We performed a comparison between Meraki MX and SonicWall TZ based on our users’ reviews in four categories. After reading the collected data, you can find our conclusion below.
Comparison Results: Users consider Meraki MX devices to be part of a comprehensive next-generation firewall solution with all the advanced security services required for today’s IT marketplace. They say it is also a robust dynamic Unified Threat Management (UTM) tool. Meraki MX offers zero-touch installation, is cloud-based, and can seamlessly integrate with most of today’s popular platforms. Many users feel SonicWall TZ can be bulky and slow and is lacking some key features.
"The SD-WAN function is very developed. It has SD-WAN functionality with security features in one device. We can manage from one single console SD-WAN and the security policy."
"FortiGate is very simple to manage and easy to use."
"Overall security features and performance routing is good."
"Security solution with a straightforward and quick setup. It's a stable and scalable product."
"The base firewall features are quite valuable to us."
"The interface is very good."
"We use a lot of function on the IPS and it works well for us."
"User-friendly and affordable security solution that's recommended for SMB customers. This solution has good technical support."
"They have very good technical support and I have relied heavily on them."
"Very easy to use and navigate."
"The solution is good for load balancing."
"Site to Site VPN: The device can establish a VPN connection to multiple sites in a mesh environment in seconds, and without complex VPN knowledge."
"Easy to deploy with a simple configuration."
"It is very easy to use and manage. It is also very easy to scale."
"In a week, we can make new policy and view what all our users did."
"The solution is easy to set up."
"The network security is great."
"The most valuable feature is the protection available, and then ease of use and flexibility."
"The site-to-site VPN connections, content filtering, and in our current remote working situation, SSL VPN remote desktop connectivity are the most valuable features."
"It does what it says it is going to do."
"It lets me monitor in live time if someone is 'hogging' bandwidth."
"SonicWall TZ is a very cost-effective solution that provides good security."
"The most valuable feature is the user-friendly navigation."
"The performance has been very good. Overall, the solution is quite stable."
"Its reporting and pricing need improvement."
"The security of Fortinet FortiGate could improve."
"With the addition of some features, it is possible that FortiGate can be used in all verticals."
"The pricing could always be better."
"One issue that I have had is that sometimes I need to monitor the traffic, so I need to filter it according to the user and which user is using it the most. I experience a bottleneck most of the time, particularly at the peak time when the number of contracts and users are at maximum."
"I would like to see improvements in the support from Fortinet. Here in the Philippines, whenever we have problems with a Fortinet product, we mostly ask for support from distributors and resellers and not directly from Fortinet."
"Security is a continuous process. In every product, there is a requirement for improvement. Its pricing should also be improved according to Indian market requirements. They must also improve on the reporting part. Its reporting can be more precise. If we can get a real-time report in a specific format, it will be helpful for customers to know about the current status of their security."
"It needs to improve its ISP load balancing."
"Meraki has some hidden features and information that is only privy to their engineers. If that information became available to us, then it would improve our ease of management, and we would be able to make certain adjustments instead of having to go to them."
"The only stability issue is in Content Filtering. Sometimes we need to report these types of issues to Cisco support."
"They're very complacent and I find the rule set to be a little arcane."
"It would be nice if the different services, including the SIEM SOC and endpoint detection and response (EDR) were integrated into one, so that I don't have to go to different vendors for different services."
"In general, the SD-WAN feature needs to be improved. The load sharing and load balancing of the traffic should be improved. I have had some problems with these features in the past."
"You can only have one tunnel in the whole infrastructure — one tunnel with one device."
"Right now, you can postpone the update but eventually, if you don't do the update, it will install the updates automatically for you and that's something that is not working for me."
"The solution's pricing should be reduced."
"I think content filtering is the area this product should improve. It's a little tricky to get put in correctly."
"The marketing of SonicWall has to be increased. Currently, when it comes to firewalls, most people go for Cisco and Palo Alto. SonicWall should improve its marketing and branding policies to increase sales. Other than that, it is good."
"The solution should provide some additional ports."
"I'd like to have cloud management at no additional cost. Unfortunately, leveraging SonicWall's cloud management capabilities is cost-prohibitive, so we don't use it. They should have a reasonable subscription or offer it to us at no cost as an MSP."
"The solution has lost the trust of its customers because of moving from one company to another."
"The reporting analytics could be improved, it is very unstable."
"The monitoring is a little bit confusing."
"The products' reporting can be improved."
Meraki MX is ranked 2nd in Unified Threat Management (UTM) with 57 reviews while SonicWall TZ is ranked 12th in Firewalls with 78 reviews. Meraki MX is rated 8.2, while SonicWall TZ is rated 8.0. The top reviewer of Meraki MX writes "Cost-effective, simplified, easy to manage, and reliable with advanced security features and granular visibility". On the other hand, the top reviewer of SonicWall TZ writes "Has efficient user access control feature and good technical support services ". Meraki MX is most compared with Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls, Cisco Secure Firewall, Sophos XG, Netgate pfSense and SonicWall NSa, whereas SonicWall TZ is most compared with Sophos XG, Netgate pfSense, SonicWall NSa, Cisco Secure Firewall and WatchGuard Firebox. See our Meraki MX vs. SonicWall TZ report.
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