Palo Alto Networks K2-Series vs WatchGuard Firebox comparison

Palo Alto Networks and WatchGuard are both solutions in the Firewalls category. Palo Alto Networks is ranked #36 with an average rating of 8.7, while WatchGuard is ranked #13 with an average rating of 7.6. Palo Alto Networks holds a 0.1% mindshare in Firewalls, compared to WatchGuard’s 2.8% mindshare. Additionally, 96% of Palo Alto Networks users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 95% of WatchGuard users who would recommend it.

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Aug 5, 2025

WatchGuard Firebox and Palo Alto Networks K2-Series are major competitors in the network security industry. Based on the features, Palo Alto has a slight edge due to its advanced threat detection and SSL inspection capabilities.

Features: WatchGuard Firebox is known for its user-friendly GUI, excellent VPN services, and the WebBlocker feature which relies on a strong URL database. Palo Alto Networks K2-Series excels in threat detection, decryption capabilities, and provides robust security features including SSL inspection, making it suitable for advanced security requirements.

Room for Improvement: WatchGuard Firebox could benefit from better third-party integration, modernized interfaces, and more detailed documentation. Its centralized management and user learning content could also be enhanced. Palo Alto Networks K2-Series needs to address concerns over its high pricing, improve support services, and boost endpoint visibility and integration capabilities.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: WatchGuard Firebox is flexible, supporting both on-premises and hybrid deployments, praised for user-friendly interfaces and responsive service. Some users suggest improvements in centralized management. Palo Alto Networks K2-Series, while offering robust on-premises options, is considered pricier and complex, and although providing helpful customer service, it could offer quicker responses.

Pricing and ROI: WatchGuard Firebox is seen as cost-effective, offering competitive pricing models and bundled services that provide a strong ROI. Meanwhile, Palo Alto Networks K2-Series, though providing comprehensive security, is more expensive, which may deter smaller businesses despite its value for high-security needs.

To learn more, read our detailed Palo Alto Networks K2-Series vs. WatchGuard Firebox Report (Updated: September 2025).

Buyer's Guide

Palo Alto Networks K2-Series vs. WatchGuard Firebox

September 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 October 2025, in the Firewalls category, the mindshare of Fortinet FortiGate is 20.4%, up from 19.1% 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 WatchGuard Firebox is 2.8%, up from 2.7% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Firewalls Market Share Distribution
Product	Market Share (%)
Fortinet FortiGate	20.4%
WatchGuard Firebox	2.8%
Palo Alto Networks K2-Series	0.1%
Other	76.7%

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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ScottEastman

Project Consultant at SEVERN HOSPICE LIMITED

Reduces the risks of sending data where it shouldn't be going

We use the solution to ensure that no data breach, such as credit card details and national insurance numbers, leaves the company. However, we have to allow some information to go through because we send a lot of information to the National Healthcare Service If we don't want specific data sent…

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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 feature of Fortinet FortiGate is value for money. It is very easy to deploy and scale. It saves us costs and increases bandwidth throughput."

"The reporting you receive out of this appliance is excellent. You will not need an external management system."

"For the performance they provide, the price is acceptable."

"The most valuable features are SD-WAN, application control, IPS control, and FortiSandbox."

"The most important features with FortiGate are the web filter and application controls. We can control our internet usage and use the web filter for application purposes."

"Overall, the pricing of the solution is very good. The product offers good value."

"I found the upgrades valuable."

"The most valuable feature is the bundled subscription, which is IPS, TV and web filtering."

More Fortinet FortiGate pros

"The most valuable features are the virtualization of the firewall and the antivirus."

"Mainly, it is very easy to understand, and the logs are very good."

"I have found the threat profile feature valuable."

"We've found the solution offers us good stability."

"The solution offers effective security features such as HIDS (Host-based Intrusion Detection System) in global products."

"The most valuable feature of Palo Alto Networks K2-Series is the performance which is above their competitors. The throughput they have delivered is good. When we used other solutions they failed the deployment when we were using different rules. They have a theory perform performance light and performance degradation. However, Palo Alto Networks K2-Series never fails in that scenario."

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

"Everything I could possibly want has already been implanted in the new version."

More Palo Alto Networks K2-Series pros

"Simple to move settings between WatchGuard boxes."

"Their support is excellent, and the stability is very good."

"The most valuable features of the WatchGuard Firebox are all the security and updated features. You are able to configure the solution from the cloud platform and the application and web interface are very nice."

"The solution has increased productivity with our outside salespeople being able to connect into their computers and use those remotely."

"I like that this product has very few issues."

"The basic functionality is fantastic. It has been performing well. I generated a report on one machine, using that as the deployment machine. When scanning the network, it discovered machines on the network and deployed the same endpoint protection from that one machine I have on my network."

"WatchGuard Firebox is the most powerful firewall for Wi-Fi security."

