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CompassOne by Blackpoint Cyber vs WatchGuard Firebox comparison

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Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Mar 15, 2026

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
592
Ranking in other categories
Secure Web Gateways (SWG) (2nd), Firewalls (1st), Intrusion Detection and Prevention Software (IDPS) (1st), Software Defined WAN (SD-WAN) Solutions (1st), WAN Edge (1st), ZTNA (1st), Unified Threat Management (UTM) (1st)
CompassOne by Blackpoint Cyber
Average Rating
9.0
Reviews Sentiment
7.8
Number of Reviews
5
Ranking in other categories
Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) (35th), Vulnerability Management (45th), Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) (39th), Application Control (10th), Managed Detection and Response (MDR) (11th)
WatchGuard Firebox
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
138
Ranking in other categories
Data Loss Prevention (DLP) (11th), Firewalls (9th), Intrusion Detection and Prevention Software (IDPS) (4th), Anti-Malware Tools (6th), Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) (13th), Application Control (3rd), Unified Threat Management (UTM) (3rd)
 

Featured Reviews

Mageshwaran S - PeerSpot reviewer
Solution Architect at airtel
Enables customers to manage security effortlessly with intuitive features and easy integration
In terms of improvements for Fortinet FortiGate, they could offer evaluation licenses, as compared to Meraki, which provides a 90-day evaluation. In Fortinet FortiGate, they do not provide standard evaluation licenses; instead, we need to request them from the OEM through the account manager for POCs. If we want to conduct a demo, we need to work with real hardware. In comparison to Cisco, we have DCloud, which helps with providing demos to customers, but in Meraki, I need to reach out to them, book a lab, and they need to provide all the hardware. I need remote access and L3 engineers to program it; only then can I offer a real-time demo to the customer.
Gary Herbstman - PeerSpot reviewer
Owner at Byte Solutions Inc.
Experienced reduced alert fatigue with streamlined notifications
We use Blackpoint Cyber MDR for our higher-end clients who need a higher level of control over security I appreciate that there are people behind the scenes sorting out valuable alerts from those that are not, so I only get alerts when they are real. This feature ensures that I am notified only…
Abhishek Saini - PeerSpot reviewer
Professional Services Engineer at Nex7 IT
Centralized security management has improved VPN reliability and simplified daily operations
WatchGuard Firebox is a strong and reliable platform overall, but there are a few areas where improvements could make the experience even better. One area is the user interface and navigation in some management tools. While the platform is powerful, certain configurations and troubleshooting workflows can feel less intuitive compared to some newer cloud-native firewall platforms. Another point is reporting and log analysis. Although the logging features are very useful, deeper analytics and more customizable reporting dashboards would make security monitoring much more effective. Firmware upgrades and policy synchronization can sometimes require careful planning to avoid security interruptions. Overall, the core security and VPN functionality are very solid, but improving usability, reporting, and automation would make the platform even stronger. One area that could be improved is the learning curve for new administrators. While experienced engineers can work with the platform effectively, some advanced networking and security configurations can be a bit complex for junior technicians. More guided configuration workflows, smarter recommendations, and simplified troubleshooting tools would make onboarding easier. Another improvement would be more flexible reporting customization for executive-level and client-facing reports.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"We are using this solution to protect our network on every site."
"FortiGate Next Generation Firewall has a stateless balance proposition"
"We recommend FortiGate Next Generation Firewall to people from the SMB segment looking for a cost-effective and single-box solution."
"The product is very stable, easy to troubleshoot, and configure, so it has reduced the time it takes for support."
"It's comprehensive and time-saving. It covers several areas regarding security."
"This solution has a unique range of features that are not available with any other product."
"I would recommend using Fortinet FortiGate because of its usability."
"Having IPS helps in ensuring that our network is protected from potential threats, which is crucial as we implement our payment gateway."
"On my end, the most valuable feature of this solution is that I can install it and forget about it. After that, their SOC team takes over and they only call me when there's a problem."
"Their SOC is phenomenal in not monitoring and responding and taking action."
"I appreciate that there are people behind the scenes sorting out valuable alerts from those that are not, so I only get alerts when they are real."
"On a scale from one to ten, I would rate the overall solution as a ten."
"The solution also watches over Microsoft 365 and keeps a copy of logs."
"The solution is all encompassing and can incorporate email monitoring."
"It has been smooth sailing as far as the product itself is concerned."
"The manageability in WatchGuard is very easy."
"My advice for people that wants to implement the solution is that it is very good, you get value for money, and you will be well protected."
"Their support is excellent, and the stability is very good."
"As a whole, it has a very low requirement for ongoing interaction. It's very self-sufficient. If properly patched, it has very high reliability. The total cost of ownership once deployed is very low."
"It keeps our network secure and that's a good enough return for me."
"It works right out of the box. You just have to enable it and you can start working."
"The controllability is phenomenal; I can control everything with it, anything coming in or out of my network."
 

