Application Control vs WatchGuard Firebox comparison

Arista and WatchGuard are both solutions in the Application Control category. Arista is ranked #11, while WatchGuard is ranked #5 with an average rating of 8.0. Additionally, 100% of Arista users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 94% of WatchGuard users who would recommend it.

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Nov 9, 2025

WatchGuard Firebox and Application Control compete in the network security and application management category. WatchGuard has the upper hand in overall security and integration, whereas Application Control leads in application management capabilities.

Features: WatchGuard Firebox offers intrusion prevention, anti-malware protection, and comprehensive firewall capabilities. Application Control provides extensive app monitoring, management, and traffic prioritization.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: WatchGuard Firebox supports straightforward deployment and comprehensive support, easing the integration process. Application Control also supports smooth deployment but may require more technical know-how. WatchGuard is noted for ease of integration and responsive customer service.

Pricing and ROI: WatchGuard Firebox is deemed affordable with a strong return on investment due to lower setup costs. Application Control, though potentially pricier, offers significant ROI through enhanced application performance and control.

To learn more, read our detailed Application Control vs. WatchGuard Firebox Report (Updated: December 2025).

Buyer's Guide

Application Control vs. WatchGuard Firebox

December 2025

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Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:

Categories and Ranking

Fortinet FortiGate

Featured Reviews

Vasu Gala

Manager, Information Technology Operation/Presales at TechMonarch

A stable solution with an intuitive interface and quick customer service

I have been working with Fortinet FortiGate, WatchGuard, Sophos, and SonicWall. I'm not as comfortable with SonicWall because of their UI and limitations. I prefer Fortinet above all other options. When it comes to configuration, I am confident in my ability to handle various tasks, including creating policies such as firewall rules, web policies, and application policies. Additionally, I can configure VPNs and implement load balancing, among other tasks. Overall, I feel much more comfortable working with Fortinet. Fortinet has made significant improvements by integrating AI with firewalls for threat analysis and prevention. In the past 2-3 years, they have launched FortiSASE and SIEM, and they also provide SOC services. Both Palo Alto and Fortinet FortiGate are excellent. While Fortinet FortiGate comes at higher prices, the functionality and support justify the cost. They promptly resolve firmware issues and inform all support providers about configuration changes.

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Andre Lourens

Technical at Gemini Networks

Stable performance and effective control over user access to specific applications and websites

I'm not sure about its scalability since most of my deployments are for small to medium-sized companies. I haven't faced any scalability issues so far. It runs smoothly. I don't use dedicated appliances; instead, I have it running on existing PCs. And it works fine. I haven't experienced any throughput issues or similar problems. I have around five or six different clients using Untangle Application Control.

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Pedro Soteras

CEO at ajuntament del Prat

Network protection has improved with stronger VPN connectivity but administration remains complex

Deploying WatchGuard Firebox was quite easy, but we have had some problems regarding the VPN and the administration of the tool and the two firewalls that we have. When comparing WatchGuard Firebox with our previous solution, Palo Alto, we have had some problems in administration because of the tools. I think that they have some aspects in their system that are cloud-provided, but they also have an on-premise solution, which makes this combination good. Although I should say that when compared to Palo Alto, we have taken a step backwards. In general, I would rate WatchGuard Firebox around 6-7; it is a good firewall, but they lack good administration tools. We experience many problems with the performance and administration tools on the web, including several issues with VPNs.

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Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:

Pros

"It is a scalable solution."

"The most valuable features of Fortinet FortiGate SWG are IPS and scanning."

"The application control features, such as Facebook blocking and Spotify blocking, are the most valuable."

"The most valuable features of Fortinet FortiGate are its SD-WAN capabilities, such as dynamic routing, and other features, including security options such as antivirus, IPS, and IDS—all integrated into one device."

"The initial setup is very straightforward and easy, with wizards helping to configure the device efficiently."

"With FortiClient, you can easily connect when you are home, check out what you want to do, and connect to your network when you are not at work. You can switch on servers and you can check what is wrong."

"The solution is very, very easy to use."

"The best features of this tool include threat protection, email filtering, and web filtering, and FortiAnalyzer's integration with the firewall and FortiSASE is beneficial."

More Fortinet FortiGate pros

"Content filtering is really easy to use. We have rules for content filtering. One of the rules that we have is that if it is not an SSL site, it should block the site. It scans, and if it finds a bad site, it is not going to allow it. We can also block based on what the company wants us to block. If the company wants us to block porn, we'll block porn. If the company wants to block social media, we're going to block social media."

