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Meraki MX vs SonicWall NSa comparison

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Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Oct 8, 2024
 

Categories and Ranking

Fortinet FortiGate
Sponsored
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.2
Number of Reviews
317
Ranking in other categories
Firewalls (2nd), Software Defined WAN (SD-WAN) Solutions (1st), WAN Edge (1st)
Meraki MX
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.4
Number of Reviews
62
Ranking in other categories
Unified Threat Management (UTM) (3rd)
SonicWall NSa
Average Rating
7.8
Reviews Sentiment
7.3
Number of Reviews
86
Ranking in other categories
Firewalls (18th)
 

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…
Mike Cote - PeerSpot reviewer
Easy to manage and dashboard allows us to see and manage customers
The solution's most valuable feature is the Meraki dashboard, which is a single pane of glass. The dashboard allows us to see and manage all our Meraki customers. Since it's cloud-based management, we can remotely support Meraki, which makes it easy for us. We like to sell and deploy Meraki MX because of the ease of management.
Swapnil Kulkarni - PeerSpot reviewer
Good user interface, quick configuration modules but faced hardware issues
It could be improved in the reporting format. The way their analysis software is working, they need to improve their reporting. Second, I think they need to improve their security at the endpoint level, in the SD-WAN area. Apart from this, the main drawbacks are their support and hardware failure. In our last four to five years with the NSa 3600, we have faced hardware failure two to three times. Even though they replaced the hardware, we still faced the issue.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The SD-WAN is the most valuable feature."
"The product is easy to use and is stable. The SV1 functionality is a benefit."
"Secure, user-friendly, stable, and scalable network security solution. Installation is straightforward."
"It has improved our organization with control data."
"The interface is very user-friendly and I like it very much."
"Fortinet FortiGate has many valuable features, such as IDS, and intrusion detection. It has security features that are in part with the technologies that are available in the market."
"We have been able to offer several services to customers in a single box."
"LinkGreat firewall capabilities"
"You can use your web browser to do the configuration which is easier than Cisco CLI transcripts."
"Meraki MX has been a stable solution so far, and I haven't faced any issues with it."
"It is very easy to use and manage. It is also very easy to scale."
"It is very fast to implement."
"Deployment takes no more than one working day."
"Since it has an integrated dashboard for all the products, customers can get complete network analytics regarding what the user is doing, monitoring, and observing."
"We work also with domain control (DC) from Microsoft or Amazon. We use a whole virtual appliance with Meraki."
"The solution's most valuable feature is the ease of management of the dashboard."
"SonicWall NS has a lot of valuable features. One of the best SonicWall NSa features is the ability to collect mini routers and get only one user connection."
"SonicWall has USCS and anti-virus at the gateway level. Everything is filtered, and if it detects an intruder, it drops the line."
"SonicWall NSa's most valuable features are the ease of configuration and the GUI."
"It allows us to block applications, i.e., websites by application type category. It is far more capable than content filtering alone."
"The ease of configuration is excellent."
"The most valuable feature I've found is VPN and web protection, particularly with navigation assessment. We use the application control feature to create rules controlling specific application navigation."
"The most valuable feature is the sandbox."
"SonicWall has all the usual functions, like LAN configurations, security features, word filters, etc., but it also has the CFS agent, which isn't available in any other firewall. Reporting port support is also there."
 

