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Palo Alto Networks WildFire vs SonicWall Capture Advanced Threat Protection comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Dec 1, 2024

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

Palo Alto Networks WildFire
Ranking in Advanced Threat Protection (ATP)
3rd
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.3
Number of Reviews
68
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
SonicWall Capture Advanced ...
Ranking in Advanced Threat Protection (ATP)
31st
Average Rating
7.8
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
8
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of February 2025, in the Advanced Threat Protection (ATP) category, the mindshare of Palo Alto Networks WildFire is 12.7%, up from 12.1% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of SonicWall Capture Advanced Threat Protection is 1.1%, up from 1.0% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Advanced Threat Protection (ATP)
 

Featured Reviews

AjayKumar17 - PeerSpot reviewer
Enhanced cybersecurity with advanced sandboxing and effective in controlling DNS issues
Improvements are needed in the UI part. The dashboard should provide better visibility, especially in showing how many files are sent to Wildfire and their findings. This information should be integrated with the Dashboard so that system admins can see what is happening. Furthermore, technical support needs a lot of improvement, particularly in terms of responsiveness and adhering to service level agreements.
MG
When compared to other solutions, it is cheaper and more economical
The most valuable feature is the alerting system. For a small to medium customer, it is a cost-effective value. It does all the basic requirements. It fulfills all of our requirements. We get alert messages whenever there is a new threat. We are notified at the firewall level that things are blocked, which keeps us in our comfort zone.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"I like the analysis they apply to the unknown files, and I think they have good technology to use as a sandboxing tool. I didn't find something similar to WildFire in the marketplace."
"Wildfire has excellent features and offers some of the best security measures available, although it requires a significant budget."
"I love the idea of Palo Alto Networks WildFire. It's more geared toward preventing malware. If someone's laptop or phone is malware-infected, the tool prevents it from uploading valuable corporate data outside the corporate network. That's what I love about Palo Alto Networks WildFire. It stops malware in its tracks."
"The scalability is acceptable."
"The solution has plenty of features."
"The solution is scalable."
"The threat intelligence from WildFire supports our proactive defense strategies."
"The solution handles DSD segregation and monitors the gateways"
"Provides good protection and security."
"The ATP (Advanced Threat Protection) on scanning is the most valuable feature."
"The reporting that you get from it is the most valuable feature. You can see it via the appliance itself, and also via the MySonicWall account for the registered device. You are able to select the file if it's malicious, and you can select it in the reporting and see what triggered it, and things like that. I found that to be quite useful."
"The stability of the solution is good. We haven't had any breaches or crashes. It's been very stable for us."
"I like this setup for a firewall. You can set things up very easily and you can automate items as well. It's a very robust firewall solution for enterprise as well as small businesses."
"We use it for protection against viruses and ransomware attacks."
"They have a large database of commonly known things that they can catch automatically, then they have anything which is questionable go to the sandbox and be examined there before going into our network."
"We get alert messages whenever there is a new threat. We are notified at the firewall level that things are blocked, which keeps us in our comfort zone."
 

Cons

"Perhaps an anti-spam feature could be considered."
"The integration is almost not easy because it depends on the vendor."
"It would be nice if there was an easier way to install and deploy it, such as through the inclusion of wizards."
"Improvements are needed in the UI part."
"In the future, I would like to see more automation in the reporting."
"​The VPN and decryption need improvement."
"The initial setup was a little bit complex, mainly due to the GUI console and management challenges."
"The data analytical system for deployment needs to improve."
"Having an on-premise solution as well would be an option for some people, but they'll want to use a cloud solution for their sandboxing. Certain sites would want to keep all the checks done on an on-premise appliance. All the checking, rather than sending that up into a cloud engine."
"We would like to get immediate alerts from the alerting system without using third-parties."
"SonicWall should promote their roadmap and improve their marketing to customers."
"I would say the solution needs a much simpler user interface, but the functionality of the firewall is quite extensive. You need the user interface to be that way. However, if there was a way to make the user interface a little easier, that would be great."
"Could provide online training to allow customers to learn more about the product."
"I would like to have better documentation before starting with deployment because the deployment is a bit complex."
"It does fare well against enterprise products."
"The setup needs improvement. It needs to be made more user-friendly."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The solution is a bit expensive. You pay for security."
"Palo Alto Networks WildFire is an expensive product."
"We pay between $3,000 and $4,000 CAD ($2,200 - $3,000 USD) per year to maintain this solution."
"I use Palo Alto Networks WildFire's free version."
"The price is a bit higher than the other products such as TrendMicro, or FireEye."
"The solution is worth its price"
"WildFire is a little bit pricey. Sometimes it's difficult to sell it to customers at the current price."
"The pricing is OK, it is not too expensive."
"The best deal from SonicWall is to buy the HA pair. When you buy the initial one, you receive the second one at a significant discount. If there is an event and something happens to one firewall, then you have the second firewall to roll into. For the price, it's pretty to tough to beat and not a lot of other firewall vendors offer it. You battle for a discount on both. Where with SonicWall, if you buy one, the second one is at half price. It's pretty straightforward."
"It's thirty dollars per user and we have 30 users."
"We get our value for our money."
"When you compare it with other solutions, they are cheaper and more economical."
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Comparison Review

it_user206346 - PeerSpot reviewer
Mar 11, 2015
Cisco ASA vs. Palo Alto Networks
Cisco ASA vs. Palo Alto: Management Goodies You often have comparisons of both firewalls concerning security components. Of course, a firewall must block attacks, scan for viruses, build VPNs, etc. However, in this post I am discussing the advantages and disadvantages from both vendors concerning…
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
16%
Financial Services Firm
11%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Government
9%
Real Estate/Law Firm
17%
Computer Software Company
13%
Financial Services Firm
13%
Government
11%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

How does Cisco Firepower NGFW Firewall compare with Palo Alto Networks Wildfire?
The Cisco Firepower NGFW Firewall is a very powerful and very complex piece of anti-viral software. When one considers that fact, it is all the more impressive that the setup is a fairly straightf...
Which is better - Wildfire or FortiGate?
FortiGate has a lot going for it and I consider it to be the best, most user-friendly firewall out there. What I like the most about it is that it has an attractive web dashboard with very easy nav...
How does Cisco ASA Firewall compare with Palo Alto's WildFire?
When looking to change our ASA Firewall, we looked into Palo Alto’s WildFire. It works especially in preventing advanced malware and zero-day exploits with real-time intelligence. The sandbox featu...
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Overview

 

Sample Customers

Novamedia, Nexon Asia Pacific, Lenovo, Samsonite, IOOF, Sinogrid, SanDisk Corporation
Wonder Cement, Foster Clark Products
Find out what your peers are saying about Palo Alto Networks WildFire vs. SonicWall Capture Advanced Threat Protection and other solutions. Updated: January 2025.
838,713 professionals have used our research since 2012.