SonicWall NSa vs Sophos XGS comparison

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117,316 views|85,923 comparisons
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8,706 views|6,461 comparisons
87% willing to recommend
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6,206 views|4,250 comparisons
92% willing to recommend
Comparison Buyer's Guide
Executive Summary

We performed a comparison between SonicWall NSa and Sophos XGS 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 NSa vs. Sophos XGS Report (Updated: May 2024).
772,679 professionals have used our research since 2012.
Q&A Highlights
Question: Which firewall to choose for a medium-sized company with 150 users: Sophos XGS 2100 or SonicWall 2700?
Answer: Some find that the Sophos XGS 2100 is the better firewall for a medium-sized company with 150 users and ~120 concurrent connections, as it offers better performance, more advanced security features, and a more user-friendly interface. However, it is reportedly more expensive. If you are looking for a more affordable firewall with good performance and a wide range of features, the SonicWall NSa 2700 may be a good option. However, the Sophos XGS 2100 may be the better choice if you need the best possible performance and security. The best firewall for your organization should be based on specific needs and requirements, so it may be best to consider the abovementioned factors when deciding. Below are some advantages and disadvantages of the two firewalls, as shared by several users: Sophos XGS 2100: Advantages Its performance may be better than the performance of Sonicall NSa 2700 They say the solution has more advanced security features Its interface may be more user-friendly Disadvantages Reportedly has a higher cost SonicWall NSa 2700 Advantages Reportedly more affordable Good performance Wide range of features Disadvantages Its interface may be less user-friendly They say it has fewer advanced security features
Featured Review
Quotes From Members
We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use.
Here are some excerpts of what they said:
Pros
"The interface is very good.""A strong point of FortiGate is the graphical interface is complete and easy to use.""Consolidated our network environment at all locations, but mainly at our datacenter.""The pricing is excellent. It's much less expensive than Cisco.""FortiGate is very simple to manage and easy to use.""The features that we have found most valuable are the SSL VPN and the User Portal.""The performance is good.""The most valuable features of Fortinet FortiGate are it is one of the most mature firewalls in the UTM bundle."

More Fortinet FortiGate Pros →

"It is a brilliant product. It is a Unified Threat Management (UTM) system. It has got about 11 security services that take care of your perimeter security. It takes care of any kind of cyber threats that could come in. It takes care of creating VPNs between two SonicWalls instantly and very easily. It has got spyware in it as well as a firewall. It has also got a gateway antivirus and an application firewall that can block things from outside.""SonicWall has all the usual functions, like LAN configurations, security features, word filters, etc., but it also has the CFS agent, which isn't available in any other firewall. Reporting port support is also there.""This product is user-friendly and easy to configure.""SonicWall NSa's most valuable features are the ease of configuration and the GUI.""SonicWall has USCS and anti-virus at the gateway level. Everything is filtered, and if it detects an intruder, it drops the line.""What I like best about SonicWall NSa is the security it offers compared to other solutions in the market. Its reduction rate is also better than others.""The most valuable features to us are the security services which is a critical factor in our deployment. Today we need to have all the security services enabled because firewalls are not enough.""The functionality is the same whether it is on hardware or a virtual appliance. The interface is the same. It's nice that it's standardized."

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"The feature that I find most valuable is the synchronized security option where the endpoint talks to the firewall.""Sophos XGS has contributed to the reduction of the overall security costs of our company's customers.""The threat intelligence capabilities of the tool are good.""The solution offers more antimalware and antivirus feeds than others.""The most valuable features in Sophos XGS are identity and VPN. It is a very good solution that is able to detect and prevent a lot of malicious activity.""The initial setup is very user-friendly because they have graphical user interface options and command line interface options. I would give the initial setup a rating of five out of five.""Sophos XGS' best features are simplicity and its built-in reporting tool.""The initial setup is straightforward."

More Sophos XGS Pros →

Cons
"The UI could be improved.""The non-error conserve mode has room for improvement.""The sniffing packets or packet captures, can be simplified and improved because it's a little confusing.""I think that the infrastructure for the VPN could be improved. The way that it is bundled also made it difficult to use and sell as it is too expensive.""Compared to some other products, the DLP is not at par for the moment.""Technical support is good but the response time could be faster.""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.""The pricing could always be better."

More Fortinet FortiGate Cons →

"The product could expand its throughput capacity.""The cost could be lower. There could also be more flexibility for smaller companies.""We still get phishing emails that manage to come through from time to time.""We also use the Sophos Firewall for web configuration, which we don't have in SonicWall. Only Sophos has those options. If SonicWall included that feature, that would be a benefit for us.""Some of the configurations could be better.""Overall, Im satisfied with SonicWall NSa, but it would be better if they could add a small terminal to each device. This would help me deal with certain issues by running a small bot onto any PC.""One area for improvement in SonicWall NSa is the GUI. It isn't easy to understand. The support for SonicWall NSa is mediocre, which is another area for improvement.""The problem primarily with SonicWall is it's a Unix box. And it's all software, all the activities, blocking, censoring, everything has to happen in the software. If you start hitting the box with a lot of sessions it slows down and that's not what I expect from a firewall."

