SonicWall NSa vs Stormshield Network Security comparison

SonicWall and Stormshield are both solutions in the Firewalls category. Additionally, 88% of SonicWall users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 85% of Stormshield users who would recommend it.

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive Summary

We performed a comparison between SonicWall NSa and Stormshield Network Security based on real PeerSpot user reviews.

Find out in this report how the two Firewalls solutions compare in terms of features, pricing, service and support, easy of deployment, and ROI.

To learn more, read our detailed SonicWall NSa vs. Stormshield Network Security Report (Updated: April 2025).

Buyer's Guide

SonicWall NSa vs. Stormshield Network Security

April 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

Featured Reviews

EhabAli

Sr. Cybersecurity Solutions Architect at BMB

Efficient, user-friendly, and affordable

In the past, NSS Labs was utilized to test files and verify the numbers and datasheets. It would be beneficial to have an organization or testing lab that can verify the numbers in our datasheets since changes are frequently made, which can be inconvenient for review. For instance, when comparing different competitors such as Forcepoint, Palo Alto, and Check Point, the throughput or numbers in the datasheet may be lower than the actual numbers. Conversely, Fortinet typically reports very high numbers, but they cannot be replicated in the real world. Therefore, it would be advantageous for them to partner with a neutral testing organization such as NSS Labs to validate these numbers, thus providing more credibility and comfort to everyone regarding the accuracy of the datasheets. For the migration, everyone has a firewall in use and I am selling Fortinet. Typically, I am replacing another firewall. Previously, there was a tool available to convert configurations from one firewall, such as Palo Alto, to Fortinet, but this tool is no longer free. If it could be made free again, it would be very beneficial. This tool shows a lot of promise and is very good. Making it free would help many companies deliver their products in a more efficient and integrated way. It would also be more valuable to include the tool with the firewall package or license instead of having to pay extra for it. Paying extra puts more pressure on small companies to deliver the firewall and complete the configuration, especially if they have hundreds or thousands of policies. It's very painful to move through these policies line by line. The stability has room for improvement. When it comes to Secure SD-WAN, everything is fine. They are going the right way. SD-WAN is very promising. They can provide the SD-WAN solution separately, but they will not take this approach because even the smallest firewall can support the features, so there is no need to have a separate service or appliance. They are following the right steps, and there is nothing to be improved. Feature-wise, I'm really satisfied with the new release, and the features they have added. For now, it's fine.

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Vijay Mohan

Senior Manager INFOSEC AND Risk ASSESSMENT Engineering at Atlas Systems

Offers a simple console to manage multiple branches and content filtering

The centralized console is great for managing multiple branches. It's a very simple console to connect all three of our branches in the US and India. We connect through three firewalls in a single console and manage any policy. So, if we need to change a policy, the global admin can connect from anywhere and easily make changes. Log usage is also very easy. The threat prevention capabilities are very good. Preventing the latest threats is very easy. You can define rules, and it automatically alerts you. For example, if there's a sudden increase in malicious spam, it will notify you immediately.

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Benjamin

Network Engineer at ACS2I

The intrusion detection system helps our organization by automatically detecting and responding to potential threats

The tool's most valuable feature is its dashboard, which helps you manage different aspects of a single page. The intrusion detection system helps our organization by automatically detecting and responding to potential threats. It operates similarly to Darktrace, which detects and responds automatically based on the security rules you apply. Initially, you configure everything to block, and then you can whitelist specific items as needed.

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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

"Virtual Domains (VDOMs) are a feature that we found valuable."

"One of the valuable features is a standardized OS."

"The most important features with FortiGate are the web filter and application controls. We can control our internet usage and use the web filter for application purposes."

"The most valuable features of Fortinet FortiGate are the different types of profiling. It has been the most effective for me. The WAF and the antivirus profile are the most effective in network protection."

"The SD-WAN feature of Fortinet FortiGate has been most impactful in maintaining our network's integrity."

"We have found it to be very reliable and that's why our teams and various users in our company use it as our main firewall every day."

"On a scale of one to ten, I rate this solution 10 out of 10."

"The most valuable feature of FortiGate is FortiView which provides proactive monitoring."

More Fortinet FortiGate pros

"Support has improved dramatically since their separation from Dell."

