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SonicWall NSv vs Sophos UTM comparison

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Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary

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
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.2
Number of Reviews
330
Ranking in other categories
Firewalls (2nd), Software Defined WAN (SD-WAN) Solutions (1st), WAN Edge (1st)
SonicWall NSv
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.4
Number of Reviews
9
Ranking in other categories
Firewalls (30th)
Sophos UTM
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.2
Number of Reviews
113
Ranking in other categories
Unified Threat Management (UTM) (4th)
 

Featured Reviews

EhabAli - PeerSpot reviewer
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.
Sumesh Panikkar - PeerSpot reviewer
Provides effective threat prevention and helps improve security
We face some challenges when we upgrade the solution. If I use NSv 400, I can't upgrade to the next generation. We cannot upgrade the VM to the next generation. We have to rebuild a new VM and copy the configurations. We cannot upgrade straightaway. The solution must allow us to upgrade the same machine to a newer version without many changes.
Samaila Yusuf - PeerSpot reviewer
Network protection strengthens through effective threat management features and secure access control
The zero-day protection and firewall rules are some of the most effective features for threat management. I can set the rules and features, and also use IPsec to connect all my on-premises servers and link them to Sophos UTM so that they are protected even when in the cloud. Additionally, I use it to control access into the building through a captive portal integrated across all the PCs we have, ensuring secure access only for authenticated users.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"FortiGate has led to a reduction in our security budget."
"The ease of setting the solution up is a valuable aspect for us."
"It is a good source for firewall protection."
"It enables our organization to become more productive. Also, it protects our NEtWare from viruses and malware."
"The multi-tenancy feature is most valuable. It integrates very well with FortiManager and FortiAnalyzer."
"I appreciate FortiGate's flexibility, which allows for centralized management through FortiManager."
"The flexibility and ease of configuration are the most valuable features."
"FortiGate's ability to perform as expected and fulfil our needs has been the most compelling feature for network security."
"For my small NFB banking services, when they are expanding their branches, I could incorporate a little bit easier."
"One of the standout features of SonicWall is its simplicity in creating and managing rules."
"SonicWall NSV is easy to use, and you can use it to manage the logs easily."
"Out of ten, I would rate the solution at an eight."
"I would rate the overall product a nine out of ten."
"The solution has no additional charges and no restrictions on the number of users."
"SonicWall excelled in threat management, evident in how users handled it effectively."
"The product helps improve our security."
"Sophos UTM has improved the porting section. It has improved security by seeing the gaps. For example, when you discover that an entry has been using a certain application, with Sophos UTM acting as a Layer 7 firewall, you can block the application, not the port."
"The intrusion prevention is great, and I like dual virus scanning on the network layer because we scan it through Avira and Sophos. Web filtering is also a fantastic option for clients who want to really lock down internet access."
"Good basic firewall functions with advanced firewall scanning."
"The solution is scalable."
"Stability-wise, I rate this solution a ten out of ten...Scalability-wise, I rate this solution a ten out of ten."
"The initial setup is pretty easy."
"We find all of the features valuable because together they fit the needs of our customers."
"It has made our organization more secure, because we are using a VPN. We are not accessing services directly. It allows us to segregate some of the traffic for individuals which may be more of a developer role rather than an operational role needing access to developer resources, but not necessarily production operational resources."
 

