Fortinet FortiOS vs SonicWall TZ comparison

Sponsored
 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary
 

Categories and Ranking

Fortinet FortiGate
Sponsored
Ranking in Firewalls
2nd
Average Rating
8.4
Number of Reviews
306
Ranking in other categories
Software Defined WAN (SD-WAN) Solutions (2nd), WAN Edge (1st)
Fortinet FortiOS
Ranking in Firewalls
15th
Average Rating
8.4
Number of Reviews
73
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
SonicWall TZ
Ranking in Firewalls
12th
Average Rating
8.0
Number of Reviews
78
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Market share comparison

As of June 2024, in the Firewalls category, the market share of Fortinet FortiGate is 22.9% and it increased by 13.2% compared to the previous year. The market share of Fortinet FortiOS is 0.6% and it decreased by 41.5% compared to the previous year. The market share of SonicWall TZ is 3.0% and it increased by 28.0% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Firewalls
Unique Categories:
Software Defined WAN (SD-WAN) Solutions
21.5%
WAN Edge
24.4%
No other categories found
No other categories found
 

Featured Reviews

Esubalew-Berihun - PeerSpot reviewer
Apr 10, 2023
Easy to manage with reasonable pricing and good monitoring
We primarily use the solution for security purposes. We use it as a firewall for protection.  It helps protect our users, and we are able to initiate our own policies. It also provided good visibility and reporting.  The management is very easy. It offers very good security features.  The…
Subbu Madhira - PeerSpot reviewer
Apr 11, 2022
Useful control, reliable, and beneficial interoperability
Fortinet FortiOS is the operating system(OS) for the appliance to work The most valuable features of Fortinet FortiOS are the granular control and their interoperability is good. Fortinet FortiOS can improve the GUI and remove the command line interface. All the functionality should be available…
AG
Dec 21, 2021
Good central interface and solid security features.
It is easy to set up SonicWall. It just depends on the scope of the project. To set up for initial use takes about two hours. We start with the basic configuration and that is enough to start using SonicWall. After that, we do the more complex and detailed configuration of the security features. Since we can deploy SonicWall in two hours with the basic configuration, we do a fast start because my users are starting to use the web and receive emails. After that, we do the next steps of the complex config for the more detailed secured configurations.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The most valuable feature is the FortiManager for centralized management."
"The interface is very good."
"This is a quality product with ok support, and it is better than the competition we've tried."
"The main benefit is the grouping of our security monitoring."
"I only deal with it from a security analyst's point of view. I don't really get into the features of the actual FortiGate. From the security point of view, it works, and it does its job."
"The performance is good."
"The IPsec tunnels are very easily created, and quite interoperable with devices from other vendors."
"Their reliability and their policy of pre-shipping replacements when a unit has failed."
"The most valuable features of Fortinet FortiOS are its simplicity, highly user-centric, and performs well. The line speed and for heavy traffic, is helpful for us."
"FortiOS allows us to set up alarms for blocked websites and SSL verifications. When someone tries to access a blocked site, the solution sends a notification to the IT manager's mailbox."
"The user experience is great. The graphical user interface is also good."
"FortiOS's best features are its function as an internet gateway and how easy it is to manage."
"We have expanded the wireless access point and switches using Fortinet FortiOS."
"Fortinet has optimized the WAN environment for connecting users to the application."
"The solution is very easy to configure and has a good interface, plus it offers more configuration options than other vendors."
"The information security features are the most valuable."
"Good site categorization and application controls."
"The product is easy to deploy."
"The most valuable feature is the protection available, and then ease of use and flexibility."
"I like the firewall product, the security server, and the content filter."
"Ease of management and the VPN integration."
"It does exactly what it says on the tin. It is good for protecting the business from being compromised. Its port protection is very good."
"The solution is stable."
"I have found this solution to be easier to use when compared to other products, such as those offered by Cisco."
 

