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SonicWall NSa vs SonicWall NSv comparison

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Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Sep 16, 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

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)
SonicWall NSa
Ranking in Firewalls
15th
Average Rating
7.8
Reviews Sentiment
7.0
Number of Reviews
88
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
SonicWall NSv
Ranking in Firewalls
38th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
10
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 SonicWall NSa is 1.7%, up from 1.4% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of SonicWall NSv is 0.2%, up from 0.1% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Firewalls Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Fortinet FortiGate20.7%
SonicWall NSa1.7%
SonicWall NSv0.2%
Other77.4%
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.
Constantnos Achilleos - PeerSpot reviewer
Network security has strengthened with next-generation firewall features and cost savings
I primarily use SonicWall NSA as a next-generation firewall for network security architecture. It is especially used for securing business operations with networks of more than 250 people SonicWall NSA's most valuable features are its SD-WAN and a system RTBI that blocks all attacks. These…
Sileesh Sivadasan - PeerSpot reviewer
Helps small businesses expand branches more easily
The price is a significant factor. Mostly in India, the customer service has many hurdles to get real support. If I want to talk to a customer executive, they ask many trivial questions. Even if I explain that I am asking for a Dell partner, they still ask specific questions, and they will explain many unnecessary questions.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Fortinet FortiGate is among the best firewall solutions, having a significant market share in Egypt."
"FortiGate protects and secures our clients' networks. The security is solid, and it performs well. I think they use some artificial intelligence, so I think it's excellent equipment."
"FortiGate improved our security. It's one of the best hardware firewalls."
"The initial setup of Fortinet FortiGate was straightforward."
"Fortinet FortiGate has a very simple configuration, is easy to set up, and includes SD-WAN features at no additional cost."
"When I survey FortiGate products, I see that they have a good performance, especially in terms of next generation firewalls."
"The wireless control is helpful."
"Fortinet FortiGate is stable; I am told that Fortinet FortiGate is one of the best solutions available, and I believe it."
"The functionality is the same whether it is on hardware or a virtual appliance. The interface is the same. It's nice that it's standardized."
"We like the features, but the main thing is from a commercial and cost perspective it is very good."
"It allows us to block applications, i.e., websites by application type category. It is far more capable than content filtering alone."
"The solution has many useful features, such as content management, user management, user filtering, and domain controller connectivity mapping."
"The most valuable feature is the sandbox."
"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."
"Compared to Cisco, SonicWall NSa is much easier to configure."
"The prices are similar to other vendors and the support is good."
"Out of ten, I would rate the solution at an eight."
"For my small NFB banking services, when they are expanding their branches, I could incorporate a little bit easier."
"We purchased the AGSS Bundle (Advanced Gateway Security Suite) for the security services, such as antivirus, intrusion prevention system, and anti-spyware botnet GUI."
"We are very impressed with it."
"SonicWall excelled in threat management, evident in how users handled it effectively."
"One of the standout features of SonicWall is its simplicity in creating and managing rules."
"The solution has no additional charges and no restrictions on the number of users."
"The customization of firewall rules provides great value to our customers as it allows them to lock things up in the way that they desire. When it is used for internal access, with a VPN in place for remote workers, the firewalling services provided by Azure, such as the default services that can be turned on, are applied. However, the use of a software-based virtual firewall gives us greater flexibility in introducing security controls for customers who are publishing applications that are publicly accessible from the public cloud. This virtual firewall provides an additional layer of security and more extensive security control options to ensure the protection of our customers' valuable information and assets."
 

