WatchGuard Firebox vs ZoneAlarm comparison

WatchGuard and Check Point Software Technologies are both solutions in the Anti-Malware Tools category. WatchGuard is ranked #10 with an average rating of 7.6, while Check Point Software Technologies is ranked #18 with an average rating of 8.3. Additionally, 95% of WatchGuard users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 89% of Check Point Software Technologies users who would recommend it.

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Aug 5, 2025

ZoneAlarm and WatchGuard Firebox are both cybersecurity solutions. ZoneAlarm excels in affordability, while WatchGuard Firebox offers superior security features for organizations requiring advanced protection, giving it an edge in comprehensive capabilities.

Features: ZoneAlarm provides essential functions including firewall, antivirus, and download protection. WatchGuard Firebox includes advanced features like multi-layer security, centralized management, and high availability, making it a robust choice for larger enterprises.

Room for Improvement: ZoneAlarm could enhance its documentation clarity and anti-malware updates. WatchGuard Firebox might benefit from simplified setup procedures, enhanced user interface intuitiveness, and reduced configuration complexity.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: ZoneAlarm offers easy deployment processes suited for small businesses. WatchGuard Firebox provides strong customer support to manage its initially complex setup, appealing to enterprises with available IT resources.

Pricing and ROI: ZoneAlarm is budget-friendly with a low entry cost and solid ROI for basic needs. WatchGuard Firebox, although more costly, delivers strong ROI through scalable security solutions and extensive features.

To learn more, read our detailed WatchGuard Firebox vs. ZoneAlarm Report (Updated: September 2025).

Buyer's Guide

WatchGuard Firebox vs. ZoneAlarm

September 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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ScottEastman

Project Consultant at SEVERN HOSPICE LIMITED

Reduces the risks of sending data where it shouldn't be going

We use the solution to ensure that no data breach, such as credit card details and national insurance numbers, leaves the company. However, we have to allow some information to go through because we send a lot of information to the National Healthcare Service If we don't want specific data sent…

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Bala_Krishna

Director at Rhinexa India Pvt Ltd.

Security suite has protected individual devices from threats, while installation and network features require improvements

BIG-IP is actually the LTM, Link Load Balancer, which comes with ASM, meaning Application Security Module. It consists of multiple modules, such as ASM, SWG, and a domain DNS manager. ZoneAlarm allows defining trusted and public networks, which helps maintain security in public Wi-Fi environments. It offers comprehensive protection, securing PCs against threats. Users do not experience any system slowdowns while scanning. Harmony Browser protects all your browsing activity and is bundled with Harmony Endpoint and Harmony Connect. It provides a small but effective security layer and sometimes comes packaged with the larger Harmony suite.

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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 SD-WAN feature of Fortinet FortiGate has been most impactful in maintaining our network's integrity."

"We use the FortiGate Sandbox to detect zero-day vulnerabilities, such as anomalies or malware, that are unknown and have not yet been discovered."

"Our security improved from being able to put in rules and close off unwanted traffic."

"The initial installation is very straightforward."

"The most valuable features are the possibility of having one fabric for switching on security."

"Layer-3 firewall and routing are the most valuable features."

"Security, SD-WAN, and Streetscape are valuable features."

"The detection is great."

More Fortinet FortiGate pros

"The interface is very good."

"Centralization is a crucial feature for me as it allows me to have all sites and customers accessible under a single click, not limited to just one."

"The set up was quite straightforward and we handled it in-house. It took a few hours to deploy the product."

"The solution simplifies my business. Normally, for administration, we are using NetApp System Manager on Window since it's easy to create new policies. In a short amount of time, you can create new policies based on new requirements. For example, in the last few months, many requirements changed due to the coronavirus, adding the use of new services, like Office 365, and eLearning tools, like Zoom."

"The most valuable feature for small and medium businesses is the support for various protocol proxies."

"All of the features have been valuable. There's nothing on my M270 that I'm not using. If you have remote access, you can see how many users are coming from the outside world to be connected to the systems, through the virus systems that we have behind the firewall, in order to gain access to their files and do their work. We can also see how long they stay online and whether these connections are closed forcefully or for any other reasons, such as a glitch or some kind of misbehavior, to see if internet traffic is optimized and if that particular traffic is under company policies, concerning which websites were visited."

"The most valuable features of this solution are live logging, rule setup and maintenance, and VPN creation."

"We experienced that WatchGuard is easy to setup regarding VPN compared to other firewalls of other brands."

More WatchGuard Firebox pros

"It gives us security for the users' mobiles and ends up protecting us in a significant way."

"This antivirus is regularly updated, and the updates can be scheduled."

