Fortinet FortiGate vs Sophos UTM comparison

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Comparison Buyer's Guide
Executive Summary
Updated on Apr 3, 2022

We performed a comparison between Fortinet FortiGate and Sophos UTM based on our users’ reviews in five categories. After reading all of the collected data, you can find our conclusion below.

  • Ease of Deployment: For the most part, Fortinet FortiGate reviewers and Sophos UTM reviewers agreed that deployment of both solutions was quick and easy.
  • Features: Fortinet FortiGate users felt there were excellent features, including great stability and an excellent firewall and VPN solution. However, there were quite a few mixed reviews when it came to the interface, with many feeling it was overly complex, and there were many complaints on the reporting feature.

    Sophos UTM reviewers felt the solution had excellent ransomware protection and was an overall great security solution, but it didn’t do a great job at covering mobile devices.
  • Pricing: Whereas users of Fortinet FortiGate felt that the software was costly, especially since each feature needed a separate license, users of Sophos UTM felt the software was relatively reasonably priced.
  • Service and Support: Fortinet FortiGate users mentioned that the software needed better and quicker support. Sophos UTM users said the support team is knowledgeable, but the response time was very slow.
  • ROI: Both Fortinet FortiGate reviewers and Sophos UTM reviewers mentioned seeing an ROI.

Comparison Results: Fortinet FortiGate and Sophos UTM had a similar user rating regarding ease of deployment, service and support, and ROI. If pricing is a factor, Sophos UTM is a more cost-effective solution based on user reviews. In terms of features, Fortinet FortiGate users felt the interface was complex, and the reporting feature needed improvements. In contrast, Sophos UTM users felt the solution needed to do a better job at covering mobile devices.

To learn more, read our detailed Fortinet FortiGate vs. Sophos UTM Report (Updated: September 2023).
734,678 professionals have used our research since 2012.
Q&A Highlights
Question: What are the biggest technical differences between Sophos UTM and Fortinet FortiGate?
Answer: In my opinion and as a result of years of experience: - Both are great firewalls with excellent performance and a useful integration witch Active directory and LDAP - Fortinet is easier to manage and have a nice way to configure routes but some times have throughput troubles as an example: in 2 years we need to make around 4 reboots in a 3 firewall deploy - Sophos has a lot of nice firewall features (i mean without a license), some features like routes and VPN use to be a little difficult to configure but we never need to reboot any FW.
Featured Review
Quotes From Members
We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use.
Here are some excerpts of what they said:
Pros
"Its user interface is good, and it is always working fine.""Initial setup is easy to configure.""I like that you are able to manage FortiGate from the FortiManager to create a more centralized environment.""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.""It's very easy to configure.""The Fortinet FortiGate local partners were good. I did not have direct contact with Fortinet support.""The multi-tenancy feature is most valuable. It integrates very well with FortiManager and FortiAnalyzer.""Fortinet FortiGate is easy to use. Anyone can easily maintain it."

More Fortinet FortiGate Pros →

"Sophos UTM has a good user interface and granular security controls.""Sophos integrates seamlessly, and we don't even feel it is running in the background.""The management suite is easy and the agent is easy to develop.""I like the web filtering options.""So far, the solution has been problem-free.""The firewall itself is very strong and provides great security.""The initial setup was easy.""The most valuable feature of Sophos UTM is the simple-to-use interface."

More Sophos UTM Pros →

Cons
"Pricing for it is a bit high. It could be cheaper.""The support team for Fortinet FortiGate needs to be more customer friendly.""The logging details need to be improved.""With the addition of some features, it is possible that FortiGate can be used in all verticals.""I would like Fortinet to add more automation to FortiGate.""Its customer service could be better.""It is quite new for us, and we need to go more in-depth into the monitoring tools. It provides different features that we need to do what we want. So far, it is okay for us. In terms of improvement, in the future, they can provide a faster implementation of features. Some of the features are first available in other solutions. Fortinet sometimes takes a little bit longer than other solutions, such as Check Point, to implement new features.""The renewal price and the availability could be improved."

More Fortinet FortiGate Cons →

"I didn't like it much. It suits only small businesses. It isn't scalable and reliable. There is a very critical issue with the power supply.""Last year, Sophos had some major internal management changes that negatively impacted their support.""The initial setup was straightforward. The full deployment takes approximately two days which could be simplified to reduce the time. The major part of the process is the configuration and the policy setup.""The support could be better.""The classification segregation of applications lacks sufficient definition.""I would like some features that are available in other brands. For example, I sometimes a person is using too much bandwidth, and it isn't easy to find this information in Sophos. Also, we have to switch connections manually when we are using a VPN and lose the MPLS connection. It isn't automatic.""Sophos UTM sometimes falls short in high-availability environments. They used to launch firmware that didn't work very well in a high-availability environment.""The virus updates will always depend on new viruses that are discovered. Maybe they can send a notification or a reminder for update time."

