Palo Alto Networks K2-Series vs Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls comparison

Palo Alto Networks K2-Series and Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls are both solutions in the Firewalls category. Palo Alto Networks K2-Series is ranked #29 with an average rating of 8.5, while Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls is ranked #7 with an average rating of 8.7. Palo Alto Networks K2-Series holds a 0.0% mindshare in Firewalls, compared to Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls’s 3.2% mindshare. Additionally, 96% of Palo Alto Networks K2-Series users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 96% of Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls users who would recommend it.

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Jan 5, 2025

Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls and K2-Series compete in the next-generation firewall market. The NG Firewalls have an edge as they offer user-friendly management with a focus on application control, visibility, and threat prevention, essential for complex environments.

Features: Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls offer an intuitive interface with strong application control, visibility, and threat prevention capabilities. They provide robust security with user-ID features that allow detailed visibility into user activities. Users can benefit from GlobalProtect for remote access, offering enhanced security for remote workers. K2-Series provides high performance and scalability, essential for environments requiring high throughput. It is equipped with advanced threat prevention technology and supports future-proof scalability, ideal for expanding enterprises.

Room for Improvement: Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls could improve SSL traffic offloading capabilities and enhance their reporting tools. Integration with third-party orchestration and better logging features are needed. In contrast, K2-Series could benefit from a more intuitive user interface, stronger threat intelligence integrations, and competitive pricing. Both products might improve their support structures, but NG Firewalls feel the competitive pressure more intensely.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Both Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls and K2-Series are easy to deploy with support for hybrid, on-premises, and cloud models. NG Firewalls are noted for requiring less technical expertise due to their user-friendly management interface. However, customer support can be inconsistent across both products, with issues such as language barriers and delayed responses highlighted. There is a demand for more proactive customer support.

Pricing and ROI: Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls are considered expensive but offer a strong ROI due to their comprehensive security suite, benefiting larger enterprises. Pricing may be a concern for smaller businesses. K2-Series also faces pricing challenges, though it provides significant ROI through enhanced operational efficiencies and security. For both products, the investment is justified for organizations that fully utilize their capabilities.

To learn more, read our detailed Palo Alto Networks K2-Series vs. Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls Report (Updated: January 2025).

Buyer's Guide

Palo Alto Networks K2-Series vs. Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls

January 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 January 2025, in the Firewalls category, the mindshare of Fortinet FortiGate is 20.3%, up from 17.4% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Palo Alto Networks K2-Series is 0.0%, up from 0.0% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls is 3.2%, up from 3.2% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Firewalls

Q&A Highlights

Donny Lee

Works at KLA

Mar 23, 2021

Features comparison between Palo Alto and Fortinet firewalls

Hi PaloAlto is better when working on app control feature and special virtual wire links. Execpt that specific point, Fortinet is above. Best Regards, Damien

See all answers

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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Sumit Bhanwala

Global Head - SAP for Energy & Resources at Tata Consultancy

User-administration-friendly solution, secure solution and offers real-time threat intelligence updates

It was only hardware. It's an on-premises solution, so it is limited to the capacity of the model we are choosing. But cloud-specific solutions, like the Palo Alto SaaS solution, are very scalable on demand. So it's great if you work in the cloud. But if you work on the on-premises solution, it's limited and depends upon the model. This is good for every kind of company.

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AmjadKhan1

Head of data centers at a non-profit with 10,001+ employees

Provides inline protection with a unified view and anti-spyware capabilities

I would rate Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls ten out of ten because it is the best. Our disaster recovery site utilizes Palo Alto Networks Next-Generation Firewalls. We are also in the process of upgrading the firewalls at our 365 sites in Pakistan to Palo Alto Networks firewalls. While budget firewalls may advertise comparable features, they often fall short of effectively detecting viruses, threats, and ransomware. In contrast, Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls, combined with Cortex XDR, provide comprehensive threat intelligence and detection capabilities, ensuring superior security coverage. I recommend conducting a proof of concept before selecting a firewall. This will allow you to evaluate different options and determine which best suits your needs. While Palo Alto offers robust firewall solutions, it's essential to compare them with other vendors to ensure you make an informed decision.

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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 management console is pretty simple, so anyone who understands networking can initially deploy the solution."

