Arista Edge Threat Management NG Firewall vs Sophos UTM comparison

Arista Edge Threat Management NG Firewall vs. Sophos UTM

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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

Abhinandan Yadav

Network Security Engineer at Arrow PC Network Pvt Ltd

Unified security and sd-wan have improved uptime and cut wan costs for multi-site branches

Users report stability issues in certain versions, which requires regular updates. Real-world attacks have also highlighted the need for urgent patching of vulnerabilities.Fortinet FortiGate, while a powerful and feature-rich web firewall, could improve in areas like firmware stability, documentation, and ease of use. The learning curve can be steep for some users. For beginners, support quality can vary, and frequent updates with occasional vulnerabilities call for careful patch management. However, once Fortinet FortiGate is configured, it remains highly reliable and efficient. Customer support needs improvement, as I find it very slow, with reports from other users reflecting that customer support is inadequate.

Perimeter security has reduced botnet attacks and now needs better interface and logging

reviewer2785293

systems engineer at a computer software company with 51-200 employees

The best features Arista Edge Threat Management NG Firewall offers are its ability to push a lot of traffic along with bandwidth management and traffic policy. Bandwidth management and traffic policy help my organization by keeping our internet subscription low. Arista Edge Threat Management NG Firewall has positively impacted my organization by reducing botnet attacks. Immediately after I installed the firewall, it stopped a few botnet attacks.

Firewall management has become simpler and now provides real-time visibility and bandwidth control

Bashir Bashir

IT Manager at Vegol

The features I have found most valuable in Sophos UTM are that it is much easier to configure, I appreciate the reporting side of it, and the rules are very straightforward to work with. Sophos UTM's real-time insights into network health help my organization because I get real-time reports on what is happening on my network, what is trying to access me, the destination, and all that. I can then be reactive or proactive, and for zero-day, I think it is beneficial because it can learn what my network does. If anything goes outside what it expects, it sends a report on Sophos Central, so I find zero-day makes my work a bit easier. The use of Sophos UTM's intuitive management console has impacted my security policy enforcement in that it is much easier to configure; I configure with information rather than with presumptions.

More Fortinet FortiGate pros

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"I think Fortinet is a cheaper, stable, scalable, and reliable device."

"Initial setup is straightforward; there weren't too many issues with setting it up and it takes one hour or so."

"I haven't configured or experienced any stability issues."

"The centralized management allowed us to manage 50 devices effectively, which I found better than Cisco."

"The best features of Fortinet FortiGate include everything about networking, such as routing and VPNs."

"The most valuable features of Fortinet FortiGate are the APIs. They are the most widely known."

"The firewall is stable and that's important."

"The best feature of Fortinet FortiGate is value for money."

"Arista Edge Threat Management NG Firewall has positively impacted my organization by reducing botnet attacks."

"Phish Blocker is a valuable feature."

"The product's initial setup phase is easy."

"We've found the technical support to be helpful."

"Everything from the updates to the signatures has been very helpful for our business."

"Beyond the initial cost, licenses are charged for annually, but they are good value for the service we receive."

"It works well without any maintenance. So far, it has worked pretty well regardless of the traffic."

"Our systems are silent, secure, and we don't have many problems with security policy enforcement."

"The solution has many good features; there was a steep learning curve moving to version 18 but we're now at a point where the solution is more efficient and effective."

"It's easy to use."

"The isolation of infected machines is a big feature. Also, the ability to detect external sources that change files on a file server is really big."

More Sophos UTM pros

Cons

"The support from Fortinet FortiGate could improve. They are not easily accessible when we need them. They could improve their response time."

"The cloud management and automation capability could be improved."

"Fortinet FortiGate could be improved in terms of user friendliness at the policy level and assigning URL based and keyword based features."

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

"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."

"One drawback of Fortinet FortiGate is that they provide two types of models: one with a hard disk and another without. The model without a hard disk has very low ROM where you can store very few logs, after which you need to upload it to the cloud or purchase a firewall with SSD."

"In my opinion, Fortinet FortiGate could be improved by making the appliance smaller than what we have here, as it is pretty big."

"There could be more modifications."

More Fortinet FortiGate cons

"The product has a lot to improve in the area of policy implementation."

"Arista Edge Threat Management NG Firewall can be improved, particularly the user interface, which is not very good, and also the logs, which are not very good."

"The documentation is not clear."

