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Application Control vs WatchGuard Firebox comparison

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Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Aug 5, 2025

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
Sponsored
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
411
Ranking in other categories
Firewalls (2nd), Software Defined WAN (SD-WAN) Solutions (1st), WAN Edge (1st)
Application Control
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
5.2
Number of Reviews
3
Ranking in other categories
Application Control (9th)
WatchGuard Firebox
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.5
Number of Reviews
125
Ranking in other categories
Data Loss Prevention (DLP) (11th), Firewalls (14th), Intrusion Detection and Prevention Software (IDPS) (8th), Anti-Malware Tools (12th), Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) (20th), Application Control (7th), Unified Threat Management (UTM) (2nd)
 

Featured Reviews

Vasu Gala - PeerSpot reviewer
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.
Andre Lourens - PeerSpot reviewer
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.
Rajesh  Makwana - PeerSpot reviewer
Efficient bandwidth management and secure network access with a strong firewall
The primary use case of the Firebox mainly revolves around bandwidth management, unnecessary web blocking, application control, and protection against brute force attacks. It is also implemented for load balancing, SD-WAN, and branch-to-branch connectivity from one location to another. We also use…

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The system is very easy to scale."
"The CLI is robust and powerful, enabling rapid, consistent changes via SSH."
"One of the valuable features is a standardized OS."
"Security solution with a straightforward and quick setup. It's a stable and scalable product."
"FortiGate firewalls are easy to manage through a user-friendly web interface. They also have advanced features like DDoS and DLP. However, I wouldn't recommend enabling all of these features on one device because it can cause performance issues."
"There are many features packed and significant flexibility from Fortinet FortiGate in being able to do numerous things."
"It is stable and easy to use. There are a lot of good resources available on the web."
"FortiGate is more feature-rich and has a broader range of hardware. T"
"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."
"The GUI is easy and intuitive."
"The most valuable feature of this solution is traffic management."
"We have received a good return on investment."
"Two of the functionalities we use most are the traffic monitoring and the full panel dashboard. Those are two things that are very useful for us... In addition, it provides us with layered security. It allows us to determine what types of access, to which networks, we want to allow or deny."
"It is something that we need for compliance, and it has been useful. Their support staff is also amazing."
"The basic functionality is fantastic. It has been performing well. I generated a report on one machine, using that as the deployment machine. When scanning the network, it discovered machines on the network and deployed the same endpoint protection from that one machine I have on my network."
"It also provides us with layered security. It has onboard virus scanning features that allow it to scan before something gets to the host. It will also stop a person from going to a site that is known to be bad."
"The ports that I have assigned appear to be unattainable to outside 'mal-actors,' unless they have an address registered on the internet that this thing is expecting. That's a layer of security."
 

Cons

"The stability of Fortinet FortiGate could improve."
"FortiGate should have a better way of detecting and managing the system memory because otherwise if the memory is too low, a system restart is required."
"The solution needs to improve its integration with cybersecurity."
"There are some cloud-based features that could be much more flexible than they currently are."
"I would like to see more advanced developments of a wireless controller in the future."
"While FortiGate is cheaper than most other solutions, we're seeing increased license renewal costs. Most of our clients are asking for more significant discounts because the price is going up."
"In the next release, maybe the documentation on how to use this solution could be improved."
"Fortinet FortiGate is not very easy to use. The navigation could be improved to make it easier to use."
"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."
"In WatchGuard Firebox, the antivirus and malware detection systems are areas with shortcomings that require improvement since they are the most important elements of a cybersecurity tool."
"We were able to take from an older configuration, build a new one quickly, and get it up and running, which didn't take long, but there was some pain around it."
"I'd like to have better access to workstation monitoring, connection monitoring, and the amount of time an address is being used, to better gauge proper network utilization. If I knew that something was connected to a particular external location for an extended period that seems abnormal, I'd be able to act upon it."
"I would like to see more tutorials on setting up the Firebox."
"The scalability of the solution needs improvement."
"Sometimes I would like to copy a rule set from one box to another box in a direct way. This is a feature that is not present at the moment in WatchGuard."
"The way Secure Sign-On authentication is happening needs to be improved. When the Secure Sign-On portal is turned on, anybody who comes into the campus, whether he or she is a staff member or a guest, has to go past the initial portal. One of the shortcomings is the username. It shouldn't allow permutations or combinations with upper or lower cases. For example, when there is a username abc, it shouldn't allow ABC or Abc. It should not allow the same username, but currently, two separate people can go in. Therefore, its authentication or validation should be improved, and the case sensitiveness should be picked up. If I have restricted someone to two devices, they shouldn't be able to use different combinations of the same username and get into the third or fourth device. It shouldn't allow different combinations of alphabets to be used to log in."
"The few issues that we have had, such as not knowing where to go, they have been answered quickly."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The pricing for this solution is good."
"We are on an annual license to use Fortinet FortiGate."
"Pricing and licensing is a little bit complicated in FortiGate. They are always on the higher side. This is one issue that we always raise with the company that they should reduce the price according to Indian market requirements. There are no costs in addition to the standard licensing fees."
"The price of FortiGate is comparable to that of most other firewall solutions and is more affordable than Cisco."
"Its price could be better."
"Licensing for Fortinet FortiGate is on a yearly basis. Pricing for it is a bit high. It could be cheaper."
"If you purchase a one-year subscription with the hardware and then you want to renew for the second year, it is very costly."
"The price of Fortinet FortiGate is reasonable."
"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."
"We are utilizing an MSP licensing model and are content with the minimal amount spent on the devices rather than committing to long-term licensing."
"The pricing is competitive."
"We only license our corporate one and the one we have at our DR site, we don't worry about the branches. It doesn't pay for us to license the ones at the branches. What they charge for what they call basic maintenance is extremely high for those little fireboxes."
"The licensing can be a one-time purchase unless you need the extra services for example twenty-four seven support."
"Firebox is priced reasonably."
"The cheapest configuration, for maybe five people, is approximately $500."
"The solution's most valuable feature is its pricing."
"We pay about $3,500 every three years."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
16%
Comms Service Provider
9%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Financial Services Firm
6%
No data available
Computer Software Company
14%
Comms Service Provider
11%
Retailer
6%
Manufacturing Company
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
 

Questions from the Community

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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 ...
Ask a question
Earn 20 points
What is your primary use case for WatchGuard Firebox?
We are providing our services to all WatchGuard customers in the region.
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...
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.
 

Also Known As

FortiGate 60b, FortiGate 60c, FortiGate 80c, FortiGate 50b, FortiGate 200b, FortiGate 110c, FortiGate, Fortinet Firewall
No data available
WatchGuard Threat Detection and Response, WatchGuard Application Control, WatchGuard Data Loss Prevention, WatchGuard Gateway AntiVirus, WatchGuard Intrusion Prevention Service
 

Overview

 

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
Find out what your peers are saying about Application Control vs. WatchGuard Firebox and other solutions. Updated: August 2025.
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