"The fact that I can limit access to certain apps is the most valuable feature for me. For example, I can restrict access to specific websites or certain functions within websites."

"Application filter features are the most valuable for us."

"WatchGuard has a very easy VPN and branch office VPN setup, so we use those pretty extensively."

"Policy VPN, site-to-site VPN, traffic monitoring, anti-spam filters, and all other advanced features are valuable."

"The most valuable feature is the correlation of logs from different devices."

"When you download the executable file from the internet, it automatically sandboxes to make sure it's not doing anything incorrectly."

"One of my favorite features is the Geolocation service, where you can actually block specific activity or IP addresses registered to certain countries. For example, I don't want any web traffic from Russia or North Korea. I may even lock down certain policies down to 'I only want U.S. IP addresses.' I find that very useful."

"It's very easy to use, especially compared to similar products. A lot more users use the WatchGuard appliance now than use the SonicWall appliance because of the ease of usability."

"It's user-friendly. And if you are using a WatchGuard device and you want to test that side of the software, it's quite easy to get the license to test it."

"All of the features have been valuable. There's nothing on my M270 that I'm not using. If you have remote access, you can see how many users are coming from the outside world to be connected to the systems, through the virus systems that we have behind the firewall, in order to gain access to their files and do their work. We can also see how long they stay online and whether these connections are closed forcefully or for any other reasons, such as a glitch or some kind of misbehavior, to see if internet traffic is optimized and if that particular traffic is under company policies, concerning which websites were visited."

More WatchGuard Firebox pros

Cons

"They need to improve their technical support."

"Backup can be improved."

"I haven't had a single issue since using Fortinet."

"I need user-behavior analytics, to find threat scenarios from inside the organization, insider attacks. That would be very helpful for us. In addition, I would like next-generation features for small and medium businesses. These businesses require UTM, all in one product. Fortinet must include it."

"Fortinet FortiGate should improve the VPN tokens."

"There are problems with the custom reporting of the unique traffic. The data is there, but it is too difficult for us to extract."

"Fortinet FortiGate could improve by adding FortiAnalyzer to its solution, we should not have to use another solution. FortiAnalyzer can provide more detailed information."

"From my experience, I see that the datasheets of the Fortinet FortiGate portfolio need to be more accurate because correct sizing is essential."

More Fortinet FortiGate cons

"The only thing that they need to improve is that they drop sessions. Currently, if you see a session come in, such as a DHCP session or a VPN session, you don't have the ability to click on that session, hit drop, and have them re-negotiate. It would be a really nice feature, and they are working on it. This is the only feature that is missing."

"Reporting functionality could be improved to provide more comprehensive insights."

"There is room for improvement in blocking torrents."

"The UI is not as user-friendly as the model that I had used before, which was from Check Point. The design of the Firebox UI is restricted and needs an experienced network guy to understand the format and settings."

"In terms of the reporting and management features — and this isn't necessarily a WatchGuard issue, this seems to be more of an industry-wide issue — you get reports, but a lot of times you don't know what you're looking at. You're so overwhelmed with the data. You're getting a lot of stuff that doesn't matter, so it takes time to parse through it, to actually get what you want to know."

"Since WatchGuard acquired Panda, there may be synergies in consolidating both solutions under a single name to reduce customer confusion."

"The solution is a bit confusing and there are unusual complications with setup."

"There is a slight learning curve."

"I believe there is a need for additional measures to connect mobile devices securely to the Firebox router."

"The website must provide more information on the product."

"I haven’t dug deeply into the reporting features yet or if they are working well. However, I have generated several reports and there was too much unnecessary information, in comparison with the reporting features in the Sophos firewall. Sophos' reporting is more readable and easier to configure."

More WatchGuard Firebox cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The price is okay."

"Fortinet FortiGate has different licensing models, depending on what you're going to do. Services included would depend on the license model. Licenses can be renewed annually."

"Compared to Palo Alto, which we have used in the past, pricing and licensing are okay."

"The solution is more expensive than Sophos. It could be cheaper. The licensing is on a yearly basis. We have had it for about three years. We must only pay extra for the license, additional requirements, and the hardware box."

"It's a year based license."

"Its licenses cost the same for different subscription plans."

"The pricing is perfect."

