SonicWall NSa vs SonicWall TZ comparison

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Comparison Buyer's Guide
Executive Summary
Updated on Sep 5, 2022

We performed a comparison between SonicWall NSa and SonicWall TZ based on our users’ reviews in five categories. After reading all of the collected data, you can find our conclusion below.

  • Ease of Deployment: Most users of both solutions report that the initial setup is straightforward.
  • Features: Users of both products are happy with their stability and scalability.

    SonicWall NSa users say it is secure, flexible, and high performing but needs better reporting capabilities. SonicWall TZ reviewers say it is easy to manage, offers good threat prevention, and has good VPN integration. Some users mention that it needs a better dashboard.
  • Pricing: Users of both solutions give mixed reviews for their pricing.
  • ROI: SonicWall NSa users do not mention ROI. SonicWall TZ users report an ROI.
  • Service and Support: Users of both solutions report being satisfied with the level of support they receive.

Comparison Results: SonicWall TZ has an edge in this comparison. Unlike SonicWall NSa, its reviewers mention seeing an ROI.

To learn more, read our detailed SonicWall NSa vs. SonicWall TZ Report (Updated: March 2023).
687,256 professionals have used our research since 2012.
Featured Review
Quotes From Members
We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use.
Here are some excerpts of what they said:
Pros
"SonicWall's sales support is much better than other vendors'.""For me, the most valuable feature of SonicWall NSa is the UTM.""SonicWall has USCS and anti-virus at the gateway level. Everything is filtered, and if it detects an intruder, it drops the line.""SD-WAN is a good feature.""The solution can scale.""The most valuable features to us are the security services which is a critical factor in our deployment. Today we need to have all the security services enabled because firewalls are not enough.""The filtering is excellent.""Easy to scale solution that provides advanced threat protection. Their technical support is very good, very knowledgeable, and easy to reach."

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"The solution is stable.""From our point of view, the most valuable feature was the ease of deployment.""It's a very cost-effective solution.""It does exactly what it says on the tin. It is good for protecting the business from being compromised. Its port protection is very good.""The most common feature in the firewall, apart from that traditional firewall, would be the security services, like application control, URL filtering, Gateway Anti-Virus, and IPS protection. These are the essential features in the firewalls which I think, has to be enabled and properly used at every network infrastructure.""The installation is straightforward and took approximately 30 minutes.""It's a stable solution.""The solution boasts good performance and is easy to use."

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Cons
"It only has a single power interface, which has limitations in terms of high availability.""The content ID needs to be improved.""An area for improvement would be SonicWall NSa's integration with antiviruses.""The product likely isn't a good fit for a large organization.""SonicWall NSa doesn't have a proxy. It also needs a quota management feature in specific scenarios where you must limit user bandwidth for a particular day.""Overall, Im satisfied with SonicWall NSa, but it would be better if they could add a small terminal to each device. This would help me deal with certain issues by running a small bot onto any PC.""The dynamics needs to be improved. The solution is not very compatible compared to the market products.""The solution can be a bit expensive."

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"I would like to see a SonicWall integration with the DLP tool, this would be interesting. Data Loss Prevention integration.""I would like to see lower antivirus pricing.""The products' reporting can be improved.""The interface and technical support are probably the two most important things that I would like SonicWall to improve.""We have experienced some issues with SonicWall TZ and they are lacking some advanced features other vendors have.""Sonic Analyzer could be improved. It's difficult to manage and not very intuitive.""The areas we would like to see improvement include more features available similar to the equivalent FortiGate appliance, e.g. SSL encryption and inspection. Two-factor authentication capability would be another additional feature that could be included in the next release.""There is a point I don't like about SonicWall in the past and now. Most of the destinations we look at when we're detecting some user using too much bandwidth or something like that, SonicWall just gave us destination IP address, instead of the full qualified domain name. I think that's the most important part that is still missing. I think that's the most important for us."