"The phone access scan stands out as the most valuable feature for me."

"It is quick and easy to configure."

"The solution really focused on giving more security than an antivirus."

"It is easy to use through interfaces and easy to configure each of the customizations we created based on the characteristics that we wanted."

"ZoneAlarm protects all computers from viruses, spyware, and hackers."

"Personally, I find the Game Mode of the Firewall very useful."

More ZoneAlarm pros

Cons

"The solution should allow more user-friendly integrations or deployment"

"The support we receive when we need to upgrade is not satisfactory and has room for improvement."

"There are some cloud-based features that could be much more flexible than they currently are."

"It is essential to leverage its capabilities more professionally to achieve an even higher level of security."

"The solution has many heightened points which we cannot get to without working on CLI."

"I would like to see more AI features included in future updates, as that would add significant value."

"The main area needing improvement is the user-friendliness of FortiGate's integration with other Fortinet tools like FortiAuthenticator and VPN services."

"When we cluster the two Fortinet FortiGate boxes together we have some issues."

More Fortinet FortiGate cons

"The product's technical support services need improvement."

"The software base, the management piece that goes onto a server, is not as user-friendly as I would like. There are three different pieces that you have to manage, so it's a little bit convoluted, in my opinion."

"Firebox would be improved with integration for endpoint protection solutions."

"If they could make the traffic monitoring easier that would be great. I don't use it that frequently, but I would like to see some improvements in the ease of use of that component, so it makes more sense. I know it's a technical component so there's going to be some difficulty trying to make that easier."

"The solution's pricing could be improved."

"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."

"There is a slight learning curve."

"We would like to see granular notification settings and more advanced filtering in traffic monitoring."

More WatchGuard Firebox cons

"Perhaps the primary area for potential enhancement is to make it faster, ensuring a more seamless experience while maintaining robust security features."

"Some of our users say that the interface is a little bit outdated for 2020, and want it to be more modern and cozy."

"They should release a single update with all the necessary characteristics to avoid being in a cycle of consecutive updates."

"I would like it to be integrated with the Check Point centralization solution like Infinity Portal. It would be great to be able to manage it through the same website."

"ZoneAlarm should be a light application that does not take too much memory in mobile phones."

"Currently, the client is only available for the Windows Operating System but it would be good if it were released for Mac OS as well."

"They need to update and improve the features available for Mac."

"The solution's efficiency in threat containment and overall protection needs improvement."

More ZoneAlarm cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The pricing of Fortinet FortiGate is average, not cheap or overly expensive compared to other firewall solutions in the market. It's effective and affordable for customers."

"It is not expensive as compared to Cisco."

"On a scale of one being cheap and ten being expensive, I rate the tool's price as an eight."

"It's a year based license."

"Fortigate's pricing is competitive."

"I think price-wise, the solution is totally reasonable since it has many products to serve, starting from small homes to massive scale sites."

"Fortinet FortiGate SWG is an affordable solution."

"I'll rate FortiGate's pricing a five out of ten since it is moderately priced."

More Fortinet FortiGate pricing and cost advice

"I find the solution to be very affordable."

"I haven't seen the pricing since 2017, but it was competitive. SonicWall, Barracuda, and WatchGuard were all about the same price when we did our last pricing."

"The price of WatchGuard is very good."

"The licensing can be a one-time purchase unless you need the extra services for example twenty-four seven support."

"Firebox is priced reasonably."

"I think we might be subscribed to one or two of the premium features."

"WatchGuard Firebox has good quality, but it is expensive."

"The licensing model for WatchGuard Application Control is based on the number of users. WatchGuard Application Control also has licensing models with several features."

More WatchGuard Firebox pricing and cost advice

"This is a freeware product and I recommend using it."

"I rate the product pricing a seven out of ten."

"We have to pay a yearly licensing fee for ZoneAlarm, which is cheap."

"We use the free version of the software, but it can be upgraded to the paid Extreme Security edition."

"The pricing is reasonable, with a yearly renewal license costing seventy dollars."

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

15%

Comms Service Provider

Manufacturing Company

Financial Services Firm

Computer Software Company

14%

Comms Service Provider

11%

Manufacturing Company

Retailer

Computer Software Company

14%

Comms Service Provider

11%

Hospitality Company

Educational Organization

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	91
Midsize Enterprise	25
Large Enterprise	15

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	15
Midsize Enterprise	2
Large Enterprise	4

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 is your primary use case for WatchGuard Firebox?

We are providing our services to all WatchGuard customers in the region.

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What is your primary use case for WatchGuard Firebox?

