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SonicWall NSa vs Sophos Cyberoam UTM comparison

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Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary

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
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.2
Number of Reviews
317
Ranking in other categories
Firewalls (2nd), Software Defined WAN (SD-WAN) Solutions (1st), WAN Edge (1st)
SonicWall NSa
Average Rating
7.8
Reviews Sentiment
7.3
Number of Reviews
86
Ranking in other categories
Firewalls (18th)
Sophos Cyberoam UTM
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
7.1
Number of Reviews
82
Ranking in other categories
Unified Threat Management (UTM) (10th)
 

Featured Reviews

EhabAli - PeerSpot reviewer
Efficient, user-friendly, and affordable
In the past, NSS Labs was utilized to test files and verify the numbers and datasheets. It would be beneficial to have an organization or testing lab that can verify the numbers in our datasheets since changes are frequently made, which can be inconvenient for review. For instance, when comparing different competitors such as Forcepoint, Palo Alto, and Check Point, the throughput or numbers in the datasheet may be lower than the actual numbers. Conversely, Fortinet typically reports very high numbers, but they cannot be replicated in the real world. Therefore, it would be advantageous for them to partner with a neutral testing organization such as NSS Labs to validate these numbers, thus providing more credibility and comfort to everyone regarding the accuracy of the datasheets. For the migration, everyone has a firewall in use and I am selling Fortinet. Typically, I am replacing another firewall. Previously, there was a tool available to convert configurations from one firewall, such as Palo Alto, to Fortinet, but this tool is no longer free. If it could be made free again, it would be very beneficial. This tool shows a lot of promise and is very good. Making it free would help many companies deliver their products in a more efficient and integrated way. It would also be more valuable to include the tool with the firewall package or license instead of having to pay extra for it. Paying extra puts more pressure on small companies to deliver the firewall and complete the configuration, especially if they have hundreds or thousands of policies. It's very painful to move through these policies line by line. The stability has room for improvement. When it comes to Secure SD-WAN, everything is fine. They are going the right way. SD-WAN is very promising. They can provide the SD-WAN solution separately, but they will not take this approach because even the smallest firewall can support the features, so there is no need to have a separate service or appliance. They are following the right steps, and there is nothing to be improved. Feature-wise, I'm really satisfied with the new release, and the features they have added. For now, it's fine.
MohammedMateen - PeerSpot reviewer
Easy to scale advanced threat protection solution with knowledgeable technical support, but has occasional bugs
An area for improvement in SonicWall NSa is that sometimes, we experience bugs when upgrading, so we have to contact their technical support to fix issues. It would be much easier if this improvement was in place: if the one-time password which is built-in, was provided as an OTP for the administrator logging into the console, so that we'll have a quicker awareness of it, rather than needing to check emails for it. Having a Telegram or WhatsApp bot integrated with the device, for example, will be very helpful for us, so we can instantly take action, without us needing to log into and check our emails, meaning we'll be able to put things right faster. This may not be possible in SonicWall NSa, but I'm also looking for any kind of controller or device for the Windows server or client, e.g. Windows 11 and Windows 10 from SonicWall NSa itself, so that a security domain or the gateway of the organization would be able to identify the latest update for a product, whether that product is installed or not. This feature would be very helpful, and it's what I'd like to see in the next release.
Kiarash Heydari - PeerSpot reviewer
Stable and has a straightforward setup; reporting is fast and easy
Sophos Cyberoam UTM has room for improvement in specific rules-based objects and redesign. The solution also needs to improve in adding rules and policies, including renewing and finding policies. The Sophos team should make Sophos Cyberoam UTM policies and rules better and more useful than the old ones because that can be difficult and confusing sometimes. For example, adding policies or rules can be confusing, and that can be risky. To improve Sophos Cyberoam UTM, Sophos should add an IPS or IDS signature feature in the current plans offered to customers. Upgrading or patching the solution can be slow, so that's another area for improvement. In the next version of Sophos Cyberoam UTM, I want it to have an appliance management feature, similar to what's in FortiManager, where you can connect all appliances and manage the devices because that would be easier in terms of reporting.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The most valuable feature is the ease of configuration."
"The payment function for applications is good."
"The most important feature, normally for small business customers, is link load balancing."
"Fortinet FortiGate's most valuable features are ease of use, flexibility, and most of the configuration we can be done using the GUI. When we compare Fortinet FortiGate with other solutions the firewall policy are very easy to understand."
"It's very easy to configure."
"The security features that they have are quite good. On top of that, their licensing model is quite nice where they don't charge you anything for the SD-WAN functionality for the firewall."
"Initial setup is easy to configure."
"The most valuable features are the possibility of having one fabric for switching on security."
"The most valuable features are flexibility, ease of setup, and it's a good product cost-wise."
"I like that SonicWall NSa is a stable product. It's also a scalable product."
"The product is working okay. The product is working feature-wise."
"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."
"We have not found any vulnerabilities since implementing the solution."
"For me, the most valuable feature of SonicWall NSa is the UTM."
"The product blocks access when I visit unrecognized websites."
"It also looks at VPN and site-to-site connections."
"We are using it as a security shield. It does not allow access before that in case we have restricted a few things from users, so it helps me in that."
"Technical support is excellent."
"The tool is stable."
"I find Sophos Cyberoam UTM very good. I like the feature of being able to block off Mac IDs that host users. For example, you have a Mac or Windows laptop and you created a hotspot. Other devices like mobiles and tablets e.g. iPads connected to that hotspot. We can block those devices that connected to the hotspot we created, only through Sophos. It's a good feature we didn't find in other UTMs."
"The performance has been good overall."
"The product has helped control bandwidth utilization, as well as enhanced connectivity and security to remote locations."
"We have never had to restart a firewall. The firewalls have all worked perfectly fine."
"The most valuable feature of Sophos Cyberoam UTM is the SD-WAN gateway."
 

