Forcepoint Next Generation Firewall vs Palo Alto Networks PA-Series comparison

Forcepoint Next Generation Firewall vs. Palo Alto Networks PA-Series

August 2026

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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:

ROI

Sentiment score

5.2

Forcepoint Next Generation Firewall reduces costs and improves efficiency with centralized management, automation, and reduced workforce needs.

Sentiment score

6.5

Palo Alto Networks PA-Series offers cost-effective security solutions with advanced features, providing significant ROI within three to five years.

Cybersecurity ROI could be $1 or $100 million, depending on the risk of data behind it.

For more quotes and insights, download the Forcepoint Next Generation Firewall report

Sales Manager at Mega tech S.A

It is easy and offers different solutions for each solution type with small, mid, and large scale options available.

VikasTiwari

Senior Network Engineer at Anthology

I did see a return on investment with Forcepoint Next Generation Firewall, as mentioned by the efficiency improvements and the metrics related to how much I cut investigation time, the number of incidents, and the ease of making changes or pushing new configurations.

reviewer2774055

Cybersecurity Engineer at a tech consulting company with 51-200 employees

The return on investment with this product is a hard question because security tends to be a cost center rather than a profit center.

Global Network Engineering Technical Lead at a healthcare company with 5,001-10,000 employees

Palo Alto Networks PA-Series will be more reliable and will save money, time, and multiple resources.

For more quotes and insights, download the Palo Alto Networks PA-Series report

Project Engineer at IT Solution

Palo Alto Networks PA-Series is definitely worth the investment a company is paying to use it.

Nazish Sameer Shaikh

Senior Network Security Engineer at UNITE HERE HEALTH

Customer Service

Sentiment score

5.8

Most customers find Forcepoint Firewall support helpful and reliable, despite occasional delays and logistical challenges.

Sentiment score

6.2

Palo Alto Networks PA-Series customer service is praised for knowledge but criticized for slower response times compared to Cisco.

Unlike Fortinet where you can escalate an issue and quickly get responses from the development team, Forcepoint's process seems slow and challenging.

Sales Manager at Mega tech S.A

TAC engineers are very experienced and troubleshoot issues within the expected timeframe with no problems.

VikasTiwari

Senior Network Engineer at Anthology

We have a point of contact from the account manager to the presales representative, and they connect with the technical support team, providing support in Indian time, so we do not have to worry about US or European time zones.

For more quotes and insights, download the Forcepoint Next Generation Firewall report

Manager Solution Consulting at Accops Systems Pvt Ltd

They're constantly following up after a case has been opened to ensure that it has been resolved properly.

Global Network Engineering Technical Lead at a healthcare company with 5,001-10,000 employees

Cisco TAC support comes within five to ten minutes on the call.

Cloud Network Engineer at a insurance company with 5,001-10,000 employees

Initially, it took one or two hours to get a Palo Alto engineer, which is quite slow.

For more quotes and insights, download the Palo Alto Networks PA-Series report

Operations Specialist - MX Operations at Bank Alfalah Limited

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score

7.2

Forcepoint Next Generation Firewall offers scalable integration, supporting diverse environments with ease in both on-premises and cloud deployments.

Sentiment score

6.9

The PA-Series provides excellent scalability for enterprises, with virtual models offering adaptability for thousands of users and devices.

I can have one management node similar to Palo Alto Panorama, with multiple nodes covering different sites, data centers, or zones.

reviewer2774055

Cybersecurity Engineer at a tech consulting company with 51-200 employees

Even if you have some firewalls in the cluster, it is not necessary to have them on the same version.

Petr Pouzar

IT Consultant at M-COM s.r.o

In a country such as India with a large population, we often need to scale up or down depending on projects and requirements, and it is very much easy to do both ways.

For more quotes and insights, download the Forcepoint Next Generation Firewall report

Manager Solution Consulting at Accops Systems Pvt Ltd

If you talk about virtual firewall, it is easy to autoscale.

Cloud Network Engineer at a insurance company with 5,001-10,000 employees

The solution can handle more than ten thousand users in my organization.

For more quotes and insights, download the Palo Alto Networks PA-Series report

Operations Specialist - MX Operations at Bank Alfalah Limited

There are no restrictions in scalability.

Akhilesh Kumar

Asisstant Manager at Yaskawa America, Inc

Stability Issues

Sentiment score

7.7

Forcepoint Firewall is reliable with minor issues; high-availability setups reduce downtime, though complex deployments may face challenges.

