Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls vs WatchGuard XTM [EOL] comparison

Palo Alto Networks and WatchGuard are both solutions in the Firewalls category. Additionally, 96% of Palo Alto Networks users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 90% of WatchGuard users who would recommend it.

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Oct 19, 2025

WatchGuard XTM [EOL] and Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls are competing in the firewall technology space. While WatchGuard XTM [EOL] offers simple configurations and appeal to budget-conscious businesses, Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls provide more advanced security features, making them preferable for enterprises prioritizing comprehensive protection despite higher costs.

Features: WatchGuard XTM [EOL] provides basic security features, ease of use in small environments, and straightforward rule configuration. It is known for robust VPN capabilities. Meanwhile, Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls offer advanced threat prevention, application visibility, and cloud integration. These features emphasize Palo Alto’s focus on delivering a comprehensive security package with robust application control and detailed traffic visibility.

Room for Improvement: WatchGuard XTM [EOL] could enhance its feature set by integrating more advanced threat prevention tools and improving scalability for larger enterprises. Its application visibility and cloud integration also need enhancement. Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls, on the other hand, might improve in simplifying their deployment process and reducing the technical expertise required, as well as enhancing their initial cost-effectiveness.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: WatchGuard XTM [EOL] is praised for its straightforward deployment, appealing to businesses seeking quick and simple implementations. It is suitable for administrators with varying experience levels, offering intuitive management interfaces. Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls offer extensive support services, crucial for facilitating complex and large-scale deployments, despite requiring more technical know-how initially. Their customer service is comprehensive, helping users navigate through advanced configurations.

Pricing and ROI: WatchGuard XTM [EOL]'s lower cost attracts cost-sensitive organizations aiming for immediate savings. However, Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls justify their higher prices through long-term security benefits and advanced features, leading to potentially higher ROI. Businesses prioritizing robust security over initial expenditures might find Palo Alto’s offerings more valuable despite their costly nature.

To learn more, read our detailed Firewalls Report (Updated: March 2026).

Buyer's Guide

Firewalls

March 2026

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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

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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Sven-Verbeke

Solution Architect // Network Consultant at Group S

Network security has improved and allows detailed user-based control over encrypted traffic

Bandwidth usage is not something we use much, but it depends on the SD-WAN plugin because the application load balancing is based on the SD-WAN product. That functionality does not work as it should, although the App-ID is working very well. SD-WAN functionality is working, but when you compare it with other products on the market, it is very limited. Palo Alto also has ION devices, and ION devices together with Prisma Access or Strata Cloud Manager now are more the way to go than using Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls on-premises. At the moment I have some issues, but the issues are more related to the general way of working of many vendors. They implement new things very fast and it is not always bug-free. With new releases, sometimes you still have some issues. This is the main concern. If you look back five or maybe ten years ago, the products were more stable and you had more decent releases, but that is something in general for many vendors. Palo Alto is also a factor with that. They want to bring new features to the market too fast. Features are a concern because all vendors try to compete against each other. If one vendor comes out with a new feature, then other vendors do the same. Sometimes they want to be the first on the market with it, and that sometimes introduces bugs or issues with the product.

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Generalm4545

General Manager- IT & Automation - Serum at a pharma/biotech company with 1,001-5,000 employees

Protects from attack software and hacking but it doesn't provide the reports in a readable format

In my opinion, image clarity is very important, because I don't get the proper image product on reports. This means that functionality is not there. My engineer does not know how he can replace an order. We attach a log after any kind of keys using a utility instead. For the internet policies that we are implementing, the policy should be based on proper protocols. We use the default policies and there are a number of third-party protocols that appear here. Management with WatchGuard XTM means that out of policy is the problem from our side. In this way, we can not do effective services for people with this one. The policy definition with WatchGuard XTM is not proper for all use case requirements. I've got weekly business reports that I am expecting attachments with from WatchGuard XTM that display data for all kinds of consideration which should be required. Main User Functionality Level Order must adhere to using the admin functionality on the registry, or else our users publish their own name. Maybe these recommendations are irrelevant, but I say that the issue to improve most with WatchGuard XTM is the Main User Function.

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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

"It is an excellent product and works extremely well."

