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Palo Alto Networks K2-Series vs SonicWall NSa comparison

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Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Sep 16, 2024

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
Ranking in Firewalls
2nd
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
411
Ranking in other categories
Software Defined WAN (SD-WAN) Solutions (1st), WAN Edge (1st)
Palo Alto Networks K2-Series
Ranking in Firewalls
31st
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.7
Number of Reviews
34
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
SonicWall NSa
Ranking in Firewalls
17th
Average Rating
7.8
Reviews Sentiment
7.0
Number of Reviews
88
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of August 2025, in the Firewalls category, the mindshare of Fortinet FortiGate is 20.8%, up from 17.8% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Palo Alto Networks K2-Series is 0.1%, up from 0.0% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of SonicWall NSa is 1.7%, up from 1.3% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Firewalls
 

Featured Reviews

Vasu Gala - PeerSpot reviewer
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.
Krishnakumar M - PeerSpot reviewer
One of the best tools for the prevention of evasive threats
There is a feature called granular application controls, which I liked. Instead of relying on ports and IP addresses, they use AMP ID. This kind of solution is very good. Another valuable feature is the prevention of evasive threats, which is one of the best tools I've encountered. SSL decryption and app ID-based SSL decryption are also impressive, along with the integration with user ID. Identity-based policies ensuring only authorized users can access specific resources are excellent features. Normally, there is something called SIM or SCIM in IDA IDM, but this feature is provided on the box, which is exemplary.
Constantnos Achilleos - PeerSpot reviewer
Network security has strengthened with next-generation firewall features and cost savings
I primarily use SonicWall NSA as a next-generation firewall for network security architecture. It is especially used for securing business operations with networks of more than 250 people SonicWall NSA's most valuable features are its SD-WAN and a system RTBI that blocks all attacks. These…

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"UTM/NGFW features and FortiCloud for logs and backups are awesome."
"The best feature of Fortinet FortiGate is SD-WAN; it ensures continuous connectivity by taking over during link failures, preventing any downtime for the company."
"The security features are about the best that I've seen anywhere."
"The GUI is very simple, and what is very good is that every product, regardless of size, has the same interface."
"The features that we have found most valuable are the SSL VPN and the User Portal."
"The SD-WAN is the most valuable feature."
"Fortinet FortiGate provides superior protection compared to other firewalls, with high processing capabilities."
"The best features of Fortinet FortiGate are that it does the job effectively and protects our environment."
"The IPS system is the best in the field."
"The solution is reliable and scales well."
"The customer service and support are really good."
"The scalability of the product is quite high."
"It is a stable solution."
"The most valuable feature of Palo Alto Networks K2-Series is its management abilities. Additionally, the updates are very good."
"Everything I could possibly want has already been implanted in the new version."
"Overall product rating: Nine out of ten."
"It has a very good user interface."
"They offer good antivirus solutions."
"SonicWall NSA is easy to deploy, easy to maintain, and easy to configure."
"The most valuable features of this solution are the GUI pre-filtering and the ATP (advanced threat protection)."
"It's very flexible and meets our customer's needs."
"The most valuable features are that it is reasonably-priced and works well."
"The features I found most valuable are email security and web filtering."
"The most valuable aspect of the solution is its ability to work like any other firewall."
 

