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McAfee Firewall Enterprise MFE [EOL] vs Sophos UTM comparison

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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.
Sophos UTM
Read 120 Sophos UTM reviews
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  • 6,309 Comparison Views
90% willing to recommend
 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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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, Cisco, Netgate and others in Firewalls.

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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

McAfee Firewall Enterprise ...
Average Rating
7.0
Number of Reviews
5
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 - PeerSpot reviewer
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
HR
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.
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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

"For managing multiple MFE firewalls it is incredibly handy, convenient, and it is easy to use the product with McAfee Control Centre."
"ROI: It's good."
"We have 10 offices throughout Brazil, and now they are all connected by using the VPN feature of the firewall."
"It's a very functional and stable product if you're looking for a Layer 7 firewall with reputation filtering and encrypted traffic inspection."
"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."
"Our systems are silent, secure, and we don't have many problems with security policy enforcement."
"We highly recommend this solution for SMBs for its reasonable pricing and wide range of network services."
"The implementation with the AWS environment was good."
"Their ability to firewall, filter and monitor network traffic and provide VPN connectivity really helped us day to day with such a complex network."
"The stability is great."
"It has made our organization more secure, because we are using a VPN. We are not accessing services directly. It allows us to segregate some of the traffic for individuals which may be more of a developer role rather than an operational role needing access to developer resources, but not necessarily production operational resources."
"The most valuable features of Sophos UTM are the ease of use, it is very user-friendly. You can understand what they implement in the new firmware, and it's easy to manage the firewalls."
"The most valuable feature is that it is easy to administer."
More Sophos UTM pros
 

Cons

"Administration of the firewall is a little confusing for end users."
"The hardware is not stable and we have faced many stability issues."
"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."
"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."
"I have not seen a return on investment with Sophos UTM."
"I wish the internet failover worked better."
"The solution needs better integration with captive portals and XGs."
"The reporting could be a lot better."
"Stay away from the wireless models, since you cannot put them in HA. They start to give you some weird issues once you start getting into multiple SSIDs and networks."
"The ease of configuration could be improved. It's not as simple as it could be just yet."
"There is still room for improvement in wireless protection. I don't mean their WiFi device is bad, but there are still things to improve on, such as WiFi roaming."
"Finding information about Sophos’ sizing guidelines can actually be difficult. Also, Sophos does not make it clear what they mean by “users” when you are sizing a firewall, which then leads to undersized implementations.​"
More Sophos UTM cons
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

Information not available
"The AWS Marketplace product should be a better fit, but it is a little pricier."
"Sophos UTM's pricing is on the cheaper side."
"Go to a vendor and let them assess your needs so you can get a right-sized device."
"It is the cheapest product available. It's good if you have a low budget."
"The problem with the Sophos is not the cost of the hardware but the cost of the modules, packages, and the subscription."
"The solution's pricing is based on a licensing model and is competitive."
"I would recommend to follow Sophos’ sizing guidelines for choosing which license and model to use. Sophos has their own way of going about this and supplies partners with all the information required. If you follow their documentation and guidelines, there should be zero questions about licensing and sizing."
"We purchased the appliance with five years onsite support and licenses."
More Sophos UTM pricing and cost advice
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Comparison Review

it_user216600 - PeerSpot reviewer
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
Outsourcing Company
21%
Construction Company
15%
Financial Services Firm
13%
Comms Service Provider
8%
Outsourcing Company
13%
Construction Company
10%
Comms Service Provider
10%
Manufacturing Company
10%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business75
Midsize Enterprise28
Large Enterprise27
 

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...
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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?
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 th...
See all answers
 

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Compared 7% of the time
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More Sophos UTM Competitors
 

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide
Firewalls
October 2026
McAfee Firewall Enterprise MFE [EOL] reportDownload McAfee Firewall Enterprise MFE [EOL] product report
Buyer's Guide
Sophos UTM
October 2026
Sophos UTM reportDownload 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
Buyer's Guide
Firewalls
October 2026
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