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Sophos UTM vs Zyxel Unified Security Gateway comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Nov 7, 2024

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
Ranking in Unified Threat Management (UTM)
5th
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
118
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Zyxel Unified Security Gateway
Ranking in Unified Threat Management (UTM)
13th
Average Rating
6.6
Reviews Sentiment
4.9
Number of Reviews
4
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of February 2026, in the Unified Threat Management (UTM) category, the mindshare of Sophos UTM is 8.1%, up from 6.4% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Zyxel Unified Security Gateway is 4.0%, up from 2.9% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Unified Threat Management (UTM) Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Sophos UTM8.1%
Zyxel Unified Security Gateway4.0%
Other87.9%
Unified Threat Management (UTM)
 

Featured Reviews

Thomas Zimmerman - PeerSpot reviewer
System Engineer SDDC / VCF at a tech services company with 51-200 employees
Integrated firewall and VPN have provided cost savings and strengthened customer security
The needed improvements for Sophos UTM include that the GUI could be a little more high-resolution-aware because it's still stuck in the small, low-resolution admin days, and those are long over. I choose a rating of nine out of ten for Sophos UTM because, as I mentioned, the graphical user interface is stuck in the past, and some things here and there are not implemented to the full, such as the reverse gateway thing, reverse proxy, and web application firewall. 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. Other than that, it's a very smooth experience, and I really appreciate it.
reviewer2399337 - PeerSpot reviewer
Sales and technical consultant at a manufacturing company with 10,001+ employees
User has benefited from stable performance and effective completion of security tasks
I use it mostly for VPN and for some firewall solutions When considering my main use case with VPN, I can say that I got the Zyxel Unified Security Gateway, and it works fine. However, we are thinking about using a different solution based on open source because Zyxel Unified Security Gateway…

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"​Configuration could not be made any easier."
"The most valuable feature is the price. I've been requesting prices all over these years between different solutions like Fortinet, Palo Alto, and Check Point and Sophos has been the cheapest and the best of all of them that I have tried. I have been working with Fortinet, it's a fact that the price is surprisingly better."
"The initial setup is easy."
"The cost of the solution is very reasonable."
"The solution is stable."
"What I like about the solution is the ease of use."
"It is easy to manage."
"The initial setup is pretty easy."
"This is a capable appliance and the standard features work well for us."
"The solution can scale well."
"The Zyxel Unified Security Gateway solution is stable and does its job effectively."
"The most valuable features of the solution stem from web filtering, malware protection, and antivirus."
 

Cons

"Sophos UTM's firewall is a bit weak, and some of its features lack depth compared to other products like F5."
"When we call support, we get put on hold for a long time."
"Finding information about Sophos’ sizing guidelines can actually be difficult. Also, Sophos does not make it clear what they mean by “users” when you are sizing a firewall, which then leads to undersized implementations.​"
"The pricing is an issue."
"The virus updates will always depend on new viruses that are discovered. Maybe they can send a notification or a reminder for update time."
"Flexibility in pricing could be improved. It's more rigid in its pricing compared to its competitor: Kaspersky."
"We would like to have unique viewable IDs for rules and in the packet filter logfile, for easier debugging of old log files."
"Doesn't provide antivirus for individual computers."
"Although manageable, the user interface is a little bit slow and could be improved."
"The product has some scalability and data management issues where improvements are required."
"Sometimes it reboots when you least expect it, and that's the main issue."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The AWS Marketplace product should be a better fit, but it is a little pricier."
"The price is something that one will need to consider."
"This product is free for home users. The more expensive products have better performance."
"It is the cheapest product available. It's good if you have a low budget."
"Both the technical and cost aspects are feasible since it is possible to obtain and use the device as a PnP solution."
"Pricing for the upgrade was very competitive as Sophos wanted to retain existing customers."
"Go to a vendor and let them assess your needs so you can get a right-sized device."
"The problem with the Sophos is not the cost of the hardware but the cost of the modules, packages, and the subscription."
"This gateway is pretty cheap."
"The price of Zyxel Unified Security Gateway is good compared to other similar products in the market."
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Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Unified Threat Management (UTM) solutions are best for your needs.
881,515 professionals have used our research since 2012.
 

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…
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Comms Service Provider
9%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Computer Software Company
8%
Educational Organization
6%
Comms Service Provider
22%
Computer Software Company
11%
Outsourcing Company
8%
Wholesaler/Distributor
4%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business74
Midsize Enterprise28
Large Enterprise25
No data available
 

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...
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?
I have no declaration regarding my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing for Sophos UTM.
What do you like most about Zyxel Unified Security Gateway?
The most valuable features of the solution stem from web filtering, malware protection, and antivirus.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Zyxel Unified Security Gateway?
I cannot definitively comment on whether Zyxel Unified Security Gateway is an affordable product as I haven't done comparisons with other solutions. When our license expires, we plan to explore ope...
What needs improvement with Zyxel Unified Security Gateway?
The integration capability is quite challenging. The system is very complicated, and many features are hidden. I'm looking for something new that is slightly simpler. Regarding user experience, the...
 

Also Known As

Astaro
No data available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

One Housing Group
Information Not Available
Find out what your peers are saying about Sophos UTM vs. Zyxel Unified Security Gateway and other solutions. Updated: January 2026.
881,515 professionals have used our research since 2012.