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"The reporting could be better.""When it comes to different interfaces there is some speed issue that can be improved in Sophos XGS.""Support is great, however, it can always be improved.""Sophos XGS's response to zero-day attacks could be improved.""Sophos XGS could improve the automation system. It could be better if there was some level of automation, attacks automation, meaning if this happens, then it automatically executes a particular process.""In future releases, this solution could have more graphical elements on the dashboard to make it easier to understand.""It would be useful if Sophos XGS included DDNS-based features.""They should customers who are facing issues with their product reviews; they found bots in it. If they can do their proper research and use the user analysis and testing, that would greatly help the clients."

More Sophos XGS Cons →

Pricing and Cost Advice
  • "Fortinet has one or two license types, and the VPN numbers are only limited by the hardware chassis make."
  • "These boxes are not that expensive compared to what they can do, their functionality, and the reporting you receive. Fortinet licensing is straightforward and less confusing compared to Cisco."
  • "Go for long term pricing negotiated at the time of purchase."
  • "Work through partners for the best pricing."
  • "The value is the capability of having multiple services with one unique license, not having the limitation per user licensing schema, like other vendors."
  • "Easy to understand licensing requirements."
  • "​We saved a bundle by not needing all the past appliances from an NGFW.​"
  • "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."
  • More Fortinet FortiGate Pricing and Cost Advice →

  • "Additional resources are too expensive."
  • "Considering the market, I believe that the price of this solution is great."
  • "In our evaluation, we found that the costs of deploying the solution, and also purchasing the hardware and licenses, were very attractive."
  • "Licensed features provide application control, content filtering, antivirus, and anti-malware all in a single appliance."
  • "The CPUs are not able to compete with a similar price point to the Fortinet, WatchGuard, or Palo Alto product."
  • "A firewall doing anti-spam might be a low cost solution, but it is not your best strategy."
  • "You need their analyzer to properly generate reports. This is an expensive, licensed feature, with a complex application or appliance back-end."
  • "If you want to connect more than five concurrent users by VPN then you have to pay an additional fee."
  • More SonicWall NSa Pricing and Cost Advice →

  • "I live in Bolivia and the price of Sophos XGS is high. However, they have adjusted their price a little over the past while but the price could still be less expensive to be affordable."
  • "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 price of the solution is reasonable and their target market is small to medium-sized companies."
  • "Sophos XGS is priced lower than some of its competitors, such as Fortinet"
  • "The license for Sophos XGS is for three years, paid on a yearly basis. Everything is included with the license; there are no additional fees."
  • "The cost is comparable to other similar solutions."
  • "The price of Sophos XGS is less than competitors worldwide. However, in Turkey the solution is expensive."
  • "The licensing cost is in the normal range and is not very costly."
  • More Sophos XGS Pricing and Cost Advice →

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    Questions from the Community
    Top Answer: When you compare these firewalls you can identify them with different features, advantages, practices and usage at… more »
    Top Answer:From my experience regarding both the Sophos and FortiGate firewalls, I personally would rather use FortiGate. I know… more »
    Top Answer:As a solution, Sophos UTM offers a lot of functionality, it scales well, and the stability and performance are quite… more »
    Top Answer:The product blocks access when I visit unrecognized websites.
    Top Answer:The solution is cheaper than others. It has a reasonable price.
    Top Answer:The dashboard must be improved. The product should enable alerts. When hackers compromise our websites and applications… more »
    Top Answer:The policies are the greatest feature. They allow us to configure granular control over our network traffic.
    Top Answer:The product’s pricing is average compared to other solutions.
    Top Answer:I do not get notifications regarding ISP downtime. It would be better if I could get notifications related to the… more »
    Comparisons
    Also Known As
    FortiGate 60b, FortiGate 60c, FortiGate 80c, FortiGate 50b, FortiGate 200b, FortiGate 110c, FortiGate
    NSA 250M, NSA 2600, NSA 3600, NSA 4600, NSA 5600, Dell SonicWALL NSA
    Learn More
    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.

    SonicWall NSa dispenses advanced threat protection using a high-performance security platform. The NSa series implements intuitive deep learning technologies in the SonicWall Capture Cloud Platform to dispatch the automated real-time threat detection and deterrence enterprise organizations need today. SonicWall Network Security appliance (NSa) series is best for mid-sized organizations to distributed enterprises and data centers.

    SonicWall NSa series next-generation firewalls (NFGWS) combine two very robust security ideologies to deliver advanced threat protection to keep users’ networks safe. Boosting SonicWall’s multi-engine advanced threat protection (ATP) is their Real-time Deep Memory Inspection (RTDMI™). The RTDMI intuitively identifies and stops aggressive zero-day threats and vicious malware by investigating memory directly. This real-time process allows SonicWall RTDMI to be accurate, lessen false positives and discover and alleviate malicious threats and attacks. SonicWall’s single-pass Reassembly-Free Deep Packet Inspection (RFDPI) will audit every byte of each and every packet by investigating both outbound and inbound traffic on the firewall. By combining the SonicWall Capture Cloud Platform along with on-box offerings such as intrusion prevention, web/URL filtering, and anti-malware, the NSa series is able to block the most malicious and dangerous threats at the gateway.