"The pricing for the product is alright."

More Fortinet FortiGate pricing and cost advice

"Everything is included on the firewall at one price point, and we sell it for $70 a month, which includes the hardware."

"I use the free version of Untangle."

"The solution's most valuable feature is its pricing."

"It is not expensive. Other products like Fortinet and Check Point are of the same price."

"I usually tell people that it's really affordable as well, particularly compared to Cisco."

"It is an entry-level product, so the price is cheap."

"I find the solution to be very affordable."

"The price is so small that I don't pay attention to it anymore. I think we pay a few thousand dollars for two to three years, so about $100 per month. That's for all of our users. There is an additional cost if we want to go with a deeper licensing model, but we just pay for antivirus, IPS, and main product support."

"It's in the medium range. Its price is pretty good considering the functions and add-ons that are used."

"Very competitive pricing regarding throughput compared to other alternatives."

More WatchGuard Firebox pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

12%

Comms Service Provider

Manufacturing Company

Financial Services Firm

No data available

Computer Software Company

11%

Comms Service Provider

11%

Manufacturing Company

Retailer

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	357
Midsize Enterprise	133
Large Enterprise	188

No data available

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	92
Midsize Enterprise	27
Large Enterprise	15

Questions from the Community

Which is the better NGFW: Fortinet Fortigate or Cisco Firepower?

When you compare these firewalls you can identify them with different features, advantages, practices and usage a...

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What is the biggest difference between Sophos XG and FortiGate?

From my experience regarding both the Sophos and FortiGate firewalls, I personally would rather use FortiGate. I know...

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What are the biggest technical differences between Sophos UTM and Fortinet FortiGate?

As a solution, Sophos UTM offers a lot of functionality, it scales well, and the stability and performance are quite ...

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What is your primary use case for WatchGuard Firebox?

We are providing our services to all WatchGuard customers in the region.

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What is your primary use case for WatchGuard Firebox?

We just use it as a secondary WiFi device. We're a small office and we needed to set up a WiFi device for a few of ou...

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What is your primary use case for WatchGuard Firebox?

We're a hospital and we use it for developing our incoming and outgoing policies, and we also use it for VPN.

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Comparisons

Sophos Firewall vs Fortinet FortiGate

Compared 20% of the time

Cisco Secure Firewall vs Fortinet FortiGate

Compared 13% of the time

Netgate pfSense vs Fortinet FortiGate

Compared 6% of the time

OPNsense vs Fortinet FortiGate

Compared 4% of the time

Palo Alto Networks WildFire vs Fortinet FortiGate

Compared 2% of the time

More Fortinet FortiGate Competitors

VMware Carbon Black App Control vs Application Control

Compared 100% of the time

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Sophos Firewall vs WatchGuard Firebox

Compared 7% of the time

OPNsense vs WatchGuard Firebox

Compared 7% of the time

Sophos UTM vs WatchGuard Firebox

Compared 4% of the time

SonicWall TZ vs WatchGuard Firebox

Compared 4% of the time

SonicWall NSa vs WatchGuard Firebox

Compared 4% of the time

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Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Fortinet FortiGate

January 2026

Download Fortinet FortiGate product report

Buyer's Guide

Application Control

January 2026

Download Application Control product report

Buyer's Guide

WatchGuard Firebox

January 2026

Download WatchGuard Firebox product report

Also Known As

Fortinet FortiGate Next-Generation Firewall

No data available

WatchGuard Threat Detection and Response, WatchGuard Application Control, WatchGuard Data Loss Prevention, WatchGuard Gateway AntiVirus, WatchGuard Intrusion Prevention Service

Overview

Fortinet FortiGate is a versatile network security tool offering features like VPN, firewall, web filtering, intrusion prevention, and scalability. It is known for its performance and integration with other Fortinet products, making it a preferred choice for robust cybersecurity.

Fortinet FortiGate stands out as a comprehensive cybersecurity solution with strong performance and ease of configuration. It delivers unified threat management, integrating features such as dynamic routing, SD-WAN support, and centralized management. Despite its strengths, improvements in the web interface's stability, pricing structures, and reporting capabilities are needed. Users seek better integration with third-party tools and automation advancements to enhance the experience further. These enhancements, alongside improvements in bandwidth management and the reduction of licensing costs, are points of interest for users looking to capitalize on FortiGate's extensive capabilities.

What are Fortinet FortiGate's key features?

