Palo Alto Networks K2-Series vs SonicWall NSv comparison

Palo Alto Networks and SonicWall are both solutions in the Firewalls category. Palo Alto Networks is ranked #29 with an average rating of 8.2, while SonicWall is ranked #28 with an average rating of 8.2. Palo Alto Networks holds a 0.1% mindshare in Firewalls, compared to SonicWall’s 0.2% mindshare. Additionally, 96% of Palo Alto Networks users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 85% of SonicWall users who would recommend it.

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Sep 16, 2024

Palo Alto Networks K2-Series and SonicWall NSv are both popular choices in the cybersecurity market. Based on user feedback, Palo Alto Networks K2-Series seems to have the upper hand due to its robust threat detection and prevention capabilities, though pricing is higher.

Features: Palo Alto Networks K2-Series is recognized for its advanced firewall protection, robust threat detection, and prevention capabilities. It seamlessly integrates with other security tools. SonicWall NSv is praised for its virtual firewall capabilities, comprehensive feature set, and advanced malware protection.

Room for Improvement: Palo Alto Networks K2-Series users suggest enhancing traffic visibility, VPN performance, and improving documentation and training resources. SonicWall NSv users point to the complexity of configuration, the need for more intuitive reporting and analytics tools, and occasionally slow support response times.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Palo Alto Networks K2-Series users find the deployment straightforward but mention the initial learning curve as a challenge. Customer service is generally well-rated but response times could improve. SonicWall NSv users report an easier deployment process but express concerns over the effectiveness of customer support, noting variability in the quality of service received.

Pricing and ROI: Users find Palo Alto Networks K2-Series to be at the higher end of the price spectrum, though they believe the robust features justify the cost with a good ROI. SonicWall NSv is noted for its competitive pricing, providing substantial value for the investment. Users acknowledge that SonicWall NSv delivers efficient ROI but some believe that the advanced features of Palo Alto Networks K2-Series offer better long-term benefits.

To learn more, read our detailed Palo Alto Networks K2-Series vs. SonicWall NSv Report (Updated: June 2025).

Buyer's Guide

Palo Alto Networks K2-Series vs. SonicWall NSv

June 2025

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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

Fortinet FortiGate

Mindshare comparison

As of June 2025, in the Firewalls category, the mindshare of Fortinet FortiGate is 21.4%, 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 NSv is 0.2%, up from 0.1% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Firewalls

Featured Reviews

Vasu Gala

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.

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Krishnakumar M

enterprise architect at a tech services company with 1-10 employees

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.

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Sileesh Sivadasan

Director at Infosec Infra

Helps small businesses expand branches more easily

The price is a significant factor. Mostly in India, the customer service has many hurdles to get real support. If I want to talk to a customer executive, they ask many trivial questions. Even if I explain that I am asking for a Dell partner, they still ask specific questions, and they will explain many unnecessary questions.

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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

"The best features of Fortinet FortiGate are that it does the job effectively and protects our environment."

"The flexibility and ease of configuration are the most valuable features."

"The wireless control is helpful."

"We are very happy with the general bandwidth agility we have seen from one website to another website."

"FortiGate has led to a reduction in our security budget."

"The solution is very, very easy to use."

"The most valuable feature of the solution revolves around SSL VPN."

"Good load balancing feature."

More Fortinet FortiGate pros

"The company is inventive and always adds a lot of great features."

"Palo Alto has a unique solution for DNS security, which is very good."

"The customer service and support are really good."

"Prevention of evasive threats is one of the best tools I've encountered."

"Simple integrations with the domain controllers and other inventories"

"The most valuable feature is availability."

"Palo Alto has an approach that makes the configuration easier not only for the customers but also for the IT help for the customers."

"The scalability of the product is quite high."

More Palo Alto Networks K2-Series pros

"The solution has no additional charges and no restrictions on the number of users."

"The product helps improve our security."

"We purchased the AGSS Bundle (Advanced Gateway Security Suite) for the security services, such as antivirus, intrusion prevention system, and anti-spyware botnet GUI."

"SonicWall excelled in threat management, evident in how users handled it effectively."

"The security of this system is fantastic, including the IPS and IDS."

"SonicWall NSV is easy to use, and you can use it to manage the logs easily."

"For my small NFB banking services, when they are expanding their branches, I could incorporate a little bit easier."

"We are very impressed with it."

More SonicWall NSv pros

Cons

"Fortinet FortiGate could improve by having better visibility. Palo Alto has better visibility."