    Additionally, SonicWall firewalls supply absolute protection by executing complete inspection and decryption of SSH and TLS/SSL encryption connections - no matter the port or protocol. The firewall takes a deep dive into each and every packet (the header and data) routing out any anomalies, zero-day intrusions, threats, and protocol non-compliance. Users can also define unique criteria specific to their organization to ensure their networks remain safe. This aggressive deep packet inspection is able to identify and block malicious attacks, stop dangerous malware downloads, prevent the spread of infections, and defeat command and control (C&C) communications and data exfiltration. Protocols involving inclusion and exclusion allow users complete control to decide, based on specific governance policies, organizational policies, or government or legal compliance, which traffic is to be investigated for decryption or inspection.

    SonicWall Nsa offers enterprise organizations the network control and fluid flexibility they desire using an intrusion prevention system (IPS), VPN, real-time visualization, and other advanced powerful security features, making it a popular firewall solution in today's marketplace.

    Reviews from Real Users

    “The features that I have found most valuable are the firewalling, which is very good, and the GUI which is very intuitive. It is easy to use and provides great security.” - Network Engineer at a maritime company

    “What's valuable in SonicWall NSa is the ATP (advanced threat protection). It can protect users from malicious links. SonicWall NSa also has a Sandboxing service that is very helpful for us, especially when end users accidentally click on malicious links. Another valuable feature of this solution is that it is very useful for site-to-site VPN connectivity issues. SonicWall NSa has very good hardware. I also love that SonicWall has very good technical support, who are very knowledgeable, provide good suggestions, and they're easy to reach.” - Mohammed M., Network Administrator at Transgulf Readymix

    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. 

    Sample Customers
    1. Amazon Web Services 2. Microsoft 3. IBM 4. Cisco 5. Dell 6. HP 7. Oracle 8. Verizon 9. AT&T 10. T-Mobile 11. Sprint 12. Vodafone 13. Orange 14. BT Group 15. Telstra 16. Deutsche Telekom 17. Comcast 18. Time Warner Cable 19. CenturyLink 20. NTT Communications 21. Tata Communications 22. SoftBank 23. China Mobile 24. Singtel 25. Telus 26. Rogers Communications 27. Bell Canada 28. Telkom Indonesia 29. Telkom South Africa 30. Telmex 31. Telia Company 32. Telkom Kenya
    Orange County Rescue Mission, First Source, Michaels & Taylor, Green Clinic Health System, Aspire Chiltern Skills and Enterprise Centre, UnitedStack, Faith Lutheran College Redlands, Celtic Manor Resort, Star Kay White, Air Works, Unimat Life, NHS Yorkshire and Humber Commissioning Support (YHCS), Hutt City Council, Mato Grosso do Sul, Nspyre
    Information Not Available
    Top Industries
    REVIEWERS
    Comms Service Provider16%
    Computer Software Company9%
    Financial Services Firm8%
    Manufacturing Company7%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Educational Organization20%
    Computer Software Company15%
    Comms Service Provider7%
    Manufacturing Company6%
    REVIEWERS
    Manufacturing Company18%
    Educational Organization8%
    Retailer8%
    Construction Company8%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Computer Software Company16%
    Retailer7%
    Government7%
    Comms Service Provider6%
    REVIEWERS
    Comms Service Provider20%
    Manufacturing Company10%
    Energy/Utilities Company7%
    Outsourcing Company7%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Computer Software Company17%
    Comms Service Provider8%
    Construction Company7%
    Manufacturing Company7%
    Company Size
    REVIEWERS
    Small Business48%
    Midsize Enterprise23%
    Large Enterprise30%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Small Business28%
    Midsize Enterprise32%
    Large Enterprise40%
    REVIEWERS
    Small Business58%
    Midsize Enterprise20%
    Large Enterprise22%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Small Business40%
    Midsize Enterprise16%
    Large Enterprise44%
    REVIEWERS
    Small Business69%
    Midsize Enterprise11%
    Large Enterprise20%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Small Business43%
    Midsize Enterprise18%
    Large Enterprise39%
    Buyer's Guide
    SonicWall NSa vs. Sophos XGS
    May 2024
    Find out what your peers are saying about SonicWall NSa vs. Sophos XGS and other solutions. Updated: May 2024.
    772,679 professionals have used our research since 2012.

    SonicWall NSa is ranked 19th in Firewalls with 80 reviews while Sophos XGS is ranked 18th in Firewalls with 62 reviews. SonicWall NSa is rated 7.8, while Sophos XGS is rated 7.8. The top reviewer of SonicWall NSa writes "Great performance and security with reasonable pricing". On the other hand, the top reviewer of Sophos XGS writes "Easy to use, simple to learn, and offers great reporting". SonicWall NSa is most compared with SonicWall TZ, Meraki MX, Sophos XG, Cisco Secure Firewall and SonicWall NSv, whereas Sophos XGS is most compared with Sophos XG, OPNsense, Netgate pfSense, WatchGuard Firebox and Zyxel Unified Security Gateway. See our SonicWall NSa vs. Sophos XGS 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.