Palo Alto Networks PA-Series vs Sangfor NGAF comparison

Palo Alto Networks and Sangfor are both solutions in the Firewalls category. Palo Alto Networks is ranked #20 with an average rating of 8.9, while Sangfor is ranked #21 with an average rating of 8.4. Palo Alto Networks holds a 1.2% mindshare in Firewalls, compared to Sangfor’s 1.1% mindshare. Additionally, 100% of Palo Alto Networks users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 90% of Sangfor users who would recommend it.

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Jan 25, 2026

Sangfor NGAF and Palo Alto Networks PA-Series are competitors in the network security category. Sangfor NGAF holds the edge in cost-effectiveness and ease of management, while Palo Alto Networks PA-Series has superior threat prevention and scalability.

Features: Sangfor NGAF is acclaimed for its web application firewall, application control, and reliable virus update database. Its deployment simplicity and robust local support further enhance its appeal. Palo Alto Networks PA-Series shines with WildFire for advanced threat prevention, application-based policy enforcement, and strong integration capabilities.

Room for Improvement: Sangfor NGAF requires improvements in web interface stability, reporting, logging features, and integration with third-party solutions. Better hybrid environment functionality and competitive pricing are also crucial areas. Palo Alto Networks PA-Series could improve technical support and interface simplicity. Frequent updates challenge users, and lower-cost options could widen accessibility.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Both Sangfor NGAF and Palo Alto Networks PA-Series offer versatile deployment options, covering on-premises and hybrid configurations. Sangfor excels in responsive local support in regions like Pakistan. Palo Alto's strong technical support and comprehensive documentation might require dedicated staff due to complexity.

Pricing and ROI: Sangfor NGAF is positioned as more affordable, showing significant ROI especially for smaller businesses. Its competitive pricing is a key draw. Palo Alto Networks PA-Series is costly but justified by extensive features and capabilities, offering value for large enterprises with high-level security needs.

To learn more, read our detailed Palo Alto Networks PA-Series vs. Sangfor NGAF Report (Updated: June 2026).

Buyer's Guide

Palo Alto Networks PA-Series vs. Sangfor NGAF

June 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

Mindshare comparison

As of June 2026, in the Firewalls category, the mindshare of Fortinet FortiGate is 15.1%, down from 21.7% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Palo Alto Networks PA-Series is 1.2%, up from 0.6% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Sangfor NGAF is 1.1%, down from 1.3% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Firewalls Mindshare Distribution
Product	Mindshare (%)
Fortinet FortiGate	15.1%
Palo Alto Networks PA-Series	1.2%
Sangfor NGAF	1.1%
Other	82.6%

Firewalls

Featured Reviews

Joseph Koomson

IP Network Security Specialist at MTN Ghana

Process-Level CPU Visibility: Introduce detailed CPU-usage metrics per subsystem (e.g., IPS engine, logging) so administrators can quickly identify and address performance spikes.

Analytics with FortiAnalyzer. Being able to pull in logs not just from our FortiGates but from all our other firewalls and then get them in one view has been a game changer. Whether I’m building an executive dashboard or doing a deep dive forensics session, I get everything I need without navigating consoles.Straightforward Application Control. FortiGate spots and blocks unwanted apps (eq. like BitTorrent or streaming services) with accuracy. Segmentation with VDOMs. We’ve carved our data center into four logical ‘mini-firewalls’ enterprise, core, billing, and WAF—all on one box. Each has its own rules and logs, and any traffic between them still gets inspected. It’s like having multiple appliances without the extra hardware. Always-Up-to-Date Threat Feeds. Daily signature updates and AI-driven threat sensing mean we’re blocking the latest vulnerabilities almost as soon as they’re announced.

Read full review

Rohit Ghorpade

Cloud Network Engineer at a insurance company with 5,001-10,000 employees

Identity-based perimeter control has improved security and supports reliable remote access

Currently, we are working with vendors such as Palo Alto Networks PA-Series, Cisco, Check Point, and Citrix. Palo Alto Networks PA-Series is a better firewall. Deep packet inspection and threat prevention basically comply with whatever traffic is incoming and outgoing through the firewall. I do not think anything improvement is required. The thing is that Palo Alto Networks PA-Series works mostly on a license-based model. If you want to utilize any feature, you have to purchase the license. For example, URL filtering requires a license purchase. It simplifies the implementation because LDAP server profile can be integrated. Basically, that simplifies the implementation of access rule or security policy.

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Zaid Farooqui

CIO at Indus Motor Company

Enhanced threat detection with integrated security features and good support

We are using application firewalling, WAF, and SD-WAN. The capabilities are mostly within the box. For example, you will get web application firewall WAF as part and parcel of this. SD-WAN is also bundled. It integrates with their SIEM and SOAR solutions very nicely. Lastly, the pricing point is very cost-efficient as well.

