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Sophos Firewall 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:
 

ROI

Sentiment score
5.9
Fortinet FortiGate provides significant ROI by enhancing security, reducing costs, and improving productivity despite its initial cost.
Sentiment score
6.3
Sophos Firewall provides cost-effective security management, reducing investigation time and personnel costs, justifying investment for medium-sized businesses.
Sentiment score
5.7
Sophos UTM offers quick returns, efficient network management, and cost savings, benefiting managed service providers and ensuring data protection.
Clients are now comfortable and not wasting productive hours on IT support.
Managing Director at a manufacturing company with 10,001+ employees
The automation part is giving us a cost benefit and speed; we can react faster.
BDM Fortinet & BDM Teamlead at Exclusive Networks
It's a very useful tool to mitigate and protect your enterprise.
Staff Infrastructure & Security Engineer at Mozn Systems
The costs have increased with Sophos XGS in the last few years, with license prices going up by 30%, doubling from $2,500 to about $5,000, which is a big challenge for us.
IT Manager at Bavaria Egypt S.A.E.
The graphical interface of Sophos XG simplifies configurations, saving time in support and troubleshooting compared to the Linux-based solution I previously used.
Head ICT at NIC Uganda
We purchased endpoint security for the first time last year, and even without endpoint security, it provides comprehensive security.
IT Manager , SAP HANA Administrator at Tara Paints & Chemicals
I have seen a return on investment with Sophos UTM, and I can share that the price is around thirty percent better, especially if you count in the employee time.
System Engineer SDDC / VCF at a tech services company with 51-200 employees
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
6.5
Fortinet FortiGate's support is praised for responsiveness and capability, but concerns remain about consistency and response times.
Sentiment score
6.6
Sophos Firewall support is knowledgeable but criticized for slow response times, language barriers, and preference for email communication.
Sentiment score
6.7
Sophos UTM's customer service receives mixed reviews for response times but is praised for expertise and community resources.
The quick resolution of issues with Fortinet FortiGate is due to the support of the company and the fact that the equipment is easy to work with.
IT Manager at a consultancy with 10,001+ employees
I would rate the technical support for Fortinet FortiGate a ten out of ten.
NAC Support at Rah Infotech Pvt Ltd
As a solution provider, when I encounter problems, I connect directly with Fortinet support, and they provide solutions within a very short time.
Manager, Information Technology Operation/Presales at TechMonarch
Their team was quick to diagnose and resolve the problem by exchanging the equipment within two weeks.
Network and Infrastructure Manager at Sonysugar
Any issues are quickly addressed by their support team, which is not common among all OEM manufacturers.
Owner at a marketing services firm with 11-50 employees
When my customers raise a ticket, a customer representative calls them immediately to address their queries.
Sales Representative at AVNS
The technical support by Sophos is amazing, especially when I pay for the enhanced support.
Associate Director - Management Support Services at CIHP
I would rate the technical support by Sophos a 10.
Network and Infrastructure Manager at Sonysugar
I would rate the technical support with Sophos a seven because sometimes the time of the first resolution is not ideal.
IT Manager at a consultancy with 51-200 employees
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
7.1
Fortinet FortiGate is scalable and flexible, offering robust performance across physical, virtual, and cloud deployments for various environments.
Sentiment score
7.0
Sophos Firewall offers scalable solutions for various environments, with cloud deployment providing better scalability than hardware options.
Sentiment score
6.0
Sophos UTM is highly scalable, supporting growth via licenses, hardware, and clustering, adaptable to varying deployment sizes.
They scale up really well from smaller models like the FortiGate 40 and 50 to bigger sites with the FortiGate 100 for more throughput - up to enterprise datacenters.
IT Manager at Daltons Limited
The variation comes in terms of the interfaces and throughputs, but from a security perspective, you get the same benefit, irrespective of whether you have an entry-level unit or an enterprise.
Cewa Solutions Architect at a tech services company with 11-50 employees
We determine sizing based on multiple factors: number of users, available links, traffic types, server count, services in use, and whether services will be published.
General Surgery Specialist at Helwan University Cairo
You can scale up to multiple firewalls with centralized management.
Technical Consultant at a media company with 1,001-5,000 employees
You can't upgrade memory or storage on a specific model, which limits scalability.
Technical Services Lead at Telenet Solutions
Since it uses the underlying Kubernetes infrastructure, it can scale easily if the Kubernetes cluster is sufficiently large.
CTO at GCET
You can have high availability clusters, so very, very scalable in my opinion.
System Engineer SDDC / VCF at a tech services company with 51-200 employees
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
7.7
Fortinet FortiGate is praised for reliability and performance, with minor issues during upgrades and new firmware releases.
Sentiment score
7.9
Sophos Firewall is praised for its stability and reliability, with minor issues mainly linked to updates or setup errors.
Sentiment score
7.5
Sophos UTM is praised for stability and reliability, with few issues occurring mainly during updates or resource demands.
We're experiencing 99.999% availability consistently.
Manager, Information Technology at a consumer goods company with 11-50 employees
I would rate the stability of Fortinet FortiGate a ten out of ten.
NAC Support at Rah Infotech Pvt Ltd
Currently, we are experiencing a general outage of one of the main internet service providers of the Dominican Republic, and we have not been impacted in our operations because with SD-WAN, we have another internet service provider and we are working with the second WAN connection without any disruption.
CISO at a financial services firm with 1,001-5,000 employees
It is rated at nine out of ten for stability and is very reliable.
Director Technical Services at TechnoBIZ
Sophos XG is very stable, even when serving as a DHCP server.
Global IT Manager at Express KItchen
Sophos XGS is stable now, and I would rate its stability as a ten out of ten.
IT Manager at Bavaria Egypt S.A.E.
 

