Sangfor NGAF vs Sophos Firewall comparison

Sangfor and Sophos are both solutions in the Firewalls category. Sangfor is ranked #26 with an average rating of 8.1, while Sophos is ranked #3 with an average rating of 8.4. Sangfor holds a 1.0% mindshare in Firewalls, compared to Sophos’s 9.4% mindshare. Additionally, 90% of Sangfor users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 93% of Sophos users who would recommend it.

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Jan 19, 2026

Sophos Firewall and Sangfor NGAF are leading contenders in the competitive landscape of network security solutions. Sophos Firewall seems to hold an edge in seamless endpoint integration and robust threat protection, while Sangfor NGAF impresses with its application control and affordability.

Features: Sophos Firewall offers comprehensive threat protection, synchronized security, and web and application filtering with over 90 URL categories. Sangfor NGAF is known for its strong application control, web application firewall (WAF) capabilities, and efficient threat detection features, particularly within its security operations center (SOC) offerings.

Room for Improvement: Sophos Firewall users often seek improvements in scalability, technical support response times, and a more intuitive interface for complex configurations. Sangfor NGAF users suggest enhancements in its user interface, reporting and logging features, and better integration with other systems to improve operations.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Sophos Firewall provides thorough deployment guidance with comprehensive documentation and partner support, though experiences with technical support can vary. Sangfor NGAF offers a straightforward setup process and is valued for its cost-effectiveness, appealing particularly to smaller enterprises, but its technical support is considered to need enhancement.

Pricing and ROI: Sophos Firewall presents itself as a mid-range solution offering flexible licensing options with bulk discounts, though users cite a gradual increase in pricing over time. Sangfor NGAF positions itself as a cost-effective alternative, delivering lower overall costs compared to competitors like Fortinet and Check Point, though users should be mindful of rising maintenance costs, affecting long-term return on investment.

To learn more, read our detailed Sangfor NGAF vs. Sophos Firewall Report (Updated: March 2026).

Buyer's Guide

Sangfor NGAF vs. Sophos Firewall

March 2026

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Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:

Categories and Ranking

Fortinet FortiGate

Mindshare comparison

As of March 2026, in the Firewalls category, the mindshare of Fortinet FortiGate is 18.3%, down from 21.1% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Sangfor NGAF is 1.0%, down from 1.2% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Sophos Firewall is 9.4%, down from 12.0% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Firewalls Mindshare Distribution
Product	Mindshare (%)
Fortinet FortiGate	18.3%
Sophos Firewall	9.4%
Sangfor NGAF	1.0%
Other	71.3%

Firewalls

Featured Reviews

Vasu Gala

Manager, Information Technology Operation/Presales at TechMonarch

A stable solution with an intuitive interface and quick customer service

I have been working with Fortinet FortiGate, WatchGuard, Sophos, and SonicWall. I'm not as comfortable with SonicWall because of their UI and limitations. I prefer Fortinet above all other options. When it comes to configuration, I am confident in my ability to handle various tasks, including creating policies such as firewall rules, web policies, and application policies. Additionally, I can configure VPNs and implement load balancing, among other tasks. Overall, I feel much more comfortable working with Fortinet. Fortinet has made significant improvements by integrating AI with firewalls for threat analysis and prevention. In the past 2-3 years, they have launched FortiSASE and SIEM, and they also provide SOC services. Both Palo Alto and Fortinet FortiGate are excellent. While Fortinet FortiGate comes at higher prices, the functionality and support justify the cost. They promptly resolve firmware issues and inform all support providers about configuration changes.

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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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Nassif Kaleny

IT Manager at Bavaria Egypt S.A.E.

Dynamic web and mail filtering contribute to improved security measures

The reporting system is very poor. I cannot trace any traffic to our site if it feels some threats. It just tells me that there is something during a certain time but does not provide information about the type of threats or how to get rid of them. This needs improvement.

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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 most valuable feature is the interface, which is very user friendly. We are utilizing most of the features, like content filtering. The firewall is powerful."

"I would rate the scalability of this product a nine out of ten because it is highly scalable. We have not had problems with customers in terms of scalability."

"It works very well. It has a lot of different functionalities. Its cost is also fine for our customers."

"We have found the product to be scalable."

"We use it for our paralegal security, our internet operations, and network zone segmentation."

"We have never stopped to calculate it, but we cannot describe how good we feel since we no longer face issues with the internet."

"FortiGate is on the cheaper end, and it offers good value."

"FortiGate is a great solution, although initially, it faced challenges in the Brazilian market due to lower brand recognition than Cisco. However, explaining and demonstrating its product format and offerings has proven easy. The cost-effectiveness and better features of FortiGate have made some clients skeptical. We set up a trial period, and they eventually opted for it. Many clients were convinced it was great after experiencing the solution's capabilities firsthand."

