SonicWall NSSP vs Sophos XGS comparison

SonicWall and Sophos are both solutions in the Firewalls category. SonicWall is ranked #39 with an average rating of 7.5, while Sophos is ranked #13 with an average rating of 8.4. SonicWall holds a 0.1% mindshare in Firewalls, compared to Sophos’s 2.4% mindshare. Additionally, 83% of SonicWall users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 94% of Sophos users who would recommend it.

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Sep 16, 2024

Both SonicWall NSSP and Sophos XGS compete in the network security space. Sophos XGS seems to have the upper hand due to its advanced features and higher integration capabilities, making it worth the price.

Features: SonicWall NSSP is praised for its high-performance throughput, scalability, and robust intrusion prevention. It also offers comprehensive logging and reporting capabilities. Sophos XGS offers deep packet inspection, advanced threat protection, and synchronized security features that integrate with other Sophos products. It also has intuitive central management and stronger integration with endpoint protection.

Room for Improvement: For SonicWall NSSP, users note the need for improved firmware stability, more intuitive configuration, and more frequent updates. Sophos XGS users seek enhancements in the reporting tools, a more user-friendly policy management system, and faster technical support response times.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: SonicWall NSSP users report a straightforward deployment process but mention complexity in initial setup for large-scale networks. They appreciate responsive customer support but suggest that detailed documentation could be improved. Sophos XGS is appreciated for its user-friendly deployment process, especially with cloud management. Users commend its efficient customer service but seek more comprehensive setup guides.

Pricing and ROI: Users find SonicWall NSSP's setup costs relatively high but satisfactory in terms of long-term ROI due to its robust performance. Sophos XGS, while also expensive, is perceived to offer better value due to its extensive feature set and high integration capabilities, delivering a quicker and more substantial ROI.

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

Buyer's Guide

SonicWall NSSP vs. Sophos XGS

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 Sophos XGS is 2.4%, up from 1.0% 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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Nassif Kaleny

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.

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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 has a very strong unified threat management system."

"With FortiClient, you can easily connect when you are home, check out what you want to do, and connect to your network when you are not at work. You can switch on servers and you can check what is wrong."

"Allows for firewall rules to be programmed and named in a way that makes it “readable”"

"Fortinet FortiGate is good for helping you secure and protect mission-critical data."

"The next-gen features, the unified threat management capabilities are something that just about everybody is interested in at this point."

"It is quite easy to handle."

"The security fabric is excellent."

"The GUI is good."

More Fortinet FortiGate pros

"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."

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

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

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

"SonicWall NSSP is stable and scalable too."

"The solution is stable."

"Sophos XGS that's a good firewall. If you use the endpoint, then you have what Sophos calls synchronized security. That will mean that if one of the endpoints is affected, it will be automatically set in isolation."

"The solution is cost-effective and easy to manage."

"The solution is stable and reliable."

"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 centralized security is very good."

"The product was easy for us to install."

"The most valuable feature of Sophos XGS is the application control."

More Sophos XGS pros

Cons

"The updates Fortinet provides are sometimes unstable."

"Its reporting and pricing need improvement."

"It does not have key authentication for admin access."

"They've become quite expensive."

"Their support can be better, and there should be better policies for immediate replacement in critical situations."

"The performance could be a bit better. Right now, I find it to be lacking. Having good performance is very important for our work."

"The UI could be improved."

"They should improve high CPU and memory usage that occurs."

More Fortinet FortiGate cons

"The product needs improvement for phishing emails."

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

"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."

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

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

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

"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."

"Sophos' technical support has degraded in the last couple of years. They seem to need to ask a lot of questions, even with simple problems, and take a long time to provide solutions."

"The stability could be a bit better."

"Areas for improvement in Sophos XGS include better balance when handling high availability configurations, smoother firmware upgrades without the need for turning off devices, and simplified configuration after firmware updates."

"In future releases, this solution could have more graphical elements on the dashboard to make it easier to understand."

"Sometimes, we haven't received proper support. They couldn't find the solutions that we required. One thing that we need is an NTP server facility. The Sophos XGS device does not have this capacity or this feature."

"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."

"There are some issues with conversion and user roles when upgrading to Cyberoam."

"Support is great, however, it can always be improved."

More Sophos XGS cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"For our organization, the licensing costs are approximately $7,000 per year."

"The price is fair compared to the other competitors."

"The license is too expensive to renew. The license renewal process is also complex."

"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."

"Their licensing costs are annual. The UTM feature license along with their support is called FortiCare. We include that as a part of the annual maintenance cost. Palo Alto or Juniper also have an annual subscription charge for UTM. Price, of course, can always be more competitive, but it is not the most expensive product. The price-performance ratio is quite high for FortiGate."

"While Fortinet FortiGate has a higher price point compared to Sophos XG, its user-friendly interface justifies the cost."

"The price of Fortinet FortiGate is reasonable."

"Its pricing is competitive with other solutions."

More Fortinet FortiGate pricing and cost advice

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

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

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

"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."

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

"I live in Bolivia and the price of Sophos XGS is high. However, they have adjusted their price a little over the past while but the price could still be less expensive to be affordable."

"The cost of Sophos XGS is based on per unit, per appliance, and capacity."

"The price of Sophos XGS is average compared to other offers from other OEMs."

"Sophos XGS's pricing is very affordable."

"Sophos XGS is competitively priced."

"We pay about $150."

"There are additional costs involved apart from the licenses."

"I pay close to $10,000 per year, which I find to be expensive compared to the other similar solution or equivalent solutions."

More Sophos XGS pricing and cost advice

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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

15%

Manufacturing Company

Comms Service Provider

Educational Organization

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.

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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 Sophos XGS?

The policies are the greatest feature. They allow us to configure granular control over our network traffic.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Sophos XGS?

The pricing is justified, and the solution is considered budget-friendly compared to other vendors.

See all answers

What needs improvement with Sophos XGS?

Hardware stability needs improvement. I have experienced multiple hardware complaints, particularly during firmware u...

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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Sophos XG vs Sophos XGS

Compared 24% of the time

OPNsense vs Sophos XGS

Compared 17% of the time

Netgate pfSense vs Sophos XGS

Compared 7% of the time

Check Point NGFW vs Sophos XGS

Compared 6% of the time

Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls vs Sophos XGS

Compared 6% of the time

More Sophos XGS Competitors

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

Sophos XGS

March 2025

Download Sophos XGS 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

No data available

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

Sophos XGS is a comprehensive network security solution designed to protect organizations from advanced threats. It combines next-generation firewall capabilities with advanced threat protection, web filtering, and application control.

XGS has powerful deep learning technology and can detect and block even the most sophisticated malware and ransomware attacks. It also offers granular control over web access, allowing organizations to enforce policies and prevent access to malicious or inappropriate websites. Additionally, XGS provides application control features, enabling organizations to manage and prioritize network traffic based on specific applications or user groups.

With its intuitive management interface and centralized reporting, XGS offers easy deployment and monitoring of network security.

Sophos

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

Information Not Available

Buyer's Guide

SonicWall NSSP vs. Sophos XGS

April 2025

Free Report: SonicWall NSSP vs. Sophos XGS

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