native right now."
"The product could expand its throughput capacity."
"After-sales support and hands-on training facilities are not available in my country."
"It is very modular and with native resources which are much lower than its competitors."
"There are a few areas that need improvement including the VPN, user management, and reporting."
"A room for improvement in SonicWall NSa is the log server because it could be more user-friendly compared to Fortinet and Palo Alto Networks. My company has many rule sets up for review, so sometimes, my team needs to use Excel for filtering, but the UI cannot support the Excel function."
"It's very hard to manage this box. You really need a lot of skills to operate the SonicWall. There is training and the like, but it's just hard to manage. Even if you have the knowledge, there are too many options. The menus are not very clear, where you should find the information."
"One area for improvement in SonicWall NSa is the GUI. It isn't easy to understand. The support for SonicWall NSa is mediocre, which is another area for improvement."
"One issue with the solution is that no authorization or authentication features exist."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The support subscription for the solution is annual. You are paying for support and there are two levels of support, professional and advanced."
"The price is highly competitive when compared to other brands that offer similar functionality."
"Fortinet FortiGate is reasonably priced."
"Fortinet FortiGate is expensive."
"It has been two years. I don't remember the actual price, but it was affordable. We buy the boxes and then use the license for three years."
"The price of FortiGate is reasonable as I plan to buy new switches. The initial gadgets are already booted, and the pricing seems normal on the market. As for additional costs, I haven't subscribed to many extra features, so I'm only using what I need. Last year, I renewed the support for three years, which can sometimes be expensive but depends on the security benefits and how it helps us."
"The price of FortiGate is comparable to that of most other firewall solutions and is more affordable than Cisco."
"A year or two years back, its price was competitive and reasonable. That was one of the reasons that people easily switched to Fortinet. Over the last two years, the prices have increased drastically. However, the prices of others have also increased. An advantage is there from the price point but not as much as it was previously."
"The CPUs are not able to compete with a similar price point to the Fortinet, WatchGuard, or Palo Alto product."
"They do have the option to purchase yearly, or two years, and three years renewal."
"You need their analyzer to properly generate reports. This is an expensive, licensed feature, with a complex application or appliance back-end."
"The pricing and value are good."
"SonicWall NSa has two types of license. The advanced license is a bit expensive when compared to the comprehensive license, but when you compare the advanced license to the licensing cost of other brands or competitors, it is expensive."
"We are on a three-year license for the solution. The price is inexpensive compared to other solutions."
"The return on investment is very good."
"The pricing is lower and better than other products."
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Comparison Review

it_user216600 - PeerSpot reviewer
Jan 3, 2016
Sophos UTM vs. Fortinet FortiGate
I have used both Sophos and Fortinet products in production and I have found the Sophos UTM appliances (hardware and virtual) to be a better fit most of the time -- with a few caveats which I will touch on below. In both instances, the transition from TMG will be mostly straightforward. The main…
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Educational Organization
22%
Computer Software Company
15%
Manufacturing Company
6%
Financial Services Firm
6%
Computer Software Company
15%
Manufacturing Company
6%
Government
6%
Educational Organization
6%
 

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 at large. In my opinion, Fortinet would be the best option and l use Fortinet too...
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 the firewalls change every 5 to 7 years as stated but you really do need to upg...
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 good. The most valuable features for me are their web and email filtering. I wou...
What do you like most about SonicWall NSa?
The product blocks access when I visit unrecognized websites.
What needs improvement with SonicWall NSa?
My company can't connect directly with SonicWall's support team, making it an area where improvements are required.
 

Also Known As

FortiGate 60b, FortiGate 60c, FortiGate 80c, FortiGate 50b, FortiGate 200b, FortiGate 110c, FortiGate
NSA 250M, NSA 2600, NSA 3600, NSA 4600, NSA 5600, Dell SonicWALL NSA
 

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
Orange County Rescue Mission, First Source, Michaels & Taylor, Green Clinic Health System, Aspire Chiltern Skills and Enterprise Centre, UnitedStack, Faith Lutheran College Redlands, Celtic Manor Resort, Star Kay White, Air Works, Unimat Life, NHS Yorkshire and Humber Commissioning Support (YHCS), Hutt City Council, Mato Grosso do Sul, Nspyre
Find out what your peers are saying about Fortinet FortiGate vs. SonicWall NSa and other solutions. Updated: September 2024.
800,905 professionals have used our research since 2012.