"The tool's most valuable feature is the dashboard."

More WatchGuard Firebox pros

Cons

"FortiOS is not simple."

"There's a limitation wherein you can only have about 30 virtual or secondary IPs on a particular interface."

"I would like reporting to be improved and should offer a lot more tools to monitor the products."

"They should do a better job in testing when they put out a new release because when a new software version is released, it is not always stable or does not always have all the previous features working correctly."

"I would like to be able to see more log details."

"FortiGate Next Generation Firewall could be made a little less expensive."

"They've become quite expensive."

"The solution should allow more user-friendly integrations or deployment"

More Fortinet FortiGate cons

"It is recommended that the Palo Alto Networks K2-Series be implemented step by step for the Panorama. Sometimes we can't overwrite the configurations because it fails."

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

"It would be nice if it could easily be integrated with Elasticsearch or Nagios."

"I would like to see the threat intelligence capability integrated with other vendors such as Cisco and Forcepoint."

"The graphical user interface is a little complex and difficult to manage. L1 engineers cannot work on the Palo Alto Networks K2-Series because it's too complex, which requires L2 and above level of engineers."

"Threat prevention could use improvement."

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

"They should implement the features that the other firewalls have."

More Palo Alto Networks K2-Series cons

"A 12-hour power outage... got our batteries."

"There should be better integration and a way to configure multiple vendors into the same data center in order to offer more flexibility."

"The only downside is that it is missing an API, that you can use to easily collect information from it."

"The administrative UI/UX could be significantly improved."

"Sometimes I would like to copy a rule set from one box to another box in a direct way. This is a feature that is not present at the moment in WatchGuard."

"The solution is lacking a professional website, they should be updated more often."

"I haven’t dug deeply into the reporting features yet or if they are working well. However, I have generated several reports and there was too much unnecessary information, in comparison with the reporting features in the Sophos firewall. Sophos' reporting is more readable and easier to configure."

"The main problem that WatchGuard Threat Detection and Response has is that they use several tools to do the same tasks, and they are sometimes very complicated to use and very slow."

More WatchGuard Firebox cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Although the solution's pricing is high, compared with other products, it may be cheap."

"Its price could be better."

"It is more affordable than Check Point and Palo Alto. Another thing is that all the features and the OS remain the same irrespective of the size of the device. Pricing-wise, Fortinet typically provides one-year support with the firewall appliance. There is also an option for three years which is how their licensing works."

"When comparing this solution to others, I would rate it a ten out of ten in terms of pricing. However, the issue of requiring a separate license for redundancy is a drawback, and I would rate it a nine out of ten."

"The solution is very expensive so pricing is rated a one out of ten."

"It has a competitive price."

"I give the pricing a nine out of ten."

"It is somewhat expensive compared to other solutions such as Sophos."

More Fortinet FortiGate pricing and cost advice

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

"Palo Alto firewalls are very expensive."

"The price of the solution is expensive."

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

"The pricing is expensive."

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

"If you compare K2-Series' quality with its price, I think it is reasonable."

"Palo Alto Networks K2-Series is an expensive solution, the price could be reduced. They are more expensive than some of their competitors."

More Palo Alto Networks K2-Series pricing and cost advice

"Its cost is okay. It is not too expensive, not too low. I would rate it a nine out of ten in terms of pricing."

"The solution is a bit more expensive than other options."

"We paid $4000 in AUD for WatchGuard Firebox per year. There were no additional costs."

"I would rate the pricing at seven out of ten. As for the licensing costs, we typically have yearly licenses for our clients, but there are no additional costs beyond the standard licensing fees."

"The cheapest configuration, for maybe five people, is approximately $500."

"Firebox is priced reasonably."

"I haven't seen the pricing since 2017, but it was competitive. SonicWall, Barracuda, and WatchGuard were all about the same price when we did our last pricing."

"The pricing was in line with everyone else; maybe slightly higher."

More WatchGuard Firebox pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

15%

Comms Service Provider

Manufacturing Company

Financial Services Firm

Performing Arts

24%

Computer Software Company

16%

Manufacturing Company

Comms Service Provider

Computer Software Company

14%

Comms Service Provider

11%

Manufacturing Company

Retailer

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	350
Midsize Enterprise	130
Large Enterprise	187

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	13
Midsize Enterprise	8
Large Enterprise	13

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	91
Midsize Enterprise	25
Large Enterprise	15

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...

See all answers

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 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 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...

See all answers

What is your primary use case for WatchGuard Firebox?

We are providing our services to all WatchGuard customers in the region.

See all answers

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...

See all answers

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.

