No more typing reviews! Try our Samantha, our new voice AI agent.

Huawei NGFW vs Netgate pfSense Plus Firewall/VPN/Router comparison

Sponsored
 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary

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
Sponsored
Ranking in Firewalls
1st
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
591
Ranking in other categories
Secure Web Gateways (SWG) (2nd), Intrusion Detection and Prevention Software (IDPS) (1st), Software Defined WAN (SD-WAN) Solutions (1st), WAN Edge (1st), ZTNA (1st), Unified Threat Management (UTM) (1st)
Huawei NGFW
Ranking in Firewalls
37th
Average Rating
7.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.2
Number of Reviews
22
Ranking in other categories
Unified Threat Management (UTM) (14th)
Netgate pfSense Plus Firewa...
Ranking in Firewalls
24th
Average Rating
9.0
Reviews Sentiment
4.3
Number of Reviews
5
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Featured Reviews

Abhinandan Yadav - PeerSpot reviewer
Network Security Engineer at Arrow PC Network Pvt Ltd
Unified security and sd-wan have improved uptime and cut wan costs for multi-site branches
Users report stability issues in certain versions, which requires regular updates. Real-world attacks have also highlighted the need for urgent patching of vulnerabilities.Fortinet FortiGate, while a powerful and feature-rich web firewall, could improve in areas like firmware stability, documentation, and ease of use. The learning curve can be steep for some users. For beginners, support quality can vary, and frequent updates with occasional vulnerabilities call for careful patch management. However, once Fortinet FortiGate is configured, it remains highly reliable and efficient. Customer support needs improvement, as I find it very slow, with reports from other users reflecting that customer support is inadequate.
VZ
Senior Manager Technology at CNS Engineering
GUI application allows for easy monitoring and analysis of potential intrusions but needs improvement in threat prevention signatures
Based on the threat prevention signatures, they need updates. They should add some machine learning features and Machine learning detection. In future releases, I would like to see improvements in CDR technology. Forcepoint is pitching CDR technology, which extends sandboxing. Configuring data on the console needs enhancement. Huawei also need to improve spam techniques and add a web application firewall. Currently, Huawei does not have a built-in web application firewall (WAF) like Fortinet does. Tools like SIEM, SOAR, and Tenable can be integrated, but they require additional setup and should be integrated via API. For external threat detection, using the TAXII or STIX protocol, would be an improvement over the current features.
Jim Voige - PeerSpot reviewer
Site Manager at a consultancy with 11-50 employees
High availability routing has secured our network and delivers reliable support every day
One downside of Netgate pfSense Plus Firewall_VPN_Router is the need for a better understanding of what hardware it would run on. Right now, we're using Netgate's hardware, but I'm interested in knowing if there are other hardware options available, particularly heavier duty hardware, because the Supermicro 1537 version we have only has a single power supply, which is a shortcoming in an IT environment where dual power supplies are ideal. The pricing for the hardware of Netgate pfSense Plus Firewall_VPN_Router is steep, which is one reason I'd explore other options. I'm familiar with the costs of Supermicro servers, and I believe Netgate charges a premium for their server hardware without enough upside to justify it. The pricing is not justified.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"FortiGate is very simple to manage and easy to use."
"It does not require a lot of maintenance."
"Overall security features and performance routing is good."
"We use a southern institution that's audited for IT security and the reporting that automatically comes off the unit makes it much easier to meet compliance standards and makes it easier as far as the amount of time that has to be spent to compile that information. If you get your reporting set up correctly when you initially set it up, you just select the one you want and hit print. The auditing trail on it is the best feature."
"It is complemented by other equipment, such as the Fortinet switch, and it is integrated with other tools that help to prevent cyberattacks, including a web filter, IPS, and application control."
"Application control and the web filter are the best features of Fortinet FortiGate."
"The integration of SD-WAN capabilities with Fortinet FortiGate has positively impacted application performance."
"FortiGate is easier to deploy than Juniper."
"The tool helps us to integrate with other brands."
"The user interface is very, very good, there are lots of great features within the product, and overall, it seems to be a pretty good firewall."
"The support for the solution has been excellent. If we ever had an issue they would send an engineer to help us with our problem."
"I like that the initial setup is straighforward. It's also a scalable solution."
"The solution's implementation is pretty easy."
"The setup is quite easy."
"Huawei was able to assist us in the installation of their product."
"It enables us to configure different policies and restrictions for specific users within the same subnet."
"My experience with the product is that it is a stable and good product that is easy to use."
"Overall, the entire Netgate pfSense Plus Firewall_VPN_Router product has been reliable, though some of their smaller gear aimed at remote offices hasn't been cost-effective."
"They are more satisfied with Netgate pfSense Plus Firewall_VPN_Router in terms of its flexibility and customer support."
"It's very simple to use, efficient, up to date, and the hardware is very available; it's very safe."
"We use pfSense and Netgate pfSense Plus Firewall/VPN/Router to establish a VPN tunnel between our client and our headquarters to transfer data between client and our equipment; it's very simple to use, efficient, up to date, and the hardware is very available; it's very safe."
"I do not have complaints about Netgate pfSense Plus Firewall_VPN_Router with Firewall, VPN, and Router; it is really comfortable for use, and it does a pretty good job."
 

