Sangfor NGAF vs SonicWall TZ comparison

Sangfor and SonicWall are both solutions in the Firewalls category. Sangfor is ranked #21 with an average rating of 8.4, while SonicWall is ranked #26 with an average rating of 9.3. Sangfor holds a 1.1% mindshare in Firewalls, compared to SonicWall’s 1.8% mindshare. Additionally, 90% of Sangfor users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 88% of SonicWall users who would recommend it.

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Jan 25, 2026

SonicWall TZ and Sangfor NGAF compete in the firewall market. Sangfor NGAF has an edge due to its user-friendly deployment and cost-effective solutions.

Features: SonicWall TZ is praised for its straightforward firewall policy configuration, VPN fail-over capabilities, and comprehensive security features, while Sangfor NGAF is notable for effective application control, WAN optimization, and user-friendliness.

Room for Improvement: SonicWall TZ could improve its complex interface, outdated hardware, and support. Sangfor NGAF needs enhancements in user interface experience, reporting capabilities, and market presence.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: SonicWall TZ, suitable for on-premises setups, faces support issues, while Sangfor NGAF is applauded for easy deployment in hybrid environments and generally satisfactory support.

Pricing and ROI: SonicWall TZ operates on an al a carte pricing model with upfront hardware costs and yearly subscriptions, which some find costly long-term. Sangfor NGAF is considered more affordable with competitive licensing costs, offering a better total cost of ownership.

To learn more, read our detailed Sangfor NGAF vs. SonicWall TZ Report (Updated: June 2026).

Buyer's Guide

Sangfor NGAF vs. SonicWall TZ

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 Sangfor NGAF is 1.1%, down from 1.3% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of SonicWall TZ is 1.8%, down from 3.0% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Firewalls Mindshare Distribution
Product	Mindshare (%)
Fortinet FortiGate	15.1%
Sangfor NGAF	1.1%
SonicWall TZ	1.8%
Other	82.0%

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.

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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.

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Fernando Kavindra Fernando

Senior Pre-sales and Solutions Engineer - Cyber Security at Enterprise Technology (Pvt) Ltd

Web filtering and traffic balancing have improved security for SMBs but threat insight still needs work

I assess the machine learning capabilities of SonicWall TZ in proactive threat detection to not be at the level of other vendors such as Palo Alto Networks, Fortinet, and Check Point. It is somewhere in between, so I would not recommend it for a large enterprise-level organization to rely on because it is not at that level. SonicWall TZ's content filtering service is reliable. We have used it, but it is not very reliable compared to brands such as Fortinet, Palo Alto Networks, or Check Point. What could be improved about SonicWall TZ is the threat intelligence, which by far is not at the level of vendors such as Fortinet, Palo Alto Networks, and Check Point. Their threat intelligence needs to be improved, as does the GUI, which is not as user-friendly compared to devices such as Fortinet. They could learn from their competitors by making the product more user-friendly. The product interface is not that user-friendly. By adopting a more user-friendly GUI, improving threat intelligence, and enhancing the available guides would be beneficial. In my understanding, in some cases, the KB articles and knowledge articles were not that efficient. They were useful, but they could have been more precise with the knowledge base articles. They need to provide more information about SonicWall TZ, specifically more documentation and more troubleshooting articles. Other than the threat intelligence and the user-friendly GUI, there are no other additional features that I can think of for SonicWall TZ in the future or at least in the next release to make it more competitive.

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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

"Some of the key features of the solution is that it has good reporting, you can receive many details from the connection, for example, clients and website information."

"It is easy to use. We chose this product for the possibility to have virtual domains (VDOMs). We are building another company in the group, and we would like to split the firewalling rules and policies between these two companies. Each company would be able to manage its own policies and security rules, which is an advantage of Fortinet FortiGate. We can define VDOMs, and every company can manage its own VDOM as if it has its own physical firewall, but in fact, we would be using the same physical appliance because we are also using the same internet lines. So, it allows us to reuse the existing resources without the disadvantage of having to compromise on policies and security. Each company can choose its own way of working."

"The most valuable features of Fortinet FortiGate are the different types of profiling. It has been the most effective for me. The WAF and the antivirus profile are the most effective in network protection."

"It's a user-friendly firewall. Most of the tasks are very simple. It's simple to configure and troubleshoot this firewall."

"I really like the captive portal feature for our guest network. It has nice VLAN features in terms of separating our network. The anti-virus is also good."

"It's inexpensive compared to some of the other technology out there."

"The SD-WAN is the most valuable feature."

"It has upscaled our security posture, especially regarding external connectivity, because any access or connection from the company has to go through the Fortinet FortiGate firewall."

