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SonicWall Capture Security appliance (CSa) vs Sophos Firewall comparison

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Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Jan 19, 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

Fortinet FortiGate
Sponsored
Ranking in Firewalls
1st
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
591
Ranking in other categories
Secure Web Gateways (SWG) (2nd), Intrusion Detection and Prevention Software (IDPS) (1st), Software Defined WAN (SD-WAN) Solutions (1st), WAN Edge (1st), ZTNA (1st), Unified Threat Management (UTM) (1st)
SonicWall Capture Security ...
Ranking in Firewalls
30th
Average Rating
10.0
Reviews Sentiment
7.6
Number of Reviews
1
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Sophos Firewall
Ranking in Firewalls
3rd
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
304
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of May 2026, in the Firewalls category, the mindshare of Fortinet FortiGate is 16.0%, down from 21.6% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of SonicWall Capture Security appliance (CSa) is 0.1%, up from 0.0% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Sophos Firewall is 7.5%, down from 12.3% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Firewalls Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Fortinet FortiGate16.0%
Sophos Firewall7.5%
SonicWall Capture Security appliance (CSa)0.1%
Other76.4%
Firewalls
 

Featured Reviews

reviewer2751102 - PeerSpot reviewer
Network Security Engineer at a retailer with 11-50 employees
Unified security and sd-wan have improved uptime and cut wan costs for multi-site branches
Users report stability issues in certain versions, which requires regular updates. Real-world attacks have also highlighted the need for urgent patching of vulnerabilities.Fortinet FortiGate, while a powerful and feature-rich web firewall, could improve in areas like firmware stability, documentation, and ease of use. The learning curve can be steep for some users. For beginners, support quality can vary, and frequent updates with occasional vulnerabilities call for careful patch management. However, once Fortinet FortiGate is configured, it remains highly reliable and efficient. Customer support needs improvement, as I find it very slow, with reports from other users reflecting that customer support is inadequate.
Mark Richmond - PeerSpot reviewer
Chief Technology Officer at Next Level Communications
Enhanced security with efficient threat detection for worry-free operations
Capture scans attachments, sending them to a sandbox. It runs executables or PDFs in Windows Server, Linux, and other operating systems to detect any malicious content before releasing them for download The setup of Capture results in an absence of breaches and infections, thus becoming part of a…
TarunPanchal - PeerSpot reviewer
IT Manager , SAP HANA Administrator at Tara Paints & Chemicals
Decades of expertise lead to seamless installations and robust security
I typically use the Sophos XG Firewall to enhance my cybersecurity by using all layers. The intrusion prevention system impacts my security posture effectively, as we have not faced any ransomware or cyber threats. I have more than 800 servers live from Sophos. The synchronized security feature has proven to be very beneficial, and I have not encountered any issues. Sophos XG Firewall has contributed to reducing overall costs because it helps save money. We purchased endpoint security for the first time last year, and even without endpoint security, it provides comprehensive security. Sophos XG uses AI effectively to enhance threat detection and response, securing from AI at the packet level.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"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."
"The technical support is good."
"Its administrative panel is very intuitive and simple, and we are able to filter everything on our network and also use the VPN feature, which is important these days when people are working remotely during COVID."
"I find that Fortinet FortiGate is pretty easy to use and integrated, offering many features in one box at a decent price compared to other enterprise vendors."
"It's very similar to a Cisco firewall, yet less expensive."
"Fortinet FortiGate is quite popular in my region, so we are implementing Fortinet FortiGate firewalls. Fortinet FortiGate is the best option on the market when it comes to firewalls. It's straightforward to deploy and has good stability and performance."
"The features that I have found most valuable are the SD-WAN and their IP4 policy."
"The pricing is excellent. It's much less expensive than Cisco."
"The setup of Capture results in an absence of breaches and infections, thus becoming part of a comprehensive protection suite."
"Sophos XG has cybersecurity. It integrates with the antivirus software."
"The valuable features of this solution are the VPN, load balancer, and the QoS for splitting the ISP band."
"I have found the solution easy to use and fully integrated."
"The most valuable feature is the Intercept X. It is the advanced features that are used for malware detection, and antivirus."
"The initial setup is very user-friendly because they have graphical user interface options and command line interface options. I would give the initial setup a rating of five out of five."
"The solution's technical support is good."
"We are able to trace any user and pinpoint any vulnerability or any malicious software."
"Sophos XG has excellent scalability features."
 

