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Palo Alto Networks PA-Series vs SonicWall NSa comparison

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Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Sep 16, 2024
 

Categories and Ranking

Fortinet FortiGate
Sponsored
Ranking in Firewalls
2nd
Average Rating
8.4
Number of Reviews
316
Ranking in other categories
Software Defined WAN (SD-WAN) Solutions (1st), WAN Edge (1st)
Palo Alto Networks PA-Series
Ranking in Firewalls
15th
Average Rating
8.6
Number of Reviews
30
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
SonicWall NSa
Ranking in Firewalls
16th
Average Rating
7.8
Number of Reviews
85
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of November 2024, in the Firewalls category, the mindshare of Fortinet FortiGate is 19.8%, up from 17.1% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Palo Alto Networks PA-Series is 0.3%, up from 0.0% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of SonicWall NSa is 1.5%, up from 1.2% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Firewalls
 

Featured Reviews

DineshKumar28 - PeerSpot reviewer
Sep 25, 2024
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…
Deminda Dilan - PeerSpot reviewer
Apr 26, 2024
Good for enterprise-level businesses and offers many features like URL filtering and antivirus capabilities
Palo Alto can improve the web application firewall (WAF) feature at layer 7. Currently, I don't think it's available. If they can improve that, it would be better. We wouldn't need to purchase a separate WAF solution because they already have advanced URL filtering. But I don't think that advanced URL filtering has the same features as a dedicated WAF, like F5 or other solutions. That is an area for improvement. If they can improve the WAF feature, customers won't have to buy a separate WAF solution. They could do it with the same Palo Alto firewall, perhaps through a subscription-based model. So the web application firewall feature has to be improved.
Swapnil Kulkarni - PeerSpot reviewer
Jul 29, 2024
Good user interface, quick configuration modules but faced hardware issues
I use it for security purposes. To secure our network from outside the network. It is our gateway security solution where we can identify and filter out all the networks that come from outside of our network.  SonicWall NSa 3600 model has a very good user interface, and with its quick…

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"I'm pretty happy with its reliability. It is also very scalable."
"The virtual firewall feature is the most valuable. We have around 1,500 firewalls. We did not buy individual hardware, and the virtual firewalls made sense because we don't have to keep on buying the hardware. FortiGate is easier to use as compared to Checkpoint devices. It is user friendly and has a good UI. You don't need much expertise to work on this firewall. You don't need to worry much about DCLA, commands, and things like that."
"Fortinet FortiGate is stable. It's used across all the countries, this is the way most multinationals run their system."
"The web filtering facility and application control are the most valuable features from the point of view of our clients. The VPN feature is also quite popular amongst our clients. Two-factor authentication is one of the good features in Fortinet. These features are important for the current scenario of security. Security has become a necessity nowadays. With cyber-attacks becoming more common, protecting an organization's data is one of the major tasks. It is also very stable and scalable, and it is very straightforward to configure. Their technical support is also good."
"The security features that they have are quite good. On top of that, their licensing model is quite nice where they don't charge you anything for the SD-WAN functionality for the firewall."
"Fortinet FortiGate's reliability is valuable."
"It has a good UI and overall integration, including FortiGate Manager for controlling all firewalls from a single place."
"The ability to set up remote systems is the most valuable feature."
"A valuable feature that we can consider is the deployment time, which is significantly reduced, almost 90% faster compared to other solutions. This leads to quicker deployment and less downtime."
"The most effective features for threat prevention in the PA-Series are its integration with Cortex and the use of machine learning AI for advanced threat detection."
"It is scalable. But that depends on what model you are using."
"The tool's most valuable feature is WildFire."
"It is stable when you set up something and put it into production. Once it works, you don't have other tasks or actions to perform."
"When I compare the tool with other firewalls, it’s the most powerful. It's the most powerful security engine. All the traffic going to the Internet passes through it as the first layer of protection. Because of its good performance, we also use it for decryption."
"Palo Alto has predefined applications that you can control at the application level."
"A valuable feature that we can consider is the deployment time, which is significantly reduced. It is almost 90% faster compared to other solutions."
"We can do the hosting and security all under one box. The UTM is a good feature."
"Deep packet inspection and intelligent application control are the most valuable features. It is a very updated solution. It is very current as compared to other brands and vendors."
"The filtering is excellent."
"What I like best about SonicWall NSa is the security it offers compared to other solutions in the market. Its reduction rate is also better than others."
"It is a brilliant product. It is a Unified Threat Management (UTM) system. It has got about 11 security services that take care of your perimeter security. It takes care of any kind of cyber threats that could come in. It takes care of creating VPNs between two SonicWalls instantly and very easily. It has got spyware in it as well as a firewall. It has also got a gateway antivirus and an application firewall that can block things from outside."
"This product is user-friendly and easy to configure."
"It is able to fulfill my requirements. It protects our network environment. It has control over IPS, signatures, and it can also manage bandwidth and mapping. It is also stable and has good support."
"It's very simple to use and the support is great."
 

