We performed a comparison between Sonicwall TZ and Sophos XG based on our users’ reviews in four categories. After reading all the collected data, you can find our conclusion below.
Comparison Results: Sophos XG’s single pane of glass makes it easy to manage the entire solution and it can be done anywhere. Users find it very light, stable, and it provides excellent real-time control. Users say SonicWall TZ struggles a bit with load balancing and data filtering, making it a slightly less desirable solution.
"I like the ASDM for the firewall because it is visual. With the command line, it is harder to visualize what is going on. A picture is worth a thousand words."
"Even in very big environments, Cisco comes in handy with configuration and offers reliability when it comes to managing multiple items on one platform."
"Cisco Secure Firewall is a scalable solution."
"Cisco ASA provides us with very good application visibility and control."
"Cisco ASA works very nicely from an administration perspective. The management of the device is very nice. The ASDM (Adaptive Security Device Manager) is the software that we use and it is very easy to configure using the GUI."
"I have experience with URL filtering, and it is very good for URL filtering. You can filter URLs based on the categories, and it does a good job. It can also do deep packet inspection."
"The features that are most valuable within the firewall are the IPS as well as the Unified Communications. We also really like the dynamic grouping."
"Cisco has the best documentation. You can easily find multiple documents by searching the web. Even a child can go online and find the required information."
"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 performance has been very good. Overall, the solution is quite stable."
"The most valuable feature is content filtering and app control."
"Its user interface and simplicity are the most favorite parts for our clients. They find it stable and easy to use. Its performance is also good."
"SonicWall TZ is a stable product."
"It lets me monitor in live time if someone is 'hogging' bandwidth."
"User-friendly firewall solution which scales well, is stable, and has high availability."
"Most of the features are useful. It is easy to configure and easy to troubleshoot. I can see the utilization of different networks, and there are also App control features."
"The most valuable features of Sophos XG are user-friendliness and it is highly secure."
"Overall the solution works well."
"Reporting is the most valuable feature."
"The interface is very user-friendly and it's easy to manage."
"The most valuable features are the reporting, dashboards, and graphical user interface. It gives a good overall picture of what is happening over the network."
"The product has a console that is based in the cloud for all their products. In this console, they have email security, firewall security, endpoint security, et cetera. All of the products on offer in the console are very useful for us."
"We've deployed quite a number for our users and our customers, and the feedback is quite positive in terms of management and also administration."
"Sophos XG protects our network from advanced threats."
"Third-party integrations could be improved."
"It would be good if Cisco made sure that the solution supports all routing protocols. Sometimes it doesn't."
"The solution is overcomplicated in some senses. Simplifying it would be an improvement."
"A feature that would allow me to load balance among multiple ISPs, especially since we have deployed it as a perimeter firewall, would be a great addition."
"Licensing is complex, and I'd like it to be simplified. This is an area for improvement."
"Cisco Firepower is not completely integrated with Active Directory. We are trying to use Active Directory to restrict users by using some security groups that are not integrated within the Cisco Firepower module. This is the main issue that we are facing."
"I think they need to review their whole UI because it feels like it was created by a whole bunch of different teams of developers who didn't fully talk to each other. The net policy screen is just a mess. It should look like the firewall policy screen, and they should both act the same, but they don't. I feel like it's two different buildings or programming, who don't talk to each other, and that really annoys me."
"When we first got it, we were doing individual configuring. Now, there is a way to manage from one location."
"You need to be a certificate holder to set it up and configure it. It's really important because it looks easy, but it is complex. You need to have the knowledge and experience. But this is normal for technical products. It's not a product for regular user. It's for technical people. You need to have skills."
"The quality of tech support can vary."
"The price could be better for us in Bolivia."
"The stability could be a lot better."
"If the operation increases and the bandwidth consumption increases, it does not perform as per the expectations."
"It could probably be more user-friendly, and it could be more scalable with releases and subscriptions."
"The reporting analytics could be improved, it is very unstable."
"In an upcoming release, SonicWall could improve by adding cloud management for all devices for free or at a nominal cost. Currently, they have a cloud management platform but is not free. We have the MySonicWall portal for purchasing from them for software updates and renewals."
"All of the options should be available when I renew my subscription for the year. As it is now, there are some limitations."
"I would like to next release to be able to support on-premise deployment. The construction of the rules within the firewall could also use some improvement."
"Over the last six months, we have noticed that the hardware is slow, especially the VPN connections."
"I'd like to see better reporting. While the logs are great, the reports are not."
"Sophos XG could improve the connectivity with Microsoft 365 or Azure Active Directory(AD). It doesn't work directly as other solutions do, such as Fortinet FortiGate. The client needs a separate AD server which is a problem."
"Their support is fairly good, and they come back to me. I've had an issue once or twice where I couldn't understand what the support person was saying because those calls were probably routed to India. They were a bit difficult to understand, but it is generally not an issue."
"I would prefer if Sophos XG were cheaper. A lower price would benefit me as a system provider for the end customer. The cost of the license and renewal for all the software and devices is somewhat high."
"They need to do more quality checks before they release firmware upgrades. Currently, a few Cyberoam firewall customers are facing some issues while upgrading the Cyberoam firmware to Sophos. After the new firmware is installed, they are seeing some performance issues, which require some bug fixes. The performance is fine after getting the required support. Customers who are already using Sophos hardware are quite satisfied with this solution. Their support should also be improved. We are facing difficulties getting support on time through email or phone."
SonicWall TZ is ranked 13th in Firewalls with 36 reviews while Sophos XG is ranked 6th in Firewalls with 97 reviews. SonicWall TZ is rated 8.4, while Sophos XG is rated 8.2. The top reviewer of SonicWall TZ writes "Multifeatured firewall solution with a user-friendly interface, high availability, scalability, and stability". On the other hand, the top reviewer of Sophos XG writes "Secure, duel switch capabilities, and good support". SonicWall TZ is most compared with Fortinet FortiGate, pfSense, SonicWall NSa, Meraki MX and WatchGuard Firebox, whereas Sophos XG is most compared with Fortinet FortiGate, pfSense, OPNsense, Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls and Meraki MX. See our SonicWall TZ vs. Sophos XG report.
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