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Check Point NGFW vs SonicWall NSa comparison

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Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Jan 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
Ranking in Firewalls
2nd
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.2
Number of Reviews
317
Ranking in other categories
Software Defined WAN (SD-WAN) Solutions (1st), WAN Edge (1st)
Check Point NGFW
Ranking in Firewalls
6th
Average Rating
8.8
Reviews Sentiment
7.3
Number of Reviews
306
Ranking in other categories
Unified Threat Management (UTM) (1st)
SonicWall NSa
Ranking in Firewalls
18th
Average Rating
7.8
Reviews Sentiment
7.3
Number of Reviews
86
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of January 2025, in the Firewalls category, the mindshare of Fortinet FortiGate is 20.3%, up from 17.4% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Check Point NGFW is 3.1%, down from 3.4% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of SonicWall NSa is 1.6%, up from 1.2% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Firewalls
 

Featured Reviews

EhabAli - PeerSpot reviewer
Efficient, user-friendly, and affordable
In the past, NSS Labs was utilized to test files and verify the numbers and datasheets. It would be beneficial to have an organization or testing lab that can verify the numbers in our datasheets since changes are frequently made, which can be inconvenient for review. For instance, when comparing different competitors such as Forcepoint, Palo Alto, and Check Point, the throughput or numbers in the datasheet may be lower than the actual numbers. Conversely, Fortinet typically reports very high numbers, but they cannot be replicated in the real world. Therefore, it would be advantageous for them to partner with a neutral testing organization such as NSS Labs to validate these numbers, thus providing more credibility and comfort to everyone regarding the accuracy of the datasheets. For the migration, everyone has a firewall in use and I am selling Fortinet. Typically, I am replacing another firewall. Previously, there was a tool available to convert configurations from one firewall, such as Palo Alto, to Fortinet, but this tool is no longer free. If it could be made free again, it would be very beneficial. This tool shows a lot of promise and is very good. Making it free would help many companies deliver their products in a more efficient and integrated way. It would also be more valuable to include the tool with the firewall package or license instead of having to pay extra for it. Paying extra puts more pressure on small companies to deliver the firewall and complete the configuration, especially if they have hundreds or thousands of policies. It's very painful to move through these policies line by line. The stability has room for improvement. When it comes to Secure SD-WAN, everything is fine. They are going the right way. SD-WAN is very promising. They can provide the SD-WAN solution separately, but they will not take this approach because even the smallest firewall can support the features, so there is no need to have a separate service or appliance. They are following the right steps, and there is nothing to be improved. Feature-wise, I'm really satisfied with the new release, and the features they have added. For now, it's fine.
Manikandan Kannan - PeerSpot reviewer
Streamlined management through dual-interface configuration capabilities with excellent support
We use Check Point NGFW for security purposes. Our clients use it for security reasons, as mentioned during the call The most valuable feature is the availability of two consoles. In the normal GA login, I can create interfaces and configure interface IPs, while in the SmartConsole, I manage the…
MohammedMateen - PeerSpot reviewer
Easy to scale advanced threat protection solution with knowledgeable technical support, but has occasional bugs
An area for improvement in SonicWall NSa is that sometimes, we experience bugs when upgrading, so we have to contact their technical support to fix issues. It would be much easier if this improvement was in place: if the one-time password which is built-in, was provided as an OTP for the administrator logging into the console, so that we'll have a quicker awareness of it, rather than needing to check emails for it. Having a Telegram or WhatsApp bot integrated with the device, for example, will be very helpful for us, so we can instantly take action, without us needing to log into and check our emails, meaning we'll be able to put things right faster. This may not be possible in SonicWall NSa, but I'm also looking for any kind of controller or device for the Windows server or client, e.g. Windows 11 and Windows 10 from SonicWall NSa itself, so that a security domain or the gateway of the organization would be able to identify the latest update for a product, whether that product is installed or not. This feature would be very helpful, and it's what I'd like to see in the next release.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"We were looking for the VPN feature and controlling the inflow and outflow of all the traffic within the site and across the sites. We are also using it for the VPN and VLANs."
"Provides good firewall security and has great VPN features."
"Its stability is the most valuable."
"It has improved our security capabilities."
"We've found the solution to be pretty stable."
"I'm looking forward to FortiGate's dashboard features, insights, application oversight, and monitoring, which could help us significantly."
"Fortinet FortiGate is user-friendly and affordable."
"The most valuable features of Fortinet FortiGate are the ease of use and there are several operating systems that can include the hardware capacities. In the newer releases, the resources were more useful because they were included in the operating system."
"The product is flexible."
"Check Point is awesome from a security standpoint. Based on our experience and also the experience of the other customers, it is a very stable appliance."
"The features that are important include: IPS, sandbox, SandBlast, Anti-Bot, and URL filtering."
"The product's primary benefits include effective intrusion blocking and improved network management."
"The most valuable feature of the solution is its efficiency."
"The information stored in the logs is very descriptive and includes a lot of details."
"Even though Check Point NGFW provides a set of security features that enforce protection on the network, the most valuable aspect is also the most used feature: the plain and simple firewall component. This is the core of the product and works to a great extent without the need for all other available bells and whistles."
"We can easily check firewall configurations against any compliance standard."
"It has a very good user interface."
"Setup is easy. Anyone with basic firewall experience can do it."
"The most valuable features to us are the security services which is a critical factor in our deployment. Today we need to have all the security services enabled because firewalls are not enough."
"We can do the hosting and security all under one box. The UTM is a good feature."
"SD-WAN is a good feature."
"They offer good antivirus solutions."
"The product blocks access when I visit unrecognized websites."
"The functionality is the same whether it is on hardware or a virtual appliance. The interface is the same. It's nice that it's standardized."
 

