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Palo Alto Networks VM-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
Reviews Sentiment
7.2
Number of Reviews
317
Ranking in other categories
Software Defined WAN (SD-WAN) Solutions (1st), WAN Edge (1st)
Palo Alto Networks VM-Series
Ranking in Firewalls
10th
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.2
Number of Reviews
59
Ranking in other categories
Advanced Threat Protection (ATP) (10th)
SonicWall NSa
Ranking in Firewalls
16th
Average Rating
7.8
Reviews Sentiment
7.3
Number of Reviews
86
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of December 2024, in the Firewalls category, the mindshare of Fortinet FortiGate is 20.5%, up from 17.3% 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 SonicWall NSa is 1.6%, up from 1.2% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Firewalls
 

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…
AshwaniTyagi - PeerSpot reviewer
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…
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

"One of the nice things about FortiGate is that it can be deployed on the cloud or on-premises. You can actually do both. That's the biggest reason why I stick with this solution as opposed to something like Cisco Meraki. Another nice thing is that I can log directly into a FortiGate or get to it through their FortiCloud access products. They're pretty reliable and consistent. One of the reasons why I started using the product was their single pane of management. I can deploy their line of firewalls in conjunction with their switching and access points, and I can manage the entire network from one interface. I don't have to log into one interface for the firewall, another one for the access points, and another one for the switches. These firewalls have access point controller functionality built right into the system, so I don't even have to purchase additional devices to manage them."
"FortiGate is very simple to manage and easy to use."
"We have been able to offer several services to customers in a single box."
"From the firewall perspective, the rules and policies are very sufficient and easy to use."
"We can detect any attack of viruses or malware at the first point of contact."
"Fortinet FortiGate appears to be scalable."
"We are using the FortiGate 100D series. VPN, firewall, anti-malware, OTM, and intrusion prevention are useful features."
"The most valuable feature is the bundled subscription, which is IPS, TV and web filtering."
"Using Palo Alto Networks Panorama, we were able to deploy a single point of management and visualization of the firewall infrastructure in cloud, on-premise and integrated with Azure to automate scale up. Its security features, i.e. anti-malware, threat prevention, URL Filtering, VPN, and antivirus are the most valuable. The ID-User integrated with AD and 2FA features are also very useful to provide secure access to servers and some users in the company. "
"The solution strengthens our IT posture."
"Palo Alto offers excellent security, with features such as email scanning, malware protection, and efficient VPN and antivirus capabilities."
"Palo Alto Networks VM-Series is very easy to use."
"The technical support for the solution is very good."
"The Palo Alto VM-Series is nice because I can move the firewalls easily."
"Palo Alto is easy to use. The UI is very easy to understand and does not require any certification or highly skilled technician to handle the firewall. It is very user-friendly and straightforward out of the box."
"The most valuable feature is the CLI."
"The product is working okay. The product is working feature-wise."
"It's very simple to use and the support is great."
"Since SonicWall is a UTM, we have enabled all the features: antivirus, IPS, URL filtering, and content filtering. All of these features are working fine."
"The most valuable feature is the Global Management System."
"I really like the performance; there are no delays and no latency, which is a unique quality in firewalls nowadays."
"The most valuable features are that it is reasonably-priced and works well."
"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 features are flexibility, ease of setup, and it's a good product cost-wise."
 

