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OPNsense vs Sophos XG comparison

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Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Apr 6, 2025

Review summaries and opinions

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

ROI

Sentiment score
7.4
Fortinet FortiGate offers cost-efficient security, enhancing performance and network stability, while significantly reducing operational costs and incidents.
Sentiment score
2.5
User feedback praises OPNsense for its robust features, ease of use, cost savings, improved performance, and high reliability.
Sentiment score
7.1
Sophos XG enhances cybersecurity, reduces costs, streamlines management, and offers significant ROI with improved security and efficiency.
Clients are now comfortable and not wasting productive hours on IT support.
We have experienced a positive return on investment by utilizing Fortinet's products.
There's definitely an ROI. Having a centralized way of managing and applying policies across the entire organization always helps.
The graphical interface of Sophos XG simplifies configurations, saving time in support and troubleshooting compared to the Linux-based solution I previously used.
It's good, but I would still say it's higher by about 10-15 percent compared to other market products with similar configurations.
Having a Unified Threat Management system like Sophos XG has helped us spend less on network security, thus providing a good return on investment by managing our income effectively.
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
7.0
Fortinet FortiGate support receives mixed reviews, praised for higher-level assistance but criticized for inconsistent technical support responsiveness.
Sentiment score
6.4
Users prefer OPNsense community forums for support, finding them accessible and effective, with official support being timely but less centralized.
Sentiment score
6.3
Sophos XG customer service is praised for professionalism but criticized for slow responses and inconsistent support quality.
He explained that it required a command line configuration, as it couldn't be done through the graphical user interface.
I would rate their support for FortiGate a nine out of ten.
They offer very accurate solutions.
I mainly rely on community support since the solution is open source.
I've found all the answers I've needed so far via the forums.
They could improve the support.
Users are reluctant to open support cases and would rather reinstall an appliance themselves than go through the support process.
I would rate the technical support a nine out of ten.
Microsoft's protection has received positive feedback and strong on-site support from both customers and partners.
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
7.3
Fortinet FortiGate is scalable for enterprises, but expansion may require budget planning and careful pre-planning for integration.
Sentiment score
6.5
OPNsense is scalable and adaptable, though not ideal for large enterprises; excels with diverse tasks and various deployment options.
Sentiment score
7.2
Sophos XG offers scalability for small to medium enterprises but may require careful sizing and upgrading for growth.
They scale up really well from smaller models like the FortiGate 40 and 50 to bigger sites with the FortiGate 100 for more throughput - up to enterprise datacenters.
The variation comes in terms of the interfaces and throughputs, but from a security perspective, you get the same benefit, irrespective of whether you have an entry-level unit or an enterprise.
You can choose a cheaper model if you only have 20-30 users, but you will need to spend more money for a FortiGate solution that covers 5,000.
In my organization, there are 400 users, and OPNsense serves as our gateway and proxy for all of them.
Aside from these aspects, it demonstrated good scalability.
It supports routing, VPN setups, and traffic monitoring with additional packages like Snort and Suricata.
You can scale up to multiple firewalls with centralized management.
You can't upgrade memory or storage on a specific model, which limits scalability.
The scalability of the solution is limited to three nodes and may not be sufficient for extensive scaling.
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
7.9
Fortinet FortiGate is reliable and stable, despite occasional issues under high traffic; model selection impacts performance.
Sentiment score
8.5
OPNsense is stable and reliable, though some users report VPN issues and challenges with updates or extensive voice traffic.
Sentiment score
8.0
Sophos XG offers strong stability with frequent updates, despite some bugs in firmware, and is highly rated by users.
Improper handling of these can lead to a memory surge, a well-known bug that can cause the entire system to freeze.
It is less stable than Palo Alto Networks and Check Point firewalls because there are lots of bugs in the latest firmware.
We have not had any problems with the operating systems or maintenance of subscriptions.
There are no bugs or glitches.
Stability-wise, I rate the solution a ten out of ten.
It just doesn't respond, so I have to restart it over and over again to try to figure out what the problem is.
I would rate the stability of Sophos XG a ten out of ten.
Sophos XG is very stable, even when serving as a DHCP server.
Sophos XG is resource-greedy, affecting performance even on newer computers.
 

