Palo Alto Networks VM-Series vs Sophos XG comparison

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Executive Summary

We performed a comparison between Palo Alto Networks VM-Series and Sophos XG based on real PeerSpot user reviews.

Find out in this report how the two Firewalls solutions compare in terms of features, pricing, service and support, easy of deployment, and ROI.
To learn more, read our detailed Palo Alto Networks VM-Series vs. Sophos XG Report (Updated: November 2023).
745,775 professionals have used our research since 2012.
Featured Review
Quotes From Members
We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use.
Here are some excerpts of what they said:
Pros
"It is simple to manage, and there are a lot of functionalities in the same box.""The tool is a nice product and easy to handle. The software's user interface is also good. You can easily implement remote access in the solution.""The scalability of Fortinet FortiGate is good.""It does a lot for you for intrusion protection and as an antivirus. The threat management bundle is worth the money. You don't need another company to monitor your web traffic for you. You can do everything yourself on the firewall. You restrict your own black list for people on the firewall. You don't need to pay some other company for another product to do that for you. The firewall can do that for you. So, it's an easy-to-use product for people to be independent. They don't need to rely on other vendors to do what the firewall can do. They can do everything.""Fortigate represents a really scalable way of delivering perimeter network security, some level of layer 7 security, WAF, and also a way to create a meshed ADVPN solution.""The technical support in our region is excellent.""The feature I like most is the SD-WAN. It allows you to manage more than one ISP at the same time. And there is a high-availability mode, so if one of your ISPs is down, you still have a backup.""The most valuable features of Fortinet FortiGate are it is one of the most mature firewalls in the UTM bundle."

More Fortinet FortiGate Pros →

"Palo Alto Networks VM-Series has everything centralized. You have the VPN solution, firewall, routing, UDR, flexibility, updates, and full visibility of your traffic.""The VM-Series reports how much bandwidth a particular IP is using. You don't need to regularly log into a website, like a Cisco command, to see what kind of ACL it's getting. There isn't an ACL use portal event. You can go there and see how much my ACL has been getting me.""I like the UI. Most things are accessible from the user interface and it is quite user-friendly. With respect to both VM-based firewalls and physical firewalls, it's easy to create updates.""The main advantage of Palo Alto Networks VM-Series stems from the fact that you can access it with the help of cloud services.""Palo Alto Networks VM-Series is easy to maintain...From a security point of view, I find Palo Alto Networks VM-Series to be a better product compared to the other solutions in the market.""The tool's cloud version makes application migration easy.""Centralized management is valuable because it allows us to configure settings in one location and apply them across all three locations.""With the improved visibility we now have, the traffic is being properly monitored, which means that we are better able to manage it. These are improvements that we saw very quickly."

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"The features that I have found most valuable are first the Web Filter and the Web Application Firewall SD-Wan on Version 18. Additionally, RED Tunnels allows a Sophos vital to speak to another Sophos vital in headquarters.""Some of the most valuable features are filtering and application control. The DDoS detection also shows traffic jamming and traffic shaping.""The scalability of Sophos XG is good.""I like the tunneling part which we are using for the VOIP. We have various other sites where we connect via tunneling. The tunneling part is very fast and easy to implement.""The most valuable feature of Sophos XG is the VBM.""The stability of Sophos XG is very good. However, there have been some issues with other weaker models because they are limited in hardware in resources.""Everything is consolidated into a single box, offering comprehensive functionality, including Wi-Fi access and other features.""The product’s most valuable feature is the user management system."

More Sophos XG Pros →

Cons
"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.""Its reporting and pricing need improvement.""The stability could be a bit better.""FortiGate should have a better way of detecting and managing the system memory because otherwise if the memory is too low, a system restart is required.""I would like Fortinet to add more automation to FortiGate.""We'd like more management across other integrations.""The stability of Fortinet FortiGate could improve.""The feature which gives us a lot of pain is ASIC architecture."

More Fortinet FortiGate Cons →

"There could be dynamic DNS features similar to Fortinet in the product.""The product's AIOps process needs improvement.""It would be helpful if we had a direct number for the support manager or the supporting engineer. That would be better than having to email every time because there would be less wait.""With Palo Alto Networks VM-Series, it is hard for me to manage its network configuration part.""The web interface is very slow, and it needs to be faster.""Palo Alto should update their documentation to make it more readable and provide easier-to-follow instructions through videos.""Palo Alto Networks VM-Series needs to improve its order process.""The product could be better in terms of performance than one of its competitors."

