Lumu vs WatchGuard Firebox comparison

Lumu Technologies and WatchGuard are both solutions in the Intrusion Detection and Prevention Software (IDPS) category. Lumu Technologies is ranked #11 with an average rating of 9.0, while WatchGuard is ranked #4 with an average rating of 7.6. Lumu Technologies holds a 2.6% mindshare in ID, compared to WatchGuard’s 8.4% mindshare. Additionally, 100% of Lumu Technologies users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 95% of WatchGuard users who would recommend it.

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Aug 5, 2025

WatchGuard Firebox and Lumu compete in network security and threat detection. WatchGuard tends to lead in ease of deployment and layered security, while Lumu excels in threat intelligence and network insights.

Features: WatchGuard Firebox offers features like intrusion prevention, advanced threat protection, and VPN support. Lumu focuses on real-time threat assessment, network visibility, and detailed analytics.

Room for Improvement: WatchGuard Firebox could enhance its threat intelligence capabilities and integration with third-party tools. It may also benefit from more advanced analytics features. Lumu might consider simplifying its deployment process and strengthening its VPN support, along with offering more comprehensive customer training resources.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: WatchGuard Firebox is recognized for its straightforward deployment, aided by helpful resources and a user-friendly setup process. Lumu involves a more complex integration with existing systems but provides responsive customer support. The easier deployment of WatchGuard is a significant advantage.

Pricing and ROI: WatchGuard Firebox offers competitive upfront pricing with a strong return on investment, appealing to budget-conscious organizations. In contrast, Lumu's initial costs are higher but its advanced threat detection capabilities promise significant value over time for businesses prioritizing security insights. The primary difference is seen in initial costs and long-term value perception.

To learn more, read our detailed Lumu vs. WatchGuard Firebox Report (Updated: September 2025).

Buyer's Guide

Lumu vs. WatchGuard Firebox

September 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 October 2025, in the Intrusion Detection and Prevention Software (IDPS) category, the mindshare of Fortinet FortiGate is 16.6%, down from 19.4% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Lumu is 2.6%, up from 1.4% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of WatchGuard Firebox is 8.4%, down from 12.0% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Intrusion Detection and Prevention Software (IDPS) Market Share Distribution
Product	Market Share (%)
Fortinet FortiGate	16.6%
WatchGuard Firebox	8.4%
Lumu	2.6%
Other	72.4%

Intrusion Detection and Prevention Software (IDPS)

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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Juan Solano

IT Director at Atlantic Quantum Innovations

Protects against threats and handles it in time with moderate pricing

Mostly, Lumu is an automatic tool. We'll deploy on firewalls and DNS servers. Lumu detects every attack on our network. The other day, we had CLC, the command controller, and the tool reacted automatically. It detected the attack and immediately blocked it without intervention from my team. The improvement is in the security process, as it's now entirely automated. We no longer require a technician or engineer to monitor our network 24/7. Lumu updates with AI and global threat intelligence, which greatly assists us. Since our workload is lighter, Lumu handles all of our tasks. We're using FortiGate for the firewall and Kaspersky for endpoints. If you are going to Lumu, you need another solution for the endpoint. You need to integrate with other tools like firewalls or another antivirus. I recommend the solution based on the price, usability, and service offered by the solution. Overall, I rate the solution a nine out of ten.

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ScottEastman

Project Consultant at SEVERN HOSPICE LIMITED

Reduces the risks of sending data where it shouldn't be going

We use the solution to ensure that no data breach, such as credit card details and national insurance numbers, leaves the company. However, we have to allow some information to go through because we send a lot of information to the National Healthcare Service If we don't want specific data sent…

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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

"Fortigate represents a really scalable way of delivering perimeter network security, some level of layer 7 security, WAF, and also a way to create a meshed ADVPN solution."

"I appreciate the ease of use, ease of setup, and the different abilities it has; I have been very pleased with it over SonicWall, the interface of Fortinet FortiGate is a lot easier to use and more robust, plus their VPN option is much better."

"It is pretty straightforward to manage and has robust capabilities. I appreciate that Fortinet FortiGate can be a central controller for other Fortinet products, such as switches and access points."