Cons

"They sometimes hide some features and if you want to enable them, you have to go in the CLI, enable the feature and configure it through the CLI. Customers, typically, like everything to be done by the GUI."
"They can add automation for monitoring and policy optimization on the firewall. I think using AI to do some optimization on the policies would be beneficial, such as providing alerts about policies that haven't been used for a long time or identifying overlapping policies."
"I cannot say definitively about the return on investment with Fortinet FortiGate because I have always been in the technical field, but most of our clients are very happy since threats were stopped, generating confidence in the Fortinet brand among our clients."
"The solution has limited scalability."
"Fortigate's hardware capacities could be improved."
"For Fortinet FortiGate, their code development would definitely be something they need to improve on to reduce vulnerabilities that need to be patched."
"With FortiGate, the main complaint that I have heard is about the technical support."
"We can't identify which users are causing challenges when we have issues."
"The only thing that we would want would be single-pane management, which it has, but the GMS is not very good. It's purely the management of multiple devices for multiple customers, that's the only thing that it's lacking."
"SonicWall does not support DynDNS, yet this is an important feature for smaller companies that do not have a static IP address."
"We have used other solutions such as pfSense and Linux native firewalls. I prefer SonicWall NSa but if you are going to use something for an enterprise you need another solution."
"Vendor support needs improvement. The frequency of time and support should be increased."
"The product likely isn't a good fit for a large organization."
"SonicWall NSa's reporting could be improved."
"The filter settings are confusing and overly complicated. The user interface can be improved."
"I would like to have a built-in vulnerability scanner in the firewall. It would be great to have such functionality. Its price could also be better. It would also be good to have a local warehouse. It doesn't get damaged a lot, but if a customer needs a replacement, currently, it has to come from Miami or Mexico, which can take a few days. It would be better if they have a local warehouse from where we can just pick replacements and quickly solve a client's needs in terms of replacing equipment. It would be great to have it locally instead of waiting for it from Mexico or the USA."
"The engine provided initially was quite heavy, creating a trade-off between software and hardware-based threat management."
"An area that could be improved is the export and import settings functionality."
"Currently, we are getting challenges with user-wise reports and other reporting details. At present, they do not provide detailed reports compared to other products."
"SonicWall NSV's initial setup is complicated and requires good knowledge."
"We face some challenges when we upgrade the solution."
"The price is a significant factor."
"I would like to see the reporting opened up and have several more opportunities for automatic reports."
"SonicWall NSV's SSL VPN could increase its number of users to 100-plus users."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The pricing for this solution is good."
"We pay $500 per year for the license."
"The tool's pricing is neither cheap nor expensive. Overall, I find it to be competitive in the market."
"When comparing this solution to others, I would rate it a ten out of ten in terms of pricing. However, the issue of requiring a separate license for redundancy is a drawback, and I would rate it a nine out of ten."
"The pricing is perfect."
"The license of Fortinet FortiGate should be reduced."
"I rate FortiGate's pricing a five out of ten."
"If you purchase a one-year subscription with the hardware and then you want to renew for the second year, it is very costly."
"In our evaluation, we found that the costs of deploying the solution, and also purchasing the hardware and licenses, were very attractive."
"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."
"There is a license required for this solution and you can purchase a one, two, or three year term. Typically businesses choose the one year subscription and then later choose the three year licensing option if they are satisfied."
"You need their analyzer to properly generate reports. This is an expensive, licensed feature, with a complex application or appliance back-end."
"Its price is okay."
"If you want to connect more than five concurrent users by VPN then you have to pay an additional fee."
"SonicWall is a one-time purchase and there is no renewal license."
"We are currently using the trial version."
"The solution’s pricing is less compared to other products."
"SonicWall NSV is not very costly."
"Our initial purchase, which included a three-year term of support, was about $25,000 USD."
"The solution's pricing is good for the technology it offers."
"The tool is moderately priced."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
15%
Comms Service Provider
9%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Financial Services Firm
6%
Computer Software Company
13%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Educational Organization
8%
Comms Service Provider
8%
Computer Software Company
26%
Educational Organization
8%
Government
6%
Performing Arts
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 Business54
Midsize Enterprise21
Large Enterprise24
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business5
Midsize Enterprise2
Large Enterprise3
 

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 SonicWall NSa?
The product blocks access when I visit unrecognized websites.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for SonicWall NSa?
I would rate the price of the product as seven out of ten.
What needs improvement with SonicWall NSa?
I have not really seen any problems with SonicWall NSa on the technical front, but the quality of support is not that...
What do you like most about SonicWall NSV?
The product helps improve our security.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for SonicWall NSV?
I am somewhat satisfied with the price for SonicWall NSv, rating it as eight because, compared to other products, the...
What needs improvement with SonicWall NSV?
Currently, we are getting challenges with user-wise reports and other reporting details. At present, they do not prov...
 

Also Known As

No data available
NSA 250M, NSA 2600, NSA 3600, NSA 4600, NSA 5600, Dell SonicWALL NSA
SonicWall Network Security Virtual
 

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
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
Comlogic, Depaul, Hutt City Council
Find out what your peers are saying about SonicWall NSa vs. SonicWall NSv and other solutions. Updated: September 2025.
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