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.

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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: April 2025).

Buyer's Guide

Sophos XGS vs. Stormshield Network Security

April 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

EhabAli

Sr. Cybersecurity Solutions Architect at BMB

Efficient, user-friendly, and affordable

In the past, NSS Labs was utilized to test files and verify the numbers and datasheets. It would be beneficial to have an organization or testing lab that can verify the numbers in our datasheets since changes are frequently made, which can be inconvenient for review. For instance, when comparing different competitors such as Forcepoint, Palo Alto, and Check Point, the throughput or numbers in the datasheet may be lower than the actual numbers. Conversely, Fortinet typically reports very high numbers, but they cannot be replicated in the real world. Therefore, it would be advantageous for them to partner with a neutral testing organization such as NSS Labs to validate these numbers, thus providing more credibility and comfort to everyone regarding the accuracy of the datasheets. For the migration, everyone has a firewall in use and I am selling Fortinet. Typically, I am replacing another firewall. Previously, there was a tool available to convert configurations from one firewall, such as Palo Alto, to Fortinet, but this tool is no longer free. If it could be made free again, it would be very beneficial. This tool shows a lot of promise and is very good. Making it free would help many companies deliver their products in a more efficient and integrated way. It would also be more valuable to include the tool with the firewall package or license instead of having to pay extra for it. Paying extra puts more pressure on small companies to deliver the firewall and complete the configuration, especially if they have hundreds or thousands of policies. It's very painful to move through these policies line by line. The stability has room for improvement. When it comes to Secure SD-WAN, everything is fine. They are going the right way. SD-WAN is very promising. They can provide the SD-WAN solution separately, but they will not take this approach because even the smallest firewall can support the features, so there is no need to have a separate service or appliance. They are following the right steps, and there is nothing to be improved. Feature-wise, I'm really satisfied with the new release, and the features they have added. For now, it's fine.

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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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Ben_Ben

Network Engineer at ACS

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

"The solution is very easy to understand. It's not overly complex."

"Allows for firewall rules to be programmed and named in a way that makes it “readable”"

"The web filtering feature and the intrusion protection system are the most valuable. It is a resilient appliance. I never had an issue with it in terms of any security breaches."

"In terms of security, we have not experienced any security flaws or loopholes, and it has proven to be quite stable."

"The features that I have found most valuable are the SD-WAN and their IP4 policy."

"The reporting you receive out of this appliance is excellent. You will not need an external management system."

"The solution provides good threat intelligence feeds."

"It is a good source for firewall protection."

More Fortinet FortiGate pros

"The initial setup is very user-friendly because they have graphical user interface options and command line interface options. I would give the initial setup a rating of five out of five."

"It's easy to deploy and connect."

"It offers an easy initial implementation."

"The technical support by Sophos is great."

"The most valuable feature of Sophos XGS is its ease of use."

"Sophos XGS is profound as a firewall and security product."

"Sophos offers a centralized system available to everyone, even for their smaller models."

"We are happy and satisfied with all the features."

More Sophos XGS pros

"The tool's most valuable feature is its dashboard, which helps you manage different aspects of a single page."

"The solution has improved my organization because I can see what traffic is happening and I can use it to block and prevent attacks."

"The scalability of the solution is good."

"Easily manageable in a variety of environments."

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

"This solution is quick and easy to configure."

"Ease of use is the best feature of the product."

"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."

More Stormshield Network Security pros

Cons

"Its pricing can be better."

"Fortinet FortiGate could improve the user interface. There should be more functionality and options through the GUI."

"The Wi-Fi controller needs a lot of improvement."

"In my opinion, Fortinet FortiGate could be improved by making the appliance smaller than what we have here, as it is pretty big."

"It claims it does DLP, but the degree and level of controls are very basic."

"This product needs to have an analysis feature, rather than having the analysis done through the integration of a different product."

"I prefer Palo Alto over Fortinet FortiGate. Its IPS engine is not better than the Palo Alto version. The monitoring tool needs improvement, and the syslog configuration needs enhancement."

"The way everything is set up could be easier. Currently, people need a lot of experience and knowledge to administer it and to link it to devices."

More Fortinet FortiGate cons

"The VPN capability needs some improvement in Sophos XGS."

"Support could be improved."

"The SD-WAN feature isn't very good. It's there, but it doesn't work properly."

"Sophos should work on its marketing strategy as it seems to lag behind Fortinet."

"There is no option for right-clicking on any feature after logging into the firewall. I am unable to open a feature in a new tab. In FortiGate, I can do it; in Sophos, I cannot."

"Some features need remuneration and there are performance improvements required."

"Areas for improvement in Sophos XGS include better balance when handling high availability configurations, smoother firmware upgrades without the need for turning off devices, and simplified configuration after firmware updates."

"In the new release 19, there should be the implementation of a cloud service that you can use to set up the IPSec tunnels, and the SD-WAN from the WAN dashboard, and then you can push that configuration out to every firewall that you have."

More Sophos XGS cons

"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."

"The SD card could be more secure."

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

"This is not a next-generation firewall."

"The product must improve its pricing."

"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."

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

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

More Stormshield Network Security cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"At the time we bought them, I was satisfied with their pricing; I don't know how the new pricing will be."

"The pricing depends on the FortiGate model we are using, ranging from $3,000 to $20,000 US dollars."

"The price of FortiGate is reasonable as I plan to buy new switches. The initial gadgets are already booted, and the pricing seems normal on the market. As for additional costs, I haven't subscribed to many extra features, so I'm only using what I need. Last year, I renewed the support for three years, which can sometimes be expensive but depends on the security benefits and how it helps us."

