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Sophos XG vs Zyxel Unified Security Gateway 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:
 

Categories and Ranking

Fortinet FortiGate
Sponsored
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
402
Ranking in other categories
Firewalls (2nd), Software Defined WAN (SD-WAN) Solutions (1st), WAN Edge (1st)
Sophos XG
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.0
Number of Reviews
215
Ranking in other categories
Firewalls (4th)
Zyxel Unified Security Gateway
Average Rating
6.6
Reviews Sentiment
4.9
Number of Reviews
4
Ranking in other categories
Unified Threat Management (UTM) (14th)
 

Featured Reviews

Vasu Gala - PeerSpot reviewer
A stable solution with an intuitive interface and quick customer service
I have been working with Fortinet FortiGate, WatchGuard, Sophos, and SonicWall. I'm not as comfortable with SonicWall because of their UI and limitations. I prefer Fortinet above all other options. When it comes to configuration, I am confident in my ability to handle various tasks, including creating policies such as firewall rules, web policies, and application policies. Additionally, I can configure VPNs and implement load balancing, among other tasks. Overall, I feel much more comfortable working with Fortinet. Fortinet has made significant improvements by integrating AI with firewalls for threat analysis and prevention. In the past 2-3 years, they have launched FortiSASE and SIEM, and they also provide SOC services. Both Palo Alto and Fortinet FortiGate are excellent. While Fortinet FortiGate comes at higher prices, the functionality and support justify the cost. They promptly resolve firmware issues and inform all support providers about configuration changes.
TarunPanchal - PeerSpot reviewer
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.
Alexander Azikov - PeerSpot reviewer
A robust appliance that is reasonably priced and straightforward to set up
Although manageable, the user interface is a little bit slow and could be improved. There are two user interface options available, namely the basic and the advanced. The basic UI is not very good and doesn't have a lot of features, although it is fast. The advanced UI allows me to do whatever I want, but this is where the issue of speed exists. At one of our sites, the CPU utilization was very high, and for no reason. Technical support needs to be more responsive to requests.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Initial setup is straightforward. There weren't too many issues with setting it up. It takes one hour or so."
"Fortinet FortiGate is one of the most solid and secure firewalls as long as you keep it up to date. The price is right; it's not very expensive."
"The ECC management and the GUI that offers single interface management are the most valuable features of Fortinet FortiGate."
"The combined license for the network, the next-generation firewall, and the integration with SD-WAN for all branches are what I consider to be the best features. It's effective for multi-branch customers."
"The stability of the solution is excellent, as it is with other Fortinet products."
"Centralized monitoring, policy management, and virtualized appliances allow us to take control over our public and private infrastructure."
"The most valuable features are SD-WAN, application control, IPS control, and FortiSandbox."
"Fortinet FortiGate has positively impacted my organization, offering ease of management with no network disruptions; it works seamlessly."
"The most valuable feature is the VPN aspect."
"The VPN access for users is also a great thing, especially nowadays when working from home."
"Sophos XG has cybersecurity. It integrates with the antivirus software."
"It is easy to implement."
"The stability of Sophos XG is good, it has good performance."
"The most valuable is the synchronized security between Sophos XG and Sophos endpoint because it provides a lot of visibility about unknown applications. The endpoint shares the information of unknown applications, and you can learn about those applications and create policies to allow or block those applications."
"The most valuable feature, according to the setup we have at our work place here, is the flexibility of the system or the firmware that's running the appliance. It's so flexible, performing multiple rules with different configurations. According to the set up here, we need to implement several firewalls with different access levels, because we have a variety of users. For this requirement, it's very flexible and very easy to use."
"The valuable features include cloud-native integration, which makes it highly available and efficient in modern containerized environments."
"This is a capable appliance and the standard features work well for us."
"The most valuable features of the solution stem from web filtering, malware protection, and antivirus."
"The solution can scale well."
 