Read full review

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 features are simplicity, management, and that it's constantly evolving."

"The best features of Fortinet FortiGate include good functionality, though the licensing cost is a bit higher; their response time and throughput are very good advantages."

"The management console is pretty simple, so anyone who understands networking can initially deploy the solution."

"Has a very user-friendly interface and doesn't require any prior knowledge."

"It's a good product that significantly enhances security and protects organizational data."

"The firewall and VPN features are the most valuable in protecting our customers' networks."

"Fortinet FortiGate saves a lot of time in expert hours from an expert engineer because the administration of the Fortinet FortiGate solution is easy, which may lead to fewer hours of an engineer spent on Fortinet FortiGate."

"The solution is pretty expensive, but it provides great value to our organization."

More Fortinet FortiGate pros

"The best features of the Palo Alto Networks PA-Series firewall include Global protector VPN workings, and content filtering is easy to manage and operate."

"The solution is used for security and IoT security."

"When I compare the tool with other firewalls, it’s the most powerful. It's the most powerful security engine. All the traffic going to the Internet passes through it as the first layer of protection. Because of its good performance, we also use it for decryption."

"The most effective features for threat prevention in the PA-Series are its integration with Cortex and the use of machine learning AI for advanced threat detection."

"The reporting feature and application ID functionality within Palo Alto Networks PA-Series are incredibly valuable to us."

"Palo Alto Networks PA-Series is basically integrated with LDAP to fetch the identity of the users and we provide access based on the identity."

"I like the tool's security and web filtering features."

"The tool's most valuable feature is WildFire."

More Palo Alto Networks PA-Series pros

"It offers application control features."

"Sangfor serves most of the basic purposes of a firewall, is particularly good in the DPI where we can inspect the inbound and outbound traffic on a very granular level, gives a very good predictive measure as well as the current measure of things going on in our network, and gives us value for money overall."

"In four steps one can configure the entire firewall."

"Particularly good in the DPI where we can inspect inbound and outbound traffic."

"The VPN connectivity feature is really nice."

"We use Sangfor NGAF primarily for security, which has helped save our files from being encrypted by ransomware."

"The support from Sangfor NGAF here in Pakistan is great."

"We can utilize our own network rather than paying for a private one."

More Sangfor NGAF pros

Cons

"The web process often has a memory leak."

"The one concern I have with Fortinet FortiGate is the firmware versions, which often have many bugs when upgraded, leading us to revert back to older versions multiple times in my lifecycle."

"One of the weaknesses of the solution is something we noticed, especially after comparing the tool with SD-WAN features, since, unfortunately, in a massive scale size environment, the solution is not good. I"

"In terms of pricing, Fortinet needs to do more to compete effectively."

"Fortinet needs to continue to improve network traceability. Other than that, we haven't run into anything that would give me any concern."

"The renewal cost is much higher than other firewalls. It is not reasonable."

"It is essential to leverage its capabilities more professionally to achieve an even higher level of security."

"This product could be improved with Active directory integration and better handling in IPsec and GRE Tunnels."

More Fortinet FortiGate cons

"There seem to be some issues with TAC (Technical Assistance Center) or Palo Alto support. Anytime you open a case, a level one engineer joins, and then you have to escalate it to level two or three. The support system has changed in the past few years, and that's something they need to look into."

"There are no AI integrations in the Palo Alto Networks PA-Series firewall. I would like to see something in the future, but as of now, it is not required."

"Because they have a separate license for VPNs and do not provide any type of quick support, which is why I have rated it nine instead of a perfect score."

"However, they are expensive and there might be some sticker shock if you just looked at them for the price."

"Palo Alto Networks PA-Series should improve its price. It should also include a feature similar to Sophos' Security Heartbeat."

"Currently, they are not protected with any data security when they work from home or outside the network. They surf the Internet directly and should implement a proxy or firewall to monitor the data between the endpoint and the internet."

"Palo Alto should integrate artificial intelligence for security purposes in the background for well-known threats and new risks coming to the market."

"The product's gateway services can be improved."

More Palo Alto Networks PA-Series cons

"An area of improvement for Sangfor NGAF could be in the field of reporting and logging."

"The GUI needs to be improved, lacks logic in some areas."

"Sangfor could improve their interface capacity on the 5100 series model and upgrade their hardware from one gig to 10 gig. This would improve the overall throughput."

"The reporting and log management could be improved."

"The solution should be able to work in a hybrid setup."

"Our experience with its customer support was quite challenging."

"Sangfor NGAF could improve by refining its application control policies, especially in addressing challenges with certain types of applications."

