Sophos XG vs Sophos XGS comparison

Sophos XG and Sophos XGS are both solutions in the Firewalls category. Sophos XG is ranked #4 with an average rating of 8.3, while Sophos XGS is ranked #15 with an average rating of 8.4. Sophos XG holds a 11.2% mindshare in Firewalls, compared to Sophos XGS’s 2.0% mindshare. Additionally, 92% of Sophos XG users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 94% of Sophos XGS users who would recommend it.

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Jan 5, 2025

Sophos XG and Sophos XGS compete in the network security and firewall category. Sophos XGS holds the upper hand due to its advanced processor capabilities and improved network visibility.

Features: Sophos XG offers 90+ URL categories, two anti-malware engines, and flexible rule configurations. Sophos XGS excels in enhanced processor capabilities, improved application control, and seamless integration with endpoint security.

Room for Improvement: Sophos XG needs better link load balancing, firewall policy presentation, and HTTPS filtering without certificates. Sophos XGS should improve Active Directory integration and SD-WAN functionality, along with enhanced VPN capabilities and better documentation.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Both Sophos XG and XGS provide versatile deployment options, with XG known for its straightforward setup. Sophos XG faces criticism for slow technical support, whereas XGS benefits from a recent improvement in support structure.

Pricing and ROI: Sophos XG is a mid-range product with flexible licensing, offering good ROI for small to medium enterprises. In contrast, Sophos XGS is more expensive but justifies its cost with advanced features and integration, providing satisfactory ROI for those seeking high-level threat protection.

To learn more, read our detailed Sophos XG vs. Sophos XGS Report (Updated: January 2025).

Buyer's Guide

Sophos XG vs. Sophos XGS

January 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 February 2025, in the Firewalls category, the mindshare of Fortinet FortiGate is 20.7%, up from 17.7% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Sophos XG is 11.2%, up from 9.2% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Sophos XGS is 2.0%, up from 0.9% 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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SherifFouad

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

Gives us customizable policies, modifiable templates, and customized rules for single users

The major problem that I am facing, and I know that others are facing as well, is with the HTTPS classic, in general, or any classic that works on Secure Socket Layers. Let's say I set up a rule to block users from accessing YouTube or Facebook. The rule will only block the HTTP traffic, which is non-secure traffic. But most websites right now, most of the reputable web services providers, for extra security for their own web servers and for the user's security, provide a connection over Secure Socket Layer. The problem comes when you are trying to block, or allow, similar traffic that uses HTTPS. You have to create a certificate and import it into the users' web browsers, whatever they are using. Now, this is not a problem when you're dealing with users stationed and fixed in a specific site or location. They are using desktops, they will never take the desktops and go home with them, nor will they ever take the desktops and travel to another country, or another site with it. The problem occurs when you're dealing with roaming users who use laptops and have to move between different sites that have different types of policies applied to them. You have to import all sorts of certificates from each site into their browser. Doing so will most probably conflict with something else that is totally irrelevant and cause a problem. A way around this is if you are using authentication with Active Directory. But most of the time, especially if you're operating in a remote site with a very slow internet connection, if it's available in the first place, authentication with Active Directory is impossible. So it needs an easier way to apply HTTPS filters, without importing certificates into users' browsers and without the need for using an Active Directory. There must be a way around it. There are workarounds. But with applied workarounds, it will work out once, it won't work out properly 10 other times. That is my only request. Also, since Sophos took over Cyberoam, the online technical library and support library have become super messy. To get a piece of information is becoming a nightmare. They need to reorganize the online technical support and technical library. The easiest way to overcome this is to look at how the Cyberoam online technical library was structured and to build the Sophos technical library the same way. It is messy, totally unorganized, time-wasting. Instead of getting what you want in five minutes it takes half an hour.

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Jaffar Ali

Director Technical Services at TechnoBIZ

Has provided stability, security, ease of management, and better reporting options

People use Sophos XGS because the overall channel support is very good, so they don't face issues. Additionally, it is competitive in pricing against Fortinet in some cases, especially when considering high availability, email subscriptions, and gateways Sophos XGS has provided stability,…

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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 inspection and web security features are most valuable."

"The solution is extremely reliable."

"The product has been very stable, based on my ten to eleven years of experience."

"Valuable features include the Web Application Firewall, and it even has DLP (data leak prevention)."

"The IPsec tunnels are very easily created, and quite interoperable with devices from other vendors."

"The most valuable feature of the solution revolves around SSL VPN."

"This version is stable. I don't have any issues with this solution, in our environment, it works well."

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

More Fortinet FortiGate pros

"The solution is more cost-effective than FortiGate, Cisco and Palo Alto, which have very expensive licenses."

"The VPN access for users is also a great thing, especially nowadays when working from home."

"It is a very stable solution."

