Sangfor NGAF vs Zscaler Cloud Firewall comparison

Sangfor and Zscaler are both solutions in the Firewalls category. Sangfor is ranked #19 with an average rating of 7.9, while Zscaler is ranked #26 with an average rating of 8.3. Sangfor holds a 1.3% mindshare in Firewalls, compared to Zscaler’s 0.4% mindshare. Additionally, 90% of Sangfor users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 92% of Zscaler users who would recommend it.

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Apr 6, 2025

Sangfor NGAF and Zscaler Cloud Firewall compete in the network security category. Sangfor NGAF appears to have the upper hand due to its user-friendly management and cost-effectiveness, while Zscaler offers extensive cloud-based security functions at a higher price point.

Features: Sangfor NGAF is noted for its ease of management, strong virus database, and integration capabilities, making it comparable to pricier alternatives. Zscaler Cloud Firewall is appreciated for its broad coverage and advanced cloud capabilities, integrating multiple security solutions efficiently.

Room for Improvement: Sangfor NGAF could improve by streamlining integration, enhancing user feedback channels, and simplifying its web interface. Zscaler users highlight the need for improved browser isolation, better integration with legacy systems, and enhanced customer support.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Sangfor NGAF primarily operates on-premises with responsive local support, offering flexibility in setup. Zscaler, being cloud-focused, provides rapid problem resolution suitable for global enterprises but with less personalized support.

Pricing and ROI: Sangfor NGAF is praised for its affordability and impressive ROI, offering comprehensive protection on a budget. Zscaler is considered more expensive, providing high value for enterprises requiring extensive cloud security functions despite the higher investment.

To learn more, read our detailed Sangfor NGAF vs. Zscaler Cloud Firewall Report (Updated: June 2025).

Buyer's Guide

Sangfor NGAF vs. Zscaler Cloud Firewall

June 2025

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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 2025, in the Firewalls category, the mindshare of Fortinet FortiGate is 21.4%, up from 17.8% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Sangfor NGAF is 1.3%, up from 0.9% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Zscaler Cloud Firewall is 0.4%, up from 0.3% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Firewalls

Featured Reviews

Jorge Martínez

Presales Engineer at Sencinet

Offers good SD-WAN capabilities and integrates easily with Fortinet devices

I am not part of the initial setup or deployment process since I work in presales. The setup or deployment is quite easy, as you can do a one-touch deployment that automatically connects to the FortiManager cloud when you connect it to a broadband or dynamic IP, allowing you to start the configuration from that point. We usually sell it for on-premises setups. It's on the cloud only when the client has virtual machines or their own service. Sometimes they have a service on the cloud like AWS, but it's more difficult to sell now because AWS has an e-commerce option where you can buy FortiGate directly. The only thing you need is someone to manage and configure.

Read full review

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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Bhaskar Rao

Network manager admin at Yamaha

Though it helps deal with web traffic or any malicious traffic, it needs to work on its DC performance issues

The product's initial setup phase is moderate in level, so it is neither very complex nor very easy. For the deployment, my company first needs to gather all the requirements of the users and the domain names and consider how many users there are in the company. In the implementation and planning part, my company needs to consider what kind of policies we will create while ensuring that the policies are created based on the requirements of the users. There is a need to segregate the users' requirements since there are separate departments in the company, like the HR department, sales department, IT department, and manufacturing department, so that our company can create policies depending on their requirements. On-site, if you want a GRE tunnel, our company can handle GRE tunnel traffic routing and Zscaler Cloud Firewall, after which Zscaler will take action based on the policies created by our organization. For the deployments and maintenance, a team of five members consisting of two managers and three engineers is required.

Read full review

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"This product is definitely scalable."

"The most valuable feature is the ease of use."

"The most valuable features are simplicity, management, and that it's constantly evolving."

"It is user friendly, and has all the features you need."

"Their proxy-based inspection is responsive and secure."

"The reporting and monitoring are very good."

"A strong point of FortiGate is that the graphical interface is complete and easy to use, especially if we think there is a list of operations that we are able to perform inside."

