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ESET PROTECT Enterprise vs WatchGuard Firebox comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Feb 15, 2026

Review summaries and opinions

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

ROI

Sentiment score
7.0
ESET PROTECT Enterprise offers strong returns with effective security, easy installation, and up to 30% cost savings over CrowdStrike.
Sentiment score
6.1
WatchGuard Firebox delivers reduced incidents, better security, and savings, despite some difficulty quantifying ROI, enhancing productivity and peace of mind.
The return on investment is excellent due to its functionality and ease of installation.
Director, Information Technology at Premier Realty Group
There was money saving from using ESET PROTECT Enterprise, which is why I switched from CrowdStrike to ESET.
IT Manager at R K Khanna and Associates
From a security standpoint, preventing even a single major security incident or prolonged outage can represent significant cost savings.
Professional Services Engineer at Next7 IT
I do not see any return on investment after WatchGuard Firebox implementation in terms of cost reductions.
CEO at ajuntament del Prat
Reduced incidents and easier management helped lower operational cost.
Security Engineer at Antina Empleos
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
7.9
Customers praise ESET PROTECT Enterprise's support team for being knowledgeable, responsive, and helpful, often rating them 9 or 10.
Sentiment score
6.5
WatchGuard Firebox support is praised for expertise and responsiveness, with satisfaction noted despite some regional communication challenges.
The tech support from ESET is amazing, and I would rate it as ten out of ten.
Owner at Octo-Xpressions
They are very responsive and help in solving issues quickly.
Security Network Engineer at АТ "Банк інвестицій та заощаджень"
Even if support is addressing my problem, if the two issues I mentioned are not resolved, then the support process is not complete.
IT Manager at R K Khanna and Associates
On a scale of one to 10, I would rate the technical support of the WatchGuard Firebox a 10.
Consultant at a tech services company with 51-200 employees
When comparing WatchGuard Firebox with other vendors such as Fortinet, SonicWall, Palo Alto, and Sophos, WatchGuard Firebox performs competitively.
Cyber Security Engineer at Underdefense
Most of the time, support engineers are knowledgeable and able to assist effectively with firewall configuration issues, VPN troubleshooting, firmware updates, and security-related concerns.
Professional Services Engineer at Next7 IT
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
7.5
ESET PROTECT Enterprise is highly scalable, efficiently expanding to thousands of devices, with performance varying across workstations and servers.
Sentiment score
6.6
WatchGuard Firebox offers scalable solutions for small to mid-sized businesses, efficiently managing growth with flexible upgrades and configurations.
It can efficiently scale up to thousands of devices in an organization without issues.
Owner at Octo-Xpressions
I have used many products before, and this solution is definitely scalable.
IT Manager at R K Khanna and Associates
It is better suited for workstations rather than server environments.
Director, Information Technology at Premier Realty Group
Overall, WatchGuard Firebox offers strong scalability for SMBs, MSPs, branch offices, and hybrid environments while keeping deployment and management relatively straightforward.
Professional Services Engineer at Next7 IT
The user interface and features compared to newer firewalls are not up to the mark, which includes functionalities such as filtering, web filtering, threat protection, user identity, and UTM features that need improvement.
Senior Network Consultant at NETOPS
You can choose different models based on throughput and features, which makes it easy to support growing environments.
Security Engineer at Antina Empleos
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
7.4
ESET PROTECT Enterprise operates reliably with minimal maintenance, despite occasional update interruptions and manageable false positives.
Sentiment score
8.0
WatchGuard Firebox is praised for stability, minimal downtime, and excellent performance, with prompt resolutions to occasional hardware issues.
When it performs an update, ESET PROTECT Enterprise should request permission for restarting because otherwise, users lose their work.
IT Manager at R K Khanna and Associates
The solution is stable, and I have not encountered any glitches.
Owner at Octo-Xpressions
The solution is very, very stable.
Director, Information Technology at Premier Realty Group
I have just one WatchGuard Firebox unit that is licensed, and I have no bugs on it, so I am happy with that.
Administrateur Systã¨Mes Et Rã©Seau at Btp Consultants
Once properly configured, the platform handles VPN connectivity, traffic inspection, and security services constantly, even in multi-site environments with remote users.
Professional Services Engineer at Next7 IT
There are issues with traffic hitting the firewall, which could indicate performance problems related to throughput.
Senior Network Consultant at NETOPS
 

Room For Improvement

ESET PROTECT Enterprise needs better deployment, performance, automation, UI clarity, and efficient management, especially for mobile and Mac.
WatchGuard Firebox needs better analytics, performance, usability, pricing, support, learning resources, and cloud integration compared to high-end competitors.
Sometimes, agents lose connection with the management console, and the administration team needs to reinstall the agents on the computers.
Security Network Engineer at АТ "Банк інвестицій та заощаджень"
They need to reduce the number of notifications on the endpoints.
Director, Information Technology at Premier Realty Group
It takes a lot of processing power when the machine is initially booted.
Owner at Octo-Xpressions
It gives good visibility and control over the traffic, and the UI makes it easy to manage policies and respond quickly when something comes up.
Manager at Cyvogenix
Some improvements in threat intelligence integrations and SIEM integration as an out-of-the-box context would be beneficial.
System Analyst at a tech services company with 51-200 employees
The cost for renewal after three years is 75% of the hardware cost, which is a significant problem.
Owner at it logic
 

