SonicWall NSv vs Stormshield Network Security comparison

SonicWall and Stormshield are both solutions in the Firewalls category. Additionally, 96% of SonicWall users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 85% of Stormshield users who would recommend it.

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Executive Summary

We performed a comparison between SonicWall NSv and Stormshield Network Security based on real PeerSpot user reviews.

Find out in this report how the two Firewalls solutions compare in terms of features, pricing, service and support, easy of deployment, and ROI.

To learn more, read our detailed SonicWall NSv vs. Stormshield Network Security Report (Updated: April 2026).

Buyer's Guide

SonicWall NSv vs. Stormshield Network Security

April 2026

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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

Featured Reviews

Abhinandan Yadav

Network Security Engineer at Arrow PC Network Pvt Ltd

Unified security and sd-wan have improved uptime and cut wan costs for multi-site branches

Users report stability issues in certain versions, which requires regular updates. Real-world attacks have also highlighted the need for urgent patching of vulnerabilities.Fortinet FortiGate, while a powerful and feature-rich web firewall, could improve in areas like firmware stability, documentation, and ease of use. The learning curve can be steep for some users. For beginners, support quality can vary, and frequent updates with occasional vulnerabilities call for careful patch management. However, once Fortinet FortiGate is configured, it remains highly reliable and efficient. Customer support needs improvement, as I find it very slow, with reports from other users reflecting that customer support is inadequate.

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Samodthemiya Gamage

Senior Cybersecurity Analyst at a tech company with 10,001+ employees

Secures east-west cloud traffic and improves threat visibility through deep inspection

SonicWall NSv offers great features. I cannot pinpoint a single best feature, but the best feature is the ability to deliver the full, high-efficiency inspection power of a physical SonicWall, including zero-day defense using Real-Time Deep Memory Inspection to the cloud, efficiently removing the performance versus cloud trade-off typically associated with virtual firewalls. Regarding deep memory inspection and real-time zero-day defense in SonicWall NSv, deep memory inspection is distinct from traditional sandboxing methods because it is focused on what is happening in the memory during file execution time, rather than just observing file system behavior. The deep memory inspection process addresses all challenges by employing a proprietary technique within the secure analysis environment, focusing on CPU-level analysis and real-time verdict. Those are the key points. SonicWall NSv's user interface is quite clear and easy to navigate. If someone has not worked with SonicWall and this is their first experience with the platform, I would highly recommend it. It is very easy to navigate and very user-friendly. SonicWall NSv has positively impacted our organization because we gained clear visibility into our network, and it helps to identify potential security issues that we had. We were able to remediate those issues, and so far, we have had a great experience with SonicWall NSv. We were able to manage approximately 99% of network-based attacks through this platform.

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Zsolt Jónás

System Administrator at NaxoNet

Advanced GUI and layered security have supported compliance and simplified intrusion prevention

I haven't had a task that I couldn't solve with Stormshield Network Security. The active-active high availability solution would be beneficial because currently, if you build a high availability solution with Stormshield Network Security, you have a main device and another one is a backup device. The HA can switch between them, but it would be good to have a master-master solution, not just a master-slave one. I could set a URL that I can call to update the DNS record. Currently, Stormshield Network Security devices support DynDNS, which is not a usual feature request from a server environment. I have my own solution instead of DynDNS because I don't prefer it, so I have my own service for that. However, the GUI does not support using a custom service instead of DynDNS. I had to solve it in the console on Stormshield Network Security device, but it would be much better if it was reachable on the GUI. I had to figure out a trick for the IPsec configuration. In the IPsec config, we have to provide the remote side's IP address, but it's always changing. This means that an office, for example a company that has an office but without a fixed IP address, cannot be used with IPsec VPN.

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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

"The secure web gateway module and the application control module are valuable. HA operations are very easy."

"There’s something magical about the way the flavors blend together, creating a dish that is both comforting and exciting."

