Try our new research platform with insights from 80,000+ expert users

Sophos XGS vs WatchGuard Firebox comparison

Sponsored
 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Sep 16, 2024
 

Categories and Ranking

Fortinet FortiGate
Sponsored
Ranking in Firewalls
2nd
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.2
Number of Reviews
317
Ranking in other categories
Software Defined WAN (SD-WAN) Solutions (1st), WAN Edge (1st)
Sophos XGS
Ranking in Firewalls
14th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
7.0
Number of Reviews
82
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
WatchGuard Firebox
Ranking in Firewalls
13th
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.5
Number of Reviews
85
Ranking in other categories
Unified Threat Management (UTM) (4th)
 

Featured Reviews

DineshKumar28 - PeerSpot reviewer
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…
AbhijitMukherji - PeerSpot reviewer
Enhanced threat management, good filtering, and helpful support
The interface is really showing up on the edge now. It needs to be more modern and faster, with more rules visible on a single screen for better details rather than just six rules. The threat detection system could be more GUI-based or provide templates for common threats. We also need more updated version 20 study materials.
CarlosArdila - PeerSpot reviewer
Serves as the main firewall for customers' premises and data centers
The initial setup is straightforward. You can deploy it on-premises or using the cloud. If you configure the device to connect to the cloud, you can deploy the Firebox based on templates. You can add a template for a specific client and deploy it for a particular use case. For example, if you're setting it up for a restaurant or a cafe, you can have templates tailored for those businesses. This significantly reduces deployment time, especially if you have several customers of the same type of business. One person is enough for the solution's deployment, but it will run in less than an hour. A network security engineer meets with clients to gather configuration requirements. He prepares a configuration template before the implementation. When he arrives at the site, he turns on the device, applies the template, tests everything, and then migrates the settings from the existing router or firewall to the Firebox.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"FortiGate SD-WAN facilitated a smooth transition for our customers between their two internet service providers, ensuring uninterrupted connectivity without any downtime."
"Centralized monitoring, policy management, and virtualized appliances allow us to take control over our public and private infrastructure."
"Overall, the pricing of the solution is very good. The product offers good value."
"I like that you are able to manage FortiGate from the FortiManager to create a more centralized environment."
"FortiGate firewalls are user-friendly, and I like the security profiling features."
"The user interface (UI) is very, very good."
"The initial setup of Fortinet FortiGate was straightforward."
"Fortinet FortiGate's reliability is valuable."
"The centralized security is very good."
"The solution is stable and reliable."
"We are happy and satisfied with all the features."
"The solution offers more antimalware and antivirus feeds than others."
"It is scalable."
"The solution is cost-effective and easy to manage."
"In this solution, the most valuable feature is that it's a security device. Maintaining security is very valuable for us. The other feature that we did not find in other products is that it works well with thin client environments."
"It increases productivity in our company. Everything is protected."
"This product offers great protection using the default settings."
"It provides us with Layer 2 and Layer 3 security."
"I like that this product has very few issues."
"It's pretty simple to use. It's pretty simple to understand, and there's plenty of documentation. It does a pretty good job of what it is meant to do."
"One of the most valuable features is the Geolocation. Because we aren't a multinational corporation, it allows me to look at things which might be suspicious to make sure that they are legitimate transactions rather than people sniffing around the network."
"HostWatch makes it so I can see, in real-time, activity in the event that there is something weird happening on the network. This simplifies my job."
"The most valuable features of the WatchGuard Firebox are all the security and updated features. You are able to configure the solution from the cloud platform and the application and web interface are very nice."
"The reports are detailed."
 

