We performed a comparison between Fortinet FortiGate and SonicWall TZ based on our users’ reviews in four categories. After reading all of the collected data, you can find our conclusion below.
Comparison Results: Based on the parameters we compared, SonicWall TZ outperforms Fortinet FortiGate in several key areas, including more satisfaction with features, service, and support and fewer complaints on pricing.
"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."
"It is easy to use. We chose this product for the possibility to have virtual domains (VDOMs). We are building another company in the group, and we would like to split the firewalling rules and policies between these two companies. Each company would be able to manage its own policies and security rules, which is an advantage of Fortinet FortiGate. We can define VDOMs, and every company can manage its own VDOM as if it has its own physical firewall, but in fact, we would be using the same physical appliance because we are also using the same internet lines. So, it allows us to reuse the existing resources without the disadvantage of having to compromise on policies and security. Each company can choose its own way of working."
"Its performance in fulfilling our requirements has been satisfactory."
"FortiGate firewalls are user-friendly, and I like the security profiling features."
"Some of the key features of the solution is that it has good reporting, you can receive many details from the connection, for example, clients and website information."
"The base firewall features are quite valuable to us."
"It's very easy to set up, it's very easy to make policies and, for an organization, that means you don't need IT expert in firewalls. You just need to have somebody who knows a little bit of IT, and that's it. With other products, you need someone with a "Masters" degree in firewalls."
"The security fabric is excellent."
"The features that we have found most valuable in SonicWall TZ are the intrusion and brute force attack prevention."
"The stability is very nice."
"It protects against intrusion while allowing needed access."
"We are very much happy with the support."
"Offers the right amount of control without being incredibly convoluted and frustrating."
"The solution is priced fairly and competitively."
"Most of the features are useful. It is easy to configure and easy to troubleshoot. I can see the utilization of different networks, and there are also App control features."
"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."
"With FortiGate, the main complaint that I have heard is about the technical support."
"There is room for improvement related to the logging and reporting aspect."
"Fortinet needs to overhaul its documentation."
"Technical support is good but the response time could be faster."
"Vulnerability scanning could be improved."
"There are some tiny bugs that sometimes affect the operations. In the past revision of it, there was a bug. Because of the bug, we had to downgrade the version. It happened only with the last revision."
"Improvement is needed in the Web Filter quotas to restrict users with allocated quotas."
"The debugging and troubleshooting has room for improvement."
"It would be good if Analyzer would be part of the stock license, so even if a layperson is getting the device, he or she doesn't forgets about ordering the Analyzer because it's already there."
"The solution's antivirus checking could be improved so that we can have a deeper inspection of the packets."
"Full monitoring obviously needs to be improved. We need full monitoring covered under the security licensing."
"The technical support has room for improvement."
"The reporting analytics could be improved, it is very unstable."
"Sometimes there is a glitch between the network connection. Last time, something happened on our IP phone, the SonicWall team did some updates to fix the issue. However, glitches happen very rarely. I did not experience any other types of problems."
"There can be an improvement in analysis and reporting. We need enhancement on the reporting side."
"The areas we would like to see improvement include more features available similar to the equivalent FortiGate appliance, e.g. SSL encryption and inspection. Two-factor authentication capability would be another additional feature that could be included in the next release."
Fortinet FortiGate is ranked 2nd in Firewalls with 306 reviews while SonicWall TZ is ranked 12th in Firewalls with 78 reviews. Fortinet FortiGate is rated 8.4, while SonicWall TZ is rated 8.0. The top reviewer of Fortinet FortiGate writes "It's a reliable solution that's easy to install and cheaper than competitors ". On the other hand, the top reviewer of SonicWall TZ writes "Has efficient user access control feature and good technical support services ". Fortinet FortiGate is most compared with Sophos XG, Cisco Secure Firewall, Netgate pfSense, Meraki MX and Fortinet FortiOS, whereas SonicWall TZ is most compared with Sophos XG, Netgate pfSense, Meraki MX, SonicWall NSa and WatchGuard Firebox. See our Fortinet FortiGate vs. SonicWall TZ report.
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