Sophos XGS vs Stormshield Network Security comparison

Sophos and Stormshield are both solutions in the Firewalls category. Additionally, 94% of Sophos users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 85% of Stormshield users who would recommend it.

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive Summary

We performed a comparison between Sophos XGS and Stormshield Network Security based on real PeerSpot user reviews.

Find out in this report how the two Firewalls solutions compare in terms of features, pricing, service and support, easy of deployment, and ROI.

To learn more, read our detailed Sophos XGS vs. Stormshield Network Security Report (Updated: November 2025).

Buyer's Guide

Sophos XGS vs. Stormshield Network Security

November 2025

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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

Fortinet FortiGate

Featured Reviews

Vasu Gala

Manager, Information Technology Operation/Presales at TechMonarch

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.

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Nassif Kaleny

IT Manager at Bavaria Egypt S.A.E.

Dynamic web and mail filtering contribute to improved security measures

The reporting system is very poor. I cannot trace any traffic to our site if it feels some threats. It just tells me that there is something during a certain time but does not provide information about the type of threats or how to get rid of them. This needs improvement.

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Benjamin

Network Engineer at ACS2I

The intrusion detection system helps our organization by automatically detecting and responding to potential threats

The tool's most valuable feature is its dashboard, which helps you manage different aspects of a single page. The intrusion detection system helps our organization by automatically detecting and responding to potential threats. It operates similarly to Darktrace, which detects and responds automatically based on the security rules you apply. Initially, you configure everything to block, and then you can whitelist specific items as needed.

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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

"Fortinet FortiGate provides excellent security against ransomware attacks."

"Fortinet FortiGate is scalable for our users. Right now, we have almost 70 users. We do not have any plan to increase our usage of FortiGate. For maintaining the firewall solution, one staff member is enough."

"Fortinet FortiGate has positively impacted our organization by preventing hackers from accessing our network."

"Has a very user-friendly interface and doesn't require any prior knowledge."

"Web filtering is the most useful feature."

"The solution can scale."

"The FortiGate controls the user's activities and maximizes my bandwidth use overall."

"The tool is a nice product and easy to handle. The software's user interface is also good. You can easily implement remote access in the solution."

More Fortinet FortiGate pros

"The stability of Sophos XGS is very high."

"The initial setup is straightforward."

"It's easy to use and user-friendly."

"Sophos XGS has contributed to the reduction of the overall security costs of our company's customers."

"The Sophos XGS product is highly versatile and well-suited for various companies, including small, medium, and large enterprises. Its effectiveness lies in its inspection firewall capabilities, making it a commonly chosen option in our country due to its reasonable pricing. Sophos Firewall's support for VPN encryption and thorough inspection makes it a suitable choice for many companies, and I recommend it accordingly. At the moment, I can't propose any new features. The primary concern is the traffic stability, which needs improvement. Although the traffic stability is generally good, it has been noted that it can impact RAM and CPU, affecting workflow and inspection."

"The solution is stable."

"Sophos XGS' most valuable features are protection and intrusion prevention detection."

"Sophos offers strong features such as IPS and application control that are particularly valuable."

More Sophos XGS pros

"The most valuable features are the IPS, the firewall function, and the price."

"A very robust product."

"Our organization's main concern is stability, and this is a stable solution."

"It's an easy, straightforward management platform to use."

"I like that it works fine. Stormshield is a very good solution."

"I can see what traffic is going on. I can easily block any programs from attacks."

"I like how you can configure the rules. There is the task for the rules and a task for the network configuration. It also provides SMD filtering, and it can be integrated with the active directory for the users, their mission, and the VPN configuration. We are here in Sudan, and Stormshield didn't work in Sudan for more than a decade. Stormshield is a very strong firewall and very easy to configure and maintain. I am just working with the firewall solution, and we don't have any other solutions like endpoint solutions or something like that."

"This solution is quick and easy to configure."

More Stormshield Network Security pros

Cons

"Fortinet FortiGate IPS could improve the configuration. In some use cases, there can be some configuration conflicts."

"Web security solutions can be improved."

"The user interface could be improved."

"The solution could have licensing fees reduced in the future."

"The graphical interface could be improved."

"I would like to have SD-WAN as a part of the Next Generation Firewall. It would enhance high availability."

"Currently, FortiGate is providing SSL VPN. But they're missing some features that are available in Palo Alto's SSL VPN."

"The documentation available for Fortinet FortiGate should be improved"

More Fortinet FortiGate cons

"Support could be improved."

