Sophos UTM vs WatchGuard XTM [EOL] comparison

Why PeerSpot?

Sophos and WatchGuard are both solutions in the Firewalls category. Additionally, 90% of Sophos users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 90% of WatchGuard users who would recommend it.

Sophos UTM

Read 120 Sophos UTM reviews

13,446 Views
6,185 Comparison Views

90% willing to recommend

WatchGuard XTM [EOL]

Read 34 WatchGuard XTM [EOL] reviews

90% willing to recommend

Sophos UTM

WatchGuard XTM [EOL]

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive Summary

We performed a comparison between Sophos UTM and WatchGuard XTM [EOL] based on real PeerSpot user reviews.

Find out what your peers are saying about Fortinet, Cisco, Netgate and others in Firewalls.

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Firewalls

October 2026

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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

Sophos UTM

Average Rating

8.6

Reviews Sentiment

6.6

Number of Reviews

120

Ranking in other categories

Unified Threat Management (UTM) (6th)

WatchGuard XTM [EOL]

Average Rating

8.0

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Featured Reviews

Heinz Raecke

CEO at iSource GmbH

Integrated security tools have supported critical infrastructure and improved network performance

Regarding Secureworks Taegis VDR Vulnerability Management, I do not have all these shortcuts in my head. Perhaps I have to ask my technicians, but we are in full stress because we have to change this entire firewall equipment, also the entire access points, because of the end of life. We also have the full product in for XDR and extensions. We are also part of the webinars from Sophos. It would be better if there were also some important webinars in German. Everything needs improvement, because also the wireless, also RED box and so on. The handling was much easier on the old equipment than on the new XGS. I think there should also be a little more automatic for SD-WAN routing and so on. Because we have to learn some things from the basic completely new because it is different than Sophos UTM, the XGS. The features that could be improved about Sophos UTM include the new features we have in XGS with a simpler interface. For example, in Sophos UTM, we could define IP hosts and use this IP host. We did not have to insert on every, for example, for wide area networks, we had to put the IP addresses from the other side by hand. In Sophos UTM, we could define it under definitions and then use this IP host where we needed it. In the new XGS, if there is a change in the IP address, we have to do it on all, for example, site-to-site VPN tunnels and so on. We have much more work and it is not so easy because we have to check all the definitions. It is also, for example, some of the male technicians like me, we have a biology handicap. For example, male technicians in Europe also have a red-green problem. So we use these light colors on the interface. In some cases, it is not easy to see the, for example, letters or numbers because of the contrast.

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Generalm4545

General Manager- IT & Automation - Serum at a pharma/biotech company with 1,001-5,000 employees

Protects from attack software and hacking but it doesn't provide the reports in a readable format

In my opinion, image clarity is very important, because I don't get the proper image product on reports. This means that functionality is not there. My engineer does not know how he can replace an order. We attach a log after any kind of keys using a utility instead. For the internet policies that we are implementing, the policy should be based on proper protocols. We use the default policies and there are a number of third-party protocols that appear here. Management with WatchGuard XTM means that out of policy is the problem from our side. In this way, we can not do effective services for people with this one. The policy definition with WatchGuard XTM is not proper for all use case requirements. I've got weekly business reports that I am expecting attachments with from WatchGuard XTM that display data for all kinds of consideration which should be required. Main User Functionality Level Order must adhere to using the admin functionality on the registry, or else our users publish their own name. Maybe these recommendations are irrelevant, but I say that the issue to improve most with WatchGuard XTM is the Main User Function.

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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

"The stability of the product is quite good; we haven't had any issues with bugs or glitches, it doesn't crash or freeze on us, and we trust its reliability."

"Our systems are silent, secure, and we don't have many problems with security policy enforcement."

"The solution has email firewall built in with all sorts of functionality, it is an absolutely excellent firewall, the logging is really good, you get great information about what's going on."

"The zero-day protection and firewall rules are some of the most effective features for threat management."

