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    Overview
    ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price

    FortiGate

    Score8.2 out of 10
    N/AFortiNet FortiGate is a firewall option with high integrability. It offers a variety of deployment options and next-gen firewall capabilities, including integration with IaaS cloud platforms and public cloud environments.N/A

    Sophos SG Firewall Appliances

    Score9 out of 10
    N/ASophos SG Firewall Appliances are designed to provide optimal protection for organizations of all sixes from small remote offices, to global organizations requiring high-availability andN/A
    Pricing
    FortiGateSophos SG Firewall Appliances
    Editions & Modules
    No answers on this topic
    No answers on this topic
    Offerings
    Pricing Offerings
    FortiGateSophos SG Firewall Appliances
    Free Trial
    YesNo
    Free/Freemium Version
    NoNo
    Premium Consulting/Integration Services
    NoNo
    Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
    Additional DetailsFortiGate pricing starts at $250 for home office use, up to $300,000 for large enterprise appliances. Must contact sales team for pricing.
    More Pricing Information
    Community Pulse
    FortiGateSophos SG Firewall Appliances
    Considered Both Products
    Fortinet
    No answer on this topic
    Sophos
    Chose Sophos SG Firewall Appliances
    Both are equally good when comparing the features, FortiGate has a better dashboard while Sophos SG Firewall Appliances has good vpn texhniques.Overall price was better for Sophos SG Firewall Appliances,So we considered this for our Remote Branch Location .
    Incentivized
    Chose Sophos SG Firewall Appliances
    We decided to go with Sophos SG Firewall because it is more cost-effective solution than Fortinet FortiGate
    Incentivized
    Chose Sophos SG Firewall Appliances
    CheckPoint It takes a lot of time to work with it as its deployment is mentioned in the three teir architecture section.
    Incentivized
    Chose Sophos SG Firewall Appliances
    We choose the Sophos SG firewall due to the better price offered by the Vendor.
    Incentivized
    Chose Sophos SG Firewall Appliances
    Sophos does hold its ground against its main competitor which is Fortinet in their respective markets in my opinion. Sophos does excel in some key areas like support and antivirus. But compared to mammoths like your Zscaler and Palo's which are designed for large-scale …
    Incentivized
    Key User Insights
    Would buy again
    100%
    Would buy again
    48 Answers
    100%
    Would buy again
    8 Answers
    Delivers good value for the price
    100%
    Delivers good value for the price
    47 Answers
    100%
    Delivers good value for the price
    7 Answers
    Happy with the feature set
    100%
    Happy with the feature set
    48 Answers
    100%
    Happy with the feature set
    8 Answers
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    100%
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    43 Answers
    100%
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    6 Answers
    Implementation went as expected
    98%
    Implementation went as expected
    46 Answers
    100%
    Implementation went as expected
    7 Answers
    Features
    FortiGateSophos SG Firewall Appliances
    Firewall
    Comparison of Firewall features of Fortinet FortiGate and Sophos SG Firewall Appliances
    Feature
    Fortinet FortiGate
    8.9
    40 Ratings
    3% above category average
    Sophos SG Firewall Appliances
    10.0
    5 Ratings
    15% above category average
    Identification Technologies8.638 Ratings10.05 Ratings
    Visualization Tools8.538 Ratings10.05 Ratings
    Content Inspection9.439 Ratings10.05 Ratings
    Policy-based Controls9.040 Ratings10.05 Ratings
    Active Directory and LDAP9.039 Ratings10.05 Ratings
    Firewall Management Console8.640 Ratings10.05 Ratings
    Reporting and Logging7.440 Ratings10.05 Ratings
    VPN8.640 Ratings10.05 Ratings
    High Availability9.535 Ratings10.05 Ratings
    Stateful Inspection9.538 Ratings10.05 Ratings
    Proxy Server10.028 Ratings10.03 Ratings
    Best Alternatives
    FortiGateSophos SG Firewall Appliances
    Small Businesses
    SonicWall NSA Series
    Score8.5 out of 10
    SonicWall NSA Series
    Score8.5 out of 10
    Medium-sized Companies
    Barracuda CloudGen Firewall
    Score9.4 out of 10
    Barracuda CloudGen Firewall
    Score9.4 out of 10
    Enterprises
    Cisco Adaptive Security Appliance (ASA) Software
    Score9 out of 10
    Cisco Adaptive Security Appliance (ASA) Software
    Score9 out of 10
    All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
    User Ratings
    FortiGateSophos SG Firewall Appliances
    Likelihood to Recommend
    9.0
    (67 ratings)
    10.0
    (5 ratings)
    Likelihood to Renew
    9.9
    (4 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Usability
    9.0
    (8 ratings)
    10.0
    (1 ratings)
    Availability
    10.0
    (2 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Performance
    10.0
    (1 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Support Rating
    8.6
    (26 ratings)
    10.0
    (1 ratings)
    In-Person Training
    10.0
    (1 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Implementation Rating
    8.0
    (4 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Configurability
    9.0
    (1 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Ease of integration
    7.0
    (1 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Product Scalability
    9.8
    (2 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Vendor post-sale
    10.0
    (1 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Vendor pre-sale
    9.0
    (1 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    User Testimonials
    FortiGateSophos SG Firewall Appliances
    Likelihood to Recommend
    Fortinet
    Fortinet FortiGate addressed an immediate security issue we had a few years ago. The device gave us a much clearer picture of the activities on our network and also more importantly, increased our awareness of threats from the internet as a whole. Fortinet FortiGate helps us to mitigate these threats with regular signature updates from Fortiguard labs, identifying certain characteristics which, once recognised by Fortinet FortiGate, can be harnessed to deploy powerful 'playbooks'.
