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Sangfor NGAF vs WatchGuard Firebox comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Feb 15, 2026

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

Sangfor NGAF
Ranking in Firewalls
22nd
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.5
Number of Reviews
34
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
WatchGuard Firebox
Ranking in Firewalls
12th
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
143
Ranking in other categories
Data Loss Prevention (DLP) (9th), Intrusion Detection and Prevention Software (IDPS) (4th), Anti-Malware Tools (7th), Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) (10th), Application Control (4th), Unified Threat Management (UTM) (3rd)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of August 2026, in the Firewalls category, the mindshare of Sangfor NGAF is 1.1%, down from 1.2% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of WatchGuard Firebox is 2.1%, down from 2.9% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Firewalls Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
WatchGuard Firebox2.1%
Sangfor NGAF1.1%
Other96.8%
Firewalls
 

Featured Reviews

Zaid Farooqui - PeerSpot reviewer
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.
Abhishek Saini - PeerSpot reviewer
Professional Services Engineer at Next7 IT
Centralized security management has improved VPN reliability and simplified daily operations
WatchGuard Firebox is a strong and reliable platform overall, but there are a few areas where improvements could make the experience even better. One area is the user interface and navigation in some management tools. While the platform is powerful, certain configurations and troubleshooting workflows can feel less intuitive compared to some newer cloud-native firewall platforms. Another point is reporting and log analysis. Although the logging features are very useful, deeper analytics and more customizable reporting dashboards would make security monitoring much more effective. Firmware upgrades and policy synchronization can sometimes require careful planning to avoid security interruptions. Overall, the core security and VPN functionality are very solid, but improving usability, reporting, and automation would make the platform even stronger. One area that could be improved is the learning curve for new administrators. While experienced engineers can work with the platform effectively, some advanced networking and security configurations can be a bit complex for junior technicians. More guided configuration workflows, smarter recommendations, and simplified troubleshooting tools would make onboarding easier. Another improvement would be more flexible reporting customization for executive-level and client-facing reports.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"It is a stable solution."
"It offers application control features."
"In terms of the most valuable features, the IPS report is quick and updated, and performance is also valuable."
"The support from Sangfor NGAF here in Pakistan is great."
"It seems to be a durable, stable product."
"The tool's performance is good."
"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."
"The capabilities are mostly within the box."
"Cloud integration is one of the best features."
"WatchGuard Firebox's two-factor authentication feature is particularly useful and provides an added layer of protection."
"I like that this product has very few issues."
"The main features of the solution are the control of the site-to-site network access and the overall features."
"WatchGuard Firebox provides benefits in terms of security, time saving, resource saving, and cost savings."
"The solution has increased productivity with our outside salespeople being able to connect into their computers and use those remotely."
"I have far less (50-75%) less admin time trying to figure out why our system is so slow; that's gone."
"WatchGuard has been mostly cost-effective compared to other firewall systems that are out there, given the power that it has and the ease."
 

Cons

"Sangfor need greater exposer in the market because the market is mainly saturated by Fortinet. The user experience of Fortinet is quite different compared to NGAF. If we want to switch our users from Fortinet to NGAF, we have to convince them that the user experience will be much easier once once they start to use it."
"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."
"I believe that IAM and NGFW need to merge into a single box, instead of there being two separate box solutions."
"An area for improvement would be the number of ports defined on the box. In the next release, I would like them to develop their provisioning stage of enrolling end devices."
"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."
"There is room for improvement in dependency on certain infrastructure, like the DNS dependency on the current DNS server that the company has. It should be standalone. It should not depend on any other DNS server."
"I would be happy if Sangfor developed a firewall designed specifically for home use, as well as for small businesses such as clinics and so on. A household version of the Sangfor firewall for your personal computer or laptop would be ideal, in my opinion."
"The user interface isn't user-friendly though."
"We've found that sometimes the solution is not easy to understand and we need to bring in some specialist assistance."
"The solution needs to improve its accessibility."
"There is no message displayed for the user on the desktop informing them that access to a web page has been blocked by Application Control."
"It's very hard to get information from their website, for exactly what I need to do. Sometimes I end up having to open a lot of support tickets... It's a navigational issue which makes it hard to find what I'm looking for and it's just so broad."
"While the GUI version we are using is good, it still needs some upgrades compared to leader companies or firewall models like Palo Alto or FortiGate."
"The few issues that we have had, such as not knowing where to go, they have been answered quickly."
"Reporting and advanced threat analytics can be improved in WatchGuard Firebox."
"The time they take to classify an application once they find that it is unknown can be better."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The price falls in the mid-range, neither exceptionally low nor high."
"In my opinion, the price of the tool is good in the Pakistani market. We can easily get discounts if needed."
"The license of Sangfor NGAF can be purchased at different interval lengths, such as annually or three years. They offer a range of packages to choose from, such as combo or hybrid packages. We are using the complete solution package which includes IM, NGF and SSL VPN, and WAF."
"Sangfor NGAF is a cheaply priced product, especially if I consider the previous product that was used in my company."
"It is one of the cheapest tools in the market."
"I rate the product price as one on a scale of one to ten, where one is low price and ten is high price."
"The product is very cost-effective compared to other brands or vendors."
"The price is unmatcheable."
"The cost was somewhere in the vicinity of $2,000 to $3,000 for each one..."
"We only license our corporate one and the one we have at our DR site, we don't worry about the branches. It doesn't pay for us to license the ones at the branches. What they charge for what they call basic maintenance is extremely high for those little fireboxes."
"For what we use, the tool's price has been reasonable, but it is not the cheapest. The tool has been quite reasonable."
"The solution is cheap."
"It is an entry-level product, so the price is cheap."
"It's fair pricing, but it could always be reduced."
"Its cost is okay. It is not too expensive, not too low. I would rate it a nine out of ten in terms of pricing."
"WatchGuard offers competitive pricing with attractive margins, benefiting both the company and its partners."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
11%
Comms Service Provider
11%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Construction Company
7%
Comms Service Provider
12%
Construction Company
9%
Outsourcing Company
8%
Manufacturing Company
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business15
Midsize Enterprise10
Large Enterprise10
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business104
Midsize Enterprise30
Large Enterprise17
 

Questions from the Community

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.
What needs improvement with Sangfor NGAF?
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. Making the soluti...
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 deployed in our data center, which is fully operational, we have various applications h...
What is your primary use case for WatchGuard Firebox?
We are providing our services to all WatchGuard customers in the region.
What is your primary use case for WatchGuard Firebox?
We just use it as a secondary WiFi device. We're a small office and we needed to set up a WiFi device for a few of our employees.
What is your primary use case for WatchGuard Firebox?
We're a hospital and we use it for developing our incoming and outgoing policies, and we also use it for VPN.
 

Also Known As

Sangfor NGAF Firewall Platform
WatchGuard Threat Detection and Response, WatchGuard Application Control, WatchGuard Data Loss Prevention, WatchGuard Gateway AntiVirus, WatchGuard Intrusion Prevention Service
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

The Ministry of Science, Technology, and Innovation (Indonesia), Lawson, Inc. (Philippines), Universiti Sultan Zainal Abidin (Indonesia), TEK Automotive (Italy), etc.
Ellips, Diecutstickers.com, Clarke Energy, NCR, Wrest Park, Homeslice Pizza, Fortessa Tableware Solutions, The Phoenix Residence
Find out what your peers are saying about Sangfor NGAF vs. WatchGuard Firebox and other solutions. Updated: August 2026.
909,099 professionals have used our research since 2012.