Fortinet FortiGate-VM vs SonicWall NSv comparison

Fortinet and SonicWall are both solutions in the Firewalls category. Fortinet is ranked #9 with an average rating of 8.6, while SonicWall is ranked #29 with an average rating of 8.2. Fortinet holds a 1.8% mindshare in Firewalls, compared to SonicWall’s 0.1% mindshare. Additionally, 98% of Fortinet users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 85% of SonicWall users who would recommend it.

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Sep 16, 2024

Fortinet FortiGate-VM and SonicWall NSv are premium firewall solutions for diverse business needs. Fortinet FortiGate-VM has the upper hand with more advanced features, while SonicWall NSv is preferred for ease of use, making it suitable for users with less technical expertise.

Features: Fortinet FortiGate-VM offers robust security features, policy controls, and comprehensive protection. SonicWall NSv stands out for its seamless integration capabilities, efficient VPN performance, and easy configuration.

Room for Improvement: Fortinet FortiGate-VM can improve its documentation, simplify the configuration process, and enhance user guidance. SonicWall NSv needs more frequent updates, better scalability options, and improved adaptability.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Fortinet FortiGate-VM has a straightforward deployment process, but customer support is noted to be slow. SonicWall NSv features a quick and easy deployment process with responsive customer service.

Pricing and ROI: Fortinet FortiGate-VM has a higher setup cost but offers a better ROI due to its comprehensive features. SonicWall NSv is more budget-friendly with moderate returns.

To learn more, read our detailed Fortinet FortiGate-VM vs. SonicWall NSv Report (Updated: March 2025).

Buyer's Guide

Fortinet FortiGate-VM vs. SonicWall NSv

March 2025

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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

Mindshare comparison

As of March 2025, in the Firewalls category, the mindshare of Fortinet FortiGate is 20.8%, up from 17.8% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Fortinet FortiGate-VM is 1.8%, up from 1.6% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of SonicWall NSv is 0.1%, down from 0.2% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Firewalls

Featured Reviews

EhabAli

Sr. Cybersecurity Solutions Architect at BMB

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.

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Pietro Di Blasi

Pre-Sales Analyst at a comms service provider with 51-200 employees

Organize networks efficiently while benefiting from strong reliability and support

The main use is for clients who are migrating to the cloud. We started this journey during the pandemic, and the main case is with clients who are moving to either a private or a public cloud The solution allows us to organize our networks and access within one vendor, using an integrated…

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Sumesh Panikkar

Senior IT Infrastructure Engineer at Khansaheb

Provides effective threat prevention and helps improve security

We face some challenges when we upgrade the solution. If I use NSv 400, I can't upgrade to the next generation. We cannot upgrade the VM to the next generation. We have to rebuild a new VM and copy the configurations. We cannot upgrade straightaway. The solution must allow us to upgrade the same machine to a newer version without many changes.

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Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The technical support is great."

"The initial installation is very straightforward."

"The reporting you receive out of this appliance is excellent. You will not need an external management system."

"I like several features that this product has, such as antivirus and internet navigation inspection. It is also simple to use."

"The most valuable features of Fortinet FortiGate are it is one of the most mature firewalls in the UTM bundle."

"Fortinet FortiGate is scalable for our users. Right now, we have almost 70 users. We do not have any plan to increase our usage of FortiGate. For maintaining the firewall solution, one staff member is enough."

"It has improved our organization with control data."

"From the firewall perspective, the rules and policies are very sufficient and easy to use."

More Fortinet FortiGate pros

"I would recommend Fortinet FortiGate-VM as a very good solution."

"The platform has a good user interface."

"The ease of access and user-friendly setup is a valuable feature. Fortinet proves to be particularly straightforward to configure, offering simplicity without complexity. Moreover, visibility is easily attainable due to certain factors. Price, implementation, and budget considerations play a role. When it comes to Cisco implementation, the process tends to be more intricate, which many customers find unfavourable for their business needs."

"Overall, it's an excellent solution."

"It's a very simple solution to manage."

"In terms of specific features, I like FortiGate's load balancing, interface, and priority on the network."

"It's a relatively simple product that is easy to use. It's not overly complex."

"The most valuable feature is geofencing, where we can block all access from all non-domestic locations."

More Fortinet FortiGate-VM pros

"One of the standout features of SonicWall is its simplicity in creating and managing rules."

"The product helps improve our security."

"The customization of firewall rules provides great value to our customers as it allows them to lock things up in the way that they desire. When it is used for internal access, with a VPN in place for remote workers, the firewalling services provided by Azure, such as the default services that can be turned on, are applied. However, the use of a software-based virtual firewall gives us greater flexibility in introducing security controls for customers who are publishing applications that are publicly accessible from the public cloud. This virtual firewall provides an additional layer of security and more extensive security control options to ensure the protection of our customers' valuable information and assets."