    Incentivized
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    Sophos
    It is well-suited for all sizes of organizations. It will help them to safeguard their network from various cyber threats like ransomware, phishing, malware, etc. It will provide them with many features like deep packet inspection, web filtering, application control, etc. in one place. It will also help them optimize bandwidth usage
    Incentivized
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    Pros
    Fortinet
    • SD-WAN - Load balancing of Internet traffic is a USP of Fortigate and makes it stand tall in the competition. Be it 3 or more Internet Links, multiple Subnets/segments of users to distribute and bandwidth load balancing for links and users. SLA based monitoring of Internet Links / MPLS links, makes it even better to choose the links on the basis of performance (Latency, packet loss, Jitter etc).
    • SSL VPN configuration - As we all have WFH force (to some extend or all employee) during Covid-19, it is impossible to plan BCP without having a SSL VPN. In Fortigate, the SSL VPN configuration is very easy with the help of wizard. The deep CLI-level debugging is also very helpful in troubleshooting. Type of tunnel can be easily configured - Full Tunnel or Split Tunnel for SSL.
    • Explicit Proxy - This is also a great feature to shape and re-route the traffic, configuring the Proxy on the Firewall itself. We are using this feature in Pilot for now, and planned to rollout in few weeks looking at the success rate of the POC.
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    Sophos
    • It helps you to protect your corporate network and data from external cyber threats.
    • It provides you with with advanced features like load balancing, web and app access, etc., to optimize bandwidth uses.
    • It enables you to configure an IPsec VPN to access organization resources remotely.
    Incentivized
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    Cons
    Fortinet
    • Documentation is missing a great deal of detail and assumes the customer and just guess and fill in the blanks themselves
    • Fortinet has lots and lots of video guides on topics that only a small percentage of customers would ever need
    • The documentation and video guides do not get updated so most is only relevant to older software versions
    Incentivized
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    Sophos
    • We would like more feature reach port blocking. This could be reorganized to make it easier on Network Admins to add or change ports.
    • I would like easier access to the CLI
    • I would like it to perform faster
    Incentivized
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    Likelihood to Renew
    Fortinet
    Fortinet's products have kept improving with new software releases and they continue to deliver great value. Their support is also very good. I believe that as a small enterprise, their products have given us competitive advantage delivering features and functionality that enable us to innovate and do things better. They also continue to be a leader in the markets they serve.
    Incentivized
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    Sophos
    I rated Sophos SG Firewall a 9 out of 10 because it has consistently provided strong and reliable security for our organization over the past five years. Its unified features like IPS, VPN, web filtering, and reporting make it easy to manage and highly effective in protecting our network. The interface is user-friendly, and support from Sophos has been timely and helpful. I deducted one point only because deeper cloud-native integration and more advanced analytics would further enhance its future readiness.
    Incentivized
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    Usability
    Fortinet
    The firewall runs very well, firmware updates are fairly quick but you must follow the upgrade path. Neglecting this step will cause a lot of pain. If you decide to go with Fortinet FortiGate switches and/or access points, they can be managed within the firewall which is great. We're also using the FortiAnalyzer which easily plugs into the firewall for any reporting you may require.
    Incentivized
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    Sophos
    Management could use some improvements. Sophos management and workflows has always been designed by Engineers for Engineers. They do not always follow logical workflows in the real world. Once you figure this out it is easier to use but no where as smooth as many other products on the market.
    Incentivized
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    Reliability and Availability
    Fortinet
    We had didn't any hardware failures at our two main office locations and upgraded our units last year after using them for about 5-6 years
    Incentivized
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    Sophos
    I rated the availability of Sophos SG Firewall a 10 because, in our experience, it has been highly reliable and available whenever we needed it. We have not faced any significant application errors or unplanned outages. The system has been robust, ensuring continuous protection and minimal downtime, even during firmware updates or configuration changes. Its stability and uptime have been consistent, allowing us to trust it as a critical part of our network security infrastructure.
    Incentivized
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    Performance
    Fortinet
    Good performance and really good integration. We have integration with Microsoft AD.
    Incentivized
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    Sophos
    I rated the performance of Sophos SG Firewall a 10 because it consistently delivers fast and reliable results. Pages load quickly, reports are generated within a reasonable time frame, even for complex queries, and overall system responsiveness is excellent. Additionally, the firewall integrates seamlessly with other software and systems without causing any noticeable slowdowns or performance degradation. Its optimized performance has contributed to smooth network operations and minimal disruption to other services, making it a highly reliable solution for our needs.