"The initial installation is very straightforward."

"It's inexpensive compared to some of the other technology out there."

"The solution is user-friendly and easy to operate."

"It's great for capturing the traffic and troubleshooting it."

"The best feature of Fortinet FortiGate is the IPS or IDS implementation."

More Fortinet FortiGate pros

"The context provided by the tool is very complete, it includes the miter matrix, playbooks, links, hashes, and much more."

"Most of it is automated, so I do not have to watch it to get alerts."

"Lumu protects against threats immediately and handles them in time."

"You can access external links, playbooks, MITRE Matrix, and a lot of information."

"I like Lumu's simple user interface. When we deployed it, we got full access, allowing us to identify IP addresses on the network and connect machine names to users. It helped us identify and block threats via the firewall. I also appreciate the chat support and ticket closure process. We're currently reviewing network detection solutions, and my recommendations include Lumu, Sentinel, and a few others. Regarding functionality and user-friendliness, I would recommend Lumu over the others."

"The automated response to incidents works effectively out of the box, and the number of interfaces and platforms it can work with is impressive."

"The tool's support team helps partners resolve any problems with the product."

"It's been helpful for overall extended network visibility."

"The analytics are important because if there is an abnormality then it provides that information to us."

"WatchGuard is very user-friendly. It provides us with all of the security services we need."

"The alarm system is valuable."

"Intrusion Prevention is my primary focus so that's what I find most useful. The why is straightforward: It's to prevent intrusion."

"WebBlocker has the best URL category database ever."

"It's user-friendly. And if you are using a WatchGuard device and you want to test that side of the software, it's quite easy to get the license to test it."

"It is the most effective on non-encrypted traffic and it is able to determine some threats through deep packet inspection."

"I find that their tech support is excellent. And as a reseller, my relationship with my point of contact is also strong. WatchGuard does a good job of maintaining that."

More WatchGuard Firebox pros

Cons

"The biggest "gotcha" is that if the client purchases what they call the UTM shared bundle, which has unified threat management on both, it's not as easy to manage if you have more than one firewall."

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

"The security of Fortinet FortiGate could improve."

"The cloud features and integration could be improved."

"Fortinet FortiGate SWG's SSL offloading features need improvement."

"The main area needing improvement is the user-friendliness of FortiGate's integration with other Fortinet tools like FortiAuthenticator and VPN services."

"I think that the infrastructure for the VPN could be improved. The way that it is bundled also made it difficult to use and sell as it is too expensive."

"The support from Fortinet FortiGate could improve. They are not easily accessible when we need them. They could improve their response time."

More Fortinet FortiGate cons

"I am happy with the current features. However, one important one is to improve the reports."

"The reports need improvement."

"Nothing so far needs to be improved."

"It would be good if we could access the physical logs."

"Lumu's ability to discover threats is an area of concern where improvements are needed."

"Having a larger support network would be beneficial. Nobody I know has heard of Lumu, so they are in the same space as Darktrace or CrowdStrike, but people give blank stares."

"The integration with different vendors and endpoints could be improved."

"The free version is minimal compared to the full version."

"An area for improvement is that when we use a web administration link, there is no security."

"The UI and web view aren't nice."

"They are working on cloud-based options. However, they do not have the options fully functional in their solution at this time."

"One other shortcoming is that there is no backup for it. We really haven't figured out how we might solve that problem. We may want to put a duplicate in... With WatchGuard, we just have the one box. If that were to fail, we'd probably be really hurting."

"The software in it could be a bit more friendly for an amateur user. I look at it and don't understand what half the stuff is. Looking at the interface, it is all mumbo-jumbo to me. It's not a simple interface. You have to be an IT guy to understand it. It is not for your average person to use, then walk away from it. It is much more entailed."

"We would like to see granular notification settings and more advanced filtering in traffic monitoring."

"The user interface and configuration can be improved."

"There should be more reports available on different subjects."

More WatchGuard Firebox cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"It's a very full-featured and it's priced well solution."

"The cost of Fortinet FortiGate is competitive and not expensive compared to other enterprise- grade solutions. On average, the license cost per year is around seventy percent of the firewall's purchase price."