Cons

"Fortinet could improve the windows opener or the virtual IP solutions for opening windows. The virtual IP settings need improvement as firewalls are trending in new development directions."
"The cloud management and automation capability could be improved."
"Fortinet doesn't provide multiple virtual firewalls which would facilitate end users and customers."
"It would be good if they had fewer updates."
"I think there could be more QoS features"
"There are some complex administration tasks in their administration portal. That needs to be improved."
"Technical support is good but the response time could be faster."
"The Web-filter in this solution is not very good."
"The reporting format could be improved."
"The content filter needs to be improved."
"The scalability is something that should be improved."
"My company can't connect directly with SonicWall's support team, making it an area where improvements are required."
"The features I would like to see improve are the dashboard and the UI."
"The reporting feature could be better because most of the companies want to have the analytics included, which is something that you have to buy separately."
"We have security as a service, and they make recommendations about adding to the denylist and other things. That part could be more accessible and more user-friendly. I'd like to see SonicWall add a user-friendly interface where our internal team can drag and drop everything."
"Live tracking of packets could be improved."
"It isn't missing anything."
"The product needs to improve its pricing."
"Technical support could be faster."
"Maybe network traffic analysis for malware and malicious behavior."
"On-box sandstorm should be available. As of now, it is from their cloud."
"The reporting part could be more user-friendly for troubleshooting and identifying network issues. It should be more easy for a normal user to identify the problem in their network."
"I had an issue when I was trying to stop a user from using too much bandwidth while I was using Azure, I was not able to stop them."
"I would like to see real-time alerts on traffic insights."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The price could be lower."
"The licensing costs are very low."
"The price of Fortinet FortiGate could improve, it is expensive."
"The price is fine."
"The price is fair compared to the other competitors."
"The price of the license and warranty can be better because it is very expensive."
"Fortinet is reasonable in pricing and licensing. Overall, FortiGate is affordable. The licensing fee can be a little high, depending on the budget for your project."
"The price is okay."
"The return on investment is very good."
"It's become difficult to get the best price from SonicWall."
"In our evaluation, we found that the costs of deploying the solution, and also purchasing the hardware and licenses, were very attractive."
"Compared to Fortinet and Cisco, SonicWall NSa is a cheaper solution."
"Considering the market, I believe that the price of this solution is great."
"NSa is not expensive, not high. It's at a moderate or medium level."
"A firewall doing anti-spam might be a low cost solution, but it is not your best strategy."
"If you want to connect more than five concurrent users by VPN then you have to pay an additional fee."
"Sophos Cyberoam UTM has many price schemes."
"Sophos Cyberoam UTM is a cost-efficient solution compared to other solutions."
"I rate the solution's pricing a five out of ten, where one is cheap, and ten is high."
"The solution’s pricing is average. The product is worth the money."
"I had an issue when I was trying to stop a user from using too much bandwidth while I was using Azure, I was not able to stop them."
"It is a cheap firewall. We are not paying for any license."
"We just use the standard package."
"Cyberoam's pricing depends on the services you subscribe for. Most firewalls right now, especially UTM, focus on services and stagger all the services. If you want a particular service, you pay for it."
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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
15%
Educational Organization
7%
Manufacturing Company
6%
Government
6%
Computer Software Company
30%
Financial Services Firm
15%
Media Company
10%
Real Estate/Law Firm
9%
 

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 ...
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 ...
What do you like most about Sophos Cyberoam UTM?
The solution works perfectly without any users.
What needs improvement with Sophos Cyberoam UTM?
They could improve the product by enhancing hardware reliability, addressing occasional memory overflow issues, and i...
 

Also Known As

FortiGate 60b, FortiGate 60c, FortiGate 80c, FortiGate 50b, FortiGate 200b, FortiGate 110c, FortiGate, Fortinet Firewall
NSA 250M, NSA 2600, NSA 3600, NSA 4600, NSA 5600, Dell SonicWALL NSA
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
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
Gulf Corporation for Technology, Maridive & Oil Services, Fidelity Bank, Petra University, Capital FM Kenya, Safari Park Hotel and Casino, Mayfair Casino, Pacific International Lines, Mozambique Ministry of Education, University of Namibia, Royal Hospital for Neuro-disability, University of Hawai, New Delhi Municipal Council
Find out what your peers are saying about SonicWall NSa vs. Sophos Cyberoam UTM and other solutions. Updated: January 2025.
831,020 professionals have used our research since 2012.