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Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls vs Stormshield Network Security comparison

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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

Fortinet FortiGate
Sponsored
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.2
Number of Reviews
330
Ranking in other categories
Firewalls (2nd), Software Defined WAN (SD-WAN) Solutions (1st), WAN Edge (1st)
Palo Alto Networks NG Firew...
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.4
Number of Reviews
192
Ranking in other categories
Firewalls (6th)
Stormshield Network Security
Average Rating
7.8
Reviews Sentiment
6.0
Number of Reviews
17
Ranking in other categories
Unified Threat Management (UTM) (12th)
 

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.
AmjadKhan1 - PeerSpot reviewer
Provides inline protection with a unified view and anti-spyware capabilities
I would rate Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls ten out of ten because it is the best. Our disaster recovery site utilizes Palo Alto Networks Next-Generation Firewalls. We are also in the process of upgrading the firewalls at our 365 sites in Pakistan to Palo Alto Networks firewalls. While budget firewalls may advertise comparable features, they often fall short of effectively detecting viruses, threats, and ransomware. In contrast, Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls, combined with Cortex XDR, provide comprehensive threat intelligence and detection capabilities, ensuring superior security coverage. I recommend conducting a proof of concept before selecting a firewall. This will allow you to evaluate different options and determine which best suits your needs. While Palo Alto offers robust firewall solutions, it's essential to compare them with other vendors to ensure you make an informed decision.
Ben_Ben - PeerSpot reviewer
The intrusion detection system helps our organization by automatically detecting and responding to potential threats
The tool's most valuable feature is its dashboard, which helps you manage different aspects of a single page. The intrusion detection system helps our organization by automatically detecting and responding to potential threats. It operates similarly to Darktrace, which detects and responds automatically based on the security rules you apply. Initially, you configure everything to block, and then you can whitelist specific items as needed.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The most valuable feature is the bundled subscription, which is IPS, TV and web filtering."
"The technical support in our region is excellent."
"The most valuable features of Fortinet FortiGate are the different types of profiling. It has been the most effective for me. The WAF and the antivirus profile are the most effective in network protection."
"The IPS is good. It protect my network from attackers."
"The response is very quick and they can visually resolve our problems in a short period."
"FortiGate has a very strong unified threat management system."
"Mainly the FortiGate reporting system is very good. It guides us through all the expectations of security. Fortinet provides us all that we need for security. Also, Fortinet FortiGate is a next-generation firewall. It is much more advanced than others."
"Fortinet FortiGate's reliability is valuable."
"It is very scalable."
"Mechanically, all firewalls work in a similar fashion, but what makes Palo Alto different is that it also has some of the threat hunt capabilities. It is a little bit better than other vendors."
"The feature that I like the most is its IPS model, the WildFire model. I really like how the whole threat protection model functions, including the vulnerability and anti-spyware aspects. That is really awesome."
"It helps the organization function better by virtue of cleaner and more predictive Internet access and usage being conducted by the employees and constituents of the company. It helps ensure that they have a stronger security posture. It is preventive medicine If you have DNS Security in place. You will be happy you had it. If you don't have it, you may never need it. However, if you did need it, and didn't have it, you will wish that you did. It is one of those things, like insurance."
"The solution allows us to set parameters on where our users can go. We can block certain sites or ads if we want to."
"The most valuable feature is advanced URL filtering. Its prevention capabilities and DNS security are also valuable. It pinpoints any suspicious activities and also prevents the users from doing certain things."
"Our clients find the most valuable features in Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls to be the user-friendly interface, extensive capabilities, and highly granular rule creation process."
"This solution not only provides better security than flat VLAN segments but allows easy movement through the lifecycle of the server."
"A very robust product."
"The tool's most valuable feature is its dashboard, which helps you manage different aspects of a single page."
"It's an easy, straightforward management platform to use."
"The most valuable features are the IPS, the firewall function, and the price."
"Our organization's main concern is stability, and this is a stable solution."
"The scalability of the solution is good."
"I can see what traffic is going on. I can easily block any programs from attacks."
"The solution has improved my organization because I can see what traffic is happening and I can use it to block and prevent attacks."
 