Room For Improvement

Fortinet FortiGate needs improved UI stability, integration, performance, VPN functionality, support, and simplified policy management due to high costs.
OPNsense requires improvements in integration, user interface, documentation, technical support, and compatibility, particularly for VPNs and monitoring tools.
Sophos XG needs improvements in reporting, VPN setup, interface usability, support response, SD-WAN, application filtering, integration, and update stability.
If I have put 10 GBPS of throughput on a firewall and I enable all of these features available, such as IPS or UTM functionalities, the throughput comes down to 1 GBPS.
By providing an integrated solution, users would have access to all features and functionalities within a single window, eliminating the need to navigate through multiple windows.
Investing in a solution that can accommodate such growth would be more cost-effective than repeatedly purchasing new hardware.
For high availability, it's crucial to have a method in place where a designated component oversees the entire process.
The user experience when we create policies can be made easier.
Some of the features include classified traffic and better blocking of newly registered DNS domains.
The solution should have the ability to be up to date with the most recent threats.
This suggests a vulnerability that needs addressing to ensure administrators can update patches without losing access.
Business cannot stop just because of issues with support.
 

Setup Cost

Fortinet FortiGate is praised for its cost-effectiveness and flexible licensing, especially benefiting small to medium-sized businesses.
OPNsense is cost-effective due to its free software, with main costs from hardware and optional support.
Sophos XG offers competitive pricing and cost-effective licenses, appealing to SMEs with discounts and affordable support options.
Secure SD-WAN is free of charge.
The most expensive part is the renewal of the license subscription.
FortiGate is priced lower than Palo Alto.
It's a free solution.
I rate the price of OPNsense a five out of ten.
It is a free solution, and when you compare it to alternatives like FortiGate, which is quite powerful but also costly, the value becomes evident.
I would rate the pricing a ten out of ten as high.
The licensing cost in the final currency amount, is 163,080, with three years of support.
I rate the pricing a ten out of ten.
 

Valuable Features

Fortinet FortiGate is a reliable, user-friendly security solution known for robust features, easy configuration, and competitive pricing.
OPNsense offers flexibility, strong security, user-friendly management, and open-source benefits with robust VPNs, integration, and frequent updates.
Sophos XG offers robust security features, user-friendly management, and affordability, making it ideal for diverse security demands.
The firewall, IPS, and VPN functions are the most valuable features.
FortiGate provides solid protection against viruses, malware, and other threats.
Within the same dashboard, you get to see the security profiles, the type of traffic that's passing through, the top applications that are being consumed, etc.
The most valuable features include the basic firewall functionality and the GeoIP location services.
It's light and easy to manage.
The most valuable features of OPNsense are the GUI and frequent updates.
This unique technology provides efficient branch connectivity without the need to invest in additional firewalls for each branch.
I particularly like the visibility it provides into network traffic, allowing us to identify and address issues efficiently.
The firewall feature of Sophos XG has been the most effective for threat prevention.
 

Categories and Ranking

Fortinet FortiGate
Sponsored
Ranking in Firewalls
2nd
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.2
Number of Reviews
330
Ranking in other categories
Software Defined WAN (SD-WAN) Solutions (1st), WAN Edge (1st)
OPNsense
Ranking in Firewalls
3rd
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
6.7
Number of Reviews
40
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Sophos XG
Ranking in Firewalls
4th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
7.0
Number of Reviews
207
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of May 2025, in the Firewalls category, the mindshare of Fortinet FortiGate is 21.4%, up from 17.7% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of OPNsense is 11.5%, down from 17.6% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Sophos XG is 11.5%, up from 9.2% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Firewalls
 

