McAfee Firewall Enterprise MFE [EOL] vs Sophos UTM comparison

Why PeerSpot?

McAfee and Sophos are both solutions in the Firewalls category. Additionally, 75% of McAfee users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 90% of Sophos users who would recommend it.

McAfee Firewall Enterprise ...

Read 5 McAfee Firewall Enterprise MFE [EOL] reviews

75% willing to recommend

Sophos UTM

Read 120 Sophos UTM reviews

12,568 Views
5,907 Comparison Views

90% willing to recommend

McAfee Firewall Enterprise ...

Sophos UTM

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Download the report

Executive Summary

We performed a comparison between McAfee Firewall Enterprise MFE [EOL] and Sophos UTM based on real PeerSpot user reviews.

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

To learn more, read our detailed Firewalls Report (Updated: September 2026).

Buyer's Guide

Firewalls

September 2026

Download the complete report

Helped 913,683 peers since 2012

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

McAfee Firewall Enterprise ...

Average Rating

7.0

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Sophos UTM

Average Rating

8.6

Reviews Sentiment

6.6

Number of Reviews

120

Ranking in other categories

Unified Threat Management (UTM) (5th)

Featured Reviews

reviewer999975

Computer Technician at a leisure / travel company with 1,001-5,000 employees

We cannot find resources to help us configure it, so most of the time the virus still goes on our computer and McAfee doesn't detect it

It's pretty easy to use on a daily basis, but there are no other features because it's hard to configure on the server. On the endpoint it's really easy to push. It's hard to configure on the server, though. It's hard to find resources to help us configure it, and there is not much online help that you can find. Most of the time, we were looking at the forums, and we needed to go very deep to find what we were looking for. It was hard, and McAfee was not really helpful when we were trying to get the product to work perfectly. This is why are changing it.

Read full review

Heinz Raecke

CEO at iSource GmbH

Integrated security tools have supported critical infrastructure and improved network performance

Regarding Secureworks Taegis VDR Vulnerability Management, I do not have all these shortcuts in my head. Perhaps I have to ask my technicians, but we are in full stress because we have to change this entire firewall equipment, also the entire access points, because of the end of life. We also have the full product in for XDR and extensions. We are also part of the webinars from Sophos. It would be better if there were also some important webinars in German. Everything needs improvement, because also the wireless, also RED box and so on. The handling was much easier on the old equipment than on the new XGS. I think there should also be a little more automatic for SD-WAN routing and so on. Because we have to learn some things from the basic completely new because it is different than Sophos UTM, the XGS. The features that could be improved about Sophos UTM include the new features we have in XGS with a simpler interface. For example, in Sophos UTM, we could define IP hosts and use this IP host. We did not have to insert on every, for example, for wide area networks, we had to put the IP addresses from the other side by hand. In Sophos UTM, we could define it under definitions and then use this IP host where we needed it. In the new XGS, if there is a change in the IP address, we have to do it on all, for example, site-to-site VPN tunnels and so on. We have much more work and it is not so easy because we have to check all the definitions. It is also, for example, some of the male technicians like me, we have a biology handicap. For example, male technicians in Europe also have a red-green problem. So we use these light colors on the interface. In some cases, it is not easy to see the, for example, letters or numbers because of the contrast.

Read full review

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"For managing multiple MFE firewalls it is incredibly handy, convenient, and it is easy to use the product with McAfee Control Centre."

"It does give certain protection for everything that is well configured on our McAfee server. We have good protection with it. If we could find a feature and make it work, it would work perfectly, there would be no bugs, and it would be really good."

"It's a very functional and stable product if you're looking for a Layer 7 firewall with reputation filtering and encrypted traffic inspection."

"We have 10 offices throughout Brazil, and now they are all connected by using the VPN feature of the firewall."

"ROI: It's good."

"Sophos UTM is a highly stable solution."

"So far, the solution has been problem-free."

"A nice UTM appliance with a good GUI and reports."

"The solution has many good features; there was a steep learning curve moving to version 18 but we're now at a point where the solution is more efficient and effective."

"Sophos UTM is a comprehensive product that does the job that it should."

"I think the RED appliances and APs make a difference, and add value to Sophos."

"The most valuable feature is the IPS, and it also protects us from malware."

"It works well without any maintenance, and so far, it has worked pretty well regardless of the traffic."

More Sophos UTM pros

Cons

"The hardware is not stable and we have faced many stability issues."

"Customer support and AV are both lacking and are really hard to come to you when the product is installed. Those are the two major points that they need to work on."

"HA configuration is a bit difficult for the first time."

"Migrating from v7 to v8 of McAfee Firewall Enterprise, in many cases, involves you having to completely re-write all of your previous McAfee Firewall Enterprise v7 policies due to the difference in the way the interfaces are named in the product going from v7 to v8."

"Administration of the firewall is a little confusing for end users."

"The reporting could improve by providing information on where, or from which device attacks are coming from. We are already given the country where the attack is coming from but more information would be beneficial."

"I think that additional metrics features are needed to be able to monitor other areas or to monitor as much as you can, at a fine-grain resolution."

"Sophos UTM's internet security could be better."

"The UI can be cumbersome and, sometimes, features are not where you think they should be."

"We didn’t find any issues but I know there have been some in the last few years."

"Everything needs improvement, because also the wireless, also RED box and so on. The handling was much easier on the old equipment than on the new XGS."

"Enhancing the user interface to achieve the same level of flexibility as the older UTM interface could improve the product."

"Only thing we have noticed as of late was that their firmware updates break something else that was working in a previous version."

