SonicWall NSSP vs SonicWall NSv comparison

SonicWall NSSP and SonicWall NSv are both solutions in the Firewalls category. SonicWall NSSP is ranked #39 with an average rating of 7.5, while SonicWall NSv is ranked #30 with an average rating of 8.2. SonicWall NSSP holds a 0.1% mindshare in Firewalls, compared to SonicWall NSv’s 0.1% mindshare. Additionally, 83% of SonicWall NSSP users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 85% of SonicWall NSv users who would recommend it.

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Sep 16, 2024

SonicWall NSSP and SonicWall NSv are two distinct offerings tailored to different needs in cybersecurity. SonicWall NSv seems to have the upper hand due to its cloud-native architecture and greater flexibility in modern infrastructures.

Features: SonicWall NSSP offers high throughput, robust security services, and extensive customizability. SonicWall NSv provides cloud-native architecture, flexibility, and scalability essential for dynamic environments.

Room for Improvement: SonicWall NSSP needs simpler setup procedures, better reporting functions, and enhancements in management experience. SonicWall NSv requires better documentation, more intuitive configuration processes, and improved performance under heavy loads.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: SonicWall NSSP has a straightforward hardware-based deployment but can be complex without technical experience. Its customer support has mixed reviews with responsive assistance but occasional slow responses. SonicWall NSv is flexible but complicated to deploy due to cloud dependencies. Its customer service is efficient but could offer quicker solutions.

Pricing and ROI: SonicWall NSSP has competitive initial setup costs but mixed ROI due to ongoing maintenance. SonicWall NSv is more cost-effective over time, with favorable ROI from reduced hardware expenses and increased operational efficiency.

To learn more, read our detailed SonicWall NSSP vs. SonicWall NSv Report (Updated: April 2025).

Buyer's Guide

SonicWall NSSP vs. SonicWall NSv

April 2025

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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

Mindshare comparison

As of April 2025, in the Firewalls category, the mindshare of Fortinet FortiGate is 21.1%, up from 17.7% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of SonicWall NSSP is 0.1%, up from 0.0% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of SonicWall NSv is 0.1%, down from 0.2% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Firewalls

Featured Reviews

EhabAli

Sr. Cybersecurity Solutions Architect at BMB

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.

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Lenin Christopher

Director at Techfruits

Enhanced security with advanced threat protection and superior support

We serve as an integrator for SonicWall, deploying this solution for customers in the media and entertainment, banking, and finance sectors. We use SonicWall to protect their environments against digital attacks SonicWall has helped us deliver security solutions effectively, particularly in…

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Sumesh Panikkar

Senior IT Infrastructure Engineer at Khansaheb

Provides effective threat prevention and helps improve security

We face some challenges when we upgrade the solution. If I use NSv 400, I can't upgrade to the next generation. We cannot upgrade the VM to the next generation. We have to rebuild a new VM and copy the configurations. We cannot upgrade straightaway. The solution must allow us to upgrade the same machine to a newer version without many changes.

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Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"FortiGate is flexible and easy to use."

"The SD-WAN feature is the most valuable. This feature evolved from link load balancing. It has helped us in terms of our uptime and privatizing applications whenever we experience an outage. The SD-WAN feature has been a plus for us. Two-factor authentication has allowed us to add more users in terms of remote working. We have two-factor authentication for remote workers to authenticate them before they get on the network."

"The initial setup is easy."

"The features that we have found most valuable are the SSL VPN and the User Portal."

"The scalability of Fortinet FortiGate is good."

"I like Fortinet FortiGate's antispam filter, SPN, and clustering features."

"Fortinet FortiGate has SD-WAN, FortiView, antivirus, sandbox, and IPS, which are generally well-known features."

"The stability and scalability of this solution are satisfactory. Its SD-WAN, VPN, and URL filtering features are very useful."

More Fortinet FortiGate pros

"It has been delivering results efficiently. Its configurations and updates have been easy. It is also user-friendly."

"SonicWall has helped us deliver security solutions effectively, particularly in threat prevention and content filtering."

"The product's most valuable features are simplicity and comprehensive protection capabilities, including load balancing, IPS, antivirus, and web filtering."

"SonicWall NSSP is stable and scalable too."

"The solution's pricing is good."

"I like the filtering feature, which provides easy access. The SSL certification feature is also nice. The solution enhanced our security posture."

"The VPN functionality is really good. Overall, the whole device is very easy to manage. The software that comes with it is also good."