Room For Improvement

Fortinet FortiGate needs feature enhancements, better GUI support, and comprehensive improvements in integration, support, and cost efficiency.
Sophos Firewall faces challenges in speed, customization, software stability, user interface, integration, VPN configuration, and technical support.
Sophos UTM needs enhancements in reporting, UI, threat protection, VPN, technical support, scalability, pricing, and configuration simplicity.
These sessions should be around five to ten minutes long, allowing users and partners to quickly grasp the information without disrupting their daily tasks.
Managing Director at a manufacturing company with 10,001+ employees
The solution should be able to implement machine learning and analytics of all the logs for threat detection and protection.
Senior Systems Engineer at Caribbean Development Company
It would be better for customers to get immediate replacements even with a standard subscription.
Director at a tech services company with 11-50 employees
Business cannot stop just because of issues with support.
Sr. Manager (Technology) at Contessabd
Tekton also has an unstable API with frequent changes, making it challenging to maintain consistency across versions.
CTO at GCET
It would be beneficial if Sophos XGS offered an end-to-end solution with competitive pricing.
Head of IT at a consultancy with 11-50 employees
If you want to really implement some rules that are a little bit more difficult, Sophos always recommends getting the dedicated WAF, or web application firewall, but I would prefer to have more features on the web application firewall in the firewall itself because it would make more sense.
System Engineer SDDC / VCF at a tech services company with 51-200 employees
I would prefer to see additional features in the next release of Sophos UTM because cyber crime increases every day, so we also need to improve our game to prevent any chances for intrusion.
Network and Infrastructure Manager at Sonysugar
It would make my work much simpler because it makes decision-making much easier.
IT Manager at Vegol
 

Setup Cost

Fortinet FortiGate offers competitive pricing with varied costs, providing good value despite some considering it pricey, especially for renewals.
Sophos Firewall offers reasonable pricing with flexible licensing, but users have concerns about annual renewals and pricing increases.
Sophos UTM offers flexible pricing with incentives, praised for its features and value despite some regional variances.
Last year, I renewed the support for three years, which can sometimes be expensive but depends on the security benefits and how it helps us.
Network & System Admin at Invoke Studios
It offers cost savings as it is generally cheaper than the competition.
IT Infrastructure Architect at Apotek 1
It is about 20% cheaper.
Network Security Engineer at TD SYNNEX
Currently, it costs about four million shillings in Kenya.
Network and Infrastructure Manager at Sonysugar
The cost depends on the package you are in, such as full threat management or basic.
Technical Services Lead at Telenet Solutions
The last instance I purchased was for three years, around $3,700 for SDG 125.
CEO at Tawassul Technology
Pricing has become expensive recently due to the dollar hike and naira value changes in Nigeria.
Associate Director - Management Support Services at CIHP
The value between what I receive and what I pay is the best in the industry.
System Administrator at a training & coaching company with 11-50 employees
The pricing would be more economical if sold directly to the user compared to going through a partner, as they need to take their percentage.
Network and Infrastructure Manager at Sonysugar
 