"The support offered by the product has certain shortcomings where improvements are required. The knowledge levels and response time of the support team need improvement."

More Sangfor NGAF cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"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."

"We pay for the solution annually."

"The solution requires a license annually, it is not a user license, you can have as many users as your want. I must renew the license regularly per device."

"FortiGate SWG is reasonably priced."

"I rate the pricing an eight and a half on a scale of one to ten, where one is low, and ten is high."

"The pricing is comprehensive and clear. You can easily understand what you are purchasing, including which features correspond to each license and maintenance contract. Overall, the information is straightforward. Additionally, compared to other vendors, their prices are competitive."

"The solution could be better priced."

"We have the full version of Fortinet FortiGate and we are on a three-year contract with a commitment of five years."

More Fortinet FortiGate pricing and cost advice

"Palo Alto’s pricing is way higher than any other solution provider."

"The pricing is fair."

"The pricing is a bit on the higher side."

"Price-wise, Palo Alto offers high-price products."

"While other firewalls may come with a higher cost, when you consider the cost in relation to the services and features that Palo Alto offers, it is clear that Palo Alto is delivering excellent value."

"The solution's pricing is high compared to that of Cisco and Fortinet."

"The prices are pretty high, definitely on the upper end."

"The product is offered to users at high prices compared to the pricing model of the other vendors in the market."

More Palo Alto Networks PA-Series pricing and cost advice

"It costs about 8 to 10 thousand dollars per year for 500 users, standard licensing fees included."

"When it comes to the price of firewall solutions, Sangfor NGAF takes the cake."

"If one is very cheap and ten is very expensive, I rate the tool's price as three out of ten."

"Sangfor is cheaper than competing vendors."

"The license of Sangfor NGAF can be purchased at different interval lengths, such as annually or three years. They offer a range of packages to choose from, such as combo or hybrid packages. We are using the complete solution package which includes IM, NGF and SSL VPN, and WAF."

"For four to five physical appliances for a licensed firewall, it costs approximately $4,000."

"Sangfor NGAF price is reasonable and there is an annual license. However, the maintenance cost can be a bit high."

"The pricing is reasonable."

More Sangfor NGAF pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Comms Service Provider

10%

Computer Software Company

Manufacturing Company

Financial Services Firm

Comms Service Provider

Computer Software Company

Government

Manufacturing Company

Financial Services Firm

10%

Manufacturing Company

10%

Comms Service Provider

10%

Construction Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	369
Midsize Enterprise	139
Large Enterprise	195

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	14
Midsize Enterprise	6
Large Enterprise	17

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	15
Midsize Enterprise	10
Large Enterprise	10

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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What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Palo Alto Networks PA-Series?

If we look at the features, then the price is good, but they do charge for the GlobalProtect VPNs. Overall, the prici...

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What needs improvement with Palo Alto Networks PA-Series?

There is room for improvement in Palo Alto Networks PA-Series in the areas where they can minimize applications and i...

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What is your primary use case for Palo Alto Networks PA-Series?

I am using Palo Alto Networks PA-Series to ensure protection and cybersecurity by preventing and implementing network...

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Sangfor NGAF?

The licensing cost is quite high compared to other available firewalls in the market.

See all answers

What needs improvement with Sangfor NGAF?

The cost of licensing is very high compared to other firewalls available here. There should be improvements in hardwa...

See all answers

What is your primary use case for Sangfor NGAF?

We are hosting applications over the platform, including websites and NAT traffic from our side. Because it's deploye...

See all answers

Comparisons

Sophos Firewall vs Fortinet FortiGate

Compared 16% of the time

Cisco Secure Firewall vs Fortinet FortiGate

Compared 13% of the time

Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls vs Fortinet FortiGate

Compared 5% of the time

Netgate pfSense 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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Juniper SRX Series Firewall vs Palo Alto Networks PA-Series

Compared 10% of the time

Check Point Quantum Force vs Palo Alto Networks PA-Series

Compared 9% of the time

Sophos Firewall vs Palo Alto Networks PA-Series

Compared 8% of the time

OPNsense vs Palo Alto Networks PA-Series

Compared 8% of the time

Check Point Harmony SASE (formerly Perimeter 81) vs Palo Alto Networks PA-Series

Compared 5% of the time

More Palo Alto Networks PA-Series Competitors

Sophos Firewall vs Sangfor NGAF

Compared 11% of the time

Cisco Secure Firewall vs Sangfor NGAF

Compared 9% of the time

H3C SecPath Firewalls vs Sangfor NGAF

Compared 8% of the time

Check Point Cloud Firewall (formerly CloudGuard Network Security) vs Sangfor NGAF