"I want some additional features. For example, I want something to ensure that when we are using Google email or Microsoft email, or Google Workspace, emails can only be accessed on designated machines given to our employees. I would like them to access data from designated machines, not from any machine. It should work for designated mobiles and laptops. I don't know if Fortinet provides something like that out of the box."

"It should have a better pricing plan. It is too expensive. It should also have a more granular view of the attack. I don't have FortiAnalyzer, and it is difficult for me to have a complete view when there is an attack on my server."

"A couple of things I've seen that need improvement, especially in terms of a hard coding. The driver-level active moment really is out-of-the-box and we have to have contact the customer support and sometimes it is difficult to resolve."

"Its price could be better."

"There are just some services that aren't available. For example, the Ethernet or point-to-point protocols. They could add these services to their product offering - especially services for ISPs."

"I feel that the reporting needs to be improved."

"Reporting is limited to providing an external appliance for improving the reporting capabilities of the FortiAnalyzer. It does not offer a central management and is also sold separably as an appliance."

More Fortinet FortiGate cons

"The scalability of Palo Alto Networks K2-Series is good. It is good for larger environments over smaller ones."

"I cannot think of anything specific to improve at the moment."

"The ease of management and configuration should be improved."

"Threat prevention could use improvement. Not just in malware exploits and C2 traffic; enhancing web traffic protection would be a great upgrade."

"The technical support, and how they provide it to the client, needs to be improved."

"When it comes to renewing the solution, they tend to try to jack up the pricing."

"Palo Alto doesn't have extended visibility to the end point in their firewalls."

"It would be really helpful to have dashboards that provide information on IOC blockings such as where and how many. It will also be good to know how many hashing files have been reported. It would also be nice to have easy access to this information. Otherwise, it's a painful, manual task."

More Palo Alto Networks K2-Series cons

"There are limitations to bandwidth management."

"The price is a significant factor."

"The engine provided initially was quite heavy, creating a trade-off between software and hardware-based threat management."

"SonicWall NSV's initial setup is complicated and requires good knowledge."

"SonicWall NSV's SSL VPN could increase its number of users to 100-plus users."

"An area that could be improved is the export and import settings functionality."

"The engine provided initially was quite heavy, creating a trade-off between software and hardware-based threat management."

"It has been brought to our attention by a few customers that they are dissatisfied with the fact that our virtualized service is only offered as a subscription option on the cloud. However, it is worth noting that many other similar services are also offered through a subscription model on the cloud and not through perpetual licensing. It is unclear why these customers would have an issue with this subscription service when so many others are utilizing similar methods."

More SonicWall NSv cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"When you look at these end security systems and firewalls, these firewalls even five years ago were $50,000 or perhaps $25,000 to implement in some types of customer sites. Now we're talking about tools that are $1,000. In this case, it might have been $500 or something like that."

"We pay for the solution annually."

"There is a license to use Fortinet FortiGate."

"The support subscription for the solution is annual. You are paying for support and there are two levels of support, professional and advanced."

"FortiGate's pricing falls within the mid-range when compared to other leading firewall solutions."

"The product pricing is reasonable."

"You need to pay a license for this solution. Our licensing is now done in our subsidiary."

"In terms of the market, it's not a cheap product, but it's cost-effective."

More Fortinet FortiGate pricing and cost advice

"The price of the solution is expensive."

"It would be nice if they lowered their prices for small businesses."

"This is an expensive solution, although you will get value for the price."

"We are on an annual license to use Palo Alto Networks K2-Series."

"It is an expensive solution."

"This product is designed for large companies. The price would not be suitable for a small or medium size company."

"When comparing Palo Alto Networks K2-Series with other solutions it is on the higher end of the price scale."

"Products by the leader in the field are justifiably a bit more expensive compared to other vendors."

More Palo Alto Networks K2-Series pricing and cost advice

"We are currently using the trial version."

"Our initial purchase, which included a three-year term of support, was about $25,000 USD."

"The solution's pricing is good for the technology it offers."

"The tool is moderately priced."

"SonicWall NSV is not very costly."

"The solution’s pricing is less compared to other products."

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Educational Organization

15%

Computer Software Company

15%

Comms Service Provider

Manufacturing Company

Computer Software Company

23%

Performing Arts

Manufacturing Company

Financial Services Firm

Computer Software Company

27%

Real Estate/Law Firm

Retailer

Educational Organization

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...

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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...

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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 ...

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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...

