IPFire vs Sophos Cyberoam UTM comparison

IPFire Project and Sophos are both solutions in the Firewalls category. Additionally, 100% of IPFire Project users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 84% of Sophos users who would recommend it.

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Executive Summary

We performed a comparison between IPFire and Sophos Cyberoam UTM based on real PeerSpot user reviews.

Find out what your peers are saying about Netgate, Fortinet, OPNsense and others in Firewalls.

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Buyer's Guide

Firewalls

April 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

Featured Reviews

EhabAli

Sr. Cybersecurity Solutions Architect at BMB

Efficient, user-friendly, and affordable

In the past, NSS Labs was utilized to test files and verify the numbers and datasheets. It would be beneficial to have an organization or testing lab that can verify the numbers in our datasheets since changes are frequently made, which can be inconvenient for review. For instance, when comparing different competitors such as Forcepoint, Palo Alto, and Check Point, the throughput or numbers in the datasheet may be lower than the actual numbers. Conversely, Fortinet typically reports very high numbers, but they cannot be replicated in the real world. Therefore, it would be advantageous for them to partner with a neutral testing organization such as NSS Labs to validate these numbers, thus providing more credibility and comfort to everyone regarding the accuracy of the datasheets. For the migration, everyone has a firewall in use and I am selling Fortinet. Typically, I am replacing another firewall. Previously, there was a tool available to convert configurations from one firewall, such as Palo Alto, to Fortinet, but this tool is no longer free. If it could be made free again, it would be very beneficial. This tool shows a lot of promise and is very good. Making it free would help many companies deliver their products in a more efficient and integrated way. It would also be more valuable to include the tool with the firewall package or license instead of having to pay extra for it. Paying extra puts more pressure on small companies to deliver the firewall and complete the configuration, especially if they have hundreds or thousands of policies. It's very painful to move through these policies line by line. The stability has room for improvement. When it comes to Secure SD-WAN, everything is fine. They are going the right way. SD-WAN is very promising. They can provide the SD-WAN solution separately, but they will not take this approach because even the smallest firewall can support the features, so there is no need to have a separate service or appliance. They are following the right steps, and there is nothing to be improved. Feature-wise, I'm really satisfied with the new release, and the features they have added. For now, it's fine.

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Amr Fouad

Vice President of Technology Development at SCADA Innovations

Prevented any kind of hacking and enables us to comply with customer requirements

We use the solution for firewall, intrusion prevention and detection. We installed it in order to comply with customers requirements IPFire has prevented any kind of hacking and enables us to comply with customer requirements. Accessing the internet was a bit complicated. We opted for this…

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Dipak M Gohil

IT Manager at Jord International Pty Ltd

Centralized management enhances remote work with comprehensive security and efficient VPN

The VPN is the most usable feature and is advisable for us to work from home. It provides bandwidth management, category management of websites, blocking certain elements, IPS blocking, DDoS protection, and VPN management between sites and clients. It offers centralized management, which allows us to use everything from a central console.

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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

"The solution is highly scalable because they have devices that can handle a large amount of traffic."

"I think that the UTM features are the most value, as it truly protects my infrastructure."

"The web filtering facility and application control are the most valuable features from the point of view of our clients. The VPN feature is also quite popular amongst our clients. Two-factor authentication is one of the good features in Fortinet. These features are important for the current scenario of security. Security has become a necessity nowadays. With cyber-attacks becoming more common, protecting an organization's data is one of the major tasks. It is also very stable and scalable, and it is very straightforward to configure. Their technical support is also good."

"The features that I have found most valuable are the SD-WAN and their IP4 policy."

"UTM/NGFW features and FortiCloud for logs and backups are awesome."

"The solution is scalable."

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

"The most important features of Fortinet FortiGate are the Intrusion Prevention System (IPS) and firewall control applications."

More Fortinet FortiGate pros

"IPFire has prevented any kind of hacking and enables us to comply with customer requirements."