"Other firewalls are more expensive than Fortinet FortiGate, such as the Azure firewall."

"Fortinet costs are 25% lower than the high-cost provider. There is an equipment cost and a recurring monthly cost for licenses and technical support."

"When comparing the price of Fortinet FortiGate SWG to other solutions it is expensive. The price could be better."

"Fortinet FortiGate is reasonably priced."

"The price of Fortinet FortiGate is affordable. Most of our customers are on a three-year license to use the solution. All the features and support are included in the price."

"Fortinet FortiGate gives you most of the features in one license."

More Fortinet FortiGate pricing and cost advice

"It is the cheapest solution we found."

"Compared to Lumu, other solutions are more expensive. SentinelOne was a bit cheaper, and another provider's price structure is unclear, but Lumu fit our budget nicely. SentinelOne's cost depends on the number of devices, and it might be similar to Lumu's, depending on deployment."

"The tool is available at a good price. The tool offers a good and competitive price for customers."

"We don't have any other costs other than the licensing stuff."

"I haven't seen the pricing since 2017, but it was competitive. SonicWall, Barracuda, and WatchGuard were all about the same price when we did our last pricing."

"It's an affordable tool"

"The licensing costs are comparatively lower than other providers, and I would rate the pricing as five out of five."

"We only license our corporate one and the one we have at our DR site, we don't worry about the branches. It doesn't pay for us to license the ones at the branches. What they charge for what they call basic maintenance is extremely high for those little fireboxes."

"The licensing can be a one-time purchase unless you need the extra services for example twenty-four seven support."

"The solution is cheap."

"WatchGuard Firebox has good quality, but it is expensive."

More WatchGuard Firebox pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

15%

Comms Service Provider

Manufacturing Company

Financial Services Firm

10%

Educational Organization

10%

Insurance Company

Comms Service Provider

Computer Software Company

14%

Comms Service Provider

11%

Manufacturing Company

Retailer

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	350
Midsize Enterprise	130
Large Enterprise	187

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	5
Midsize Enterprise	1
Large Enterprise	4

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	91
Midsize Enterprise	25
Large Enterprise	15

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...

See all answers

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 ...

See all answers

What do you like most about Lumu?

Lumu protects against threats immediately and handles them in time.

See all answers

What needs improvement with Lumu?

There is always room for improvement. I am not giving it a perfect score because I am sure there is something that co...

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What is your primary use case for Lumu?

We use it as our managed SOC instead of contracting with an MSP. It coordinates endpoint and gives us a single pane o...

See all answers

What is your primary use case for WatchGuard Firebox?

We are providing our services to all WatchGuard customers in the region.

See all answers

What is your primary use case for WatchGuard Firebox?

We just use it as a secondary WiFi device. We're a small office and we needed to set up a WiFi device for a few of ou...

See all answers

What is your primary use case for WatchGuard Firebox?

We're a hospital and we use it for developing our incoming and outgoing policies, and we also use it for VPN.

See all answers

Comparisons

Sophos XG vs Fortinet FortiGate

Compared 17% of the time

Cisco Secure Firewall vs Fortinet FortiGate

Compared 11% of the time

Netgate pfSense vs Fortinet FortiGate

Compared 9% of the time

OPNsense vs Fortinet FortiGate

Compared 4% of the time

SonicWall TZ vs Fortinet FortiGate

Compared 4% of the time

More Fortinet FortiGate Competitors

Darktrace vs Lumu

Compared 48% of the time

Wazuh vs Lumu

Compared 14% of the time

Stellar Cyber Open XDR vs Lumu

Compared 13% of the time

Vectra AI vs Lumu

Compared 8% of the time

More Lumu Competitors

OPNsense vs WatchGuard Firebox

Compared 7% of the time

SonicWall TZ vs WatchGuard Firebox

Compared 5% of the time

Netgate pfSense vs WatchGuard Firebox

Compared 5% of the time

Sophos XGS vs WatchGuard Firebox

Compared 4% of the time

SonicWall NSa vs WatchGuard Firebox

Compared 4% of the time

More WatchGuard Firebox Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Fortinet FortiGate