More Sophos UTM Cons →

Pricing and Cost Advice
  • "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."
  • "It is more expensive than Sophos. Fortinet is overall more expensive than Sophos. The small range of Fortinet, such as 60F and 80F, is more expensive than the small range of Sophos. Sophos is cheaper. In addition, if you jump from 80F Series to 100F Series, the price doubles."
  • "The license is yearly. We pay for the top end. It's called 360."
  • "Here in Brazil, we're going through difficult economic times and the tax on the dollar is high. All the solutions from minor competitors are growing in the market. The prices have come more competitive."
  • "Licensing for Fortinet FortiGate is on a yearly basis. Pricing for it is a bit high. It could be cheaper."
  • "The licensing scheme of Fortinet is better than Cisco. It is more logical."
  • "The solution requires a license annually, it is not a user license, you can have as many users as your want. I must renew the license regularly per device."
  • "It was probably about $2,500 per firewall. It was all included. It included support, services, threat management software, and 24/7 FortiCare on it. Cisco products are more expensive."
  • More Fortinet FortiGate Pricing and Cost Advice →

  • "Although Sophos UTM is a good product, other products have more flexibility with their pricing. It is a very fine product, but when someone wants more relaxed pricing or more leverage in pricing, Sophos is more rigid."
  • "There is a license for the device and for the software. We pay annually for the solution and the cost is competitive."
  • "The price is comparable to other products of this kind."
  • "Sophos UTM's pricing is on the cheaper side."
  • "There was an up-front charge of around $70,000, to purchase the hub and license. Beyond the initial cost, licenses are charged for annually, but they are good value for the service we receive."
  • "The price of the license for Sophos UTM is approximately $5,500. The solution is less expensive than competitors."
  • "It will cost approximately $67 US per device. We have 300 devices in our organization."
  • "The solution's pricing is based on a licensing model and is competitive."
  • More Sophos UTM Pricing and Cost Advice →

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    Answers from the Community
    Sajjad Ahmad
    Alessandro Turchi - PeerSpot reviewerAlessandro Turchi
    User

    I would have no doubt in recommending Fortinet. I do not know the Sophos UTM product specifically but in general, in companies, we have had unpleasant experiences with Sophos with customers. They typically declare performance values ​​that are overestimated in the field.

    Narendra Singh - PeerSpot reviewerNarendra Singh
    Real User

    We replaced Fortinet with Sophos as our public-facing UTM in 2017 & since then the ride has been extremely rough. I would not recommend Sophos for any mission-critical environment.

    Mohsinoddin Mohammed - PeerSpot reviewerMohsinoddin Mohammed
    Real User

    Fortinet is easy to manage and it include secure SDWAN as well including many features with easy to configure.

    Manjil Bhetwal - PeerSpot reviewerManjil Bhetwal
    Real User

    Both firewalls are easy to deploy. But the issue you will encounter when performing troubleshooting. You will not get flexibility in troubleshooting through Cli in Sophos whereas, in FortiGate, we have much more control. Besides if you are deploying a firewall on a large scale where visibility, control, performance as well as the flexibility is important it is better to go with Fortinet rather than Sophos.

    Richard Benfatto - PeerSpot reviewerRichard Benfatto
    User

    I would also like to elaborate on the reporting part in FortiCloud. There is no need to pay any extras. Every box connects to ForticCoud service, and if you want reports to be greater than 7 days (meaning to be kept longer than that in their memory system) then you have to pay. In the meantime, by default Forticloud will send daily emails with reports and once a week you will get 4 to 5 reports, with lots of granular information. These reports are all in PDF with color graphics. In reality, I would be happy to send you some of the reports as in words typed herein would be more than a book. The FortiGate appliance also comes with 10 endpoint security (Forticlient) licences. So you can put this endpoint protection software to servers or clients. It also has a two-factor authentication license included. With these boxes, you can also create VDOM (Virtual Domains, totally separate).

    They can afford that as the hardware, as I mentioned before (ASIC) has the power to do that. In 3 years I have had 1 spam message entering my mail server, is that telling you something??? In my first reply, I did tell you that where I work now they purchase Sophos. Well, when the antivirus is set the CPU gets up to 90%. My Fortigate CPU is 0% and peaks during attacks. And I have had quite a few. They were attempting to break into the mail server. More than 2 million attempts in less than 2 hours. Have a look at NSS Labs site. FortiGate is a Rolls Royce, you cannot compare.