Cons

"The product does need better support in the cloud environment. It's not exactly cloud-native right now."
"They should make the rule sets more understandable for the end user. When you're trying to explain to somebody how a computer network is secured, sometimes it's difficult for an end user or customer to understand. If there was a way to make the terminology more accessible to the end user, the set up could be easier. They should translate the technical jargon to an easily relatable and understandable conversation for the end user, the customer, that would be brilliant. Particularly in an environment where the IT structure is audited regularly, there's always pressure from the auditor to up the standards and up the security and you get your USCERT's that come out and there's a warning about this and the customer will want to lock out so much and when you apply it they run into issue where they can't search the internet or print to their remote office. Of course they can't print to your remote office, they just locked it up. They should make the language more understandable for the customer. If there's a product out there that made the jargon understandable to John Q. Public, I would buy that."
"Currently, without the additional reporting module, we only have access to basic reporting."
"Stability and technical support are the two major issues I have found with Fortinet."
"There are some cloud-based features that could be much more flexible than they currently are."
"The Wi-Fi controller needs a lot of improvement."
"Fortinet Fortigate could benefit by simplifying some of their processes."
"The solution could be more evenly structured."
"The interface is all Java-based. I would prefer an HTML5 interface."
"The product needs improvement in their Secure Access Service Edge."
"It has to be more scalable for the deployment of VMs on the cloud."
"There are some delays that I have observed when my company communicates with Palo Alto's support engineers."
"The command-line interface is something that some people struggle with and I think that they should have an option to go straight to the GUI."
"The tool is very costly."
"Integrative capabilities with other solutions should be addressed."
"The solution must improve Zero Trust integration and use cases."
"You can do zero-trust networking with them, but it's not easy."
"It would be useful to have an application firewall that prevents the outside world from seeing your private IPs. You don't need to publicize your private IPs to the outside world, and you can create a barrier, like a proxy server."
"The content filter needs to be improved."
"The content ID needs to be improved."
"They should consider upgrading the capabilities within the GUI."
"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."
"The solution can be a bit expensive."
"One area for improvement in SonicWall NSa is the GUI. It isn't easy to understand. The support for SonicWall NSa is mediocre, which is another area for improvement."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"We pay for the solution annually."
"The price of FortiGate is comparable to that of most other firewall solutions and is more affordable than Cisco."
"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."
"The price depends on the size of the company. From the beginning, you just want to know the internet bandwidths, speed, and the number of users to be able to offer the right product and model. They have a lot of products in FortiGate according to the size of the company, like 200D and 300D."
"Fortinet costs are 25% lower than the high-cost provider. There is an equipment cost and a recurring monthly cost for licenses and technical support."
"The value is the capability of having multiple services with one unique license, not having the limitation per user licensing schema, like other vendors."
"The cost is too high... They have to focus on more features with less cost for the customer. If you see the market, where it's going, there are a lot of players offering more features for less cost."
"Pricing and licensing is a little bit complicated in FortiGate. They are always on the higher side. This is one issue that we always raise with the company that they should reduce the price according to Indian market requirements. There are no costs in addition to the standard licensing fees."
"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."
"The pricing and licensing are reasonable."
"Palo Alto can be as much as two times the price of competing products that have twice the capabilities."
"It is an expensive product."
"Do not buy larges box if you do not need them. Rightsizing is a great task to do before​hand."
"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."
"Palo Alto Networks VM-Series is the most expensive tool among competitors"
"We found purchasing process the product on the AWS Marketplace to be very good."
"A firewall doing anti-spam might be a low cost solution, but it is not your best strategy."
"Compared to Fortinet and Cisco, SonicWall NSa is a cheaper solution."
"We are on a three-year license for the solution. The price is inexpensive compared to other solutions."
"If you want to connect more than five concurrent users by VPN then you have to pay an additional fee."
"SonicWall is not an expensive solution."
"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."
"Normally, when we buy any product, we buy it with a five-year service built into it. Later on, depending on the growth of the organization, we go for a new one or an upgrade."
"The pricing is good and we are satisfied with the cost of this solution."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Educational Organization
22%
Computer Software Company
14%
Comms Service Provider
6%
Manufacturing Company
6%
Computer Software Company
17%
Financial Services Firm
11%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Government
6%
Computer Software Company
15%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Educational Organization
7%
Government
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 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
No data available
NSA 250M, NSA 2600, NSA 3600, NSA 4600, NSA 5600, Dell SonicWALL NSA
 

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
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 VM-Series vs. SonicWall NSa and other solutions. Updated: December 2024.
824,106 professionals have used our research since 2012.