More SonicWall TZ Cons →

Pricing and Cost Advice
  • "While I don't know the exact amount off the top of my head, I would estimate the licensing package was about $15,000 to $20,000 a year."
  • "We are on a three-year license for the solution. The price is inexpensive compared to other solutions."
  • "They do have the option to purchase yearly, or two years, and three years renewal."
  • "There is a license required for this solution and you can purchase a one, two, or three year term. Typically businesses choose the one year subscription and then later choose the three year licensing option if they are satisfied."
  • "SonicWall NSa has two types of license. The advanced license is a bit expensive when compared to the comprehensive license, but when you compare the advanced license to the licensing cost of other brands or competitors, it is expensive."
  • "We paid about 10,000 in our currency for one packet of SonicWall NSa."
  • "The solution is based on a yearly licensing model that is reasonable compared to other options."
  • "The price of SonicWall NSa is expensive."
  • More SonicWall NSa Pricing and Cost Advice →

  • "The price is fair for the solution for the quality you receive."
  • "You need to purchase multiple licenses to manage multiple devices which is cost-prohibitive for the value you would receive."
  • "Customers are required to pay for a yearly subscription."
  • "It has a yearly subscription."
  • "It is a bit expensive. We have to purchase the license and the reporting part separately, which makes it a bit pricey. This is the main reason why we have thought of moving to another firewall. It would be good if they combine both of these."
  • "The price could be better for us in Bolivia."
  • "We have to pay yearly. Its licensing can be improved, and they should provide more features, such as AV, email filtering, and so on with the basic subscription."
  • "Licensing fees are on a monthly basis."
  • More SonicWall TZ Pricing and Cost Advice →

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    Answers from the Community
    Niranjan Prajapati
    Pedro Escalona - PeerSpot reviewerPedro Escalona
    Real User

    Basically, the main difference is that the TZ series is intended for a Branch office since it has fewer ports and the speed is around 1 GB. 


    The NSA series has more processor power and more port where you can create subnets and zones (like DMZ). Also, it has ports with 10 Gb and a processor to support the demand. 


    I have read that an approximate number of users in the highest TZ series (TZ 670) is around 150 to 200 but that is just an estimate. 


    Hope this helps. You can get more details in SonicWall datasheets where you will find the speed, throughput and more technical specifications to select the one that fits your requirements.

    Harish 12 - PeerSpot reviewerHarish 12
    Real User

    In simple words,


    TZ is for small businesses (less than 100, maximum 150 users). 


    TZ has fewer ports.


    NSA is for medium and large enterprises: > 150 Users, 
    NSA has many ports to support large networks

    Questions from the Community
    Top Answer:The antivirus and items of that nature were quite helpful to have.
    Top Answer:Our organization would pay for a license every two to three years.
    Top Answer:Sometimes I found the GUI and some of the features a little bit hard to navigate, as opposed to Fortigate, which is much more user-friendly. What Fortigate has which SonicWall doesn't, is the per rule… more »
    Top Answer:I’ll say it depends on your needs. Fortinet FortiGate and SonicWall TZ are both next-gen firewalls (NGFW) with similar basic features. However, Fortinet offers more performance, scalability, and… more »
    Top Answer:The licensing is yearly based or three years. Their price compared to others is good.
    Ranking
    15th
    out of 48 in Firewalls
    Views
    13,416
    Comparisons
    10,792
    Reviews
    32
    Average Words per Review
    459
    Rating
    7.8
    13th
    out of 48 in Firewalls
    Views
    17,656
    Comparisons
    16,094
    Reviews
    26
    Average Words per Review
    391
    Rating
    8.2
    Comparisons
    Also Known As
    NSA 250M, NSA 2600, NSA 3600, NSA 4600, NSA 5600, Dell SonicWALL NSA
    Dell SonicWALL TZ
    Learn More
    Overview

    SonicWall NSa dispenses advanced threat protection using a high-performance security platform. The NSa series implements intuitive deep learning technologies in the SonicWall Capture Cloud Platform to dispatch the automated real-time threat detection and deterrence enterprise organizations need today. SonicWall Network Security appliance (NSa) series is best for mid-sized organizations to distributed enterprises and data centers.

    SonicWall NSa series next-generation firewalls (NFGWS) combine two very robust security ideologies to deliver advanced threat protection to keep users’ networks safe. Boosting SonicWall’s multi-engine advanced threat protection (ATP) is their Real-time Deep Memory Inspection (RTDMI™). The RTDMI intuitively identifies and stops aggressive zero-day threats and vicious malware by investigating memory directly. This real-time process allows SonicWall RTDMI to be accurate, lessen false positives and discover and alleviate malicious threats and attacks. SonicWall’s single-pass Reassembly-Free Deep Packet Inspection (RFDPI) will audit every byte of each and every packet by investigating both outbound and inbound traffic on the firewall. By combining the SonicWall Capture Cloud Platform along with on-box offerings such as intrusion prevention, web/URL filtering, and anti-malware, the NSa series is able to block the most malicious and dangerous threats at the gateway.