"Some of the best features of Fortinet FortiGate include the next-generation firewall features."

"The ROI is great, as these boxes are not that expensive compared to what they can do, their functionality, and the reporting you receive."

"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."

"The most valuable features of the FortiGate firewall include SSL inspection, VPN functionality, and threat intelligence features for preventing threats."

"The IPS and the application control feature are the most valuable."

"The solution is very, very easy to use, the user interface is very nice, the product offers pretty good customization, configuration has been straightforward and simple, the reporting is quite good, the initial setup is straightforward as well, and we've found the pricing to be pretty good."

"The integration of SD-WAN capabilities with Fortinet FortiGate has positively impacted application performance."

More Fortinet FortiGate pros

"There are many valuable features, such as wireless cloud features."

"As long as you are comfortable with the price point, you are not going to make a mistake going this way."

"I found Palo Alto NG firewalls more intuitive compared to other products. I value the capability to identify a cloud solution."

"Security is the biggest thing nowadays, including threat response, incident response, and root cause, and we found that a lot of the logging and dashboard capabilities offered by Palo Alto fill the missing skill gap that you run up against."

"I can enable the features I want and configure the policies based on the user and not all users and network traffic, making firewall management much easier."

"I like the remote access and URL filtering features that are available on global products."

"We have complete visibility through the logs and the alerting."

"The solution is very stable and reliable."

More Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls pros

"We switched because WatchGuard offered better value for money without sacrificing security."

"The most valuable features of the WatchGuard product line that we appreciate and leverage the most is the UTM security suite."

"WatchGuard XTM is fairly basic. We use it as the perimeter firewall. The main point is to protect from attack software and hacking."

"After installing the product, we achieved awareness of our data protection needs and email misuse."

"For the current network demand, I think the product is worth buying as it is not too expensive and it has almost all the features that I need."

"Lots of enterprise-grade features in SMB firewall Cost-price performance is at its best"

"This product has helped in securing my SQL database and web applications from DDoS attacks and SQL injections, improved my network speed, and helped me to set specific policies for specific applications which I couldn't do with other products."

"Go for it. It's a great product with many security features and offers great protection for your network."

More WatchGuard XTM [EOL] pros

Cons

"The price could be improved."

"Quality control on their firmware versions needs improvement. When they introduce new firmware, there tend to be bugs."

"A lack of integration between our data centers."

"I would like the deployment and integration of this product to be easier. We should be able to deploy the features more easily and have different types of access."

"The solution could be more user friendly."

"The solution lacks sufficient filtering."

"After four years it has started to fail. The firewall engine is not so strong as of now, in my opinion."

"Fortinet FortiGate can improve the integration with Active Directory. Additionally, I would like to have a Cloud Controller, such as they do in the Cisco Meraki solution."

More Fortinet FortiGate cons

"I would like to see it provide us with intelligent information from the data that it captures, within the same cost."

"As things are evolving, we want to make sure that Palo Alto is able to keep up with what is going on outside. They should continue to do more intelligence-related enhancements and integrate with some of the other security tools. We want to have a more intelligent toolset down the road."

"The user interface is a bit clumsy and not very user-friendly."

"I would like them to bring in some features that would encourage traffic shaping or bandwidth routing, like other UTM firewalls, because the solution should be capable of limiting the bandwidth for rules."

"I would like to see more in terms of reporting tools and the threat analysis capabilities."

"The stability, scalability for enterprise-level organizations, and technical documentation have room for improvement."

"The machine learning component on the firewall level requires more computing power to perform at the full production level."

"The first level of support will usually do nothing for you. If you're an IT company, you're not looking for level one support. You need to escalate. Other vendors have a direct support line for enterprise clients, but not Palo Alto."

More Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls cons

"Sometimes the local firebox management tool is flaky."

"I’m not in favor having to setup security proxy settings instead of just turning them on like you do with the SonicWALL enhanced OS."

"We still haven't got the Terminal Service agent to work in our Citrix environment Application Signature also doesn't work well especially in SSL traffic"

"WatchGuard doesn't have a product that allows them to get into the data center. And that's just because there is no hardware to do the job. The software could do it, but there's no hardware that allows that to happen at the moment. So it doesn't scale as well as some other products, that's for sure."

