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 #30 with an average rating of 8.2. Fortinet holds a 1.9% 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: April 2025).

Buyer's Guide

Fortinet FortiGate-VM vs. SonicWall NSv

April 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 April 2025, in the Firewalls category, the mindshare of Fortinet FortiGate is 21.1%, up from 17.7% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Fortinet FortiGate-VM is 1.9%, up from 1.5% 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

"Its stability is the most valuable."

"The license management is very valuable. You can get a new license each year, or you can enroll every two to four years. You can get the logs, and you will get the information on the risk in your network and the entire organization. With this information, you can take action on your actives, computers, or devices. You can bring your own device as an SSE."

"The solution is stable."

"Fortinet FortiGate's ease of management is the most valuable feature."

"It's quite comfortable to handle the FortiGate firewall."

"FortiGate has a strong security topic which allows all of the Fortinet devices to communicate and share information which makes their security more powerful."

"The initial setup is easy."

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

More Fortinet FortiGate pros

"Its technical support is excellent."

"It's almost perfect. It's very stable. We don't have many hardware issues."

"The performance overall is very good."

"Overall, it's an excellent solution."

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

"The best part about FortiGate-VM is its strong security."

"The most valuable features are network security, VLAN, network protection, and encryption are very valuable to us."

"In terms of administration, it's perfect."

More Fortinet FortiGate-VM pros

"The security of this system is fantastic, including the IPS and IDS."

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

"I would rate the overall product a nine out of ten."

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

"SonicWall excelled in threat management, evident in how users handled it effectively."

"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."

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

More SonicWall NSv pros

Cons

"One area for improvement is the performance on the bandwidth demands for smaller devices, as well as better web filtering."

"The updates Fortinet provides are sometimes unstable."

"Their software support needs improvement. I would prefer to have better support for bug fixes. Sometimes, we open a ticket, and it is very difficult to get a solution. Specifically, we are not at all happy with their support for load balancing."

"There could be more integration between the logging and analytical platforms to make it more seamless and integrated."

"As far as wanting more scalability or things in the network diagram, it's going to cost you."

"Currently, without the additional reporting module, we only have access to basic reporting."

"It would be good if they had fewer updates."

"The solution lacks sufficient filtering."

More Fortinet FortiGate cons

"Technical support could be improved."

"Some issues with connecting to the VPN from home after firmware updates."

"The stability could be improved. I find Cisco to be more stable than Fortigate, which is I major differentiator between the two."

"They could enhance the product's functionality for more comprehensive threat detection and mitigation, especially for large-scale deployments."

"The user interface could be improved."

"I think Fortinet should provide us with more reporting from the AI/ML point of view. They could also offer the SaaS application in a single box. The VPN and ZTNA have so many verticals that they work as a standalone solution. They need to be in a single box."

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

"We have lost some information and we do not know how that happened through the solution. So that needs improvement."

More Fortinet FortiGate-VM cons

"The price is a significant factor."

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

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

"It has been brought to our attention by a few customers that they are dissatisfied with the fact that our virtualized service is only offered as a subscription option on the cloud. However, it is worth noting that many other similar services are also offered through a subscription model on the cloud and not through perpetual licensing. It is unclear why these customers would have an issue with this subscription service when so many others are utilizing similar methods."

"There are limitations to bandwidth management."

"An area that could be improved is the export and import settings functionality."

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

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

More SonicWall NSv cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The price range is quite acceptable and normal."

"The price of Fortinet FortiGate is reasonable."

"The main reason we chose Fortinet FortiGate was that the price was better than the competition."

"There is no challenge in Fortinet FortiGate pricing."

"The price is highly competitive when compared to other brands that offer similar functionality."

"The licensing scheme of Fortinet is better than Cisco. It is more logical."

"The license for Fortinet FortiGate is affordable in my country."

"It is an inexpensive solution."

More Fortinet FortiGate pricing and cost advice

"It has a flexible pay-as-you-go pricing model."

"There are yearly or monthly licenses which you can choose from."

"There is no additional cost. Once you get the licensing fee, you're good."

"At present, the SD-WAN licenses are on an annual basis."

"The price is expensive compared with other vendors, like Cisco and Huawei."

"The price falls somewhere in the middle; it's neither cheap nor expensive."

"The customer must buy his own license."

"The pricing and licensing are not as expensive as its competitors."

More Fortinet FortiGate-VM pricing and cost advice

"We are currently using the trial version."

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

"The tool is moderately priced."

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

"SonicWall NSV is not very costly."

"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

21%

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

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...

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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...

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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 ...

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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

Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls vs Fortinet FortiGate

Compared 2% of the time

More Fortinet FortiGate Competitors

Azure Firewall vs Fortinet FortiGate-VM

Compared 26% of the time

Palo Alto Networks VM-Series vs Fortinet FortiGate-VM

Compared 5% of the time

Zyxel Unified Security Gateway vs Fortinet FortiGate-VM

Compared 4% of the time

Cisco Secure Firewall vs Fortinet FortiGate-VM

Compared 4% of the time

KerioControl vs Fortinet FortiGate-VM

Compared 3% of the time

More Fortinet FortiGate-VM Competitors

Azure Firewall vs SonicWall NSv

Compared 31% of the time

SonicWall NSa vs SonicWall NSv

Compared 25% of the time

Stormshield Network Security vs SonicWall NSv

Compared 20% of the time

SonicWall TZ vs SonicWall NSv

Compared 14% of the time

More SonicWall NSv Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Fortinet FortiGate

April 2025

Download Fortinet FortiGate product report

Buyer's Guide

Fortinet FortiGate-VM

April 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

April 2025

Free Report: Fortinet FortiGate-VM vs. SonicWall NSv

Find out what your peers are saying about Fortinet FortiGate-VM vs. SonicWall NSv and other solutions. Updated: April 2025.

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