"The technical support used to be excellent but it's no longer as good as it was and we've had some problems getting solutions to the issues that we're having."

"The application control is really bad. It needs a lot of enhancements. The traffic shaping and bandwidth control, and application control need a lot of work."

"Support for IKEv2 is needed in this solution."

"VPN needs IKEv2, but it’s in the roadmap. All other new, cool features will only come to the new Sophos XG Firewall."

"Sophos should be more user-friendly, have more dashboards, and an easier implementation."

"There were a lot of features and functionality in Sophos SG UTM but nothing was state of the art in terms of technology. You did not get the latest functions. It was very monolithic as it was based on an old Linux PuTTY system."

"The five-factor authentication needs improvement."

"Its identification of users without the need of setting up Proxies or Identity software could be better, that is probably the trickiest section to setup."

More Sophos UTM cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"At the time we bought them, I was satisfied with their pricing; I don't know how the new pricing will be."

"It is cheaper and more competitive compared to other options. For example, when comparing Palo Alto products to others, Palo Alto tends to be more expensive. If you compare Cisco's platform, including Cisco Meraki, with Fortinet products, you'll notice that Cisco's offerings are generally higher priced than Fortinet's firewall solutions."

"The solution is very expensive so pricing is rated a one out of ten."

"It is very cost-effective. You get features similar to other firewalls, such as Palo Alto, but at a lower price."

"The cost of Fortinet FortiGate is competitive and not expensive compared to other enterprise- grade solutions. On average, the license cost per year is around seventy percent of the firewall's purchase price."

"Easy to understand licensing requirements."

"The solution could be better priced."

"It's one of the more expensive brands. The 100 series costs around $4,000. They are similar in pricing to what you might get from Cisco solutions and probably other similar ones. They're not more expensive than other similar solutions, but they're certainly not cheaper either."

More Fortinet FortiGate pricing and cost advice

"The tool is quite cheap."

"I consider it an averagely-priced tool."

"Both the technical and cost aspects are feasible since it is possible to obtain and use the device as a PnP solution."

"Purchasing it through the AWS Marketplace went smoothly. We did not have any issues and the pricing was decent."

"This product is free for home users. The more expensive products have better performance."

"If you can afford it, go for a small Check Point, as it is easier to manage."

"Our licensing fees are paid on a monthly basis."

"Sophos UTM has very reasonable pricing."

"It's reasonably priced."

"There was an up-front charge of around $70,000, to purchase the hub and license. Beyond the initial cost, licenses are charged for annually, but they are good value for the service we receive."

More Sophos UTM pricing and cost advice

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Comparison Review

it_user216600

Senior Technical Consultant with 51-200 employees

Jan 3, 2016

Sophos UTM vs. Fortinet FortiGate

I have used both Sophos and Fortinet products in production and I have found the Sophos UTM appliances (hardware and virtual) to be a better fit most of the time -- with a few caveats which I will touch on below. In both instances, the transition from TMG will be mostly straightforward. The main…

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

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

10%

Comms Service Provider

10%

Manufacturing Company

Financial Services Firm

Construction Company

36%

Comms Service Provider

Healthcare Company

Manufacturing Company

Comms Service Provider

11%

Construction Company

Manufacturing Company

Computer Software Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	367
Midsize Enterprise	135
Large Enterprise	193

No data available

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	75
Midsize Enterprise	28
Large Enterprise	27

Questions from the Community

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

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...

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 ...

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Arista Edge Threat Management NG Firewall?

I consider it an averagely-priced tool. Adding additional features does not cost extra. My small company pays around ...

What needs improvement with Arista Edge Threat Management NG Firewall?

Arista Edge Threat Management NG Firewall can be improved, particularly the user interface, which is not very good, a...

What advice do you have for others considering Arista Edge Threat Management NG Firewall?

My advice to others looking into using Arista Edge Threat Management NG Firewall is that it is effective and accompli...

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Sophos UTM?

The pricing for Sophos UTM is reasonable; I do not have an issue with it, though I was considering RED because I have...

What needs improvement with Sophos UTM?

I would like to improve Sophos UTM in that there is software I use that goes deeper in the reporting on usage. There ...

What is your primary use case for Sophos UTM?

Sophos UTM is the primary product I work with, specifically the firewalls. I mainly use the application control featu...

