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N-able EDR vs WatchGuard Firebox comparison

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Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Feb 15, 2026

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
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
589
Ranking in other categories
Secure Web Gateways (SWG) (2nd), Firewalls (1st), Intrusion Detection and Prevention Software (IDPS) (1st), Software Defined WAN (SD-WAN) Solutions (1st), WAN Edge (1st), ZTNA (1st), Unified Threat Management (UTM) (1st)
N-able EDR
Average Rating
7.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.1
Number of Reviews
4
Ranking in other categories
Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) (49th)
WatchGuard Firebox
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
131
Ranking in other categories
Data Loss Prevention (DLP) (12th), Firewalls (10th), Intrusion Detection and Prevention Software (IDPS) (5th), Anti-Malware Tools (6th), Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) (18th), Application Control (4th), Unified Threat Management (UTM) (4th)
 

Featured Reviews

Vasu Gala - PeerSpot reviewer
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.
NM
Senior Operations Specialist at Tagit cc
Reporting effectiveness and advanced AI capabilities improve threat awareness while needing pricing simplification and licensing self-service
With pricing, they can improve by bundling their pricing because sometimes billing comes in a very long process. If they could bundle it as one solution and show the capabilities or features, they would be able to sell it more effectively, and as resellers, we could sell it to customers more easily. The technical support is responsive, but sometimes we experience limitations regarding the ability to add licensing. They could implement a self-service platform for assigning new licenses or ordering more. Currently, we depend on contacting someone who sends a new contract to sign through the process. They could change their licensing model, though I am not the right person to comment on functionality. On the reporting side, everything is covered.
PS
CEO at ajuntament del Prat
Network protection has improved with stronger VPN connectivity but administration remains complex
Deploying WatchGuard Firebox was quite easy, but we have had some problems regarding the VPN and the administration of the tool and the two firewalls that we have. When comparing WatchGuard Firebox with our previous solution, Palo Alto, we have had some problems in administration because of the tools. I think that they have some aspects in their system that are cloud-provided, but they also have an on-premise solution, which makes this combination good. Although I should say that when compared to Palo Alto, we have taken a step backwards. In general, I would rate WatchGuard Firebox around 6-7; it is a good firewall, but they lack good administration tools. We experience many problems with the performance and administration tools on the web, including several issues with VPNs.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"One of the features I appreciate the most is application control which offers great flexibility."
"The combined license for the network, the next-generation firewall, and the integration with SD-WAN for all branches are what I consider to be the best features. It's effective for multi-branch customers."
"From the firewall perspective, the rules and policies are very sufficient and easy to use."
"The most valuable feature is the policy routing and application control."
"FortiGate Next Generation Firewall has a very high ROI"
"Overall, Fortinet has offered us a very stable VPN that we can access from anywhere in the world and we are not facing any challenges whatsoever."
"There are multiple features I have found to be valuable, such as encryption and integrated security features."
"This solution made it very easy to manage our bandwidth."
"The most valuable feature, which I can describe as the '360 vision' of the inventory device, provides a complete view of all the devices."
"The most valuable feature, which I can describe as the '360 vision' of the inventory device, provides a complete view of all the devices."
"It provides visibility and a storyline to track the virus or malware's activities, showing infected processes and changes made."
"The most valuable features are the rollback feature, it's important for us. The AI models and are good."
"The most valuable features are the rollback feature, it's important for us, and the AI models are good."
"We have been using this solution for quite some time, and the AI functionality is quite advanced; we are able to provide insights on different aspects and read the reports easily."
"I like WatchGuard's network segmentation features. It's easy to configure user policies."
"Hands down, it's one of the best firewalls I have ever worked with."
"The GUI is easy and intuitive."
"The most valuables feature of WatchGuard Firebox are the VPNs, and web filtering where we can stop users from going to malicious sites."
"The technical support has been amazing."
"The protection that it provides from ransomware is valuable. The awareness that it has is also valuable. It didn't have a central console earlier, but now it has a central console, which is pretty good."
"There are no problems with the technical support. If a problem occurs it gets resolved immediately with our technical support partners."
"The interface is very good."
 

