Palo Alto Networks PA-Series vs Stormshield Network Security comparison

Palo Alto Networks PA-Series vs. Stormshield Network Security

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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

EhabAli

Sr. Cybersecurity Solutions Architect at BMB

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.

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Deminda Dilan

Senior Network Engineer at Just In Time Group (Sri Lanka)

Good for enterprise-level businesses and offers many features like URL filtering and antivirus capabilities

Palo Alto can improve the web application firewall (WAF) feature at layer 7. Currently, I don't think it's available. If they can improve that, it would be better. We wouldn't need to purchase a separate WAF solution because they already have advanced URL filtering. But I don't think that advanced URL filtering has the same features as a dedicated WAF, like F5 or other solutions. That is an area for improvement. If they can improve the WAF feature, customers won't have to buy a separate WAF solution. They could do it with the same Palo Alto firewall, perhaps through a subscription-based model. So the web application firewall feature has to be improved.

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Benjamin

Network Engineer at ACS2I

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.

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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 CLI and GUI do a good job of putting a lot at your fingertips."

"The main benefit is the grouping of our security monitoring."

"The simplicity of the product is great. It's very easy to use, which is a compliment we get all the time in terms of feedback."

"It increases security posture and is helpful for firewall reporting, intrusion protection, web filtering, and SD-WAN implementation."

"The most valuable feature is the policy routing and application control."

"We can detect any attack of viruses or malware at the first point of contact."

"FortiGate improved our security. It's one of the best hardware firewalls."

"Its administrative panel is very intuitive and simple. It is simpler than the other solutions that we had. As an administrator, we are always looking for the easiest solution to manage network policies. We are able to filter everything on our network and also use the VPN feature, which is important these days when people are working remotely during COVID."

More Fortinet FortiGate pros

"Comprehensive logging is essential for monitoring and analysis purposes. For remote users, the firewall can be configured as a VPN concentrator, with VPN policies defined within the firewall settings."

"It is a stable solution. Stability-wise, I rate the solution a ten out of ten."

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

"It offers application-based policy enforcement. Palo Alto Networks firewalls help us recognize protocol anomalies, contrasting with other vendors that may require policies based on port numbers. With Palo Alto Networks, the port number isn't a constraint because their devices handle protocol traffic at Layer 7, allowing for accurate identification of protocol usage and port numbers. They can identify which protocol actually uses which port."

"The solution is easy to manage."

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

"It is stable when you set up something and put it into production. Once it works, you don't have other tasks or actions to perform."

"The direct profiles is a valuable feature."

More Palo Alto Networks PA-Series pros

"The tool's most valuable feature is its dashboard, which helps you manage different aspects of a single page."

"I can see what traffic is going on. I can easily block any programs from attacks."

"I like how you can configure the rules. There is the task for the rules and a task for the network configuration. It also provides SMD filtering, and it can be integrated with the active directory for the users, their mission, and the VPN configuration. We are here in Sudan, and Stormshield didn't work in Sudan for more than a decade. Stormshield is a very strong firewall and very easy to configure and maintain. I am just working with the firewall solution, and we don't have any other solutions like endpoint solutions or something like that."

"The scalability of the solution is good."

"Ease of use is the best feature of the product."

"The most valuable features are the IPS, the firewall function, and the price."

"Easily manageable in a variety of environments."

"Our organization's main concern is stability, and this is a stable solution."

More Stormshield Network Security pros

Cons

"I could not configure sFlow from the FortiGate graphical user interface. I realized that the sFlow configuration is available only from the CLI, and discovered that sFlow is not supported on virtual interfaces, such as VDOM links, IPsec, or GRE."

"The graphical user interface of Fortinet's FortiGate product does not function well with text-based interfaces."

"Their software support needs improvement. I would prefer to have better support for bug fixes. Sometimes, we open a ticket, and it is very difficult to get a solution. Specifically, we are not at all happy with their support for load balancing."

"The non-error conserve mode has room for improvement."

"Fortinet needs to overhaul its documentation."

"The search tool needs improvement. It's very difficult to search for policies right now."

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

"Fortinet FortiGate needs to improve the logging and reporting. Additionally, the next-generation application's policies should be improved. When they were released they had bugs."

More Fortinet FortiGate cons

"The interface is complex."

"Palo Alto can improve the web application firewall (WAF) feature at layer 7."

"I have found that the tool works well for me, but there are areas where security testing and protection could be improved, especially in virtual or cloud environments. However, in this project, once we deployed it, we haven't encountered any issues. The cost is currently manageable, but as we migrate fully into the cloud, additional features like capacity upgrading and improvements to hardware resources will be necessary, especially since our equipment consists of older generation switches and routers. So, I'm looking for additional capabilities in these areas."

"As we migrate fully into the cloud, additional features like capacity upgrading and improvements to hardware resources will be necessary, especially since our equipment consists of older-generation switches and routers."