See all answers

Comparisons

Sophos XG vs Fortinet FortiGate

Compared 17% of the time

Cisco Secure Firewall vs Fortinet FortiGate

Compared 11% of the time

Netgate pfSense vs Fortinet FortiGate

Compared 9% of the time

OPNsense vs Fortinet FortiGate

Compared 4% of the time

SonicWall TZ vs Fortinet FortiGate

Compared 4% of the time

More Fortinet FortiGate Competitors

Cisco Secure Firewall vs Palo Alto Networks K2-Series

Compared 52% of the time

Juniper SRX Series Firewall vs Palo Alto Networks K2-Series

Compared 48% of the time

More Palo Alto Networks K2-Series Competitors

OPNsense vs WatchGuard Firebox

Compared 7% of the time

SonicWall TZ vs WatchGuard Firebox

Compared 5% of the time

Netgate pfSense vs WatchGuard Firebox

Compared 5% of the time

Sophos XGS vs WatchGuard Firebox

Compared 4% of the time

SonicWall NSa vs WatchGuard Firebox

Compared 4% of the time

More WatchGuard Firebox Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Fortinet FortiGate

October 2025

Download Fortinet FortiGate product report

Buyer's Guide

Palo Alto Networks K2-Series

September 2025

Download Palo Alto Networks K2-Series product report

Buyer's Guide

WatchGuard Firebox

September 2025

Download WatchGuard Firebox product report

Also Known As

No data available

WatchGuard Threat Detection and Response, WatchGuard Application Control, WatchGuard Data Loss Prevention, WatchGuard Gateway AntiVirus, WatchGuard Intrusion Prevention Service

Overview

Fortinet FortiGate excels in providing integrated VPN, firewalling, and Unified Threat Management (UTM) with centralized management and high availability. It supports remote access and comprehensive threat protection, making it a preferred choice for securing networks.

Fortinet FortiGate offers a robust security platform with features such as strong intrusion prevention, application control, and web filtering. Its integration with Active Directory and SD-WAN functionality provides scalable solutions for large networks. Users appreciate its ease of use through centralized management interfaces, ensuring robust security with flexible configurations. However, FortiGate could enhance its graphical interface and technical support responsiveness, address firmware bugs and costly licensing, improve logging, integrate better with third-party tools, and strengthen scalability and memory for log storage. Complexity in configuration and the need for intuitive features are noted challenges, and there's a demand for advanced security, zero-trust capabilities, and AI integration.

What are the key features of Fortinet FortiGate?

VPN: Secure remote access and connectivity.
Firewalling: Protects networks from unauthorized access and attacks.
UTM: Offers a comprehensive approach to threat management.
SD-WAN: Optimizes traffic routing for efficient network performance.
Web Filtering: Controls and monitors web access and ensures Internet security.

What benefits or ROI should be considered?

Centralized Management: Simplifies administration and monitoring.
High Availability: Ensures consistent security and network availability.
Scalability: Adapts to the needs of growing networks.
Comprehensive Threat Protection: Provides robust security measures.
Ease of Use: Minimizes the complexity of security management.

Fortinet FortiGate is widely implemented across industries like education, finance, and government. Companies use it for firewall protection, VPN, and SD-WAN capabilities, ensuring secure perimeter and data center security. It facilitates remote access management and traffic routing optimization, offering reliable security and connectivity solutions.

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

WatchGuard Firebox is a high-performance firewall known for its ease of setup, offering robust security with layered protection and centralized management capabilities.

WatchGuard Firebox stands out for its intuitive management and high throughput, addressing security needs with features like VPN, web filtering, and threat detection. Its centralized control and reporting abilities, along with Active Directory integration, make it popular among varied organizations. Its user-friendly interface and ongoing updates enhance usability and reliability. However, there's a call for better cloud-based administration, scalability, and improved integration with third-party vendors.

What are the key features of WatchGuard Firebox?

Ease of Setup: Quick and straightforward installation process.
GUI: User-friendly graphical interface for simplified navigation.
VPN Features: Secure and efficient virtual private network management.
Web Filtering: Advanced filtering for safer browsing experiences.
Threat Detection: Proactive monitoring and detection of cyber threats.

What benefits or ROI should be evaluated?

Centralized Control: Streamlined management from a single point.
High Throughput: Efficient data handling and processing capacity.
Stable Performance: Consistent and reliable operational functionality.
Active Directory Integration: Seamless connection with user directories.
Customer Service: Strong support service for customer inquiries.

WatchGuard Firebox is implemented across industries to secure internet gateways and protect data in multi-site businesses. Its applications span from Unified Threat Management (UTM) and intrusion prevention to compliance support in business environments requiring secure connectivity through VPNs.

WatchGuard

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

Ellips, Diecutstickers.com, Clarke Energy, NCR, Wrest Park, Homeslice Pizza, Fortessa Tableware Solutions, The Phoenix Residence

Buyer's Guide

Palo Alto Networks K2-Series vs. WatchGuard Firebox

September 2025

Free Report: Palo Alto Networks K2-Series vs. WatchGuard Firebox

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