Cons

"I would like to see better pricing in the next release, as well as a simplification of the installation."
"They need to improve their technical support."
"The support structure needs to be improved because every time we contact them, there is a delay in the response."
"I don't really have anything negative to say as far as Fortinet firewalls are concerned. If anything, they can support a user a little bit better. They can stop being so time-sensitive about how much time the support call has taken, and they can help you do it yourself."
"There are SD-WAN network monitoring, SD-WAN features, Industrial Databases, Internet of Things, Detection, etc., however, we do have not licenses for those features. We thought that if you bought a product, you should have all of the features it offers. Why should you need to make so many extra purchases to enable features? They should have one price for the entire offering."
"The price of FortiGate should be reduced because there are some other leading products that are cheaper."
"With FortiGate, the main complaint that I have heard is about the technical support."
"Fortigate's hardware capacities could be improved."
"The tool's support is lacking. We find almost all its features useful, except for some challenges with VPN."
"For the next release, we would like to have better ruleset cleanup tools that are already included."
"SmartEvent Settings and Policy GUI, and the rest of external apps should be improved."
"The firewall should be easily deployable and scalable in any major cloud environment and enable an organization’s security team to manage all of its security settings from a single console."
"Support cases have been generated several times, and it takes time for the case to be resolved."
"Although the GUI is simple to use and fairly comprehensive, more support via CLI would be beneficial for bulk operations."
"It should allow more than two internet providers in its configuration of "ISP Redundancy"."
"They just need to improve the technical support and professional services in India."
"It is very modular and with native resources which are much lower than its competitors."
"Port forwarding could use streamlining."
"Potential improvement around the associated VPN cost"
"One issue with the solution is that no authorization or authentication features exist."
"Sometimes I found the GUI and some of the features a little bit hard to navigate, as opposed to Fortigate, which is much more user-friendly."
"The product likely isn't a good fit for a large organization."
"We also need to increase the throughput because the other devices are slower. The throughput will become slow. Since we're using VoIP, it tends to affect the voice quality. Even if you're using a quality service, it tends to decrease."
"SonicWall NSa's reporting could be improved."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"I would rate the pricing a five out of ten"
"It has a competitive price."
"Fortinet is reasonable in pricing and licensing. Overall, FortiGate is affordable. The licensing fee can be a little high, depending on the budget for your project."
"If you purchase a one-year subscription with the hardware and then you want to renew for the second year, it is very costly."
"The price of Fortinet FortiGate is reasonable."
"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."
"Fortigate's pricing is competitive."
"I do not have first-hand experience with the rice of Fortinet FortiGate, but I have heard the price was reasonable."
"When it comes to the quality-price ratio, I've found that Check Point offers a competitive balance in the market."
"Check Point is competitively priced; however, there is an additional charge for the Annual Maintenance Contract (AMC) and it is easy to understand."