More Palo Alto Networks VM-Series Cons →

"The VPN has been a persistent problem for us. It's not straightforward to configure.""Sophos XG should improve on the GDPR features involving data protection and encryption. Security regarding data protection is important.""Integration with Active Directory is not reliable.""It would be better if they made their own hardware like Palo Alto and Fortinet. They use their own ASICs and claim it is more secure.""For the standard end user, self-based training is necessary. When you get into the Sophos XG firewall and try to start creating NAT rules, it can be a little cumbersome for a novice. It's pretty easy once you know how to do it, but it will be hard for anybody who doesn't have experience.""Lacks improved throughput performance in a box.""We are facing some problems on this firmware version, version 18, that require improvement. We want to improve the email security because it doesn't give proper security with the data protection. Also, our clients are facing some problems where most of the sites which they're accessing are getting blocked. I want to improve those sites, that email security, and the data protection on the Firmware version 18.""We recently did an upgrade on the Sophos XG firmware and we were surprised that after the upgrade, the automatic switch actually we were using did not work anymore."

More Sophos XG Cons →

Pricing and Cost Advice
  • "It is more expensive than Sophos. Fortinet is overall more expensive than Sophos. The small range of Fortinet, such as 60F and 80F, is more expensive than the small range of Sophos. Sophos is cheaper. In addition, if you jump from 80F Series to 100F Series, the price doubles."
  • "The license is yearly. We pay for the top end. It's called 360."
  • "Here in Brazil, we're going through difficult economic times and the tax on the dollar is high. All the solutions from minor competitors are growing in the market. The prices have come more competitive."
  • "Licensing for Fortinet FortiGate is on a yearly basis. Pricing for it is a bit high. It could be cheaper."
  • "The licensing scheme of Fortinet is better than Cisco. It is more logical."
  • "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."
  • "It was probably about $2,500 per firewall. It was all included. It included support, services, threat management software, and 24/7 FortiCare on it. Cisco products are more expensive."
  • "There is a license to use Fortinet FortiGate."
  • More Fortinet FortiGate Pricing and Cost Advice →

  • "Palo Alto definitely needs to be more competitive compared to other products. The problem that I have faced is that the price of licensing is very high and not very competitive."
  • "Initially, pricing was high. Later on, we were able to negotiate the pricing and get something that fits our budget."
  • "This is not the cheapest firewall but it's not the most expensive of the options on the market."
  • "Palo Alto Networks VM-Series is notably cheaper than other firewall vendors, except Fortigate."
  • "The product's most valuable feature is pricing."
  • "It is an expensive product."
  • "The solution is expensive. I rate its pricing a three out of ten."
  • "I rate Palo Alto Networks VM-Series pricing an eight out of ten."
  • More Palo Alto Networks VM-Series Pricing and Cost Advice →

  • "The price is less expensive compared to others."
  • "For every firewall, you will need to pay the license for the following year. If they don't pay for the license renewal, they basically won't get the support from Sophos."
  • "There is no need to get one edition, just the licensing, as we are talking about a common bundle which encompasses all the features."
  • "The licensing for Sophos XG is based on the number of users, so I get the module from the sizing of the customer."
  • "A Sophos XG license costs approximately $45,000"
  • "We pay licensing fees of approximately $2,000. We have a contract for three years."
  • "Sophos XG is a very good solution, and it's cheaper than most of the other vendors. It is really affordable."
  • "Annual standard licensing fee."
  • More Sophos XG Pricing and Cost Advice →