"The antivirus, malware, anti-malware, anti-spam, IP VPN connections, and firewall rules bring the most value for me and my clients."

"The solution is very user-friendly."

"The value is the capability of having multiple services with one unique license, not having the limitation per user licensing schema, like other vendors."

"It's safe and secures my network and applications in some sites."

"The most useful features of Fortinet FortiGate IPS are you can create a virtual firewall within it, most other firewalls do not have this feature, you are able to manage your network and have network segmentation within your firewall, and additionally, you can create virtual switches within the firewall and have policy management, such as firewall and access policy."

"User-friendly and affordable security solution that's recommended for SMB customers. This solution has good technical support."

More Fortinet FortiGate pros

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

"We have definitely seen a positive return on investment after implementing SonicWall NSv, mainly in terms of time savings, operational efficiency, and reduced security-related costs."

"SonicWall NSv has positively impacted my organization by regenerating the network infrastructure, making it more efficient and useful for all of the company's site-to-site VPNs."

"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 has helped me to secure cloud workloads faster, maintain consistent security controls, and reduce operational overhead without needing a completely new firewall platform."

"SonicWall NSv has positively impacted my organization, as we have not seen any threat or any successful cyberattack; the positive aspect is that we also use SonicWall physical devices for our on-premise infrastructure, so the integration is excellent."

"SonicWall NSv helped our organization maintain and send traffic consistently through our secure VPN channels between the SonicWalls, serving around 300 employees in our organization."

"In my experience, the best feature SonicWall NSv offers is its stateful HA, which functions without any impact, ensuring a zero impact failover."

More SonicWall NSv pros

"The tool's most valuable feature is its dashboard, which helps you manage different aspects of a single page. The intrusion detection system helps our organization by automatically detecting and responding to potential threats. It operates similarly to Darktrace, which detects and responds automatically based on the security rules you apply. Initially, you configure everything to block, and then you can whitelist specific items as needed."

"It's an easy, straightforward management platform to use."

"The solution has improved my organization because I can see what traffic is happening and I can use it to block and prevent attacks."

"Our organization's main concern is stability, and this is a stable solution."

"The StormShield solution has enabled us to fully implement best practices from Microsoft in the cloud : the hub and spoke architecture."

"Stormshield Network Security is a very stable solution and the solution works perfectly so we never had to contact technical support."

"The multi-layered security approach of Stormshield Network Security is a good one and has helped with compliance."

"The most valuable features of this solution are the URL filtering database, which is great and contains all internet categories, the highly scalable interface that I can turn into what I want including hybrid, bridge, or router mode, the security with no back doors that is more secure than other solutions, and the hardware performance that is also better than others."

More Stormshield Network Security pros

Cons

"The price of FortiGate should be reduced because there are some other leading products that are cheaper."

"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."

"The stability and performance of Fortinet FortiGate are mixed, as some features are quite good and very stable while others are quite new and very buggy."

"From a pricing perspective, I would rate them a six."

"We have experienced a number of failures when trying to upgrade firmware and the process takes a long time."

"Fortinet doesn't provide multiple virtual firewalls which would facilitate end users and customers."

"There are too many updates coming for VPN, and the VPN keeps disconnecting frequently, which I find problematic. It does what it's supposed to do, but I practically face reconnection issues with the VPN."

"Need to Improvement in Reporting"

More Fortinet FortiGate cons

"In terms of user-based policies and Gen 7, we have several problems with the ULA, and the page does not appear."

"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."

"I faced a problem when migrating from an old Generation 6 firewall to a Generation 7 firewall, where I could not simply copy the configuration from one appliance to the other; I had to rebuild the entire policies, IP addressing, the rules, the NAT rules, the tunnels, and the VPN policies."

"I believe SonicWall NSv is performing well overall, but I think it would be beneficial to have physical versions, such as the hardware of SonicWall NSv, for some environments that may not necessarily need to be connected to the cloud."

