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SonicWall TZ vs Zscaler Cloud Firewall comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Jan 25, 2026

Review summaries and opinions

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

ROI

Sentiment score
4.2
SonicWall TZ offers quick ROI with low costs, boosts productivity, enhances security, and provides cost-effective benefits for small businesses.
Sentiment score
4.8
Zscaler Cloud Firewall enhances global security and efficiency with comprehensive features, delivering 60% savings in time and costs.
That is a reason to buy a firewall, and it is challenging to put a monetary value on security.
Administration IT at a engineering company with 11-50 employees
I have seen a return on investment with time saving and money saving.
Senior Devsecops Cloud Cybersecurity Specialist at CGI
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
5.0
SonicWall TZ customer service has mixed reviews, praised for availability but criticized for wait times and problem resolution.
Sentiment score
5.5
Zscaler Cloud Firewall support is generally helpful and responsive but may sometimes lack adequacy for premium expectations.
Customer service is excellent.
Administration IT at a engineering company with 11-50 employees
SonicWall Sentry team will manage our firewall.
Project Engineer at IT Solution
I would rate SonicWall TZ's technical support as good but not at the level of other enterprise-level firewall vendors out there.
Senior Pre-sales and Solutions Engineer - Cyber Security at Enterprise Technology (Pvt) Ltd
The response and support are sometimes inadequate, which detracts from the overall experience of an otherwise impressive solution.
Director at Aquila ICT Solutions
The technical support from Zscaler was excellent.
Cyber Security Architect at Accenture
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
6.6
SonicWall TZ is scalable for small to medium environments, but accurate sizing and cost concerns are crucial for larger needs.
Sentiment score
5.7
Zscaler Cloud Firewall offers excellent scalability, supporting diverse organizations smoothly, with most users rating it between seven and ten.
Whenever we want to change the licensing, we can do it at any time.
Project Engineer at IT Solution
There are some problems with the scalability of SonicWall TZ with the firmware.
Senior Pre-sales and Solutions Engineer - Cyber Security at Enterprise Technology (Pvt) Ltd
In this case, Twingate will be very easy compared to Zscaler.
IT Security at a manufacturing company with 11-50 employees
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
6.5
SonicWall TZ is stable with minor issues; performance improves with updates, though updates can sometimes temporarily affect stability.
Sentiment score
7.2
Zscaler Cloud Firewall is highly rated for stability and reliability despite minor latency and GUI lag issues.
In terms of stability, SonicWall doesn't have performance issues.
CTO at Exceed NetSec LLC
SonicWall TZ rates 10 out of 10 for stability.
CEO at Kapstone Technological Services LLP
SonicWall TZ is definitely stable and offers a good value for money.
Administration IT at a engineering company with 11-50 employees
There were some stability issues due to occasional latency and lags, particularly with the GUI and report generation.
Cyber Security Architect at Accenture
 

Room For Improvement

SonicWall TZ needs user interface improvements, better threat intelligence, enhanced support, bundled VPN licenses, and stability and performance updates.
Zscaler Cloud Firewall needs deployment, support, features, UI, pricing, integration, and dashboard improvements for optimal performance and usability.
Integration with other vendors, especially with VPNs, can be challenging and requires more effort when configuring.
CTO at Exceed NetSec LLC
What could be improved about SonicWall TZ is the threat intelligence, which by far is not at the level of vendors such as Fortinet, Palo Alto Networks, and Check Point.
Senior Pre-sales and Solutions Engineer - Cyber Security at Enterprise Technology (Pvt) Ltd
SonicWall TZ could benefit from newer technology.
Administration IT at a engineering company with 11-50 employees
For now, there is no dashboard or network management system available for Twingate.
IT Security at a manufacturing company with 11-50 employees
The reverse proxy feature for Data Loss Prevention (DLP) is missing.
Cyber Security Architect at Accenture
I believe the integration of AI could improve the dashboard by making it more agile and effective in monitoring and predicting threats.
Director at Aquila ICT Solutions
 

Setup Cost

SonicWall TZ offers competitive pricing and flexible licensing, but total costs can rise due to subscriptions and feature add-ons.
Zscaler Cloud Firewall has subscription pricing influenced by user count and features, making it costlier than some competitors.
More licenses are required to purchase the perpetual license for SSL VPN and Global VPN.
Pre Sales at ITCG SOlutions Pvt Ltd
When comparing similar products across vendors, there may be a small difference in cost.
CTO at Exceed NetSec LLC
I would also position its pricing as a three, where one is the lowest price and ten is the highest.
Administration IT at a engineering company with 11-50 employees
Zscaler Cloud Firewall is quite expensive compared to competitors.
Cyber Security Architect at Accenture
 

Valuable Features

SonicWall TZ provides robust security, user-friendly management, and cost-effective solutions with VPN, filtering, and threat prevention.
Zscaler Cloud Firewall offers comprehensive security with real-time inspection, customizable controls, and automatic features, eliminating hardware needs.
For SMB segments, SonicWall performs well.
CTO at Exceed NetSec LLC
It was beneficial during COVID for remote work through its VPN functionality.
Administration IT at a engineering company with 11-50 employees
The advanced gateway security features such as web filter, application control filter, IPS, ideas, gateway antivirus, anti-spyware, and botnet filter are valuable.
Pre Sales at ITCG SOlutions Pvt Ltd
It is really customized, a security policy that can be applied to the users so they can access only the resources I enable them.
IT Security at a manufacturing company with 11-50 employees
Advanced threat protection features in Zscaler Cloud Firewall are practically the key component that every customer wants.
Director at Aquila ICT Solutions
The best features that Zscaler Cloud Firewall offers are that it is AI powered and automated.
Senior Devsecops Cloud Cybersecurity Specialist at CGI
 