October 2025

Download Fortinet FortiGate product report

Buyer's Guide

Lumu

September 2025

Download Lumu product report

Buyer's Guide

WatchGuard Firebox

September 2025

Download WatchGuard Firebox product report

Also Known As

No data available

WatchGuard Threat Detection and Response, WatchGuard Application Control, WatchGuard Data Loss Prevention, WatchGuard Gateway AntiVirus, WatchGuard Intrusion Prevention Service

Overview

Fortinet FortiGate excels in providing integrated VPN, firewalling, and Unified Threat Management (UTM) with centralized management and high availability. It supports remote access and comprehensive threat protection, making it a preferred choice for securing networks.

Fortinet FortiGate offers a robust security platform with features such as strong intrusion prevention, application control, and web filtering. Its integration with Active Directory and SD-WAN functionality provides scalable solutions for large networks. Users appreciate its ease of use through centralized management interfaces, ensuring robust security with flexible configurations. However, FortiGate could enhance its graphical interface and technical support responsiveness, address firmware bugs and costly licensing, improve logging, integrate better with third-party tools, and strengthen scalability and memory for log storage. Complexity in configuration and the need for intuitive features are noted challenges, and there's a demand for advanced security, zero-trust capabilities, and AI integration.

What are the key features of Fortinet FortiGate?

VPN: Secure remote access and connectivity.
Firewalling: Protects networks from unauthorized access and attacks.
UTM: Offers a comprehensive approach to threat management.
SD-WAN: Optimizes traffic routing for efficient network performance.
Web Filtering: Controls and monitors web access and ensures Internet security.

What benefits or ROI should be considered?

Centralized Management: Simplifies administration and monitoring.
High Availability: Ensures consistent security and network availability.
Scalability: Adapts to the needs of growing networks.
Comprehensive Threat Protection: Provides robust security measures.
Ease of Use: Minimizes the complexity of security management.

Fortinet FortiGate is widely implemented across industries like education, finance, and government. Companies use it for firewall protection, VPN, and SD-WAN capabilities, ensuring secure perimeter and data center security. It facilitates remote access management and traffic routing optimization, offering reliable security and connectivity solutions.

Fortinet

Lumu Technologies is a cyber-security company that illuminates threats, attacks, and adversaries affecting enterprises worldwide. Using actionable intelligence, Lumu provides a radical way to secure networks by enhancing and augmenting existing defense capabilities established over the past 25 years.

Lumu Technologies

WatchGuard Firebox is a high-performance firewall known for its ease of setup, offering robust security with layered protection and centralized management capabilities.

WatchGuard Firebox stands out for its intuitive management and high throughput, addressing security needs with features like VPN, web filtering, and threat detection. Its centralized control and reporting abilities, along with Active Directory integration, make it popular among varied organizations. Its user-friendly interface and ongoing updates enhance usability and reliability. However, there's a call for better cloud-based administration, scalability, and improved integration with third-party vendors.

What are the key features of WatchGuard Firebox?

Ease of Setup: Quick and straightforward installation process.
GUI: User-friendly graphical interface for simplified navigation.
VPN Features: Secure and efficient virtual private network management.
Web Filtering: Advanced filtering for safer browsing experiences.
Threat Detection: Proactive monitoring and detection of cyber threats.

What benefits or ROI should be evaluated?

Centralized Control: Streamlined management from a single point.
High Throughput: Efficient data handling and processing capacity.
Stable Performance: Consistent and reliable operational functionality.
Active Directory Integration: Seamless connection with user directories.
Customer Service: Strong support service for customer inquiries.

WatchGuard Firebox is implemented across industries to secure internet gateways and protect data in multi-site businesses. Its applications span from Unified Threat Management (UTM) and intrusion prevention to compliance support in business environments requiring secure connectivity through VPNs.

WatchGuard

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

Information Not Available

Ellips, Diecutstickers.com, Clarke Energy, NCR, Wrest Park, Homeslice Pizza, Fortessa Tableware Solutions, The Phoenix Residence

Buyer's Guide

Lumu vs. WatchGuard Firebox

September 2025

Free Report: Lumu vs. WatchGuard Firebox

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