SonicWall NSv vs Zscaler Cloud Firewall comparison

SonicWall and Zscaler are both solutions in the Firewalls category. SonicWall is ranked #30 with an average rating of 8.2, while Zscaler is ranked #24 with an average rating of 8.6. SonicWall holds a 0.1% mindshare in Firewalls, compared to Zscaler’s 0.4% mindshare. Additionally, 85% of SonicWall users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 92% of Zscaler users who would recommend it.

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Download the report

Executive SummaryUpdated on Sep 16, 2024

Zscaler Cloud Firewall and SonicWall NSv are two competing network security solutions. Based on user reviews, Zscaler Cloud Firewall is preferred for support and deployment, while SonicWall NSv is seen as superior for its robust features and perceived value.

Features: Zscaler Cloud Firewall is noted for its scalability, ease of use, and consistent performance. SonicWall NSv stands out with its advanced security features, comprehensive monitoring, and high configurability.

Room for Improvement: Zscaler Cloud Firewall users highlight the need for better reporting tools, enhanced flexibility in policy management, and occasional issues with integration. SonicWall NSv users mention the need for improved documentation, better user training, and a more intuitive interface.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Zscaler Cloud Firewall is praised for its straightforward deployment process and proactive customer service. SonicWall NSv, while offering powerful features, sometimes presents deployment challenges due to its complexity, and users note varying experiences with support quality.

Pricing and ROI: Zscaler Cloud Firewall is seen as reasonably priced with good cost-functionality balance and satisfactory ROI. SonicWall NSv, although more expensive, is viewed as worth the investment due to its comprehensive features and significant ROI over time.

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

Buyer's Guide

SonicWall NSv vs. Zscaler Cloud Firewall

April 2025

Download the complete report

Helped 848,716 peers since 2012

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 NSv is 0.1%, down from 0.2% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Zscaler Cloud Firewall is 0.4%, up from 0.3% 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.

Read full review

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.

Read full review

Bhaskar Rao

Network manager admin at Yamaha

Though it helps deal with web traffic or any malicious traffic, it needs to work on its DC performance issues

The product's initial setup phase is moderate in level, so it is neither very complex nor very easy. For the deployment, my company first needs to gather all the requirements of the users and the domain names and consider how many users there are in the company. In the implementation and planning part, my company needs to consider what kind of policies we will create while ensuring that the policies are created based on the requirements of the users. There is a need to segregate the users' requirements since there are separate departments in the company, like the HR department, sales department, IT department, and manufacturing department, so that our company can create policies depending on their requirements. On-site, if you want a GRE tunnel, our company can handle GRE tunnel traffic routing and Zscaler Cloud Firewall, after which Zscaler will take action based on the policies created by our organization. For the deployments and maintenance, a team of five members consisting of two managers and three engineers is required.

Read full review

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The most important features of Fortinet FortiGate are the Intrusion Prevention System (IPS) and firewall control applications."

"FortiGate Secure SD-WAN includes best-of-breed next-generation firewall (NGFW) security, SD-WAN, advanced routing, and WAN optimization capabilities, delivering a security-driven networking WAN edge transformation in a unified offering."

"Its user interface is good, and it is always working fine."

"We purchased Fortinet because of the pricing, its functionality, because it met our requirements, and the total cost of ownership over five years was quite reasonable. In the market, Fortinet is rated quite well."

"The SD-WAN function is very developed. It has SD-WAN functionality with security features in one device. We can manage from one single console SD-WAN and the security policy."

"Its administrative panel is very intuitive and simple. It is simpler than the other solutions that we had. As an administrator, we are always looking for the easiest solution to manage network policies. We are able to filter everything on our network and also use the VPN feature, which is important these days when people are working remotely during COVID."

"The application control features, such as Facebook blocking and Spotify blocking, are the most valuable."

"It is useful for protecting and segregating the internal networks from the internet. Most of our customers also use the FortiGate client to connect to their offices by using the VPN client, and of course, they usually activate the antivirus, deep inspection, and intrusion prevention services. They are also using it for web filtering and implementing various policies dealing with forwardings, NAT, etc."

More Fortinet FortiGate pros

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

"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."

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

"The solution has no additional charges and no restrictions on the number of users."

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

"For my small NFB banking services, when they are expanding their branches, I could incorporate a little bit easier."

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

"We purchased the AGSS Bundle (Advanced Gateway Security Suite) for the security services, such as antivirus, intrusion prevention system, and anti-spyware botnet GUI."

More SonicWall NSv pros

"I like the ease of deployment and its flexibility. We don't need to deal with license, quotes, procurement, delivery, and installation. Everything is software-based, and it's very easy to operate."

"The solution is scalable."

"It provides in-depth visibility into your network, ensuring that traffic flowing into your organization, be it from offices or individual users, is effectively filtered and secured through multiple layers of protection."

"Zscaler Cloud Firewall understands the applications in the current generation and adapts to the present generation cloud applications."

"It is a stable solution."

"If malicious traffic attacks our on-premises servers, then it gets blocked by Zscaler Cloud Firewall."

"Includes advanced tech protection."

"The scalability is okay. We have around 2200 people using this solution."

More Zscaler Cloud Firewall pros

Cons

"The solution's framework needs to be frequently updated in order to have a stable solution."

"The support we receive when we need to upgrade is not satisfactory and has room for improvement."

"The search tool needs improvement. It's very difficult to search for policies right now."

"Fortinet technical support is lacking, as OEM support is slightly better."

"We sometimes have issues with FortiGate's routing table in the latest firmware update. We had to downgrade the device because our customers complained about bugs."

"The support system could be improved."