More Fortinet FortiGate pros

"SSL VPN is the best feature."

"The absolute best part of Sangfor NGAF is their support; it's a 24/7 support channel, and the last time I requested their assistance I got a reply within three minutes and they helped solve the problem immediately."

"In our hospital, Sangfor NGAF works well for us in terms of ensuring confidentiality and availability, which are crucial in the healthcare industry."

"The built-in features function as intended, providing exceptional value."

"The capabilities are mostly within the box."

"Sangfor NGAF specializes in ransomware detection and helps to protect our network from ransomware threats and malware."

"While the features are not dissimilar to other brands, configuration is much more simple, which works out great for Indonesian people."

"I think Sangfor NGAF is more valuable than Cisco products because of its simplicity and ease of management. If I compare it with Palo Alto and Cisco, both are quite complex products. And if I compare it with FortiGate firewalls from Fortinet, I have also used all these products. Fortinet and Sangfor NGAF are similar products because the applications behind the application and policy layers are almost identical."

More Sangfor NGAF pros

"The solution is stable."

"It's a stable solution."

"We think SonicWall is a good product."

"With the main firewall routing there, we can do connectivity point-to-point. On the low bandwidth we can connect in all the branches with my corporate office."

"We use the content filter quite a lot because it's an office setting. During working hours, we like to censor the sites users can visit so it increases productivity. Therefore, the content filter has been good for us."

"From our point of view, the most valuable feature was the ease of deployment."

"The administration of our network is very efficient."

"They give good protection to my network and support it."

More SonicWall TZ pros

Cons

"The web interface could be made better."

"The pricing of Fortinet FortiGate IPS could always be improved."

"Fortinet FortiGate SWG can be expensive for some customers."

"With the standard support subscription, if the device goes down, the customer has to first ship the box, and then Fortinet sends the replacement. With the higher support, the customer has to ship the device after they have the replacement. It would be better for customers to get immediate replacements even with a standard subscription."

"Its reporting can be improved. Sometimes, I don't get proper reports."

"Fortinet FortiGate is not a scalable solution, as they give you a number and each box comes with concurrent connections; if you need to expand, you have to change the box."

"Integrating OpenVPN with FortiGate would provide a powerful combination of secure remote access and comprehensive network security."

"The management consoles can be improved."

More Fortinet FortiGate cons

"The user interface isn't user-friendly though."

"The cost of licensing is very high compared to other firewalls available here. There should be improvements in hardware scalability, allowing for more storage and memory capacity."

"Lacks consistency in terms of filtering certain websites and applications."

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

"The firewall system needs gradual improvements because there are more threats and challenges in the world every day."

"It has an issue with the Sangfor Cloud Platform rather than the firewall. When we run a virtual machine, the window tabs display Chinese characters."

"We have deployed many firewalls and have faced two or three faulty devices that we have to replace over a year because their power supply was faulty."

More Sangfor NGAF cons

"Its reporting can be improved. Currently, we cannot directly get the user names. It only shows the IP, which makes it a bit confusing because we need to use the IP to find the user. If we could directly get the name of the user, it would be better."

"We would like to improve the rules configuration in SonicWall TZ. Sometimes the rules don't work."

"The cost of the solution has room for improvement."

"User interface could be improved."

"The solution's cost needs improvement."

"SonicWall TZ can improve the UI application and when you create any net policies or any new policy, it will not sync or work properly."

"There was one complaint I always had in the past. Years ago, you always had to enable the device; you had to go online to enable the device, and that was always a thing in my mind: "Well, why do I have to do that? Why do I have to go outside of my network just to do that?""

"The monitoring is a little bit confusing."

More SonicWall TZ cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The pricing is perfect."

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

"The license is too expensive to renew. The license renewal process is also complex."

"It has a competitive price."

"As far as I'm aware, in our case, it's just a yearly pricing arrangement with no additional licensing costs."

"The price of the license and warranty can be better because it is very expensive."

"In the Asian economy in which we operate, FortiGate is expensive."

"Fortinet FortiGate's price can be reduced."

More Fortinet FortiGate pricing and cost advice

"Sangfor is cheaper than competing vendors."

"I rate the product price as one on a scale of one to ten, where one is low price and ten is high price."

"If you know you have around 200+ computer users on your network, then the Sangfor NGAF 5200-F-I model would be the minimum recommended model for that amount of users. This model includes modules for packet filtering, deep packet inspection, malware scanning, DSCP filtration, and many other features."

"The pricing is reasonable."

"The product is very cost-effective compared to other brands or vendors."