"The most valuable features of Sophos XG for our use cases are its firewall capabilities, its ability to connect to wide area and local networks, and its VPN functionality."

"We have found that the simplicity of the XG 210 is its most valuable feature."

"Great reporting feature and great customer support."

"The most valuable feature of this solution is the flexibility of it, it's pretty versatile."

"Compared to other firewalls that I had looked at, I thought Sophos was the better solution. It just seems to be easier to manage versus Cisco, Fortinet, or one of the other options I was looking at."

More Sophos XG pros

"It's easy to use, and the service is good. If anything goes wrong, their support system is very reliable."

"The most valuable feature of Sophos XGS is its ease of use."

"It is a scalable solution."

"It's much faster than the previous firewall, so you can do the work faster."

"Migration and support processes are good."

"Sophos XGS' most valuable features are protection and intrusion prevention detection."

"I find DLP, API, IP, SDK, and web control to be valuable features."

"The stability of Sophos XGS is very high."

More Sophos XGS pros

Cons

"Fortinet FortiGate is not very easy to use. The navigation could be improved to make it easier to use."

"The way everything is set up could be easier. Currently, people need a lot of experience and knowledge to administer it and to link it to devices."

"There were quite a few problems with the stability of the system."

"We have an issue with hotel guest vouchers."

"The main aspect of FortiGate that could be improved is load balancing. Our management team does not want to buy another appliance for only load balancing."

"In some cases, its initial setup could be hard for customers."

"There are SD-WAN network monitoring, SD-WAN features, Industrial Databases, Internet of Things, Detection, etc., however, we do have not licenses for those features. We thought that if you bought a product, you should have all of the features it offers. Why should you need to make so many extra purchases to enable features? They should have one price for the entire offering."

"Fortinet FortiGate needs to improve the logging and reporting. Additionally, the next-generation application's policies should be improved. When they were released they had bugs."

More Fortinet FortiGate cons

"I can't use the product's application control feature, making it a disadvantage of the solution where improvements are required."

"The UTM itself needs improvement. When you're navigating it seems like it takes forever to load anything. The hardware is okay. It's just the software that could be more responsive."

"Everything is working as expected at this moment, but the anti-spam solution in Sophos XG needs to be improved. It needs more granular features and more stability. The anti-spam solution currently doesn't have many features, and we would like to have more features. At this moment, there is no expression filter for anti-spam. We need something to be able to filter subjects or attachments in emails based on the keyword. Sometimes, there is an issue with anti-spam, and Sophos XG suddenly stops processing incoming or outgoing emails. The only solution for this issue is to restart the appliance. Their support should be improved. It takes a long time to escalate a support case from level one to level two."

"The solution should have the ability to be up to date with the most recent threats."

"The price should be cheaper."

"The user interface could be improved and more bandwidth management would be helpful."

"The support service level agreement in regard to the amount of time needed to upgrade things is too low. It should be higher."

"Scalability it is a bit limited. We did a sizing exercise before the purchase. But that was just to fit our current needs. There was no room for having an option to upgrade the device. The only option that we have if we are grow in the near future, is to go for another model with higher specs, which is actually more expensive. In other words it doesn't have that modularity ."

More Sophos XG cons

"There is no option for right-clicking on any feature after logging into the firewall. I am unable to open a feature in a new tab. In FortiGate, I can do it; in Sophos, I cannot."

"Level one technical support is not good at all and needs to be improved."

"Sophos XGS should improve its customer service and educate its implementation partner."

"We'd always like the solution to be a bit less in terms of cost."

"I would like to see a history of the monthly bandwidth utilization, the bandwidth consumption for a period of time."

"Having previously worked with the Astaro Security Gateway platform (now called Sophos UTM), I can attest that the configuration and dashboard for this older platform was easier to manage than that of both Sophos XG and XGS. If it were up to me, I would prefer to go back to the older SG dashboard."

"Sophos XGS could be improved by adding a built-in hyper-converged solution."

"The solution could improve inspection processes and troubleshooting for VPNs because this area is very weak."

More Sophos XGS cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Other firewalls are more expensive than Fortinet FortiGate, such as the Azure firewall."

"Before choosing a piece of equipment you have to take into account the cost-benefit offered by each one. Sometimes it is not worth paying a very cheap price to have a minimum level of security."

"Licensing is usually on a three-year period."

"I had to pay for the license for the firewall, but it is guaranteed to have updates. I expect a good service for it. It was about €1000 for a year, and there was no additional cost."

"Our licensing costs are on a yearly basis."

"The main reason we chose Fortinet FortiGate was that the price was better than the competition."

"The cost is too high... They have to focus on more features with less cost for the customer. If you see the market, where it's going, there are a lot of players offering more features for less cost."

"The license is yearly. We pay for the top end. It's called 360."