"The security of this system is fantastic, including the IPS and IDS."

"SonicWall excelled in threat management, evident in how users handled it effectively."

"Out of ten, I would rate the solution at an eight."

"The product helps improve our security."

"I would rate the overall product a nine out of ten."

"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."

"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."

More SonicWall NSv pros

Cons

"There's always something new that can be added or fixed."

"The security of Fortinet FortiGate could improve."

"To the best of my knowledge, Fortinet does not have a CASB solution and Fortinet does not have a Zero trust solution."

"Reporting is limited to providing an external appliance for improving the reporting capabilities of the FortiAnalyzer. It does not offer a central management and is also sold separably as an appliance."

"One area for improvement is the performance on the bandwidth demands for smaller devices, as well as better web filtering."

"Performance and technical support are the main issues with this solution."

"As far as wanting more scalability or things in the network diagram, it's going to cost you."

"I would like to see improvements made to the dashboard and UI, as well as to the reporting."

More Fortinet FortiGate cons

"The user interface, the GUI, could be improved."

"The product needs improvement for phishing emails."

"The platform could benefit from an improved marketing strategy."

"The solution's stability and scalability also need improvement."

"Its reporting functions can be improved. It has decent reporting, but you got to pay a lot more money for it. That's where it begins to fall apart. It comes with minimal zero reporting unless you buy some extra modules. With those extra modules, you can get all the data, but it takes a while to put together what you need for your customer. It is for technical people, but there is no executive summary of the reporting."

"No security product is foolproof against hackers, intruders, and other such things. As a security product, they have to keep pace in terms of protection from new hackers and intruders."

"The EDR and XDR capabilities of SonicWall need to be improved."

"The price is a significant factor."

"We face some challenges when we upgrade the solution."

"SonicWall NSV's SSL VPN could increase its number of users to 100-plus users."

"SonicWall NSV's initial setup is complicated and requires good knowledge."

"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."

"There are limitations to bandwidth management."

"It has been brought to our attention by a few customers that they are dissatisfied with the fact that our virtualized service is only offered as a subscription option on the cloud. However, it is worth noting that many other similar services are also offered through a subscription model on the cloud and not through perpetual licensing. It is unclear why these customers would have an issue with this subscription service when so many others are utilizing similar methods."

More SonicWall NSv cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The solution requires a license annually, it is not a user license, you can have as many users as your want. I must renew the license regularly per device."

"Setup cost may be not so low, as you expect, because it depends on different factors, but TCO for 5 years may pleasantly surprise you."

"The price is fine."

"They need to be competitive with other solutions."

"The cost of Fortinet FortiGate is competitive and not expensive compared to other enterprise- grade solutions. On average, the license cost per year is around seventy percent of the firewall's purchase price."

"The price of FortiGate is reasonable as I plan to buy new switches. The initial gadgets are already booted, and the pricing seems normal on the market. As for additional costs, I haven't subscribed to many extra features, so I'm only using what I need. Last year, I renewed the support for three years, which can sometimes be expensive but depends on the security benefits and how it helps us."

"I do not have first-hand experience with the rice of Fortinet FortiGate, but I have heard the price was reasonable."

"We just pay a flat monthly fee to the vendor for the support."

More Fortinet FortiGate pricing and cost advice

"The pricing is cheap, and that's where, you know, the some of the organization goes for the SonicWall."

"For SonicWall NSSP high availability, active/passive, you need to buy one license, and so you get much more value for money."

"The setup costs and licensing are reasonable, and the solution provides good value for its features."

"You got to buy some VPN licenses, and there might be a $40 to $50 one-time license fee per current user. There are different layers. They have several different levels of event security software and depending on the model, it seems to come out to be $1 to $2 a day. So, if you bought a three-year license, it is going to be anywhere from $900 to $1800 depending on the bundle and model that you buy."

"I rate the solution's pricing a six out of ten."

"SonicWall NSV is not very costly."

"The solution's pricing is good for the technology it offers."

"The tool is moderately priced."

"The solution’s pricing is less compared to other products."

"We are currently using the trial version."

"Our initial purchase, which included a three-year term of support, was about $25,000 USD."

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Educational Organization

22%

Computer Software Company

14%

Comms Service Provider

Manufacturing Company

No data available

Computer Software Company

23%

Real Estate/Law Firm

Government

Legal Firm

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...

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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...

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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 ...

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What do you like most about SonicWall NSSP?

The solution's pricing is good.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for SonicWall NSSP?

