We performed a comparison between Sophos XG and WatchGuard Firebox based on our users’ reviews in five categories. After reading all of the collected data, you can find our conclusion below.
Comparison Results: WatchGuard Firebox comes out on top in this comparison. It is easy to use, performs well, and has robust security protocols. In addition, its support is better than that of Sophos XG.
"The security fabric is excellent."
"It's very easy to set up, it's very easy to make policies and, for an organization, that means you don't need IT expert in firewalls. You just need to have somebody who knows a little bit of IT, and that's it. With other products, you need someone with a "Masters" degree in firewalls."
"The initial installation is very straightforward."
"There is an easy process for configuring it, and it is straightforward to implement the device from scratch."
"SSL-VPN is very useful for us and has been very reliable."
"Fortinet FortiGate protects against internet-based threats, both internal and external. It is scalable, stable, easy to use, and easy to install."
"The GUI is good."
"Fortinet FortiGate's reliability is valuable."
"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."
"We've had good experiences with technical support."
"We find it easy to use. Its internal configuration is very easy. It is not complicated in terms of use and configuration. It has been fairly stable, and it is also scalable."
"One of the most valuable features is the VPN."
"This solution is very user-friendly and even a non-professional can configure the policies."
"I have found configuring the ports to be easier in Sophos XG compared to the other devices."
"Sophos XG is easy to use."
"The solution seems pretty stable. We've had no issues so far."
"The client is easy to use and stable"
"HostWatch makes it so I can see, in real-time, activity in the event that there is something weird happening on the network. This simplifies my job."
"The policy monitoring and allowing different traffic flows are the most useful features for us; regulating which traffic comes in and out."
"The most valuable feature of WatchGuard Firebox is its ease of use."
"I could still keep the data rates really high, up near the two gigahertz data speeds, without compromise on the security perimeters being acted simultaneously."
"From my experience with their customer service team, I would say that they seem quite knowledgeable and fairly quick to respond."
"Policy VPN, site-to-site VPN, traffic monitoring, anti-spam filters, and all other advanced features are valuable."
"Their centralized console simplifies management for organizations with multiple Fireboxes."
"We'd like more management across other integrations."
"I feel that the reporting needs to be improved."
"Scalability is one of the disadvantages. When it comes to scalability, you have to actually change the box. If you want to upgrade it, you need to actually change the existing box and probably you take the system off to other sites."
"The monitor and the visibility, in this proxy, is very weak."
"Some features of Fortinet FortiGate are actually fee enabled that are inconvenient for deploying in production. Other issues relate to isolation with Cisco products and your server."
"Its reporting can be improved. Sometimes, I don't get proper reports."
"Fortinet FortiGate could improve by having a frequent ask questions(FAQ) area for people to receive quick answers to popular questions. Additionally, it would be beneficial to have an SMS notification feature. For example, if you cannot access your email you could receive an SMS message."
"Vulnerability scanning could be improved."
"Technical support is difficult to access."
"The uploading and downloading of reports should be included."
"The current bandwidth consumption is no longer shown in the XG and XGS."
"Scalability could be improved. It could be better."
"They can lower its price. It is very expensive. We are looking for a less expensive solution depending on our budget. They can also improve it in terms of firewall protection."
"Its user interface is a little bit slow."
"I need to open the email to see what it contains and the value of it before I know whether to access it or not."
"We are not very happy with the customer support they provide — it's quite slow."
"The user interface for WatchGuard Firebox has room for improvement. Right now, it's a bit complex to work with and could be easier."
"It would be wonderful if the WatchGuard team develops nice products for threat intelligence."
"In terms of what could be improved, I would say their web blocker feature. It is still quite a confusing setup, especially when you want to filter out a particular category for granularity. For example, you do not want to filter Facebook but you do want to filter Facebook games only. It can be done, but the process to do it is very confusing."
"In WatchGuard Firebox, the antivirus and malware detection systems are areas with shortcomings that require improvement since they are the most important elements of a cybersecurity tool."
"The level of support from WatchGuard is not as good."
"The VPN aspect of the WatchGuard Firebox is an area that could potentially benefit from improvement. We encountered difficulties while attempting to integrate Windows 11 laptops into the system, which resulted in unreliable connections. After some research, we discovered that this was primarily due to compatibility issues with Windows 11 and required a patch. However, it was still a challenge as it seemed that even when we tried to keep the laptops on Windows 10, they still exhibited the same issues as Windows 11 machines. Despite WatchGuard attributing the problem to Microsoft, we were eventually able to find a solution and all the machines are now functioning seamlessly."
"An area for improvement is that when we use a web administration link, there is no security."
"There should be better integration and a way to configure multiple vendors into the same data center in order to offer more flexibility."
Sophos XG is ranked 7th in Firewalls with 192 reviews while WatchGuard Firebox is ranked 13th in Firewalls with 78 reviews. Sophos XG is rated 8.2, while WatchGuard Firebox is rated 8.6. The top reviewer of Sophos XG writes "Easy to use and deploy with an improved pricing structure in place". On the other hand, the top reviewer of WatchGuard Firebox writes "Offers a streamlined deployment, intuitive interface and robust security features". Sophos XG is most compared with Netgate pfSense, OPNsense, Sophos XGS, Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls and Check Point NGFW, whereas WatchGuard Firebox is most compared with Netgate pfSense, OPNsense, SonicWall TZ, Meraki MX and Cisco Secure Firewall. See our Sophos XG vs. WatchGuard Firebox report.
See our list of best Firewalls vendors and best Firewalls vendors.
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