Cons

"Fortinet FortiGate SWG could improve the price, it is expensive."
"Reporting is limited to providing an external appliance for improving the reporting capabilities of the FortiAnalyzer. It does not offer a central management and is also sold separably as an appliance."
"The user interface needs a bit of upgrading."
"I would like to see the licensing aspect improved because there is a feature we were yearning to use, the bandwidth monitoring feature, but it's licensed separately."
"The license renewal process, annual renewal price, and the web application firewall features should be improved."
"Fortinet FortiGate IPS could improve the configuration. In some use cases, there can be some configuration conflicts."
"The solution could be more evenly structured."
"Its customer service could be better."
"It's not as stable as other products. We are facing some problems every one or more than two months."
"Without a proper contract in place, you can't really access the technical support you need."
"The IPS feature must be improved."
"The WAF capability in the Huawei Firewall is missing."
"We are switching to another solution because Huawei doesn't have the security feature we need on its roadmap."
"There needs to be more security equipment for the solution."
"You are therefore stuck with a device with no documentation and technical support that isn't very helpful as they also remove support assistance as well."
"Huawei NGFW should have better reporting and a dashboard for the visibility of traffic."
"They have to learn something more from FortiGate."
"I would assess the effectiveness of Netgate pfSense Plus Firewall_VPN_Router's traffic shaping as good, but I would give a six marks only for that compared to others because in the past few years, there has been a stop of improvement or lack of improvement showing in Netgate pfSense Plus Firewall_VPN_Router."
"The pricing for the hardware of Netgate pfSense Plus Firewall_VPN_Router is steep, which is one reason I'd explore other options."
"The most significant drawback in recent years has been the cessation of firmware release downloads."
"The effectiveness of Netgate pfSense Plus Firewall_VPN_Router traffic shaping is quite good, but I am not very satisfied with the interface for control."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"FortiGate SWG is reasonably priced."
"The price of FortiGate support is too expensive."
"The pricing is based on a licensing model for each IPS in your environment."
"It was worth the money overall. It's good value."
"The price of Fortinet FortiGate is reasonable for an SME."
"In the Asian economy in which we operate, FortiGate is expensive."
"I would say that all things considered, the pricing is pretty good."
"The price depends on the size of the company. From the beginning, you just want to know the internet bandwidths, speed, and the number of users to be able to offer the right product and model. They have a lot of products in FortiGate according to the size of the company, like 200D and 300D."
"The pricing is cheap."
"Licensing fees are billed on an annual basis."
"Huawei is 30% cheaper than Arista."
"The solution is inexpensive."
"The price of the license of this solution is high."
"When you compare the price with other products, it's quite cost-effective. But the problem is always after, let's say, two years or three years later because they are not able to provide updates or patches very quickly."
"The solution isn't cheap. It's market price."
"I believe that we are entitled to a one-year extension on our licensing."
Information not available
report
Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Firewalls solutions are best for your needs.
894,738 professionals have used our research since 2012.
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
10%
Comms Service Provider
10%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Financial Services Firm
7%
Financial Services Firm
11%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Construction Company
9%
Computer Software Company
8%
Construction Company
39%
Comms Service Provider
11%
Healthcare Company
8%
Financial Services Firm
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business367
Midsize Enterprise135
Large Enterprise193
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business10
Midsize Enterprise6
Large Enterprise7
No data available
 

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...
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...
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 ...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Huawei NGFW?
The pricing is quite cheap compared to other NGFWs like Palo Alto or Cisco.
What needs improvement with Huawei NGFW?
Huawei should improve their threat intelligence. They need to have a more diversified platform and continuously updat...
What is your primary use case for Huawei NGFW?
I am working as a solution architect in my organization. Whenever we design a total network infrastructure, for ensur...
What needs improvement with Netgate pfSense Plus Firewall/VPN/Router?
Netgate pfSense Plus Firewall/VPN/Router regularly provides updates. One aspect they can improve is that most people ...
What is your primary use case for Netgate pfSense Plus Firewall/VPN/Router?
We work with Netgate products. We are a reseller and consultant. We have been working with Netgate and Fortinet for a...
What advice do you have for others considering Netgate pfSense Plus Firewall/VPN/Router?
For metrics to measure its impact, we do not measure in a formal way. We use bandwidth monitoring to check how effect...
 

Also Known As

Fortinet FortiGate Next-Generation Firewall
Huawei USG Firewalls, USG9500 Series, USG6600 Series, USG6300 Series
No data available
 

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
KMITL, Peking University
Information Not Available
Find out what your peers are saying about Huawei NGFW vs. Netgate pfSense Plus Firewall/VPN/Router and other solutions. Updated: April 2026.
894,738 professionals have used our research since 2012.