Setup Cost

ESET PROTECT Enterprise's pricing is seen as cost-effective, offering good value despite being higher than some competitors.
WatchGuard Firebox offers affordable pricing and comprehensive security, appealing to small and mid-sized businesses with flexible licensing.
I pay 40 dollars per agent annually, which is cheaper than 60 dollars per agent for Check Point.
Security Network Engineer at АТ "Банк інвестицій та заощаджень"
We recently paid fourteen dollars and thirty-six cents per unit for 20 users, which is reasonable.
Director, Information Technology at Premier Realty Group
Comparing it to other solutions in the market, it was slightly higher.
IT Manager at R K Khanna and Associates
When we tried to renew the Palo Alto license, the cost was beyond any reasonable range.
Digital Solution Designer at Accenture
Fortinet is more expensive than WatchGuard.
Security Engineer at Antina Empleos
I find WatchGuard Firebox to be cost-effective.
Chief Technology Officer at Falcon Automation
 

Valuable Features

ESET PROTECT Enterprise offers robust security with efficient management, minimal resources, and strong threat detection for online transactions.
WatchGuard Firebox offers robust firewall capabilities, centralized management, and AI-enhanced security, making it ideal for scalable network protection.
It allows simple whitelisting and has a learning mode for new installations, which reduces false positives by adapting to typical user habits.
Director, Information Technology at Premier Realty Group
Its web component prevents infections from malicious websites, which enhances its anti-malware capabilities.
Owner at Octo-Xpressions
One of the strong features of ESET PROTECT Enterprise is its ability to work well on old computers.
Security Network Engineer at АТ "Банк інвестицій та заощаджень"
The Firebox offers valuable features such as network security, URL filtering, UTM features, intrusion prevention and detection, and authentication.
Solution Architect at Simvicitsolutions
The features of WatchGuard Firebox are most valuable for maintaining network security.
Cyber Security Engineer at Underdefense
Some of the best features of WatchGuard Firebox in my experience are its ease of management, strong VPN capabilities, and integrated security services.
Professional Services Engineer at Next7 IT
 

Categories and Ranking

ESET PROTECT Enterprise
Ranking in Anti-Malware Tools
10th
Average Rating
8.8
Reviews Sentiment
7.0
Number of Reviews
16
Ranking in other categories
Extended Detection and Response (XDR) (17th)
WatchGuard Firebox
Ranking in Anti-Malware Tools
7th
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
143
Ranking in other categories
Data Loss Prevention (DLP) (9th), Firewalls (12th), Intrusion Detection and Prevention Software (IDPS) (4th), Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) (10th), Application Control (4th), Unified Threat Management (UTM) (3rd)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of August 2026, in the Anti-Malware Tools category, the mindshare of ESET PROTECT Enterprise is 1.8%, down from 2.1% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of WatchGuard Firebox is 1.6%, up from 0.5% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Anti-Malware Tools Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
WatchGuard Firebox1.6%
ESET PROTECT Enterprise1.8%
Other96.6%
Anti-Malware Tools
 

Featured Reviews

Manikumar David - PeerSpot reviewer
IT Manager at R K Khanna and Associates
Provides comprehensive monitoring and policy implementation with room for memory optimization
ESET PROTECT Enterprise makes the system a little slow sometimes and updates occur at startup. Sometimes unwanted pop-ups appear to users, and they are unable to disable them. The user-friendliness is lacking in some areas. When users are using any computer, ESET PROTECT Enterprise should work in the background without consuming much memory, and any updates should proceed in the background without disturbing the user.
Abhishek Saini - PeerSpot reviewer
Professional Services Engineer at Next7 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.
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Comms Service Provider
13%
Financial Services Firm
11%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Computer Software Company
9%
Comms Service Provider
12%
Construction Company
9%
Outsourcing Company
8%
Manufacturing Company
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business11
Midsize Enterprise2
Large Enterprise2
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business104
Midsize Enterprise30
Large Enterprise17
 

Questions from the Community

What needs improvement with ESET Protect?
One area for improvement in ESET PROTECT Enterprise is its capabilities on Mac devices, which are less functional compared to Windows. In terms of device management, ESET PROTECT Enterprise could i...
What is your primary use case for ESET Protect?
My customers use ESET PROTECT Enterprise to secure all their operating systems; we have a lot of customers who rely on this antivirus. It also acts as a platform where I can manage all the devices ...
What advice do you have for others considering ESET Protect?
I suggest that other users considering ESET PROTECT Enterprise utilize this platform to manage all their laptops and apply security policies effectively to protect their Windows environments. On a ...
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 our employees.
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

ESET Protect, ESET File Security
WatchGuard Threat Detection and Response, WatchGuard Application Control, WatchGuard Data Loss Prevention, WatchGuard Gateway AntiVirus, WatchGuard Intrusion Prevention Service
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Information Not Available
Ellips, Diecutstickers.com, Clarke Energy, NCR, Wrest Park, Homeslice Pizza, Fortessa Tableware Solutions, The Phoenix Residence
Find out what your peers are saying about ESET PROTECT Enterprise vs. WatchGuard Firebox and other solutions. Updated: June 2026.
908,800 professionals have used our research since 2012.