"We use Sophos UTM for multi-site VPN, quarantine, sandboxing, and IPF, and it blocks malware and other unauthorized apps."

"The solution's sandboxing, application center, and database engine are good."

"RED remote Ethernet Device layer 2 site-to-site tunnel is a layer 2 tunnel based on SSL protocol that you can establish with or without a static public IP from the provider and this is a feature you will not see among another vendor."

"Scaling out cannot be easier, as there are many migration paths."

More Sophos UTM pros

"We're really happy with WatchGuard."

"Application Control is fantastic with over 2,500 applications and the granularity that we can either allow people to view but not be able to log on to Facebook; or view it and log onto it if they're in the marketing department, but not play Facebook games. There are all sorts of different options like that. So it's highly granular."

"This product is solid and has a great reputation behind it."

"There is a site-to-site VPN configuration between others people."

"Today, however, with the 11.9.4 version, our environment is very stable."

"The web filtering is a good feature."

"We switched because WatchGuard offered better value for money without sacrificing security."

"Simply, give this tool a try; it will generate great benefits in terms of the scalability and environment."

More WatchGuard XTM [EOL] pros

Cons

"I would like to see the SD-WAN feature improved."

"The logs are not clear, which means that you need an additional piece of software in order to read them clearly."

"Sophos UTM could be simplified, and they can improve on the many other features, like SD-WAN and load balancing. Sophos UTM is missing a few features that their competitors have. For example, if you have multiple branches you would like to connect, the load balancing features aren't available on multilink. If we create a VPM for multiple LAN links, we cannot load balance the traffic."

"We had some problems with the configuration. They had provided a CloudFormation template, and we had to go several rounds to make it work."

"The ease of configuration could be improved. It's not as simple as it could be just yet."

"The functionality is not granular enough to monitor or identify issues effectively."

"The initial setup was straightforward. The full deployment takes approximately two days which could be simplified to reduce the time. The major part of the process is the configuration and the policy setup."

"There were a lot of features and functionality in Sophos SG UTM but nothing was state of the art in terms of technology. You did not get the latest functions. It was very monolithic as it was based on an old Linux PuTTY system."

More Sophos UTM cons

"Initially WatchGuard assured us regarding endpoint security, but we are not sure that the product provides endpoint security features to its full extent."

"The VPN errors are not helpful when troubleshooting."

"Now, you need to replace the appliance."

"WatchGuard doesn't have a product that allows them to get into the data center. And that's just because there is no hardware to do the job. The software could do it, but there's no hardware that allows that to happen at the moment. So it doesn't scale as well as some other products, that's for sure."

"The technical support is very bad. The price is very high, the response time is very long, and technical support does not provide a general solution."

"The support is poor and lazy."

"Wireless throughput needs to be improved."

"Early models of the XTM2 (e.g. 21, 22, 23) line lacked sufficient memory, and caused a number of issues that required frequent reboots."

More WatchGuard XTM [EOL] cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"If you would like to run an active-passive HA system, you only need to buy an additional hardware without subscription. At other vendors, you need subscription for both devices."

"Although Sophos UTM is a good product, other products have more flexibility with their pricing. It is a very fine product, but when someone wants more relaxed pricing or more leverage in pricing, Sophos is more rigid."

"Purchasing it through the AWS Marketplace went smoothly. We did not have any issues and the pricing was decent."

"It is necessary to pay for a licence to use the solution, but it is not very expensive."

"It's expensive. It has a yearly license."

"The solution is affordable compared to others, such as FortiGate. The price is important."

"The price of the license for Sophos UTM is approximately $5,500. The solution is less expensive than competitors."

"There is a license for the device and for the software. We pay annually for the solution and the cost is competitive."

More Sophos UTM pricing and cost advice

"It costs less than the SO works and others (like SonicWall, Cisco, and Barracuda) without increasing so much CPU use."

