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Palo Alto Networks VM-Series vs Sangfor NGAF comparison

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Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Sep 29, 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 VM-Series
Ranking in Firewalls
12th
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
57
Ranking in other categories
Advanced Threat Protection (ATP) (10th)
Sangfor NGAF
Ranking in Firewalls
19th
Average Rating
8.0
Number of Reviews
35
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 VM-Series is 0.7%, down from 0.9% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Sangfor NGAF is 1.2%, up from 0.7% 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…
AshwaniTyagi - PeerSpot reviewer
Sep 16, 2024
Advanced protection and good integration capabilities with good reliability
We use Palo Alto Networks VM-Series to offer services to our customers as a managed security service provider. We provide solutions and services to our customers across the globe. For example, if I want to host a firewall in the cloud or somewhere where the physical appliance is not a possibility…
Osama Muhammad - PeerSpot reviewer
Oct 25, 2022
Affordable, easy to configure firewall with fast, responsive support
The absolute best part of Sangfor NGAF is their support. It's a 24/7 support channel, and the last time I requested their assistance I got a reply within three minutes. They helped solve the problem immediately. Sangfor also gives you a warranty for any issues or defects with their hardware. If you find any issue, they will replace the hardware within five working days. We send any hardware that is faulty to our local country partner and they will do the RMA. When it comes to deployment environments, I like that you have options. If you want a hardware firewall, then you can use their hardware. Conversely, if you want a cloud firewall, then they can provide that, too.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The most valuable features of Fortinet FortiGate are the ease of use and the UI. It has always provided me with what I needed. I have no need for additional costs that other solutions have, such as Sophos."
"Whenever I need something, Fortinet improves and updates the software for me."
"This solution made it very easy to manage our bandwidth."
"Easy to use support and licensing portal as well as activation process."
"The pricing is excellent. It's much less expensive than Cisco."
"It is very flexible to use."
"It is useful for protecting and segregating the internal networks from the internet. Most of our customers also use the FortiGate client to connect to their offices by using the VPN client, and of course, they usually activate the antivirus, deep inspection, and intrusion prevention services. They are also using it for web filtering and implementing various policies dealing with forwardings, NAT, etc."
"The reporting and monitoring are very good."
"The VM-Series reports how much bandwidth a particular IP is using. You don't need to regularly log into a website, like a Cisco command, to see what kind of ACL it's getting. There isn't an ACL use portal event. You can go there and see how much my ACL has been getting me."
"They now know the details about their network traffic that they did not know before: Applications that they are using and some application they did not know they were using."
"Centralized management is valuable because it allows us to configure settings in one location and apply them across all three locations."
"The most valuable features are security and support."
"In the newer version, there are 3850s, all of them are scalable. They fit better into the medium or small businesses."
"We now know a lot more detail about what our users are doing on the network."
"Palo Alto’s Panorama centralized management system simplifies our security posture based on our requirements. Instead of manually pulling logs, then generating them into readable formats, it gives us the console in a readable format to view."
"The most valuable features are web control and IPS/IDS."
"In four steps one can configure the entire firewall."
"I think the tool has the feature to detect and kill ransomware in three seconds."
"It enables us to not only detect but also prevent various types of incoming threats, allowing us to take appropriate corrective actions and exercise control over the network."
"The stability of Sangfor NGAF is good."
"Sangfor has the best capabilities for securing connections, securing web browsers, securing servers, and general threat protection."
"We can utilize our own network rather than paying for a private one."
"So far, the performance and reliability of the product have supported our company's critical network traffic."
"The most valuable features are the WAN optimization, the internet access gateway (IAG), and the central console, which allows us to implement on their firewall."
 