"Price-wise, I would not consider Sangfor NGAF to be a cheap product. It is an expensive firewall solution, though not as expensive as something like Palo Alto, which is costly. However, the higher price point is justifiable given the feature set the tool provides that other firewalls may not offer in a single dedicated appliance."

"The price could be more competitive."

"The solution has a TCO that is 32% to 50% less than Sophos, Fortinet, and SonicWall."

More Sangfor NGAF pricing and cost advice

"Getting licenses in our country, Ghana, is not easy. Though, once we have them, adding them is quick (about a day)."

"Licensing costs have been around $2,000. There are no other costs above the standard licensing fees."

"It is highly priced and has a slow performance compared to other firewalls."

"The solution is moderately priced, where it's neither cheap nor expensive."

"Customers are required to pay for a yearly subscription."

"There are a few features that are licensed and there should be more that are licensed. The price of the solution is midrange compared to others, I have not had anyone complain."

"The price is high compared to some other solutions."

"The price of SonicWall TZ is good for medium-sized companies."

More SonicWall TZ 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

10%

Manufacturing Company

10%

Comms Service Provider

10%

Construction Company

Computer Software Company

Manufacturing Company

Comms Service Provider

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	15
Midsize Enterprise	10
Large Enterprise	10

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	64
Midsize Enterprise	15
Large Enterprise	14

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 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...

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Would you choose Fortinet Fortigate or Sonicwall TZ?

I’ll say it depends on your needs. Fortinet FortiGate and SonicWall TZ are both next-gen firewalls (NGFW) with simila...

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for SonicWall TZ?

The price is normal. It is a nominal cost for an SMB TZ used for SMB businesses. However, more licenses are required ...

See all answers

What needs improvement with SonicWall TZ?

I assess the machine learning capabilities of SonicWall TZ in proactive threat detection to not be at the level of ot...

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

Palo Alto Networks WildFire vs Fortinet FortiGate

Compared 2% of the time

More Fortinet FortiGate 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

Cisco Secure Firewall vs SonicWall TZ

Compared 10% of the time

Sophos Firewall vs SonicWall TZ

Compared 9% of the time

Cisco Meraki MX vs SonicWall TZ

Compared 8% of the time

Netgate pfSense vs SonicWall TZ

Compared 6% of the time

OPNsense vs SonicWall TZ

Compared 5% of the time

More SonicWall TZ Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Fortinet FortiGate

June 2026

Download Fortinet FortiGate product report

Buyer's Guide

Sangfor NGAF

June 2026

Download Sangfor NGAF product report

Buyer's Guide

SonicWall TZ

June 2026

Download SonicWall TZ product report

Also Known As

Fortinet FortiGate Next-Generation Firewall

Sangfor NGAF Firewall Platform

Dell SonicWALL TZ

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

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

SonicWall TZ provides robust network security with ease of use and VPN integration, favored for its scalability and performance optimized for small to medium businesses.

SonicWall TZ is known for its comprehensive network security features, including advanced threat prevention, VPN integration, and content filtering. It is seen as reliable due to its scalability, performance, and thoughtful integration capabilities, tailored for small to medium businesses. Its cost-effectiveness and easy setup make it attractive, though users note that improvements could be made in pricing and the graphical interface. Reporting functions need enhancement to include more insightful and user-friendly options, and compatibility issues need addressing for advancement alongside competitors like Fortinet. The system supports site-to-site VPNs, deep packet inspection, and unified threat management, offering high security with dependable technical support.

What are the key features of SonicWall TZ?

Robust Network Security: Provides comprehensive protection against threats.
VPN Integration: Simplifies secure remote access.
Content Filtering: Enhances control over internet usage.
Advanced Threat Prevention: Guards against sophisticated cyber threats.
Scalability: Suitable for growing business needs.
Site-to-Site VPNs: Ensures secure connections between branches.

What benefits or ROI should users look for?

Cost-Effectiveness: Offers solid security without escalating costs.
Ease of Deployment: Streamlines implementation processes.
Unified Threat Management: Comprehensive threat detection and prevention.
Performance Reliability: Consistent performance in various conditions.

SonicWall TZ is widely implemented in sectors needing strong security measures such as finance, healthcare, and retail, where its firewall capabilities and network security facilitate robust protection and efficient traffic handling. It is particularly useful for businesses needing to secure multiple branch connections and ensure efficient remote access.

SonicWall

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

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

AeroM_xico Delta TechOps, Unimat

Buyer's Guide

Sangfor NGAF vs. SonicWall TZ

June 2026

Free Report: Sangfor NGAF vs. SonicWall TZ

Find out what your peers are saying about Sangfor NGAF vs. SonicWall TZ and other solutions. Updated: June 2026.

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