"Get at least a maintenance contract for the updates and take a larger WatchGuard than you need. A WatchGuard creates new ways to secure your network."

"The licensing and renewal is very expensive."

"Like all other manufacturers, there are a lot of features and different pricing. The best is to talk to a representative."

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Comparison Review

it_user216600

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…

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Outsourcing Company

13%

Construction Company

11%

Comms Service Provider

10%

Manufacturing Company

Construction Company

14%

Financial Services Firm

11%

Outsourcing Company

11%

Marketing Services Firm

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	75
Midsize Enterprise	28
Large Enterprise	27

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	24
Midsize Enterprise	7
Large Enterprise	3

Questions from the Community

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 good. The most valuable features for me are their web and email filtering. I wou...

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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 different sites I wanted to connect, and instead of doing site-to-site, the RED...

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What needs improvement with Sophos UTM?

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Comparisons

Fortinet FortiGate vs Sophos UTM

Compared 9% of the time

OPNsense vs Sophos UTM

Compared 7% of the time

Netgate pfSense vs Sophos UTM

Compared 7% of the time

Cisco Secure Firewall vs Sophos UTM

Compared 7% of the time

Sophos Firewall vs Sophos UTM

Compared 4% of the time

More Sophos UTM Competitors

Fortinet FortiGate vs WatchGuard XTM [EOL]

Compared 17% of the time

Cisco Secure Firewall vs WatchGuard XTM [EOL]

Compared 14% of the time

Check Point Quantum Force (NGFW) vs WatchGuard XTM [EOL]

Compared 8% of the time

Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls vs WatchGuard XTM [EOL]

Compared 7% of the time

Palo Alto Networks WildFire vs WatchGuard XTM [EOL]

Compared 6% of the time

More WatchGuard XTM [EOL] Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Sophos UTM

October 2026

Download Sophos UTM product report

Buyer's Guide

WatchGuard XTM [EOL]

October 2026

Download WatchGuard XTM [EOL] product report

Also Known As

Astaro

No data available

Overview

Sophos UTM delivers comprehensive network security with features like firewall, intrusion prevention, and endpoint protection. Its user-friendly interface and scalable options make it ideal for businesses of varying sizes, ensuring seamless integration with AWS, cloud services, and other Sophos offerings.

With robust Advanced Threat Protection, Sophos UTM offers a holistic approach to security through its intuitive platform. It includes a centralized console for enhanced threat visibility, integrated web application firewall, and secure remote access via SSL VPN and RED device. Critiques focus on limited reporting capabilities, complex licensing, and requiring improvements in VPN and email protection, centralized management, and application control.

What are the key features of Sophos UTM?

Advanced Threat Protection: Protects against sophisticated attacks by integrating multiple security technologies.
Firewall and Web Protection: Provides core security measures with intrusion prevention and application control.
Integrated WAF: Shields applications from vulnerabilities, ensuring secure user interactions.
Scalable Deployment: Supports diverse setups from small businesses to large enterprises, including cloud integrations.

What benefits should users expect from Sophos UTM?

Unified Management: Simplifies security operations through a single management console for cohesive control.
Secure Remote Access: Extends network security to remote users without compromising protection quality.
Cost Efficiency: Offers scalable, cost-effective security solutions to adapt to growing business needs.

Sophos UTM sees implementations in industries needing strong perimeter protection and secure remote access, such as finance, healthcare, and education. It supports seamless network integration, ensuring businesses maintain compliance and safeguard their digital environments effectively.

Sophos

Small businesses need big security, too, and the WatchGuard XTM Series firewall/VPN appliances deliver that strong protection, but without the hefty price tag. Enterprise-grade security includes full HTTPS content inspection, VoIP support, and optional security subscriptions like Application Control and Intrusion Prevention Service.

WatchGuard

Sample Customers

One Housing Group

AVG, Cyren, Kaspersky Lab, Lastline, NCP engineering, Trend Micro, Websense

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