Try our new research platform with insights from 80,000+ expert users

WatchGuard Firebox vs Zscaler Client Connector comparison

Sponsored
 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Aug 5, 2025

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
575
Ranking in other categories
Secure Web Gateways (SWG) (2nd), Firewalls (1st), Intrusion Detection and Prevention Software (IDPS) (1st), Software Defined WAN (SD-WAN) Solutions (1st), WAN Edge (1st), ZTNA (2nd), Unified Threat Management (UTM) (1st)
WatchGuard Firebox
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.5
Number of Reviews
125
Ranking in other categories
Data Loss Prevention (DLP) (11th), Firewalls (13th), Intrusion Detection and Prevention Software (IDPS) (4th), Anti-Malware Tools (10th), Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) (20th), Application Control (6th), Unified Threat Management (UTM) (4th)
Zscaler Client Connector
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
5.5
Number of Reviews
3
Ranking in other categories
Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) (51st)
 

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.
ScottEastman - PeerSpot reviewer
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…
Thomas Pane - PeerSpot reviewer
Has replaced traditional VPNs and simplified secure access across cloud migrations
The best features of Zscaler Client Connector are that it gives the client a much more transparent experience, as they don't have to worry about connecting to a VPN. They get an in-office look and feel, so no matter where they go, they just plug in, re-authorize if they have to, and as long as they have an internet connection, they get through. Zscaler Client Connector helps enhance our digital transformation efforts by providing application-level access, so as we migrate applications around, our clients don't have to worry about whether they are on the VPN when they go into the office. It has made it so our clients don't have to understand our infrastructure, allowing us the freedom to move resources around as we migrate to the cloud. For example, we moved our file service to the cloud, and for them, it was totally transparent. We placed a connector in Azure and the service in Azure, and to them, nothing changed. This solution has taken the hardware away from their understanding, enabling us to move services around to different platforms.

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 user-friendly."
"It's an easy solution to set up."
"We are using the FortiGate 100D series. VPN, firewall, anti-malware, OTM, and intrusion prevention are useful features."
"The GUI is good."
"The most valuable features of the FortiGate firewall include SSL inspection, VPN functionality, and threat intelligence features for preventing threats."
"You have access to CLI in case you have no web access."
"FortiGate has a very strong unified threat management system."
"Stateful packet inspection is valuable. It also does SSL packet inspection. It is able to provide a VPN for remote users with secure connectivity."
"The features that I have found most valuable are the FireWall features. The management side of WatchGuard is quite easy because it supports two ways to manage it - by the web and the other one they call WatchGuard systems manager. I used to be familiar with WSM only, but they improved their GUI in the web browser and now it is much easier to do it within the web browser."
"The main features of the solution are the control of the site-to-site network access and the overall features."
"WatchGuard Threat Detection and Response is a reliable solution."
"It has everything we need in terms of functionality."
"It's pretty simple to understand when you want to do any diagnostics on your network. If you want to go in and see what packages are having trouble getting through, what's being held, stalled, etc., it's very easy to use in that way."
"WatchGuard Firebox is easy to configure and has a nice user interface."
"The ports that I have assigned appear to be unattainable to outside 'mal-actors,' unless they have an address registered on the internet that this thing is expecting. That's a layer of security."
"On a scale of one to 10, I would rate the technical support of the WatchGuard Firebox a 10."
"The solution operates in the background seamlessly without the user noticing."
"I'd rate the solution nine out of ten."
"The best features of Zscaler Client Connector are that it gives the client a much more transparent experience, as they don't have to worry about connecting to a VPN."
"Zscaler Client Connector is quite scalable, and I would rate its scalability as nine or ten out of ten."
 

Cons

"The IPS monitoring can be improved."
"The solution needs to improve its support."
"They should provide us with a CSV number for patch updates. It will help us block specific signatures as well."
"The initial setup and configuration are not intuitive and require training."
"The price of FortiGate should be reduced because there are some other leading products that are cheaper."
"Maybe they could make some features more accessible, such as a way to translate directions between two networks that share the same subnets."
"The advanced models are expensive."
"The product keeps hanging."
"The ease of detecting where an issue is should be improved."
"Its documentation could be improved. Sometimes, you need to search a bit longer to find what you are looking for."
"When working with WatchGuard, specifically in configuring Panda Security on the portal for the first time, it was challenging for me."
"It's very difficult to find a reseller of WatchGuard Firebox to purchase a license"
"Sometimes, the writing rules are a little confusing in how am I doing them."
"I would like to see more training become available for us."
"Last year, I had an issue with one of the Fireboxes going down. It was overheated, because my server room became overheated and this fried it."
"There were a little bit of problems with the tool's updates, making it an area where improvements are needed."
"There is room for improvement regarding the price of Zscaler Client Connector, as it is one of the most expensive solutions available."
"The stability of Zscaler Client Connector needs improvement, as it often disconnects and reconnects."
"There is a hard learning curve for Zscaler Client Connector; their support isn't the greatest all the time."
"There is room for improvement regarding the price of Zscaler Client Connector, as it is one of the most expensive solutions available."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"It has a competitive price."
"Fortinet FortiGate IPS' licensing is quite simple to understand."
"I give the pricing a nine out of ten."
"The price is relatively expensive compared to other solutions which are providing similar features."
"Fortinet FortiGate allows you to purchase licenses for hardware and software."
"Fortinet FortiGate is expensive."
"Fortinet FortiGate is cost-efficient. Palo Alto is expensive, but Fortinet FortiGate is not."
"The price range is quite acceptable and normal."
"WatchGuard Data Loss Prevention's pricing is expensive. I rate it a seven out of ten."
"WatchGuard offers competitive pricing with attractive margins, benefiting both the company and its partners."
"We don't have any other costs other than the licensing stuff."
"The price of WatchGuard Intrusion Prevention Service is pretty reasonable compared to similar solutions."
"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 buy a three-year renewal on the main device, which is usually around $3,000 to $4,000. They usually upgrade the device when I do it. You get a big discount when you do three years."
"The solution's most valuable feature is its pricing."
"The pricing of WatchGuard is probably a little higher than the SonicWall, but it makes up for it in dependability. It's worth it to me, especially since it's not much higher. For just a little bit higher price you get the dependability of the firewall with the WatchGuard brand."
Information not available
report
Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) solutions are best for your needs.
869,771 professionals have used our research since 2012.
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
15%
Comms Service Provider
9%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Financial Services Firm
6%
Computer Software Company
14%
Comms Service Provider
11%
Manufacturing Company
6%
Retailer
6%
No data available
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business350
Midsize Enterprise130
Large Enterprise187
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business91
Midsize Enterprise25
Large Enterprise15
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 ...
What is your primary use case for WatchGuard Firebox?
We are providing our services to all WatchGuard customers in the region.
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...
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.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Zscaler Client Connector?
Zscaler Client Connector is notably costly, with pricing rated at five out of ten in terms of affordability, reflecti...
What needs improvement with Zscaler Client Connector?
The stability of Zscaler Client Connector needs improvement, as it often disconnects and reconnects. An enhancement t...
What is your primary use case for Zscaler Client Connector?
I use Zscaler Client Connector ( /products/zscaler-client-connector-reviews ) when working from home to access my wor...
 

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

 

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
Information Not Available
Find out what your peers are saying about WatchGuard Firebox vs. Zscaler Client Connector and other solutions. Updated: September 2025.
869,771 professionals have used our research since 2012.