    Here in Australia, where I work now, the decision was to go with Sophos, ONLY ON PRICE. Yes, great brains. Now they regret that big time. FortiGate is a much more powerful device, especially when it comes to being able to handle the traffic. Most of the models handle throughput via ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit) which is nothing more and less than a customer semiconductor. So, this is handled via hardware. It may be initially more difficult to implement. Now, what does "difficult" mean? To me when there is an unknown, difficult comes up till you learn. So if you make a decision on price and because "it is the easiest" to install.

    I would not touch Sophos. Simple as that.

    it_user1136043 - PeerSpot reviewerit_user1136043 (IT Manager at alfascan)
    Real User

    Sophos UTM is better by far. but it is more expensive

    Nawaaz Toonah - PeerSpot reviewerNawaaz Toonah
    Reseller

    Done many installations of both Sophos and FortiGate, Sophos is the easiest to install and best in terms of features.
    Reporting is free in Sophos while we need an extra subscription for FortiGate. Deep packet inspection, intrusion prevention advanced threat protection, web filtering, app control and email protection are key features of Sophos. Browsing is made safe with phishing protection and new functionality of ransomware protection. Sophos support is brilliant and community website from Sophos answers to all your questions and ease deployment.

    Ronald Rosenbaum - PeerSpot reviewerRonald Rosenbaum
    Real User

    I can’t really comment on FortiGate. We’ve been working with Sophos for years and like it’s integration with their endpoint.

    Questions from the Community
    Top Answer: 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… more »
    Top Answer: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… more »
    Top Answer: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 would… more »
    Top Answer:The Sophos UTM is a UTM and Sophos XG is the NGFW. First, you must know about the difference between a UTM and NGFW. They can not be compared with each other because the price, license, firewall… more »
    Top Answer:The cost of the license depends on the size of the firewall appliance. There is a huge variety of pricing models. Sophos UTM has very reasonable pricing.
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    Also Known As
    FortiGate 60b, FortiGate 60c, FortiGate 80c, FortiGate 50b, FortiGate 200b, FortiGate 110c, FortiGate
    Astaro
    Learn More
    Overview

    Fortinet FortiGate is an innovative line of firewalls that aim to protect organizations from all types of web-based network threats. They come in a wide variety of product types. Fortinet FortiGate’s solutions are available in a large range of sizes and form factors and are key components of the Fortinet Security Fabric, which enables immediate, intelligent defense against known and new threats throughout the entire network.

    Fortinet FortiGate provides users with next-generation firewall solutions that provide proven protection with unmatched performance across the network, from internal segments to data centers to cloud environments. You can protect every part of your network without exception. Additionally, your protections can be managed from a single central location. This ensures that the task of protecting your network is infinitely easier to accomplish.

    Benefits of Fortinet FortiGate

    Some of the benefits of using Fortinet FortiGate include:

    • The ability to manage your firewalls from a centralized automated control console. Fortinet FortiGate’s FortiManager enables administrators to exercise control of their firewalls in a streamlined manner. Administrators have full visibility and control over their system from a single location. It utilizes automation that collects information in real time, which greatly simplifies and reduces the cost of running various types of workflows. Administrators can free up resources by automating the most basic tasks.
    • The ability to produce uniform, appropriate, and coordinated responses to threats across networks. Fortinet FortiGate’s FortiGuard feature generates system protections in near real time. This allows administrators to address threats to the system with custom-made solutions that can be uniformly enforced.
    • The ability to scale up your security to fit your changing security needs. Fortinet FortiGate’s design allows users to accelerate the transfer of data between users and escalate the number of users that are covered without compromising security of performance. This means that users can grow their networks and continue to collaborate without worrying about the system slowing down or coming under attack.

    Reviews from Real Users

    Fortinet FortiGate’s firewall solutions are cutting edge. They stand out from competitors for a number of reasons. Two major ones are the robustness and power of their firewalls. Fortinet FortiGate’s firewall provides users with many valuable features that allow them to maximize what they can do with the solution. These firewalls enable users to use a single piece of software to accomplish tasks that often require the use of multiple pieces of software.

    PeerSpot user Eric S., a Solutions Engineer and Consultant at a tech-services company, notes the robustness of this solution when he writes, "One of the nice things about FortiGate is that it can be deployed on the cloud or on-premises. You can actually do both. That's the biggest reason why I stick with this solution as opposed to something like Cisco Meraki. Another nice thing is that I can log directly into a FortiGate or get to it through their FortiCloud access products. They're pretty reliable and consistent. One of the reasons why I started using the product was their single pane of management. I can deploy their line of firewalls in conjunction with their switching and access points, and I can manage the entire network from one interface.”

    PeerSpot user Jim M., a network admin at Penobscot Valley Hospital, notes the power of Fortinet FortiGate’s security software when he writes, "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.”

    Sophos UTM is a unified threat management platform designed to protect your businesses from known and emerging malware including viruses, rootkits and spyware. The solution provides a complete network security package with everything your organization needs in a single modular appliance.