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    Questions from the Community
    Top Answer: When you compare these firewalls you can identify them with different features, advantages, practices and usage at… more »
    Top Answer:From my experience regarding both the Sophos and FortiGate firewalls, I personally would rather use FortiGate. I know… more »
    Top Answer:As a solution, Sophos UTM offers a lot of functionality, it scales well, and the stability and performance are quite… more »
    Top Answer:In the best tradition of these questions, Feature-wise both are quite similar, but each has things it's better at, it… more »
    Top Answer:Both products are very stable and easily scalable The setup of Azure Firewall is easy and very user-friendly and the… more »
    Top Answer:The main advantage of Palo Alto Networks VM-Series stems from the fact that you can access it with the help of cloud… more »
    Top Answer:Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls have both great features and performance. I like that Palo Alto has regular threat… more »
    Top Answer:Hi Arvind P ,  The Sophos XG firewall has a number of models right from XG86 to XG135w under the 1U Desktop Form… more »
    Top Answer:The Sophos UTM is a UTM and Sophos XG is the NGFW. First, you must know about the difference between a UTM and NGFW… more »
    Comparisons
    Also Known As
    FortiGate 60b, FortiGate 60c, FortiGate 80c, FortiGate 50b, FortiGate 200b, FortiGate 110c, FortiGate
    Learn More
    Overview

    Fortinet FortiGate is an innovative line of firewalls that aim to protect organizations from all types of web-based network threats. They come in a wide variety of product types. Fortinet FortiGate’s solutions are available in a large range of sizes and form factors and are key components of the Fortinet Security Fabric, which enables immediate, intelligent defense against known and new threats throughout the entire network.

    Fortinet FortiGate provides users with next-generation firewall solutions that provide proven protection with unmatched performance across the network, from internal segments to data centers to cloud environments. You can protect every part of your network without exception. Additionally, your protections can be managed from a single central location. This ensures that the task of protecting your network is infinitely easier to accomplish.

    Benefits of Fortinet FortiGate

    Some of the benefits of using Fortinet FortiGate include:

    • The ability to manage your firewalls from a centralized automated control console. Fortinet FortiGate’s FortiManager enables administrators to exercise control of their firewalls in a streamlined manner. Administrators have full visibility and control over their system from a single location. It utilizes automation that collects information in real time, which greatly simplifies and reduces the cost of running various types of workflows. Administrators can free up resources by automating the most basic tasks.
    • The ability to produce uniform, appropriate, and coordinated responses to threats across networks. Fortinet FortiGate’s FortiGuard feature generates system protections in near real time. This allows administrators to address threats to the system with custom-made solutions that can be uniformly enforced.
    • The ability to scale up your security to fit your changing security needs. Fortinet FortiGate’s design allows users to accelerate the transfer of data between users and escalate the number of users that are covered without compromising security of performance. This means that users can grow their networks and continue to collaborate without worrying about the system slowing down or coming under attack.

    Reviews from Real Users

    Fortinet FortiGate’s firewall solutions are cutting edge. They stand out from competitors for a number of reasons. Two major ones are the robustness and power of their firewalls. Fortinet FortiGate’s firewall provides users with many valuable features that allow them to maximize what they can do with the solution. These firewalls enable users to use a single piece of software to accomplish tasks that often require the use of multiple pieces of software.

    PeerSpot user Eric S., a Solutions Engineer and Consultant at a tech-services company, notes the robustness of this solution when he writes, "One of the nice things about FortiGate is that it can be deployed on the cloud or on-premises. You can actually do both. That's the biggest reason why I stick with this solution as opposed to something like Cisco Meraki. Another nice thing is that I can log directly into a FortiGate or get to it through their FortiCloud access products. They're pretty reliable and consistent. One of the reasons why I started using the product was their single pane of management. I can deploy their line of firewalls in conjunction with their switching and access points, and I can manage the entire network from one interface.”

    PeerSpot user Jim M., a network admin at Penobscot Valley Hospital, notes the power of Fortinet FortiGate’s security software when he writes, "It does a lot for you for intrusion protection and as an antivirus. The threat management bundle is worth the money. You don't need another company to monitor your web traffic for you. You can do everything yourself on the firewall. You restrict your own black list for people on the firewall.”

    Palo Alto Networks VM-Series is a highly effective advanced threat protection (ATP) solution and firewall that can be hosted on cloud computing technologies designed by many different companies. It decreases the amount of time that it will take administrators to respond to threats. Users that deploy VM-series have 70% less downtime than those who use similar firewalls. Neither protection nor efficiency are concerns when this next-generation firewall is in play.

    VM-Series is being deployed to protect both public and private cloud environments. This level of flexibility empowers organizations to run the environment or environments that best meet their needs without worrying that they are going to be exposed to digital threats due to the environment that they choose.