Cons

"I would like to see improvements made to the dashboard and UI, as well as to the reporting."
"The solution lacks multi-language support."
"The firewall engine is not so strong as of now, in my opinion... My second concern is that, while they have Zero-day vulnerability and anti-malware features, the threat engine needs to be strengthened, its efficiency can be increased."
"Fortinet FortiGate could improve by having better visibility. Palo Alto has better visibility."
"Price, of course, can always be more competitive or better."
"There could be more integration between the logging and analytical platforms to make it more seamless and integrated."
"There are some problems that support cannot give you a logical reason as to why it happened. For example, I had a case where I was dealing with a WhatsApp application that was giving issues. Technical support gave more than one reason it could be giving issues, but none of them solved the problem. Eventually I solved the problem, but it was far from the solutions that support had given."
"FortiGate support could do some improvements on their IPv6 configuration. Right now it's still in the very early stage for utilizing in an enterprise level network environment."
"The engine provided initially was quite heavy, creating a trade-off between software and hardware-based threat management."
"We face some challenges when we upgrade the solution."
"I would like to see the reporting opened up and have several more opportunities for automatic reports."
"The engine provided initially was quite heavy, creating a trade-off between software and hardware-based threat management."
"An area that could be improved is the export and import settings functionality."
"There are limitations to bandwidth management."
"SonicWall NSV's initial setup is complicated and requires good knowledge."
"The price is a significant factor. Mostly in India, the customer service has many hurdles to get real support."
"Needs to improve the certificate management (ex. Let's Encrypt support)."
"Support for IKEv2 is needed in this solution."
"I don't really have any notes for improvements."
"It does have built-in policies, which enable you to disable USB devices, etc. It would be nice if they had more policies because there are not that many of them."
"Sophos customer support could use some improvement."
"During initial configuration, I encountered a few issues."
"​This product could use some improvement with web filtering. It takes a lot of time and effort to set up and maintain.​"
"The technical support team’s response time could be improved."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Licensing for Fortinet FortiGate is on a yearly basis. Pricing for it is a bit high. It could be cheaper."
"The pricing is perfect."
"The pricing for the product is alright."
"The price of the license and warranty can be better because it is very expensive."
"The beauty is the price performance ratio is great with FortiGate. It provides all the features we needed and the price is comparable with others' firewalls. The price is quite competitive with the firewalls with similar features."
"There is no challenge in Fortinet FortiGate pricing."
"It's a very full-featured and it's priced well solution."
"It is an inexpensive solution."
"The tool is moderately priced."
"The solution's pricing is good for the technology it offers."
"We are currently using the trial version."
"Our initial purchase, which included a three-year term of support, was about $25,000 USD."
"The solution’s pricing is less compared to other products."
"SonicWall NSV is not very costly."
"You cannot really say that the solution is expensive, given the protection it gives."
"We originally purchased the solution through the AWS Marketplace. I started my proof of concept doing pay-as-you-go, then moved to a VAR for a 'Bring Your Own Licence' (BYOL) licensing model. The BYOL license still requires you to accept the terms of the AWS Marketplace to deploy."
"It is the cheapest product available. It's good if you have a low budget."
"It's reasonably priced."
"The price is comparable to other products of this kind."
"If you can afford it, go for a small Check Point, as it is easier to manage."
"The solution's pricing is based on a licensing model and is competitive."
"Sophos offers free training when selling their products from within the partner portal.​"
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Comparison Review

it_user216600 - PeerSpot reviewer
Jan 3, 2016
Sophos UTM vs. Fortinet FortiGate
I have used both Sophos and Fortinet products in production and I have found the Sophos UTM appliances (hardware and virtual) to be a better fit most of the time -- with a few caveats which I will touch on below. In both instances, the transition from TMG will be mostly straightforward. The main…
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Educational Organization
20%
Computer Software Company
14%
Comms Service Provider
7%
Manufacturing Company
6%
Computer Software Company
24%
Government
8%
Real Estate/Law Firm
7%
Retailer
7%
Computer Software Company
18%
Comms Service Provider
8%
Government
7%
Financial Services Firm
6%
 

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...
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 do you like most about SonicWall NSV?
The product helps improve our security.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for SonicWall NSV?
The tool is moderately priced. We need to purchase an additional license for NSM. We can manage all the firewalls thr...
What needs improvement with SonicWall NSV?
The price is a significant factor. Mostly in India, the customer service has many hurdles to get real support. If I w...
What do you like most about Sophos UTM?
The most valuable feature of Sophos UTM is the endpoint protection feature.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Sophos UTM?
The value between what I receive and what I pay is the best in the industry.
What needs improvement with Sophos UTM?
With artificial intelligence, there is room for improvement in all antivirus and security software. However, the bad ...
 

Also Known As

FortiGate 60b, FortiGate 60c, FortiGate 80c, FortiGate 50b, FortiGate 200b, FortiGate 110c, FortiGate, Fortinet Firewall
SonicWall Network Security Virtual
Astaro
 

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
Comlogic, Depaul, Hutt City Council
One Housing Group
Find out what your peers are saying about SonicWall NSv vs. Sophos UTM and other solutions. Updated: April 2025.
850,028 professionals have used our research since 2012.