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."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."
"Customers want to load balance more than eight lines or six internet lines. FortiGate is the only solution that can accomplish this."
"It is easy to manage, and it doesn't need much knowledge from the team. It is a stable device, and there are many features that are included out of the box."
"The initial setup is straightforward."
"We have found it to be very reliable and that's why our teams and various users in our company use it as our main firewall every day."
"The most valuable feature of FortiGate is FortiView which provides proactive monitoring."
"The most important features with FortiGate are the web filter and application controls. We can control our internet usage and use the web filter for application purposes."
"The security on offer is very good."
"pfSense allows us to spread the hours of connection and do the filtering on the pfSense site."
"The intrusion detection feature is the most valuable. It is an open-source firewall, so there is a lot of material on it. I also find the open VPN capability very nice. It is pretty customizable. The clustering and the high availability are the two biggest things to be able to get out of a firewall."
"I use pfSense because it gives me the flexibility to greatly expand basic firewall features."
"A free firewall that is a good network security appliance."
"I like the connectivity to the open VPN. It's very smooth."
"The solution is very easy to use and configure."
"The flexibility of adding new kinds of services without spending any money can't be beaten."
"The "OpenVPN Client Export" package is really helpful in exporting the VPN client software on most popular devices: iOS/Android, Windows, Mac, Linux, and a handful of SIP handsets."
"Compared to Cisco, SonicWall NSa is much easier to configure."
"The most valuable feature is the sandbox."
"SonicWall's technical support is very good."
"The technical support is very good."
"The features that I have found most valuable are the firewalling, which is very good and the GUI which is very intuitive. It is easy to use, and provides great security."
"This product is user-friendly and easy to configure."
"One of the main features is the built-in storage capacity."
"We can do the hosting and security all under one box. The UTM is a good feature."
"It should come integrated or have its own type of network monitor tool in a module. There should just be one package, and you are good to go."
"The customization could be improved. Cisco, for example, is much better at this. They need to work to be at least as good as they are."
"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."
"Fortinet should focus on enhancing the capabilities of FortiGate by consolidating its various products, such as FortiGate Cloud, FortiManager, and FortiAnalyzer."
"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 platform's interface could improve."
"Fortinet FortiGate is a stable solution. However, my issue is the performance only. When I use all the profiles, this affects the performance. From the beginning, I should have had a better sizing of the box."
"With the addition of some features, it is possible that FortiGate can be used in all verticals."
"The solution could always work at being more secure. It's a good idea to continue to work on security features and capabilities in order to ensure they can keep clients safe."
"The security could be improved."
"Adjustment in the interfaces: I had to adjust those interfaces manually and of course that is a great feature that you can restore it but it is immediately also one point for improvement. If you don't have to adjust, if it's just stamped and it works, that's great."
"The interface is not very shiny and attractive."
"I would like to see multiple DNS servers running on individual interfaces."
"The access control aspect of the product could be improved."
"Layer 7 advanced firewall features are not included in the solution."
"Also, the GUI is helpful, but it's not user-friendly. It's complicated. It should be more intuitive for the average user and have an excellent graphical view. Of course, the user will typically know about network administration, but it still should be easy to understand."
"The pricing for this product in India is high and the fees should be reduced."
"Vendor support needs improvement. The frequency of time and support should be increased."
"There are a few areas that need improvement including the VPN, user management, and reporting."
"It only has a single power interface, which has limitations in terms of high availability."
"It would be useful to have an application firewall that prevents the outside world from seeing your private IPs. You don't need to publicize your private IPs to the outside world, and you can create a barrier, like a proxy server."
"The only thing that we would want would be single-pane management, which it has, but the GMS is not very good. It's purely the management of multiple devices for multiple customers, that's the only thing that it's lacking."
"The product likely isn't a good fit for a large organization."
"One issue with the solution is that no authorization or authentication features exist."
Netgate pfSense is ranked 1st in Firewalls with 128 reviews while SonicWall NSa is ranked 20th in Firewalls with 77 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, Sophos UTM, KerioControl 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.
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