Fortinet FortiOS vs SonicWall NSv comparison

Fortinet and SonicWall are both solutions in the Firewalls category. Fortinet is ranked #21 with an average rating of 8.6, while SonicWall is ranked #36 with an average rating of 7.8. Fortinet holds a 1.2% 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 FortiOS and SonicWall NSv compete in the firewall solutions category. FortiOS seems to have the upper hand due to its robust features and excellent customer service.

Features: Fortinet FortiOS users benefit from comprehensive security features, frequent software updates, and robust customer support. SonicWall NSv excels with advanced threat intelligence, integration capabilities, and user-friendly deployment.

Room for Improvement: Fortinet FortiOS needs better documentation, faster support response times, and enhanced scalability. SonicWall NSv requires a more intuitive management experience, improvements in scalability, and easier setup processes.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Fortinet FortiOS deployment is straightforward with excellent customer support aiding the process. SonicWall NSv deployment is user-friendly, though occasionally complex, with responsive but less robust customer service.

Pricing and ROI: Fortinet FortiOS offers competitive pricing with satisfactory ROI. SonicWall NSv has a reasonable setup cost and provides good value due to its specialized security capabilities.

To learn more, read our detailed Fortinet FortiOS vs. SonicWall NSv Report (Updated: July 2025).

Buyer's Guide

Fortinet FortiOS vs. SonicWall NSv

July 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 August 2025, in the Firewalls category, the mindshare of Fortinet FortiGate is 20.8%, up from 17.8% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Fortinet FortiOS is 1.2%, up from 0.9% 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

Vasu Gala

Manager, Information Technology Operation/Presales at TechMonarch

A stable solution with an intuitive interface and quick customer service

I have been working with Fortinet FortiGate, WatchGuard, Sophos, and SonicWall. I'm not as comfortable with SonicWall because of their UI and limitations. I prefer Fortinet above all other options. When it comes to configuration, I am confident in my ability to handle various tasks, including creating policies such as firewall rules, web policies, and application policies. Additionally, I can configure VPNs and implement load balancing, among other tasks. Overall, I feel much more comfortable working with Fortinet. Fortinet has made significant improvements by integrating AI with firewalls for threat analysis and prevention. In the past 2-3 years, they have launched FortiSASE and SIEM, and they also provide SOC services. Both Palo Alto and Fortinet FortiGate are excellent. While Fortinet FortiGate comes at higher prices, the functionality and support justify the cost. They promptly resolve firmware issues and inform all support providers about configuration changes.

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Harshama Silva

Senior Manager at ITX360 (Pvt) Ltd

We have improved network security with user-friendly controls and high threat intelligence

FortiOS is very user-friendly and easy to configure for L1, L2, and L3 personnel. Its web filtering, application control, and IPS features are very user-friendly, easy to manage, and deploy. The threat intelligence in FortiOS is very high, and the system is scalable without additional licensing costs. FortiOS allows us to expand the number of users and devices as our network needs grow.

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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

"It's very easy to set up, it's very easy to make policies and, for an organization, that means you don't need IT expert in firewalls. You just need to have somebody who knows a little bit of IT, and that's it. With other products, you need someone with a "Masters" degree in firewalls."

"It's super reliable. I don't think I've ever had a reliability issue with it."

"LinkGreat firewall capabilities"

"The initial installation is very straightforward."

"The flexibility and ease of configuration are the most valuable features."

"The features that we have found most valuable are the SSL VPN and the User Portal."

"I have found Fortinet FortiGate to be scalable."

"The stability of the solution is excellent, as it is with other Fortinet products."

More Fortinet FortiGate pros

"We primarily use Fortinet FortiOS for site-to-site VPNs, reporting features, and wireless capabilities. It is well integrated within the Fortinet ecosystem."

"It has a lot of scalability abilities which makes it easy to scale."

"In terms of benefits, it’s a standard solution used by many, and our customers and partners widely utilize the VPN features. It’s elementary to work with and implement because it is familiar across different infrastructures."

"I find filtering traffic, filtering web traffic, session traffic, and managing the network as valuable features."

"The most important feature of Fortinet FortiOS is the IPS."