Cons

"With FortiGate, the main complaint that I have heard is about the technical support."
"I would like to see improvements in the product's application rules."
"The price of FortiGate should be reduced because there are some other leading products that are cheaper."
"I'm not sure if it's something that they already have or are developing something, however, we need some dedicated features for container security."
"We would like to see a better training platform implemented."
"The pricing could be a bit better, especially when you consider how they have the most basic offering priced."
"Technical support needs to be improved."
"It does not have key authentication for admin access."
"There seem to be some issues with TAC (Technical Assistance Center) or Palo Alto support. Anytime you open a case, a level one engineer joins, and then you have to escalate it to level two or three. The support system has changed in the past few years, and that's something they need to look into."
"There are constant updates for the operating system. It is a nice thing also, but it has its own disadvantages. Continuous updates are there. The users face issues like, how often do I need to update that? Within a period of five months, I'm updating it two or three times. It gives them a feeling that they are not confident about their product and have to update it so frequently."
"The UI definitely needs work. In my opinion, the UI could be simpler and more user-friendly for the average user."
"The product must provide multiple threat detection features."
"The web interface is slow."
"The product's high prices are an area of concern where improvements are required."
"The SD-WAN feature of Palo Alto Networks is not good compared to FortiGate."
"With Palo Alto Networks PA-Series, I find that the support team takes a long time to resolve the issues that a user may face during the use of the product."
"One issue with the solution is that no authorization or authentication features exist."
"After-sales support and hands-on training facilities are not available in my country."
"SonicWall NSa has occasional bugs, particularly during upgrades, and that's an area for improvement."
"The dashboard must be improved."
"It is not scalable. If your enterprise is growing hard then you have to buy another, bigger product. Maybe if you use it virtually it is more scalable."
"There are a few areas that need improvement including the VPN, user management, and reporting."
"Having to deal with too many lower-level people in technical support means that it takes longer to resolve issues, so escalating support tickets should be faster."
"The features I would like to see improve are the dashboard and the UI."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The license of Fortinet FortiGate should be reduced."
"The price is okay."
"I would say that all things considered, the pricing is pretty good."
"It's a very full-featured and it's priced well solution."
"We pay for the solution annually."
"Fortinet has one or two license types, and the VPN numbers are only limited by the hardware chassis make."
"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."
"By default, they give SD-WAN along with the firewall. They don't have separate licensing for the SD-WAN functionality. However, they have security licenses that are sold separately on a subscription basis. Customers can consume these security features to protect their users from internet traffic."
"The solution's pricing is high compared to that of Cisco and Fortinet."
"Price-wise, Palo Alto offers high-price products."
"Palo Alto Networks PA-Series's price is much higher than other firewall brands."
"We have to pay a yearly licensing fee for the solution."
"Compared to other vendors, Palo Alto Networks PA-Series is expensive."
"This product has an affordable and reasonable price point."
"The prices are pretty high, definitely on the upper end."
"With Palo Alto, even when you enable all the modules, it still provides the exact throughput they advertise."
"The price is high. I would rate it four to five out of ten."
"It would be better if it has a better price, but its price is okay considering the benefits that you receive."
"The pricing and value are good."
"The CPUs are not able to compete with a similar price point to the Fortinet, WatchGuard, or Palo Alto product."
"If you want to connect more than five concurrent users by VPN then you have to pay an additional fee."
"They do have the option to purchase yearly, or two years, and three years renewal."
"SonicWall NSa has reasonable pricing. My company pays for it yearly, but I forgot how much the company pays. From what I remember, you only pay for the license fees."
"NSa is not expensive, not high. It's at a moderate or medium level."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Educational Organization
22%
Computer Software Company
15%
Manufacturing Company
6%
Comms Service Provider
6%
Computer Software Company
21%
University
12%
Manufacturing Company
11%
Government
7%
Computer Software Company
15%
Manufacturing Company
6%
Educational Organization
6%
Financial Services Firm
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 Palo Alto Networks PA-Series?
The reporting feature and application ID functionality within Palo Alto Networks PA-Series are incredibly valuable to...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Palo Alto Networks PA-Series?
It's not cheap. In Sri Lanka, it's expensive compared to other firewalls. But considering the features and the potent...
What needs improvement with Palo Alto Networks PA-Series?
Palo Alto can improve the web application firewall (WAF) feature at layer 7. Currently, I don't think it's available....
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?
Pricing is reasonable. I would rate it seven out of ten.
What needs improvement with SonicWall NSa?
Certain features like SD-WAN are sometimes confusing to configure. One important feature that should be provided by d...
 

Also Known As

FortiGate 60b, FortiGate 60c, FortiGate 80c, FortiGate 50b, FortiGate 200b, FortiGate 110c, FortiGate
No data available
NSA 250M, NSA 2600, NSA 3600, NSA 4600, NSA 5600, Dell SonicWALL NSA
 

Learn More

 

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
Information Not Available
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 Palo Alto Networks PA-Series vs. SonicWall NSa and other solutions. Updated: October 2024.
815,854 professionals have used our research since 2012.