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Sangfor NGAF vs Sophos XGS comparison

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Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Oct 19, 2025

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
Sponsored
Ranking in Firewalls
1st
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
580
Ranking in other categories
Secure Web Gateways (SWG) (2nd), Intrusion Detection and Prevention Software (IDPS) (1st), Software Defined WAN (SD-WAN) Solutions (1st), WAN Edge (1st), ZTNA (1st), Unified Threat Management (UTM) (1st)
Sangfor NGAF
Ranking in Firewalls
24th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.5
Number of Reviews
34
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Sophos XGS
Ranking in Firewalls
12th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.5
Number of Reviews
86
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of January 2026, in the Firewalls category, the mindshare of Fortinet FortiGate is 18.7%, down from 20.5% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Sangfor NGAF is 1.1%, down from 1.1% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Sophos XGS is 2.2%, up from 1.8% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Firewalls Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Fortinet FortiGate18.7%
Sophos XGS2.2%
Sangfor NGAF1.1%
Other78.0%
Firewalls
 

Featured Reviews

Vasu Gala - PeerSpot reviewer
Manager, Information Technology Operation/Presales at TechMonarch
A stable solution with an intuitive interface and quick customer service
I have been working with Fortinet FortiGate, WatchGuard, Sophos, and SonicWall. I'm not as comfortable with SonicWall because of their UI and limitations. I prefer Fortinet above all other options. When it comes to configuration, I am confident in my ability to handle various tasks, including creating policies such as firewall rules, web policies, and application policies. Additionally, I can configure VPNs and implement load balancing, among other tasks. Overall, I feel much more comfortable working with Fortinet. Fortinet has made significant improvements by integrating AI with firewalls for threat analysis and prevention. In the past 2-3 years, they have launched FortiSASE and SIEM, and they also provide SOC services. Both Palo Alto and Fortinet FortiGate are excellent. While Fortinet FortiGate comes at higher prices, the functionality and support justify the cost. They promptly resolve firmware issues and inform all support providers about configuration changes.
Zaid Farooqui - PeerSpot reviewer
CIO at Indus Motor Company
Enhanced threat detection with integrated security features and good support
We are using application firewalling, WAF, and SD-WAN. The capabilities are mostly within the box. For example, you will get web application firewall WAF as part and parcel of this. SD-WAN is also bundled. It integrates with their SIEM and SOAR solutions very nicely. Lastly, the pricing point is very cost-efficient as well.
Nassif  Kaleny - PeerSpot reviewer
IT Manager at Bavaria Egypt S.A.E.
Dynamic web and mail filtering contribute to improved security measures
The reporting system is very poor. I cannot trace any traffic to our site if it feels some threats. It just tells me that there is something during a certain time but does not provide information about the type of threats or how to get rid of them. This needs improvement.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"This solution made it very easy to manage our bandwidth."
"You can create multiple Virtual Domains (VDOMs), which are treated as separate firewall instances."
"In terms of cost, features, and security, everything is top-notch."
"FortiGate is very simple to manage and easy to use."
"The solution is easy to use."
"This solution has helped our organization by having strong functions and a reliable firewall."
"FortiGate's SD-WAN capability is the most useful feature for us."
"Good load balancing feature."
"We've found the technical support to be helpful."
"We can utilize our own network rather than paying for a private one."
"Sangfor has the best capabilities for securing connections, securing web browsers, securing servers, and general threat protection."
"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."
"I think the tool has the feature to detect and kill ransomware in three seconds."
"It is a stable solution."
"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."
"Sangfor NGAF works accordingly with our customers. The solution has good performance, easy to use, and integrates well with the endpoints."
"The solution is stable and reliable."
"The most valuable feature of Sophos XGS is its ease of use."
"The solution is stable."
"It's easy to deploy and connect."
"One of the main advantages of Sophos XGS is the processor. You don't have to wait a long time for when you are managing the firewall and the traffic is faster now."
"The most valuable features of Sophos XGS are the ease of use and powerful interface."
"We are happy and satisfied with all the features."
"The security heartbeat feature and MDR are the best for customer security."
 

