This product is our perimeter firewall with web filtering and application filtering, as well as also providing site-to-site VPN and SSL VPN. We are end-users and customers of Sophos. I'm a network administrator.
Network Administrator with 1,001-5,000 employees
Offers a great reporting feature but throughput performance could be improved
Pros and Cons
- "Reporting is the most valuable feature."
- "Lacks improved throughput performance in a box."
What is our primary use case?
How has it helped my organization?
Sophos XG enabled our organization to establish site-to-site connectivity with our Branch offices and enabled work from home during pandemic through very easy to deploy SSL VPN solution for our employees.
What is most valuable?
Reporting is the most valuable feature. They also recently provided the SDWAN solution and we're currently working on implementing that.
What needs improvement?
I'd like to see improved throughput performance in a box. It's already a cost effective solution but I'd like to see the cost further reduced for annual renewals.
Buyer's Guide
Sophos XG
April 2025

Learn what your peers think about Sophos XG. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: April 2025.
850,028 professionals have used our research since 2012.
For how long have I used the solution?
I've been using this solution for four years.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
Sophos has the same issue as all firewalls where it's scalable for virtualization and for cloud deployment, but it's not so scalable when it comes to the hardware.
How are customer service and support?
Customer service is good but has room for improvement like all others.
How would you rate customer service and support?
Positive
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup was very straight forward.
What about the implementation team?
Vendor team has very good level of expertise, transfer of knowledge was excellent and we are managing firewalls at our own.
What other advice do I have?
I believe there are better products on the market so I rate this solution seven out of 10.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
On-premises
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.

Cyber Security Engineer at a tech services company with 201-500 employees
Good filtering and application control features, but the bandwidth could be more effective
Pros and Cons
- "Some of the most valuable features are filtering and application control. The DDoS detection also shows traffic jamming and traffic shaping."
- "This solution could be improved with more effective bandwidth. I found that when I enable DDoS detection for our clients, bandwidth is reduced. If DDoS detection is disabled, the bandwidth will be high, but it isn't secure. We recommend that customers enable DDoS detection, but if they need high bandwidth, we recommend Palo Alto and FortiGate instead of Sophos."
What is our primary use case?
We provide Sophos XG to customers. We work at deploying this solution from scratch to the customer, from unboxing, racking, or stacking, and doing licensing and upgrades for the box. Then we establish the process and security profiles that the customer requires.
This solution is deployed on-prem.
What is most valuable?
Some of the most valuable features are filtering and application control. The DDoS detection also shows traffic jamming and traffic shaping.
What needs improvement?
This solution could be improved with more effective bandwidth. I found that when I enable DDoS detection for our clients, bandwidth is reduced. If DDoS detection is disabled, the bandwidth will be high, but it isn't secure. We recommend that customers enable DDoS detection, but if they need high bandwidth, we recommend Palo Alto and FortiGate instead of Sophos.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using Sophos XG for about six months.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
This solution is not as stable as other products. In terms of stability, our number one recommendation is Palo Alto, number two is FortiGate, and number three is Sophos.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
Sophos is scalable, but not enough.
How are customer service and support?
Sophos technical support is effective.
How was the initial setup?
The installation takes two days. It is easy to deploy, and not as complicated as Palo Alto or FortiGate. We make it in our company labs and, for deployment and maintenance, we recommend one or two people.
What about the implementation team?
We provide and implement this solution for customers.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
The licensing for Sophos XG is based on the number of users, so I get the module from the sizing of the customer.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
We also recommend that customers use FortiGate and Palo Alto, since these solutions are more stable and have more effective bandwidth.
What other advice do I have?
I rate Sophos XG a seven out of ten. I would recommend it to others, based on their needs, but the stability could be better.
We have five to seven customers who are using Sophos XG.
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
Buyer's Guide
Sophos XG
April 2025

Learn what your peers think about Sophos XG. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: April 2025.
850,028 professionals have used our research since 2012.
Technical Support Engineer at a tech services company with 1-10 employees
Easy to set up with good technical support but takes a while to load
Pros and Cons
- "Technical support is responsive."
- "The user interface could be better."
What is most valuable?
The solution is mostly a good firewall.
The initial setup is pretty easy compared to other options on the market.
The product has been stable.
The solution can scale.
Technical support is responsive.
Sophos offers pretty good pricing.
What needs improvement?
The user interface could be better.
We find that the solution takes too long to load. It's slow.
For how long have I used the solution?