"It has a very good user interface."

"The stability is better than other products."

"The basic firewall rules of the solution are great."

"The solution can scale."

"It also looks at VPN and site-to-site connections."

"The most valuable features of this solution are the GUI pre-filtering and the ATP (advanced threat protection)."

"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."

More SonicWall NSa pros

"I like how you can configure the rules. There is the task for the rules and a task for the network configuration. It also provides SMD filtering, and it can be integrated with the active directory for the users, their mission, and the VPN configuration. We are here in Sudan, and Stormshield didn't work in Sudan for more than a decade. Stormshield is a very strong firewall and very easy to configure and maintain. I am just working with the firewall solution, and we don't have any other solutions like endpoint solutions or something like that."

"A very robust product."

"It's an easy, straightforward management platform to use."

"The tool's most valuable feature is its dashboard, which helps you manage different aspects of a single page. The intrusion detection system helps our organization by automatically detecting and responding to potential threats. It operates similarly to Darktrace, which detects and responds automatically based on the security rules you apply. Initially, you configure everything to block, and then you can whitelist specific items as needed."

"Our organization's main concern is stability, and this is a stable solution."

"The tool's most valuable feature is its dashboard, which helps you manage different aspects of a single page."

"Ease of use is the best feature of the product."

"The most valuable features are the IPS, the firewall function, and the price."

More Stormshield Network Security pros

Cons

"There are a lot of bugs I have found in the solution and it is difficult to upgrade. These areas need improvement."

"There is one big configuration file with no separations for the unique VDOMs. Maybe they could separate individual VDOM configuration files with the root VDOM configuration file referencing the individual VDOM config files."

"It needs to improve its ISP load balancing."

"The platform's compatibility with Wi-Fi equipment needs improvement."

"Quality control on their firmware versions needs improvement. When they introduce new firmware, there tend to be bugs."

"The non-error conserve mode has room for improvement."

"They need to improve their technical support."

"In my case, the 101F is not scalable. I faced problems with scalability related to memory. When we hit 100% memory usage, it stops the internet connection, so we need to control the traffic. We cannot increase the memory."

More Fortinet FortiGate cons

"Having to deal with too many lower-level people in technical support means that it takes longer to resolve issues, so escalating support tickets should be faster."

"After-sales support and hands-on training facilities are not available in my country."

"I feel that the SSL VPN client software needs a lot of improvement."

"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."

"One issue with the solution is that no authorization or authentication features exist."

"This product is unable to secure access to endpoints for our external employees."

"The security standards for space and point of view should be improved so that the solution deploys in critical areas."

"Some of the configurations could be better."

More SonicWall NSa cons

"With Stormshield, there are difficulties joining things, and it can be complex depending on the architecture."

"Not all the fields are activated yet and we were informed that it will take at least one month."

"Stormshield Network Security is quite expensive."

"This solution has a big problem with web filtering and it needs to be improved."

"Improvement is needed in terms of the technical support of the manufacturer."

"The SD card could be more secure."

"The filtering configuration could be better. We have some difficulties with the filtering configuration and the filter extension. It's not that easy. It's not that straightforward. In the next release, I would like to see a reporting system. Stormshield doesn't have any tutorials on how to do the configuration and things like that. They just have documentation on the website. If you want to configure, for example, Cisco or Fortinet, you can find tutorials on YouTube. They show you how to configure the features, and so on. In Stormshield, there is nothing on social media or the internet on how to configure different things. The lack of documentation or the lack of material makes it difficult for others to adopt this solution."

"It could be better if it were more user-friendly. It's too complicated for us to use it. The price could be better as well."

More Stormshield Network Security cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"I think the price of Fortinet FortiGate is very reasonable."

"The pricing is flexible."

"Compared to other firewall products, it's a little cheaper in terms of pricing."

"I do not have first-hand experience with the rice of Fortinet FortiGate, but I have heard the price was reasonable."

"Its price could be better."

"For medium and enterprise organizations, FortiGate is more affordable."

"The value is the capability of having multiple services with one unique license, not having the limitation per user licensing schema, like other vendors."

"No comment."

More Fortinet FortiGate pricing and cost advice

"In our evaluation, we found that the costs of deploying the solution, and also purchasing the hardware and licenses, were very attractive."