Valuable Features

Fortinet FortiGate offers user-friendly, scalable network security with robust features, seamless integration, and comprehensive protection, making it highly reliable.
Sophos Firewall offers synchronized security, centralized management, and advanced features enhancing network performance, security visibility, and scalability.
Sophos UTM excels in configuration ease, real-time reporting, cost-effectiveness, and flexible security features, benefiting efficient management.
We got a firewall and gave an SSL VPN to my client to connect to their servers, after which, such kind of activities involving ransomware attacks stopped.
Owner at Mindware Computer Solutions
They put in a thing called the FortiCookbook, which is very easy to read with real-life scenarios that make networking tasks like joining networks very straightforward.
IT Manager at Daltons Limited
The firewall and VPN features are the most valuable in protecting our customers' networks.
Sales & Support at a tech services company with 1-10 employees
The firewall feature of Sophos XG has been the most effective for threat prevention.
Information Technology Specialist at stelios@biolandenergy.com
If any file is detected as malicious on any endpoint or firewall, Sophos Central immediately identifies the threat and publishes the information across all endpoints and firewalls.
Manager at rspl
It's able to detect cloud applications like Zoom or Microsoft Teams and allows traffic shaping based on the application.
Security Engineer at Mavisco Resources Sdn Bhd
The zero-day protection and firewall rules are some of the most effective features for threat management.
Associate Director - Management Support Services at CIHP
It helps us quite a lot, especially because since we use Sophos UTM, malware intrusions are not rampant.
Network and Infrastructure Manager at Sonysugar
Sophos UTM's valuable features include the cost, which is very competitive when compared with other vendors, balanced with the features that it delivers.
IT Manager at a consultancy with 51-200 employees
 

Categories and Ranking

Fortinet FortiGate
Sponsored
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
591
Ranking in other categories
Secure Web Gateways (SWG) (2nd), Firewalls (1st), Intrusion Detection and Prevention Software (IDPS) (1st), Software Defined WAN (SD-WAN) Solutions (1st), WAN Edge (1st), ZTNA (1st), Unified Threat Management (UTM) (1st)
Sophos Firewall
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
304
Ranking in other categories
Firewalls (3rd)
Sophos UTM
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
6.7
Number of Reviews
119
Ranking in other categories
Unified Threat Management (UTM) (5th)
 

Q&A Highlights

Miriam Tover - PeerSpot reviewer
Service Delivery Manager at PeerSpot
Feb 26, 2023
 

Featured Reviews

Abhinandan Yadav - PeerSpot reviewer
Network Security Engineer at Arrow PC Network Pvt Ltd
Unified security and sd-wan have improved uptime and cut wan costs for multi-site branches
Users report stability issues in certain versions, which requires regular updates. Real-world attacks have also highlighted the need for urgent patching of vulnerabilities.Fortinet FortiGate, while a powerful and feature-rich web firewall, could improve in areas like firmware stability, documentation, and ease of use. The learning curve can be steep for some users. For beginners, support quality can vary, and frequent updates with occasional vulnerabilities call for careful patch management. However, once Fortinet FortiGate is configured, it remains highly reliable and efficient. Customer support needs improvement, as I find it very slow, with reports from other users reflecting that customer support is inadequate.
TarunPanchal - PeerSpot reviewer
IT Manager , SAP HANA Administrator at Tara Paints & Chemicals
Decades of expertise lead to seamless installations and robust security
I typically use the Sophos XG Firewall to enhance my cybersecurity by using all layers. The intrusion prevention system impacts my security posture effectively, as we have not faced any ransomware or cyber threats. I have more than 800 servers live from Sophos. The synchronized security feature has proven to be very beneficial, and I have not encountered any issues. Sophos XG Firewall has contributed to reducing overall costs because it helps save money. We purchased endpoint security for the first time last year, and even without endpoint security, it provides comprehensive security. Sophos XG uses AI effectively to enhance threat detection and response, securing from AI at the packet level.
Bashir Bashir - PeerSpot reviewer
IT Manager at Vegol
Firewall management has become simpler and now provides real-time visibility and bandwidth control
The features I have found most valuable in Sophos UTM are that it is much easier to configure, I appreciate the reporting side of it, and the rules are very straightforward to work with. Sophos UTM's real-time insights into network health help my organization because I get real-time reports on what is happening on my network, what is trying to access me, the destination, and all that. I can then be reactive or proactive, and for zero-day, I think it is beneficial because it can learn what my network does. If anything goes outside what it expects, it sends a report on Sophos Central, so I find zero-day makes my work a bit easier. The use of Sophos UTM's intuitive management console has impacted my security policy enforcement in that it is much easier to configure; I configure with information rather than with presumptions.
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Comparison Review

it_user216600 - PeerSpot reviewer
Senior Technical Consultant with 51-200 employees
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…
 