"Expensive Requires client-server application to use some advanced features"

"In my experience they need to make changes in web filtering access for Skype as that's the time we had problems."

"The setting policies need improvement. It needs an easier way to do static NAT and check on what policy is being used for that specific traffic."

"Wireless throughput needs to be improved."

More WatchGuard XTM [EOL] cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"If you compare the price of Fortinet FortiGate IPS to other firewalls, Check Point is priced very high followed by Palo Alto and Sophos. Fortinet FortiGate IPS price is more reasonable."

"The price of Fortinet FortiGate when compared to other solutions is high. However, my knowledge of the price is from third parties and I am not sure how accurate it is. I typically work in the technical area of my organization."

"While Fortinet FortiGate has a higher price point compared to Sophos XG, its user-friendly interface justifies the cost."

"It is around $50,000 per month."

"Its price is reasonable. They have a clear pricing policy. It is not complicated by the number of VPN users at a time. We know what the price is. The yearly subscription for the security license is rather high, but it is all included for whatever number of users you have and the kind of functions you need."

"It is a good product from a price perspective versus functionality."

"Fortinet prices are around $600 for the small 40F model, and for licenses, the simplest option is about $300 for a year. They sell licenses that can last for 1, 2, 3, or 5 years."

"Easy to understand licensing requirements."

More Fortinet FortiGate pricing and cost advice

"Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls are more expensive than Cisco firewalls, but slightly less expensive than Juniper firewalls."

"The licensing leaves a lot to be desired. We buy the license and then we can't transfer the license without paying an exorbitant fee to our client if they leave us, and that just seems to be a bit of a pain point for us, and there's really no way to partner effectively to make that more reasonable."

"We pay for the licensing annually and the price could be cheaper."

"We were very happy when they released the PA-440s. Previously, we had been looking at the PA-820s, which were a bit of overkill for us. Price-wise and capability-wise, the PA-820s hit the nail on the head for us."

"There are security licenses."

"While Palo Alto Networks Next-Generation Firewalls may be considered expensive, their quality justifies the cost."

"The solution provides good protection and is worth the price."

"The product is expensive compared to competing products but uses a similar type of pricing model based on hardware, software and maintenance."

More Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls pricing and cost advice

"Get at least a maintenance contract for the updates and take a larger WatchGuard than you need. A WatchGuard creates new ways to secure your network."

"It costs less than the SO works and others (like SonicWall, Cisco, and Barracuda) without increasing so much CPU use."

"Like all other manufacturers, there are a lot of features and different pricing. The best is to talk to a representative."

"The licensing and renewal is very expensive."

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

11%

Comms Service Provider

10%

Manufacturing Company

Financial Services Firm

Computer Software Company

10%

Manufacturing Company

Financial Services Firm

Educational Organization

No data available

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	360
Midsize Enterprise	135
Large Enterprise	190

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	74
Midsize Enterprise	56
Large Enterprise	85

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	24
Midsize Enterprise	7
Large Enterprise	3

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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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Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls have both great features and performance. I like that Palo Alto has regular threat si...

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Comparisons

Sophos Firewall vs Fortinet FortiGate

Compared 19% of the time

Cisco Secure Firewall vs Fortinet FortiGate

Compared 13% of the time

Netgate pfSense vs Fortinet FortiGate

Compared 4% of the time

OPNsense vs Fortinet FortiGate

Compared 3% of the time

Check Point Quantum Force (NGFW) vs Fortinet FortiGate

Compared 3% of the time

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Cisco Secure Firewall vs Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls

Compared 18% of the time

Cisco Meraki MX vs Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls

Compared 13% of the time

Check Point Quantum Force (NGFW) vs Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls

Compared 10% of the time

Check Point CloudGuard Network Security vs Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls

Compared 5% of the time

Azure Firewall vs Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls

Compared 4% of the time

More Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls Competitors

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Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Fortinet FortiGate

March 2026

Download Fortinet FortiGate product report

Buyer's Guide

Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls

March 2026

Download Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls product report

Buyer's Guide

WatchGuard XTM [EOL]

February 2026

Download WatchGuard XTM [EOL] product report

Also Known As

Fortinet FortiGate Next-Generation Firewall

Palo Alto NGFW, Palo Alto Networks Next-Generation Firewall

No data available

Overview

Fortinet FortiGate is a versatile network security tool offering features like VPN, firewall, web filtering, intrusion prevention, and scalability. It is known for its performance and integration with other Fortinet products, making it a preferred choice for robust cybersecurity.