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    Support Rating
    Fortinet
    The Support team at Fortinet is excellent. They can not only help you configure the device for what you are trying to do, they offer suggestions on improving rules, and troubleshooting issues. Their response time is fast, ensuring you are up and running immediately with no questions asked. We had a hard drive failure in one of our Fortinet Fortigate appliances. The tech answered immediately, and started rebuilding the drive after some preliminary investigations. After rebuilding, there were still errors and issues, so they dispatched a brand new Fortinet Fortigate appliance. The tech then backed up the configurations for when the new device came in, which showed up in a few hours. A restore of the configuration took less than a minute, and there were no more errors or issues.
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    Sophos
    The biggest selling point for sophos is their vendor support. Those guys put a smile on our faces. There are multiple ways you can contact their support like chat, or telephone or email. They are very responsive and they do have very knowledgable and patient support staff. We have raised tickets at all odd hours and they have been addressed correctly
    Incentivized
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    In-Person Training
    Fortinet
    I received it a couple years afters use it and it was just to confirm my knowledge about the tool.
    Incentivized
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    Sophos
    I rated the in-person training a 10 because the sessions were thorough, engaging, and well-structured. The trainers had a deep understanding of the Sophos SG Firewall and were able to clearly explain both basic and advanced features. The hands-on approach allowed us to directly apply what we were learning, which made the training highly practical and valuable. Additionally, the trainers were available to address specific questions and provide real-time troubleshooting during the sessions, making it an overall positive experience.
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    Implementation Rating
    Fortinet
    Make sure that you have the most current version of FortiOS. Make sure all Fortigates are on the same version
    Incentivized
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    Sophos
    I was very satisfied with the implementation of the Sophos SG Firewall, giving it a rating of 9. One key insight from the implementation process is that while the setup was relatively straightforward, it’s crucial to carefully plan the network configuration in advance, especially for high availability (HA) and VPN setups. Ensuring compatibility with existing infrastructure and performing thorough testing before going live can significantly reduce issues later on. Additionally, leveraging the built-in wizards and configuration guides helped streamline the process, but hands-on testing was essential to ensure everything worked as expected in our specific environment.
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    Alternatives Considered
    Fortinet
    [Fortinet] FortiGate is not only cost effective but it gives the comprehensive security against the APT attacks and gives the complete traffic visibility and granular control. You can easily create the VDOMs (Virtual firewall) within a Fortigate firewall and customize the dashboard as per your requirement if you have multiple VDOMs within a single firewall.
    Incentivized
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    Sophos
    We use Sophos in conjunction with WatchGuard, for an extra added level of security. Sophos is a little more sophisticated and complicated but they work well together as added layers of protection against most cyber threats.
    Incentivized
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    Contract Terms and Pricing Model
    Fortinet
    No changes needed to terms and conditions.
    Incentivized
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    Sophos
    I rated the contract terms and pricing structure a 9 because, overall, they were fair and competitive. The unit pricing for the Sophos SG Firewall was reasonable considering the features and performance offered, and the billing frequency was flexible, allowing us to align it with our budget cycles. However, one area that could be improved is the pricing for multi-year commitments—there could be more significant discounts or additional incentives for long-term agreements. Overall, the structure worked well for our needs, but some adjustments could make it even more cost-effective.
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    Scalability
    Fortinet
    My environments are pretty small (less than 100 users per location) so no issues here.
    Incentivized
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    Sophos
    I rated the product's scalability a 9 because Sophos SG Firewall offers excellent flexibility and can be easily scaled across multiple departments and sites. It provides the ability to add more firewalls, manage them centrally, and integrate with other security solutions as our network grows. However, the only reason I didn’t give it a perfect score is that, in some complex environments, managing a large-scale deployment with many firewalls can become a bit challenging, especially in terms of centralized management and monitoring. Despite this, the overall scalability is highly effective for most use cases.
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    Professional Services
    Fortinet
    No answers on this topic
    Sophos
    I rated the professional services a 10 because the support we received was outstanding. The team was highly skilled, responsive, and provided tailored solutions to meet our specific needs. They guided us through the entire implementation process, from setup to optimization, ensuring that the firewall was configured efficiently and securely. Their expertise helped us avoid potential pitfalls and ensured a smooth deployment, which greatly contributed to the success of our project.
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    Return on Investment
    Fortinet
    • The pricing given to us for our firewall was well within what we were already spending for other vendors solutions and had the added value of eliminating a separate expense for a dedicated web filtering appliance.
    • We have also adopted Fortinet's security fabric approach and thus changed vendors for our switch and AP devices. These devices have come at reduced prices as compared to another previous vendor we were using, particularly in relation to ongoing annual maintenance costs.
    Incentivized
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    Sophos
    • Positive ROI due to the competitiveness of the product.
    • Positive impact as the device is fully functional and easy to operate.
    • Negative impact when it comes to log integration as it does not support industry logging standards.
    Incentivized
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