SonicWall TZ vs Sophos UTM comparison

SonicWall and Sophos are both solutions in the Firewalls category. Additionally, 88% of SonicWall users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 89% of Sophos users who would recommend it.

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive Summary

We performed a comparison between SonicWall TZ and Sophos UTM 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 TZ vs. Sophos UTM Report (Updated: October 2024).

Buyer's Guide

SonicWall TZ vs. Sophos UTM

October 2024

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Categories and Ranking

Fortinet FortiGate

Featured Reviews

DineshKumar28

Senior Manager at Cognizant

Sep 25, 2024

Effective threat prevention with responsive customer support

We are using Fortinet FortiGate as a firewall Fortinet FortiGate has been invaluable. It has helped save costs due to its various features, reliable performance, very good UI, low latency, and stability. The Threat Intel engine in Fortinet FortiGate is highly rated for its effectiveness in…

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Sathish Ravichandran

Server & Cloud Architect at Icare

Oct 18, 2023

Has efficient user access control feature and good technical support services

The multi-core architecture allows the running of multiple instances for checking files, even handling more than 2 GB of data. It has inbuilt reporting features, reducing the cost of external monitoring software. It's well-suited for organizations that need to transfer and scan large files. The scalability is good for small and medium-sized enterprises, but for organizations with more than 200 users, the cost can become a limiting factor. It is more suitable for large enterprises, especially for organizations with over 4,000 users. However, there could be flexibility in licensing, allowing organizations to cater to their specific needs and pay for the features and licenses they require. It can help reduce costs. I rate its scalability a seven out of ten.

Read full review

SherifFouad

ICT Manager at a mining and metals company with 1,001-5,000 employees

Nov 30, 2022

Gives us the ability to manage our firewalls from the cloud and deploy a unified configuration onto them

From Cyberoam and the early builds of Sophos SG, they have developed higher integration between Sophos UTM and the computers' endpoint antiviruses. We can isolate the infected machine from the network, but an IT technician or cybersecurity professional can remove it from the machine and disinfect it. It has the capability of blocking HTTPS traffic, but you need the Sophos Central Intercept X subscription for that. It gives us the ability to manage our firewalls from the cloud and deploy a unified configuration onto them. Other competitors like Meraki have that ability, but they fail to optimize it in the way that Sophos has.

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

"FortiGate improved our security. It's one of the best hardware firewalls."

"The solution is stable."

"The email protection and VPN features are the most valuable."

"The network security and cloud security are most valuable."

"There are great templates, so you don't have to customize them if you don't want to. You do have the option to custom create some folders and some reports, however, with what is there, you don't really need to go through extra effort, as they already give you a lot of predefined views of reports and so forth."

"Security solution with a straightforward and quick setup. It's a stable and scalable product."

"It is very flexible to use."

"Anti-Spam web content filterinG."

More Fortinet FortiGate pros

"It does exactly what it says on the tin. It is good for protecting the business from being compromised. Its port protection is very good."

"SonicWall TZ is stable."

"It's a stable solution."

"The product’s filtering and URL-blocking features are valuable."

"One valuable feature of SonicWall TZ is the content filtering."

"No negative impression of the scalability."

"The most valuable feature of SonicWall TZ is the double authentication, where it asks for one password and again asks for a four-digit code, which changes every 30 seconds."

"It does what it says it is going to do."

More SonicWall TZ pros

"It gives us the ability to manage our firewalls from the cloud and deploy a unified configuration onto them. Other competitors like Meraki have that ability, but they fail to optimize it in the way that Sophos has."

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

"Efficient and effective - it's easy to separate rules."

"Installing Sophos UTM is straightforward. The deployment itself doesn't take long, but you have to spend some time planning and waiting for the hardware to be delivered."

"The most valuable feature of Sophos UTM is reporting, it is flexible. I can monitor the end user's devices, even when they are not on my network. It has good drill-down capabilities."

"Technical support is very responsive."

"The most valuable feature is the IPS. It also protects us from malware."

"It helped to connect our satellite offices to the main Amazon infrastructure in a circular way."

More Sophos UTM pros

Cons

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

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

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

"The captive portal could be improved."

"It needs more available central management."

"The logging details need to be improved."

"Maybe they could make some features more accessible, such as a way to translate directions between two networks that share the same subnets."

"There is a lot of improvement needed with SSL-VPN."