"Sophos pricing is very high. The last instance I purchased was for three years, around $3,700 for SDG 125."

"The solution could have a bit more functionality."

"Sophos XGS could improve the automation system. It could be better if there was some level of automation, attacks automation, meaning if this happens, then it automatically executes a particular process."

"I rate Sophos' support five out of 10. It's sometimes difficult to contact them, and finding a solution is not easy."

"VPN setup could be improved."

"Sophos XGS could improve by having better integration with Active Directory."

"The solution could improve by using fewer hardware resources compared to other products like Palo Alto, which has better performance."

More Sophos XGS cons

"The biggest issue was their support department was not able to help us, then everything stops. This is a no-go area for me."

"The filtering configuration could be better. We have some difficulties with the filtering configuration and the filter extension. It's not that easy. It's not that straightforward. In the next release, I would like to see a reporting system. Stormshield doesn't have any tutorials on how to do the configuration and things like that. They just have documentation on the website. If you want to configure, for example, Cisco or Fortinet, you can find tutorials on YouTube. They show you how to configure the features, and so on. In Stormshield, there is nothing on social media or the internet on how to configure different things. The lack of documentation or the lack of material makes it difficult for others to adopt this solution."

"The product must improve its pricing."

"Stormshield Network Security is quite expensive."

"It could be better if it were more user-friendly. It's too complicated for us to use it. The price could be better as well."

"With Stormshield, there are difficulties joining things, and it can be complex depending on the architecture."

"A more user-friendly interface would be helpful."

"This solution has a big problem with web filtering and it needs to be improved."

More Stormshield Network Security cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Fortinet has more device options that are affordable for small businesses than Palo Alto, and its enterprise-level models are also cheaper. Palo Alto also has a separate license for VPN connections and SD-WAN, but FortiGate offers these features standard."

"Fortinet FortiGate allows you to purchase licenses for hardware and software."

"The pricing is based on a licensing model for each IPS in your environment."

"It is a good product from a price perspective versus functionality."

"They need to be competitive with other solutions."

"Fortinet FortiGate IPS' licensing is quite simple to understand."

"The price of Fortinet FortiGate is reasonable for an SME."

"The Fortinet FortiGate security features cost approximately $1,500 a year. The firewall itself doesn't have a recurring cost. It's the security features on top of that that you pay for."

More Fortinet FortiGate pricing and cost advice

"I live in Bolivia and the price of Sophos XGS is high. However, they have adjusted their price a little over the past while but the price could still be less expensive to be affordable."

"I would like to see them reduce the price."

"The pricing for Sophos XGS is reasonable."

"The licensing cost is in the normal range and is not very costly."

"The cost of Sophos XGS is based on per unit, per appliance, and capacity."

"I pay close to $10,000 per year, which I find to be expensive compared to the other similar solution or equivalent solutions."

"The price of Sophos XGS is less than competitors worldwide. However, in Turkey the solution is expensive."

"The licensing cost for Sophos XGS is high. However, they do apply competitive discounts and different layers of discounts."

More Sophos XGS pricing and cost advice

"The pricing could be better."

"The price of this solution and the price of support are ok."

"The SN200 series costs between $500 USD and $600 USD per year, whereas the SN700 series costs approximately $1,000 annually."

"I think the price is good."

"For mid-sized companies, they sell their appliances for good prices."

"We bought a three-year license, and we renew it whenever it expires. The price could be better. It's always very expensive."

"We chose Stormshield for its price, as the Azure firewall was too expensive."

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

14%

Comms Service Provider

Manufacturing Company

Financial Services Firm

Computer Software Company

12%

Manufacturing Company

10%

Comms Service Provider

Educational Organization

Comms Service Provider

18%

Computer Software Company

18%

Manufacturing Company

Government

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	350
Midsize Enterprise	130
Large Enterprise	187

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	61
Midsize Enterprise	10
Large Enterprise	17

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	9
Midsize Enterprise	5
Large Enterprise	2

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...

See all answers

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...

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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 ...

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What do you like most about Sophos XGS?

The policies are the greatest feature. They allow us to configure granular control over our network traffic.

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What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Sophos XGS?

I find the cost of the firewall to be moderate; it's reasonable.

See all answers

What needs improvement with Sophos XGS?

To improve Sophos XGS for the next release, I recommend enhancing visibility as it's the biggest challenge. There sho...

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What advice do you have for others considering Stormshield Network Security?