Fortinet FortiGate stands out as a comprehensive cybersecurity solution with strong performance and ease of configuration. It delivers unified threat management, integrating features such as dynamic routing, SD-WAN support, and centralized management. Despite its strengths, improvements in the web interface's stability, pricing structures, and reporting capabilities are needed. Users seek better integration with third-party tools and automation advancements to enhance the experience further. These enhancements, alongside improvements in bandwidth management and the reduction of licensing costs, are points of interest for users looking to capitalize on FortiGate's extensive capabilities.

What are Fortinet FortiGate's key features?

VPN: Ensures secure remote connections.
Firewall: Protects against unauthorized access.
Web Filtering: Blocks malicious sites and content.
Application Control: Manages and controls applications.
Intrusion Prevention: Detects and prevents vulnerabilities.
SSL Inspection: Enhances security by inspecting encrypted traffic.

What benefits should be considered when evaluating Fortinet FortiGate?

Affordability: Offers cost-effective security solutions.
Reliability: Known for consistent and stable performance.
Integration: Seamlessly integrates with other Fortinet products.
Comprehensive Protection: Provides broad threat protection capabilities.

Fortinet FortiGate is widely implemented across industries as a primary firewall system for securing internet gateways and safeguarding data centers. It supports businesses in achieving SD-WAN integration and enhances cybersecurity by providing essential features like antivirus, web filtering, and application control. Enterprises utilize FortiGate for securing remote connections and ensuring compliance with security standards, making it adaptable for different network sizes and industries.

Fortinet

Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls deliver advanced threat protection with machine learning, enhancing security through real-time attack prevention. Known for application visibility and a user-friendly interface, they offer robust network protection and flexibility in rule creation.

Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls are designed to secure environments with features like GlobalProtect VPN, WildFire malware detection, and unified platform integration. Their strong firewall capabilities and high-performance throughput make them suitable for perimeter and data center protection, VPN configurations, application control, and network segmentation. Users consistently highlight the ease of managing network security policies and integrating third-party tools, ensuring a comprehensive protection strategy. While enhancements in support, training resources, and configuration simplicity are needed, these firewalls are integral for securing both on-prem and cloud environments, aligning with platforms like Azure and AWS.

What are the key features of Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls?

Application Visibility: Provides insight into network traffic for better control.
Threat Prevention: Uses machine learning for real-time attack prevention.
GlobalProtect VPN: Secures remote access efficiently.
WildFire Malware Detection: Detects and prevents advanced threats.
Unified Platform Integration: Enhances network security through seamless integration with other tools.

What benefits should be evaluated when considering Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls?

Flexibility in Rule Creation: Allows customized security policies to meet specific needs.
High-Performance Throughput: Ensures efficient network operations under high load.
Comprehensive Policy Management: Simplifies overseeing and adjusting security policies.
Robust Endpoint Security: Protects endpoints against sophisticated threats.
Seamless Integration: Works well with third-party tools for a comprehensive solution.

Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls are commonly implemented across industries for securing LAN environments, URL filtering, and ensuring Zero Trust security. They secure both on-premises and cloud infrastructures, often becoming integral parts of security frameworks within enterprises. Leveraging these firewalls in conjunction with Azure or AWS enhances the overall network protection strategies employed by organizations.

Palo Alto Networks

Small businesses need big security, too, and the WatchGuard XTM Series firewall/VPN appliances deliver that strong protection, but without the hefty price tag. Enterprise-grade security includes full HTTPS content inspection, VoIP support, and optional security subscriptions like Application Control and Intrusion Prevention Service.

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

SkiStar AB, Ada County, Global IT Services PSF, Southern Cross Hospitals, Verge Health, University of Portsmouth, Austrian Airlines, The Heinz Endowments

AVG, Cyren, Kaspersky Lab, Lastline, NCP engineering, Trend Micro, Websense

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