Cons

"It does not have key authentication for admin access."
"The room for improvement is about the global delivery time period. Usually I need to wait for almost one month to deliver it overseas. So if you can shorten the deliver time it'd be great."
"I think they need to improve more in order to be a competitor with the leaders of the field."
"The support system could be improved."
"The graphical user interface of Fortinet's FortiGate product does not function well with text-based interfaces."
"Scalability for Fortinet FortiGate needs to be improved. SD-WAN security for this solution also needs some improvement."
"There could be more integration between the logging and analytical platforms to make it more seamless and integrated."
"There is room for improvement related to the logging and reporting aspect."
"They should implement the features that the other firewalls have."
"Palo Alto has many other products. It would be nice for these products to be centralized under one tool"
"The ease of management and configuration should be improved."
"The URL Filtering module needs to have more categories added to it."
"We had some issues with upgrading in the past. They could make the process easier."
"In the past, we've had trouble with Palo Alto's application filtering not getting it right. I would not be recommending layer 7 application filtering yet."
"The licensing cost is a typical complaint with many clients. The solution is expensive."
"Palo Alto doesn't have extended visibility to the end point in their firewalls."
"They are not ready for managed security services. Their Cloud GMS product is weak, barely out of beta (buggy)."
"A room for improvement in SonicWall NSa is the log server because it could be more user-friendly compared to Fortinet and Palo Alto Networks. My company has many rule sets up for review, so sometimes, my team needs to use Excel for filtering, but the UI cannot support the Excel function."
"Live tracking of packets could be improved."
"The product must enable integration with endpoint protection tools."
"The cloud services may be in need of some improvement."
"The tool needs to improve its reporting features."
"One area for improvement in SonicWall NSa is the GUI. It isn't easy to understand. The support for SonicWall NSa is mediocre, which is another area for improvement."
"Needs a more detailed reporting feature."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Other firewalls are more expensive than Fortinet FortiGate, such as the Azure firewall."
"It is an inexpensive solution."
"It's expensive, but compared to the competition it's okay."
"It scales well if you know what to buy from a physical box standpoint. They seem to offer something for every level."
"The price of FortiGate is average and I would say that based on the top five products available on the market, it is in the affordable range."
"Fortinet FortiGate is expensive."
"I find it quite reasonable."
"It is cheaper and more competitive compared to other options. For example, when comparing Palo Alto products to others, Palo Alto tends to be more expensive. If you compare Cisco's platform, including Cisco Meraki, with Fortinet products, you'll notice that Cisco's offerings are generally higher priced than Fortinet's firewall solutions."
"Palo Alto Networks K2-Series is an expensive solution, the price could be reduced. They are more expensive than some of their competitors."
"This product is designed for large companies. The price would not be suitable for a small or medium size company."
"The price of this solution is too high."
"If you compare K2-Series' quality with its price, I think it is reasonable."
"Products by the leader in the field are justifiably a bit more expensive compared to other vendors."
"The pricing is expensive."
"We are on an annual license to use Palo Alto Networks K2-Series."
"This solution is expensive compared to other, similar products."
"The price is high. I would rate it four to five out of ten."
"SonicWall NSa's pricing is subscription-based and I rate it a six out of ten."
"SonicWall still is only a dollar or Euro per gigabit. This means, of the IPsec, it's the cheapest solution."
"When implemented properly, the total cost of operation is very low."
"The price is reasonable for what it does."
"There are different pricing models for SonicWall NSa."
"You need their analyzer to properly generate reports. This is an expensive, licensed feature, with a complex application or appliance back-end."
"If you want to connect more than five concurrent users by VPN then you have to pay an additional fee."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
16%
Comms Service Provider
9%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Financial Services Firm
6%
Performing Arts
23%
Computer Software Company
16%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Comms Service Provider
7%
Computer Software Company
13%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Educational Organization
7%
Comms Service Provider
7%
 

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 ...
Features comparison between Palo Alto and Fortinet firewalls
In the best tradition of these questions, Feature-wise both are quite similar, but each has things it's better at, it...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Palo Alto Networks K2-Series?
The pricing for the Palo Alto Networks K2-Series solution is affordable and there are no complaints about the licensing.
What needs improvement with Palo Alto Networks K2-Series?
The graphical user interface is a little complex and difficult to manage. L1 engineers cannot work on the Palo Alto N...
What do you like most about SonicWall NSa?
The product blocks access when I visit unrecognized websites.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for SonicWall NSa?
I would rate the price of the product as seven out of ten.
What needs improvement with SonicWall NSa?
I have not really seen any problems with SonicWall NSa on the technical front, but the quality of support is not that...
 

Also Known As

FortiGate 60b, FortiGate 60c, FortiGate 80c, FortiGate 50b, FortiGate 200b, FortiGate 110c, FortiGate, Fortinet Firewall
No data available
NSA 250M, NSA 2600, NSA 3600, NSA 4600, NSA 5600, Dell SonicWALL NSA
 

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
State of North Dakota, SEGA, Alameda County Office of Education, Temple University, VERGE, CAME
Orange County Rescue Mission, First Source, Michaels & Taylor, Green Clinic Health System, Aspire Chiltern Skills and Enterprise Centre, UnitedStack, Faith Lutheran College Redlands, Celtic Manor Resort, Star Kay White, Air Works, Unimat Life, NHS Yorkshire and Humber Commissioning Support (YHCS), Hutt City Council, Mato Grosso do Sul, Nspyre
Find out what your peers are saying about Palo Alto Networks K2-Series vs. SonicWall NSa and other solutions. Updated: July 2025.
865,384 professionals have used our research since 2012.