Cons

"FortiGate can improve its token system, as it requires a purchase before use."
"Though the tool's GUI is user-friendly, it can be considered as an area with certain shortcomings where improvements are required."
"Improvement is needed in the Web Filter quotas to restrict users with allocated quotas."
"The performance could be a bit better. Right now, I find it to be lacking. Having good performance is very important for our work."
"The setup is pretty complex and not easy to implement."
"I think there could be more QoS features"
"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."
"Fortinet doesn't provide multiple virtual firewalls which would facilitate end users and customers."
"The reporting part of the product is an area of concern where improvements are required."
"The solution must improve Zero Trust integration and use cases."
"Integrative capabilities with other solutions should be addressed."
"The one issue that I didn't like is that the SNMP integration with interfaces didn't record the interface counters."
"Palo Alto should update their documentation to make it more readable and provide easier-to-follow instructions through videos."
"There's room for improvement in terms of integration with the load balancer. It isn't like Fortinet, which has a load balancer built into its firewall. It is effortless to integrate within the load balancer-plus-firewall solution."
"We have ran into issues with Palo Alto’s limitations for resolving large IP lists from DNS lookups, as well as the antivirus interfering with App-ID."
"AWS doesn't integrate well with third-party firewalls."
"The solution should be able to work in a hybrid setup."
"They need to increase the number of ports in the firewall."
"It has an issue with the Sangfor Cloud Platform rather than the firewall. When we run a virtual machine, the window tabs display Chinese characters."
"The firewall system needs gradual improvements because there are more threats and challenges every day."
"Sangfor could improve their interface capacity on the 5100 series model and upgrade their hardware from one gig to 10 gig. This would improve the overall throughput."
"Sangfor NGAF could improve by refining its application control policies, especially in addressing challenges with certain types of applications."
"The support for YouTube or the Internet is not enough."
"I believe that IAM and NGFW need to merge into a single box, instead of there being two separate box solutions."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"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."
"Fortinet FortiGate gives you most of the features in one license."
"Compared to Palo Alto, which we have used in the past, pricing and licensing are okay."
"The support subscription for the solution is annual. You are paying for support and there are two levels of support, professional and advanced."
"It is not a very costly product if you compare it with other products. The return on investment is also good. If you compare the return of investment and money that you are spending on this product with Palo Alto, Cisco, Check Point, and other solutions, the investment is very less. We are happy with this solution. The optional licenses are there, and you can choose which one you want and which one to avoid."
"The price is fair compared to the other competitors."
"For our organization, the licensing costs are approximately $7,000 per year."
"There is a subscription-based model to use Fortinet FortiGate. We pay annually for the solution along with the support. If you want to have all the updates, and security patches you will need to renew your support."
"I rate Palo Alto Networks VM-Series pricing an eight out of ten."
"The product is costly but provides all essential security features. I rate the pricing a seven out of ten."
"It is an expensive product."
"Initially, pricing was high. Later on, we were able to negotiate the pricing and get something that fits our budget."
"When you have a client compare box against box, a lot of times Palo Alto is a bit more expensive, but its network firewalls have a very rich ratio."
"Purchasing on the AWS Marketplace was simple, effective, and easy."
"Palo Alto Networks VM-Series is notably cheaper than other firewall vendors, except Fortigate."
"I know Palo Alto is not cheap. They have been telling me, the members of the finance team, it is not a cheap solution. It is a solution whose target is that no matter how big your organization is, small, medium, or large, it is about the maturity of your security team or infrastructure team whom you want to work with."
"The price is unmatcheable."
"The product is very cost-effective compared to other brands or vendors."
"Sangfor NGAF price is reasonable and there is an annual license. However, the maintenance cost can be a bit high."
"Sangfor is cheaper than competing vendors."
"If one is very cheap and ten is very expensive, I rate the tool's price as three out of ten."
"-"
"It is one of the cheapest tools in the market."
"For over 2000 users, the cost is around 5000 to 6000 USD. If you want a web application firewall, you have to purchase an additional license for it."
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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
17%
Financial Services Firm
11%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Government
6%
Computer Software Company
14%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Financial Services Firm
8%
University
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 ...
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...
How does Azure Firewall compare with Palo Alto Networks VM Series?
Both products are very stable and easily scalable. The setup of Azure Firewall is easy and very user-friendly and the...
What do you like most about Sangfor NGAF?
I think Sangfor NGAF is more valuable than Cisco products because of its simplicity and ease of management. If I comp...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Sangfor NGAF?
There is some difference in terms of pricing compared to Palo Alto. Sangfor NGAF is around 30% to 35% more cost-effec...
What needs improvement with Sangfor NGAF?
We will probably invest a little more time into the VDI solution - not specifically for security but for desktop comp...
 

Also Known As

FortiGate 60b, FortiGate 60c, FortiGate 80c, FortiGate 50b, FortiGate 200b, FortiGate 110c, FortiGate
No data available
Sangfor NGAF Firewall Platform
 

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
Warren Rogers Associates
The Ministry of Science, Technology, and Innovation (Indonesia), Lawson, Inc. (Philippines), Universiti Sultan Zainal Abidin (Indonesia), TEK Automotive (Italy), etc.
Find out what your peers are saying about Palo Alto Networks VM-Series vs. Sangfor NGAF and other solutions. Updated: October 2024.
814,649 professionals have used our research since 2012.