VPN: Ensures secure remote connections.
Firewall: Protects against unauthorized access.
Web Filtering: Blocks malicious sites and content.
Application Control: Manages and controls applications.
Intrusion Prevention: Detects and prevents vulnerabilities.
SSL Inspection: Enhances security by inspecting encrypted traffic.

What benefits should be considered when evaluating Fortinet FortiGate?

Affordability: Offers cost-effective security solutions.
Reliability: Known for consistent and stable performance.
Integration: Seamlessly integrates with other Fortinet products.
Comprehensive Protection: Provides broad threat protection capabilities.

Fortinet FortiGate is widely implemented across industries as a primary firewall system for securing internet gateways and safeguarding data centers. It supports businesses in achieving SD-WAN integration and enhances cybersecurity by providing essential features like antivirus, web filtering, and application control. Enterprises utilize FortiGate for securing remote connections and ensuring compliance with security standards, making it adaptable for different network sizes and industries.

Fortinet

Application Control provides robust security management by allowing administrators to define which applications can run on user devices, enhancing protection against unauthorized software and potential cybersecurity threats.

In-depth customization and centralized management capabilities make Application Control a reliable choice for enterprises aiming to maintain strict security policies while ensuring efficient resource management. Its ability to restrict unwanted applications and streamline software usage increases compliance and minimizes potential vulnerabilities.

What features make Application Control valuable?

Whitelist Management: Allows only approved applications to execute, reducing malicious activity.
Granular Policies: Tailored access controls for software based on user roles or device types.
Centralized Reporting: Detailed insights into software usage and access attempts for better oversight.

What are the benefits of implementing Application Control?

Enhanced Security: Reduces risk from unwanted and potentially harmful applications.
Reduced IT Costs: Streamlines application management and minimizes resource allocation inefficiencies.
Increased Compliance: Supports adherence to industry regulations by controlling application access.

Application Control is widely adopted across industries such as finance, healthcare, and government sectors where data protection and regulatory compliance are critical. It efficiently manages applications on a network scale, ensuring only sanctioned software operations while providing strategic insights through comprehensive reporting.

Arista

WatchGuard Firebox is a high-performance firewall known for its ease of setup, offering robust security with layered protection and centralized management capabilities.

WatchGuard Firebox stands out for its intuitive management and high throughput, addressing security needs with features like VPN, web filtering, and threat detection. Its centralized control and reporting abilities, along with Active Directory integration, make it popular among varied organizations. Its user-friendly interface and ongoing updates enhance usability and reliability. However, there's a call for better cloud-based administration, scalability, and improved integration with third-party vendors.

What are the key features of WatchGuard Firebox?

Ease of Setup: Quick and straightforward installation process.
GUI: User-friendly graphical interface for simplified navigation.
VPN Features: Secure and efficient virtual private network management.
Web Filtering: Advanced filtering for safer browsing experiences.
Threat Detection: Proactive monitoring and detection of cyber threats.

What benefits or ROI should be evaluated?

Centralized Control: Streamlined management from a single point.
High Throughput: Efficient data handling and processing capacity.
Stable Performance: Consistent and reliable operational functionality.
Active Directory Integration: Seamless connection with user directories.
Customer Service: Strong support service for customer inquiries.

WatchGuard Firebox is implemented across industries to secure internet gateways and protect data in multi-site businesses. Its applications span from Unified Threat Management (UTM) and intrusion prevention to compliance support in business environments requiring secure connectivity through VPNs.

WatchGuard

Sample Customers

Amazon Web Services, Microsoft, IBM, Cisco, Dell, HP, Oracle, Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile, Sprint, Vodafone, Orange, BT Group, Telstra, Deutsche Telekom, Comcast, Time Warner Cable, CenturyLink, NTT Communications, Tata Communications, SoftBank, China Mobile, Singtel, Telus, Rogers Communications, Bell Canada, Telkom Indonesia, Telkom South Africa, Telmex, Telia Company, Telkom Kenya

Bridger Valley Electric, Rathbone Group, Cerebral Palsy of North Jersey (CPNJ), Brown County Schools

Ellips, Diecutstickers.com, Clarke Energy, NCR, Wrest Park, Homeslice Pizza, Fortessa Tableware Solutions, The Phoenix Residence

Buyer's Guide

Application Control vs. WatchGuard Firebox

December 2025

Free Report: Application Control vs. WatchGuard Firebox

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