We performed a comparison between OPNsense and SonicWall TZ based on our users’ reviews in five categories. After reading all of the collected data, you can find our conclusion below.
Features: OPNsense is highly praised for its ability to easily adapt to changing needs, its guest access options, its flexibility, and its open license. SonicWall TZ is known for its exceptional unified threat management, strong VPN capabilities, reliable web security, and user-friendly centralized interface.
OPNsense could benefit from improvements in interface simplicity, bandwidth management, high availability, logging, integration, hardware updates, reporting, SSL inspection, and learning curve. SonicWall TZ needs enhancements in rated throughput, secondary DNS hosting, cloud management, user interface, integration, marketing, reporting, additional ports, GSM and Sonic Analyzer features, advanced features and pricing, UI application and net policies, scalability and proxy feature, DPI-SSL clients, content filtering, DNS hosting, monitoring and pricing, security and VPN connections, overall cost, and version improvements.
Service and Support: The customer service for OPNsense has garnered varying feedback, with certain users appreciating prompt responses and valuable aid, whereas some encounter challenges when attempting to access support. SonicWall TZ's support has also generated diverse opinions, as a few customers face language barriers and delays, but overall find the support satisfactory.
Ease of Deployment: The setup process for OPNsense is uncomplicated and can be managed by clients without IT expertise, although it might be more time-consuming in certain scenarios like Azure. SonicWall TZ setup is simple, user-friendly, and can be finished within a timeframe ranging from 30 minutes to a few hours. Technical staff can provide assistance for swift deployment.
Pricing: The cost of setting up OPNsense primarily depends on the hardware used, since the software is provided for free. SonicWall TZ has received varying opinions regarding its pricing and licensing, with some users considering it cost-effective while others find it to be expensive.
ROI: OPNsense is a cost-effective option with a quicker return on investment due to the absence of ongoing fees. SonicWall TZ delivers satisfactory outcomes, although it suggests an upgrade for enhanced performance.
Comparison Results: Based on user feedback, OPNsense is the preferred choice when comparing it to SonicWall TZ. Users appreciate OPNsense for its scalability, excellent features, user-friendly interface, flexibility, stability, availability of a free version, and well-documented resources.
"It is a safe product."
"FortiGate firewalls are user-friendly, and I like the security profiling features."
"The product offers very good security."
"It is useful for protecting and segregating the internal networks from the internet. Most of our customers also use the FortiGate client to connect to their offices by using the VPN client, and of course, they usually activate the antivirus, deep inspection, and intrusion prevention services. They are also using it for web filtering and implementing various policies dealing with forwardings, NAT, etc."
"Easy to implement, and it is also reliable."
"The most valuable feature of Fortinet FortiGate is the simple configuration."
"The application control features, such as Facebook blocking and Spotify blocking, are the most valuable."
"The secure web gateway module and the application control module are valuable. HA operations are very easy."
"The graphic user interface is very good and it is user-friendly which makes the product easy-to-use."
"The interface and the dashboard are the most valuable features of this solution."
"The solution is good for a basic firewall for a small business or for home use."
"OPNsense is easy to use and open source."
"The most valuable feature is the Dual WAN in OPNSense, which offers advanced capabilities."
"The initial implementation process is simple."
"The IDS and IPS features are valuable. From the usability perspective, there is a lot of good documentation. As IT professionals, we found it very easy to configure the firewall. It was easy to configure and use."
"I find the solution to be user-friendly. It has a lot of reports and easy settings."
"SonicWall TZ think it's a good, solid, and stable product."
"We like their interface very much. It's pretty easy to use."
"Access restriction and IP whitelisting are the most valuable features."
"Ease of management and the VPN integration."
"The performance has been very good. Overall, the solution is quite stable."
"The most valuable feature of SonicWall TZ is the double authentication, where it asks for one password and again asks for a four-digit code, which changes every 30 seconds."
"Most of the features are useful. It is easy to configure and easy to troubleshoot. I can see the utilization of different networks, and there are also App control features."
"It protects against intrusion while allowing needed access."
"Scalability is one of the disadvantages. When it comes to scalability, you have to actually change the box. If you want to upgrade it, you need to actually change the existing box and probably you take the system off to other sites."
"The cloud features can be improved."
"Fortinet FortiGate could improve the user interface. There should be more functionality and options through the GUI."
"The Web-filter in this solution is not very good."
"Fortinet needs to overhaul its documentation."
"Performance and technical support are the main issues with this solution."
"As far as wanting more scalability or things in the network diagram, it's going to cost you."
"Its filtering is sometimes too precise or strict. We sometimes have to bypass and authorize some of the sites, but they get blocked. We know that they are trusted sites, but they are blocked, and we don't know why."
"The solution would not be suitable for anything large-scale."
"There are issues with stability and reliability."
"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."
"When using the solution at the beginning was difficult. There was a steep learning curve."
"OPNsense showed me some problems when using it in different environments. The problem is integration with a virtual server."
"The IPS solution could be more reliable."
"OPNsense could improve by making the configuration more web-based rather than shell or command-line-based."
"There are a few weaknesses. For example, there is a lack of some features that I have in certain commercial products."
"From a support perspective, if we're talking tech support I think Silver Partners, Gold Partners, Platinum, whatever level, should have a different number to call. End users can call tech support over at SonicWall if they've paid for support as part of their AGSS or whatever services they bought. The end-user can call, or we can call, however, I don't want to be calling the same line that an end user's calling. I don't want the same response time. I need a different level of expertise."
"The solution's pricing could be made cheaper."
"In terms of what needs to be improved, I would say better load balancing and data filtering."
"Pricing could be lowered slightly."
"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 must provide more ports."
"The VPN that is available in the new version is a bit bulky and slower in speed."
"I currently have two of the issues from SonicWall. One issue is that the IP is not the public IP. Sometimes it moves to an alternate source and I have to refresh the new IP then we can go on."
OPNsense is ranked 3rd in Firewalls with 21 reviews while SonicWall TZ is ranked 11th in Firewalls with 19 reviews. OPNsense is rated 8.2, while SonicWall TZ is rated 8.0. The top reviewer of OPNsense writes "There are lots of capabilities built-in: Few would be High Availability, Proxy, DNS, Intrusion detection/prevention, content filtering, traffic and bandwidth management with 2factor autn. ". On the other hand, the top reviewer of SonicWall TZ writes "Highly acceptable on a small scale, straightforward out the box installation, with a good price point". OPNsense is most compared with Netgate pfSense, Sophos XG, Untangle NG Firewall, Sophos UTM and KerioControl, whereas SonicWall TZ is most compared with Sophos XG, Netgate pfSense, Meraki MX, SonicWall NSa and Zyxel Unified Security Gateway. See our OPNsense vs. SonicWall TZ 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.