"SonicWall still is only a dollar or Euro per gigabit. This means, of the IPsec, it's the cheapest solution."

"We are on a three-year license for the solution. The price is inexpensive compared to other solutions."

"A firewall doing anti-spam might be a low cost solution, but it is not your best strategy."

"There are different pricing models for SonicWall NSa."

"The pricing and value are good."

"The pricing is good and we are satisfied with the cost of this solution."

"It would be better if it has a better price, but its price is okay considering the benefits that you receive."

More SonicWall NSa pricing and cost advice

"The SN200 series costs between $500 USD and $600 USD per year, whereas the SN700 series costs approximately $1,000 annually."

"For mid-sized companies, they sell their appliances for good prices."

"The pricing could be better."

"We chose Stormshield for its price, as the Azure firewall was too expensive."

"We bought a three-year license, and we renew it whenever it expires. The price could be better. It's always very expensive."

"The price of this solution and the price of support are ok."

"I think the price is good."

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Educational Organization

20%

Computer Software Company

14%

Comms Service Provider

Manufacturing Company

Computer Software Company

15%

Manufacturing Company

Comms Service Provider

Educational Organization

Computer Software Company

23%

Comms Service Provider

17%

Government

Financial Services Firm

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...

See all answers

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...

See all answers

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 ...

See all answers

What do you like most about SonicWall NSa?

The product blocks access when I visit unrecognized websites.

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What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for SonicWall NSa?

I would rate the price of the product as seven out of ten.

See all answers

What needs improvement with SonicWall NSa?

There are some aspects of the dashboard configuration or customization that could be improved.

See all answers

What do you like most about Stormshield Network Security?

Ease of use is the best feature of the product.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Stormshield Network Security?

We pay for the quality we receive.

See all answers

What needs improvement with Stormshield Network Security?

The product must improve its pricing.

See all answers

Comparisons

Sophos XG vs Fortinet FortiGate

Compared 22% of the time

Netgate pfSense vs Fortinet FortiGate

Compared 13% of the time

Cisco Secure Firewall vs Fortinet FortiGate

Compared 11% of the time

WatchGuard Firebox vs Fortinet FortiGate

Compared 5% of the time

Sangfor NGAF vs Fortinet FortiGate

Compared 2% of the time

More Fortinet FortiGate Competitors

Sophos XG vs SonicWall NSa

Compared 14% of the time

SonicWall TZ vs SonicWall NSa

Compared 11% of the time

Meraki MX vs SonicWall NSa

Compared 7% of the time

WatchGuard Firebox vs SonicWall NSa

Compared 6% of the time

OPNsense vs SonicWall NSa

Compared 6% of the time

More SonicWall NSa Competitors

Netgate pfSense vs Stormshield Network Security

Compared 17% of the time

WatchGuard Firebox vs Stormshield Network Security

Compared 7% of the time

OPNsense vs Stormshield Network Security

Compared 6% of the time

Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls vs Stormshield Network Security

Compared 6% of the time

Sophos XG vs Stormshield Network Security

Compared 5% of the time

More Stormshield Network Security Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Fortinet FortiGate

May 2025

Download Fortinet FortiGate product report

Buyer's Guide

SonicWall NSa

April 2025

Download SonicWall NSa product report

Buyer's Guide

Stormshield Network Security

April 2025

Download Stormshield Network Security product report

Also Known As

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

NSA 250M, NSA 2600, NSA 3600, NSA 4600, NSA 5600, Dell SonicWALL NSA

NETASQ Firewalls

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

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

SonicWall

NETASQ's integrated intrusion prevention engine uses protocol conformity analysis, application filtering and antivirus analysis to inspect authorized traffic flows and strengthen application security. NETASQ enables you to establish and configure user-based security policies, giving you greater control over which network resources each user is authorized to access.

Stormshield

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

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

ACESUR group, Ministry of Education Oman, Anios Laboratories, Zain, DLM Location

Buyer's Guide

SonicWall NSa vs. Stormshield Network Security

April 2025

Free Report: SonicWall NSa vs. Stormshield Network Security

Find out what your peers are saying about SonicWall NSa vs. Stormshield Network Security and other solutions. Updated: April 2025.

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