Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls vs WatchGuard XTM [EOL] comparison

Palo Alto Networks and WatchGuard are both solutions in the Firewalls category. Additionally, 96% of Palo Alto Networks users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 90% of WatchGuard users who would recommend it.

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Apr 6, 2025

WatchGuard XTM EOL and Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls are two competing products in the network security sector. Based on extensive analysis, Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls offer more comprehensive features, positioning it as a more robust solution despite WatchGuard XTM EOL's attractive pricing and support advantages.

Features: WatchGuard XTM EOL provides useful features such as content filtering, VPN capabilities, and straightforward device management. In contrast, Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls offers advanced threat detection, application control, and machine learning capabilities for real-time attack prevention.

Room for Improvement: WatchGuard XTM EOL could enhance its integration capabilities, scalability, and advanced reporting features. On the other hand, Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls may benefit from further simplifying its complex deployment process, improving its user interface, and offering better integration with third-party solutions.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: WatchGuard XTM EOL is known for its ease of setup and quick customer support responses, making it user-friendly for those without dedicated IT teams. Meanwhile, despite a more intricate setup, Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls provide thorough online resources and community support to facilitate troubleshooting.

Pricing and ROI: WatchGuard XTM EOL is a cost-effective option for organizations with limited budgets, providing notable ROI through lower initial expenses. Although Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls come at a higher cost, their extensive security features deliver significant returns on investment, deemed worthwhile for those prioritizing enhanced protection.

To learn more, read our detailed Firewalls Report (Updated: March 2025).

Buyer's Guide

Firewalls

March 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

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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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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it_user498942

Deputy Head of IT Department at a financial services firm with 501-1,000 employees

Helps me create firewall policies for networks and services.

1. It is difficult to configure WatchGuard with your internet settings. Actually, a normal internet setting/configuration is easy. However, I had a problem with multi WAN and multi LAN. I have a few different LAN subnet and two WAN. What I want to do is to route traffic from LAN1 through WAN1 and use WAN2 as failover. And for LAN2, it would route through WAN2 and use WAN1 as failover. So all traffic from LAN1 supposed to go through WAN1 only unless WAN1 is down, then it will go WAN2. However, I still could see some packet from LAN1 go through WAN2 at the same times. I checked the Traffic Monitoring in WatchGuard and I figured it out that is because of default “Outgoings” policy. Unfortunately, I could not disable default “Outgoings” policy and if I do “all clients could not access the internet even if I created another Outgoing Policy to replace the default one”. I used to ask my Vendor to help with this problem, but they could not do it. 2. I would like to see more granularity on each IP bandwidth that is used. I want to check which IP consume internet Bandwidth the most, but it is not convenient to check the total bandwidth that one IP is consuming. I need to go to “Traffic Management” to see which group IP that used most of the bandwidth, and then I go to “Hostwatch” to check bandwidth of each IP and sum the consumed bandwidth by myself. 3. It cannot block Internet Download Manager nor the Torrent application “BitComet” Internet Download Manager and BitComet are two applications that I cannot block in “Application Control”. I used to ask my vendor for help, but they still could not do it. Other application (Messenger, other peer-to-peer application, social network, VOIP .. etc), WatchGuard can block them.

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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

"It's a user-friendly firewall. Most of the tasks are very simple. It's simple to configure and troubleshoot this firewall."

"It is a good source for firewall protection."

"This solution has helped our organization by having strong functions and a reliable firewall."

"We've found the solution to be pretty stable."

"The notable features that I have found most valuable are that it includes the antivirus, and also IPS, and even SD-WAN."

"The wireless control is helpful."

"UTM/NGFW features and FortiCloud for logs and backups are awesome."

"I like several features that this product has, such as antivirus and internet navigation inspection. It is also simple to use."

More Fortinet FortiGate pros

"I love the Policy Optimizer feature. I am also completely happy with its stability."