More Fortinet FortiGate cons

"In an upcoming release, SonicWall could improve by adding cloud management for all devices for free or at a nominal cost. Currently, they have a cloud management platform but is not free. We have the MySonicWall portal for purchasing from them for software updates and renewals."

"We have been facing issues with reporting."

"We require centralized monitoring of the network features, which they have but they are not to the level that we require."

"The marketing of SonicWall has to be increased. Currently, when it comes to firewalls, most people go for Cisco and Palo Alto. SonicWall should improve its marketing and branding policies to increase sales. Other than that, it is good."

"I would like them to make the interface a little bit easier to use so you can find out where in the heck you're going instead of having to go to 15 different places to get something installed."

"The lack of support is having me look into other solutions to replace SonicWALL."

"The product needs more free SSL VPN user licenses as the current offering is limited."

"The solution has lost the trust of its customers because of moving from one company to another."

More SonicWall TZ cons

"The technical support only communicates via email. I would prefer to communicate directly with someone."

"As it stands right now, when we have an internet failure on WAN1, it takes several minutes before our WAN2 connection picks up the traffic"

"It's stable, but the reaction time of the GUI is terrible."

"I would like this solution to support ICAP. Also, they no longer support on-premises management, and are forcing clients to use centralized management via the cloud, which I don't agree with."

"There can be a delay when it comes to reaching out to technical support."

"It does have built-in policies, which enable you to disable USB devices, etc. It would be nice if they had more policies because there are not that many of them."

"Sophos UTM could improve the way the configuration has to be done. I have to do the configuration through the command line interface but if it could be done through the graphical user interface it would be much better."

"I think that additional metrics features are needed to be able to monitor other areas or to monitor as much as you can, at a fine-grain resolution."

More Sophos UTM cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"It is not a very costly product if you compare it with other products. The return on investment is also good. If you compare the return of investment and money that you are spending on this product with Palo Alto, Cisco, Check Point, and other solutions, the investment is very less. We are happy with this solution. The optional licenses are there, and you can choose which one you want and which one to avoid."

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

"Easy to understand licensing requirements."

"In terms of the market, it's not a cheap product, but it's cost-effective."

"The price is high compared to some of the other solutions."

"Its pricing is competitive with other solutions."

"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."

"They are very competitive, but we like to have the factory warranty taken care of."

More Fortinet FortiGate pricing and cost advice

"Customers are required to pay for a yearly subscription."

"The solution is expensive."

"There are a few features that are licensed and there should be more that are licensed. The price of the solution is midrange compared to others, I have not had anyone complain."

"The product is not expensive, but it is not cheap."

"Licensing fees are on a monthly basis."

"We have to pay yearly. Its licensing can be improved, and they should provide more features, such as AV, email filtering, and so on with the basic subscription."

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

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

More SonicWall TZ pricing and cost advice

"There is a license for the device and for the software. We pay annually for the solution and the cost is competitive."

"It is the cheapest product available. It's good if you have a low budget."

"You cannot really say that the solution is expensive, given the protection it gives."

"It will cost approximately $67 US per device. We have 300 devices in our organization."

"I think the pricing of Sophos is very fair."

"Sophos UTM's pricing is on the cheaper side."

"For under 50 users, MSP licensing is profitable."

"Go to a vendor and let them assess your needs so you can get a right-sized device."

More Sophos UTM pricing and cost advice

See which vendors are best for you

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Comparison Review

it_user216600

Senior Technical Consultant with 51-200 employees

Jan 3, 2016

Sophos UTM vs. Fortinet FortiGate

I have used both Sophos and Fortinet products in production and I have found the Sophos UTM appliances (hardware and virtual) to be a better fit most of the time -- with a few caveats which I will touch on below. In both instances, the transition from TMG will be mostly straightforward. The main…

Read full review

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Educational Organization

22%

Computer Software Company

15%

Manufacturing Company

Comms Service Provider

Computer Software Company

19%

Manufacturing Company

Construction Company

Educational Organization

Computer Software Company

18%

Government

Educational Organization

Financial Services 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...

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

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...

See all answers

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

SonicWall TZ is priced average compared to other products. We usually compare prices from different local suppliers t...

See all answers

What Is The Biggest Difference Between Sophos UTM and Sophos XG?

The Sophos UTM is a UTM and Sophos XG is the NGFW. First, you must know about the difference between a UTM and NGFW. ...

See all answers

What do you like most about Sophos UTM?

The most valuable feature of Sophos UTM is the endpoint protection feature.

See all answers

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

The product pricing and licensing are higher, but they offer good value for the features and stability provided.

