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Sangfor NGAF vs Sophos XGS comparison

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Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Jul 13, 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
574
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 (2nd), Unified Threat Management (UTM) (1st)
Sangfor NGAF
Ranking in Firewalls
20th
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
10th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.4
Number of Reviews
85
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of September 2025, in the Firewalls category, the mindshare of Fortinet FortiGate is 20.7%, up from 18.6% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Sangfor NGAF is 1.2%, up from 1.0% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Sophos XGS is 2.3%, up from 1.3% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Firewalls Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Fortinet FortiGate20.7%
Sophos XGS2.3%
Sangfor NGAF1.2%
Other75.8%
Firewalls
 

Featured Reviews

Vasu Gala - PeerSpot reviewer
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
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
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

"The solution is highly scalable because they have devices that can handle a large amount of traffic."
"By utilizing features such as dynamic path selection and application-aware routing, we've been able to reduce latency for critical applications such as VoIP and video by 20-30% during peak times."
"We use a southern institution that's audited for IT security and the reporting that automatically comes off the unit makes it much easier to meet compliance standards and makes it easier as far as the amount of time that has to be spent to compile that information. If you get your reporting set up correctly when you initially set it up, you just select the one you want and hit print. The auditing trail on it is the best feature."
"FortiGate Next Generation Firewall's design is good...I am very impressed with the product's stability."
"The initial installation is very straightforward."
"Customers are more inclined towards FortiGate because of application control, web filtering, and anti-spam features. The support from the FortiGate team is good, and price-wise, it is affordable."
"The management console is pretty simple, so anyone who understands networking can initially deploy the solution."
"FortiGate Next Generation Firewall (NGFW) 's most valuable features are reporting and filtering."
"Sangfor's tech features and technologies are more powerful than those of the other solution providers in terms of security. They also have big solutions in terms of cybersecurity."
"The top functionality is the reporting feature."
"Particularly good in the DPI where we can inspect inbound and outbound traffic."
"In our hospital, Sangfor NGAF works well for us in terms of ensuring confidentiality and availability, which are crucial in the healthcare industry."
"While the features are not dissimilar to other brands, configuration is much more simple, which works out great for Indonesian people."
"The capabilities are mostly within the box."
"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."
"SSL VPN is the best feature."
"The solution is stable."
"The application filtering, especially cloud filtering, is valuable."
"Sophos XGS's best features are its VPN and ATPR1 cert protection."
"I have no issues with the stability of the product and love using it."
"The solution is scalable."
"It is a scalable solution."
"It increases productivity in our company. Everything is protected."
"The most valuable features of Sophos XGS are the ease of use and powerful interface."
 

Cons

"The command line is complicated, and the interface could be better."
"When considering the policy of the vendors, they do not offer much of a discount policy, making the licensing model an area that needs improvement."
"Fortinet FortiGate could improve their documentation on forward error correction and failover technologies."
"One drawback of Fortinet FortiGate is that they provide two types of models: one with a hard disk and another without. The model without a hard disk has very low ROM where you can store very few logs, after which you need to upload it to the cloud or purchase a firewall with SSD. That's the only drawback."
"We would like to see better pricing."
"Fortinet FortiGate can improve the integration with Active Directory. Additionally, I would like to have a Cloud Controller, such as they do in the Cisco Meraki solution."
"There should be some open-source training or free training for decision makers, or some webinars should be available."
"In the scenarios coming from Sophos, it has not."
"I feel Sangfor should follow the hierarchy and close deals via resellers instead of closing it all with their own team."
"The firewall system needs gradual improvements because there are more threats and challenges every day."
"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."
"The cost of licensing is very high compared to other firewalls available here."
"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."
"I believe that IAM and NGFW need to merge into a single box, instead of there being two separate box solutions."
"An area of improvement for Sangfor NGAF could be in the field of reporting and logging."
"It does not offer any recommendations on how to mitigate or control attacks."
"In previous versions, NAT rules were easier to create. After version 18.5, creating a NAT rule has become more complex, requiring the creation of a separate policy and an additional component."
"The solution could improve by using fewer hardware resources compared to other products like Palo Alto, which has better performance."
"In the new release 19, there should be the implementation of a cloud service that you can use to set up the IPSec tunnels, and the SD-WAN from the WAN dashboard, and then you can push that configuration out to every firewall that you have."
"Sophos XGS should improve its customer service and educate its implementation partner."
"I would like to see a history of the monthly bandwidth utilization, the bandwidth consumption for a period of time."
"There are some issues with conversion and user roles when upgrading to Cyberoam."
"Sophos configurations are 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."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"It is expensive. You need to pay for the subscription every year, which is very expensive. The subscription includes technical support and hardware exchange in case of failure."
"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."
"The product is expensive."
"Licensing is usually on a three-year period."
"I give the pricing a nine out of ten."
"The license of Fortinet FortiGate should be reduced."
"Fortinet has more device options that are affordable for small businesses than Palo Alto, and its enterprise-level models are also cheaper. Palo Alto also has a separate license for VPN connections and SD-WAN, but FortiGate offers these features standard."
"Fortinet FortiGate IPS is cheaper than other solutions like Cisco or Check Point."
"For four to five physical appliances for a licensed firewall, it costs approximately $4,000."
"When it comes to the price of firewall solutions, Sangfor NGAF takes the cake."
"If one is very cheap and ten is very expensive, I rate the tool's price as three out of ten."
"Sangfor NGAF price is reasonable and there is an annual license. However, the maintenance cost can be a bit high."
"The price is unmatcheable."
"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."
"The price falls in the mid-range, neither exceptionally low nor high."
"The licensing cost is in the normal range and is not very costly."
"We paid around 17,000 pounds for a three-year package."
"The price of the solution is reasonable and their target market is small to medium-sized companies."
"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 depends on the type of license. However, the licensing cost is approximately 60 percent of the total cost."
"The licensing is reasonable. Comparing the cost of Sophos XGS with that of Fortinet or Palto Alto firewalls, for instance, it's not that expensive. However, the overall cost depends on the hardware you're using in addition to the licensing cost."
"Sophos XGS is priced lower than some of its competitors, such as Fortinet"
"XGS' price could be lower, though it's moderately priced in the market."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
15%
Comms Service Provider
9%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Financial Services Firm
6%
Manufacturing Company
11%
Computer Software Company
10%
Financial Services Firm
9%
Comms Service Provider
6%
Computer Software Company
13%
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 Business350
Midsize Enterprise129
Large Enterprise187
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business15
Midsize Enterprise10
Large Enterprise10
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business61
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 do you like most about Sophos XGS?
The policies are the greatest feature. They allow us to configure granular control over our network traffic.
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?
To improve Sophos XGS for the next release, I recommend enhancing visibility as it's the biggest challenge. There sho...
 

Also Known As

No data available
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
Find out what your peers are saying about Sangfor NGAF vs. Sophos XGS and other solutions. Updated: September 2025.
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