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KerioControl vs Palo Alto Networks VM-Series comparison

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Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Sep 16, 2024

Review summaries and opinions

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

ROI

Sentiment score
6.8
KerioControl delivered significant financial benefits through bandwidth optimization, VPN efficiency, and reduced support, maintenance, and security expenses.
Sentiment score
5.7
Palo Alto Networks VM-Series delivers strong ROI through enhanced security, rapid deployment, and significant time savings despite high pricing.
Customers can see data within a week, indicating a quick return on investment.
Senior Manager Technical Security at Hitachi Systems, Ltd.
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
5.3
KerioControl support receives mixed reviews, with some praise but many report slow responses and reliance on online communities.
Sentiment score
7.5
Customers appreciate Palo Alto Networks VM-Series support for responsiveness and expertise, despite occasional delays and high premium service costs.
The support quality could be improved.
Senior Manager Technical Security at Hitachi Systems, Ltd.
We are working with StarLink, and they are providing the best solution and best support.
Sr. Network Engineer at a tech services company with 1-10 employees
Sometimes cases take longer to resolve, and there's always room for improvement, especially in terms of response time from higher support levels.
Senior Security Consultant at Netsecurity.no
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
6.7
KerioControl suits small to medium businesses but faces scalability issues in larger enterprises, requiring hardware upgrades for increased capacity.
Sentiment score
7.4
Palo Alto Networks VM-Series is scalable, easy to deploy, and suits businesses with positive feedback on flexibility and growth.
It is easy to use with an excellent graphical user interface and extensive documentation, which contributes to its high scalability.
Senior Security Consultant at Netsecurity.no
They are easy to upgrade, and with credit licensing, they scale effectively according to demand.
Security Technical Lead at a tech services company with 11-50 employees
The solution is scalable and can easily handle an increase in the number of users.
Cyber security consultant at L&T Technology Services
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
7.2
KerioControl is stable and reliable, with minor hardware or update challenges, and performs well according to user assessments.
Sentiment score
8.2
Palo Alto Networks VM-Series is highly regarded for stability, reliable performance, and consistent uptime, despite minor navigation delays.
Hardware is generally very stable.
Security Technical Lead at a tech services company with 11-50 employees
I have not experienced any major problems or downtime.
Senior IT Infrastructure Specialist at contemi
Perfection is unlikely as the dynamic nature of traffic and constant changes can result in occasional bugs despite regular updates.
Senior Security Consultant at Netsecurity.no
 

Room For Improvement

KerioControl requires improvements in VPN, user interface, support, security, performance, and customization features for large networks.
Palo Alto Networks VM-Series needs UI updates, better platform integration, scalability, user-friendliness, and improved documentation for broader efficiency.
Integration with CSIRT across all use levels would make it easier for administrators to stay updated on the blocked entities without manual intervention.
Cyber security consultant at L&T Technology Services
Having those features missing, we are not proposing Palo Alto Networks VM-Series to all customers.
Sr. Network Engineer at a tech services company with 1-10 employees
Most customers go for partner-enabled support, which involves multiple layers, leading to delays.
Security Technical Lead at a tech services company with 11-50 employees
 

Setup Cost

KerioControl offers affordable pricing with complex licensing, appreciated features, but high annual fees can be challenging for small offices.
Palo Alto VM-Series is costly but reliable, with complex licensing; AWS Marketplace offers scalable subscription options.
The pricing is more on the expensive side, but it is justified due to its functionality, reliability, and throughput, even with all features enabled.
Senior Security Consultant at Netsecurity.no
Pricing for Palo Alto Networks is higher than other OEMs, but considering the robustness and features, it gains customer trust.
Head of Sales at Omgea Exim Ltd
The cost involves purchasing through a vendor, which might mark up due to the supply chain.
Senior IT Infrastructure Specialist at contemi
 

Valuable Features

KerioControl provides user-friendly navigation, robust security features, VPN support, and efficient network management with positive feedback on ease of use.
The VM-Series provides scalable, flexible security with advanced threat management, visibility, and integration features, enhancing network protection.
The DNS security significantly enhances security through visibility and detection, allowing control over crucial traffic like DNS, which is often exploited by ransomware.
Senior Security Consultant at Netsecurity.no
Palo Alto's robust threat intelligence supports new updates, and I can open cases directly with their Threat Intelligence team.
Security Technical Lead at a tech services company with 11-50 employees
We use these tools to prevent all known and unknown threats using Palo Alto Networks' Wildfire and other data filtering tools to gather information, analyze traffic, manage malicious traffic, and offer visibility, control, and attack prevention.
Senior Manager Technical Security at Hitachi Systems, Ltd.
 

Categories and Ranking

KerioControl
Ranking in Firewalls
27th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
58
Ranking in other categories
Intrusion Detection and Prevention Software (IDPS) (13th), Unified Threat Management (UTM) (8th)
Palo Alto Networks VM-Series
Ranking in Firewalls
14th
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
66
Ranking in other categories
Advanced Threat Protection (ATP) (15th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of November 2026, in the Firewalls category, the mindshare of KerioControl is 1.2%, down from 1.2% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Palo Alto Networks VM-Series is 2.9%, up from 1.1% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Firewalls Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Palo Alto Networks VM-Series2.9%
KerioControl1.2%
Other95.9%
Firewalls
 

Featured Reviews

Constantnos Achilleos - PeerSpot reviewer
Product manger at Asbis Mediteranean
Leveraging geo-tagging and web filtering for enhanced network security
The solution is used for site-to-site VPN connections and it is valued for its cost efficiency and easy connectivity. It is especially beneficial for multi-site VPNs and is used in about fifteen different components KerioControl has provided a financial benefit as it allows purchasing one license…
AV
Cyber security consultant at L&T Technology Services
Enhance cybersecurity for large enterprises using advanced threat management
An improvement could be the integration of security intelligence with Palo Alto cloud via APIs. This would allow IOCs, domains, and hash values to be automatically entered, reducing manual entry. Integration with CSIRT across all use levels would make it easier for administrators to stay updated on the blocked entities without manual intervention.
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Manufacturing Company
11%
Construction Company
10%
Comms Service Provider
10%
Computer Software Company
10%
Outsourcing Company
13%
Manufacturing Company
11%
Comms Service Provider
11%
Financial Services Firm
9%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business44
Midsize Enterprise9
Large Enterprise3
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business31
Midsize Enterprise15
Large Enterprise24
 

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for KerioControl?
KerioControl offers good pricing as one license covers all features needed without extra payment. The price for the product is rated as ten out of ten.
What needs improvement with KerioControl?
Regarding KerioControl's application awareness and control feature, I have not used it much.
What is your primary use case for KerioControl?
With KerioControl, we usually use them for site-to-site VPNs for most of our clients. With multiple offices, we use KerioControl as our solution.
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 kind of depends what you value most. PA is good at app control, web filteri...
How does Azure Firewall compare with Palo Alto Networks VM Series?
Both products are very stable and easily scalable. The setup of Azure Firewall is easy and very user-friendly and the overall cost is reasonable. Azure Firewall offers a solid threat awareness, can...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Palo Alto Networks VM-Series?
The pricing is more on the expensive side, but it is justified due to its functionality, reliability, and throughput, even with all features enabled. In comparison to FortiGate ( /products/fortinet...
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Triton Technical, McDonald's
Warren Rogers Associates
Find out what your peers are saying about KerioControl vs. Palo Alto Networks VM-Series and other solutions. Updated: November 2026.
921,714 professionals have used our research since 2012.