We've been dealing with the product for six or seven years at this point. It's been a while.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
The solution has been stable. We haven't had any bugs or glitches and it doesn't crash or freeze. It's reliable.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
We have customers of every size, including medium and enterprise-level.
The product can scale and if a company needs to expand it can do so.
How are customer service and support?
Technical support is pretty good. We've been happy with their level of responsiveness. I have no complaints.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup isn't too difficult or complex. It's pretty straightforward.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
We find the pricing to be reasonable and not overly expensive.
What other advice do I have?
We are a Sophos reseller.
I'd rate the solution at a seven out of ten. If the graphical user interface was better and the performance was stronger, I would rate it higher.
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer:
Service Delivery Engineer - Network Security Lead at a tech services company with 51-200 employees
Simple to use, simple to manage, and simple to administer
Pros and Cons
- "The most valuable feature is the Intercept X. It is the advanced features that are used for malware detection, and antivirus."
- "Sophos can definitely improve with the interoperability between solutions."
What is our primary use case?
This firewall is part of the security solution that is implemented in medium-sized enterprises.
We are using it for endpoint and user security for laptops and mobile phones.
What is most valuable?
The most valuable feature is the Intercept X. It is the advanced features that are used for malware detection and antivirus. It's similar to antivirus on steroids.
It's simple to use and has a simple interface. It's generally straightforward and configuration-wise, it's not complex.
It's a very simple product to use and that's why you find it is used mostly in small to medium-sized enterprises. They don't have the manpower that a large organization can have, in terms of the skilled workforce when it comes to cybersecurity. They just need something that is simple to use, simple to manage, and simple to administer, but effective at the same time. That's the main selling point for Sophos.
What needs improvement?
I have not used their SD-WAN product or the SD-WAN feature, so I don't know how scalable the SD-WAN is. But, I hope just that the SD-WAN is up to par with FortiGate.
The integration is an area that can improve a bit. One of the other solutions that I have used that is highly interoperable is Fortinet. It's easy to integrate with other products.
Sophos can definitely improve with the interoperability between solutions.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using Sophos XG for a year and a half.
We are using the latest version.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
It is very stable. I've not had any issues with it.
In terms of bugs, I've not had any bugs, or I've not encountered any bugs when deploying Sophos or administering Sophos products.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
In terms of scalability, it's very scalable because they have different sized firewalls for different requirements or different specifications.
It is also able to do high availability, so it's very scalable.
Currently, in our organization, we have coverage with Sophos Intercept X Endpoint Protection. We have 49 employees. We plan to continue to use this solution.
We are currently subscribed to a three-year product and will be using it for a duration of three years.
How are customer service and technical support?
I have not had any cases where I had to log technical support, but I believe it would be fast enough in case I needed to reach out to them.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
We are also using Fortinet FortiGate Firewall.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup is very simple.
For a normal deployment with basic configuration in a medium-sized enterprise, it can take a day and a half.
If it's a complex network design then it might be three to four days.
It only requires one person to deploy and maintain this solution.
What about the implementation team?
We used an implementor and an integrator, but usually, I do it by myself.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
The features in Sophos XG are the same features you would find in Palo Alto or Fortinet.
What other advice do I have?
I just like it the way it is. I wouldn't recommend any changes to it, because what they have is working and it's working very well. It is a product that I definitely recommend to others.
I would rate this solution a nine out of ten.
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
ICT Manager at toril community cooperative
A fast, agile, and stable solution that is easy to deploy and manage
Pros and Cons
- "Orchestration of the firewall is the most valuable feature. It is a fast and agile solution. It is good with protection. It is also very easy to deploy and manage, and its user interface is easy to use."
- "They can lower its price. It is very expensive. We are looking for a less expensive solution depending on our budget. They can also improve it in terms of firewall protection."
What is most valuable?
Orchestration of the firewall is the most valuable feature. It is a fast and agile solution. It is good with protection. It is also very easy to deploy and manage, and its user interface is easy to use.
What needs improvement?
They can lower its price. It is very expensive. We are looking for a less expensive solution depending on our budget. They can also improve it in terms of firewall protection.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using this solution for three years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
It is very stable.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
It is very agile.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
We didn't have any other similar solution previously.
How was the initial setup?
It is very easy to deploy.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
It is very expensive.
What other advice do I have?
I would rate Sophos XG a nine out of ten.
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
IT Support Executive at a healthcare company with 51-200 employees
Simple, stable and secure with regular timely updates
Pros and Cons
- "The simplicity and timely updates."
- "The interface could be simplified and diagnostic system graphs improved."