"It is easy to use. We chose this product for the possibility to have virtual domains (VDOMs). We are building another company in the group, and we would like to split the firewalling rules and policies between these two companies. Each company would be able to manage its own policies and security rules, which is an advantage of Fortinet FortiGate. We can define VDOMs, and every company can manage its own VDOM as if it has its own physical firewall, but in fact, we would be using the same physical appliance because we are also using the same internet lines. So, it allows us to reuse the existing resources without the disadvantage of having to compromise on policies and security. Each company can choose its own way of working."

"This is a quality product with ok support, and it is better than the competition we've tried."

"The initial setup is very straightforward and easy, with wizards helping to configure the device efficiently."

"Fortinet FortiGate is easy to use. Anyone can easily maintain it."

"The solution is scalable."

"Its stability is the most valuable."

"The Intrusion Prevention System and the web filtering are both working well."

More Fortinet FortiGate pros

"The most valuable feature is availability."

"The most valuable feature of Palo Alto Networks K2-Series is the performance which is above their competitors. The throughput they have delivered is good. When we used other solutions they failed the deployment when we were using different rules. They have a theory perform performance light and performance degradation. However, Palo Alto Networks K2-Series never fails in that scenario."

"I like the tool's WildFire feature."

"This is a very reliable firewall and we have never had problems with it."

"The scalability of the product is quite high."

"The most valuable features are the virtualization of the firewall and the antivirus."

"The IPS system is the best in the field."

"Palo Alto firewalls are scalable enough. We have about 110 employees in our company, and we are about to expand to 130."

More Palo Alto Networks K2-Series pros

"The solution allows us to set parameters on where our users can go. We can block certain sites or ads if we want to."

"The payload is a very valuable feature."

"I like the navigation of the general Panorama solution. I can easily navigate around and get to the thing I need. I'm not wasting time trying to find something."

"Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls are the best in the field in terms of usability and coverage."

"The DNS sync code in your filtering is the most valuable feature of the Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls."

"Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls' single-path architecture offers a valuable feature, ensuring stable performance for our customers."

"The most valuable features are IPS and stateful inspection."

"Palo Alto NG Firewalls offer an efficient interface that simplifies log checking, troubleshooting connection issues, and firewall policy configuration."

More Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls pros

Cons

"Quality control on their firmware versions needs improvement. When they introduce new firmware, there tend to be bugs."

"The monitor and the visibility, in this proxy, is very weak."

"Fortinet FortiGate could improve by adding FortiAnalyzer to its solution, we should not have to use another solution. FortiAnalyzer can provide more detailed information."

"They have to just improve its performance when we enable all UTM features. When you enable all the features, the performance of FortiGate, as well as of Sophos and SonicWall, goes down."

"A sandbox would be good in order to be able to inspect the emails containing spam and be able to validate the emails that contain malware, prior to delivering to the customer."

"The process of configuring firewall rules appears excessively complex."

"Fortinet FortiGate could improve by having more capabilities for troubleshooting VPN connections. For example, I do get some feedback about the current status, but I could use some history and logging of important events. The information is logged in our Syslog server, but I could use that information from the device. If they could provide a GUI to have some more insight on what's going with my VPN would be useful."

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

More Fortinet FortiGate cons

"The tool needs to improve integration with more products from other vendors. I would like the product to add threat intelligence features as well."

"The ease of management and configuration should be improved."

"The password function of the solution could be improved. Additionally, some of the processes take too long to complete."

"There are a lot of bugs in this solution."

"Palo Alto releases a lot of bug fixes for their firewalls, which means it's necessary to do frequent upgrades. They should work on decreasing their bugs so that upgrades aren't needed so often."

"The licensing cost is a typical complaint with many clients. The solution is expensive."

"In the past, we've had trouble with Palo Alto's application filtering not getting it right. I would not be recommending layer 7 application filtering yet."

"Palo Alto doesn't have extended visibility to the end point in their firewalls."

More Palo Alto Networks K2-Series cons

"In terms of what could be improved, comparatively the price is very high. That would be the one thing."

"Its price can be improved. It is expensive. Other vendors have pre-configured policies for the protection of web servers. Palo Alto has an official procedure for protecting the web servers. Many people prefer pre-configured policies, but for me, it is not an issue."