More Fortinet FortiGate pricing and cost advice

"I paid for a license for the solution for three years costing approximately $11,000. Additionally, I received the Web Appliance fee for paying for the full licencing."

"Sophos is very good when it comes to pricing."

"It is not that expensive compared to the other solutions. It is about the same price range as Fortigate, which we used previously. Licensing is on a yearly basis."

"There is no license required to use this solution."

"The pricing is very high."

"My customers pay a license for one or three years to use Sophos XG."

"Sophos XG can be considered as an averagely-priced tool in the market."

"A Sophos XG license costs approximately $45,000"

More Sophos XG pricing and cost advice

"I would like to see them reduce the price."

"Sophos XGS is a very expensive solution."

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

"Once you pay for the Sophos XGS hardware there is no license required. There are additional costs if you want the support. We have purchased support for three years."

"The pricing for Sophos is much better compared to that of Fortinet and Check Point. On a scale from one to five with one being expensive and five being competitive, I would rate Sophos' pricing at four. The pricing can be for the hardware appliance and the license, or it can be subscription-based. It can be around 3000 USD up to 25,000 USD per year depending on the model or series of the hardware you choose to buy."

"I can't recall the exact amount that was paid. It was likely around $12,000 or less - around $4,000 a year."

"The cost is comparable to other similar solutions."

"The licensing is reasonable. Comparing the cost of Sophos XGS with that of Fortinet or Palto Alto firewalls, for instance, it's not that expensive. However, the overall cost depends on the hardware you're using in addition to the licensing cost."

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

Computer Software Company

16%

Comms Service Provider

Manufacturing Company

Financial Services Firm

Computer Software Company

17%

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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Which is better - Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls or Sophos XG?

Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls have both great features and performance. I like that Palo Alto has regular threat si...

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What are the main differences in features between Sophos XG and FortiGate 80F?

Hi Arvind P , The Sophos XG firewall has a number of models right from XG86 to XG135w under the 1U Desktop Form Fact...

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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. ...

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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

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SonicWall TZ vs Fortinet FortiGate

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Netgate pfSense vs Sophos XG

Compared 11% of the time

OPNsense vs Sophos XG

Compared 8% of the time

SonicWall TZ vs Sophos XG

Compared 4% of the time

Meraki MX vs Sophos XG

Compared 3% of the time

Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls vs Sophos XG

Compared 3% of the time

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OPNsense vs Sophos XGS

Compared 16% of the time

Netgate pfSense vs Sophos XGS

Compared 7% of the time

WatchGuard Firebox vs Sophos XGS

Compared 6% of the time

Check Point NGFW vs Sophos XGS

Compared 5% of the time

Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls vs Sophos XGS

Compared 5% of the time

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Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Fortinet FortiGate

February 2025

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Buyer's Guide

Sophos XG

January 2025

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Buyer's Guide

Sophos XGS

January 2025

Download Sophos XGS product report

Also Known As

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

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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

Sophos XG is a versatile network security solution that offers network protection, firewall management, VPN access, web filtering, and intrusion prevention, providing comprehensive security for businesses from small offices to large enterprises.

Sophos XG stands out for its Synchronized Security, easy setup, and robust templates. It manages VPN access, protects against threats, and handles load balancing and traffic monitoring. The cloud-based management, centralized dashboard, and detailed logging make it user-friendly and reliable. Integration of features like email protection, SD-WAN, and unified threat management ensures a broad spectrum of security needs are covered. However, it could benefit from improvements in network security, user portals, technical support, and more scalable SD-WAN features.

What are the key features of Sophos XG?

Synchronized Security: Orchestrates threat intelligence sharing between endpoints and firewall.
Unlimited SSL VPN Clients: Provides extensive VPN client support for secure remote access.
Cloud-Based Management: Facilitates remote administration with a cloud-hosted platform.
Intrusion Prevention: Detects and blocks potential threats in real-time.
Centralized Dashboard: Offers a comprehensive view of network security status.

What benefits and ROI should users look for in reviews?

Scalability: Easily adapts to growing business needs.
User-Friendliness: Simplified setup and intuitive management.
Effective Threat Protection: Provides robust security against a wide range of threats.
Comprehensive Reporting: Delivers detailed insights and analytics.
Cost-Effectiveness: Competitive in pricing with flexible deployment options.

Sophos XG is implemented across industries such as healthcare, education, and finance to secure sensitive data and ensure regulatory compliance. It aids in endpoint protection, application control, load balancing, and traffic monitoring essential for these industries. Enhancing network security, simplifying VPN setup, and integrating adaptive security features remain focal points for businesses.

Sophos

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

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Buyer's Guide

Sophos XG vs. Sophos XGS

January 2025

Free Report: Sophos XG vs. Sophos XGS

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