We performed a comparison between OPNsense and Sophos XG based on our users’ reviews in four categories. After reading the collected data, you can find our conclusion below.
Comparison Results: Sophos XG’s single pane of glass makes it easy for users to manage the entire solution from anywhere. The solution is very light, stable, and provides excellent real-time control. Users feel OPNsense is not a good product for medium to large businesses, as it has some very limited features and needs better reporting and documentation.
"The interface is very good."
"The IPS is good. It protect my network from attackers."
"The most valuable feature is the interface, which is very user friendly. We are utilizing most of the features, like content filtering. The firewall is powerful."
"The most valuable features of Fortinet FortiGate are the different types of profiling. It has been the most effective for me. The WAF and the antivirus profile are the most effective in network protection."
"The solution is stable."
"Good anti-malware and web filtering features."
"Whenever I need something, Fortinet improves and updates the software for me."
"From the firewall perspective, the rules and policies are very sufficient and easy to use."
"I find the solution to be user-friendly. It has a lot of reports and easy settings."
"It has firewall and VPN capabilities, which are very valuable features."
"The solution is user-friendly and easy to configure."
"URL blocking, Wireguard, Tail Scale, Engine Blocker, and VPN are the most valuable features for me."
"The VPN server feature is the most valuable. It is integrated with Radius and AAA for doing accounting and authentication. Insight view is also an important feature for me at this time. It allows me to assess our network traffic. I also like the firewall feature. The BSD kernel has a packet filter. It is one of the most solid frameworks for firewalls. Its user interface is one of the best interfaces I have used."
"OPNsense is highly stable."
"The interface and the dashboard are the most valuable features of this solution."
"It is a very good solution. I like the dashboard. I can see what is going on and manage it as I like it."
"The scalability of Sophos XG is good."
"The initial setup was straightforward."
"Most of the features Sophos XG has are valuable. However, if I have two different ISP, I'm able to create an automatic switch between the two ISPs. I can do the same thing for the cloud as well. If I have two subnets coming from the cloud, I'm able to create a type of switch between both of them where if there is traffic on one and has the traffic drop, I'm able to switch to the other ISP without any problems. It's a normal feature and I get to enjoy the ability to switch between services with no issues."
"I have found configuring the ports to be easier in Sophos XG compared to the other devices."
"We've deployed quite a number for our users and our customers, and the feedback is quite positive in terms of management and also administration."
"I rate Sophos support 10 out of 10. When my device was freezing, I contacted them, and sent me a replacement. It only took a couple of days for Sophos to ship the device to Kenya. I didn't have a redundant device, so it was urgent."
"Good security and a good interface."
"It is a scalable solution."
"Some configuration elements cannot be easily altered once created."
"The renewal price and the availability could be improved."
"From a reporting perspective, there's room for improvement. They're providing FortiAnalyzer through which one can get some enhancements, but the visibility and reporting still need slight improvement."
"Sometimes you do need to know some CLI commands, so it's a bit harder for technicians or new people that don't know it."
"NGN, reporting and controls."
"In terms of what could be improved, the SD-WAN is quite difficult, because if you install the new box, 15 is okay, but if you change from an old configuration, if there is already configuration and a policy when you change to SD-WAN, you must change the whole policy that you see in the interface."
"Fortinet FortiGate could improve by adding FortiAnalyzer to its solution, we should not have to use another solution. FortiAnalyzer can provide more detailed information."
"The support system could be improved."
"The reporting part could be better."
"The user interface could be improved, and the DNS section should be more intuitive."
"While they do have paid options that actually gives better features, for most of the clients, if they tend to take a paid option will instead opt for Fortinet."
"The scalability needs improvement."
"The interface of the solution is an area with shortcomings."
"There are issues with stability and reliability."
"There should be more technical documentation."
"There are a few weaknesses. For example, there is a lack of some features that I have in certain commercial products."
"Their support is fairly good, and they come back to me. I've had an issue once or twice where I couldn't understand what the support person was saying because those calls were probably routed to India. They were a bit difficult to understand, but it is generally not an issue."
"Some businesses require Dynamic IP. This feature would be useful if it worked."
"Sophos XG should improve on the GDPR features involving data protection and encryption. Security regarding data protection is important."
"We recently did an upgrade on the Sophos XG firmware and we were surprised that after the upgrade, the automatic switch actually we were using did not work anymore."
"Sophos XG's user interface has some room for improvement."
"Over the last six months, we have noticed that the hardware is slow, especially the VPN connections."
"The time taken by Sophos XG's support team to respond to and resolve an issue is an area of concern where improvements are required."
"I can't use the product's application control feature, making it a disadvantage of the solution where improvements are required."
OPNsense is ranked 3rd in Firewalls with 36 reviews while Sophos XG is ranked 7th in Firewalls with 192 reviews. OPNsense is rated 8.4, while Sophos XG is rated 8.2. The top reviewer of OPNsense writes "Robust network security and management offering a user-friendly interface, open-source flexibility, and cost-effectiveness, with challenges regarding initial setup and the absence of official support". On the other hand, the top reviewer of Sophos XG writes "Easy to use and deploy with an improved pricing structure in place". OPNsense is most compared with Netgate pfSense, Untangle NG Firewall, Sophos UTM, IPFire and WatchGuard Firebox, whereas Sophos XG is most compared with Netgate pfSense, Sophos XGS, SonicWall TZ, Meraki MX and Sophos UTM. See our OPNsense vs. Sophos XG report.
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