More Sophos UTM cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

Information not available

"We originally purchased the solution through the AWS Marketplace. I started my proof of concept doing pay-as-you-go, then moved to a VAR for a 'Bring Your Own Licence' (BYOL) licensing model. The BYOL license still requires you to accept the terms of the AWS Marketplace to deploy."

"In the case of a software/virtual appliance subscription, you pay by protecting user/IP addresses. You can do this to as much hardware resources as you like."

"We purchased the appliance with five years onsite support and licenses."

"Sometimes more is less, meaning if you want more than three features, take the FullGuard licence."

"This product is free for home users. The more expensive products have better performance."

"Sophos offers free training when selling their products from within the partner portal."

"There was an up-front charge of around $70,000, to purchase the hub and license. Beyond the initial cost, licenses are charged for annually, but they are good value for the service we receive."

"The price is something that one will need to consider."

More Sophos UTM pricing and cost advice

See which vendors are best for you

Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Firewalls solutions are best for your needs.

See recommendations

913,683 professionals have used our research since 2012.

Comparison Review

it_user216600

Senior Technical Consultant with 51-200 employees

Jan 3, 2016

Sophos UTM vs. Fortinet FortiGate

I have used both Sophos and Fortinet products in production and I have found the Sophos UTM appliances (hardware and virtual) to be a better fit most of the time -- with a few caveats which I will touch on below. In both instances, the transition from TMG will be mostly straightforward. The main…

Read full review

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

No data available

Outsourcing Company

14%

Construction Company

12%

Comms Service Provider

10%

Manufacturing Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

No data available

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	75
Midsize Enterprise	28
Large Enterprise	27

Questions from the Community

Ask a question

Earn 20 points

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 good. The most valuable features for me are their web and email filtering. I wou...

See all answers

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

The pricing for Sophos UTM is reasonable; I do not have an issue with it, though I was considering RED because I have different sites I wanted to connect, and instead of doing site-to-site, the RED...

See all answers

What needs improvement with Sophos UTM?

See all answers

Comparisons

SonicWall NSa vs McAfee Firewall Enterprise MFE [EOL]

Compared 39% of the time

Fortinet FortiGate-VM vs McAfee Firewall Enterprise MFE [EOL]

Compared 13% of the time

Cisco Secure Firewall vs McAfee Firewall Enterprise MFE [EOL]

Compared 11% of the time

Trellix Network Detection and Response vs McAfee Firewall Enterprise MFE [EOL]

Compared 10% of the time

Sophos Cyberoam UTM vs McAfee Firewall Enterprise MFE [EOL]

Compared 5% of the time

More McAfee Firewall Enterprise MFE [EOL] Competitors

Fortinet FortiGate vs Sophos UTM

Compared 10% of the time

OPNsense vs Sophos UTM

Compared 8% of the time

Netgate pfSense vs Sophos UTM

Compared 7% of the time

Cisco Secure Firewall vs Sophos UTM

Compared 6% of the time

Sophos Firewall vs Sophos UTM

Compared 4% of the time

More Sophos UTM Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Firewalls

September 2026

McAfee Firewall Enterprise MFE [EOL] report

Download McAfee Firewall Enterprise MFE [EOL] product report

Buyer's Guide

Sophos UTM

August 2026

Download Sophos UTM product report

Also Known As

Firewall Enterprise MFE, Intel Security Firewall Enterprise MFE

Astaro

Overview

McAfee Firewall Enterprise defends critical assets, such as regulated data repositories (customer, financial, and healthcare data), email and web servers, extranets, and data centers. This proxy-based firewall also offers application visibility and deep application controls for defense, delivers strong policy-based controls, blocks the latest threats, and eliminates unwanted traffic.

McAfee

Sophos UTM delivers comprehensive network security with features like firewall, intrusion prevention, and endpoint protection. Its user-friendly interface and scalable options make it ideal for businesses of varying sizes, ensuring seamless integration with AWS, cloud services, and other Sophos offerings.

With robust Advanced Threat Protection, Sophos UTM offers a holistic approach to security through its intuitive platform. It includes a centralized console for enhanced threat visibility, integrated web application firewall, and secure remote access via SSL VPN and RED device. Critiques focus on limited reporting capabilities, complex licensing, and requiring improvements in VPN and email protection, centralized management, and application control.

What are the key features of Sophos UTM?

Advanced Threat Protection: Protects against sophisticated attacks by integrating multiple security technologies.
Firewall and Web Protection: Provides core security measures with intrusion prevention and application control.
Integrated WAF: Shields applications from vulnerabilities, ensuring secure user interactions.
Scalable Deployment: Supports diverse setups from small businesses to large enterprises, including cloud integrations.

What benefits should users expect from Sophos UTM?

Unified Management: Simplifies security operations through a single management console for cohesive control.
Secure Remote Access: Extends network security to remote users without compromising protection quality.
Cost Efficiency: Offers scalable, cost-effective security solutions to adapt to growing business needs.

Sophos UTM sees implementations in industries needing strong perimeter protection and secure remote access, such as finance, healthcare, and education. It supports seamless network integration, ensuring businesses maintain compliance and safeguard their digital environments effectively.

Sophos

Sample Customers

French Ministry of Education, RWTH Aachen, Avency, Cegedim, Cobweb, Intel Security, Cemex Mauser, R_sler Oberfl_chentechnik

One Housing Group

Find out what your peers are saying about Fortinet, Netgate, Cisco and others in Firewalls. Updated: September 2026.

DOWNLOAD NOW

913,683 professionals have used our research since 2012.

See our list of best Firewalls vendors.

We monitor all Firewalls reviews to prevent fraudulent reviews and keep review quality high. We do not post reviews by company employees or direct competitors. We validate each review for authenticity via cross-reference with LinkedIn, and personal follow-up with the reviewer when necessary.