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KerioControl vs SonicWall TZ comparison

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Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Sep 29, 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
7.2
Fortinet FortiGate offers cost-effective and efficient security with quick ROI, reducing expenses in data communication and management.
Sentiment score
7.0
KerioControl provides cost savings through bandwidth optimization, VPN efficiency, and management ease, despite concerns about rising licensing fees.
Sentiment score
7.4
SonicWall TZ offers enhanced security and productivity, proving cost-effective and valuable for businesses despite occasional upgrade needs.
They have good integration if you have multiple firewalls and it allows you to be able to push out policies to all of them at the same time.
Clients are now comfortable and not wasting productive hours on IT support.
If we used a similar solution that required a 'per seat' license per VPN, we would have literally spent over 100x what the solution cost us.
That is a reason to buy a firewall, and it is challenging to put a monetary value on security.
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
7.1
Fortinet FortiGate's customer service is praised for problem-solving but criticized for inconsistent response times and language barriers.
Sentiment score
5.5
KerioControl's support is responsive yet sometimes delayed, with users desiring faster response times and fewer additional charges.
Sentiment score
5.4
SonicWall TZ support is knowledgeable and detailed but suffers from slow responses, long hold times, and occasional language barriers.
The response time for a critical priority one issue was over four hours and they only responded because we threatened legal action for them violating our support contract.
They say they will respond in 24 hours, but I have received responses in a maximum of one hour, which is impressive.
The technical support from Fortinet FortiGate is 24 hours a day seven days a week, and 365 days a year.
I have never needed to contact customer support as the product is easy to use.
Customer service is excellent.
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
7.1
Fortinet FortiGate is scalable, flexible, and adaptable, though some face hardware upgrades and licensing challenges during deployment sizes.
Sentiment score
6.9
KerioControl is ideal for small to medium businesses, offering robust features but may require upgrades for extensive scaling.
Sentiment score
8.6
SonicWall TZ is scalable for SMBs, customizable, but may require upgrades in larger deployments due to physical limitations.
The devices will usually fail way before reaching the capacity advertised in the data sheets, especially when you activate several of the features the device can handle.
The solution is working and it is still stable even across all of these devices and servers.
We have over 10,000 users behind it.
KerioControl has met some of the network infrastructure needs yet could improve in terms of scalability.
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
7.9
Fortinet FortiGate is praised for its stability and reliability, with occasional issues improved by updates and configurations.
Sentiment score
7.4
KerioControl offers reliable performance with robust security for small to medium enterprises, despite minor hardware and configuration issues.
Sentiment score
7.6
SonicWall TZ is highly rated for stability, offering reliable performance and security, with minimal intervention needed for occasional issues.
All of these issues were resolved in v5.2.
Stability has dramatically improved over the previous main version branch of FortiOS; 5.2.x and 5.4.x are stable enough for critical environments.
Overall, the devices have been very stable.
In terms of stability, SonicWall doesn't have performance issues.
SonicWall TZ is definitely stable and offers a good value for money.
 

Room For Improvement

Fortinet FortiGate needs improvements in stability, usability, integration, cost-effectiveness, and documentation for enhanced user satisfaction and performance.
KerioControl needs improvements in VPN, user interface, support, performance, diagnostics, scalability, reliability, licensing, and logging features.
SonicWall TZ needs improved UI, better integration, enhanced features, and more flexible licensing to address user concerns.
FortiWAN supports OSPF but does not support the BGP protocol.
Fortinet VPN and DDoS capabilities are great, yet we need to provide a solution that enables CASB and integration to the cloud.
The relationship between their accounts team and my leadership team seems to be the reason for phasing out FortiGate.
Integration with other vendors, especially with VPNs, can be challenging and requires more effort when configuring.
SonicWall TZ could benefit from newer technology.
 

Setup Cost

Fortinet FortiGate offers competitive pricing with varied costs; affordable long-term licenses, though renewal complexity can accumulate costs.
KerioControl is affordable with robust features, though some find the licensing model complex and renewal costs concerning.
SonicWall TZ pricing is competitive but varies with configuration, potentially leading to high costs due to subscription models.
The cost of the original deployment fell below £5,000, and licenses are priced at around £3,000.
Every time you upgrade your license, you also get insurance for the equipment.
Overall, FortiGate is affordable.
The price for the product is rated as ten out of ten.
When comparing similar products across vendors, there may be a small difference in cost.
I would also position its pricing as a three, where one is the lowest price and ten is the highest.
 

Valuable Features

Fortinet FortiGate offers advanced security features, user-friendly configuration, and comprehensive management tools, valued for robust protection and flexibility.
KerioControl offers comprehensive security, ease of use, reliable VPN, and a user-friendly interface for efficient management and protection.
SonicWall TZ offers ease of use, robust security, scalable performance, and cost-effectiveness, enhancing productivity and client satisfaction.
The two most valuable features are VPN and firewalling.
WiFi network for visitors isolated from our corporate WiFi network using only one unit
Allows for firewall rules to be programmed and named in a way that makes it 'readable'
The most valuable features include geo-tagging, which blocks all other IPs except for the specified accounts, and web filtering.
It was beneficial during COVID for remote work through its VPN functionality.
For SMB segments, SonicWall performs well.
 

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)
KerioControl
Ranking in Firewalls
25th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.0
Number of Reviews
57
Ranking in other categories
Intrusion Detection and Prevention Software (IDPS) (15th), Unified Threat Management (UTM) (11th)
SonicWall TZ
Ranking in Firewalls
20th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.2
Number of Reviews
83
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of December 2024, in the Firewalls category, the mindshare of Fortinet FortiGate is 20.5%, up from 17.3% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of KerioControl is 1.5%, up from 0.9% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of SonicWall TZ is 2.7%, up from 2.2% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Firewalls
 

Featured Reviews

DineshKumar28 - PeerSpot reviewer
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…
Constantnos Achilleos - PeerSpot reviewer
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…
Sathish  Ravichandran - PeerSpot reviewer
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.
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Educational Organization
22%
Computer Software Company
14%
Comms Service Provider
6%
Manufacturing Company
6%
Computer Software Company
23%
Financial Services Firm
9%
Media Company
9%
Comms Service Provider
7%
Computer Software Company
19%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Construction Company
6%
Comms Service Provider
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 KerioControl?
The solution provides feasibility regarding cyber privacy.
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 p...
What needs improvement with KerioControl?
The logs could be improved for better clarity. It is difficult to understand when there is a threat attack, and handl...
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?
Pricing is competitive. When comparing similar products across vendors, there may be a small difference in cost.
 

Also Known As

FortiGate 60b, FortiGate 60c, FortiGate 80c, FortiGate 50b, FortiGate 200b, FortiGate 110c, FortiGate, Fortinet Firewall
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
Triton Technical, McDonald's
AeroM_xico Delta TechOps, Unimat
Find out what your peers are saying about KerioControl vs. SonicWall TZ and other solutions. Updated: December 2024.
824,053 professionals have used our research since 2012.