"It is a one box solution, which covers most of the edge device’s requirements."

More Fortinet FortiGate pros

"SSL VPN is the best feature."

"The stability of Sangfor NGAF is good."

"We can utilize our own network rather than paying for a private one."

"Particularly good in the DPI where we can inspect inbound and outbound traffic."

"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."

"So far, the performance and reliability of the product have supported our company's critical network traffic."

"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."

"It is a stable solution."

More Sangfor NGAF pros

"Zscaler provides effective protection against various cyber threats ensuring a safe environment"

"The scalability is okay. We have around 2200 people using this solution."

"Zscaler is still a very good product."

"Includes advanced tech protection."

"Once you have Zscaler running you have access to configure it however you want."

"The initial setup is straightforward."

"The technical support from Zscaler was excellent."

"It provides in-depth visibility into your network, ensuring that traffic flowing into your organization, be it from offices or individual users, is effectively filtered and secured through multiple layers of protection."

More Zscaler Cloud Firewall pros

Cons

"I wish that they could integrate zero-trust technology into Fortinet FortiGate. I am not sure whether it has been done already, but if they could implement that, it would help significantly."

"The debugging and troubleshooting has room for improvement."

"I think the only issue that needs improvement is the interface."

"The solution could be more evenly structured."

"They could simplify their deployment process, especially when customers have existing devices."

"One area for improvement is the performance on bandwidth demands for smaller devices, as well as better web filtering."

"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."

"It is very expensive, and their support is not very good. I hope that their technical support will be better in the future."

More Fortinet FortiGate cons

"Sangfor could improve by providing better real-time reporting, as the current reports don't offer the level of detail we need, especially for runtime insights."

"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."

"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."

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

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

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

"The support for YouTube or the Internet is not enough."

More Sangfor NGAF cons

"There are several areas for improvement. Firstly, the GUI is outdated, with noticeable lags and delays, especially when generating reports for past transactions."

"They do not provide a few components that are fundamental to differentiate the products"

"There are some areas it could improve when it comes to blocking, we have to block some things manually. For example, if we block a top-level domain we have seen that the new IPs come through, the IPs are not blocked. There should be some more granular way of doing it. My only request is if you're blocking something at a top level, the sub-level sub-domains and all those other IPs should be blocked too automatically."

"Zscaler Cloud Firewall should have a better understanding of all dynamic cloud applications."

"I don't have the visibility of a control dashboard or a network management system."

"It would be nice to have some sort of a form factor, a physical form factor perhaps, or virtual machine that you could install on devices or on a cloud, and have some cloud computing."

"Data Leak Prevention is only for web filtering and there is no protection for email."

"Its technical support services could be better."

More Zscaler Cloud Firewall cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

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

"If you are looking for a quality product, it will come at a higher price. Expecting them to be significantly cheaper is unrealistic. In terms of pricing, it is a bit costly. However, the functionality and support offered are worth it."

"The price of Fortinet FortiGate is affordable. Most of our customers are on a three-year license to use the solution. All the features and support are included in the price."

"Fortinet is reasonable in pricing and licensing. Overall, FortiGate is affordable. The licensing fee can be a little high, depending on the budget for your project."

"It was pretty affordable. We did go a little bit above MSRP, but the service pack that was included was quite worth the additional costs. It is competitively priced compared to other major players in the market. It is significantly cheaper than Check Point, which is a primary competitor. Additionally, its pricing is comparable to that of Cisco's ASA and a few other vendors."

"The product pricing is reasonable."

"By default, they give SD-WAN along with the firewall. They don't have separate licensing for the SD-WAN functionality. However, they have security licenses that are sold separately on a subscription basis. Customers can consume these security features to protect their users from internet traffic."

"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."

More Fortinet FortiGate pricing and cost advice

"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."

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

"When it comes to the price of firewall solutions, Sangfor NGAF takes the cake."

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

"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."

"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 pricing is reasonable."

"The price is unmatcheable."

