We primarily use the solution as a network security VPN. It's to help with connectivity.
Head of IT and Information Security at a construction company with 1,001-5,000 employees
User-friendly with good analysis and reporting
Pros and Cons
- "The network security is great."
- "Pricing could be lowered slightly."
What is our primary use case?
How has it helped my organization?
It's helped with connectivity, reporting, and analysis.
What is most valuable?
The network security is great. The detection of malware is great, and it is very good at handling suspicious items via filtering.
We have access to in-depth reporting.
They're up to the mark and advanced in the market.
The solution, on a regular basis, has continuously added improvements to the product itself.
We have been happy with the level of integration.
The setup is very straightforward.
It has a very nice user interface that is quite easy.
What needs improvement?
I have no notes for feature improvement.
The monitoring could be improved.
Pricing could be lowered slightly.
Buyer's Guide
SonicWall TZ
December 2025
Learn what your peers think about SonicWall TZ. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: December 2025.
880,435 professionals have used our research since 2012.
For how long have I used the solution?
I've used the solution for four or five years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
The solution is stable. I'd rate it nine out of ten. That said, there are a few loopholes when it comes to monitoring and maintenance.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
I have not handled any scaling tasks. We don't have scalability requirements. We have around 150 users on the solution right now.
How are customer service and support?
I've always had a good response from technical support. They've always provided helpful solutions.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
I've worked with other solutions, including Sophos and Fortigate. I'm more comfortable with this solution than I am with others.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup is very straightforward.
I was not involved in the initial deployment process.
We have all of the services we need. However, I am in the process of centralizing all of the remote locations. While it is on-premises now, we are working on getting an enterprise platform on the cloud.
We have one administrator that can handle any maintenance. It does not really require any constant management.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
I can renew products every two years, and licensing is flexible. Considering what you get, the product is not expensive, however, it is a moderate price. We'd like to have it a bit less expensive.
What other advice do I have?
We are a construction consulting company.
I would rate the solution nine out of ten. I'd recommend the solution to others. It has a lot of great features. The support is also very reliable. It's a one-stop solution for all requirements related to network security.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
On-premises
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
Pre-sales at a tech services company with 51-200 employees
Advanced network security features provide effective protection and seamless VPN integration
Pros and Cons
- "The advanced gateway security features such as web filter, application control filter, IPS, ideas, gateway antivirus, anti-spyware, and botnet filter are valuable."
- "The VPN license should be improved by providing more free SSL VPN licenses."
What is our primary use case?
I am working on SonicWall TZ, Sophos, and FortiGate.
What is most valuable?
The advanced gateway security features such as web filter, application control filter, IPS, ideas, gateway antivirus, anti-spyware, and botnet filter are valuable. The integrated VPN provides SSL VPN as well as IPsec global VPN and IPsec client. These features have been most effective in enhancing network security.
What needs improvement?
The VPN license should be improved by providing more free SSL VPN licenses.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been working with SonicWall TZ for ten years.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
The price is normal. It is a nominal cost for an SMB TZ used for SMB businesses. However, more licenses are required to purchase the perpetual license for SSL VPN and Global VPN. Only one SSL VPN and five IPsec VPN clients are free for the TZ series. The perpetual license comes as a bundle, which makes it less expensive than buying a single license.
What other advice do I have?
I am a partner and reseller, selling these products. I rate SonicWall TZ nine out of ten. The product rating is 9.
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer. Reseller
Buyer's Guide
SonicWall TZ
December 2025
Learn what your peers think about SonicWall TZ. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: December 2025.
880,435 professionals have used our research since 2012.
IT Manager at a tech services company with 51-200 employees
Cost-effective solution with advanced content filtering and real-time inspection
Pros and Cons
- "One valuable feature of SonicWall TZ is the content filtering."
- "The logs need improvement."
What is our primary use case?
Currently, I am using SonicWall TZ to connect our branches to the head office. We use it as a site-to-site VPN.
How has it helped my organization?
The primary benefit we have found with SonicWall TZ is its cost-effectiveness compared to other products like Palo Alto, which are more expensive.
What is most valuable?
One valuable feature of SonicWall TZ is the content filtering. Additionally, advanced features like real-time deep memory inspection are available in the head office's 2600 series.
What needs improvement?
The logs need improvement. SonicWall TZ should include a hard disk to keep log files for at least one week or maybe one month. This feature might be available in greater series but not in the basic product.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been working with SonicWall TZ for almost six months.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
Stability is very good, even though the firewall has not been restarted for almost one month.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
I would rate the scalability of SonicWall TZ a ten out of ten.