    Sophos UTM Features

    Sophos UTM has many valuable key features. Some of the most useful ones include:

    • Web and Email Filtering
    • General Management
    • Network Protection
    • Network Routing and Services
    • Advanced Threat Protection
    • Authentication
    • Email Encryption and DLP
    • Web Policy
    • End-User Portal
    • VPN IPsec Client, VPN SSL Client, and Clientless VPN
    • Web Application Firewall Protection
    • UTM Endpoint Protection and Management
    • SEC Endpoint Integration
    • Logging and Reporting

    Sophos UTM Benefits

    There are many benefits to implementing Sophos UTM. Some of the biggest advantages the solution offers include:

    • Simplifies your IT security without the complexity of multiple point solutions
    • Intuitive interface to help you quickly create policies to control security risks
    • Provides clear, detailed reports to give you the insight you need to improve your network performance and protection
    • Complete control to block, allow, shape and prioritize applications
    • Two-factor authentication with one-time password (OTP)
    • Integrated wireless controller
    • Allows you to connect remote offices with easy VPN and Wi-Fi

    Reviews from Real Users

    Below are some reviews and helpful feedback written by PeerSpot users currently using the Sophos UTM solution.

    PeerSpot user Dana B., Network Administrator at a manufacturing company, says “The web and email filtering are the two biggest and most valuable aspects of the solution for us. The solution overall has just been a good, cost-effective solution for us. The solution offers a lot of functionality. The solution scales well. We've found the technical support to be helpful. The stability and performance are quite good.”

    A Technical Director at a security firm mentions, "Sophos SG UTM had all the basic functionality that you needed. It is user-friendly and easy to manage for any integrator."

    Marek M., Senior Network Engineer at a computer software company, comments, “Sophos UTM is the simplest of these products to set up. If you follow the instructions using the wizard, which is just a few steps, then you will have a firewall to protect you and your customer.”

    A Software Sales Manager at a tech services company explains, “The overall visibility of the console is what I find most valuable, plus it's very user-friendly. It can be integrated with other solutions such as SOAR, SIEM, etc., even when you have an existing firewall. I really like that the console can be integrated. You'll see everything on the same window, and the single window feature of the machine is so good. These are the features I really like.”

    James D., IT Manager at Manual Workers Union, states, “The fact that it's on the cloud means we don't have to administer it on our network or deal with a physical machine, which saves us money. The solution has many great features. From the console, we can start different scannings on different machines. We enjoy the centralized reporting part of it. The initial setup is simple. We enjoy its general stability. The solution can scale. So far, the solution has been problem-free.”

    Offer
    Learn more about Fortinet FortiGate
    Learn more about Sophos UTM
    Sample Customers
    Pittsburgh Steelers, LUSH Cosmetics, NASDAQ, Verizon, Arizona State University, Levi Strauss & Co. Whitepaper and case studies here
    One Housing Group
    Top Industries
    REVIEWERS
    Comms Service Provider16%
    Computer Software Company10%
    Financial Services Firm9%
    Manufacturing Company7%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Educational Organization22%
    Computer Software Company15%
    Comms Service Provider9%
    Government5%
    REVIEWERS
    Comms Service Provider11%
    Financial Services Firm11%
    Manufacturing Company11%
    Computer Software Company7%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Computer Software Company19%
    Comms Service Provider10%
    Government8%
    Retailer6%
    Company Size
    REVIEWERS
    Small Business48%
    Midsize Enterprise23%
    Large Enterprise30%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Small Business26%
    Midsize Enterprise33%
    Large Enterprise41%
    REVIEWERS
    Small Business57%
    Midsize Enterprise20%
    Large Enterprise23%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Small Business34%
    Midsize Enterprise19%
    Large Enterprise47%
    Buyer's Guide
    Fortinet FortiGate vs. Sophos UTM
    September 2023
    Find out what your peers are saying about Fortinet FortiGate vs. Sophos UTM and other solutions. Updated: September 2023.
    734,678 professionals have used our research since 2012.

    Fortinet FortiGate is ranked 1st in Firewalls with 108 reviews while Sophos UTM is ranked 1st in Unified Threat Management (UTM) with 39 reviews. Fortinet FortiGate is rated 8.4, while Sophos UTM is rated 8.2. The top reviewer of Fortinet FortiGate writes "Efficient, user-friendly, and affordable". On the other hand, the top reviewer of Sophos UTM writes "It's a highly stable platform with very few hardware issues". Fortinet FortiGate is most compared with Sophos XG, Cisco Secure Firewall, Netgate pfSense, Meraki MX and SonicWall NSa, whereas Sophos UTM is most compared with Netgate pfSense, OPNsense, Sophos XG, Cisco Secure Firewall and Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls. See our Fortinet FortiGate vs. Sophos UTM report.

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    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.