"The performance and speed are aspects of the solution that could always be improved upon."

"It would be nice if backups could more easily migrate between different models."

More Fortinet FortiGate cons

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

"The price is a significant factor."

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

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

"There are limitations to bandwidth management."

"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."

More SonicWall NSv cons

"Certain criteria need to be met if you want to scale this solution."

"The issue right now is probably that Zscaler is not providing web browser isolation. Another solution, Menlo, offers this. For one customer, we had to send traffic to Menlo to do the isolation for us. It was requested by the customer so that they could integrate any iframe. Zscaler needs to add this type of feature in their next release."

"Zscaler Cloud Firewall should have a better understanding of all dynamic cloud applications."

"Pricing is a challenge."

"The product could improve its integration with some legacy systems."

"Its technical support services could be better."

"It would be better if they improved their policy, package visibility, and flexibility while we're creating rules for inspection. It could also be cheaper or more things could be included in the basic package. In the next release, I would like better coverage in the Asia Pacific region and better quality of service."

"Because it's on cloud, it doesn't allow application of extra settings."

More Zscaler Cloud Firewall cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Fortigate's pricing is competitive."

"It scales well if you know what to buy from a physical box standpoint. They seem to offer something for every level."

"It is an inexpensive solution."

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

"Fortinet FortiGate's price can be reduced."

"No comment."

"For the price, I'd rate it a ten because it's very cost-effective."

"The price is fair for what we get with FortiGate."

More Fortinet FortiGate pricing and cost advice

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

"SonicWall NSV is not very costly."

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

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

"The tool is moderately priced."

"We are currently using the trial version."

"Zscaler is priced too high compared to the cost of Fortinet."

"It comes at a significantly reduced cost while ensuring control and effectiveness."

"The product is a bit expensive compared to the solutions offered by its competitors, like Palo Alto. There is a need to make yearly payments towards the license in charges associated with the product."

"It is not the most budget-friendly solution, but it's important to consider its overall value."

"On a scale from one to ten, where one is cheap, and ten is expensive, I rate the solution's pricing an eight out of ten."

"There is an annual license required for the use of the Zscaler Cloud Firewall."

"The licensing is on a yearly basis. It is somewhere around 30 or 40 pounds per user for our organization."

"It is expensive for small businesses."

More Zscaler Cloud Firewall pricing and cost advice

See which vendors are best for you

Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Firewalls solutions are best for your needs.

See recommendations

848,716 professionals have used our research since 2012.

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Educational Organization

21%

Computer Software Company

14%

Comms Service Provider

Manufacturing Company

Computer Software Company

23%

Real Estate/Law Firm

Government

Legal Firm

Computer Software Company

14%

Financial Services Firm

12%

Manufacturing Company

Government

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...

See all answers

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...

See all answers

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 ...

See all answers

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...

See all answers

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

Which lesser known firewall product has the best chance at unseating the market leaders?

Netscope, Zscaler if they continue route they are on now. FIrewalls needs great deal of automation on each end, datac...

See all answers

What do you like most about Zscaler Cloud Firewall?

The product’s firewall and VPN package are fantastic compared to any other solution.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Zscaler Cloud Firewall?

The product is a bit expensive compared to the solutions offered by its competitors, like Palo Alto. There is a need ...

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 11% of the time

WatchGuard Firebox vs Fortinet FortiGate

Compared 5% of the time

SonicWall TZ vs Fortinet FortiGate

Compared 5% of the time

More Fortinet FortiGate Competitors

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

More SonicWall NSv Competitors

Azure Firewall vs Zscaler Cloud Firewall

Compared 18% of the time

OPNsense vs Zscaler Cloud Firewall

Compared 11% of the time

Check Point NGFW vs Zscaler Cloud Firewall

Compared 8% of the time

Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls vs Zscaler Cloud Firewall

Compared 6% of the time

Cisco Multicloud Defense vs Zscaler Cloud Firewall

Compared 5% of the time

More Zscaler Cloud Firewall Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Fortinet FortiGate

April 2025

Download Fortinet FortiGate product report

Buyer's Guide

Firewalls

March 2025

Download SonicWall NSv product report

Buyer's Guide

Zscaler Cloud Firewall

March 2025

Download Zscaler Cloud Firewall product report

Also Known As

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

SonicWall Network Security Virtual

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

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

Zscaler enables the world’s leading organizations to securely transform their networks and applications for a mobile and cloud first world. Its flagship services, Zscaler Internet Access and Zscaler Private Access, create fast, secure connections between users and applications, regardless of device, location, or network. Zscaler services are 100% cloud-delivered and offer the simplicity, enhanced security, and improved user experience that traditional appliances or hybrid solutions are unable to match. Used in more than 185 countries, Zscaler operates the world’s largest cloud security platform, protecting thousands of enterprises and government agencies from cyberattacks and data loss.

Check more details: https://www.zscaler.com/produc...

Zscaler

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

Zenith Live, Azure, Carlsberg Group

Buyer's Guide

SonicWall NSv vs. Zscaler Cloud Firewall

April 2025

Free Report: SonicWall NSv vs. Zscaler Cloud Firewall

Find out what your peers are saying about SonicWall NSv vs. Zscaler Cloud Firewall and other solutions. Updated: April 2025.

DOWNLOAD NOW

848,716 professionals have used our research since 2012.

See our SonicWall NSv vs. Zscaler Cloud Firewall report.

See our list of best Firewalls vendors.

We monitor all Firewalls reviews to prevent fraudulent reviews and keep review quality high. We do not post reviews by company employees or direct competitors. We validate each review for authenticity via cross-reference with LinkedIn, and personal follow-up with the reviewer when necessary.