SonicWall is a rather expensive solution with a rating of eight out of ten regarding its pricing. Despite being expen...

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What needs improvement with SonicWall NSSP?

The EDR and XDR capabilities of SonicWall need to be improved. When compared to a brand like SentinelOne, SonicWall s...

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What do you like most about SonicWall NSV?

The product helps improve our security.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for SonicWall NSV?

The tool is moderately priced. We need to purchase an additional license for NSM. We can manage all the firewalls thr...

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What needs improvement with SonicWall NSV?

The price is a significant factor. Mostly in India, the customer service has many hurdles to get real support. If I w...

See all answers

Comparisons

Sophos XG vs Fortinet FortiGate

Compared 22% of the time

Netgate pfSense vs Fortinet FortiGate

Compared 13% of the time

Cisco Secure Firewall vs Fortinet FortiGate

Compared 10% of the time

WatchGuard Firebox vs Fortinet FortiGate

Compared 5% of the time

SonicWall TZ vs Fortinet FortiGate

Compared 5% of the time

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SonicWall NSa vs SonicWall NSSP

Compared 45% of the time

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Azure Firewall vs SonicWall NSv

Compared 31% of the time

SonicWall NSa vs SonicWall NSv

Compared 25% of the time

Stormshield Network Security vs SonicWall NSv

Compared 20% of the time

SonicWall TZ vs SonicWall NSv

Compared 14% of the time

Fortinet FortiGate-VM vs SonicWall NSv

Compared 11% of the time

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Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Fortinet FortiGate

April 2025

Download Fortinet FortiGate product report

Buyer's Guide

Firewalls

March 2025

Download SonicWall NSSP product report

Buyer's Guide

Firewalls

March 2025

Download SonicWall NSv product report

Also Known As

FortiGate 60b, FortiGate 60c, FortiGate 80c, FortiGate 50b, FortiGate 200b, FortiGate 110c, FortiGate, Fortinet Firewall

SonicWall Network Security Services Platform

SonicWall Network Security Virtual

Overview

Fortinet FortiGate offers comprehensive network security and firewall protection across multiple locations. It effectively manages data traffic and secures environments with features like VPN, intrusion prevention, and UTM controls.

Organizations rely on Fortinet FortiGate for its robust integration with advanced security policies, ensuring significant protection for enterprises, cloud environments, and educational sectors. It facilitates network segmentation, application-level security, and authentication management, securing communication within and between locations such as branches and data centers. Its efficient SD-WAN and UTM features enable streamlined data management and enhanced threat protection capabilities. Users appreciate its centralized management, facilitating seamless operations across diverse environments.

What are the key features of Fortinet FortiGate?

VPN Capabilities: Ensure secure remote access for users and seamless site-to-site connections.
Intrusion Prevention System (IPS): Detect and prevent security threats and vulnerabilities.
Advanced Firewall: Offers robust firewalling with application control and web filtering.
SD-WAN: Optimizes application performance and enhances bandwidth management.
SSL VPN: Provides reliable and secure access for remote workers.

What benefits should users expect from Fortinet FortiGate?

High-performance Security: Delivers effective threat mitigation with high availability.
Centralized Management: Simplifies network operations with cloud-based management tools.
Detailed Analytics: Provides comprehensive insights into network activity and security threats.
Load Balancing: Ensures optimal resource distribution and traffic management.

Fortinet FortiGate is crucial in sectors like education, offering robust networks for secure data flow between campuses and facilitating remote learning. In enterprise environments, it allows efficient management of application traffic and security across multiple branches, while in the cloud, it seamlessly integrates with diverse platforms to enhance security infrastructure.

Fortinet

The SonicWall Network Security services platform (NSsp) 12000 series takes a modern approach to threat detection and prevention by combining cloud intelligence with appliance-based protection in a scalable, high-speed platform.

SonicWall

SonicWall NSV is a software-based virtual firewall that provides additional security for customers with public-facing servers or services on Microsoft Azure. The AGSS Bundle is considered the most valuable feature, providing security services such as antivirus, intrusion prevention system, and anti-spyware botnet GUI.

Additionally, customization of firewall rules provides great value to customers, allowing them to lock things up in the way they desire. SonicWall NSV offers extensive security control options to protect customers' valuable information and assets.

SonicWall

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

Comlogic, Depaul, Hutt City Council

Buyer's Guide

SonicWall NSSP vs. SonicWall NSv

April 2025

Free Report: SonicWall NSSP vs. SonicWall NSv

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