We just use it as a secondary WiFi device. We're a small office and we needed to set up a WiFi device for a few of ou...

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What is your primary use case for WatchGuard Firebox?

We're a hospital and we use it for developing our incoming and outgoing policies, and we also use it for VPN.

See all answers

What do you like most about ZoneAlarm?

ZoneAlarm protects all computers from viruses, spyware, and hackers.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for ZoneAlarm?

ZoneAlarm has an acceptable price. Not much detail can be provided as I am not the one to judge the price.

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What needs improvement with ZoneAlarm?

Check Point support needs improvement. Currently rated at 9 out of 10, more support is required. There are some conce...

See all answers

Comparisons

Sophos XG vs Fortinet FortiGate

Compared 17% of the time

Cisco Secure Firewall vs Fortinet FortiGate

Compared 11% of the time

Netgate pfSense vs Fortinet FortiGate

Compared 9% of the time

OPNsense vs Fortinet FortiGate

Compared 4% of the time

SonicWall TZ vs Fortinet FortiGate

Compared 4% of the time

More Fortinet FortiGate Competitors

OPNsense vs WatchGuard Firebox

Compared 7% of the time

SonicWall TZ vs WatchGuard Firebox

Compared 5% of the time

Netgate pfSense vs WatchGuard Firebox

Compared 5% of the time

Sophos XGS vs WatchGuard Firebox

Compared 4% of the time

SonicWall NSa vs WatchGuard Firebox

Compared 4% of the time

More WatchGuard Firebox Competitors

Microsoft Defender for Endpoint vs ZoneAlarm

Compared 43% of the time

F-Secure Total vs ZoneAlarm

Compared 12% of the time

Malwarebytes Teams vs ZoneAlarm

Compared 9% of the time

Check Point Harmony Endpoint vs ZoneAlarm

Compared 8% of the time

Avira Antivirus vs ZoneAlarm

Compared 6% of the time

More ZoneAlarm Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Fortinet FortiGate

October 2025

Download Fortinet FortiGate product report

Buyer's Guide

WatchGuard Firebox

September 2025

Download WatchGuard Firebox product report

Buyer's Guide

ZoneAlarm

September 2025

Download ZoneAlarm product report

Also Known As

No data available

WatchGuard Threat Detection and Response, WatchGuard Application Control, WatchGuard Data Loss Prevention, WatchGuard Gateway AntiVirus, WatchGuard Intrusion Prevention Service

No data available

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

WatchGuard Firebox is a high-performance firewall known for its ease of setup, offering robust security with layered protection and centralized management capabilities.

WatchGuard Firebox stands out for its intuitive management and high throughput, addressing security needs with features like VPN, web filtering, and threat detection. Its centralized control and reporting abilities, along with Active Directory integration, make it popular among varied organizations. Its user-friendly interface and ongoing updates enhance usability and reliability. However, there's a call for better cloud-based administration, scalability, and improved integration with third-party vendors.

What are the key features of WatchGuard Firebox?

Ease of Setup: Quick and straightforward installation process.
GUI: User-friendly graphical interface for simplified navigation.
VPN Features: Secure and efficient virtual private network management.
Web Filtering: Advanced filtering for safer browsing experiences.
Threat Detection: Proactive monitoring and detection of cyber threats.

What benefits or ROI should be evaluated?

Centralized Control: Streamlined management from a single point.
High Throughput: Efficient data handling and processing capacity.
Stable Performance: Consistent and reliable operational functionality.
Active Directory Integration: Seamless connection with user directories.
Customer Service: Strong support service for customer inquiries.

WatchGuard Firebox is implemented across industries to secure internet gateways and protect data in multi-site businesses. Its applications span from Unified Threat Management (UTM) and intrusion prevention to compliance support in business environments requiring secure connectivity through VPNs.

WatchGuard

ZoneAlarm protects you by preventing hackers from remotely accessing and controlling your device, and lets you know which apps have excessive permissions so you can decide whether they threaten your privacy.

Check Point Software Technologies

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

Ellips, Diecutstickers.com, Clarke Energy, NCR, Wrest Park, Homeslice Pizza, Fortessa Tableware Solutions, The Phoenix Residence

Terma, Optix, Samsung Research Amercia, SF Police Credit Union, Independence Care System, Mattias Thomsen, Carmel Partners, Desert Research Institute, CRIF, FXCM Inc, US State Agency

Buyer's Guide

WatchGuard Firebox vs. ZoneAlarm

September 2025

Free Report: WatchGuard Firebox vs. ZoneAlarm

Find out what your peers are saying about WatchGuard Firebox vs. ZoneAlarm and other solutions. Updated: September 2025.

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