More Fortinet FortiGate pros

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

"The most valuable features are the WAN optimization, the internet access gateway (IAG), and the central console, which allows us to implement on their firewall."

"It seems to be a durable, stable product."

"The tool's performance is good."

"The price versus value is good because the solution is less expensive than Sophos, Fortinet, or SonicWall."

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

"The VPN connectivity feature is really nice."

"The product is very fast and reliable."

More Sangfor NGAF pros

"Internet security, where we have one single point of console; where I can manage my endpoint and my gateway, any messages coming in I am getting the intermission immediately, and if my endpoint or file is getting infected I get to know from a single pane point of view."

"From my perspective, the best features of Sophos XG are that it's a complex solution and its integration with endpoint and XDR, EDR systems of Sophos is quite appealing to customers."

"The solution is stable. I've had very few problems with it."

"The interface is user-friendly and the product is easy to configure."

"Sophos is easy to use."

"Web filtering is easy enough to deploy, manage, or make exceptions to."

"It's a complete firewall solution that has everything."

"The solution is easy to set up and configure."

More Sophos Firewall pros

Cons

"One of the main reasons we're considering switching from FortiGate is because many companies have a lot of features and you don't have to pay for."

"The technical support that Fortinet provides is not satisfactory. When we call Fortinet technical support, it takes too much time to connect with them."

"I would say 8 out of 10 regarding the stability of Fortinet FortiGate. It requires a lot of bug fixing and what I understand, Fortinet is fast enough to provide bug fixes and patches, but usually I suggest Fortinet should do thorough testing of their releases and software releases and once probably they can reduce the frequency of new releases but make it stable."

"I would like to have SD-WAN as a part of the Next Generation Firewall. It would enhance high availability."

"Fortinet FortiGate could improve by having better visibility. Palo Alto has better visibility."

"Regarding stability, I have experienced performance issues with Fortinet FortiGate. Sometimes it does not work correctly in certain situations, such as DNS or URL categories, where it might block incorrectly."

"Application management can be improved."

"With the reports, you can see it, and you can get good feelings so upper management can go, "Oh, wow. That looks pretty." However, it's very basic."

More Fortinet FortiGate cons

"The tool's support is an area of concern where improvements are required."

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

"The tool is expensive."

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

"I feel Sangfor should follow the hierarchy and close deals via resellers instead of closing it all with their own team."

"Scalability for any network device is not very easy in terms of vertical scalability."

"The web interface needs to be improved, making it more user-friendly."

"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."

More Sangfor NGAF cons

"Over the last six months, we have noticed that the hardware is slow, especially the VPN connections."

"The user interface could be better."

"We'd always like the solution to be a bit less in terms of cost."

"The user-friendly interface of Sophos XG is acceptable but too complicated."

"Sometimes, we haven't received proper support. They couldn't find the solutions that we required. One thing that we need is an NTP server facility. The Sophos XGS device does not have this capacity or this feature."

"Network security is in need of improvement."

"The reporting could be improved in this solution by adding more details."

"They can simplify its interface so that it is mostly drag-and-drop. There was an SQL injection attack on some Sophos devices. They just need to harden their devices a little bit so that they can't be hacked very easily."

More Sophos Firewall cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"When you look at these end security systems and firewalls, these firewalls even five years ago were $50,000 or perhaps $25,000 to implement in some types of customer sites. Now we're talking about tools that are $1,000. In this case, it might have been $500 or something like that."

"When comparing the price of Fortinet FortiGate SWG to other solutions it is expensive. The price could be better."

"Fortinet FortiGate IPS' licensing is quite simple to understand."

"I would rate the pricing a seven out of ten"

"It's a year based license."

"My experience with the pricing, setup cost, and licensing for Fortinet FortiGate is quite good. I don't have a public site, such as in Azure, where I can see the pricing. I always have to go through the distributor, and that could take some time to get the real price for each appliance."

"Fortinet is the least expensive solution."

"Fortinet FortiGate is reasonably priced."

More Fortinet FortiGate pricing and cost advice

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

"Sangfor is cheaper than competing vendors."

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

"The price falls in the mid-range, neither exceptionally low nor high."

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

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

"The price is unmatcheable."

"It is one of the cheapest tools in the market."

More Sangfor NGAF pricing and cost advice

"It is not expensive, it's a reasonable price,"

"Sophos XGS costs around $6,000 for a basic license."

"The price can be a bit steep but for the number of features, it is worth it."

"I would like to see them reduce the price."

"We must purchase separate web server licenses, as they are not included in the regular device license. I would rate the product an eight out of ten in terms of price. It's relatively affordable."

"A central firewall on the cloud with a cluster might be 70,000 to 80,000 euros for a three-year license."

"We have our license for three years."

"Sophos XG can be considered as an averagely-priced tool in the market."