Cons

"One area for improvement for Fortinet FortiGate could be the price, as my clients here are small companies, and they might not have the resources or money to always buy a Fortinet FortiGate solution or FortiGate products."
"A couple of things I've seen that need improvement, especially in terms of a hard coding. The driver-level active moment really is out-of-the-box and we have to have contact the customer support and sometimes it is difficult to resolve."
"Their support can be better, and there should be better policies for immediate replacement in critical situations."
"When we cluster the two Fortinet FortiGate boxes together we have some issues."
"Its technical support could be better."
"Some features in Fortinet FortiGate need improvement as we discover when calling support that certain actions must be done from the command line."
"Fortinet should focus on enhancing the capabilities of FortiGate by consolidating its various products, such as FortiGate Cloud, FortiManager, and FortiAnalyzer."
"If I had any criticism that I would give FortiGate, it would be that they need to stop changing their logging format. Every time we do a firmware upgrade, it is a massive issue on the SIM. Parsers have to be rebuilt. Even the FortiGate guys came in and said that they don't play well in the sandbox."
"An area of improvement for Sangfor NGAF could be in the field of reporting and logging."
"The cost of licensing is very high compared to other firewalls available here. There should be improvements in hardware scalability, allowing for more storage and memory capacity."
"I feel Sangfor should follow the hierarchy and close deals via resellers instead of closing it all with their own team."
"Sangfor need greater exposer in the market because the market is mainly saturated by Fortinet. The user experience of Fortinet is quite different compared to NGAF. If we want to switch our users from Fortinet to NGAF, we have to convince them that the user experience will be much easier once once they start to use it."
"It does not offer any recommendations on how to mitigate or control attacks."
"An area for improvement would be the number of ports defined on the box. In the next release, I would like them to develop their provisioning stage of enrolling end devices."
"Lacks consistency in terms of filtering certain websites and applications."
"The solution should be able to work in a hybrid setup."
"I feel Sophos should add more telemetry data to its products...Right now, I think there are only less than a dozen vendors or OEMs supported by Sophos."
"The solution could improve inspection processes and troubleshooting for VPNs because this area is very weak."
"Support is great, however, it can always be improved."
"All the security features could be better."
"All the security features could be better."
"The configurations can be a bit complex."
"The support team are helpful when you eventually get hold of them which takes a long time. They can improve how quickly you get technical support."
"Their marketing strategy is quite low, and they need to enhance engagement with partners."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"At the time we bought them, I was satisfied with their pricing; I don't know how the new pricing will be."
"Its licenses cost the same for different subscription plans."
"There is no challenge in Fortinet FortiGate pricing."
"These boxes are not that expensive compared to what they can do, their functionality, and the reporting you receive. Fortinet licensing is straightforward and less confusing compared to Cisco."
"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."
"The platform offers a reasonable price point compared to its competitors."
"The price of FortiGate is good."
"The price for the Fortinet FortiGate is reasonable. Secure SD-WAN is free of charge. If you have their firewall, it's free of charge. It's very tempting."
"It costs about 8 to 10 thousand dollars per year for 500 users, standard licensing fees included."
"The license of Sangfor NGAF can be purchased at different interval lengths, such as annually or three years. They offer a range of packages to choose from, such as combo or hybrid packages. We are using the complete solution package which includes IM, NGF and SSL VPN, and WAF."
"In my opinion, the price of the tool is good in the Pakistani market. We can easily get discounts if needed."
"If you know you have around 200+ computer users on your network, then the Sangfor NGAF 5200-F-I model would be the minimum recommended model for that amount of users. This model includes modules for packet filtering, deep packet inspection, malware scanning, DSCP filtration, and many other features."
"I rate the product price as one on a scale of one to ten, where one is low price and ten is high price."
"We purchased one year technical support and return to factory support, and we also purchased one-year technical support services. So those were additional."
"The pricing is reasonable."
"If one is very cheap and ten is very expensive, I rate the tool's price as three out of ten."
"There is an annual licensing fee to use Sophos XGS. It is an expensive solution."
"The license for Sophos XGS is for three years, paid on a yearly basis. Everything is included with the license; there are no additional fees."
"We must purchase separate web server licenses, as they are not included in the regular device license. I would rate the product an eight out of ten in terms of price. It's relatively affordable."
"The price of Sophos XGS is average compared to other offers from other OEMs."
"The cost of Sophos XGS is based on per unit, per appliance, and capacity."
"Once you pay for the Sophos XGS hardware there is no license required. There are additional costs if you want the support. We have purchased support for three years."
"Sophos XGS costs around $75,000 for fifty units."
"The licensing cost for Sophos XGS is high. However, they do apply competitive discounts and different layers of discounts."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
13%
Comms Service Provider
9%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Financial Services Firm
6%
Manufacturing Company
11%
Computer Software Company
9%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Comms Service Provider
8%
Computer Software Company
11%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Comms Service Provider
8%
Educational Organization
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business357
Midsize Enterprise133
Large Enterprise188
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business15
Midsize Enterprise10
Large Enterprise10
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business62
Midsize Enterprise10
Large Enterprise17
 

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 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?
The licensing cost is quite high compared to other available firewalls in the market.
What needs improvement with Sangfor NGAF?
The cost of licensing is very high compared to other firewalls available here. There should be improvements in hardwa...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Sophos XGS?
I find the cost of the firewall to be moderate; it's reasonable.
What needs improvement with Sophos XGS?
One improvement I would like to see is a better activities log, such as a monitoring log that tracks activity more co...
What is your primary use case for Sophos XGS?
My use case is to use Sophos XGS as a firewall and it also handles our DHCP. We have our VPN connection to our enterp...
 

Also Known As

Fortinet FortiGate Next-Generation Firewall
Sangfor NGAF Firewall Platform
No data available
 

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
The Ministry of Science, Technology, and Innovation (Indonesia), Lawson, Inc. (Philippines), Universiti Sultan Zainal Abidin (Indonesia), TEK Automotive (Italy), etc.
Information Not Available
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