Cons

"A couple of things I've seen that need improvement, especially in terms of a hard coding. The driver-level active moment really is out-of-the-box and we have to have contact the customer support and sometimes it is difficult to resolve."
"From a reporting perspective, there's room for improvement. They're providing FortiAnalyzer through which one can get some enhancements, but the visibility and reporting still need slight improvement."
"The solution's framework needs to be frequently updated in order to have a stable solution."
"I would like to see improvements in the product's application rules."
"The pricing could be reduced or include the first year warranty."
"Fortinet FortiGate could improve by adding enhancements to FortiMail, FortiSOAR, and FortiDeceptor."
"Compared to some other products, the DLP is not at par for the moment."
"The captive portal could be improved."
"From the improvement perspective, we need more monitoring capabilities. We want to have full-based access visibility, such as, what is happening when something is trying to reach and it is denying. We cannot see some parts of it. The integration of active directory with this product is not very fruitful. It has some bugs or lacks in the functionality of active directory integration. We are unable to identify where exactly and whether it has really applied our policy."
"It is very expensive."
"The client-side VPN is weak. The product could be improved with deployment templates."
"Could possibly use deeper configurations."
"The configuration options for firewall and IPS have limitations."
"It would be nice to get detailed logging information without third-party software."
"We feel that Cisco provides smaller features, with fewer possibilities versus other solutions out there."
"The product is quite complex to set up."
"It only has a single power interface, which has limitations in terms of high availability."
"The content filter needs to be improved."
"The web interface administration of SonicWall NSa could be improved. Compared to Sophos and FortiGate, making rules is easier with those systems."
"The cloud services may be in need of some improvement."
"The dynamics needs to be improved. The solution is not very compatible compared to the market products."
"A room for improvement in SonicWall NSa is the log server because it could be more user-friendly compared to Fortinet and Palo Alto Networks. My company has many rule sets up for review, so sometimes, my team needs to use Excel for filtering, but the UI cannot support the Excel function."
"You can do zero-trust networking with them, but it's not easy."
"The ongoing service fees are high."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The pricing of the solution is very competitive."
"There is a license to use Fortinet FortiGate."
"The pricing is very reasonable."
"The price of FortiGate support is too expensive."
"Each feature costs money, so it is important to study your needs."
"Here in Brazil, we're going through difficult economic times and the tax on the dollar is high. All the solutions from minor competitors are growing in the market. The prices have come more competitive."
"Its price is normal. If I compare it with other vendors, such as Palo Alto, it's normal. Palo Alto is expensive."
"The price is really low. It's cheap in comparison to the cost of Cisco or CheckPoint, for example."
"Meraki MX is an expensive solution."
"Its licensing cost could be better."
"The Meraki UTM is excellent when you buy the Advanced Security license. If you buy a different license you lost all the valuable functions."
"Meraki is the best option — based on the price and the features available."
"I rate the tool's price a four on a scale of one to ten, where one is cheap, and ten is very expensive."
"We just have to pay for the product and the license. We have a license for three years, and it is renewed every three years. It costs $1,200 for three years for one endpoint. Meraki had a good promotion for remote workers or remote workforce. The discount is very good. This promotion continues till the next fiscal year of Cisco."
"The price could be lower, but compared to the TCO of other products, it's not really that expensive."
"The tool's prices are okay compared to the traditional solutions. We find Meraki MX platform to be cheaper compared to the regular tools, like SD-Access."
"The solution is expensive. Its pricing is based on the number of users."
"We paid about 10,000 in our currency for one packet of SonicWall NSa."
"Licensed features provide application control, content filtering, antivirus, and anti-malware all in a single appliance."
"While I don't know the exact amount off the top of my head, I would estimate the licensing package was about $15,000 to $20,000 a year."
"They do have the option to purchase yearly, or two years, and three years renewal."
"The price of SonicWall NSa is expensive."
"SonicWall NSa has two types of license. The advanced license is a bit expensive when compared to the comprehensive license, but when you compare the advanced license to the licensing cost of other brands or competitors, it is expensive."
"When implemented properly, the total cost of operation is very low."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Educational Organization
22%
Computer Software Company
14%
Comms Service Provider
6%
Manufacturing Company
6%
Educational Organization
27%
Computer Software Company
14%
Manufacturing Company
5%
Retailer
4%
Computer Software Company
15%
Educational Organization
7%
Manufacturing Company
6%
Government
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

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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 ...
Fortigate 60d vs. Meraki MX67 for a small company without a dedicated IT Department
We have Meraki Mx devices now, we are looking to replace them. But that is because the Meraki MX platform lacks SSL I...
Which is better - Meraki MX or Cisco ASA Firewall?
Cisco Adaptive Security Appliance (ASA) software is the operating software for the Cisco ASA suite. It supports netw...
What do you like most about Meraki MX?
I am happy with the technical support for the solution. I rate the technical support a ten out of ten.
What do you like most about SonicWall NSa?
The product blocks access when I visit unrecognized websites.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for SonicWall NSa?
SonicWall is much cheaper compared to Fortinet, particularly regarding renewal and licensing costs.
What needs improvement with SonicWall NSa?
I would like more free VPN licenses. It would be beneficial if they could enhance the analytics part. It needs to be ...
 

Also Known As

FortiGate 60b, FortiGate 60c, FortiGate 80c, FortiGate 50b, FortiGate 200b, FortiGate 110c, FortiGate, Fortinet Firewall
MX64, MX64W, MX84, MX100, MX400, MX600
NSA 250M, NSA 2600, NSA 3600, NSA 4600, NSA 5600, Dell SonicWALL NSA
 

Learn More

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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
Hyatt, ONS
Orange County Rescue Mission, First Source, Michaels & Taylor, Green Clinic Health System, Aspire Chiltern Skills and Enterprise Centre, UnitedStack, Faith Lutheran College Redlands, Celtic Manor Resort, Star Kay White, Air Works, Unimat Life, NHS Yorkshire and Humber Commissioning Support (YHCS), Hutt City Council, Mato Grosso do Sul, Nspyre
Find out what your peers are saying about Meraki MX vs. SonicWall NSa and other solutions. Updated: January 2025.
825,661 professionals have used our research since 2012.