"I would rate the stability as ten out of ten for IPFire."

"The solution's web filtering is an important feature for us in our company."

"User and network policies to be managed on a single screen with powerful filtering and search options."

"The most valuable feature of this product is the threat protection."

"It is a VPN that serves all your needs as an application firewall."

"Having a firewall solution with a data quota is very important when the bandwidth is limited, which really distinguishes it from other products."

"Our customers find it economical and offers good security. These two features are key. Ease of installation and implementation are also key factors."

"I found that the best feature of Sophos Cyberoam UTM is reporting. Its reporting feature is excellent, fast, and easy to prep and launch."

"The VPN is the most usable feature."

More Sophos Cyberoam UTM pros

Cons

"The support is the main thing that needs to be improved."

"The customization could be improved. Cisco, for example, is much better at this. They need to work to be at least as good as they are."

"We have an issue with hotel guest vouchers."

"With the addition of some features, it is possible that FortiGate can be used in all verticals."

"While FortiGate is cheaper than most other solutions, we're seeing increased license renewal costs. Most of our clients are asking for more significant discounts because the price is going up."

"They are doing good, but they can improve the distributor assignment. The availability of the product and the timeline of delivery are the main things. The distribution should be swift, and the distributor should not reach out to end customers directly. They should work as a distributor. There should also be one more local distributor. Currently, there is only one distributor in Pakistan, and the rest of them are in UAE. It is difficult to work with only one distributor. Sometimes, you don't get along with the same distributor, and that's why they should have one more distributor. Their licensing should also be improved. The activation or renewal of the product should be done from the date of renewal, not from the date on which the license expired."

"We'd like more management across other integrations."

"Fortinet Fortigate could benefit by simplifying some of their processes."

More Fortinet FortiGate cons

"Accessing the internet was a bit complicated."

"The graphical interface could be much better."

"The configuration requires an expert to be set up, so it could be made simpler."

"Sometimes, users are timed out intermittently."

"It isn't missing anything."

"Its scalability is not that great."

"The technical support response time could be faster."

"I would say there's room for improvement in terms of the GUI. Because it is better than some of the other standard firewalls. They have the drag and drop features."

"Maybe network traffic analysis for malware and malicious behavior."

"There needs to be more documentation that users can access to help them understand the solution or troubleshoot as necessary."

More Sophos Cyberoam UTM cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The price for the device and software is high. However, the solution is of good quality and has a lot of features."

"I give the pricing a nine out of ten."

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

"Pricing for this product is comparatively lower than other products. It's an affordable solution, but when expanding the number of users, they'll ask you to replace the model, so that's an added cost."

"I think that the pricing is fair."

"There is a subscription-based model to use Fortinet FortiGate. We pay annually for the solution along with the support. If you want to have all the updates, and security patches you will need to renew your support."

"The price could be lower."

"It's very competitive."

More Fortinet FortiGate pricing and cost advice

Information not available

"The product's pricing is a challenge."

"I am not happy with the pricing, it could be better."

"The prices of the product can be considered quite steep...My company makes yearly payments towards the licensing cost attached to the product to our ISP."

"There is a license for this solution and it is priced competitively. We paid approximately $2,000 for the license."

"The product’s pricing is expensive."

"Sophos Cyberoam UTM has many price schemes."

"I rate Cyberoam's pricing a five or six out of ten since it is affordable."

"There are many options for payment of the subscription license. You purchase a subscription every one, two, or three years. You can also have monthly subscriptions but we typically offer subscriptions for three years because from the financial perspective it is better to have a three-year subscription."

More Sophos Cyberoam UTM pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Educational Organization

20%

Computer Software Company

14%

Comms Service Provider

Manufacturing Company

Comms Service Provider

23%

Computer Software Company

14%

Government

Educational Organization

Computer Software Company

32%

Financial Services Firm

13%

Media Company

11%

Real Estate/Law Firm

10%

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

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...