Compared 7% of the time

Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls vs Sangfor NGAF

Compared 6% of the time

More Sangfor NGAF Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Fortinet FortiGate

June 2026

Download Fortinet FortiGate product report

Buyer's Guide

Palo Alto Networks PA-Series

June 2026

Download Palo Alto Networks PA-Series product report

Buyer's Guide

Sangfor NGAF

June 2026

Download Sangfor NGAF product report

Also Known As

Fortinet FortiGate Next-Generation Firewall

No data available

Sangfor NGAF Firewall Platform

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 PA-Series is essential for firewall implementation, perimeter defense, securing infrastructure boundaries, web filtering, VPN, and threat prevention. Organizations deploy it for secure cloud connections, internet security, and managing network devices.

Companies trust Palo Alto Networks PA-Series to protect corporate networks from external threats, control traffic between networks, and meet regulatory compliance. Integrating well with applications, it offers centralized management and advanced security features such as IDS, IPS, and GlobalProtect. It ensures stable performance, application-based policy enforcement, and decryption of SSL traffic while providing efficient resource usage and comprehensive logging.

What are the key features?

Stability: Reliable performance for continuous protection.
App-ID: Application-based policy enforcement.
URL Filtering: Prevents access to malicious websites.
Security Controls: Comprehensive threat prevention mechanisms.
User-Friendly Interface: Simplifies management and operations.
Efficient Resource Usage: Optimized for minimal resource consumption.
Reporting: Detailed logs and analytics for better insights.
Antivirus: Protects against malware and viruses.
WildFire: Advanced threat prevention with machine learning AI.
Protocol Anomaly Detection: Identifies unusual network behavior.
SSL Decryption: Ensures secure traffic inspection.
Encryption: Safeguards sensitive data.
VPN Capabilities: Secure remote access for users.
Active Directory Integration: Streamlines user authentication.
Quality of Service (QoS): Manages network traffic efficiently.

What benefits should be evaluated?

Enhanced Security: Superior threat prevention and detection.
Centralized Management: Streamlined control of network devices.
Regulatory Compliance: Assists in meeting legal requirements.
Operational Efficiency: Reduced resource usage and downtime.
Comprehensive Reporting: Complete visibility into network activities.
Scalability: Adapts to growing network demands.
User Accessibility: Simplifies secure access for remote employees.

Palo Alto Networks PA-Series is implemented across industries like healthcare, finance, retail, and manufacturing. In healthcare, it ensures patient data protection and compliance with HIPAA. Financial institutions utilize it to secure transactions and meet regulatory standards. Retailers benefit from protecting customer information and securing online payments. Manufacturing companies deploy it to safeguard intellectual property and control plant floor operations.

Palo Alto Networks

Sangfor NGAF offers a user-friendly firewall solution with a strong virus database and competitive pricing. It supports SSL VPN connectivity, intrusion detection, and is known for easy deployment and integration capabilities.

Sangfor NGAF is a comprehensive security platform providing robust network protection through its application control and detailed threat insights. While effective in preventing threats and ensuring network security, it has areas needing improvement such as real-time reporting and system support. It delivers secure internet and VPN connections, proficiently handling malware threats. However, it faces challenges with user experience, reporting capabilities, hardware scalability, and needs better third-party integration. Licensing costs are noted to be high, and there are performance variations between versions.

What are the key features of Sangfor NGAF?

User-friendly deployment: Offers an uncomplicated setup process.
Robust virus database: Provides reliable threat detection.
SSL VPN connectivity: Ensures secure remote access.
Application control: Manages application usage for enhanced security.
Intrusion detection: Detects unauthorized access attempts.
URL filtering: Prevents access to malicious websites.

What benefits should users expect when evaluating Sangfor NGAF?

Affordability: Competitive pricing compared to peers.
Integration: Good capabilities with existing systems.
Support: Noted for providing reliable customer service.
Threat prevention: Effective in securing networks against various threats.

Sangfor NGAF is widely used across industries including education, healthcare, and finance for its reliable network security. It is favored for securing internal servers, offering robust threat protection, and managing bandwidth efficiently at a budget-friendly rate.

Sangfor

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

Information Not Available

The Ministry of Science, Technology, and Innovation (Indonesia), Lawson, Inc. (Philippines), Universiti Sultan Zainal Abidin (Indonesia), TEK Automotive (Italy), etc.

Buyer's Guide

Palo Alto Networks PA-Series vs. Sangfor NGAF

June 2026

Free Report: Palo Alto Networks PA-Series vs. Sangfor NGAF

Find out what your peers are saying about Palo Alto Networks PA-Series vs. Sangfor NGAF and other solutions. Updated: June 2026.

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