    In the public cloud, users of Palo Alto Networks VM-Series can automate their deployment and dynamically scale up their environment while experiencing a consistent level of protection. This dynamic scalability means that they also integrate their security into their DevOps workflows so that their security can keep up with their activities and requirements. Users of private cloud environments can set up security policies that can be automated to be provisioned as the need arises. Organizations don’t need to slow down when they deploy VM-Series because it makes the task of defending them so simple that they can set their defenses and forget that they are even there.

    Users gain a deep level of visibility when they deploy Palo Alto Networks VM-Series. App-ID technology enables organizations to see their network traffic on the application level and spot threats that might be trying to sneak in through vulnerable points in their defenses. It also leverages Palo Alto Networks WildFire and advanced threat protection to block the threats before they can escalate.

      Palo Alto Networks VM-Series Features:

      • Central management system - It has a central management system that enables users to set up and control their security operations from one location. Users don’t need to search for the tools that they need. This system allows for security consistency and complete control without requiring businesses to spend large periods of time to do so.
      • Blacklisting and whitelisting - Organizations can utilize blacklisting and whitelisting tools to ensure that their network traffic only contains the type of traffic that they want to be present. These tools make it possible for them to set specific web traffic sources as being either undesirable and thus blocked from entering their network or desirable and thus allowed to enter. 
      • Automation feature - The product’s automation feature can automate many critical functions that users would otherwise have to handle manually. Security policy updates are an example of a function that users can automate.

      Reviews from Real Users:

      Palo Alto Networks VM-Series is a solution that stands out when compared to other similar solutions. Two major advantages that it offers are its ability to protect users without degrading the efficiency with which their networks perform and its centralized management system. 

      Jason H., the director of information technology at Tavoca Inc, writes, “There is no noticeable trade-off between security and network performance. In fact, so far, we've not seen any negative network performance with it. We're very impressed in that regard.”

      An information technology manager at a tech services company says, “We use Palo Alto’s Panorama centralized management system. We have an on-prem firewall where Panorama is very good for pulling logs in from the cloud so we can see what is going on. It gives us visibility into that as well as shows us what attacks are coming in. Palo Alto’s Panorama centralized management system simplifies our security posture based on our requirements. Instead of manually pulling logs, then generating them into readable formats, it gives us the console in a readable format to view.”

      Sophos XG Firewall is a complete firewall solution that provides all the real-time security and insights you need to protect your network from ransomware and advanced threats. Sophos XG Firewall provides visibility into suspicious users, unknown and unwanted apps, encrypted traffic, and other threats. With its advanced artificial intelligence capabilities, Sophos XG Firewall immediately identifies potential risks and intrusions on web servers and networks.

      Sophos XG Firewall Features

      Sophos XG Firewall offers a wide range of security features, including:

      • Application control: Prevent widespread infections with XG’s Security Heartbeat. XG Firewall automatically identifies the source of an infection on a network and automatically prevents it from accessing other network resources.

      • Synchronized user ID: Eliminate the need for client or server authentication agents by sharing user identification between the endpoint and the firewall through Security Heartbeat.

      • Centralized management: Easily manage all activities with Sophos Central. The XG cloud management platform allows users to easily set up, manage, and monitor XG firewalls along with other Sophos products. Some of Sophos Central’s features include alerting, backup management, one-click firmware updates, and rapid deployments of new firewalls.

      • Lateral movement protection: Automatically isolate compromised systems at every point in the network to stop attacks dead in their tracks.

      • Network protection: Protect networks from attacks and threats while providing secure network access.

      • Web protection: Gain clear visibility and control over all users’ web and application activity.

      • Web server protection: Solidify web servers and applications against hacking attacks while providing secure web access.

      • Email protection: Consolidate email protection with anti-spam, DLP, and encryption. XG’s Live Anti-Spam provides protection from the most recent spam campaigns, phishing attacks, and malicious attachments. Data Loss Prevention automatically triggers encryption on sensitive data in outgoing emails.

      Reviews from Real Users

      Sophos XG Firewall stands out among its competitors, among other reasons, for its intrusion detection capabilities, its user-friendly management platform, and in general, for being a complete and robust firewall solution.

