We performed a comparison between Netgate pfSense and SonicWall NSa 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."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."
"FortiGate's web and URL filtering are unlike any other firewall I've used. The functionality of URL filtering in those solutions is problematic because everything is encrypted, and firewalls can't break that encryption protocol. Fortinet has an SSL proxy, so the encryption is done before the packet ever leaves the FortiGate. The URL filter is definitely one of the most helpful features."
"It has very easy management and an amazing ETM configuration."
"The Intrusion Prevention System and the web filtering are both working well."
"The security on offer is very good."
"The FortiGate controls the user's activities and maximizes my bandwidth use overall."
"The UTM feature is quite good. FortiAP is easy to deploy because both Fortigate and FortiAP are under the same brand. Otherwise, you need to do more work on the configuration."
"Fortinet FortiGate protects against internet-based threats, both internal and external. It is scalable, stable, easy to use, and easy to install."
"The solution has good customization abilities and plenty of features."
"The VPN is my favorite feature."
"Routing, load balancing, Traffic Limiter and queues. Since this company relies on an Internet connection, having these features is a must."
"The performance and functionality are good."
"This solution has increased the level of security, given us more control, provided a deep insight into network traffic, and is a great VPN solution."
"Technical support is perfect, excellent."
"I am happy with the EPLS, the radius, and I am happy with the captive portal."
"The initial setup was simple and fast."
"It has excellent stability."
"It has good reporting, the reporting is marvelous."
"They offer good antivirus solutions."
"Setup is easy. Anyone with basic firewall experience can do it."
"Anti-Spam reduces unwanted mail on corporate exchange services."
"The most valuable features are the VPN, SSL VPN, and IPSec VPN."
"Content filtering reduces the load on the available bandwidth and restricts employees from using distracting websites on the job, which leads to more productive hours."
"This product has kept us safe and we haven't had any breaches."
"There could be more integration between the logging and analytical platforms to make it more seamless and integrated."
"One area for improvement is the performance on bandwidth demands for smaller devices, as well as better web filtering."
"The Web-filter in this solution is not very good."
"Fortinet FortiGate can be integrated with different platforms. They have integrations in place, but I can't say they're 100%."
"One area for improvement is the performance on the bandwidth demands for smaller devices, as well as better web filtering."
"Some of the features in the graphical user interface do not work, which requires that we used the command-line-interface."
"The reports are very basic."
"Technical support could be better. You don't always get the level of help you need right away."
"It is not centrally managed, where you log into the website and can see all your services there. We would like to be able to see is all the configurations from a central interface on all our pfSenses."
"Their support could be better in terms of the response time."
"I believe improving integration with various antivirus vendors could be beneficial."
"The integration could be improved."
"It needs better parsing of logs. At the moment, you have to use an external server for this if you want a deeper analysis."
"The stability could be improved."
"A way to clean squid cache from the GUI."
"The VPN feature of the solution could improve by adding better functionality and providing easier configure ability."
"The product must enable integration with endpoint protection tools."
"Do not even consider NetExtender - probably one of the most horrific, nightmare grade Java-based VPN clients. We have but all given up trying to make it work reliably."
"The anti-spam requires a specific Java version on the server side (do not update it, otherwise it will break)."
"Having to deal with too many lower-level people in technical support means that it takes longer to resolve issues, so escalating support tickets should be faster."
"The logging, reporting, and storage capacity size could improve in a future release."
"The product could expand its throughput capacity."
"The filter settings are confusing and overly complicated. The user interface can be improved."
"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."
Netgate pfSense is ranked 1st in Firewalls with 128 reviews while SonicWall NSa is ranked 19th in Firewalls with 80 reviews. Netgate pfSense is rated 8.6, while SonicWall NSa is rated 7.8. The top reviewer of Netgate pfSense writes "User-friendly, easy to manage the firewall, rule-wise and interface-wise". On the other hand, the top reviewer of SonicWall NSa writes "Great performance and security with reasonable pricing". Netgate pfSense is most compared with OPNsense, Sophos XG, KerioControl, Sophos UTM and Cisco Secure Firewall, whereas SonicWall NSa is most compared with SonicWall TZ, Meraki MX, Sophos XG, Cisco Secure Firewall and WatchGuard Firebox. See our Netgate pfSense vs. SonicWall NSa 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.