Featured Reviews

EhabAli - PeerSpot reviewer
Efficient, user-friendly, and affordable
In the past, NSS Labs was utilized to test files and verify the numbers and datasheets. It would be beneficial to have an organization or testing lab that can verify the numbers in our datasheets since changes are frequently made, which can be inconvenient for review. For instance, when comparing different competitors such as Forcepoint, Palo Alto, and Check Point, the throughput or numbers in the datasheet may be lower than the actual numbers. Conversely, Fortinet typically reports very high numbers, but they cannot be replicated in the real world. Therefore, it would be advantageous for them to partner with a neutral testing organization such as NSS Labs to validate these numbers, thus providing more credibility and comfort to everyone regarding the accuracy of the datasheets. For the migration, everyone has a firewall in use and I am selling Fortinet. Typically, I am replacing another firewall. Previously, there was a tool available to convert configurations from one firewall, such as Palo Alto, to Fortinet, but this tool is no longer free. If it could be made free again, it would be very beneficial. This tool shows a lot of promise and is very good. Making it free would help many companies deliver their products in a more efficient and integrated way. It would also be more valuable to include the tool with the firewall package or license instead of having to pay extra for it. Paying extra puts more pressure on small companies to deliver the firewall and complete the configuration, especially if they have hundreds or thousands of policies. It's very painful to move through these policies line by line. The stability has room for improvement. When it comes to Secure SD-WAN, everything is fine. They are going the right way. SD-WAN is very promising. They can provide the SD-WAN solution separately, but they will not take this approach because even the smallest firewall can support the features, so there is no need to have a separate service or appliance. They are following the right steps, and there is nothing to be improved. Feature-wise, I'm really satisfied with the new release, and the features they have added. For now, it's fine.
Eddy Ramirez - PeerSpot reviewer
Good interface and firewall capabilities and overall easy to use
The security has improved as we can isolate the network. We can do attrition prevention via a tool that comes with the solution. We can have a VPN solution in place for those that work from home, outside the network, in a secure manner. We also like that it offers good authentication. It offers radius-based authentication, which has been useful for the company. The main platform is under the Open VPN firewall. The solution has high availability. When we have different ISPs, we can actually load balance those links or actually put some priority or even classify the traffic that might go into one ISP or another.
Mohamad Charara - PeerSpot reviewer
Security features improve protection while integration and resource management require enhancements
Sophos XG ( /products/sophos-xg-reviews ) is not easy to navigate and to use, and the integration capabilities are lacking. It cannot integrate properly with solutions like Darktrace ( /products/darktrace-reviews ). The VPN client on mobiles, especially Android phones, has issues. It is resource-greedy, causing performance problems even on new computers. Improvements are needed in resource management and integration with other security solutions.
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Educational Organization
21%
Computer Software Company
14%
Comms Service Provider
7%
Manufacturing Company
6%
Computer Software Company
16%
Comms Service Provider
13%
Government
7%
Educational Organization
6%
Computer Software Company
16%
Comms Service Provider
9%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Financial Services Firm
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

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 is the difference between PfSense and OPNsense?
Two of the most common and well recognized firewalls, PfSense and OPNsense both support site-to-site IPsec VPN and cl...
What do you like most about OPNsense?
What I like the most about OPNsense is that it offers an easy-to-use dashboard for device management and control.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for OPNsense?
I consider the pricing of OPNsense to be high when compared with other market products. However, as a free firewall p...
Which is better - Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls or Sophos XG?
Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls have both great features and performance. I like that Palo Alto has regular threat si...
What are the main differences in features between Sophos XG and FortiGate 80F?
Hi Arvind P , The Sophos XG firewall has a number of models right from XG86 to XG135w under the 1U Desktop Form Fact...
 

Comparisons

 

Also Known As

FortiGate 60b, FortiGate 60c, FortiGate 80c, FortiGate 50b, FortiGate 200b, FortiGate 110c, FortiGate, Fortinet Firewall
No data available
No data available
 

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
1. Deciso B.V. 2. iXsystems, Inc.  3. EuroBSDCon  4. Netgate  5. Claranet  6. Voleatech  7. Open Systems AG  8. Securebit AG  9. Proxmox Server Solutions GmbH  10. AVM Computersysteme Vertriebs GmbH  Additional customers include: T-Systems International GmbH, Deutsche Telekom AG, Vodafone GmbH, 1&1 IONOS SE, OVHcloud, Hetzner Online GmbH, Strato AG, PlusServer GmbH, Host Europe GmbH, United Internet AG, 1&1 Versatel Deutschland GmbH, QSC AG, Bechtle AG, Cancom SE, Computacenter AG & Co. oHG, T-Systems Multimedia Solutions GmbH, Atos SE, Capgemini SE, Accenture plc, IBM Corporation, Hewlett Packard Enterprise Company, Cisco Systems, Inc.
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