    Additionally, SonicWall firewalls supply absolute protection by executing complete inspection and decryption of SSH and TLS/SSL encryption connections - no matter the port or protocol. The firewall takes a deep dive into each and every packet (the header and data) routing out any anomalies, zero-day intrusions, threats, and protocol non-compliance. Users can also define unique criteria specific to their organization to ensure their networks remain safe. This aggressive deep packet inspection is able to identify and block malicious attacks, stop dangerous malware downloads, prevent the spread of infections, and defeat command and control (C&C) communications and data exfiltration. Protocols involving inclusion and exclusion allow users complete control to decide, based on specific governance policies, organizational policies, or government or legal compliance, which traffic is to be investigated for decryption or inspection.

    SonicWall Nsa offers enterprise organizations the network control and fluid flexibility they desire using an intrusion prevention system (IPS), VPN, real-time visualization, and other advanced powerful security features, making it a popular firewall solution in today's marketplace.

    Reviews from Real Users

    “The features that I have found most valuable are the firewalling, which is very good, and the GUI which is very intuitive. It is easy to use and provides great security.” - Network Engineer at a maritime company

    “What's valuable in SonicWall NSa is the ATP (advanced threat protection). It can protect users from malicious links. SonicWall NSa also has a Sandboxing service that is very helpful for us, especially when end users accidentally click on malicious links. Another valuable feature of this solution is that it is very useful for site-to-site VPN connectivity issues. SonicWall NSa has very good hardware. I also love that SonicWall has very good technical support, who are very knowledgeable, provide good suggestions, and they're easy to reach.” - Mohammed M., Network Administrator at Transgulf Readymix

    The secure, sophisticated SonicWALL TZ is widely deployed at small businesses, retail, government, remote sites and branch offices. It combines high-performance intrusion prevention, malware blocking, content/URL filtering and application control.
    Offer
    Learn more about SonicWall NSa
    Learn more about SonicWall TZ
    Sample Customers
    Orange County Rescue Mission, First Source, Michaels & Taylor, Green Clinic Health System, Aspire Chiltern Skills and Enterprise Centre, UnitedStack, Faith Lutheran College Redlands, Celtic Manor Resort, Star Kay White, Air Works, Unimat Life, NHS Yorkshire and Humber Commissioning Support (YHCS), Hutt City Council, Mato Grosso do Sul, Nspyre
    AeroM_xico Delta TechOps, Unimat
    Top Industries
    REVIEWERS
    Manufacturing Company21%
    Educational Organization9%
    Retailer9%
    Construction Company9%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Computer Software Company19%
    Comms Service Provider11%
    Government7%
    Retailer6%
    REVIEWERS
    Construction Company11%
    Computer Software Company9%
    Manufacturing Company9%
    Healthcare Company9%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Computer Software Company19%
    Comms Service Provider13%
    Retailer7%
    Government5%
    Company Size
    REVIEWERS
    Small Business57%
    Midsize Enterprise20%
    Large Enterprise23%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Small Business39%
    Midsize Enterprise17%
    Large Enterprise43%
    REVIEWERS
    Small Business65%
    Midsize Enterprise20%
    Large Enterprise15%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Small Business42%
    Midsize Enterprise16%
    Large Enterprise42%
    Buyer's Guide
    SonicWall NSa vs. SonicWall TZ
    March 2023
    Find out what your peers are saying about SonicWall NSa vs. SonicWall TZ and other solutions. Updated: March 2023.
    687,256 professionals have used our research since 2012.

    SonicWall NSa is ranked 15th in Firewalls with 33 reviews while SonicWall TZ is ranked 13th in Firewalls with 36 reviews. SonicWall NSa is rated 7.8, while SonicWall TZ is rated 8.4. The top reviewer of SonicWall NSa writes "Easy to scale advanced threat protection solution with knowledgeable technical support, but has occasional bugs". On the other hand, the top reviewer of SonicWall TZ writes "Multifeatured firewall solution with a user-friendly interface, high availability, scalability, and stability". SonicWall NSa is most compared with Fortinet FortiGate, Meraki MX, Cisco Secure Firewall, Sophos XG and WatchGuard Firebox, whereas SonicWall TZ is most compared with Fortinet FortiGate, pfSense, Sophos XG, Cisco Secure Firewall and Meraki MX. See our SonicWall NSa vs. SonicWall TZ report.

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    We monitor all Firewalls reviews to prevent fraudulent reviews and keep review quality high. We do not post reviews by company employees or direct competitors. We validate each review for authenticity via cross-reference with LinkedIn, and personal follow-up with the reviewer when necessary.