WatchGuard Firebox vs ZoneAlarm comparison

WatchGuard and Check Point Software Technologies are both solutions in the Anti-Malware Tools category. WatchGuard is ranked #12 with an average rating of 7.6, while Check Point Software Technologies is ranked #22 with an average rating of 8.0. 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

Download the report

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: August 2025).

Buyer's Guide

WatchGuard Firebox vs. ZoneAlarm

August 2025

Download the complete report

Helped 865,384 peers since 2012

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.

Read full review

Rajesh Makwana

Regional Pre-Sales Engineer at Roundrobin Tech

Efficient bandwidth management and secure network access with a strong firewall

The primary use case of the Firebox mainly revolves around bandwidth management, unnecessary web blocking, application control, and protection against brute force attacks. It is also implemented for load balancing, SD-WAN, and branch-to-branch connectivity from one location to another. We also use…

Read full review

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.

Read full review

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Fortinet FortiGate's most valuable features are ease of use, flexibility, and most of the configuration we can be done using the GUI. When we compare Fortinet FortiGate with other solutions the firewall policy are very easy to understand."

"We have a redundant setup for failover, however, it has not had to fail over ever and we have not had a capacity issue."

"The reporting and monitoring are very good."

"FortiGate firewalls are easy to manage through a user-friendly web interface. They also have advanced features like DDoS and DLP. However, I wouldn't recommend enabling all of these features on one device because it can cause performance issues."

"The Fortinet FortiGate local partners were good. I did not have direct contact with Fortinet support."

"What I appreciate about Fortinet FortiGate is that the UI is easier than what I've previously known from Sophos."

"It is easy to manage, and it doesn't need much knowledge from the team. It is a stable device, and there are many features that are included out of the box."

"Application control and the web filter are the best features of Fortinet FortiGate."

More Fortinet FortiGate pros

"It is a scalable solution."

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

"WatchGuard Firebox is the most powerful firewall for Wi-Fi security."

"The most valuable are the VPN and proxy features."

"Their support is excellent, and the stability is very good."

"It is the most effective on non-encrypted traffic and it is able to determine some threats through deep packet inspection."

"Policy VPN, site-to-site VPN, traffic monitoring, anti-spam filters, and all other advanced features are valuable."

"Firebox operates effectively in the background, blocking potential threats without a need for constant monitoring."

More WatchGuard Firebox pros

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

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

"It is quick and easy to configure."

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

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

"The solution maintains reasonable scalability."

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

"The product's most valuable feature is the detection engine due to its ability to identify threats."

More ZoneAlarm pros

Cons

"Technical support needs to be improved."

"The documentation available for Fortinet FortiGate should be improved"

"FortiLink is the interface on the firewall that allows you to extend switch management across all of your switches in the network. The problem with it is that you can't use multiple interfaces unless you set them up in a lag. Only then you can run them. So, it forces you to use a core type of switch to propagate that management out to the rest of the switches, and then it is running the case at 200. It leaves you with 18 ports on the firewall because it is also a layer-three router that could also be used as a switch, but as soon as you do that, you can't really use them. They could do a little bit more clean up in the way the stacking interface works. Some use cases and the documentation on the FortiLink checking interface are a little outdated. I can find stuff on version 5 or more, but it is hard to find information on some of the newer firmware. The biggest thing I would like to see is some improvement in the switch management feature. I would like to be able to relegate some of the ports, which are on the firewall itself, to act as a switch to take advantage of those ports. Some of these firewalls have clarity ports on them. If I can use those, it would mean that I need to buy two less switches, which saves time. I get why they don't, but I would still like to see it because it would save a little bit of space in the server rack."

"Fortinet technical support is lacking, as OEM support is slightly better."

"The reports are very basic."

"Its reporting can be improved. Sometimes, I don't get proper reports."

"From a reporting perspective, there's room for improvement. They're providing FortiAnalyzer through which one can get some enhancements, but the visibility and reporting still need slight improvement."

"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."

More Fortinet FortiGate cons

"The software in it could be a bit more friendly for an amateur user. I look at it and don't understand what half the stuff is. Looking at the interface, it is all mumbo-jumbo to me. It's not a simple interface. You have to be an IT guy to understand it. It is not for your average person to use, then walk away from it. It is much more entailed."

"When it comes to live-monitoring, the user-interface could be improved to make things easier."

"Some of the configuration options are somewhat confusing."

"There is a slight learning curve."

"What could use some significant improvement in WatchGuard Firebox would be its interface and policy management. An additional feature I'd like to see in the next release of WatchGuard Firebox is the ability to modify an existing policy instead of having to recreate a policy when changes are necessary. At the moment, there's no possibility to modify the policy. You have to delete the policy and recreate it."

