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FortiGate Next Generation Firewall (NGFW) vs SonicWall TZ comparison

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Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Sep 29, 2024
 

Categories and Ranking

Fortinet FortiGate
Sponsored
Ranking in Firewalls
2nd
Average Rating
8.4
Number of Reviews
316
Ranking in other categories
Software Defined WAN (SD-WAN) Solutions (1st), WAN Edge (1st)
FortiGate Next Generation F...
Ranking in Firewalls
13th
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.9
Number of Reviews
44
Ranking in other categories
ZTNA (4th), Unified Threat Management (UTM) (9th)
SonicWall TZ
Ranking in Firewalls
10th
Average Rating
8.2
Number of Reviews
81
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of November 2024, in the Firewalls category, the mindshare of Fortinet FortiGate is 19.8%, up from 17.1% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of FortiGate Next Generation Firewall (NGFW) is 0.3%, up from 0.1% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of SonicWall TZ is 2.6%, up from 2.2% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Firewalls
 

Featured Reviews

DineshKumar28 - PeerSpot reviewer
Sep 25, 2024
Effective threat prevention with responsive customer support
We are using Fortinet FortiGate as a firewall Fortinet FortiGate has been invaluable. It has helped save costs due to its various features, reliable performance, very good UI, low latency, and stability. The Threat Intel engine in Fortinet FortiGate is highly rated for its effectiveness in…
Eduardo_Lopez - PeerSpot reviewer
Jul 25, 2023
A reliable tool for connectivity with strong WiFi ports and SD-WAN
I’ve worked with network and security information since 1999. My use cases for FortiGate are in the telecom environment. In my experience, we have used Fortinet to connect sites. I’m working with an SMB in São Paulo, and we work with small equipment. I have a project to define a model from the end…
Sathish  Ravichandran - PeerSpot reviewer
Oct 18, 2023
Has efficient user access control feature and good technical support services
The multi-core architecture allows the running of multiple instances for checking files, even handling more than 2 GB of data. It has inbuilt reporting features, reducing the cost of external monitoring software. It's well-suited for organizations that need to transfer and scan large files. The scalability is good for small and medium-sized enterprises, but for organizations with more than 200 users, the cost can become a limiting factor. It is more suitable for large enterprises, especially for organizations with over 4,000 users. However, there could be flexibility in licensing, allowing organizations to cater to their specific needs and pay for the features and licenses they require. It can help reduce costs. I rate its scalability a seven out of ten.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"It blocks the vulnerabilities that can negatively impact us."
"The application control features, such as Facebook blocking and Spotify blocking, are the most valuable."
"UTM/NGFW features and FortiCloud for logs and backups are awesome."
"The web filtering facility and application control are the most valuable features from the point of view of our clients. The VPN feature is also quite popular amongst our clients. Two-factor authentication is one of the good features in Fortinet. These features are important for the current scenario of security. Security has become a necessity nowadays. With cyber-attacks becoming more common, protecting an organization's data is one of the major tasks. It is also very stable and scalable, and it is very straightforward to configure. Their technical support is also good."
"The FortiGate controls the user's activities and maximizes my bandwidth use overall."
"We have found it to be very reliable and that's why our teams and various users in our company use it as our main firewall every day."
"We purchased Fortinet because of the pricing, its functionality, because it met our requirements, and the total cost of ownership over five years was quite reasonable. In the market, Fortinet is rated quite well."
"Reliability is the best feature. We faced some issues when we were setting it up, but the service, portal, and administration are good."
"FortiGate Next Generation Firewall (NGFW) 's most valuable features are reporting and filtering."
"Overall, I am satisfied with the product."
"FortiGate Next Generation Firewall has a very high ROI"
"The solution's application control is very powerful."
"Fortinet offers comprehensive security solutions for various purposes."
"I like the common administration and the possibility of adding Fortinet defense systems."
"The most valuable features we found are the SD-WAN, FortiGate SD-WAN, and the standard UTM protection, among others."
"The most valuable aspects of FortiGate NGFW are its top-notch reputation in peer reviews, user-friendly interface, and excellent support."
"The performance has been very good. Overall, the solution is quite stable."
"The site-to-site VPN connections, content filtering, and in our current remote working situation, SSL VPN remote desktop connectivity are the most valuable features."
"The best thing about the product is the very good threat prevention output."
"It is a scalable solution."
"SonicWall TZ think it's a good, solid, and stable product."
"It's a stable solution."
"With the main firewall routing there, we can do connectivity point-to-point. On the low bandwidth we can connect in all the branches with my corporate office."
"No negative impression of the scalability."
 