How are customer service and support?
Technical support's response is delayed due to our process. We need to go through our reseller, who then contacts the local distributor, causing delays.
How would you rate customer service and support?
Positive
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
Previously, I used WatchGuard Firebox in my previous office.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup of SonicWall TZ is complex.
What about the implementation team?
We get initial support from our local partner for the setup. Our team does basic configurations when needed.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
SonicWall TZ is priced average compared to other products. We usually compare prices from different local suppliers to get the best deal.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
The main competitor I considered was Fortinet.
What other advice do I have?
It's recommended that their logging feature be improved by adding an in-built hard disk to store logs.
I'd rate the solution ten out of ten.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
On-premises
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
Chief Commercial Officer at a healthcare company with 1,001-5,000 employees
A highly stable and available solution that provides excellent filtering features
Pros and Cons
- "The product’s filtering and URL-blocking features are valuable."
- "The solution must provide more ports."
What is our primary use case?
We use the tool for filtering and log management.
What is most valuable?
The product’s filtering and URL-blocking features are valuable. SD-WAN and VPN are also valuable features.
What needs improvement?
The solution must provide more ports.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using the solution for six months.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
I rate the tool’s stability a ten out of ten.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
I rate the tool’s scalability a ten out of ten. We have around 100 users. We use the tool daily.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
We used Sophos before. We switched to SonicWall TZ because it provides high availability.
How was the initial setup?
I rate the ease of setup a ten out of ten. Setting up the users and accounts according to the groups and categories takes a few hours. The whole setup requires a few days.
What about the implementation team?
We deploy the solution in-house. We need three people to deploy the tool. We need one knowledgeable person who has mastered firewalls to maintain the product.
What was our ROI?
The product is worth the money.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
The product is not expensive, but it is not cheap. I rate the pricing a six out of ten.
What other advice do I have?
We set up new environments and implemented firewall solutions in our organization. Overall, I rate the solution a ten out of ten.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
On-premises
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
System Administrator at a comms service provider with 11-50 employees
Easy to maintain, stable, and scalable
Pros and Cons
- "Access restriction and IP whitelisting are the most valuable features."
- "The technical support has room for improvement."
What is our primary use case?
We use the solution for work filtering and application control.
How has it helped my organization?
The solution has helped streamline our internet usage. Unnecessary sites are blocked. The solution has increased the productivity of the employees, and VPN connections have been added for security measures.
What is most valuable?
Access restriction and IP whitelisting are the most valuable features.
What needs improvement?
The technical support has room for improvement. We have had some issues that have not been resolved.
SonicWall TZ can increase the number of built-in VPN connections. I would like to have 30 VPN connections in the next release.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using the solution for one year.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
The solution is stable.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
The solution is scalable.
We have 150 people using the solution.
How are customer service and support?
The technical support was not able to resolve some of my issues.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup for a new user is a bit confusing. I had previous experience with the solution so I was able to complete the setup easily.
The deployment steps were configuring the interfaces, load balancing, policies, access policies, creating groups, and providing the necessary access policies to each group. The deployment took around three days.
What about the implementation team?
The implementation was completed in-house with some support from the SonicWall team.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
I give the price an eight out of ten.
What other advice do I have?
I give the solution an eight out of ten.
The maintenance is not difficult. I take care of the maintenance myself.
I recommend the solution to others.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
On-premises
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
President at a tech services company with 1-10 employees
We like the unified threat management for defense-in-depth
Pros and Cons
- "We like the unified threat management for defense-in-depth. We can terminate our site-to-site and remote access VPNs with it."
- "I'd like to have cloud management at no additional cost. Unfortunately, leveraging SonicWall's cloud management capabilities is cost-prohibitive, so we don't use it. They should have a reasonable subscription or offer it to us at no cost as an MSP."
What is our primary use case?
SonicWall is our primary internet firewall.
What is most valuable?
We like the unified threat management for defense-in-depth. We can terminate our site-to-site and remote access VPNs with it.
What needs improvement?
I would like SonicWall to act as a DNS server to host DNS zones. Our small business clients sometimes have a single DNS server on-premise. If that's the case, we're out of luck. It would be great if we could host DNS on the SonicWall, even as a secondary DNS.
For how long have I used the solution?