Sophos Firewall vs Fortinet FortiGate

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Compared 26% of the time

Netgate pfSense vs Arista Edge Threat Management NG Firewall

Compared 22% of the time

Check Point Quantum Force vs Arista Edge Threat Management NG Firewall

Compared 11% of the time

Palo Alto Networks VM-Series vs Arista Edge Threat Management NG Firewall

Compared 10% of the time

Kali Linux vs Arista Edge Threat Management NG Firewall

Compared 9% of the time

More Arista Edge Threat Management NG Firewall Competitors

OPNsense vs Sophos UTM

Compared 10% of the time

Netgate pfSense vs Sophos UTM

Compared 7% of the time

Sophos Firewall vs Sophos UTM

Compared 5% of the time

WatchGuard Firebox vs Sophos UTM

Compared 5% of the time

Cisco Secure Firewall vs Sophos UTM

Compared 5% of the time

More Sophos UTM Competitors

Product Reports

Download Fortinet FortiGate product report

Fortinet FortiGate

May 2026

Firewalls

Download Arista Edge Threat Management NG Firewall product report

Arista Edge Threat Management NG Firewall report

Sophos UTM

Download Sophos UTM product report

Also Known As

Fortinet FortiGate Next-Generation Firewall

No data available

Astaro

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

Arista Edge Threat Management NG Firewall enhances network security by managing threats, providing VPN connectivity, and monitoring network traffic. It simplifies network management and ensures compliance with policies, offering features like load balancing and network reliability.

Arista Edge Threat Management NG Firewall is known for its robust security, straightforward deployment, and extensive features. It boasts reliable threat detection, flexible policy management, and scalability, catering to different network sizes. Users appreciate the streamlined management console, consistent performance in threat mitigation, and content filtering capabilities. However, customer support response time needs improvement, and software updates sometimes cause issues. The solution has a steep learning curve and requires more intuitive setup processes. Users find the troubleshooting documentation unclear and the reporting features limited, desiring more comprehensive and customizable options.

What are the key features?

Robust Security: Reliable threat detection and content filtering.
Easy Deployment: Straightforward setup process.
Flexible Policy Management: Adaptable to different requirements.
Scalability: Suitable for varying network sizes.
Streamlined Management Console: Simplifies network management.
Consistent Performance: Efficient threat mitigation.

What are the benefits and ROI?

Enhanced Cybersecurity: Blocks malicious activity and ensures compliance.
Simplified Network Management: Eases the complexity of managing networks.
Improved Network Reliability: Ensures dependable performance.
Efficient Deployment: Reduces setup time and effort.
Comprehensive Threat Protection: Monitors and addresses potential threats.

Arista Edge Threat Management NG Firewall is widely adopted in industries requiring stringent network security and efficient management, including finance, healthcare, and education. Organizations use it for load balancing, ensuring network reliability, and maintaining compliance with strict security standards. Its ability to manage policies and scale according to different network sizes makes it a versatile tool for businesses with complex security demands.

Arista

Sophos UTM delivers comprehensive network security with features like firewall, intrusion prevention, and endpoint protection. Its user-friendly interface and scalable options make it ideal for businesses of varying sizes, ensuring seamless integration with AWS, cloud services, and other Sophos offerings.

With robust Advanced Threat Protection, Sophos UTM offers a holistic approach to security through its intuitive platform. It includes a centralized console for enhanced threat visibility, integrated web application firewall, and secure remote access via SSL VPN and RED device. Critiques focus on limited reporting capabilities, complex licensing, and requiring improvements in VPN and email protection, centralized management, and application control.

What are the key features of Sophos UTM?

Advanced Threat Protection: Protects against sophisticated attacks by integrating multiple security technologies.
Firewall and Web Protection: Provides core security measures with intrusion prevention and application control.
Integrated WAF: Shields applications from vulnerabilities, ensuring secure user interactions.
Scalable Deployment: Supports diverse setups from small businesses to large enterprises, including cloud integrations.

What benefits should users expect from Sophos UTM?

Unified Management: Simplifies security operations through a single management console for cohesive control.
Secure Remote Access: Extends network security to remote users without compromising protection quality.
Cost Efficiency: Offers scalable, cost-effective security solutions to adapt to growing business needs.

Sophos UTM sees implementations in industries needing strong perimeter protection and secure remote access, such as finance, healthcare, and education. It supports seamless network integration, ensuring businesses maintain compliance and safeguard their digital environments effectively.

Sophos

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

Information Not Available

One Housing Group

Arista Edge Threat Management NG Firewall vs. Sophos UTM