Cons

"The pricing could be a bit better, especially when you consider how they have the most basic offering priced."
"A sandbox would be good in order to be able to inspect the emails containing spam and be able to validate the emails that contain malware, prior to delivering to the customer."
"My only complaint about FortiGate is a lack of QinQ VLAN tunneling. I haven't found this feature in any Fortinet product. You can do this on all Cisco routers, including the smaller models. However, QinQ isn't available on the biggest, most expensive Fortinet units. They still don't have that. I think now we're on software version 6.0, and they still haven't found a solution for QinQ. It isn't a dealbreaker, but that's my main complaint."
"The customization could be improved. Cisco, for example, is much better at this. They need to work to be at least as good as they are."
"Stability and technical support are the two major issues I have found with Fortinet."
"The non-error conserve mode has room for improvement."
"It could use better throughput on some of the smaller boxes for the branch offices."
"This product could be improved with Active directory integration and better handling in IPsec and GRE Tunnels."
"The product's data guard feature should support a USB port when the internet connection is unavailable."
"The product keeps hanging."
"There are some issues with security features and aspects like logs not being up to the mark."
"The management consoles can be improved."
"FortiGate Next Generation Firewall could be made a little less expensive."
"The pricing of the solution should be more affordable"
"The solution needs to integrate VPN features."
"One of the weaknesses of the solution is something we noticed, especially after comparing the tool with SD-WAN features, since, unfortunately, in a massive scale size environment, the solution is not good. I"
"The log sections could be done more clearly."
"They should consider working a bit more on their ransomware application."
"I would like them to make the interface a little bit easier to use so you can find out where in the heck you're going instead of having to go to 15 different places to get something installed."
"I can't get the support that I need from SonicWall."
"I would like to see a SonicWall integration with the DLP tool, this would be interesting. Data Loss Prevention integration."
"We encounter issues while generating new reports."
"In terms of what needs to be improved, I would say better load balancing and data filtering."
"The technical support has room for improvement."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"We have the full version of Fortinet FortiGate and we are on a three-year contract with a commitment of five years."
"The license of Fortinet FortiGate should be reduced."
"I had to pay for the license for the firewall, but it is guaranteed to have updates. I expect a good service for it. It was about €1000 for a year, and there was no additional cost."
"Fortinet's pricing is more straightforward than other solutions. If Fortinet doesn't stick out when you're searching for a solution, you are a glutton for punishment. You only need to know two things when purchasing a Fortinet solution: your total bandwidth and bandwidth at the site. You need to estimate the future bandwidth with other solutions if your customer plans to upgrade."
"It is expensive. You need to pay for the subscription every year, which is very expensive. The subscription includes technical support and hardware exchange in case of failure."
"Pricing is lower than Cisco."
"For the price, I'd rate it a ten because it's very cost-effective."
"It scales well if you know what to buy from a physical box standpoint. They seem to offer something for every level."
"FortiGate Next Generation Firewall is an expensive solution with a yearly subscription."
"The product is not very expensive."
"I rate the pricing an eight and a half on a scale of one to ten, where one is low, and ten is high."
"I would rate pricing to be about four or five out of ten, it is reasonable."
"FortiGate Next-Generation Firewall is cheaper than Cisco or CheckPoint."
"FortiGate Next Generation Firewall is an expensive solution."
"FortiGate Next Generation Firewall is a very cheap solution."
"Although the solution's pricing is high, compared with other products, it may be cheap."
"SonicWall has authorized distributors in our country. They have about two or three distributors in the country, so it makes it a bit easier. What we do is to request a quotation from these distributors, then we do a value for money analysis and see which one of them is giving us a competitive price."
"The price is high compared to some other solutions."
"It is highly priced and has a slow performance compared to other firewalls."
"You need to purchase multiple licenses to manage multiple devices which is cost-prohibitive for the value you would receive."
"It is an expensive solution compared to one of its competitors."
"The solution is moderately priced, where it's neither cheap nor expensive."
"The license that we purchased is good for three years."
"The prices are expensive."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Educational Organization
22%
Computer Software Company
15%
Manufacturing Company
6%
Comms Service Provider
6%
Computer Software Company
22%
Comms Service Provider
13%
Educational Organization
9%
Non Profit
7%
Computer Software Company
20%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Construction Company
6%
Educational Organization
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 ...
What do you like most about FortiGate Next Generation Firewall (NGFW)?
The tool's most valuable feature is IPS. In my experience, I haven't encountered any issues with integration. It easi...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for FortiGate Next Generation Firewall (NGFW)?
Although the solution's pricing is high, compared with other products, it may be cheap. We pay around 1,000 for the s...
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?
SonicWall TZ is priced average compared to other products. We usually compare prices from different local suppliers t...
 

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

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
Information Not Available
AeroM_xico Delta TechOps, Unimat
Find out what your peers are saying about FortiGate Next Generation Firewall (NGFW) vs. SonicWall TZ and other solutions. Updated: October 2024.
814,528 professionals have used our research since 2012.