"The most valuable features of Fortinet FortiOS are its constant updates and definitions."

"Fortinet delivers a good balance of price and performance."

"This is an easy means of setting up high-availabilty firewall protection."

More Fortinet FortiOS pros

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

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

"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 are very impressed with it."

"SonicWall NSV is easy to use, and you can use it to manage the logs easily."

"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."

"One of the standout features of SonicWall is its simplicity in creating and managing rules."

More SonicWall NSv pros

Cons

"With the reports, you can see it, and you can get good feelings so upper management can go, "Oh, wow. That looks pretty." However, it's very basic."

"Security is a continuous process. In every product, there is a requirement for improvement. Its pricing should also be improved according to Indian market requirements. They must also improve on the reporting part. Its reporting can be more precise. If we can get a real-time report in a specific format, it will be helpful for customers to know about the current status of their security."

"The anti-malware engine could use an upgrade."

"Even though our currency in this part of the world is becoming increasingly weak, the pricing is now expensive for us. I have tried pushing Fortinet FortiGate to some customers, however, sometimes the transactions don't conclude due to pricing issues."

"The scalability could be better."

"The platform's compatibility with Wi-Fi equipment needs improvement."

"Fortinet should improve its software, as we are seeing lots of firmware versions generated for each vulnerability issue. It becomes difficult for us to keep updating the firmware frequently due to bugs."

"There are some problems that support cannot give you a logical reason as to why it happened. For example, I had a case where I was dealing with a WhatsApp application that was giving issues. Technical support gave more than one reason it could be giving issues, but none of them solved the problem. Eventually I solved the problem, but it was far from the solutions that support had given."

More Fortinet FortiGate cons

"For me, it is important to be able to block VPN applications, like Facebook, so I would like to see that included in the next release. With this version, if you want to block or allow a site, you now have to drag all the domains related to this site."

"You can enable and disable certain modules in it. However, with disabling, nobody can really tell us if that module is disabled."

"In some specific products, Fortinet FortiOS faces memory issues, which can lead to unexpected downtimes."

"The solution needs to adjust its pricing models. With the way they are structured, everything is very disparate and sold separately, and, depending on the solution, it can get quite pricey."

"Fortinet FortiOS can improve the GUI and remove the command line interface. All the functionality should be available from the GUI. Day-to-day management can be tough for IT administrators. Additionally, the reporting is not very good."

"Fortinet FortiOS can improve the monitoring function, it could be more accurate, easy to use, and understandable."

"For monitoring purposes, we don't have any option to monitor the ISP link."

"The pricing model makes this product far more expensive than similar solutions."

More Fortinet FortiOS cons

"We face some challenges when we upgrade the solution."

"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."

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

"The price is a significant factor."

"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."

"An area that could be improved is the export and import settings functionality."

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

"There are limitations to bandwidth management."

More SonicWall NSv cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"It has a competitive price."

"I would say that all things considered, the pricing is pretty good."

"Some of our customers are using Sophos and SonicWall due to price concerns, as they can't manage the pricing of Fortinet FortiGate."

"We find the most valuable aspect of this solution is the price. It is affordable, and cheaper than other firewalls."

"Fortinet FortiGate as a less expensive solution than Palo Alto."

"Fortinet FortiGate has different licensing models, depending on what you're going to do. Services included would depend on the license model. Licenses can be renewed annually."

"They need to be competitive with other solutions."

"For our organization, the licensing costs are approximately $7,000 per year."

More Fortinet FortiGate pricing and cost advice

"The solution could have a better licensing model. It's a bit more expensive than other solutions. The annual subscription is very pricy in Fortinet. The cost could be reduced."

"The software costs roughly half what the hardware costs. Overall, the product is expensive."

"The price of Fortinet FortiOS is less than $10,000 annually. The price of the support is reasonable compared to competitors."

"The pricing is competitive for the medium and high markets but for the small markets it can be expensive."

"The licensing for FortiOS is good, with a security license included when we update the main license."

"We had a three-year license to use Fortinet FortiOS and we are going to renew it this year."

"It is not cheap; it is also not expensive. It is somewhere in the middle."