Sentiment score

8.2

Palo Alto Networks PA-Series is praised for stability due to consistent updates, high availability, and reliable long-term operation.

It has many freezes for no reason.

Marcelo-Araujo

Cyber Security Specialist at a comms service provider with 501-1,000 employees

Forcepoint Next Generation Firewall should make some improvements because there is some instability with their software.

reviewer2320872

System Engineer at a computer software company with 1,001-5,000 employees

For more quotes and insights, download the Forcepoint Next Generation Firewall report

I am giving stability a rating of 10 out of 10 because since implementation, we have not observed any issues with Palo Alto Networks PA-Series related to version, vulnerabilities, or anything else.

Cloud Network Engineer at a insurance company with 5,001-10,000 employees

If the data plane hangs or gets stuck, then we can troubleshoot using the management plane.

For more quotes and insights, download the Palo Alto Networks PA-Series report

Project Engineer at IT Solution

Room For Improvement

Forcepoint Next Generation Firewall needs a user-friendly interface, better integration, improved support, and competitive pricing.

Palo Alto Networks PA-Series faces high costs, complex setup, slow support, and demands for better integration, UI, and features.

Fast response and efficient handling of issues, similar to how Fortinet responds, would be great.

For more quotes and insights, download the Forcepoint Next Generation Firewall report

Sales Manager at Mega tech S.A

AI improvements could be beneficial, as having AI capabilities has become an important checkmark feature.

reviewer2220669

CEO at a comms service provider with 11-50 employees

I recommend that additional features be included in a single license to avoid the need for extra licensing costs.

Aamir Ejaz

Head of IT Department at Mana

You can buy cheaper products, but I believe in the value they're giving us.

For more quotes and insights, download the Palo Alto Networks PA-Series report

Global Network Engineering Technical Lead at a healthcare company with 5,001-10,000 employees

The interface of Palo Alto Networks PA-Series should be made much more user-friendly.

Michael Chiao

IT Coordinator at CSA Makati

For the next release of the Palo Alto Networks PA-Series firewall, I would like to see logs monitoring included.

Akhilesh Kumar

Asisstant Manager at Yaskawa America, Inc

Setup Cost

Forcepoint's pricing is competitive, especially in Asia, with variable licensing terms and additional costs for extra features.

Palo Alto Networks PA-Series provides high-end security and support valued by enterprises, despite its higher price compared to competitors.

The costs can be high since additional features require separate licenses.

Aamir Ejaz

Head of IT Department at Mana

In terms of price, I would say Forcepoint Next Generation Firewall is not expensive.

Manager Solution Consulting at Accops Systems Pvt Ltd

In terms of pricing, I would place Forcepoint in the middle when compared to other firewalls like Fortinet and Palo Alto.

For more quotes and insights, download the Forcepoint Next Generation Firewall report

Sales Manager at Mega tech S.A

The firewall is expensive for every company, but the cost is worth it to ensure maximum security.

Operations Specialist - MX Operations at Bank Alfalah Limited

The price of Palo Alto Networks PA-Series is expensive.

Michael Chiao

IT Coordinator at CSA Makati

Overall, the pricing is good, but if they included GlobalProtect, it would be more valuable.

For more quotes and insights, download the Palo Alto Networks PA-Series report

Project Engineer at IT Solution

Valuable Features

Forcepoint NGFW offers robust security, easy integration, advanced protection, and versatile deployment with centralized management for seamless connectivity.

Palo Alto Networks PA-Series offers advanced security features and simplified management for organizations prioritizing data security and flexibility.

Forcepoint Next Generation Firewall has impacted my organization positively by making it very easy to work and offering a more competitive price compared to other vendors.

Marcelo-Araujo

Cyber Security Specialist at a comms service provider with 501-1,000 employees

Forcepoint Next Generation Firewall has positively impacted my organization by providing always-on perimeter security.

reviewer2783121

Responsabile System and Security at a energy/utilities company with 501-1,000 employees

Strong network segmentation is my favorite feature that Forcepoint Next Generation Firewall offers.

reviewer2774055

Cybersecurity Engineer at a tech consulting company with 51-200 employees

For more quotes and insights, download the Forcepoint Next Generation Firewall report

Integrated threat intelligence has empowered my organization to adapt to threats by taking a lot of the burden off us; there's just no way we would see the same breadth of knowledge that a vendor or manufacturer would have.

