Fortinet FortiOS vs SonicWall NSv comparison

Fortinet and SonicWall are both solutions in the Firewalls category. Fortinet is ranked #22 with an average rating of 8.4, while SonicWall is ranked #28 with an average rating of 8.2. Fortinet holds a 1.1% 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.

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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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: June 2025).

Buyer's Guide

Fortinet FortiOS 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 FortiOS is 1.1%, 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

"There are lots of features and most of them are deployed for internet security. Users are protected if they accidentally go to some malicious sites."

"The dashboard I have found the most valuable in Fortinet FortiGate."

"Their reliability and their policy of pre-shipping replacements when a unit has failed."

"Easy to implement, and it is also reliable."

"All of the features of Fortinet FortiGate are useful and the security protection is good."

"It is easy to use and update the software version. It is also useful for integration with other Fortinet products, because my office and company use Fortinet solutions."

"It is user friendly, and has all the features you need."

"The price-to-performance ratio for using Fortinet FortiGate is always better compared to any other competitor, so they are rated better than the likes of Check Point or Palo Alto."

More Fortinet FortiGate pros

"We found the initial setup to be straightforward."

"There are many useful features, such as web security and advanced threat detection."

"It's simple to use in terms of inbound and outbound traffic management."

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

"It's very easy to use."

"I am satisfied with Fortinet FortiOS. It's a cool product and has a lot of UTM features. It has application control, web filtering, antivirus, IPS/IDS, DNS filtering, and many things in that firewall. It also has a web application firewall WAF feature. On the feature side, it's a good firewall."

"The user experience is great. The graphical user interface is also good."

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

More Fortinet FortiOS pros

"We are very impressed with it."

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

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

"The product helps improve our security."

"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."

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

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

More SonicWall NSv pros

Cons

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

"One issue that I have had is that sometimes I need to monitor the traffic, so I need to filter it according to the user and which user is using it the most. I experience a bottleneck most of the time, particularly at the peak time when the number of contracts and users are at maximum."

"I would like to have logs, monitoring, and reporting for a month without extra fees."

"I want some additional features. For example, I want something to ensure that when we are using Google email or Microsoft email, or Google Workspace, emails can only be accessed on designated machines given to our employees. I would like them to access data from designated machines, not from any machine. It should work for designated mobiles and laptops. I don't know if Fortinet provides something like that out of the box."

"I would like to see improvements in Fortinet FortiGate regarding the active-active scenario. The active-active scenario is supported but not recommended, whereas other vendors are implementing active-active without issues."

"Technical support could be better. You don't always get the level of help you need right away."

"At the moment, the main concern is the pricing and the type of licensing."

"Lacks sufficient security options."

More Fortinet FortiGate cons

"The central management can improve in Fortinet FortiOS. It is sometimes difficult to manage all the devices."

"We had assistance from one person from our local vendor for the implementation."

"The support is not very good, but the product is stable so it is not so much of a problem."

"Right now, all the features meet my requirements."

"Stability is a seven out of ten because during version migrations, and sometimes with new versions, Fortinet is not as good. Palo Alto is more stable than Fortinet, but this depends on the configuration."

"A switch should be introduced."

"The signature discs, compared to Palo Alto, aren't as good. It takes more time to get the signature updates."

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

More Fortinet FortiOS cons

"SonicWall NSV's initial setup is complicated and requires good knowledge."

"There are limitations to bandwidth management."

"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."

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

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

"The price is a significant factor."

More SonicWall NSv cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The cost is too high... They have to focus on more features with less cost for the customer. If you see the market, where it's going, there are a lot of players offering more features for less cost."

"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."

"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."

"The price of FortiGate is average and I would say that based on the top five products available on the market, it is in the affordable range."

"It's very affordable."

"Its pricing is competitive with other solutions."

"This is not a cheap solution but it isn't expensive, either. It's a good solution for the right price."

"If you compare Fortinet FortiGate with Sophos and other firewall products available in the market, this solution is affordable."

More Fortinet FortiGate pricing and cost advice

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

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

"The scalability of Fortinet FortiOS is good. However, central management is intuitive for the end-users. We had a lot of questions about central management, and sometimes they didn't use it and did their firewall management directly on FortiGate instead of using Fortinet FortiOS."

"We pay an annual license fee. It is rather expensive so I would like to perhaps see a drop in price in the future."

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

"A medium 100 or 200 Series box costs around $3000, and the software cost is around 55% of the hardware cost."

"The cost is around $40,000."

"Pricing for the tool can vary. Sometimes, aggressive pricing is offered at the start, but later, as subscriptions and expansions are needed, the costs can increase, and customers may have to pay whatever is required."

More Fortinet FortiOS pricing and cost advice

"We are currently using the trial version."

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

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

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

"The tool is moderately priced."

"SonicWall NSV is not very costly."

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

15%

Educational Organization

14%

Comms Service Provider

Manufacturing Company

Computer Software Company

14%

Financial Services Firm

10%

Manufacturing Company

Government

Computer Software Company

28%

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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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

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

Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls vs Fortinet FortiGate

Compared 2% of the time

More Fortinet FortiGate Competitors

Fortinet FortiManager vs Fortinet FortiOS

Compared 11% of the time

Cisco Secure Firewall vs Fortinet FortiOS

Compared 8% of the time

Fortinet FortiWeb vs Fortinet FortiOS

Compared 8% of the time

Fortinet FortiGate-VM vs Fortinet FortiOS

Compared 4% of the time

Darktrace vs Fortinet FortiOS

Compared 4% of the time

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Azure Firewall vs SonicWall NSv

Compared 26% of the time

SonicWall NSa vs SonicWall NSv

Compared 24% of the time

Stormshield Network Security vs SonicWall NSv

Compared 19% of the time

SonicWall TZ vs SonicWall NSv

Compared 11% of the time

Fortinet FortiGate-VM vs SonicWall NSv

Compared 11% 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 FortiOS

June 2025

Download Fortinet FortiOS 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

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

June 2025

Free Report: Fortinet FortiOS vs. SonicWall NSv

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