Cons

"There aren't really any negative aspects to discuss."
"To some degree, it's almost a question as to why some of this stuff isn't simpler. For example, for an AP deployment, while it's integrated, the number of steps that you have to go through in order to get the AP up, seems like a lot."
"Fortinet FortiGate should improve the VPN tokens."
"I think there could be more QoS features"
"Lacks training for new features."
"The scalability could be better."
"With the reports, you can see it, and you can get good feelings so upper management can go, "Oh, wow. That looks pretty." However, it's very basic."
"I'm not sure if it's something that they already have or are developing something, however, we need some dedicated features for container security."
"I would like Palo Alto Networks to provide a free virtual firewall."
"Currently, they don't have email protection. They can maybe add it in the future. Currently, if you want to do so, you need to go with another solution."
"Understanding the flow and application of securities can be complex, requiring navigation across different sections. Further integration into a unified system could improve usability."
"The solution's VPN, called GlobalProtect, could be improved as I've had a few issues with that."
"When the primary Palo Alto Networks firewall fails over to the secondary, it requires manual intervention to bounce the IPsec for it to work properly. Unlike BGP peering, which automatically changes from idle to established, this process needs automation."
"The scalability compared to other products is not good. You need to change the box whenever you want your number of connection sessions to increase."
"The solution is very expensive. There are cheaper options on the market."
"Everything has been great. More machine learning would be something great to see, but I don't know if it's a priority for Palo Alto."
"This solution has a big problem with web filtering and it needs to be improved."
"A more user-friendly interface would be helpful."
"The biggest issue was their support department was not able to help us, then everything stops. This is a no-go area for me."
"Not all the fields are activated yet and we were informed that it will take at least one month."
"This is not a next-generation firewall."
"Improvement is needed in terms of the technical support of the manufacturer."
"It could be better if it were more user-friendly. It's too complicated for us to use it. The price could be better as well."
"The filtering configuration could be better. We have some difficulties with the filtering configuration and the filter extension. It's not that easy. It's not that straightforward. In the next release, I would like to see a reporting system. Stormshield doesn't have any tutorials on how to do the configuration and things like that. They just have documentation on the website. If you want to configure, for example, Cisco or Fortinet, you can find tutorials on YouTube. They show you how to configure the features, and so on. In Stormshield, there is nothing on social media or the internet on how to configure different things. The lack of documentation or the lack of material makes it difficult for others to adopt this solution."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Fortinet bundles FortiGate with other products and because of this, the price is a little expensive to some SMB enterprises."
"The cost of Fortinet FortiGate is competitive and not expensive compared to other enterprise- grade solutions. On average, the license cost per year is around seventy percent of the firewall's purchase price."
"The cost is too high... They have to focus on more features with less cost for the customer. If you see the market, where it's going, there are a lot of players offering more features for less cost."
"Licensing for Fortinet FortiGate is on a yearly basis. Pricing for it is a bit high. It could be cheaper."
"Before choosing a piece of equipment you have to take into account the cost-benefit offered by each one. Sometimes it is not worth paying a very cheap price to have a minimum level of security."
"The price depends on the size of the company. From the beginning, you just want to know the internet bandwidths, speed, and the number of users to be able to offer the right product and model. They have a lot of products in FortiGate according to the size of the company, like 200D and 300D."
"The price is high compared to some of the other solutions."
"They are very competitive, but we like to have the factory warranty taken care of."
"Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls are very expensive compared to other firewalls such as Fortinet. As a result, Palo Alto is losing some of its market share."
"The licensing is annual, and there aren't any additional fees on top of that."
"It is expensive."
"I do not have much opinion on that because I have not been involved in the procurement process of the Palo Alto devices with the exception of pay-as-you-go through AWS, but all of this stuff is very expensive, in my opinion."
"I rate the product’s pricing an eight out of ten."
"The tool's pricing is similar to that of Cisco. It's a security appliance; the cost depends on your network topology and specific requirements. The suitability of NG firewalls should be chosen based on your network and what you need. If a colleague from a different company asked for the cheapest and fastest firewall, I suggest they consider options like Sophos. Sophos took over Cyberoam, which was previously a leader in NG firewalls"
"While Palo Alto Networks Next-Generation Firewalls may be considered expensive, their quality justifies the cost."
"Compared to other firewall solutions, this is an expensive solution."
"I think the price is good."
"The SN200 series costs between $500 USD and $600 USD per year, whereas the SN700 series costs approximately $1,000 annually."
"We bought a three-year license, and we renew it whenever it expires. The price could be better. It's always very expensive."
"We chose Stormshield for its price, as the Azure firewall was too expensive."
"The price of this solution and the price of support are ok."
"For mid-sized companies, they sell their appliances for good prices."
"The pricing could be better."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Educational Organization
20%
Computer Software Company
14%
Comms Service Provider
7%
Manufacturing Company
6%
Computer Software Company
15%
Financial Services Firm
9%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Government
7%
Computer Software Company
23%
Comms Service Provider
17%
Government
9%
Financial Services Firm
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

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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 a better choice, Azure Firewall or Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls?
Azure Firewall Vs. Palo Alto Network NG Firewalls Both solutions provide stellar stability and security. Azure Firew...
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...
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...
 

Also Known As

FortiGate 60b, FortiGate 60c, FortiGate 80c, FortiGate 50b, FortiGate 200b, FortiGate 110c, FortiGate, Fortinet Firewall
Palo Alto NGFW, Palo Alto Networks Next-Generation Firewall
NETASQ Firewalls
 

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
SkiStar AB, Ada County, Global IT Services PSF, Southern Cross Hospitals, Verge Health, University of Portsmouth, Austrian Airlines, The Heinz Endowments
ACESUR group, Ministry of Education Oman, Anios Laboratories, Zain, DLM Location
Find out what your peers are saying about Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls vs. Stormshield Network Security and other solutions. Updated: April 2025.
849,686 professionals have used our research since 2012.