Global Network Engineering Technical Lead at a healthcare company with 5,001-10,000 employees

Palo Alto Networks PA-Series has multiple security features, including antivirus, IPS, and behavior-based analysis.

Project Engineer at IT Solution

The most effective features of the solution are its Magic Quadrant positioning, making it a leading firewall on perimeter areas and internet edges.

For more quotes and insights, download the Palo Alto Networks PA-Series report

Operations Specialist - MX Operations at Bank Alfalah Limited

Categories and Ranking

Forcepoint Next Generation ...

Ranking in Firewalls

25th

Average Rating

7.6

Reviews Sentiment

6.5

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Software Defined WAN (SD-WAN) Solutions (10th), WAN Edge (11th)

Palo Alto Networks PA-Series

Ranking in Firewalls

18th

Average Rating

8.6

Reviews Sentiment

7.0

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of August 2026, in the Firewalls category, the mindshare of Forcepoint Next Generation Firewall is 1.0%, up from 0.5% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Palo Alto Networks PA-Series is 1.1%, up from 0.7% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Firewalls Mindshare Distribution
Product	Mindshare (%)
Palo Alto Networks PA-Series	1.1%
Forcepoint Next Generation Firewall	1.0%
Other	97.9%

Firewalls

Featured Reviews

Unified security management has improved traffic control and simplified remote workforce access

Manager Solution Consulting at Accops Systems Pvt Ltd

Forcepoint Next Generation Firewall does help in vulnerability identification and response by providing a single unified console through which I am able to monitor and manage infrastructure. The URL filtering capability of Forcepoint Next Generation Firewall helps in blocking malicious sites. We have to take care of both known threats and unknown threats. The firewall takes care of known threats, and we protect ourselves from unknown threats such as malicious code and malware that we cannot create firewall rules for. With these routing capabilities and policies, only whitelisted things get processed or passed. The biggest advantages of Forcepoint Next Generation Firewall, especially as a partner, service provider, and integrator, are that it is very easy to integrate these APIs with our solution, and most of the features I am getting in the clientless mode. Even with the client mode, it is easy to integrate with our client, allowing the customer to get a single client to address all the features of the firewall as well as the GTNA perspective. The flexibility of deployment, especially for the government and defense sectors, is that they want an on-premises solution, while the rest of the PSUs or enterprise segment are comfortable with the cloud offering, which is the SaaS offering and the way to go in the future.

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Identity-based perimeter control has improved security and supports reliable remote access

Cloud Network Engineer at a insurance company with 5,001-10,000 employees

Currently, we are working with vendors such as Palo Alto Networks PA-Series, Cisco, Check Point, and Citrix. Palo Alto Networks PA-Series is a better firewall. Deep packet inspection and threat prevention basically comply with whatever traffic is incoming and outgoing through the firewall. I do not think anything improvement is required. The thing is that Palo Alto Networks PA-Series works mostly on a license-based model. If you want to utilize any feature, you have to purchase the license. For example, URL filtering requires a license purchase. It simplifies the implementation because LDAP server profile can be integrated. Basically, that simplifies the implementation of access rule or security policy.

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Construction Company

13%

Financial Services Firm

10%

Manufacturing Company

Outsourcing Company

Comms Service Provider

Outsourcing Company

Government

Computer Software Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	29
Midsize Enterprise	11
Large Enterprise	14

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	14
Midsize Enterprise	6
Large Enterprise	17

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Forcepoint Next Generation Firewall?

In terms of price, I would say Forcepoint Next Generation Firewall is not expensive. It is very much comparable to other vendors, and pricing is not a problem, especially for the Asian market, with...

What needs improvement with Forcepoint Next Generation Firewall?

The negative side of Forcepoint Next Generation Firewall is that the ZTNA part is missing. For that, we have to integrate a third-party component with Forcepoint Next Generation Firewall to complet...

What is your primary use case for Forcepoint Next Generation Firewall?

The major use cases for Forcepoint Next Generation Firewall are in government turnkey projects where we require a lot of traffic coming from the public domain. That is why we are putting these fire...

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Palo Alto Networks PA-Series?

If we look at the features, then the price is good, but they do charge for the GlobalProtect VPNs. Overall, the pricing is good, but if they included GlobalProtect, it would be more valuable.

What needs improvement with Palo Alto Networks PA-Series?

There is room for improvement in Palo Alto Networks PA-Series in the areas where they can minimize applications and implement features that can be useful for us.