"One of the things I really like about it is that we have the same features and functions available on the entry-level device (PA-220), as do large corporations with much more costly appliances."

"Palo Alto NGFW’s unified platform has helped our customers eliminate security holes. With a unified platform, customers can deploy the NG Firewall both in the data center edge, inside the data center, and in the product/public cloud environments. They have the same user interfaces and platform, so they can be maintained by a single unified platform called Panorama. Customers can use Palo Alto Network NG Firewalls in all the places where they need to protect their environments. This helps to decrease security holes."

"The interface is very nice. We generally like the UI the product offers."

"It is critical that Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls embeds machine learning in the core of the firewall to provide inline, real-time attack prevention. In my environments, we have an integration with a third-party vendor. As soon as there is new information about new threats and the destination that they are trying to reach on any of our network devices, that traffic will be stopped."

"The configuration is very simple."

"The first time I came across these firewalls, what surprised me the most was their web user interface. It is complete and gives you a lot of information. You can do 80% of the things related to your network and firewall through the web UI. In some of the other devices, the UI is not as complete. App-ID is also very valuable in customer networks. When you're seeing a lot of traffic in your network, you can see in your web UI which users have the applications that are consuming the most bandwidth. You have a broad context, which is very good."

"Prisma Access is the most valuable feature of Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls."

More Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls pros

"There is a site-to-site VPN configuration between others people."

"Monitoring of network activity is included in the box."

"It configures in all-in-one place."

"Application Control is fantastic with over 2,500 applications and the granularity that we can either allow people to view but not be able to log on to Facebook; or view it and log onto it if they're in the marketing department, but not play Facebook games. There are all sorts of different options like that. So it's highly granular."

"WatchGuard XTM is fairly basic. We use it as the perimeter firewall. The main point is to protect from attack software and hacking."

"I like the hostwatch because I can see what traffic uses the most bandwidth and I can block that site."

"SNMP status monitoring and the Central Management Software."

"After installing the product, we achieved awareness of our data protection needs and email misuse."

More WatchGuard XTM [EOL] pros

Cons

"Some of the web policy reports could be improved."

"Currently, FortiGate is providing SSL VPN. But they're missing some features that are available in Palo Alto's SSL VPN."

"The UTM filtering needs improvement."

"The solution can have more features in a single box that can be multi-applied to integrate everything."

"FortiOS is not simple."

"While FortiGate is cheaper than most other solutions, we're seeing increased license renewal costs. Most of our clients are asking for more significant discounts because the price is going up."

"With the reports, you can see it, and you can get good feelings so upper management can go, "Oh, wow. That looks pretty." However, it's very basic."

"The support structure needs to be improved because every time we contact them, there is a delay in the response."

More Fortinet FortiGate cons

"The SD-WAN feature needs improvement."

"We would like to see improvement in the web interface for this solution, so that it can handle updates without manual intervention to put the data in order."

"I believe it would be beneficial if the solution could integrate with Google Chrome, especially for students who use Chromebooks. However, as far as I know, the solution currently does not support Google Chrome."

"The initial configuration is complicated to set up."

"I think they need to have a proper hardware version for a smaller enterprise. We had to go to a very high-end version which is very expensive. If we chose the lower-end version, it would not meet our goals. A middle-end is missing in its portfolio."

"Customers don't want to buy extra things for extra capabilities"

"It is a complete product, but the SSL inspection feature requires some improvements. We need to deploy certificates at each end point to completely work out the UTM solutions. If you enable SSL encryption, it is a tedious process. It takes a lot of time to deploy the certificates to all endpoints. Without SSL inspection, UTM features will not work properly. So, we are forced to enable this SSL inspection feature."

"Generating reports is not so easy."

More Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls cons

"WatchGuard doesn't have a product that allows them to get into the data center. And that's just because there is no hardware to do the job. The software could do it, but there's no hardware that allows that to happen at the moment. So it doesn't scale as well as some other products, that's for sure."