Cons

"If they could extend their fabric towards other vendor environments for integration, that would be great."
"There is one big configuration file with no separations for the unique VDOMs. Maybe they could separate individual VDOM configuration files with the root VDOM configuration file referencing the individual VDOM config files.​"
"The stability of Fortinet FortiGate could improve."
"The solution could be more user friendly."
"Technical support needs to be improved."
"The search tool needs improvement. It's very difficult to search for policies right now."
"I don't like that anything more than very basic reporting is not included."
"The support we receive when we need to upgrade is not satisfactory and has room for improvement."
"I would like to see them in third-party evaluation reports like Gartner, Magic Quadrant, or Forrester to make it easier for us to show our customers that Sophos is a leader in the market."
"Sophos XGS could be improved by adding a built-in hyper-converged solution."
"There could be improvements for IPsec VPN setup."
"Sophos XGS could improve the price."
"All the security features could be better."
"A feature that could be improved in Sophos XGS is the ability to perform internal vulnerability checks."
"Areas for improvement in Sophos XGS include better balance when handling high availability configurations, smoother firmware upgrades without the need for turning off devices, and simplified configuration after firmware updates."
"In previous versions, NAT rules were easier to create. After version 18.5, creating a NAT rule has become more complex, requiring the creation of a separate policy and an additional component."
"The solution is lacking a professional website, they should be updated more often."
"I'd like to have better access to workstation monitoring, connection monitoring, and the amount of time an address is being used, to better gauge proper network utilization. If I knew that something was connected to a particular external location for an extended period that seems abnormal, I'd be able to act upon it."
"The product can improve in terms of layout to provide easier access and viewing to users, especially for the reports."
"We were able to take from an older configuration, build a new one quickly, and get it up and running, which didn't take long, but there was some pain around it."
"It would be wonderful if the WatchGuard team develops nice products for threat intelligence."
"The drawbacks are just sometimes not having the technical information that we need in order to easily make connections with all of our Internet-based clients."
"Make WatchGuard Firebox capable of integrating with third-party vendors like FireMon, Splunk, Tenable, etc."
"Once you start getting into proxy actions and setting up: "Okay, cool. Once this rule gets triggered, what actions have to happen?" I do know a few people who use WatchGuard and they still have to get assistance when they look at that. So I would file that as a con for WatchGuard. Proxy actions can be a little bit complicated."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"It is expensive. You need to pay for the subscription every year, which is very expensive. The subscription includes technical support and hardware exchange in case of failure."
"Fortinet bundles FortiGate with other products and because of this, the price is a little expensive to some SMB enterprises."
"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."
"The product pricing is reasonable."
"There is a subscription-based model to use Fortinet FortiGate. We pay annually for the solution along with the support. If you want to have all the updates, and security patches you will need to renew your support."
"For medium and enterprise organizations, FortiGate is more affordable."
"The pricing is justified. It's a little pricey, but what you pay for is what you get."
"If the customer is looking for SD-WAN, it comes free with FortiGate."
"The cost is comparable to other similar solutions."
"The cost of Sophos XGS is based on per unit, per appliance, and capacity."
"I would like to see them reduce the price."
"I can't recall the exact amount that was paid. It was likely around $12,000 or less - around $4,000 a year."
"The pricing for Sophos XGS is reasonable."
"We must purchase separate web server licenses, as they are not included in the regular device license. I would rate the product an eight out of ten in terms of price. It's relatively affordable."
"Sophos XGS costs around $75,000 for fifty units."
"Sophos XGS's pricing is very affordable."
"There is an additional cost for support on top of licensing. When I bought my new unit, I received additional time added to my support."
"I spent $600 or $800 on this product and I'm paying a couple of hundred dollars a year in a subscription service to keep the lights on, on it... It works out to $100 or $200 a year if you buy several years at once. It's fair."
"The licensing can be a one-time purchase unless you need the extra services for example twenty-four seven support."
"The licensing contract we have is on a three-year basis. There aren't any costs in addition to the standard licensing fees—usually, every three years, we just purchase or renew the same license and we are okay. Every six years, we completely change the firewall, but that's the usual schema. So after three years, we just renew the licenses for another three years, and then after that particular period of time, we just purchase another firewall equivalent to the ones that we currently use."
"We are utilizing an MSP licensing model and are content with the minimal amount spent on the devices rather than committing to long-term licensing."
"I think we might be subscribed to one or two of the premium features."
"The primary reason that we went with Firebox was its cost. It is very economical and it provided us with all the security functions that we were looking for at the time. And the throughput was more than what we required, so it was a very cost-effective device to deploy on our network."
"The pricing of WatchGuard is probably a little higher than the SonicWall, but it makes up for it in dependability. It's worth it to me, especially since it's not much higher. For just a little bit higher price you get the dependability of the firewall with the WatchGuard brand."
report
Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Firewalls solutions are best for your needs.
825,625 professionals have used our research since 2012.
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Educational Organization
22%
Computer Software Company
14%
Comms Service Provider
6%
Manufacturing Company
6%
Computer Software Company
18%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Comms Service Provider
7%
Educational Organization
5%
Computer Software Company
18%
Comms Service Provider
10%
Hospitality Company
6%
Educational Organization
6%
 

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...
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...
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 ...
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.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Sophos XGS?
The company is quite aggressive with its pricing, offering discounts. The competitive pricing is beneficial, although...
What needs improvement with Sophos XGS?
Sophos should work on its marketing strategy as it seems to lag behind Fortinet. Their pricing strategy creates diffi...
What is your primary use case for WatchGuard Firebox?
We are providing our services to all WatchGuard customers in the region.
What is your primary use case for WatchGuard Firebox?
We just use it as a secondary WiFi device. We're a small office and we needed to set up a WiFi device for a few of ou...
What is your primary use case for WatchGuard Firebox?
We're a hospital and we use it for developing our incoming and outgoing policies, and we also use it for VPN.
 

Also Known As

FortiGate 60b, FortiGate 60c, FortiGate 80c, FortiGate 50b, FortiGate 200b, FortiGate 110c, FortiGate, Fortinet Firewall
No data available
No data available
 

Overview

 

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
Information Not Available
Ellips, Diecutstickers.com, Clarke Energy, NCR, Wrest Park, Homeslice Pizza, Fortessa Tableware Solutions, The Phoenix Residence
Find out what your peers are saying about Sophos XGS vs. WatchGuard Firebox and other solutions. Updated: January 2025.
825,625 professionals have used our research since 2012.