"I think one area for improvement in this solution would be enhancing communication with tools like Active Directory. This would make the tool easier to integrate and effective for users."

"There are a couple of things I wished that it would do, but I can't think of those off the top of my head."

"It's very difficult to find a reseller of WatchGuard Firebox to purchase a license"

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."

"The support is not always so effective."

"We'd like better performance of the network equipment. There are high-speed environments where an immediate response is required."

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

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

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

"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."

More ZoneAlarm cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

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

"The license for Fortinet FortiGate is affordable in my country."

"In terms of the market, it's not a cheap product, but it's cost-effective."

"We just pay a flat monthly fee to the vendor for the support."

"The pricing is comprehensive and clear. You can easily understand what you are purchasing, including which features correspond to each license and maintenance contract. Overall, the information is straightforward. Additionally, compared to other vendors, their prices are competitive."

"The solution requires a license annually, it is not a user license, you can have as many users as your want. I must renew the license regularly per device."

"I find it quite reasonable."

"Its pricing is competitive with other solutions."

More Fortinet FortiGate pricing and cost advice

"They have an annual subscription license. Initially, we had opted for three years. After that, we went for another three years, and after that, we have been doing it yearly. They also have a license for five years."

"The price is so small that I don't pay attention to it anymore. I think we pay a few thousand dollars for two to three years, so about $100 per month. That's for all of our users. There is an additional cost if we want to go with a deeper licensing model, but we just pay for antivirus, IPS, and main product support."

"They license it. When we buy it, we buy it with a three-year license. That's the most cost-effective way to do it. So, if you're going to buy it, then buy it with the three-year licensing."

"It's fair pricing, but it could always be reduced."

"The two larger devices are about $1,000 each and the smaller ones are about $500 or $600 each... It's cheaper and you have more control because it's self-managed."

"I usually tell people that it's really affordable as well, particularly compared to Cisco."

"Over the years, the costs have increased, especially since I cater to very small businesses."

"It is not expensive. Other products like Fortinet and Check Point are of the same price."

More WatchGuard Firebox pricing and cost advice

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

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

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

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

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

See which vendors are best for you

Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Anti-Malware Tools solutions are best for your needs.

See recommendations

865,384 professionals have used our research since 2012.

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

16%

Comms Service Provider

Manufacturing Company

Financial Services Firm

Computer Software Company

14%

Comms Service Provider

11%

Retailer

Manufacturing Company

Computer Software Company

15%

Comms Service Provider

12%

Hospitality Company

Educational Organization

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...

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...

See all answers

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 ...

See all answers

What is your primary use case for WatchGuard Firebox?

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

See all answers

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...

See all answers

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?

I rate the product pricing a seven out of ten.

See all answers

What needs improvement with ZoneAlarm?

As for improvements, ZoneAlarm enhances Check Point’s solution by having a very efficient engine. The engine checks a...

See all answers

Comparisons

Sophos XG vs Fortinet FortiGate

Compared 20% of the time

Cisco Secure Firewall vs Fortinet FortiGate

Compared 12% of the time

Netgate pfSense vs Fortinet FortiGate

Compared 11% of the time

Cisco Meraki MX vs Fortinet FortiGate

Compared 5% of the time

OPNsense vs Fortinet FortiGate

Compared 4% of the time

More Fortinet FortiGate Competitors

OPNsense vs WatchGuard Firebox

Compared 6% of the time

SonicWall TZ vs WatchGuard Firebox

Compared 5% of the time

Netgate pfSense vs WatchGuard Firebox

Compared 5% of the time

Sophos XG vs WatchGuard Firebox

Compared 5% of the time

Sophos UTM 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 11% of the time

Check Point Harmony Endpoint vs ZoneAlarm

Compared 11% of the time

Malwarebytes Teams vs ZoneAlarm

Compared 10% of the time

Avira Antivirus vs ZoneAlarm

Compared 6% of the time

More ZoneAlarm Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Fortinet FortiGate

August 2025

Download Fortinet FortiGate product report

Buyer's Guide

WatchGuard Firebox

July 2025

Download WatchGuard Firebox product report

Buyer's Guide

ZoneAlarm

July 2025

Download ZoneAlarm product report

Also Known As

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

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 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

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

August 2025

Free Report: WatchGuard Firebox vs. ZoneAlarm

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

DOWNLOAD NOW

865,384 professionals have used our research since 2012.

See our WatchGuard Firebox vs. ZoneAlarm report.

See our list of best Anti-Malware Tools vendors and best Firewalls vendors.

We monitor all Anti-Malware Tools reviews to prevent fraudulent reviews and keep review quality high. We do not post reviews by company employees or direct competitors. We validate each review for authenticity via cross-reference with LinkedIn, and personal follow-up with the reviewer when necessary.