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What do you like most about Palo Alto Networks K2-Series?

It is a stable solution.

See all answers

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.

See all answers

What do you like most about SonicWall NSV?

The product helps improve our security.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for SonicWall NSV?

I am somewhat satisfied with the price for SonicWall NSv, rating it as eight because, compared to other products, the...

See all answers

What needs improvement with SonicWall NSV?

Currently, we are getting challenges with user-wise reports and other reporting details. At present, they do not prov...

See all answers

Comparisons

Sophos XG vs Fortinet FortiGate

Compared 20% of the time

Netgate pfSense vs Fortinet FortiGate

Compared 12% of the time

Cisco Secure Firewall vs Fortinet FortiGate

Compared 11% of the time

SonicWall TZ vs Fortinet FortiGate

Compared 5% of the time

WatchGuard Firebox vs Fortinet FortiGate

Compared 5% of the time

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Cisco Secure Firewall vs Palo Alto Networks K2-Series

Compared 100% of the time

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Azure Firewall vs SonicWall NSv

Compared 26% of the time

SonicWall NSa vs SonicWall NSv

Compared 24% of the time

Stormshield Network Security vs SonicWall NSv

Compared 19% of the time

SonicWall TZ vs SonicWall NSv

Compared 11% of the time

Fortinet FortiGate-VM vs SonicWall NSv

Compared 11% of the time

More SonicWall NSv Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Fortinet FortiGate

June 2025

Download Fortinet FortiGate product report

Buyer's Guide

Palo Alto Networks K2-Series

May 2025

Download Palo Alto Networks K2-Series product report

Buyer's Guide

Firewalls

May 2025

Download SonicWall NSv product report

Also Known As

FortiGate 60b, FortiGate 60c, FortiGate 80c, FortiGate 50b, FortiGate 200b, FortiGate 110c, FortiGate, Fortinet Firewall

No data available

SonicWall Network Security Virtual

Overview

Fortinet FortiGate offers comprehensive network security and firewall protection across multiple locations. It effectively manages data traffic and secures environments with features like VPN, intrusion prevention, and UTM controls.

Organizations rely on Fortinet FortiGate for its robust integration with advanced security policies, ensuring significant protection for enterprises, cloud environments, and educational sectors. It facilitates network segmentation, application-level security, and authentication management, securing communication within and between locations such as branches and data centers. Its efficient SD-WAN and UTM features enable streamlined data management and enhanced threat protection capabilities. Users appreciate its centralized management, facilitating seamless operations across diverse environments.

What are the key features of Fortinet FortiGate?

VPN Capabilities: Ensure secure remote access for users and seamless site-to-site connections.
Intrusion Prevention System (IPS): Detect and prevent security threats and vulnerabilities.
Advanced Firewall: Offers robust firewalling with application control and web filtering.
SD-WAN: Optimizes application performance and enhances bandwidth management.
SSL VPN: Provides reliable and secure access for remote workers.

What benefits should users expect from Fortinet FortiGate?

High-performance Security: Delivers effective threat mitigation with high availability.
Centralized Management: Simplifies network operations with cloud-based management tools.
Detailed Analytics: Provides comprehensive insights into network activity and security threats.
Load Balancing: Ensures optimal resource distribution and traffic management.

Fortinet FortiGate is crucial in sectors like education, offering robust networks for secure data flow between campuses and facilitating remote learning. In enterprise environments, it allows efficient management of application traffic and security across multiple branches, while in the cloud, it seamlessly integrates with diverse platforms to enhance security infrastructure.

Fortinet

Designed to handle growing throughput needs due to increasing amounts of application-, user-, and device-generated data, the K2-Series offers amazing performance and threat prevention capabilities to stop advanced cyberattacks and secure mobile network infrastructure, subscribers, and services.

Palo Alto Networks

SonicWall NSV is a software-based virtual firewall that provides additional security for customers with public-facing servers or services on Microsoft Azure. The AGSS Bundle is considered the most valuable feature, providing security services such as antivirus, intrusion prevention system, and anti-spyware botnet GUI.

Additionally, customization of firewall rules provides great value to customers, allowing them to lock things up in the way they desire. SonicWall NSV offers extensive security control options to protect customers' valuable information and assets.

SonicWall

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

Comlogic, Depaul, Hutt City Council

Buyer's Guide

Palo Alto Networks K2-Series vs. SonicWall NSv

June 2025

Free Report: Palo Alto Networks K2-Series vs. SonicWall NSv

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