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

"SonicWall NSv's performance is reliable but can be limited by single-stream CPU usage when DPI-SSL is enabled, but in most cases, it is a great experience."

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

"I have not really seen a return on investment."

More SonicWall NSv cons

"Not all the fields are activated yet and we were informed that it will take at least one month."

"Stormshield Network Security is quite expensive."

"Support is always an issue because they're constantly busy."

"The filtering configuration could be better. We have some difficulties with the filtering configuration and the filter extension. It's not that easy. It's not that straightforward. In the next release, I would like to see a reporting system. Stormshield doesn't have any tutorials on how to do the configuration and things like that. They just have documentation on the website. If you want to configure, for example, Cisco or Fortinet, you can find tutorials on YouTube. They show you how to configure the features, and so on. In Stormshield, there is nothing on social media or the internet on how to configure different things. The lack of documentation or the lack of material makes it difficult for others to adopt this solution."

"It could be better if it were more user-friendly for us as we dont use it very often even if we never had problems to modify setup when needed."

"With Stormshield, there are difficulties joining things, and it can be complex depending on the architecture."

"The filtering configuration could be better. We have some difficulties with the filtering configuration and the filter extension."

"The stability is not that good based on my experience. We have a lot of disruptions when it comes to Stormshield."

More Stormshield Network Security cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"It has a competitive price."

"It's an expensive solution."

"Setup costs and pricing depends on many variables, but it's mostly affordable."

"I rate the pricing an eight and a half on a scale of one to ten, where one is low, and ten is high."

"The Fortinet FortiGate security features cost approximately $1,500 a year. The firewall itself doesn't have a recurring cost. It's the security features on top of that that you pay for."

"The product is expensive."

"It cost us around $73,000 for three years."

"When you look at these end security systems and firewalls, these firewalls even five years ago were $50,000 or perhaps $25,000 to implement in some types of customer sites. Now we're talking about tools that are $1,000. In this case, it might have been $500 or something like that."

More Fortinet FortiGate pricing and cost advice

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

"The tool is moderately priced."

"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."

"SonicWall NSV is not very costly."

"We are currently using the trial version."

"We bought a three-year license, and we renew it whenever it expires. The price could be better. It's always very expensive."

"The pricing could be better."

"We chose Stormshield for its price, as the Azure firewall was too expensive."

"For mid-sized companies, they sell their appliances for good prices."

"The SN200 series costs between $500 USD and $600 USD per year, whereas the SN700 series costs approximately $1,000 annually."

"I think the price is good."

"The price of this solution and the price of support are ok."

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

11%

Comms Service Provider

10%

Manufacturing Company

Financial Services Firm

Manufacturing Company

13%

Security Firm

12%

Outsourcing Company

Comms Service Provider

15%

Computer Software Company

13%

Financial Services Firm

10%

Manufacturing Company

10%

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	366
Midsize Enterprise	135
Large Enterprise	192

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	9
Midsize Enterprise	8
Large Enterprise	10

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	10
Midsize Enterprise	5
Large Enterprise	2

Questions from the Community

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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 is your experience regarding pricing and costs for SonicWall NSV?

My experience with the pricing, setup cost, and licensing of SonicWall NSv has been mostly positive, though there are...

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What needs improvement with SonicWall NSV?

Overall, SonicWall NSv is a strong and reliable virtual firewall, but based on my hands-on experience, there are a fe...

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What is your primary use case for SonicWall NSV?

The main use case for SonicWall NSv is to secure virtual and cloud-based infrastructure by providing centralized fire...

See all answers

What needs improvement with Stormshield Network Security?

I haven't had a task that I couldn't solve with Stormshield Network Security. The active-active high availability sol...

See all answers

What is your primary use case for Stormshield Network Security?

I already use Stormshield Network Security, and I am now looking for a new solution. I am already working with Storms...

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What advice do you have for others considering Stormshield Network Security?