"Out of ten, I would rate the solution at an eight."

"SonicWall NSV is easy to use, and you can use it to manage the logs easily."

"For my small NFB banking services, when they are expanding their branches, I could incorporate a little bit easier."

"The solution has no additional charges and no restrictions on the number of users."

"We purchased the AGSS Bundle (Advanced Gateway Security Suite) for the security services, such as antivirus, intrusion prevention system, and anti-spyware botnet GUI."

More SonicWall NSv pros

Cons

"Palo Alto has a feature called WildFire Analysis that is unavailable in FortiGate. WildFire is better than a sandbox because it can address zero-day threats and vulnerabilities. It can immediately identify zero-day threats from the cloud."

"Scalability for Fortinet FortiGate needs to be improved. SD-WAN security for this solution also needs some improvement."

"Due to its higher cost, Fortinet FortiGate can lead to increased operational expenses."

"The renewal price and the availability could be improved."

"Fortinet could improve the windows opener or the virtual IP solutions for opening windows. The virtual IP settings need improvement as firewalls are trending in new development directions."

"It would be nice if backups could more easily migrate between different models."

"Fortinet doesn't provide multiple virtual firewalls which would facilitate end users and customers."

"One of the features that I would like to have is to do with endpoint production, it should be integrated. For example, the firewall gets notified of any kind of forensic event that needs to be done, such as if there is a ransomware attack and how it originated, all those records have to be available from the firewall, which is not."

More Fortinet FortiGate cons

"The interface of the solution could be improved."

"The operating system isn't stable, so it goes to memory counters every night."

"We have encountered certain issues with the bandwidth in respect of the security layer."

"Support could be improved a little."

"We haven't attempted to scale the solution just yet. If we want to scale this solution we may have to look at other models. With certain requirements, we probably wouldn't be able to scale it so well as it is right now."

"The solution can improve by adding separate interfaces for proxy and flow-based usage."

"Their offering for MFA isn't the cleanest."

"The solution's web-filtering configuration could be better."

More Fortinet FortiGate-VM cons

"The engine provided initially was quite heavy, creating a trade-off between software and hardware-based threat management."

"There are limitations to bandwidth management."

"The price is a significant factor. Mostly in India, the customer service has many hurdles to get real support."

"SonicWall NSV's SSL VPN could increase its number of users to 100-plus users."

"The price is a significant factor."

"I would like to see the reporting opened up and have several more opportunities for automatic reports."

"SonicWall NSV's initial setup is complicated and requires good knowledge."

"We face some challenges when we upgrade the solution."

More SonicWall NSv cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"These boxes are not that expensive compared to what they can do, their functionality, and the reporting you receive. Fortinet licensing is straightforward and less confusing compared to Cisco."

"In terms of the market, it's not a cheap product, but it's cost-effective."

"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 pricing is fair."

"The price of Fortinet FortiGate is better than Cisco, Check Point, and Palo Alto. In terms of pricing, it's probably a better-priced firewall solution overall."

"The price range is quite acceptable and normal."

"I would say that all things considered, the pricing is pretty good."

"The price depends on the size of the company. From the beginning, you just want to know the internet bandwidths, speed, and the number of users to be able to offer the right product and model. They have a lot of products in FortiGate according to the size of the company, like 200D and 300D."

More Fortinet FortiGate pricing and cost advice

"I rate the product's pricing an eight out of ten."

"VMs can be affordable, but for high-demand scenarios, I'd still recommend the hardware. For the cost, it's a ten out of ten."

"I rate the product price a three on a scale of one to ten, where one is a high price, and ten is a low price."

"The solution could be better priced."

"We are on an annual license for this solution and it could be cheaper."

"The tool is neither expensive nor cheap, so it is okay."

"It's not a cheap solution but it comes with its benefits."

"It's a mid-ranged product."

More Fortinet FortiGate-VM pricing and cost advice

"The solution’s pricing is less compared to other products."

"SonicWall NSV is not very costly."

"The tool is moderately priced."

"We are currently using the trial version."

"The solution's pricing is good for the technology it offers."

"Our initial purchase, which included a three-year term of support, was about $25,000 USD."

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Educational Organization

22%

Computer Software Company

14%

Comms Service Provider

Manufacturing Company

Computer Software Company

20%

Financial Services Firm

Manufacturing Company

Government

Computer Software Company

23%

Real Estate/Law Firm

Government

Legal Firm

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

Questions from the Community

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As a solution, Sophos UTM offers a lot of functionality, it scales well, and the stability and performance are quite ...

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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...

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Which would you recommend - FortiGate VM or Azure Firewall?

Both of these solutions are excellent options that provide flexible scalability and solid security. Fortinet Fortigat...

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What do you like most about Fortinet FortiGate-VM?

An enhanced security solution for any kind of alert that we have configured.