Answers from the Community

Miriam Tover - PeerSpot reviewer
Service Delivery Manager at PeerSpot
Feb 26, 2023
Feb 26, 2023
The biggest difference between Sophos SG and Sophos XG is performance. Now, there's even a newer Hardware Platform (same OS as Sophos XG, which is called SFOS) - the Sophos XGS which has different chipset architecture, to attend each security module, with its newest feature called XStream Technology. Besides that, the GUI is very different. Nevertheless, it's worth trying the Sophos XG or XGS...
2 out of 18 answers
it_user1000680 - PeerSpot reviewer
Finance And IT at Galfar Aspire Readymix LLC
Feb 25, 2019
Please Select Sophos, it will make your internet speed is perfectly, and outstanding protection for your network
SM
Works at a computer software company with 11-50 employees
Feb 25, 2019
Sorry Nick, we are expertise in WatchGuard not Sophos! I Hope u find a better option tan me! Un saludo / Greetings Sinuhé Moscoso Serrano Coordinación de Sistemas Teléfono: 91882 29 29 Dirección: Avenida Punto Es, Nº 6 Tecnoalcalá. 28805 - Alcalá de Henares (Madrid). web: www.siadv.com e-mail: s.moscoso@siadv.com _____ La información contenida en este mensaje y/o archivo(s) adjunto(s), enviada desde SOLUCIONES INFORMÁTICAS ADV S.A., es confidencial/privilegiada y está destinada a ser leída sólo por la(s) persona(s) a la(s) que va dirigida. Le recordamos que sus datos han sido incorporados en el sistema de tratamiento de SOLUCIONES INFORMÁTICAS ADV S.A. y que siempre y cuando se cumplan los requisitos exigidos por la normativa, usted podrá ejercer sus derechos de acceso, rectificación, limitación de tratamiento, supresión, portabilidad y oposición/revocación, en los términos que establece la normativa vigente en materia de protección de datos, dirigiendo su petición a la dirección postal AVDA. PUNTO ES, 6 TECNOALCALÁ CAMPUS UNIVERSIDAD - ALCALÁ DE HENARES (28805) o bien a través de correo electrónico dpo.solucionesinformaticasadv@lock4data.es. Si usted lee este mensaje y no es el destinatario señalado, el empleado o el agente responsable de entregar el mensaje al destinatario, o ha recibido esta comunicación por error, le informamos que está totalmente prohibida, y puede ser ilegal, cualquier divulgación, distribución o reproducción de esta comunicación, y le rogamos que nos lo notifique inmediatamente y nos devuelva el mensaje original a la dirección arriba mencionada. Gracias. _____ De: Nick Regan from IT Central Station Enviado el: lunes, 25 de febrero de 2019 13:30 Para: s.moscoso@siadv.com Asunto: Seeking expertise in Sophos UTM Hi Sinuhe, Can you help out a colleague with the following question about Sophos UTM: ----- What Is The Biggest Difference Between Sophos UTM and Sophos XG? One of the most popular comparisons on IT Central Station is Sophos UTM vs Sophos XG . People like you are trying to decide which one is best for their company. Can you help them out? What is the biggest difference between Sophos UTM and Sophos XG? Which of these two solutions would you recommend to a colleague evaluating firewalls and why? Thanks for helping your peers make the best decision! ----- Please reply to this email with your response or post your answer here. You've been a member of IT Central Station since June 2018. In a market full of vendor hype, we provide free connections between real users of Sophos UTM to share advice and make better buying decisions. Thanks for being part of the community. Nick Regan Community Director, IT Central Station IT Central Station 244 Fifth Avenue New York, NY 10001 (646) 328-1944 um-nqn 297002 To change notifications, please visit your subscription page or unsubscribe completely. gitbdelVkUyRGkxK1IwUTBISXZ6U1pPQ2MzNXVCYkNjMW9COHBLbk4xUC9qWGV5MlNpL1lxODV2YjIvKzF5UmpsVlQxRy0tS3lOUXZ5ajBibzJ5QitrMnlqMEtLQT09--c0c4d23bcb28e517b482665721a97d17d9fde2c1gitbdel
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
11%
Comms Service Provider
10%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Financial Services Firm
7%
Computer Software Company
11%
Comms Service Provider
10%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Financial Services Firm
6%
Comms Service Provider
10%
Construction Company
9%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Computer Software Company
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business365
Midsize Enterprise136
Large Enterprise192
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business207
Midsize Enterprise61
Large Enterprise53
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business75
Midsize Enterprise28
Large Enterprise27
 

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 ...
Which is better - Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls or Sophos XG?
Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls have both great features and performance. I like that Palo Alto has regular threat si...
What are the main differences in features between Sophos XG and FortiGate 80F?
Hi Arvind P , The Sophos XG firewall has a number of models right from XG86 to XG135w under the 1U Desktop Form Fact...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Sophos XG?
The pricing is a little higher compared to Chinese products like Huawei. For those on a limited budget, I sometimes p...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Sophos UTM?
The pricing for Sophos UTM is reasonable; I do not have an issue with it, though I was considering RED because I have...
What needs improvement with Sophos UTM?
I would like to improve Sophos UTM in that there is software I use that goes deeper in the reporting on usage. There ...
What is your primary use case for Sophos UTM?
Sophos UTM is the primary product I work with, specifically the firewalls. I mainly use the application control featu...
 

Also Known As

Fortinet FortiGate Next-Generation Firewall
Sophos XG, Sophos XGS
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
Information Not Available
One Housing Group
Find out what your peers are saying about Sophos Firewall vs. Sophos UTM and other solutions. Updated: April 2026.
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