"The pricing is a bit high, but obviously it gives you advanced features. If you want to buy the best thing on the market, you have to pay extra money."
"Maybe the pricing is a bit high but you get the durability and the duration."
"Though we did not take issue with the price of Check Point NGFW, we felt that it was providing us with inadequate support here in Uganda."
"The price is too high."
"Licensing is on a yearly basis and I am happy with the pricing."
"It may be considered relatively expensive, but the investment is justified when compared to other competitors."
"Licensing fees are paid on a yearly basis, and we are happy with the pricing."
"It would be better if it has a better price, but its price is okay considering the benefits that you receive."
"While I don't know the exact amount off the top of my head, I would estimate the licensing package was about $15,000 to $20,000 a year."
"The pricing and value are good."
"SonicWall NSa has two types of license. The advanced license is a bit expensive when compared to the comprehensive license, but when you compare the advanced license to the licensing cost of other brands or competitors, it is expensive."
"SonicWall NSa's pricing is subscription-based and I rate it a six out of ten."
"In our evaluation, we found that the costs of deploying the solution, and also purchasing the hardware and licenses, were very attractive."
"They do have the option to purchase yearly, or two years, and three years renewal."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Educational Organization
22%
Computer Software Company
14%
Comms Service Provider
6%
Manufacturing Company
6%
Educational Organization
58%
Computer Software Company
7%
Financial Services Firm
4%
Government
3%
Computer Software Company
15%
Educational Organization
7%
Manufacturing Company
6%
Government
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 ...
How does Check Point NGFW compare with Fortinet Fortigate?
I have experience on both from Disti and channel experience. Please find below my comments (nothing new as such). -Ch...
Which would you recommend - Azure Firewall or Check Point NGFW?
Azure Firewall is easy to use and provides excellent support. Valuable features include integration into the overall ...
What do you like most about Check Point NGFW?
Check Point NGFW provides essential security, featuring no-obligation access for secure connections, strong intrusion...
What do you like most about SonicWall NSa?
The product blocks access when I visit unrecognized websites.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for SonicWall NSa?
SonicWall is much cheaper compared to Fortinet, particularly regarding renewal and licensing costs.
What needs improvement with SonicWall NSa?
I would like more free VPN licenses. It would be beneficial if they could enhance the analytics part. It needs to be ...
 

Also Known As

FortiGate 60b, FortiGate 60c, FortiGate 80c, FortiGate 50b, FortiGate 200b, FortiGate 110c, FortiGate, Fortinet Firewall
Check Point NG Firewall, Check Point Next Generation Firewall
NSA 250M, NSA 2600, NSA 3600, NSA 4600, NSA 5600, Dell SonicWALL NSA
 

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
Control Southern, Optimal Media
Orange County Rescue Mission, First Source, Michaels & Taylor, Green Clinic Health System, Aspire Chiltern Skills and Enterprise Centre, UnitedStack, Faith Lutheran College Redlands, Celtic Manor Resort, Star Kay White, Air Works, Unimat Life, NHS Yorkshire and Humber Commissioning Support (YHCS), Hutt City Council, Mato Grosso do Sul, Nspyre
Find out what your peers are saying about Check Point NGFW vs. SonicWall NSa and other solutions. Updated: January 2025.
831,020 professionals have used our research since 2012.