      Niranjan P., a network & system support engineer, writes, “Sophos is a comprehensive solution which allows me to configure all the attendant products, such as Sophos's firewall, endpoint, and encryption features. A nice feature of Sophos is that it offers in sync and heartbeat security. When my clients have a perimeter involving Sophos firewall and endpoints with Sophos Endpoint, they can communicate with each other.”

      Antonio D., sales manager at INFOSEC, notes, “The product has a console that is based in the cloud for all their products. In this console, they have email security, firewall security, endpoint security, et cetera. All of the products on offer in the console are very useful for us. The solution is stable. The solution works well for enterprises and large-scale organizations.”

      Antony M., ICT/HMIS supervisor at a healthcare company, writes, “The VPN feature is the most valuable. It has come in handy during this period when people are working from home. The filtering feature is also valuable because you can easily filter the sites that you don't want to visit. You can also set timely surfing quotas”

      Offer
      Learn more about Fortinet FortiGate
      Learn more about Palo Alto Networks VM-Series
      Learn more about Sophos XG
      Sample Customers
      Pittsburgh Steelers, LUSH Cosmetics, NASDAQ, Verizon, Arizona State University, Levi Strauss & Co. Whitepaper and case studies here
      Warren Rogers Associates
      Information Not Available
      Top Industries
      REVIEWERS
      Comms Service Provider16%
      Computer Software Company9%
      Financial Services Firm8%
      Manufacturing Company7%
      VISITORS READING REVIEWS
      Educational Organization21%
      Computer Software Company15%
      Comms Service Provider8%
      Manufacturing Company5%
      REVIEWERS
      Computer Software Company18%
      Manufacturing Company18%
      Financial Services Firm14%
      Government14%
      VISITORS READING REVIEWS
      Computer Software Company16%
      Financial Services Firm11%
      Government7%
      Manufacturing Company6%
      REVIEWERS
      Manufacturing Company12%
      Financial Services Firm11%
      Healthcare Company8%
      Comms Service Provider8%
      VISITORS READING REVIEWS
      Computer Software Company18%
      Comms Service Provider12%
      Government6%
      Manufacturing Company5%
      Company Size
      REVIEWERS
      Small Business48%
      Midsize Enterprise23%
      Large Enterprise30%
      VISITORS READING REVIEWS
      Small Business27%
      Midsize Enterprise32%
      Large Enterprise41%
      REVIEWERS
      Small Business40%
      Midsize Enterprise27%
      Large Enterprise33%
      VISITORS READING REVIEWS
      Small Business24%
      Midsize Enterprise14%
      Large Enterprise61%
      REVIEWERS
      Small Business62%
      Midsize Enterprise23%
      Large Enterprise15%
      VISITORS READING REVIEWS
      Small Business38%
      Midsize Enterprise19%
      Large Enterprise43%
      Buyer's Guide
      Palo Alto Networks VM-Series vs. Sophos XG
      November 2023
      Find out what your peers are saying about Palo Alto Networks VM-Series vs. Sophos XG and other solutions. Updated: November 2023.
      745,775 professionals have used our research since 2012.

      Palo Alto Networks VM-Series is ranked 10th in Firewalls with 13 reviews while Sophos XG is ranked 7th in Firewalls with 38 reviews. Palo Alto Networks VM-Series is rated 8.6, while Sophos XG is rated 8.2. The top reviewer of Palo Alto Networks VM-Series writes "Many features are optimized for troubleshooting real-time scenarios, saving a lot of time". On the other hand, the top reviewer of Sophos XG writes "Secure, duel switch capabilities, and good support". Palo Alto Networks VM-Series is most compared with Azure Firewall, Fortinet FortiGate-VM, Cisco Secure Firewall, Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls and Juniper SRX Series Firewall, whereas Sophos XG is most compared with Netgate pfSense, OPNsense, Sophos XGS, Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls and WatchGuard Firebox. See our Palo Alto Networks VM-Series vs. Sophos XG report.

      See our list of best Firewalls vendors.

      We monitor all Firewalls reviews to prevent fraudulent reviews and keep review quality high. We do not post reviews by company employees or direct competitors. We validate each review for authenticity via cross-reference with LinkedIn, and personal follow-up with the reviewer when necessary.