More Sangfor NGAF pricing and cost advice

"Zscaler is priced too high compared to the cost of Fortinet."

"There are different subscription models available."

"It is not the most budget-friendly solution, but it's important to consider its overall value."

"The licensing is on a yearly basis. It is somewhere around 30 or 40 pounds per user for our organization."

"It is expensive for small businesses."

"It comes at a significantly reduced cost while ensuring control and effectiveness."

"The product is a bit expensive compared to the solutions offered by its competitors, like Palo Alto. There is a need to make yearly payments towards the license in charges associated with the product."

"On a scale from one to ten, where one is cheap, and ten is expensive, I rate the solution's pricing an eight out of ten."

More Zscaler Cloud Firewall pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Educational Organization

15%

Computer Software Company

15%

Comms Service Provider

Manufacturing Company

Computer Software Company

12%

Manufacturing Company

10%

Financial Services Firm

Educational Organization

Computer Software Company

15%

Financial Services Firm

12%

Manufacturing Company

Retailer

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...

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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.

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

Which lesser known firewall product has the best chance at unseating the market leaders?

Netscope, Zscaler if they continue route they are on now. FIrewalls needs great deal of automation on each end, datac...

See all answers

What do you like most about Zscaler Cloud Firewall?

The product’s firewall and VPN package are fantastic compared to any other solution.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Zscaler Cloud Firewall?

Zscaler Cloud Firewall is quite expensive compared to competitors. However, it offered moderate value for money.

See all answers

Comparisons

Sophos XG vs Fortinet FortiGate

Compared 21% of the time

Netgate pfSense vs Fortinet FortiGate

Compared 12% of the time

Cisco Secure Firewall vs Fortinet FortiGate

Compared 11% of the time

SonicWall TZ vs Fortinet FortiGate

Compared 5% of the time

More Fortinet FortiGate Competitors

Sophos XG vs Sangfor NGAF

Compared 16% of the time

Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls vs Sangfor NGAF

Compared 4% of the time

Sophos XGS vs Sangfor NGAF

Compared 4% of the time

Netgate pfSense vs Sangfor NGAF

Compared 4% of the time

H3C SecPath Firewalls vs Sangfor NGAF

Compared 4% of the time

More Sangfor NGAF Competitors

Azure Firewall vs Zscaler Cloud Firewall

Compared 15% of the time

Check Point NGFW vs Zscaler Cloud Firewall

Compared 9% of the time

OPNsense vs Zscaler Cloud Firewall

Compared 9% of the time

Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls vs Zscaler Cloud Firewall

Compared 9% of the time

Palo Alto Networks VM-Series vs Zscaler Cloud Firewall

Compared 4% of the time

More Zscaler Cloud Firewall Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Fortinet FortiGate

June 2025

Download Fortinet FortiGate product report

Buyer's Guide

Sangfor NGAF

May 2025

Download Sangfor NGAF product report

Buyer's Guide

Zscaler Cloud Firewall

May 2025

Download Zscaler Cloud Firewall product report

Also Known As

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

Sangfor NGAF Firewall Platform

No data available

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

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

Zscaler enables the world’s leading organizations to securely transform their networks and applications for a mobile and cloud first world. Its flagship services, Zscaler Internet Access and Zscaler Private Access, create fast, secure connections between users and applications, regardless of device, location, or network. Zscaler services are 100% cloud-delivered and offer the simplicity, enhanced security, and improved user experience that traditional appliances or hybrid solutions are unable to match. Used in more than 185 countries, Zscaler operates the world’s largest cloud security platform, protecting thousands of enterprises and government agencies from cyberattacks and data loss.

Check more details: https://www.zscaler.com/produc...

Zscaler

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.

Zenith Live, Azure, Carlsberg Group

Buyer's Guide

Sangfor NGAF vs. Zscaler Cloud Firewall

June 2025

Free Report: Sangfor NGAF vs. Zscaler Cloud Firewall

Find out what your peers are saying about Sangfor NGAF vs. Zscaler Cloud Firewall and other solutions. Updated: June 2025.

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