"Be sure to choose a licensing plan that leaves a little headroom so performance is not an issue."

More Fortinet FortiOS pricing and cost advice

"SonicWall NSV is not very costly."

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

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

"We are currently using the trial version."

"The tool is moderately priced."

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

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

16%

Comms Service Provider

Manufacturing Company

Financial Services Firm

Computer Software Company

13%

Manufacturing Company

Financial Services Firm

Government

Computer Software Company

28%

Educational Organization

Comms Service Provider

Performing Arts

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

Questions from the Community

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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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What do you like most about Fortinet FortiOS?

The SSL VPN is fee for use is most attractive.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Fortinet FortiOS?

I rate the pricing for FortiOS as eight or nine out of ten. It is an affordable solution for us.

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...

See all answers

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...

See all answers

Comparisons

Sophos XG vs Fortinet FortiGate

Compared 20% of the time

Cisco Secure Firewall vs Fortinet FortiGate

Compared 12% of the time

Netgate pfSense vs Fortinet FortiGate

Compared 11% of the time

Cisco Meraki MX vs Fortinet FortiGate

Compared 5% of the time

SonicWall NSa vs Fortinet FortiGate

Compared 2% of the time

More Fortinet FortiGate Competitors

Fortinet FortiManager vs Fortinet FortiOS

Compared 11% of the time

Fortinet FortiWeb vs Fortinet FortiOS

Compared 9% of the time

Cisco Secure Firewall vs Fortinet FortiOS

Compared 9% of the time

Fortinet FortiGate-VM vs Fortinet FortiOS

Compared 4% of the time

Darktrace vs Fortinet FortiOS

Compared 3% of the time

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Azure Firewall vs SonicWall NSv

Compared 25% of the time

SonicWall NSa vs SonicWall NSv

Compared 24% of the time

Stormshield Network Security vs SonicWall NSv

Compared 20% of the time

Fortinet FortiGate-VM vs SonicWall NSv

Compared 13% of the time

Palo Alto Networks VM-Series vs SonicWall NSv

Compared 10% of the time

More SonicWall NSv Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Fortinet FortiGate

August 2025

Download Fortinet FortiGate product report

Buyer's Guide

Fortinet FortiOS

August 2025

Download Fortinet FortiOS product report

Buyer's Guide

Firewalls

August 2025

Download SonicWall NSv product report

Also Known As

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

No data available

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

Fortinet FortiOS is a comprehensive security operating system that powers Fortinet's network security solutions. It provides advanced threat protection, network visibility, and centralized management for organizations of all sizes. With its robust features and intuitive interface, FortiOS enables businesses to secure their networks, applications, and data from cyber threats.

One of the key features of FortiOS is its advanced threat protection capabilities. It incorporates multiple security technologies, including firewall, antivirus, intrusion prevention system (IPS), and web filtering, to detect and block a wide range of threats. This ensures that organizations are protected against malware, ransomware, and other malicious activities. FortiOS also offers extensive network visibility, allowing organizations to monitor and analyze network traffic in real-time. This visibility enables businesses to identify potential security risks, detect anomalies, and take proactive measures to mitigate threats.

Additionally, FortiOS provides detailed reports and analytics, helping organizations gain insights into their network security posture. Centralized management is another crucial aspect of FortiOS. It allows businesses to manage and configure their security policies, devices, and users from a single console. This simplifies the management process and ensures consistent security across the entire network infrastructure.

Moreover, FortiOS supports integration with other Fortinet products, enabling seamless security orchestration and automation. FortiOS is designed to be scalable and flexible, making it suitable for organizations of all sizes. It offers a range of deployment options, including physical appliances, virtual machines, and cloud-based solutions. This flexibility allows businesses to choose the deployment model that best fits their requirements and easily scale their security infrastructure as their needs evolve.

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

Black Gold Regional Schools, Amadeus Hospitality, Jefferson County, Chunghwa Telecom, City of Boroondara, Dimension Data

Comlogic, Depaul, Hutt City Council

Buyer's Guide

Fortinet FortiOS vs. SonicWall NSv

July 2025

Free Report: Fortinet FortiOS vs. SonicWall NSv

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