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 12% of the time

WatchGuard Firebox vs Fortinet FortiGate

Compared 5% of the time

More Fortinet FortiGate Competitors

Sophos XG vs SonicWall TZ

Compared 16% of the time

Netgate pfSense vs SonicWall TZ

Compared 9% of the time

Meraki MX vs SonicWall TZ

Compared 7% of the time

SonicWall NSa vs SonicWall TZ

Compared 7% of the time

WatchGuard Firebox vs SonicWall TZ

Compared 7% of the time

More SonicWall TZ Competitors

Netgate pfSense vs Sophos UTM

Compared 17% of the time

OPNsense vs Sophos UTM

Compared 14% of the time

Sophos XG vs Sophos UTM

Compared 12% of the time

Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls vs Sophos UTM

Compared 7% of the time

WatchGuard Firebox vs Sophos UTM

Compared 5% of the time

More Sophos UTM Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Fortinet FortiGate

November 2024

Download Fortinet FortiGate product report

Buyer's Guide

SonicWall TZ

October 2024

Download SonicWall TZ product report

Buyer's Guide

Sophos UTM

October 2024

Download Sophos UTM product report

Also Known As

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

Dell SonicWALL TZ

Astaro

Learn More

Fortinet

SonicWall

Sophos

Overview

Fortinet FortiGate enhances network security, prevents unauthorized access, and offers robust firewall protection. Valued features include advanced threat protection, reliable performance, and a user-friendly interface. It improves efficiency, streamlines processes, and boosts collaboration, providing valuable insights for informed decision-making and growth.

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.

Sophos UTM is a unified threat management platform designed to protect your businesses from known and emerging malware including viruses, rootkits and spyware. The solution provides a complete network security package with everything your organization needs in a single modular appliance.

Sophos UTM Features

Sophos UTM has many valuable key features. Some of the most useful ones include:

Web and Email Filtering
General Management
Network Protection
Network Routing and Services
Advanced Threat Protection
Authentication
Email Encryption and DLP
Web Policy
End-User Portal
VPN IPsec Client, VPN SSL Client, and Clientless VPN
Web Application Firewall Protection
UTM Endpoint Protection and Management
SEC Endpoint Integration
Logging and Reporting

Sophos UTM Benefits

There are many benefits to implementing Sophos UTM. Some of the biggest advantages the solution offers include:

Simplifies your IT security without the complexity of multiple point solutions
Intuitive interface to help you quickly create policies to control security risks
Provides clear, detailed reports to give you the insight you need to improve your network performance and protection
Complete control to block, allow, shape and prioritize applications
Two-factor authentication with one-time password (OTP)
Integrated wireless controller
Allows you to connect remote offices with easy VPN and Wi-Fi

Reviews from Real Users

Below are some reviews and helpful feedback written by PeerSpot users currently using the Sophos UTM solution.

PeerSpot user Dana B., Network Administrator at a manufacturing company, says “The web and email filtering are the two biggest and most valuable aspects of the solution for us. The solution overall has just been a good, cost-effective solution for us. The solution offers a lot of functionality. The solution scales well. We've found the technical support to be helpful. The stability and performance are quite good.”

A Technical Director at a security firm mentions, "Sophos SG UTM had all the basic functionality that you needed. It is user-friendly and easy to manage for any integrator."

Marek M., Senior Network Engineer at a computer software company, comments, “Sophos UTM is the simplest of these products to set up. If you follow the instructions using the wizard, which is just a few steps, then you will have a firewall to protect you and your customer.”

A Software Sales Manager at a tech services company explains, “The overall visibility of the console is what I find most valuable, plus it's very user-friendly. It can be integrated with other solutions such as SOAR, SIEM, etc., even when you have an existing firewall. I really like that the console can be integrated. You'll see everything on the same window, and the single window feature of the machine is so good. These are the features I really like.”

James D., IT Manager at Manual Workers Union, states, “The fact that it's on the cloud means we don't have to administer it on our network or deal with a physical machine, which saves us money. The solution has many great features. From the console, we can start different scannings on different machines. We enjoy the centralized reporting part of it. The initial setup is simple. We enjoy its general stability. The solution can scale. So far, the solution has been problem-free.”

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

AeroM_xico Delta TechOps, Unimat

One Housing Group

Buyer's Guide

SonicWall TZ vs. Sophos UTM

October 2024

Free Report: SonicWall TZ vs. Sophos UTM

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