The tool is like a firewall and works well. I don't have any issue with it. I rate it an eight out of ten.

See all answers

Comparisons

Sophos XG vs Fortinet FortiGate

Compared 18% of the time

Cisco Secure Firewall vs Fortinet FortiGate

Compared 11% of the time

Netgate pfSense vs Fortinet FortiGate

Compared 8% of the time

OPNsense vs Fortinet FortiGate

Compared 4% of the time

Cisco Meraki MX vs Fortinet FortiGate

Compared 4% of the time

More Fortinet FortiGate Competitors

OPNsense vs Sophos XGS

Compared 15% of the time

Sophos XG vs Sophos XGS

Compared 11% of the time

Netgate pfSense vs Sophos XGS

Compared 9% of the time

Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls vs Sophos XGS

Compared 7% of the time

More Sophos XGS Competitors

Netgate pfSense vs Stormshield Network Security

Compared 13% of the time

OPNsense vs Stormshield Network Security

Compared 8% of the time

WatchGuard Firebox vs Stormshield Network Security

Compared 8% of the time

Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls vs Stormshield Network Security

Compared 5% of the time

Cisco Secure Firewall vs Stormshield Network Security

Compared 4% of the time

More Stormshield Network Security Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Fortinet FortiGate

November 2025

Download Fortinet FortiGate product report

Buyer's Guide

Sophos XGS

October 2025

Download Sophos XGS product report

Buyer's Guide

Stormshield Network Security

October 2025

Download Stormshield Network Security product report

Also Known As

No data available

NETASQ Firewalls

Overview

Fortinet FortiGate excels in providing integrated VPN, firewalling, and Unified Threat Management (UTM) with centralized management and high availability. It supports remote access and comprehensive threat protection, making it a preferred choice for securing networks.

Fortinet FortiGate offers a robust security platform with features such as strong intrusion prevention, application control, and web filtering. Its integration with Active Directory and SD-WAN functionality provides scalable solutions for large networks. Users appreciate its ease of use through centralized management interfaces, ensuring robust security with flexible configurations. However, FortiGate could enhance its graphical interface and technical support responsiveness, address firmware bugs and costly licensing, improve logging, integrate better with third-party tools, and strengthen scalability and memory for log storage. Complexity in configuration and the need for intuitive features are noted challenges, and there's a demand for advanced security, zero-trust capabilities, and AI integration.

What are the key features of Fortinet FortiGate?

VPN: Secure remote access and connectivity.
Firewalling: Protects networks from unauthorized access and attacks.
UTM: Offers a comprehensive approach to threat management.
SD-WAN: Optimizes traffic routing for efficient network performance.
Web Filtering: Controls and monitors web access and ensures Internet security.

What benefits or ROI should be considered?

Centralized Management: Simplifies administration and monitoring.
High Availability: Ensures consistent security and network availability.
Scalability: Adapts to the needs of growing networks.
Comprehensive Threat Protection: Provides robust security measures.
Ease of Use: Minimizes the complexity of security management.

Fortinet FortiGate is widely implemented across industries like education, finance, and government. Companies use it for firewall protection, VPN, and SD-WAN capabilities, ensuring secure perimeter and data center security. It facilitates remote access management and traffic routing optimization, offering reliable security and connectivity solutions.

Fortinet

Sophos XGS is a comprehensive network security solution designed to protect organizations from advanced threats. It combines next-generation firewall capabilities with advanced threat protection, web filtering, and application control.

XGS has powerful deep learning technology and can detect and block even the most sophisticated malware and ransomware attacks. It also offers granular control over web access, allowing organizations to enforce policies and prevent access to malicious or inappropriate websites. Additionally, XGS provides application control features, enabling organizations to manage and prioritize network traffic based on specific applications or user groups.

With its intuitive management interface and centralized reporting, XGS offers easy deployment and monitoring of network security.

Sophos

NETASQ's integrated intrusion prevention engine uses protocol conformity analysis, application filtering and antivirus analysis to inspect authorized traffic flows and strengthen application security. NETASQ enables you to establish and configure user-based security policies, giving you greater control over which network resources each user is authorized to access.

Stormshield

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

ACESUR group, Ministry of Education Oman, Anios Laboratories, Zain, DLM Location

Buyer's Guide

Sophos XGS vs. Stormshield Network Security

November 2025

Free Report: Sophos XGS vs. Stormshield Network Security

Find out what your peers are saying about Sophos XGS vs. Stormshield Network Security and other solutions. Updated: November 2025.

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