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Palo Alto Networks Virtualized Next-Generation Firewalls - VM Series vs. Sophos UTM

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    Overview
    ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price

    Palo Alto Networks Virtualized Next-Generation Firewalls - VM Series

    Score10 out of 10
    N/AThe VM-Series is a virtualized form of Palo Alto next-generation firewall that can be deployed in a range of cloud environments. The VM-Series natively analyzes all traffic in a single pass to determine the application identity, the content within, and the user identity.N/A

    Sophos UTM

    Score8.1 out of 10
    N/ASophos UTM provides core firewall features, plus sandboxing and AI threat detection for advanced network security. It has customizable deployment options.N/A
    Pricing
    Palo Alto Networks Virtualized Next-Generation Firewalls - VM SeriesSophos UTM
    Editions & Modules
    No answers on this topic
    No answers on this topic
    Offerings
    Pricing Offerings
    Palo Alto Networks Virtualized Next-Generation Firewalls - VM SeriesSophos UTM
    Free Trial
    NoYes
    Free/Freemium Version
    NoNo
    Premium Consulting/Integration Services
    NoNo
    Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
    Additional Details—t2.small - $0.123 - Total / hr m3.medium - $0.417 - Total / hr m3.large - $0.883 - Total / hr m3.xlarge - $1.366 - Total / hr m3.2xlarge- $1.982 - Total / hr c3.large - $0.555 - Total / hr c3.xlarge - $1.11 - Total / hr c3.2xlarge - $1.72 - Total / hr c3.4xlarge - $2.59 - Total / hr c3.8xlarge - $3.68 - Total / hr c4.large - $0.55 - Total / hr c4.xlarge - $1.099 - Total / hr c4.2xlarge - $1.698 - Total / hr c4.4xlarge - $2.546 - Total / hr c4.8xlarge - $3.841 - Total / hr m4.large - $0.868 - Total / hr m4.xlarge - $1.365 - Total / hr m4.2xlarge- $1.931 - Total / hr
    More Pricing Information
    Community Pulse
    Palo Alto Networks Virtualized Next-Generation Firewalls - VM SeriesSophos UTM
    Considered Both Products
    Palo Alto Networks
    No answer on this topic
    Sophos
    No answer on this topic
    Key User Insights
    Would buy again
    100%
    Would buy again
    7 Answers
    No answers on this topic
    Delivers good value for the price
    100%
    Delivers good value for the price
    7 Answers
    No answers on this topic
    Happy with the feature set
    100%
    Happy with the feature set
    7 Answers
    No answers on this topic
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    100%
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    7 Answers
    No answers on this topic
    Implementation went as expected
    86%
    Implementation went as expected
    6 Answers
    No answers on this topic
    Features
    Palo Alto Networks Virtualized Next-Generation Firewalls - VM SeriesSophos UTM
    Firewall
    Comparison of Firewall features of Palo Alto Networks Virtualized Next-Generation Firewalls - VM Series and Sophos UTM
    Feature
    Palo Alto Networks Virtualized Next-Generation Firewalls - VM Series
    9.5
    6 Ratings
    10% above category average
    Sophos UTM
    -
    Ratings
    Identification Technologies9.76 Ratings00 Ratings
    Visualization Tools9.56 Ratings00 Ratings
    Content Inspection10.06 Ratings00 Ratings
    Policy-based Controls9.56 Ratings00 Ratings
    Active Directory and LDAP9.56 Ratings00 Ratings
    Firewall Management Console9.46 Ratings00 Ratings
    Reporting and Logging9.36 Ratings00 Ratings
    VPN9.26 Ratings00 Ratings
    High Availability8.85 Ratings00 Ratings
    Stateful Inspection10.06 Ratings00 Ratings
    Proxy Server9.44 Ratings00 Ratings
    Best Alternatives
    Palo Alto Networks Virtualized Next-Generation Firewalls - VM SeriesSophos UTM
    Small Businesses
    SonicWall NSA Series
    Score8.4 out of 10
    SonicWall NSA Series
    Score8.4 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
    Palo Alto Networks Virtualized Next-Generation Firewalls - VM SeriesSophos UTM
    Likelihood to Recommend
    9.5
    (8 ratings)
    9.0
    (11 ratings)
    Usability
    -
    (0 ratings)
    10.0
    (1 ratings)
    Support Rating
    10.0
    (1 ratings)
    7.9
    (3 ratings)
    User Testimonials
    Palo Alto Networks Virtualized Next-Generation Firewalls - VM SeriesSophos UTM
    Likelihood to Recommend
    Palo Alto Networks
    PaloAlto VM-200 is a virtualized firewall with high processing power and network edge protection. The great advantage is being able to implement in a VMware environment without worrying about hardware, rack space, physical network connections and others. It can be easily managed via the web and remotely to create protection, access and reporting rules. The VM-200 firewall can be used by any company, small or large because it has several models available according to the real needs of each one.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Sophos