Cons

"The pricing of the solution is expensive, so it could be cheaper."
"From a pricing perspective, I would rate them a six."
"What could be improved in Fortinet FortiGate SWG is its pricing because it's a bit higher."
"Quality control on their firmware versions needs improvement. When they introduce new firmware, there tend to be bugs."
"There are just some services that aren't available. For example, the Ethernet or point-to-point protocols. They could add these services to their product offering - especially services for ISPs."
"Like any hardware, it has finite scalability restrictions."
"Sometimes, we open a ticket, and it is very difficult to get a solution."
"With the addition of some features, it is possible that FortiGate can be used in all verticals."
"The interface could be more intuitive."
"Some texts seem to report items as normal too quickly."
"The feature we keep asking for is a vulnerability scan."
"The interface could be more intuitive. More transparency is needed in the interface as a lot of details are hidden behind the scenes, making them difficult or impossible to access."
"While I am very satisfied with the service, supporting additional platforms, particularly Linux support, would be a beneficial improvement."
"The solution does not tie into other EDR products like CyberArk or CrowdStrike but that might be more useful."
"The solution's pricing could be improved."
"The support could improve. I had to deal with support to give me new hardware and it took four weeks."
"I would like to see more tutorials on setting up the Firebox."
"What could be improved in WatchGuard Application Control is its price. It could be cheaper. You always want the best price for any solution, but for security products, pricing is usually on the higher side."
"The documentation for the System Manager/Dimension configuration, could be a little bit clearer... The use case where you have multiple sites with multiple firewalls, and one site that has the System Manager server and the Dimension server, wasn't really well defined. It took me a little bit of digging to get that to actually work."
"My impression of the spam blocking capabilities of WatchGuard is not very positive. I do not believe that it is good."
"It can have a couple of false positives, but after you add them to your allow list, it works fine. It could have better Mac support. I am pretty sure it doesn't have much support for Mac. It can be installed on a Mac, but it is not that good."
"What could use some significant improvement in WatchGuard Firebox would be its interface and policy management. An additional feature I'd like to see in the next release of WatchGuard Firebox is the ability to modify an existing policy instead of having to recreate a policy when changes are necessary. At the moment, there's no possibility to modify the policy. You have to delete the policy and recreate it."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The price of FortiGate support is too expensive."
"Although the solution's pricing is high, compared with other products, it may be cheap."
"It is an inexpensive solution."
"If you compare Fortinet FortiGate with Sophos and other firewall products available in the market, this solution is affordable."
"For our organization, the licensing costs are approximately $7,000 per year."
"It is more affordable than Check Point and Palo Alto. Another thing is that all the features and the OS remain the same irrespective of the size of the device. Pricing-wise, Fortinet typically provides one-year support with the firewall appliance. There is also an option for three years which is how their licensing works."
"It is not the cheapest one, but its price is very competitive."
"Cost-wise, there is not much difference from Sophos, but feature-wise, we get more features."
"The pricing is in line with other products."
"The pricing is reasonable."
"It costs me about $800 a year."
"The price of the WatchGuard Firebox is reasonable."
"I find the solution to be very affordable."
"Very competitive pricing regarding throughput compared to other alternatives."
"It's in the medium range. Its price is pretty good considering the functions and add-ons that are used."
"We paid $4000 in AUD for WatchGuard Firebox per year. There were no additional costs."
"The cost three years ago was about $800."
"WatchGuard offers competitive pricing with attractive margins, benefiting both the company and its partners."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Comms Service Provider
10%
Computer Software Company
10%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Financial Services Firm
7%
Computer Software Company
10%
Financial Services Firm
9%
Healthcare Company
7%
Outsourcing Company
7%
Comms Service Provider
11%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Computer Software Company
8%
Construction Company
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business370
Midsize Enterprise138
Large Enterprise195
No data available
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business101
Midsize Enterprise29
Large Enterprise16
 

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...
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 needs improvement with Blackpoint Cyber MDR?
While I am very satisfied with the service, supporting additional platforms, particularly Linux support, would be a b...
What is your primary use case for Blackpoint Cyber MDR?
The solution serves as a baseline security offering. We have implemented it for every client that we do business with.
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

Fortinet FortiGate Next-Generation Firewall
Blackpoint Cyber Managed Detection + Response, Blackpoint Cyber Managed Detection and Response
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
CoreRecon, Peerless Tech Solutions, Lorien Health
Ellips, Diecutstickers.com, Clarke Energy, NCR, Wrest Park, Homeslice Pizza, Fortessa Tableware Solutions, The Phoenix Residence
Find out what your peers are saying about CompassOne by Blackpoint Cyber vs. WatchGuard Firebox and other solutions. Updated: June 2026.
900,644 professionals have used our research since 2012.