See all answers

What do you like most about SonicWall NSV?

The product helps improve our security.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for SonicWall NSV?

The tool is moderately priced. We need to purchase an additional license for NSM. We can manage all the firewalls thr...

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What needs improvement with SonicWall NSV?

The price is a significant factor. Mostly in India, the customer service has many hurdles to get real support. If I w...

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Comparisons

Sophos XG vs Fortinet FortiGate

Compared 22% of the time

Netgate pfSense vs Fortinet FortiGate

Compared 13% of the time

Cisco Secure Firewall vs Fortinet FortiGate

Compared 11% of the time

WatchGuard Firebox vs Fortinet FortiGate

Compared 5% of the time

Sophos UTM vs Fortinet FortiGate

Compared 2% of the time

More Fortinet FortiGate Competitors

Azure Firewall vs Fortinet FortiGate-VM

Compared 28% of the time

Palo Alto Networks VM-Series vs Fortinet FortiGate-VM

Compared 5% of the time

Cisco Secure Firewall vs Fortinet FortiGate-VM

Compared 4% of the time

Zyxel Unified Security Gateway vs Fortinet FortiGate-VM

Compared 4% of the time

KerioControl vs Fortinet FortiGate-VM

Compared 4% of the time

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Azure Firewall vs SonicWall NSv

Compared 33% of the time

SonicWall NSa vs SonicWall NSv

Compared 23% of the time

Stormshield Network Security vs SonicWall NSv

Compared 21% of the time

SonicWall TZ vs SonicWall NSv

Compared 12% of the time

More SonicWall NSv Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Fortinet FortiGate

March 2025

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Buyer's Guide

Fortinet FortiGate-VM

March 2025

Download Fortinet FortiGate-VM product report

Buyer's Guide

Firewalls

March 2025

Download SonicWall NSv product report

Also Known As

FortiGate 60b, FortiGate 60c, FortiGate 80c, FortiGate 50b, FortiGate 200b, FortiGate 110c, FortiGate, Fortinet Firewall

FortiGate Virtual Appliance, FortiGate-VM

SonicWall Network Security Virtual

Overview

Fortinet FortiGate offers comprehensive network security and firewall protection across multiple locations. It effectively manages data traffic and secures environments with features like VPN, intrusion prevention, and UTM controls.

Organizations rely on Fortinet FortiGate for its robust integration with advanced security policies, ensuring significant protection for enterprises, cloud environments, and educational sectors. It facilitates network segmentation, application-level security, and authentication management, securing communication within and between locations such as branches and data centers. Its efficient SD-WAN and UTM features enable streamlined data management and enhanced threat protection capabilities. Users appreciate its centralized management, facilitating seamless operations across diverse environments.

What are the key features of Fortinet FortiGate?

VPN Capabilities: Ensure secure remote access for users and seamless site-to-site connections.
Intrusion Prevention System (IPS): Detect and prevent security threats and vulnerabilities.
Advanced Firewall: Offers robust firewalling with application control and web filtering.
SD-WAN: Optimizes application performance and enhances bandwidth management.
SSL VPN: Provides reliable and secure access for remote workers.

What benefits should users expect from Fortinet FortiGate?

High-performance Security: Delivers effective threat mitigation with high availability.
Centralized Management: Simplifies network operations with cloud-based management tools.
Detailed Analytics: Provides comprehensive insights into network activity and security threats.
Load Balancing: Ensures optimal resource distribution and traffic management.

Fortinet FortiGate is crucial in sectors like education, offering robust networks for secure data flow between campuses and facilitating remote learning. In enterprise environments, it allows efficient management of application traffic and security across multiple branches, while in the cloud, it seamlessly integrates with diverse platforms to enhance security infrastructure.

Fortinet

FortiGate Virtual Appliances allow you to mitigate blind spots by implementing critical security controls within your virtual infrastructure. They also allow you to rapidly provision security infrastructure whenever and wherever it is needed. FortiGate virtual appliances feature all of the security and networking services common to traditional hardware-based FortiGate appliances. With the addition of virtual appliances from Fortinet, you can deploy a mix of hardware and virtual appliances, operating together and managed from a common centralized management platform.

Fortinet

SonicWall NSV is a software-based virtual firewall that provides additional security for customers with public-facing servers or services on Microsoft Azure. The AGSS Bundle is considered the most valuable feature, providing security services such as antivirus, intrusion prevention system, and anti-spyware botnet GUI.

Additionally, customization of firewall rules provides great value to customers, allowing them to lock things up in the way they desire. SonicWall NSV offers extensive security control options to protect customers' valuable information and assets.

SonicWall

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

Security7 Networks, COOPENAE

Comlogic, Depaul, Hutt City Council

Buyer's Guide

Fortinet FortiGate-VM vs. SonicWall NSv

March 2025

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