Cons

"Fortinet FortiGate could be improved in terms of user friendliness at the policy level and assigning URL based and keyword based features."
"One drawback of Fortinet FortiGate is that they provide two types of models: one with a hard disk and another without. The model without a hard disk has very low ROM where you can store very few logs, after which you need to upload it to the cloud or purchase a firewall with SSD. That's the only drawback."
"The customization could be improved. Cisco, for example, is much better at this. They need to work to be at least as good as they are."
"They should do a better job in testing when they put out a new release because when a new software version is released, it is not always stable or does not always have all the previous features working correctly."
"The reports are very basic."
"We sometimes have issues with FortiGate's routing table in the latest firmware update. We had to downgrade the device because our customers complained about bugs."
"Fortinet should improve its software, as we are seeing lots of firmware versions generated for each vulnerability issue. It becomes difficult for us to keep updating the firmware frequently due to bugs."
"There are some cloud-based features that could be much more flexible than they currently are."
"Lacking network access control, user profiling and analytics dashboards."
"Sophos XG is reaching its end-of-life and end-of-support; therefore, the user count limitation of particular models should be improved."
"Their support is fairly good, and they come back to me. I've had an issue once or twice where I couldn't understand what the support person was saying because those calls were probably routed to India. They were a bit difficult to understand, but it is generally not an issue."
"It is already secure but it could be better in terms of other breaches that may occur."
"The first area that needs to be improved is customer support."
"They need to do more quality checks before they release firmware upgrades. Currently, a few Cyberoam firewall customers are facing some issues while upgrading the Cyberoam firmware to Sophos. After the new firmware is installed, they are seeing some performance issues, which require some bug fixes. The performance is fine after getting the required support. Customers who are already using Sophos hardware are quite satisfied with this solution. Their support should also be improved. We are facing difficulties getting support on time through email or phone."
"The solution could improve by making the graphical interface better and increasing the performance."
"The technical support could be improved, particularly in terms of response speed, as there were delays when working with their Indian support team."
"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."
"Although manageable, the user interface is a little bit slow and could be improved."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The Indian market is different than the European and American markets. When you compare they need to be a bit more aggressive on pricing."
"The price is fair compared to the other competitors."
"It has a competitive price."
"If you purchase a one-year subscription with the hardware and then you want to renew for the second year, it is very costly."
"It is more expensive than Sophos. Fortinet is overall more expensive than Sophos. The small range of Fortinet, such as 60F and 80F, is more expensive than the small range of Sophos. Sophos is cheaper. In addition, if you jump from 80F Series to 100F Series, the price doubles."
"The price range is quite acceptable and normal."
"Fortinet FortiGate has different licensing models, depending on what you're going to do. Services included would depend on the license model. Licenses can be renewed annually."
"The pricing for the product is alright."
"When comparing with Palo Alto and Cisco, Sophos is cheaper."
"I paid for a license for the solution for three years costing approximately $11,000. Additionally, I received the Web Appliance fee for paying for the full licencing."
"I rate Sophos XG’s pricing a seven out of ten."
"Its price is fair. It is cheaper and way better than others."
"Sophos XG isn't expensive compared to Check Point."
"Licensing fees are paid on a yearly basis."
"When you compare with Barracuda, Sophos is quite a bit cheaper."
"We have a three-year license."
"The price of Zyxel Unified Security Gateway is good compared to other similar products in the market."
"This gateway is pretty cheap."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
16%
Comms Service Provider
8%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Financial Services Firm
6%
Computer Software Company
16%
Comms Service Provider
9%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Financial Services Firm
6%
Comms Service Provider
20%
Computer Software Company
16%
Retailer
7%
Outsourcing Company
5%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
 

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 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?
The price of Zyxel Unified Security Gateway is good compared to other similar products in the market.
What needs improvement with Zyxel Unified Security Gateway?
If you have very secure data, Zyxel Unified Security Gateway will not be very useful. My company doesn't have to deal...
 

Also Known As

FortiGate 60b, FortiGate 60c, FortiGate 80c, FortiGate 50b, FortiGate 200b, FortiGate 110c, FortiGate, Fortinet Firewall
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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
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Find out what your peers are saying about Sophos XG vs. Zyxel Unified Security Gateway and other solutions. Updated: July 2025.
864,053 professionals have used our research since 2012.