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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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What needs improvement with IPFire?

Accessing the internet was a bit complicated.

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What is your primary use case for IPFire?

We use the solution for firewall, intrusion prevention and detection. We installed it in order to comply with custome...

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What advice do you have for others considering IPFire?

I recommend the solution. Overall, I rate the solution an eight or nine out of ten.

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What do you like most about Sophos Cyberoam UTM?

The solution works perfectly without any users.

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What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Sophos Cyberoam UTM?

The features and the overall package provided by Sophos are satisfactory in terms of sizing and pricing, which influe...

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What needs improvement with Sophos Cyberoam UTM?

I face issues when connecting to the VPN since it requires an authenticator. It would be beneficial if phone calls or...

See all answers

Comparisons

Sophos XG vs Fortinet FortiGate

Compared 22% of the time

Netgate pfSense vs Fortinet FortiGate

Compared 13% of the time

Cisco Secure Firewall vs Fortinet FortiGate

Compared 11% of the time

WatchGuard Firebox vs Fortinet FortiGate

Compared 5% of the time

SonicWall TZ vs Fortinet FortiGate

Compared 5% of the time

More Fortinet FortiGate Competitors

OPNsense vs IPFire

Compared 79% of the time

Netgate pfSense vs IPFire

Compared 11% of the time

Untangle NG Firewall vs IPFire

Compared 3% of the time

Smoothwall Firewall vs IPFire

Compared 2% of the time

Sophos XGS vs IPFire

Compared 1% of the time

More IPFire Competitors

OPNsense vs Sophos Cyberoam UTM

Compared 17% of the time

Netgate pfSense vs Sophos Cyberoam UTM

Compared 16% of the time

SonicWall NSa vs Sophos Cyberoam UTM

Compared 14% of the time

Cisco Secure Firewall vs Sophos Cyberoam UTM

Compared 13% of the time

Azure Firewall vs Sophos Cyberoam UTM

Compared 11% of the time

More Sophos Cyberoam UTM Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Fortinet FortiGate

April 2025

Download Fortinet FortiGate product report

Buyer's Guide

Firewalls

April 2025

Download IPFire product report

Buyer's Guide

Sophos Cyberoam UTM

April 2025

Download Sophos Cyberoam UTM product report

Also Known As

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

No data available

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

IPFire enhances network security and protects against cyber threats. It provides a secure firewall, secure remote access, and customizable options. Users praise its ease of use, flexibility, and reliability for network monitoring and traffic shaping. Its valuable features include efficient firewall capabilities, a user-friendly interface, and reliable network performance.

IPFire Project

Cyberoam Unified Threat Management hardware appliances offer comprehensive security to organizations, ranging from large enterprises to small and branch offices. Multiple security features integrated over a single, Layer 8 Identity-based platform make security simple, yet highly effective.

Sophos

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

1. Siemens 2. IBM 3. Cisco 4. Dell 5. HP 6. Intel 7. Oracle 8. Google 9. Microsoft 10. Amazon 11. Apple 12. Facebook 13. Twitter 14. Netflix 15. Adobe 16. SAP 17. VMware 18. Juniper Networks 19. Ericsson 20. Nokia 21. AT&T 22. Verizon 23. T-Mobile 24. Vodafone 25. Orange 26. Deutsche Telekom 27. British Telecom 28. Comcast 29. Time Warner 30. Sony 31. Samsung 32. LG

Gulf Corporation for Technology, Maridive & Oil Services, Fidelity Bank, Petra University, Capital FM Kenya, Safari Park Hotel and Casino, Mayfair Casino, Pacific International Lines, Mozambique Ministry of Education, University of Namibia, Royal Hospital for Neuro-disability, University of Hawai, New Delhi Municipal Council

Find out what your peers are saying about Netgate, Fortinet, OPNsense and others in Firewalls. Updated: April 2025.

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