The pricing is increasing, and I would say it is a bit expensive. Palo Alto and others are much more expensive, but S...

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Comparisons

Sophos Firewall vs Fortinet FortiGate

Compared 18% of the time

Cisco Secure Firewall vs Fortinet FortiGate

Compared 12% of the time

Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls vs Fortinet FortiGate

Compared 4% of the time

Netgate pfSense vs Fortinet FortiGate

Compared 4% of the time

OPNsense vs Fortinet FortiGate

Compared 3% of the time

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SonicWall NSa vs SonicWall NSv

Compared 20% of the time

Azure Firewall vs SonicWall NSv

Compared 20% of the time

Zscaler Cloud Firewall vs SonicWall NSv

Compared 10% of the time

Fortinet FortiGate-VM vs SonicWall NSv

Compared 9% of the time

Cisco Meraki MX vs SonicWall NSv

Compared 6% of the time

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Netgate pfSense vs Stormshield Network Security

Compared 9% of the time

Sophos UTM vs Stormshield Network Security

Compared 6% of the time

Sophos Firewall vs Stormshield Network Security

Compared 6% of the time

OPNsense vs Stormshield Network Security

Compared 6% of the time

Fortinet FortiGate-VM vs Stormshield Network Security

Compared 3% of the time

More Stormshield Network Security Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Fortinet FortiGate

April 2026

Download Fortinet FortiGate product report

Buyer's Guide

SonicWall NSv

March 2026

Download SonicWall NSv product report

Buyer's Guide

Stormshield Network Security

March 2026

Download Stormshield Network Security product report

Also Known As

Fortinet FortiGate Next-Generation Firewall

SonicWall Network Security Virtual

NETASQ Firewalls

Overview

Fortinet FortiGate is a versatile network security tool offering features like VPN, firewall, web filtering, intrusion prevention, and scalability. It is known for its performance and integration with other Fortinet products, making it a preferred choice for robust cybersecurity.

Fortinet FortiGate stands out as a comprehensive cybersecurity solution with strong performance and ease of configuration. It delivers unified threat management, integrating features such as dynamic routing, SD-WAN support, and centralized management. Despite its strengths, improvements in the web interface's stability, pricing structures, and reporting capabilities are needed. Users seek better integration with third-party tools and automation advancements to enhance the experience further. These enhancements, alongside improvements in bandwidth management and the reduction of licensing costs, are points of interest for users looking to capitalize on FortiGate's extensive capabilities.

What are Fortinet FortiGate's key features?

VPN: Ensures secure remote connections.
Firewall: Protects against unauthorized access.
Web Filtering: Blocks malicious sites and content.
Application Control: Manages and controls applications.
Intrusion Prevention: Detects and prevents vulnerabilities.
SSL Inspection: Enhances security by inspecting encrypted traffic.

What benefits should be considered when evaluating Fortinet FortiGate?

Affordability: Offers cost-effective security solutions.
Reliability: Known for consistent and stable performance.
Integration: Seamlessly integrates with other Fortinet products.
Comprehensive Protection: Provides broad threat protection capabilities.

Fortinet FortiGate is widely implemented across industries as a primary firewall system for securing internet gateways and safeguarding data centers. It supports businesses in achieving SD-WAN integration and enhances cybersecurity by providing essential features like antivirus, web filtering, and application control. Enterprises utilize FortiGate for securing remote connections and ensuring compliance with security standards, making it adaptable for different network sizes and industries.

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

NETASQ's integrated intrusion prevention engine uses protocol conformity analysis, application filtering and antivirus analysis to inspect authorized traffic flows and strengthen application security. NETASQ enables you to establish and configure user-based security policies, giving you greater control over which network resources each user is authorized to access.

Stormshield

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

ACESUR group, Ministry of Education Oman, Anios Laboratories, Zain, DLM Location

Buyer's Guide

SonicWall NSv vs. Stormshield Network Security

April 2026

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