"From a documentation standpoint, there is room for improvement. Even Palo Alto says that their documentation is terrible."

"The first level of support will usually do nothing for you. If you're an IT company, you're not looking for level one support. You need to escalate. Other vendors have a direct support line for enterprise clients, but not Palo Alto."

"Technical support is an area that could be improved."

"It would be better to have more tools to control Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls. We don't have too many tools to access Palo Alto. For example, the IT team doesn't have access to it. We can see it physically and see if it's running or not. We need to contact a special team to receive that information. I would also like to see more reporting in the next release."

"I think automation and machine learning can be improved to make bulk configurations simpler, easier, and faster"

"When there was change from IPv4 to IPv6, some of the firewalls still didn't support IPv6. In North America, we have seen most customers are using IPv6, as they are getting the IPv6 IPs from their ISPs. Sometimes, when they go through the firewall, it denies the traffic."

More Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"It has been two years. I don't remember the actual price, but it was affordable. We buy the boxes and then use the license for three years."

"Before choosing a piece of equipment you have to take into account the cost-benefit offered by each one. Sometimes it is not worth paying a very cheap price to have a minimum level of security."

"Licensing is usually on a three-year period."

"The pricing is fair."

"The license of Fortinet FortiGate should be reduced."

"The pricing for this solution is good."

"Their licensing costs are annual. The UTM feature license along with their support is called FortiCare. We include that as a part of the annual maintenance cost. Palo Alto or Juniper also have an annual subscription charge for UTM. Price, of course, can always be more competitive, but it is not the most expensive product. The price-performance ratio is quite high for FortiGate."

"The pricing is perfect."

More Fortinet FortiGate pricing and cost advice

"It is an expensive solution."

"Products by the leader in the field are justifiably a bit more expensive compared to other vendors."

"This solution is expensive compared to other, similar products."

"The pricing is expensive."

"It would be nice if they lowered their prices for small businesses."

"The price of the solution is expensive."

"If you compare K2-Series' quality with its price, I think it is reasonable."

"We are on an annual license to use Palo Alto Networks K2-Series."

More Palo Alto Networks K2-Series pricing and cost advice

"Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls are overpriced."

"Palo Alto can be priced higher than some less capable firewalls. However, they are exceptional when you consider the completeness of the solution and its ability to handle threats. Palo Alto is better than other solutions, which justifies a slightly higher price point. You have other tools that are easier to deploy, reducing your total cost of ownership. The newer models are faster, making the pricing more attractive."

"It is expensive as compared to other brands."

"Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls is expensive, but it is worth its price."

"Cheap and faster are the opposite sides of security. Security inspections have some technical and money costs. If you just purchase some cheap, fast firewalls, then you will lose a lot of the security features and fraud protection capabilities."

"This is an expensive product, which is why some of our customers don't adopt it."

"Its price is quite high but is justified for the features and capabilities provided, although I would prefer a lower price."

"The tool is expensive, especially considering all the necessary licenses for centrally managing firewalls. For medium-sized companies like ours, it's often not feasible within our budget constraints. We pay around €200k yearly for all our firewalls. Additionally, we received a quote of over €1 million per year for Prisma Access. There is a significant cost difference compared to other options, where it's around €200k per year."

More Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls pricing and cost advice

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Answers from the Community

Donny Lee

Works at KLA

Mar 23, 2021

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 filtering and such like, they have always been top of the pile there. The GUI is very good, and their product is very user-focused. Fortinet is good for scalability and predictable high throughput (ASICs in the...

2 out of 4 answers

ABHILASH TH

Managing Director at FOX DATA

Mar 20, 2021

Hi, Both FT and PA have compelling features for large Enterprises. I would like to add a few good points about Fortinetwhich might be helpful ( from my 13 years of engagement with them as Distributor and Partner) Fortinet: Have higher throughput; which comes with competitive rates Wide range of models to select to meet your requirement, without spending heavliy Outstanding customer support and very active customer care team Easly available skilled resources from the channel for deployment and post-implementation support Regards Abhilash

Read full answer

Lucas Damien

CTO & co-Founder at Anevia

Mar 22, 2021

Hi PaloAlto is better when working on app control feature and special virtual wire links. Execpt that specific point, Fortinet is above. Best Regards, Damien

Read full answer

See all 4 answers

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Educational Organization

22%

Computer Software Company

14%

Comms Service Provider

Manufacturing Company

Computer Software Company

30%

Energy/Utilities Company

Manufacturing Company

Non Profit

Computer Software Company

15%

Financial Services Firm

Manufacturing Company

Government

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...