Cons

"The feature which gives us a lot of pain is ASIC architecture."
"The solution could be more secure and stable."
"There aren't really any negative aspects to discuss."
"I haven't had a single issue since using Fortinet."
"It's my understanding that more of the current generation features could be brought in. There could be more integration with EDRs, for example."
"We had some issues in the beginning while setting it up, but after doing the firmware update, it is working fine."
"The license renewal process, annual renewal price, and the web application firewall features should be improved."
"It could use better throughput on some of the smaller boxes for the branch offices."
"Fortinet FortiOS can improve the monitoring function, it could be more accurate, easy to use, and understandable."
"FortiOS could provide a more detailed analysis of the network and connected devices."
"They're using a lot of application-specific IC, so that may be causing some performance issues. And whenever a Fortinet adds new features, it can affect performance."
"Fortinet FortiOS can improve the GUI and remove the command line interface. All the functionality should be available from the GUI. Day-to-day management can be tough for IT administrators. Additionally, the reporting is not very good."
"I would like to see smaller and more frequent updates."
"The technical support is good. However, during the holidays they can get a little slow to respond."
"The solution's firmware updates have significant bugs and issues."
"The solution is good, but they have poor marketing in Nigeria. They need to market their product better."
"The quality of tech support can vary."
"The technology in this particular version is very old."
"It could be made more user friendly."
"FortiGate has a client DNS in the firewall, but SonicWall doesn't have that. To create or configure a site-to-site VPN tunnel, we have to give a DNS name. Currently, we have to get the DNS name from a third party and then include it in SonicWall, whereas FortiGate has its own client DNS, so it provides a DNS name, and it does not require a third party. There should be a graphical option to view the network utilization and bandwidth usage."
"I would like to see a SonicWall integration with the DLP tool, this would be interesting. Data Loss Prevention integration."
"The interface and technical support are probably the two most important things that I would like SonicWall to improve."
"The cost of the solution has room for improvement."
"The dashboard needs to be improved."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"There is a license to use Fortinet FortiGate."
"We are on an annual license to use Fortinet FortiGate."
"The main reason we chose Fortinet FortiGate was that the price was better than the competition."
"Compared to Palo Alto, which we have used in the past, pricing and licensing are okay."
"No comment."
"You need to pay a license for this solution. Our licensing is now done in our subsidiary."
"The price of Fortinet FortiGate when compared to other solutions is high. However, my knowledge of the price is from third parties and I am not sure how accurate it is. I typically work in the technical area of my organization."
"The pricing is justified. It's a little pricey, but what you pay for is what you get."
"The price of Fortinet FortiOS has been reasonable."
"The pricing is competitive for the medium and high markets but for the small markets it can be expensive."
"The price of Fortinet FortiOS is less than $10,000 annually. The price of the support is reasonable compared to competitors."
"I am on a two-year contract and I pay annually for Fortinet FortiOS."
"Be sure to choose a licensing plan that leaves a little headroom so performance is not an issue."
"FortiOS is affordable, but its price could be lower."
"It is not cheap."
"We pay an annual license fee. It is rather expensive so I would like to perhaps see a drop in price in the future."
"It comes to a range between five hundred to seven hundred dollars."
"Customers are required to pay for a yearly subscription."
"The solution is moderately priced, where it's neither cheap nor expensive."
"Getting licenses in our country, Ghana, is not easy. Though, once we have them, adding them is quick (about a day)."
"The price is high compared to some other solutions."
"The pricing was a factor for us, and we felt that the price was good."
"License renewals come in around $35,000 to $45,000."
"You need to purchase multiple licenses to manage multiple devices which is cost-prohibitive for the value you would receive."
report
Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Firewalls solutions are best for your needs.
787,061 professionals have used our research since 2012.
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Educational Organization
21%
Computer Software Company
15%
Comms Service Provider
7%
Manufacturing Company
6%
Computer Software Company
17%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Government
8%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Computer Software Company
19%
Comms Service Provider
7%
Manufacturing Company
6%
Retailer
6%
 

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...
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 ...
Features comparison between Palo Alto and Fortinet firewalls
In the best tradition of these questions, Feature-wise both are quite similar, but each has things it's better at, it...
What do you like most about Fortinet FortiOS?
The SSL VPN is fee for use is most attractive.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Fortinet FortiOS?
The solution is cost effective. I would rate the pricing a five out of ten.
Would you choose Fortinet Fortigate or Sonicwall TZ?
I’ll say it depends on your needs. Fortinet FortiGate and SonicWall TZ are both next-gen firewalls (NGFW) with simila...
What do you like most about SonicWall TZ?
The most valuable feature of SonicWall TZ is the double authentication, where it asks for one password and again asks...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for SonicWall TZ?
The solution is moderately priced, where it's neither cheap nor expensive.
 

Also Known As

FortiGate 60b, FortiGate 60c, FortiGate 80c, FortiGate 50b, FortiGate 200b, FortiGate 110c, FortiGate
No data available
Dell SonicWALL TZ
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

1. Amazon Web Services 2. Microsoft 3. IBM 4. Cisco 5. Dell 6. HP 7. Oracle 8. Verizon 9. AT&T 10. T-Mobile 11. Sprint 12. Vodafone 13. Orange 14. BT Group 15. Telstra 16. Deutsche Telekom 17. Comcast 18. Time Warner Cable 19. CenturyLink 20. NTT Communications 21. Tata Communications 22. SoftBank 23. China Mobile 24. Singtel 25. Telus 26. Rogers Communications 27. Bell Canada 28. Telkom Indonesia 29. Telkom South Africa 30. Telmex 31. Telia Company 32. Telkom Kenya
Black Gold Regional Schools, Amadeus Hospitality, Jefferson County, Chunghwa Telecom, City of Boroondara, Dimension Data
AeroM_xico Delta TechOps, Unimat
Find out what your peers are saying about Fortinet FortiOS vs. SonicWall TZ and other solutions. Updated: May 2024.
787,061 professionals have used our research since 2012.