"Its price is affordable and lesser than Cisco. Cisco is expensive. In terms of licensing, there is only one issue. If a customer's license has expired a month ago and they do the renewal after one month, Fortinet renews the license from the start of the previous month. The activation of the product is done from the previous month, not from the date of renewal. The customers usually shout and complain that because they are paying today, the renewal should start from today. The support contract renewals or licensing should be renewed from the date of renewal, but Fortinet starts from the day it had expired. It is a loss for customers. They might have had some problems because of which they did not take the license one month before. Fortinet should work on this. Cisco doesn't do this. Cisco always starts from the day they apply for the license."

"It scales well if you know what to buy from a physical box standpoint. They seem to offer something for every level."

"Go for long term pricing negotiated at the time of purchase."

"For our organization, the licensing costs are approximately $7,000 per year."

"They are very competitive, but we like to have the factory warranty taken care of."

More Fortinet FortiGate pricing and cost advice

"Sophos XGS is competitively priced."

"We pay about $150."

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

"XGS' price could be lower, though it's moderately priced in the market."

"The cost is comparable to other similar solutions."

"Sophos XGS is priced lower than some of its competitors, such as Fortinet"

"The price of Sophos XGS depends on the type of license. However, the licensing cost is approximately 60 percent of the total cost."

More Sophos XGS pricing and cost advice

"The pricing could be better."

"I think the price is good."

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

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

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

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

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

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Educational Organization

20%

Computer Software Company

14%

Comms Service Provider

Manufacturing Company

Computer Software Company

15%

Manufacturing Company

Comms Service Provider

Educational Organization

Computer Software Company

23%

Comms Service Provider

17%

Government

Financial Services Firm

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

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...

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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?

Sophos XGS was reasonably priced initially, but the license cost has significantly increased in the last few years.

See all answers

What needs improvement with Sophos XGS?

The reporting system is very poor. I cannot trace any traffic to our site if it feels some threats. It just tells me ...

See all answers

What do you like most about Stormshield Network Security?

Ease of use is the best feature of the product.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Stormshield Network Security?

We pay for the quality we receive.

See all answers

What needs improvement with Stormshield Network Security?

The product must improve its pricing.

See all answers

Comparisons

Sophos XG vs Fortinet FortiGate

Compared 22% of the time

Netgate pfSense vs Fortinet FortiGate

Compared 13% of the time

Cisco Secure Firewall vs Fortinet FortiGate

Compared 11% of the time

WatchGuard Firebox vs Fortinet FortiGate

Compared 5% of the time

SonicWall TZ vs Fortinet FortiGate

Compared 5% of the time

More Fortinet FortiGate Competitors

Sophos XG vs Sophos XGS

Compared 21% of the time

OPNsense vs Sophos XGS

Compared 17% of the time

Netgate pfSense vs Sophos XGS

Compared 8% of the time

Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls vs Sophos XGS

Compared 7% of the time

Check Point NGFW vs Sophos XGS

Compared 6% of the time

More Sophos XGS Competitors

Netgate pfSense vs Stormshield Network Security

Compared 17% of the time

WatchGuard Firebox vs Stormshield Network Security

Compared 7% of the time

OPNsense vs Stormshield Network Security

Compared 6% of the time

Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls vs Stormshield Network Security

Compared 6% of the time

Sophos UTM vs Stormshield Network Security

Compared 3% of the time

More Stormshield Network Security Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Fortinet FortiGate

April 2025

Download Fortinet FortiGate product report

Buyer's Guide

Sophos XGS

April 2025

Download Sophos XGS product report

Buyer's Guide

Stormshield Network Security

April 2025

Download Stormshield Network Security product report

Also Known As

FortiGate 60b, FortiGate 60c, FortiGate 80c, FortiGate 50b, FortiGate 200b, FortiGate 110c, FortiGate, Fortinet Firewall

No data available

NETASQ Firewalls

Overview

Fortinet FortiGate offers comprehensive network security and firewall protection across multiple locations. It effectively manages data traffic and secures environments with features like VPN, intrusion prevention, and UTM controls.

Organizations rely on Fortinet FortiGate for its robust integration with advanced security policies, ensuring significant protection for enterprises, cloud environments, and educational sectors. It facilitates network segmentation, application-level security, and authentication management, securing communication within and between locations such as branches and data centers. Its efficient SD-WAN and UTM features enable streamlined data management and enhanced threat protection capabilities. Users appreciate its centralized management, facilitating seamless operations across diverse environments.

What are the key features of Fortinet FortiGate?

VPN Capabilities: Ensure secure remote access for users and seamless site-to-site connections.
Intrusion Prevention System (IPS): Detect and prevent security threats and vulnerabilities.
Advanced Firewall: Offers robust firewalling with application control and web filtering.
SD-WAN: Optimizes application performance and enhances bandwidth management.
SSL VPN: Provides reliable and secure access for remote workers.

What benefits should users expect from Fortinet FortiGate?

High-performance Security: Delivers effective threat mitigation with high availability.
Centralized Management: Simplifies network operations with cloud-based management tools.
Detailed Analytics: Provides comprehensive insights into network activity and security threats.
Load Balancing: Ensures optimal resource distribution and traffic management.

Fortinet FortiGate is crucial in sectors like education, offering robust networks for secure data flow between campuses and facilitating remote learning. In enterprise environments, it allows efficient management of application traffic and security across multiple branches, while in the cloud, it seamlessly integrates with diverse platforms to enhance security infrastructure.

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

April 2025

Free Report: Sophos XGS vs. Stormshield Network Security

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