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Palo Alto Networks CN-Series vs SonicWall NSv comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary

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

Palo Alto Networks CN-Series
Ranking in Firewalls
34th
Average Rating
9.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.4
Number of Reviews
2
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
SonicWall NSv
Ranking in Firewalls
14th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.4
Number of Reviews
27
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of August 2026, in the Firewalls category, the mindshare of Palo Alto Networks CN-Series is 0.4%, up from 0.1% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of SonicWall NSv is 0.5%, up from 0.2% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Firewalls Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
SonicWall NSv0.5%
Palo Alto Networks CN-Series0.4%
Other99.1%
Firewalls
 

Featured Reviews

Ahmed_Shalaby - PeerSpot reviewer
Senior Cyber Security Engineer at Beta Information Technology
Application control excels and integration with monitoring system boosts efficiency
I am an integrator working with Palo Alto Networks CN-Series and Panorama. I have been involved with the implementation of Palo Alto Networks CN-Series The stability of Palo Alto Networks CN-Series is excellent. Application control is one of the most valuable features. Its monitoring capability…
SG
Senior Cybersecurity Analyst at a tech company with 10,001+ employees
Secures east-west cloud traffic and improves threat visibility through deep inspection
SonicWall NSv offers great features. I cannot pinpoint a single best feature, but the best feature is the ability to deliver the full, high-efficiency inspection power of a physical SonicWall, including zero-day defense using Real-Time Deep Memory Inspection to the cloud, efficiently removing the performance versus cloud trade-off typically associated with virtual firewalls. Regarding deep memory inspection and real-time zero-day defense in SonicWall NSv, deep memory inspection is distinct from traditional sandboxing methods because it is focused on what is happening in the memory during file execution time, rather than just observing file system behavior. The deep memory inspection process addresses all challenges by employing a proprietary technique within the secure analysis environment, focusing on CPU-level analysis and real-time verdict. Those are the key points. SonicWall NSv's user interface is quite clear and easy to navigate. If someone has not worked with SonicWall and this is their first experience with the platform, I would highly recommend it. It is very easy to navigate and very user-friendly. SonicWall NSv has positively impacted our organization because we gained clear visibility into our network, and it helps to identify potential security issues that we had. We were able to remediate those issues, and so far, we have had a great experience with SonicWall NSv. We were able to manage approximately 99% of network-based attacks through this platform.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The stability of Palo Alto Networks CN-Series is excellent."
"The app inspection is very helpful for network security."
"We have definitely seen a positive return on investment after implementing SonicWall NSv, mainly in terms of time savings, operational efficiency, and reduced security-related costs."
"The product helps improve our security."
"SonicWall NSv has positively impacted my organization, as we have not seen any threat or any successful cyberattack; the positive aspect is that we also use SonicWall physical devices for our on-premise infrastructure, so the integration is excellent."
"SonicWall NSv has positively impacted my organization by allowing our customers to access data 24 hours, seven days a week, making it a wonderful feature for business continuity for our customers."
"The customization of firewall rules provides great value to our customers as it allows them to lock things up in the way that they desire. When it is used for internal access, with a VPN in place for remote workers, the firewalling services provided by Azure, such as the default services that can be turned on, are applied. However, the use of a software-based virtual firewall gives us greater flexibility in introducing security controls for customers who are publishing applications that are publicly accessible from the public cloud. This virtual firewall provides an additional layer of security and more extensive security control options to ensure the protection of our customers' valuable information and assets."
"SonicWall NSv helped our organization maintain and send traffic consistently through our secure VPN channels between the SonicWalls, serving around 300 employees in our organization."
"I have seen a return on investment with SonicWall NSv, as I have saved money by saving time and needing fewer employees due to the ease of use, allowing us to manage our resources better."
"SonicWall NSv is more stable and less of a headache compared to Palo Alto because we did not have any issues."
 

Cons

"Palo Alto Networks CN-Series could improve on its pricing as it is quite expensive."
"I'd like to see more IOPs features."
"We face some challenges when we upgrade the solution."
"The price is a significant factor."
"SonicWall NSV's SSL VPN could increase its number of users to 100-plus users."
"Regarding improvements, I find that logs are required. I chose 8 out of 10 because logs are unable to restore in the same system, requiring a separate analyzer or analytics."
"For example, compared to Cisco, reporting is better than it is in SonicWall."
"I faced a problem when migrating from an old Generation 6 firewall to a Generation 7 firewall, where I could not simply copy the configuration from one appliance to the other; I had to rebuild the entire policies, IP addressing, the rules, the NAT rules, the tunnels, and the VPN policies."
"I believe SonicWall NSv is performing well overall, but I think it would be beneficial to have physical versions, such as the hardware of SonicWall NSv, for some environments that may not necessarily need to be connected to the cloud."
"The engine provided initially was quite heavy, creating a trade-off between software and hardware-based threat management."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

Information not available
"The solution’s pricing is less compared to other products."
"The tool is moderately priced."
"The solution's pricing is good for the technology it offers."
"We are currently using the trial version."
"Our initial purchase, which included a three-year term of support, was about $25,000 USD."
"SonicWall NSV is not very costly."
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909,725 professionals have used our research since 2012.
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
University
12%
Construction Company
10%
Financial Services Firm
10%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Manufacturing Company
12%
Outsourcing Company
11%
Security Firm
10%
Construction Company
9%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business10
Midsize Enterprise8
Large Enterprise9
 

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Palo Alto Networks CN-Series?
The pricing of Palo Alto Networks CN-Series is quite expensive, rating around eight on a scale of one to ten for cost.
What needs improvement with Palo Alto Networks CN-Series?
Palo Alto Networks CN-Series could improve on its pricing as it is quite expensive. The SD-WAN implementation using Panorama needs enhancement because it involves a specific plugin and configuring ...
What is your primary use case for Palo Alto Networks CN-Series?
I am an integrator working with Palo Alto Networks CN-Series ( /products/palo-alto-networks-cn-series-reviews ) and Panorama. I have been involved with the implementation of Palo Alto Networks CN-S...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for SonicWall NSV?
My experience with the pricing, setup cost, and licensing of SonicWall NSv has been mostly positive, though there are a few areas that can be improved in licensing. Pricing for SonicWall NSv is com...
What needs improvement with SonicWall NSV?
Overall, SonicWall NSv is a strong and reliable virtual firewall, but based on my hands-on experience, there are a few areas where it can definitely be improved. The first area is the management in...
What is your primary use case for SonicWall NSV?
The main use case for SonicWall NSv is to secure virtual and cloud-based infrastructure by providing centralized firewall security, including VPN access and traffic inspections. In one of our envir...
 

Also Known As

No data available
SonicWall Network Security Virtual
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Information Not Available
Comlogic, Depaul, Hutt City Council
Find out what your peers are saying about Palo Alto Networks CN-Series vs. SonicWall NSv and other solutions. Updated: August 2026.
909,725 professionals have used our research since 2012.