Cons

"Fortinet FortiGate needs to improve to be on par with its competitors, such as Palo Alto and Sophos. They are the market leaders. Fortinet FortiGate needs to improve its capabilities. However, we are happy with Fortinet FortiGate."
"One drawback of Fortinet FortiGate is that they provide two types of models: one with a hard disk and another without. The model without a hard disk has very low ROM where you can store very few logs, after which you need to upload it to the cloud or purchase a firewall with SSD. That's the only drawback."
"The solution needs to improve its support."
"Fortinet Fortigate could benefit by simplifying some of their processes."
"I wish Fortinet FortiGate's UI updates would be done in a more simplified way to improve it."
"There are too many updates coming for VPN, and the VPN keeps disconnecting frequently, which I find problematic."
"We had a minor problem where there was a major system upgrade on the hardware platform and the Mac client was not available as soon as it might have been."
"The product needs to drastically improve its reporting capability."
"An improvement could be made in its speed, as there are instances where it holds up processes."
"They made some changes to the firmware update sometime last year, which moved some of the policies from where they were before."
"The current bandwidth consumption is no longer shown in the XG and XGS."
"It would be beneficial if the platform provided more flexible support for a variety of devices."
"The initial setup, specifically when activating the license, is a nightmare and is quite difficult."
"The support team are helpful when you eventually get hold of them which takes a long time. They can improve how quickly you get technical support."
"The weakest point is the technical support because they are difficult to get into contact with."
"They should customers who are facing issues with their product reviews; they found bots in it. If they can do their proper research and use the user analysis and testing, that would greatly help the clients."
"There is room for improvement in Sophos XGS, specifically in three areas: slowness, centralized synchronization, and bandwidth issues, plus throughput is very low."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The license for Fortinet FortiGate is affordable in my country."
"The price is highly competitive when compared to other brands that offer similar functionality."
"The value is the capability of having multiple services with one unique license, not having the limitation per user licensing schema, like other vendors."
"Fortinet's pricing is more straightforward than other solutions. If Fortinet doesn't stick out when you're searching for a solution, you are a glutton for punishment. You only need to know two things when purchasing a Fortinet solution: your total bandwidth and bandwidth at the site. You need to estimate the future bandwidth with other solutions if your customer plans to upgrade."
"The pricing of the solution is very competitive."
"Fortinet FortiGate IPS' licensing is quite simple to understand."
"FortiGate Next Generation Firewall is an expensive solution with a yearly subscription."
"The price of FortiGate is reasonable as I plan to buy new switches. The initial gadgets are already booted, and the pricing seems normal on the market. As for additional costs, I haven't subscribed to many extra features, so I'm only using what I need. Last year, I renewed the support for three years, which can sometimes be expensive but depends on the security benefits and how it helps us."
Information not available
"We generally buy it for a three-year license."
"Sophos XGS costs around $6,000 for a basic license."
"The pricing is economical."
"A central firewall on the cloud with a cluster might be 70,000 to 80,000 euros for a three-year license."
"There is a license required for this solution that is priced well and all the features are included."
"The price of the solution is reasonable and their target market is small to medium-sized companies."
"The cost is comparable to other similar solutions."
"Sophos allows for its product to be evaluated without any financial commitment."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
10%
Comms Service Provider
10%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Financial Services Firm
7%
No data available
Computer Software Company
11%
Comms Service Provider
11%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Financial Services Firm
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business367
Midsize Enterprise135
Large Enterprise193
No data available
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business209
Midsize Enterprise61
Large Enterprise53
 

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...
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...
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 ...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for SonicWall Capture Security appliance (CSa)?
It's a mid-range protection suite, not as expensive as Cisco and not as cheap as Linksys.
What needs improvement with SonicWall Capture Security appliance (CSa)?
An improvement could be made in its speed, as there are instances where it holds up processes. However, it's still re...
What is your primary use case for SonicWall Capture Security appliance (CSa)?
Capture scans attachments, sending them to a sandbox. It runs executables or PDFs in Windows Server, Linux, and other...
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...
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...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Sophos XG?
The pricing is a little higher compared to Chinese products like Huawei. For those on a limited budget, I sometimes p...
 

Also Known As

Fortinet FortiGate Next-Generation Firewall
No data available
Sophos XG, Sophos XGS
 

Overview

 

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
Information Not Available
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Find out what your peers are saying about Fortinet, Netgate, Sophos and others in Firewalls. Updated: April 2026.
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