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Juniper vSRX vs Smoothwall Firewall comparison

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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
2nd
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.0
Number of Reviews
390
Ranking in other categories
Software Defined WAN (SD-WAN) Solutions (1st), WAN Edge (1st)
Juniper vSRX
Ranking in Firewalls
21st
Average Rating
7.8
Reviews Sentiment
7.1
Number of Reviews
36
Ranking in other categories
Virtualization Security (3rd), Unified Threat Management (UTM) (9th)
Smoothwall Firewall
Ranking in Firewalls
32nd
Average Rating
9.0
Reviews Sentiment
8.3
Number of Reviews
1
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of July 2025, in the Firewalls category, the mindshare of Fortinet FortiGate is 21.2%, up from 17.7% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Juniper vSRX is 0.3%, up from 0.2% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Smoothwall Firewall is 0.3%, up from 0.1% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Firewalls
 

Featured Reviews

Vasu Gala - PeerSpot reviewer
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.
Stratos-Margaritis - PeerSpot reviewer
The ease of installation and licensing are also significant advantages
We use the application filtering, content filtering, and intrusion prevention system (IPS) features. These features are crucial for our network security. The ease of installation and licensing are also significant advantages, as it allows us to have one license for all products, which simplifies upgrading and maintenance. Additionally, the ease of deployment is critical for us.
Himanshu-Sharma - PeerSpot reviewer
Offers good scalability and monitoring features
There is room for improvement in the UI. They can improve it by making it so that everything is in one place, so we don't have to jump around to different pages. For example, if we're creating a rule, we should be able to do everything on the same page. Just a drop-down thing or something. This would improve productivity.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The most valuable feature of the solution revolves around SSL VPN."
"It has improved our security capabilities."
"The most valuable features are the possibility of having one fabric for switching on security."
"SD-WAN has had a positive impact by reducing the operational costs in terms of headcount and management."
"The response is very quick and they can visually resolve our problems in a short period."
"The stability of the solution is excellent, as it is with other Fortinet products."
"The base firewall features are quite valuable to us."
"The solution is very, very easy to use."
"It's a very powerful solution and the firewalls offer high performance"
"The product's scalability is good, and my company has 150 users."
"I like the role-based functions, but the device can now perform most of the tasks. We have open access to CLI. You can access it directly. Many vendors have also opened their CLI to Linux, making troubleshooting easier."
"This solution works well. Their switches and firewall are good."
"It is deployed on the customer site, and we manage the firewalls on this side."
"The solution has good features."
"The hardware is stable."
"The authentication part is seamless and easy for people."
"It was easy to initially deploy it."
 

Cons

"The updates Fortinet provides are sometimes unstable."
"I think they need to improve more in order to be a competitor with the leaders of the field."
"I would like to see improvements in the product's application rules."
"WAN load-balancing could be a lot better at detecting when a link is poor or inconsistent, and not just flat out dead."
"This product needs to have an analysis feature, rather than having the analysis done through the integration of a different product."
"They could do more work on FortiAnalyzer in terms of the data and the information coming from it."
"At the moment, if you don't integrate any third-party solution with a simple Fortinet FortiGate box, the box would not function as expected for superb protection."
"The way everything is set up could be easier. Currently, people need a lot of experience and knowledge to administer it and to link it to devices."
"I would suggest improving the pricing, particularly the licensing model."
"They could provide support for cloud deployments."
"It is pretty complex to manage and could be easier."
"In the next release, I would like to see improvements made to the GUI because it isn't very good."
"The GUI really needs a lot of work, and it has got worse with successive version updates."
"The reporting can be improved."
"The tool's basic license does not cover everything. It needs to improve visibility and availability."
"We have some weird errors and some weird behavior on the solution occasionally. The device gets buggy without anyone touching it. It would work and then suddenly stop. Sometimes you need to just move the cards out and restart it again, and it will work. The solution itself, the hardware and the software, there must be some bugs that need to be dealt with."
"There is room for improvement in the UI. They can improve it by making it so that everything is in one place, so we don't have to jump around to different pages."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Licensing is usually on a three-year period."
"This is not a cheap solution but it isn't expensive, either. It's a good solution for the right price."
"The main reason we chose Fortinet FortiGate was that the price was better than the competition."
"The pricing is comprehensive and clear. You can easily understand what you are purchasing, including which features correspond to each license and maintenance contract. Overall, the information is straightforward. Additionally, compared to other vendors, their prices are competitive."
"Its price could be better."
"I do not have first-hand experience with the rice of Fortinet FortiGate, but I have heard the price was reasonable."
"Our licensing costs are on a yearly basis."
"Easy to understand licensing requirements."
"It is not that costly."
"As a customer, the pricing is good for us."
"The pricing is reasonable."
"The solution could have been cheaper."
"After some research, I think that the cost of Juniper is more than Check Point, Palo Alto, and Fortinet."
"The solution is inexpensive."
"Our experience purchasing the solution through the AWS Marketplace was good."
"The solution is pricey."
Information not available
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
16%
Comms Service Provider
8%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Educational Organization
7%
Educational Organization
22%
Computer Software Company
12%
Comms Service Provider
8%
Government
6%
Computer Software Company
22%
Educational Organization
13%
University
12%
Comms Service Provider
11%
 

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...
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 do you like most about Juniper vSRX?
One of Juniper vSRX's most valuable features is its integration with safety applications. It keeps the software secur...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Juniper vSRX?
The pricing is competitive, being neither the most expensive nor the cheapest option. It falls within the medium to h...
What needs improvement with Juniper vSRX?
I would suggest improving the pricing, particularly the licensing model. Although it is currently quite reasonable, m...
What needs improvement with Smoothwall Firewall?
There is room for improvement in the UI. They can improve it by making it so that everything is in one place, so we d...
What is your primary use case for Smoothwall Firewall?
Our use cases are for monitoring and security. The primary purpose of the firewall is maintaining security and benefi...
 

Also Known As

FortiGate 60b, FortiGate 60c, FortiGate 80c, FortiGate 50b, FortiGate 200b, FortiGate 110c, FortiGate, Fortinet Firewall
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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
Expedient Data Centers
Information Not Available
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