    UTM works great if you want a solid, obvious firewall. There's not a lot of second-guessing as to what you are about to do with every change you make. If you incorporate their wireless access points and RED (remote ethernet device) for remote users or small offices, it's considerably much easier to set up than other comparable solutions. If you are looking to manage your firewalls via the cloud, you are out of luck.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Pros
    Palo Alto Networks
    • Decrypt internet traffic
    • daily reporting of top internet users
    • classify internet traffic in real-time to allow us to understand the organization needs.
    • Strong AI capabilities
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Sophos
    • Firewall Protection. The protection is unmatched, setup it a little daunting, but once set up it pretty much runs itself.
    • Site-to-site VPN. Super easy to deploy so we are able to network all our sites together.
    • The DHCP server function is actually really nice, I prefer using it over the traditional way of using a DC for DHCP.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Cons
    Palo Alto Networks
    • High Availability can be improved to allow active-active deployment
    • All command line documentation to provide and support automation
    • It will be nice to have link aggregation just like in the hardware firewall models.
    Incentivized
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    Sophos
    • Better standard support, it used to be great, now, not so much (for paying customers, that only aquired the Hardware)
    • Better wireless solution, there is always room for that, now that everybody needs robust wifi, even at home!
    • Faster and more robust wireless Access Points, or different vendor-like compatibility.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Usability
    Palo Alto Networks
    It is very easy to use, even for those with little experience in this particular firewall. Some of the advanced content filtering and content-based policies are difficult to pick up; however, almost all required decoders are built in. Built-in logging and rule testing make rule definition easy, and labels/tags allow filtering, grouping, and categorisation of rules. Updates are easy, and high availability is also reliable.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Sophos
    The interface is no non-sense and easy to understand. No need for any consultants to help implement this solution. The performance is consistent and solid. Paired with a good amount of firmware and definitions, it's hard to find any fault in this product. It's interoperability with other Sophos products make a compelling argument to invest in more Sophos products.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Support Rating
    Palo Alto Networks
    Palo Alto VM series are best selling and industry's top-selling security product which customers prefer while securing their public cloud environment
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Sophos
    I find the support fair. The wait can be frustrating when dealing with fire. The pandemic has not helped with this. Although the wait can be long, the support reps are knowledgeable and was able to resolve the issues I was facing.
    Incentivized
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    Alternatives Considered
    Palo Alto Networks
    palo alto firewalls are application-oriented systems. They can beat other product which are based on layer 3/4 inspection. Vm series are also quickly available and could be useful in urgent deployment needs . other vendors like Fortinet and cisco could take much more time to provide the VM and in some cases installation and license validation are complicated
    Incentivized
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    Sophos
    I would rate Sophos second on this list right below Webroot. Webroot has an easier user interface and policy builder. However, Sophos would be on top of its UI would be improved. I would rank CrowStrike third and McAfee last. Sophos is great for complex environments that have multiple needs.
    Incentivized
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    Return on Investment
    Palo Alto Networks
    • ROI has been achieved quickly through lack of security incidents.
    • Inline filtering happens at line rate, unline Sourcefire from Cisco.
    • Great incentives from PAN to switch made a difference in the choice to change.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Sophos
    • Sophos has provided a secure Firewall for us.
    • Integration with Sophos Central makes it easier to manage both.
    • Site to site VPN Failover groups has caused more trouble than it's worth.
    • High availability doesn't recognize when you are restarting for an update.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
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