Categories and Ranking

SonicWall TZ
Ranking in Firewalls
26th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.5
Number of Reviews
86
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Zscaler Cloud Firewall
Ranking in Firewalls
38th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.3
Number of Reviews
20
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of July 2026, in the Firewalls category, the mindshare of SonicWall TZ is 1.8%, down from 3.0% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Zscaler Cloud Firewall is 1.0%, up from 0.4% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Firewalls Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
SonicWall TZ1.8%
Zscaler Cloud Firewall1.0%
Other97.2%
Firewalls
 

Featured Reviews

Fernando Kavindra Fernando - PeerSpot reviewer
Senior Pre-sales and Solutions Engineer - Cyber Security at Enterprise Technology (Pvt) Ltd
Web filtering and traffic balancing have improved security for SMBs but threat insight still needs work
I assess the machine learning capabilities of SonicWall TZ in proactive threat detection to not be at the level of other vendors such as Palo Alto Networks, Fortinet, and Check Point. It is somewhere in between, so I would not recommend it for a large enterprise-level organization to rely on because it is not at that level. SonicWall TZ's content filtering service is reliable. We have used it, but it is not very reliable compared to brands such as Fortinet, Palo Alto Networks, or Check Point. What could be improved about SonicWall TZ is the threat intelligence, which by far is not at the level of vendors such as Fortinet, Palo Alto Networks, and Check Point. Their threat intelligence needs to be improved, as does the GUI, which is not as user-friendly compared to devices such as Fortinet. They could learn from their competitors by making the product more user-friendly. The product interface is not that user-friendly. By adopting a more user-friendly GUI, improving threat intelligence, and enhancing the available guides would be beneficial. In my understanding, in some cases, the KB articles and knowledge articles were not that efficient. They were useful, but they could have been more precise with the knowledge base articles. They need to provide more information about SonicWall TZ, specifically more documentation and more troubleshooting articles. Other than the threat intelligence and the user-friendly GUI, there are no other additional features that I can think of for SonicWall TZ in the future or at least in the next release to make it more competitive.
Carlos Snel - PeerSpot reviewer
Director at Aquila ICT Solutions
Has streamlined secure deployments across large enterprises while offering reliable protection and intuitive management
The centralized management console, also referred to as the Zscaler dashboard, impacts the ability of my customers to respond to security incidents significantly. I see it as user-friendly, and clients are really happy with using it, which motivates them to keep using Zscaler Cloud Firewall because they enjoy the GUI. It's very intuitive, making it easy to navigate alerts and incidents. My clients rarely have questions about where to find specific information once Zscaler Cloud Firewall is running. The interface speaks for itself, requiring little to no additional training, which is a major plus. Advanced threat protection features in Zscaler Cloud Firewall are practically the key component that every customer wants. Unfortunately, it is an option and not included in the basic package. Clients need to pay for the next higher bundle to access it, but practically all clients I have dealt with want this feature 100%. Regarding visibility, I can confirm that Zscaler Cloud Firewall indeed includes a feature for application layer visibility embedded in the service. It provides visibility into what you're doing, which is especially interesting nowadays when discussing AI tools, as companies do not want their employees to copy-paste sensitive information into AI systems. We have seen cases such as Samsung's chip design where sensitive info got exposed. The visibility of applications, including cloud applications and AI tools, is significant for compliance with data policies, and you can also run reports and alerts on it.
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
9%
Comms Service Provider
8%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Construction Company
8%
Construction Company
11%
Manufacturing Company
11%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Marketing Services Firm
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business64
Midsize Enterprise15
Large Enterprise14
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business5
Midsize Enterprise2
Large Enterprise13
 

Questions from the Community

Would you choose Fortinet Fortigate or Sonicwall TZ?
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 in...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for SonicWall TZ?
The price is normal. It is a nominal cost for an SMB TZ used for SMB businesses. However, more licenses are required to purchase the perpetual license for SSL VPN and Global VPN. Only one SSL VPN a...
What needs improvement with SonicWall TZ?
I assess the machine learning capabilities of SonicWall TZ in proactive threat detection to not be at the level of other vendors such as Palo Alto Networks, Fortinet, and Check Point. It is somewhe...
Which lesser known firewall product has the best chance at unseating the market leaders?
Netscope, Zscaler if they continue route they are on now. FIrewalls needs great deal of automation on each end, datacenter and endpoint. In between you have branch office. So blending EPP and firew...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Zscaler Cloud Firewall?
My experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing was fine.
What needs improvement with Zscaler Cloud Firewall?
I think Zscaler Cloud Firewall can be improved by adding more features. The needed improvements involve scalability, which is something I wish they would address.
 

Also Known As

Dell SonicWALL TZ
No data available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

AeroM_xico Delta TechOps, Unimat
Zenith Live, Azure, Carlsberg Group
Find out what your peers are saying about SonicWall TZ vs. Zscaler Cloud Firewall and other solutions. Updated: June 2026.
902,988 professionals have used our research since 2012.