SonicWall NSv vs SonicWall TZ comparison

SonicWall NSv and SonicWall TZ are both solutions in the Firewalls category. SonicWall NSv is ranked #29 with an average rating of 8.2, while SonicWall TZ is ranked #10 with an average rating of 8.9. SonicWall NSv holds a 0.1% mindshare in Firewalls, compared to SonicWall TZ’s 2.9% mindshare. Additionally, 85% of SonicWall NSv users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 88% of SonicWall TZ users who would recommend it.

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Jan 5, 2025

SonicWall TZ and SonicWall NSv are products competing in network security, with the TZ series focused on appliance-based solutions and the NSv series on virtual environments. SonicWall NSv seems to hold an advantage due to its adaptability in cloud setups compared to SonicWall TZ's competitive pricing and support.

Features: SonicWall TZ offers robust firewall protection, easy hardware management, and advanced threat prevention. SonicWall NSv provides extensive virtualization capabilities, scalable security measures, and seamless cloud integration.

Room for Improvement: SonicWall TZ could enhance flexibility for cloud environments, improve scalability, and optimize integration with virtual platforms. SonicWall NSv can benefit from simplified setup to accommodate less technical users, more consistent customer service across cloud environments, and a lower initial investment to increase accessibility for smaller businesses.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: SonicWall TZ is appealing with its straightforward appliance setup and reliable customer service. SonicWall NSv offers flexible deployment on virtual platforms, requiring more technical expertise, and customer service that might vary according to cloud requirements.

Pricing and ROI: SonicWall TZ is a cost-effective option with a reasonable initial setup cost, providing good ROI for small to medium businesses. SonicWall NSv, with its higher initial investment, offers potentially higher ROI through scalability and cloud compatibility, making it valuable long-term for cloud-centric businesses.

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

Buyer's Guide

SonicWall NSv vs. SonicWall TZ

March 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 March 2025, in the Firewalls category, the mindshare of Fortinet FortiGate is 20.8%, up from 17.8% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of SonicWall NSv is 0.1%, down from 0.2% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of SonicWall TZ is 2.9%, up from 2.2% 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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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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Rias Majeed

CTO at Exceed NetSec LLC

Robust VPN integration stands out despite needing enhanced vendor compatibility

The integrated VPN functionality is working well with the global VPN client, which is a fast client, though it comes at a cost. SonicWall TZ is functional depending on the service level taken by the user. For SMB segments, SonicWall performs well. Despite lacking certain features, it is still considered a good product. The appliance itself is functional and stable, offering integrated solutions.

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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

"It blocks the vulnerabilities that can negatively impact us."

"Good performance, stability, and virtual domain ability."

"Anti-Spam web content filterinG."

"The ease of setting the solution up is a valuable aspect for us."

"Secure, user-friendly, stable, and scalable network security solution. Installation is straightforward."

"Customers want to load balance more than eight lines or six internet lines. FortiGate is the only solution that can accomplish this."

"Easy to use support and licensing portal as well as activation process."

"We have been able to offer several services to customers in a single box."

More Fortinet FortiGate pros

"One of the standout features of SonicWall is its simplicity in creating and managing rules."

"The product helps improve our security."

"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."

"SonicWall NSV is easy to use, and you can use it to manage the logs easily."

"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."

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

More SonicWall NSv pros

"The solution is priced fairly and competitively."

"The features that we have found most valuable in SonicWall TZ are the intrusion and brute force attack prevention."

"Offers the right amount of control without being incredibly convoluted and frustrating."

"The VPNs are rock solid. I never have an issue with them. We also have rules to block encrypted traffic to specific sites and geolocations. The integrated VPN functionality is easy to use."

"It's a very cost-effective solution."

"We are able to block whatever we want to block by using this product. It provides all required security features, such as content filtering, VPN, in one box. Before switching to SonicWall, we had specified all required features."

"I've found the technical support to be helpful."

"I find the security we are able to do with the policies to be valuable. The monitoring is valuable as well."

More SonicWall TZ pros

Cons

"The feature which gives us a lot of pain is ASIC architecture."

"The solution could have licensing fees reduced in the future."

"A sandbox would be good in order to be able to inspect the emails containing spam and be able to validate the emails that contain malware, prior to delivering to the customer."

"Regarding challenges, customers initially faced issues like internet dropping, but after firmware upgrades, everything worked well."

"The pricing could be a bit better, especially when you consider how they have the most basic offering priced."

"I need user-behavior analytics, to find threat scenarios from inside the organization, insider attacks. That would be very helpful for us. In addition, I would like next-generation features for small and medium businesses. These businesses require UTM, all in one product. Fortinet must include it."