"Utilizing these features as a unified solution can require additional setup, particularly when incorporating Panorama for centralized management, which may involve extra costs."

"Palo Alto Networks PA-Series is expensive. We would like to see additional threat hunting features."

"I had opened a case before with the tool because I could not create a wildcard for the security address. We can create wildcards for security addresses in Fortinet, but this feature doesn't exist in the product."

"The solution’s pricing could be improved because it is an expensive solution."

More Palo Alto Networks PA-Series cons

"Improvement is needed in terms of the technical support of the manufacturer."

"Stormshield Network Security is quite expensive."

"Not all the fields are activated yet and we were informed that it will take at least one month."

"The SD card could be more secure."

"The biggest issue was their support department was not able to help us, then everything stops. This is a no-go area for me."

"The product must improve its pricing."

"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."

"This solution has a big problem with web filtering and it needs to be improved."

More Stormshield Network Security cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The license for Fortinet FortiGate is affordable in my country."

"These boxes are not that expensive compared to what they can do, their functionality, and the reporting you receive. Fortinet licensing is straightforward and less confusing compared to Cisco."

"We have the full license that included all of the features and support."

"The price of Fortinet FortiGate is the lowest in the market."

"Setup costs and pricing depends on many variables, but it's mostly affordable."

"We are on an annual license to use Fortinet FortiGate."

"It is quite affordable for our customers. There is a separate cost for IPS, antivirus, web filtering, and other features. They have a great choice of licenses. You can go for the license that you want, which is quite useful."

"On a scale of one being cheap and ten being expensive, I rate the tool's price as an eight."

More Fortinet FortiGate pricing and cost advice

"The tool's pricing was reasonable when we bought the product. We pay around 60,000 dollars per year."

"The product is expensive."

"Palo Alto Networks PA-Series's price is much higher than other firewall brands."

"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."

"We have to pay a yearly licensing fee for the solution."

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

"The pricing is fair."

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

More Palo Alto Networks PA-Series pricing and cost advice

"We bought a three-year license, and we renew it whenever it expires. The price could be better. It's always very expensive."

"The SN200 series costs between $500 USD and $600 USD per year, whereas the SN700 series costs approximately $1,000 annually."

"For mid-sized companies, they sell their appliances for good prices."

"The price of this solution and the price of support are ok."

"We chose Stormshield for its price, as the Azure firewall was too expensive."

"The pricing could be better."

"I think the price is good."

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Educational Organization

20%

Computer Software Company

14%

Comms Service Provider

Manufacturing Company

Computer Software Company

17%

Manufacturing Company

13%

University

Comms Service Provider

Computer Software Company

23%

Comms Service Provider

17%

Government

Financial Services Firm

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...

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...

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 do you like most about Palo Alto Networks PA-Series?

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

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

The price of Palo Alto Networks PA-Series is expensive.

What needs improvement with Palo Alto Networks PA-Series?

The interface of Palo Alto Networks PA-Series should be made much more user-friendly.

What do you like most about Stormshield Network Security?

Ease of use is the best feature of the product.

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Stormshield Network Security?

We pay for the quality we receive.

What needs improvement with Stormshield Network Security?

The product must improve its pricing.

Sophos XG vs Fortinet FortiGate

Comparisons

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WatchGuard Firebox vs Fortinet FortiGate

Compared 5% of the time

SonicWall TZ vs Fortinet FortiGate

Compared 5% of the time

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OPNsense vs Palo Alto Networks PA-Series

Compared 31% of the time

Sophos XG vs Palo Alto Networks PA-Series

Compared 17% of the time

Juniper SRX Series Firewall vs Palo Alto Networks PA-Series

Compared 14% of the time

WatchGuard Firebox vs Palo Alto Networks PA-Series

Compared 10% of the time

Netgate pfSense vs Palo Alto Networks PA-Series

Compared 4% of the time

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Netgate pfSense vs Stormshield Network Security

Compared 17% of the time

WatchGuard Firebox vs Stormshield Network Security

Compared 7% of the time

OPNsense vs Stormshield Network Security

Compared 6% of the time

Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls vs Stormshield Network Security

Compared 6% of the time

Sophos XG vs Stormshield Network Security

Compared 5% of the time

More Stormshield Network Security Competitors

Product Reports

Download Fortinet FortiGate product report

Fortinet FortiGate

May 2025

Palo Alto Networks PA-Series

Download Palo Alto Networks PA-Series product report

Stormshield Network Security

Download Stormshield Network Security product report

Also Known As

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

No data available

NETASQ Firewalls

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

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

NETASQ's integrated intrusion prevention engine uses protocol conformity analysis, application filtering and antivirus analysis to inspect authorized traffic flows and strengthen application security. NETASQ enables you to establish and configure user-based security policies, giving you greater control over which network resources each user is authorized to access.

Stormshield

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

ACESUR group, Ministry of Education Oman, Anios Laboratories, Zain, DLM Location

Palo Alto Networks PA-Series vs. Stormshield Network Security