Cons

"I would rate the technical support of Fortinet a six or seven out of ten. It is not very helpful. I would like to see improvements in their support."
"In the past six to seven years with the Fortinet FortiGate, we've had two major downtimes, both caused by firmware upgrades."
"Fortinet FortiGate is a very good device overall, though it can be improved in certain areas regarding the licenses, particularly the big one called unified threat management, which has many capabilities."
"The pricing of Fortinet FortiGate IPS could always be improved."
"If they had better integration with security products, such as Cisco ISE or Rapid Threat Containment, then it would be an improvement."
"In an incident, after a restart, Fortinet FortiGate did not connect to FortiGuard servers. Due to that reason, on the customer end, all websites got blocked."
"Fortinet FortiGate has started implementing AI, however, it hasn't reached full maturity."
"One of the most important areas for improvement for Fortinet FortiGate is the limited resources for tests."
"I would rate the scalability as seven out of ten. The capability is useful. Concerning the license, if I add one more device without a license, it will automatically subscribe to a license. I do not appreciate that."
"I would like to see them add support for both Android and iOS smartphones."
"With pricing, they can improve by bundling their pricing because sometimes billing comes in a very long process."
"We have a lot of false positives we see in the dashboard. I think this is the only problem we are facing."
"We have a lot of false positives we see in the dashboard. I think this is the only problem we are facing."
"Concerning the license, if I add one more device without a license, it will automatically subscribe to a license. I do not appreciate that."
"The control software is currently only available for Windows, which can be a little annoying for Linux users."
"I would like to see the devices made more flexible by adding modules to increase the ports that we can use."
"I would like to see more simplified management of the firewall."
"I only regret that one cannot buy single modules out of the Total Security Suite, and that makes it a bit expensive for some SMB customers."
"Its graphical user interface could be improved because not everybody is technical. There is a lack of knowledge, and they can give some training for this solution."
"The way Secure Sign-On authentication is happening needs to be improved."
"The way Secure Sign-On authentication is happening needs to be improved. When the Secure Sign-On portal is turned on, anybody who comes into the campus, whether he or she is a staff member or a guest, has to go past the initial portal. One of the shortcomings is the username. It shouldn't allow permutations or combinations with upper or lower cases. For example, when there is a username abc, it shouldn't allow ABC or Abc. It should not allow the same username, but currently, two separate people can go in. Therefore, its authentication or validation should be improved, and the case sensitiveness should be picked up. If I have restricted someone to two devices, they shouldn't be able to use different combinations of the same username and get into the third or fourth device. It shouldn't allow different combinations of alphabets to be used to log in."
"They could expand the amount of applications that are on the list, but it's pretty intensive anyway, so it's pretty good."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"FortiGate Next Generation Firewall costs our company around $12000 per year."
"The price, in comparison to other products is very cheap."
"It is not a very costly product if you compare it with other products. The return on investment is also good. If you compare the return of investment and money that you are spending on this product with Palo Alto, Cisco, Check Point, and other solutions, the investment is very less. We are happy with this solution. The optional licenses are there, and you can choose which one you want and which one to avoid."
"The price of Fortinet FortiGate is the lowest in the market."
"Fortinet is the least expensive solution."
"Pricing is lower than Cisco."
"As far as I'm aware, in our case, it's just a yearly pricing arrangement with no additional licensing costs."
"Pricing and licensing is a little bit complicated in FortiGate. They are always on the higher side. This is one issue that we always raise with the company that they should reduce the price according to Indian market requirements. There are no costs in addition to the standard licensing fees."
"The pricing is average."
"The licensing model for WatchGuard Application Control is based on the number of users. WatchGuard Application Control also has licensing models with several features."
"There is a license required to use the solution and we pay annually. The price could be reduced because it is a bit expensive."
"The price is so small that I don't pay attention to it anymore. I think we pay a few thousand dollars for two to three years, so about $100 per month. That's for all of our users. There is an additional cost if we want to go with a deeper licensing model, but we just pay for antivirus, IPS, and main product support."
"For what we use, the tool's price has been reasonable, but it is not the cheapest. The tool has been quite reasonable."
"The pricing is competitive."
"It costs me about $800 a year."
"We license the WatchGuard Firebox annually. There are different types of subscriptions available. We are paying approximately $15,000 annually. The cost can increase if you purchase different subscriptions."
"The two larger devices are about $1,000 each and the smaller ones are about $500 or $600 each... It's cheaper and you have more control because it's self-managed."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
11%
Comms Service Provider
9%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Financial Services Firm
6%
Manufacturing Company
17%
Comms Service Provider
14%
Transportation Company
13%
Healthcare Company
9%
Comms Service Provider
11%
Computer Software Company
10%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Retailer
5%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business364
Midsize Enterprise135
Large Enterprise190
No data available
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business95
Midsize Enterprise28
Large Enterprise15
 

Questions from the Community

Which is the better NGFW: Fortinet Fortigate or Cisco Firepower?
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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...
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 needs improvement with N-able EDR?
With pricing, they can improve by bundling their pricing because sometimes billing comes in a very long process. If t...
What is your primary use case for N-able EDR?
We are using N-able EDR, but I think Sophos makes sense because of the environment we operate in. The localization an...
What advice do you have for others considering N-able EDR?
I am more focused on operations and procurement. The decision to use this solution was made before I joined the compa...
What is your primary use case for WatchGuard Firebox?
We are providing our services to all WatchGuard customers in the region.
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...
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.
 

Also Known As

Fortinet FortiGate Next-Generation Firewall
No data available
WatchGuard Threat Detection and Response, WatchGuard Application Control, WatchGuard Data Loss Prevention, WatchGuard Gateway AntiVirus, WatchGuard Intrusion Prevention Service
 

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
Information Not Available
Ellips, Diecutstickers.com, Clarke Energy, NCR, Wrest Park, Homeslice Pizza, Fortessa Tableware Solutions, The Phoenix Residence
Find out what your peers are saying about N-able EDR vs. WatchGuard Firebox and other solutions. Updated: March 2026.
885,376 professionals have used our research since 2012.