We performed a comparison between Fortinet FortiGate-VMand SonicWall TZ based on our users’ reviews in five categories. After reading all of the collected data, you can find our conclusion below.
Features: Fortinet FortiGate-VM is commended for its robust protection features, including geofencing, firewalling, IPS, and antivirus. Users appreciate its user-friendly interface. SonicWall TZ is recognized for its comprehensive threat management, VPN capabilities, web security, ease of use, reliability, and content filtering.
Fortinet requires enhancements in several aspects such as key activation, log management, cloud management, MFA offerings, web filtering options, application inspection, GUI features, IPsec failover, monitoring tools, setup process, layer-seven functionality, bandwidth issues, VPN connectivity, pricing, performance, and security. SonicWall needs improvements in throughput, secondary DNS hosting, cloud management, user interface, reporting analytics, affordability, automation, application signatures, syncing, proxy feature, DPI-SSL clients, DNS hosting, technical support, VPN connections, and pricing.
Service and Support: Some customers appreciate the prompt and knowledgeable support team at Fortinet. However, others have faced challenges with slow response times and difficulties in accessing information quickly. SonicWall TZ has received mixed reviews, with some customers facing delays and language barriers when dealing with support from India. On a positive note, there have been instances where local partners have provided exceptional support for SonicWall TZ.
Ease of Deployment: The setup process for Fortinet FortiGate-VM is generally uncomplicated and can take a varying amount of time. It is user-friendly and not excessively complicated. The initial setup for SonicWall TZ is described as quick, intuitive, and can be finished within a short to moderate timeframe. It is considered straightforward and not troublesome.
Pricing: Fortinet FortiGate-VM offers a competitive setup cost. It includes licensing fees without any extra expenses. SonicWall TZ has varying reviews on pricing and licensing, with some users finding it cost-effective while others find it pricey. Additional licenses are necessary, and users have expressed the desire for more features in the basic subscription.
ROI: Fortinet FortiGate-VM provides enhanced security and stability, resulting in a favorable return on investment. It is crucial to select the appropriate size initially to prevent any financial drawbacks. SonicWall TZ has achieved positive ROI and is suggested for improved performance. Both products are essential for ensuring network security.
Comparison Results: Fortinet FortiGate-VM is highly recommended in comparison to SonicWall TZ. Users value its robust security capabilities, user-friendly interface, and seamless deployment. It offers comprehensive filtering options and scalability.
"The network security and cloud security are most valuable."
"The most valuable features are that it is very simple to configure and to manage."
"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."
"The user interface is relatively easy. The devices are easy to deploy and figure out when you have experience with other security appliances."
"The solution is extremely reliable."
"Our project needs to link two sides through the internet. One of these was in Cairo and the other in another city. We used FortiGate as the integrating solution between the two locations, i.e. the Fortinet 30E & 100E."
"Fortinet FortiGate's most valuable features are ease of use, flexibility, and most of the configuration we can be done using the GUI. When we compare Fortinet FortiGate with other solutions the firewall policy are very easy to understand."
"Security, SD-WAN, and Streetscape are valuable features."
"The most valuable features are network security, VLAN, network protection, and encryption are very valuable to us."
"In terms of administration, it's perfect."
"All the security features that are built into the product are valuable."
"The most valuable feature is the UTM, which gives them an advantage over other firewalls."
"The solution is very secure, and its technical support is on point."
"The configuration, graphical interface and command line are easy to use."
"High network throughput while providing leading edge network security technology for a competitive price."
"Its performance is adequate. We are quite satisfied with its performance. The fact that it is a complete ecosystem with all kinds of integrations is valuable. It did take us a couple of months to get a grip on the new software, but all in all, it replaced our on-premise and single-point solution environment."
"SonicWall TZ is a stable product."
"The product is easy to deploy."
"It does what it says it is going to do."
"We like the central interface and we like the security features. Additionally, we use SonicWall with VPN connectivity and we have had no problems with SonicWall all these years."
"I like the firewall product, the security server, and the content filter."
"Content filtering and application rules are the most valuable features. It is also easy to configure."
"We like their interface very much. It's pretty easy to use."
"It's been very easy to implement and deploy."
"There could be more integration between the logging and analytical platforms to make it more seamless and integrated."
"They sometimes hide some features and if you want to enable them, you have to go in the CLI, enable the feature and configure it through the CLI. Customers, typically, like everything to be done by the GUI."
"They need to improve their technical support."
"Some of the filtering is not robust, you can escape it with a VPN. Some of the users bypass some of the filters. It catches some but it also misses some, that area could be improved. It's functioning reasonably but there's room for improvement in that area."
"Fortinet currently has many products bundled with FortiGate including the basic firewall and load balancer, and I think that that they need to have separate product portfolios for each of these specialized services."
"In the future, I would like to see improvements made to cloud-based management."
"Lacks training for new features."
"I would suggest that Fortinet add sandboxing to their solution."
"Price-wise, it could be slightly better, however, if you compared it to other makes and models of equal category, it is generally cheaper."
"The user interface (UI) and the performance of interface both need improvement."
"Their offering for MFA isn't the cleanest."
"The technical support is not very responsive and is an area that needs to be improved."
"There are certain GUI features that should be present but are not."
"We have had some stability issues."
"The key activation is very complicated at times."
"The one thing that could be improved is the integration with the exchange. The gateway level controls can be enhanced a bit more. For example, it's still little here and there. You do get malicious attacks and suspicious emails like spam. It's not like Sophos where we got a lot of spam email, and yet, it's still relatively vulnerable. It can be upgraded, maybe with a fifth-generation firmware that it is ready for unknown threats."
"The stability could be a lot better."
"The areas we would like to see improvement include more features available similar to the equivalent FortiGate appliance, e.g. SSL encryption and inspection. Two-factor authentication capability would be another additional feature that could be included in the next release."
"I would like to see a SonicWall integration with the DLP tool, this would be interesting. Data Loss Prevention integration."
"They should consider working a bit more on their ransomware application."
"GUI interface could be improved."
"Its reporting can be improved. Currently, we cannot directly get the user names. It only shows the IP, which makes it a bit confusing because we need to use the IP to find the user. If we could directly get the name of the user, it would be better."
"The solution has lost the trust of its customers because of moving from one company to another."
"The technical support has room for improvement."
Fortinet FortiGate-VM is ranked 9th in Firewalls with 113 reviews while SonicWall TZ is ranked 12th in Firewalls with 78 reviews. Fortinet FortiGate-VM is rated 8.4, while SonicWall TZ is rated 8.0. The top reviewer of Fortinet FortiGate-VM writes "An easy-to-manage and configure tool that provides ample documentation to help with the setup phase". On the other hand, the top reviewer of SonicWall TZ writes "Has efficient user access control feature and good technical support services ". Fortinet FortiGate-VM is most compared with Azure Firewall, Palo Alto Networks VM-Series, Fortinet FortiOS, OPNsense and Netgate pfSense, whereas SonicWall TZ is most compared with Sophos XG, Netgate pfSense, Meraki MX, SonicWall NSa and Cisco Secure Firewall. See our Fortinet FortiGate-VM vs. SonicWall TZ report.
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