"Technical support for this solution can be improved."

"WAN load-balancing could be a lot better at detecting when a link is poor or inconsistent, and not just flat out dead."

More Fortinet FortiGate cons

"I would like to see the reporting opened up and have several more opportunities for automatic reports."

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

"There are limitations to bandwidth management."

"An area that could be improved is the export and import settings functionality."

"The engine provided initially was quite heavy, creating a trade-off between software and hardware-based threat management."

"The price is a significant factor."

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

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

More SonicWall NSv cons

"The log analyzer in SonicWall TZ is something that they need to improve upon."

"There is still room for improvement, and it's not advisable even if the organization has grown."

"Its reporting can be improved. Currently, we cannot directly get the user names. It only shows the IP, which makes it a bit confusing because we need to use the IP to find the user. If we could directly get the name of the user, it would be better."

"If the operation increases and the bandwidth consumption increases, it does not perform as per the expectations."

"It needs more robust self-help documentation along with examples and things to watch out for."

"SonicWall should incorporate dynamic DNS services to eliminate the need for third-party solutions, particularly for environments using dynamic IP addresses."

"The stability could be a lot better."

"An additional feature that I would like to see is reporting that includes metrics to give me more information about the number of viruses that it has actually detected and interrupted."

More SonicWall TZ cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Its pricing is competitive with other solutions."

"We find the most valuable aspect of this solution is the price. It is affordable, and cheaper than other firewalls."

"Price-wise, it's at a good price point for our market."

"The price is okay."

"Fortinet FortiGate is expensive."

"It is a good product from a price perspective versus functionality."

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

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

More Fortinet FortiGate pricing and cost advice

"We are currently using the trial version."

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

"The tool is moderately priced."

"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 less compared to other products."

"License renewals come in around $35,000 to $45,000."

"You need to purchase multiple licenses to manage multiple devices which is cost-prohibitive for the value you would receive."

"Its pricing is okay as compared to other solutions."

"It has a yearly subscription."

"The price is fair for the solution for the quality you receive."

"Licensing fees are on a monthly basis."

"The price is fair."

"The product pricing is relatively good, compared to other products, including the licenses."

More SonicWall TZ 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

Computer Software Company

23%

Real Estate/Law Firm

Government

Legal Firm

Computer Software Company

19%

Comms Service Provider

Manufacturing Company

Construction Company

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 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...

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Would you choose Fortinet Fortigate or Sonicwall TZ?

I’ll say it depends on your needs. Fortinet FortiGate and SonicWall TZ are both next-gen firewalls (NGFW) with simila...

See all answers

What do you like most about SonicWall TZ?

The most valuable feature of SonicWall TZ is the double authentication, where it asks for one password and again asks...

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

The pricing of SonicWall TZ is reasonable. I would also position its pricing as a three, where one is the lowest pric...

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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 11% of the time

WatchGuard Firebox vs Fortinet FortiGate

Compared 5% of the time

Meraki MX vs Fortinet FortiGate

Compared 5% of the time

More Fortinet FortiGate Competitors

Azure Firewall vs SonicWall NSv

Compared 33% of the time

SonicWall NSa vs SonicWall NSv

Compared 23% of the time

Stormshield Network Security vs SonicWall NSv

Compared 21% of the time

Fortinet FortiGate-VM vs SonicWall NSv

Compared 11% of the time

More SonicWall NSv Competitors

Sophos XG vs SonicWall TZ

Compared 18% of the time

Netgate pfSense vs SonicWall TZ

Compared 9% of the time

Meraki MX vs SonicWall TZ

Compared 7% of the time

WatchGuard Firebox vs SonicWall TZ

Compared 7% of the time

SonicWall NSa vs SonicWall TZ

Compared 7% of the time

More SonicWall TZ Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Fortinet FortiGate

March 2025

Download Fortinet FortiGate product report

Buyer's Guide

Firewalls

March 2025

Download SonicWall NSv product report

Buyer's Guide

SonicWall TZ

March 2025

Download SonicWall TZ product report

Also Known As

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

SonicWall Network Security Virtual

Dell SonicWALL TZ

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

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

The secure, sophisticated SonicWALL TZ is widely deployed at small businesses, retail, government, remote sites and branch offices. It combines high-performance intrusion prevention, malware blocking, content/URL filtering and application control.

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

AeroM_xico Delta TechOps, Unimat

Buyer's Guide

SonicWall NSv vs. SonicWall TZ

March 2025

Free Report: SonicWall NSv vs. SonicWall TZ

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