"One huge issue with WatchGuard XTM is that I'm not getting reports in a readable format. Readable means, I don't want Excel online. We repeat auditing when we trigger the report or setup calendar. That functionality is what we are looking for from WatchGuard XTM here."

"The initial setup is neither simple nor complex. If you know the base in networking and how the firewall works, you will be able to figure it out."

"The VPN errors are not helpful when troubleshooting."

"I would like them to improve the product's overall protections. This would be good for all product users."

"Sometimes we have had issues with stability of the product."

"Syslog (Dimension) is focused on presentation, but needs more focus on utility like SonicWall syslog (GMS/Analyzer)."

"The setting policies need improvement. It needs an easier way to do static NAT and check on what policy is being used for that specific traffic."

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The support subscription for the solution is annual. You are paying for support and there are two levels of support, professional and advanced."

"The price of FortiGate is comparable to that of most other firewall solutions and is more affordable than Cisco."

"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."

"It scales well if you know what to buy from a physical box standpoint. They seem to offer something for every level."

"The price of Fortinet FortiGate is reasonable."

"Easy to understand licensing requirements."

"Its price is affordable and lesser than Cisco. Cisco is expensive. In terms of licensing, there is only one issue. If a customer's license has expired a month ago and they do the renewal after one month, Fortinet renews the license from the start of the previous month. The activation of the product is done from the previous month, not from the date of renewal. The customers usually shout and complain that because they are paying today, the renewal should start from today. The support contract renewals or licensing should be renewed from the date of renewal, but Fortinet starts from the day it had expired. It is a loss for customers. They might have had some problems because of which they did not take the license one month before. Fortinet should work on this. Cisco doesn't do this. Cisco always starts from the day they apply for the license."

"Fortinet FortiGate's price can be reduced."

More Fortinet FortiGate pricing and cost advice

"Its price can be better. Licensing is on a yearly basis."

"It's too expensive."

"Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls have a higher price tag, costing roughly twice as much as competing products."

"I would assume that it's still within mid-range given its company structure and everything else. My guess is it's still okay."

"It's an expensive product."

"This is an expensive product and there is a subscription cost."

"Palo Alto is like Mercedes-Benz. It is quite expensive, but the price is definitely justified."

"The price of this product should be reduced."

More Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls pricing and cost advice

"The licensing and renewal is very expensive."

"It costs less than the SO works and others (like SonicWall, Cisco, and Barracuda) without increasing so much CPU use."

"Get at least a maintenance contract for the updates and take a larger WatchGuard than you need. A WatchGuard creates new ways to secure your network."

"Like all other manufacturers, there are a lot of features and different pricing. The best is to talk to a representative."

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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

15%

Financial Services Firm

Manufacturing Company

Government

No data available

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

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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 WildFire vs Fortinet FortiGate

Compared 2% of the time

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Azure Firewall vs Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls

Compared 11% of the time

Sophos XG vs Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls

Compared 10% of the time

Check Point NGFW vs Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls

Compared 10% of the time

Meraki MX vs Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls

Compared 9% of the time

Cisco Secure Firewall vs Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls

Compared 9% of the time

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Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Fortinet FortiGate

April 2025

Download Fortinet FortiGate product report

Buyer's Guide

Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls

March 2025

Download Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls product report

Buyer's Guide

WatchGuard XTM [EOL]

March 2025

Download WatchGuard XTM [EOL] product report

Also Known As

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

Palo Alto NGFW, Palo Alto Networks Next-Generation Firewall

No data available

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

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.

Palo Alto Networks

Small businesses need big security, too, and the WatchGuard XTM Series firewall/VPN appliances deliver that strong protection, but without the hefty price tag. Enterprise-grade security includes full HTTPS content inspection, VoIP support, and optional security subscriptions like Application Control and Intrusion Prevention Service.

WatchGuard

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

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

AVG, Cyren, Kaspersky Lab, Lastline, NCP engineering, Trend Micro, Websense

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