What is your primary use case for Palo Alto Networks PA-Series?

I am using Palo Alto Networks PA-Series to ensure protection and cybersecurity by preventing and implementing network security features to safeguard networks against threats and malware. I have to ...

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Product Reports

Forcepoint Next Generation Firewall

August 2026

Forcepoint Next Generation Firewall report

Download Forcepoint Next Generation Firewall product report

Palo Alto Networks PA-Series

July 2026

Download Palo Alto Networks PA-Series product report

Also Known As

Forcepoint NGFW, Stonesoft Next Generation Firewall, McAfee Network Security Platform, Intel Security Network Security Platform

No data available

Overview

Forcepoint Next Generation Firewall offers robust network protection with features like URL filtering and advanced threat protection, ensuring comprehensive security and operational efficiency across various infrastructures.

Forcepoint Next Generation Firewall integrates URL filtering and advanced threat protection, including intrusion prevention and DDoS prevention. The centralized management console provides application awareness, strong network segmentation, and SD-WAN capabilities. Its graphical interface enhances user experience, while efficient technical support and seamless integration offer stability and scalability. Companies use it for perimeter security, VPNs, and threat prevention, optimizing performance in diverse sectors.

What are the key features of Forcepoint Next Generation Firewall?

URL Filtering: Provides robust protection against malicious sites.
Advanced Threat Protection: Includes IPS and DDoS prevention.
Centralized Management: Simplifies control across multiple devices.
Application Awareness: Enhances security policies.
Network Segmentation: Ensures strong internal security structures.
SD-WAN Capabilities: Optimizes wide area network configurations.

What benefits should users expect when evaluating?

Operational Efficiency: Streamlined management with a centralized console.
Enhanced Security: Comprehensive threat protection and VPN solutions.
Scalability: Easily adapts to infrastructure growth.
Integration: Seamlessly works with existing architectures.

Forcepoint Next Generation Firewall is widely implemented in sectors including finance, education, and government, offering security for data centers and managing remote access with IPsec VPN tunnels, SSL VPNs, and site-to-site connectivity. Companies appreciate its use for Unified Threat Management and automatic optimization, ensuring data security and efficient network performance.

Forcepoint

Palo Alto Networks PA-Series is essential for firewall implementation, perimeter defense, securing infrastructure boundaries, web filtering, VPN, and threat prevention. Organizations deploy it for secure cloud connections, internet security, and managing network devices.

Companies trust Palo Alto Networks PA-Series to protect corporate networks from external threats, control traffic between networks, and meet regulatory compliance. Integrating well with applications, it offers centralized management and advanced security features such as IDS, IPS, and GlobalProtect. It ensures stable performance, application-based policy enforcement, and decryption of SSL traffic while providing efficient resource usage and comprehensive logging.

What are the key features?

Stability: Reliable performance for continuous protection.
App-ID: Application-based policy enforcement.
URL Filtering: Prevents access to malicious websites.
Security Controls: Comprehensive threat prevention mechanisms.
User-Friendly Interface: Simplifies management and operations.
Efficient Resource Usage: Optimized for minimal resource consumption.
Reporting: Detailed logs and analytics for better insights.
Antivirus: Protects against malware and viruses.
WildFire: Advanced threat prevention with machine learning AI.
Protocol Anomaly Detection: Identifies unusual network behavior.
SSL Decryption: Ensures secure traffic inspection.
Encryption: Safeguards sensitive data.
VPN Capabilities: Secure remote access for users.
Active Directory Integration: Streamlines user authentication.
Quality of Service (QoS): Manages network traffic efficiently.

What benefits should be evaluated?

Enhanced Security: Superior threat prevention and detection.
Centralized Management: Streamlined control of network devices.
Regulatory Compliance: Assists in meeting legal requirements.
Operational Efficiency: Reduced resource usage and downtime.
Comprehensive Reporting: Complete visibility into network activities.
Scalability: Adapts to growing network demands.
User Accessibility: Simplifies secure access for remote employees.

Palo Alto Networks PA-Series is implemented across industries like healthcare, finance, retail, and manufacturing. In healthcare, it ensures patient data protection and compliance with HIPAA. Financial institutions utilize it to secure transactions and meet regulatory standards. Retailers benefit from protecting customer information and securing online payments. Manufacturing companies deploy it to safeguard intellectual property and control plant floor operations.

Palo Alto Networks

Sample Customers

California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR)

Information Not Available