More Sophos Firewall pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

11%

Comms Service Provider

10%

Manufacturing Company

Financial Services Firm

Manufacturing Company

12%

Comms Service Provider

Financial Services Firm

Computer Software Company

11%

Comms Service Provider

10%

Manufacturing Company

Educational Organization

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

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

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

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	205
Midsize Enterprise	61
Large Enterprise	53

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 do you like most about Sangfor NGAF?

I think Sangfor NGAF is more valuable than Cisco products because of its simplicity and ease of management. If I comp...

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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.

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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...

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Which is better - Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls or Sophos XG?

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

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What are the main differences in features between Sophos XG and FortiGate 80F?

Hi Arvind P , The Sophos XG firewall has a number of models right from XG86 to XG135w under the 1U Desktop Form Fact...

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What do you like most about Sophos XG?

IPS works smoothly.

See all answers

Comparisons

Cisco Secure Firewall vs Fortinet FortiGate

Compared 13% of the time

Netgate pfSense vs Fortinet FortiGate

Compared 4% of the time

Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls vs Fortinet FortiGate

Compared 4% of the time

OPNsense vs Fortinet FortiGate

Compared 3% of the time

Check Point Quantum Force (NGFW) vs Fortinet FortiGate

Compared 3% of the time

More Fortinet FortiGate Competitors

H3C SecPath Firewalls vs Sangfor NGAF

Compared 6% of the time

Cisco Secure Firewall vs Sangfor NGAF

Compared 6% of the time

Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls vs Sangfor NGAF

Compared 5% of the time

Netgate pfSense vs Sangfor NGAF

Compared 5% of the time

Check Point CloudGuard Network Security vs Sangfor NGAF

Compared 4% of the time

More Sangfor NGAF Competitors

OPNsense vs Sophos Firewall

Compared 8% of the time

Netgate pfSense vs Sophos Firewall

Compared 5% of the time

Cisco Meraki MX vs Sophos Firewall

Compared 3% of the time

SonicWall TZ vs Sophos Firewall

Compared 3% of the time

Palo Alto Networks PA-Series vs Sophos Firewall

Compared 1% of the time

More Sophos Firewall Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Fortinet FortiGate

March 2026

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Buyer's Guide

Sangfor NGAF

February 2026

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Buyer's Guide

Sophos Firewall

February 2026

Download Sophos Firewall product report

Also Known As

Fortinet FortiGate Next-Generation Firewall

Sangfor NGAF Firewall Platform

Sophos XG, Sophos XGS

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 Next Generation Firewall (also known as NGAF) is a converged security solution providing protection against advanced threat, malware, viruses, ransomware and web-based attacks using integrated security features like firewall, IPS, anti-virus, anti-malware, APT, URL filtering, Cloud Sandbox, and WAF. As the world's first AI-enabled and fully integrated Next Generation Firewall & Web Application Firewall (WAF), NGAF offering the security visibility, real-time detection and response, simplified operation and maintenance and high-performance application layer security needed to operate an enterprise network in total security. Tested and proven to provide cutting-edge network security by ICSA Labs and endorsed by Gartner Inc., NGAF harnesses the power of Sangfor’s Neural-X threat intelligence and analytics platform and Engine Zero’s innovative malware detection to provide next-generation protection for today’s enterprise.

Sangfor

Sophos Firewall provides comprehensive network security with web filtering, VPN capabilities, and cloud integration. Users highlight its effective threat prevention and flexibility for customizable policies, enhancing network visibility and management.

Renowned for its robust security, Sophos Firewall simplifies network protection through advanced features like intrusion prevention and endpoint protection integration. Its user-friendly interface allows seamless remote management and tailored rule creation, making it ideal for varied environments like healthcare and education. While the system excels in threat detection, areas such as interface navigation, support response times, and VPN integration face challenges. Enhanced reporting and bandwidth management are essential for improved performance.

What are the standout features of Sophos Firewall?

Web and Application Filter: Secure browsing with advanced filtering options.
VPN Capabilities: Facilitates secure remote access and connectivity.
Cloud Integration: Seamless collaboration with cloud platforms.
Intrusion Prevention: Robust threat detection and prevention features.
Comprehensive Reporting: Detailed insights into network activities.

What benefits and ROI should users expect in reviews?

Enhanced Security: Comprehensive protection against diverse cyber threats.
Increased Flexibility: Tailor rules and policies to meet specific organizational criteria.
Improved Network Visibility: Better oversight and threat detection across networks.
Efficient Management: Simplifies remote and centralized firewall administration.

Industries such as healthcare, education, and finance implement Sophos Firewall for secure VPNs, improved threat management, and effective traffic monitoring. Its load balancing and email security features support compliance and governance, ensuring robust protection tailored to sector-specific requirements.

Sophos

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.

Information Not Available

Buyer's Guide

Sangfor NGAF vs. Sophos Firewall

March 2026

Free Report: Sangfor NGAF vs. Sophos Firewall

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