What is our primary use case?
Our primary use case is as a firewall, failover management of the internet lines. We have over 50 people using the product on 200 devices and we use it on a daily basis. I'm an IT support executive and we're a customer of Sophos.
How has it helped my organization?
We are using sophos XG as the firewall for our offices, so any connections going outside of the office go through it. We are also using VPN clients and especially during the lockdown, it was very helpful.
What is most valuable?
I like the simplicity of the solution and the timely updates. It works well.
What needs improvement?
The interface could be improved by simplifying it and making it much smarter. I would also like to see an improvement in the diagnostic system graphs. They could be modified to provide individual graphs. The present page has all graphs in a single page and it slows things down and takes more time to refresh and load.
Additional features they could consider including in any update would be symbols and tools. They could also include URL groups and all Office updates, the regular things that people do on a daily basis.
For how long have I used the solution?
I've been using this solution for the past year and a half.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
This is a stable solution.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
We haven't yet tried scaling, that will take another six months. I'll be in a better position to answer then.
How are customer service and technical support?
The technical support is fine overall.
How was the initial setup?
I've now configured three times and although it gets easier, deployment is a little complex. We had some issues with the company, unrelated to the product, more to do with the licensing procedures in India which could be simplified. Deployment only took about half an hour and the solution doesn't require any maintenance.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
Licensing costs are generally set for three years.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
PaloAlto, FirtiGate
What other advice do I have?
Before installing this product it's worth taking some lessons from the website which also provides some support. It's almost better than the technical support which is offline. If you have a good vendor with hands-on experience that's also helpful for first time deployment. After you've implemented once, it's easier the second time.
I would rate this solution an eight out of 10.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
On-premises
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
VP of Operations at a manufacturing company with 51-200 employees
Stable, easy to setup the rules, versatile, and good support
Pros and Cons
- "The most valuable feature of this solution is the flexibility of it, it's pretty versatile."
- "The UI needs improvement because it can be a little weird at times."
What is our primary use case?
The primary use case of this solution is as the main company firewall.
What is most valuable?
The most valuable feature of this solution is the flexibility of it, it's pretty versatile.
Also, the firewall aspect in terms of setting up rules. They worked pretty well.
What needs improvement?
The UI needs improvement because it can be a little weird at times.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have used Sophos XG in the last twelve months.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
This solution is stable. We haven't had any real issues.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
I don't know if this solution is scalable. We haven't explored this area yet.
As we grow, we plan to increase usage.
How are customer service and technical support?
Technical support is good.
How was the initial setup?
Initially, the setup was a bit complex.
It was complex because we were coming off of a different setup. It was just getting used to the software, but it's not too bad.
We require one and a half staff members for the deployment and the maintenance. They seem to do a pretty good job of updating it and keeping it current.
What about the implementation team?
We implemented ourselves. We did not use a vendor or integrator.
What was our ROI?
We're military contractors, and the cybersecurity compliance aspect of it has been the most helpful.
We know how the networks operate from our end, even though we are relatively green. We don't what we are comparing it to.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
We prepaid in advance to get the max discount.
What other advice do I have?
I would rate Sophos XG an eight out of ten.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
On-premises
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Technical Department Manager at Direcbusiness Technologies, Inc.
Has good VPN features and capabilities
Pros and Cons
- "We get good usage out of the features. It has enabled us to gain popularity. It has great features."
- "The VPN features and its capabilities are great."
- "We had a difficult time assigning IP addresses to specific MAC addresses."
What is our primary use case?
We use it for monitoring our web access, providing authentication and for security purposes.
What is most valuable?
We get good usage out of the VPN features and its capability; it is a great feature.
What needs improvement?
In terms of improvement, one of the features we are having a hard time getting a hang of is MAC addressing, like when we assign IP addresses to a specific MAC address. That is something that can be improved. For the next release, I think, it should have better feature integration.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using Sophos XG for seven years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
It is a stable solution.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
The solution is scalable. We use the product for around 70 to 100 users.
How are customer service and technical support?
The support that we used was great.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup was pretty straightforward. The setup took around one to two weeks.
What about the implementation team?
We did all of the deployment by ourselves and we use one person for maintenance.
What was our ROI?
I think, for the XG, I think the MAC addressing. We were having a very hard time assigning MAC addresses with specific IP.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
We haven't chosen any other product, besides Sophos.
What other advice do I have?
I would rate Sophos XG an eight out of ten.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
On-premises
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.

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Updated: April 2025
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