We've been working with SonicWall products since 2007.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
SonicWall has been pretty reliable.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
I rate SonicWall six out of 10 for scalability. I'd like to have cloud management at no additional cost. Unfortunately, leveraging SonicWall's cloud management capabilities is cost-prohibitive, so we don't use it. They should have a reasonable subscription or offer it to us at no cost as an MSP. The size of our client companies varies quite a bit, but they have devices to scale for various sizes, so it's a non-issue. You buy the appropriate device.
How are customer service and support?
I rate SonicWall support six out of 10. The tech support could be better. There's definitely a language barrier when dealing with tech support out of India, so it's not ideal.
How would you rate customer service and support?
Neutral
How was the initial setup?
I rate SonicWall nine out of 10 for ease of setup. The deployment time depends on the complexity of the environment.
What was our ROI?
You need a network firewall, so it's not a question of ROI. You need air. You need electricity. You need the firewall.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
You have to pay additional fees to leverage their cloud management capabilities. That's unaffordable and limits scalability. There are also optional packages and various levels of support or subscriptions.
What other advice do I have?
I rate SonicWall TZ eight out of 10. We use it often. It's an excellent product that I would recommend.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
On-premises
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer. Partner
IT at a healthcare company with 201-500 employees
Good stability but UI could improve
Pros and Cons
- "The VPN is quite useful for us, as well as the ATP."
- "There is still room for improvement, and it's not advisable even if the organization has grown."
What is our primary use case?
We use it for ATP, the main firewall, and VPN connections to some of our sites.
What is most valuable?
The VPN is quite useful for us, as well as the ATP. Overall, I would say it's a good solution for small enterprises.
What needs improvement?
We are currently using a 54.1 version, which, when compared to other solutions like FortiGate or Check Point, needs to improve in many aspects. Even the new SonicWall 7.85 is not safe compared to FortiGate. There is a huge difference.
For how long have I used the solution?
It has been around four and a half years now. The firmware that we are using is version 6.5.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
It's extremely stable, actually one of the best. I would rate it a seven out of ten.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
I would rate it a six out of ten for scalability but for medium to small enterprises. All are remote users. I would rate the solution a six out of ten because there is still room for improvement, and it's not advisable even if the organization has grown.
A lot of users use it. All our email sheets are using it, and users connect via VPN.
How was the initial setup?
The setup was fairly easy once you understood how the device worked. However, I wouldn't recommend it to anyone else anymore.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
The licensing options are quite good in terms of what you get. For a small to medium enterprise, it's a good option.
What other advice do I have?
If you are looking at it from a financial level, it's a good option. But I think there are other options out there. If I had found this product already in my organization when I joined, I would not have gone with this product. I would have gone with an entry-level FortiGate or Check Point. It would have been much better or easier, but SonicWall TZ is not bad, either. However, my device has almost reached the end of its life after almost one and a half years, and it's easy to switch to a different product at the end of our licensing period, which is towards the end of this year. So that would have been good for me.
Overall, I would rate the solution a seven out of ten.
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
Senior Network Engineer at a tech services company with 1-10 employees
Ease of deployment is major benefit; content filtering could improve
Pros and Cons
- "From our point of view, the most valuable feature was the ease of deployment."
- "I think content filtering is the area this product should improve. It's a little tricky to get put in correctly."
What is our primary use case?
Our primary use case for this solution is connecting offices in different cities together. Also, when the pandemic hit, this solution allowed our remote workforce to connect to the network remotely, from their houses or wherever.
What is most valuable?
From our point of view, the most valuable feature was the ease of deployment.
What needs improvement?
I think content filtering is the area this product should improve. It's a little tricky to get put in correctly.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using SonicWall TZ for four years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
I would say the stability of this solution is quite good. However, we did have a few issues.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
I cannot comment on the scalability of this solution as we work with mostly small to medium businesses and do not worry about scaling.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup was quite straightforward.
The deployment does not take long as I can get one out of the box and ready to go for a client in 20 minutes.
What other advice do I have?
The only advice I have for people looking at this solution is to either learn the product or hire someone who knows it very well.
Maintenance of this solution is done mainly by the engineer that sets it up. The only time we really need to use it is to check and make sure that we don't have any vulnerabilities. We keep the firmware up to date. Other than that, if the client needs any changes made, we make those changes. Other than that, you can just set it up and forget about it.
I would rate this solution an eight, on a scale from one to 10, with one being the worst and 10 being the best.
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer. Partner
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Updated: December 2025
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