See all answers

What do you like most about Palo Alto Networks K2-Series?

It is a stable solution.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Palo Alto Networks K2-Series?

Regarding pricing, the K2-Series costs can vary significantly. For smaller series, like the fifty series, there's a m...

See all answers

What is a better choice, Azure Firewall or Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls?

Azure Firewall Vs. Palo Alto Network NG Firewalls Both solutions provide stellar stability and security. Azure Firew...

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Which is better - Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls or Sophos XG?

Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls have both great features and performance. I like that Palo Alto has regular threat si...

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What do you like most about Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls?

We utilize advanced threat prevention features like web filtering and SSL decryption, which haven't caused any issues.

See all answers

Comparisons

Sophos XG vs Fortinet FortiGate

Compared 23% 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

Meraki MX vs Fortinet FortiGate

Compared 5% of the time

More Fortinet FortiGate Competitors

No data available

Check Point NGFW vs Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls

Compared 13% of the time

Azure Firewall vs Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls

Compared 12% of the time

Meraki MX vs Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls

Compared 10% of the time

Sophos XG vs Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls

Compared 9% of the time

Netgate pfSense vs Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls

Compared 8% of the time

More Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Fortinet FortiGate

January 2025

Download Fortinet FortiGate product report

Buyer's Guide

Palo Alto Networks K2-Series

December 2024

Download Palo Alto Networks K2-Series product report

Buyer's Guide

Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls

December 2024

Download Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls product report

Also Known As

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

No data available

Palo Alto NGFW, Palo Alto Networks Next-Generation Firewall

Learn More

Fortinet

Palo Alto Networks

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.

Designed to handle growing throughput needs due to increasing amounts of application-, user-, and device-generated data, the K2-Series offers amazing performance and threat prevention capabilities to stop advanced cyberattacks and secure mobile network infrastructure, subscribers, and services.

Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls offer comprehensive security, including application control, traffic shaping, threat prevention, and load balancing, designed to secure internal networks, perimeter protection, VPN services, and cloud environments.

Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls are a key choice for managing and protecting data centers, securing remote access, network segmentation, malware prevention, and ensuring high availability and performance for business-critical applications. Known for stability and strong security, these firewalls use application-aware identifiers and IPS/IDS subscriptions to offer advanced threat protection. The unified platform facilitates seamless integration, while GlobalProtect and centralized management via Panorama enhance ease of use. However, there are areas for improvement, including pricing strategies, training, user support, and integration with third-party applications.

What are the essential features?

Stability: Reliable performance in different environments.
Application Control: Identifies applications to manage traffic.
Advanced Threat Protection: Includes DNS security, WildFire, and machine learning.
GlobalProtect: Secure remote access for users.
Centralized Management: Managed via the Panorama platform.

What benefits or ROI should users expect?

Security: Protects against threats with robust features.
User-Friendly: Simplified interface and easy configuration.
High Availability: Ensures performance for critical applications.
Integration: Seamless with existing systems and applications.
Support: Reliable technical support and resources.

In industries like finance, healthcare, and retail, Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls secure sensitive data and meet regulatory requirements. These firewalls help manage large-scale networks in these sectors, providing essential security features and maintaining high-performance standards. They are implemented to ensure compliance, protect patient information, secure financial transactions, and safeguard customer data.

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

State of North Dakota, SEGA, Alameda County Office of Education, Temple University, VERGE, CAME

SkiStar AB, Ada County, Global IT Services PSF, Southern Cross Hospitals, Verge Health, University of Portsmouth, Austrian Airlines, The Heinz Endowments

Buyer's Guide

Palo Alto Networks K2-Series vs. Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls

January 2025

Free Report: Palo Alto Networks K2-Series vs. Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls

Find out what your peers are saying about Palo Alto Networks K2-Series vs. Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls and other solutions. Updated: January 2025.

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