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IPFire vs Sophos XGS comparison

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Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary

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
Ranking in Firewalls
2nd
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
411
Ranking in other categories
Software Defined WAN (SD-WAN) Solutions (1st), WAN Edge (1st)
IPFire
Ranking in Firewalls
34th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
8.5
Number of Reviews
2
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Sophos XGS
Ranking in Firewalls
10th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.4
Number of Reviews
85
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of August 2025, in the Firewalls category, the mindshare of Fortinet FortiGate is 20.8%, up from 17.8% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of IPFire is 2.2%, up from 0.4% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Sophos XGS is 2.4%, up from 1.2% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Firewalls
 

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.
Amr Fouad - PeerSpot reviewer
Prevented any kind of hacking and enables us to comply with customer requirements
We use the solution for firewall, intrusion prevention and detection. We installed it in order to comply with customers requirements IPFire has prevented any kind of hacking and enables us to comply with customer requirements. Accessing the internet was a bit complicated. We opted for this…
Nassif  Kaleny - PeerSpot reviewer
Dynamic web and mail filtering contribute to improved security measures
The reporting system is very poor. I cannot trace any traffic to our site if it feels some threats. It just tells me that there is something during a certain time but does not provide information about the type of threats or how to get rid of them. This needs improvement.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The most valuable features of Fortinet FortiGate are the APIs. They are the most widely known."
"In terms of security, we have not experienced any security flaws or loopholes, and it has proven to be quite stable."
"The initial setup is easy."
"It is a safe product."
"Fortinet FortiGate is the best option on the market when it comes to firewalls."
"It's comprehensive and time-saving. It covers several areas regarding security."
"FortiGate is on the cheaper end, and it offers good value."
"I like how we can achieve total integration."
"I would rate the stability as ten out of ten for IPFire."
"IPFire has prevented any kind of hacking and enables us to comply with customer requirements."
"The stability of Sophos XGS is very high."
"The solution offers more antimalware and antivirus feeds than others."
"We are happy and satisfied with all the features."
"Sophos XGS that's a good firewall. If you use the endpoint, then you have what Sophos calls synchronized security. That will mean that if one of the endpoints is affected, it will be automatically set in isolation."
"It provides good protection services."
"The feature that I find most valuable is the synchronized security option where the endpoint talks to the firewall."
"The most valuable feature of Sophos XGS is the application control."
"Web filtering and intrusion detection are essential features. As system integrators, we also like the dashboard because it's easier to configure all the features."
 

Cons

"Fortinet technical support is lacking, as OEM support is slightly better. Improvement in their technical support could include response time as well as having more technically sound people in tech support."
"In terms of what could be improved, the SD-WAN is quite difficult, because if you install the new box, 15 is okay, but if you change from an old configuration, if there is already configuration and a policy when you change to SD-WAN, you must change the whole policy that you see in the interface."
"Due to its higher cost, Fortinet FortiGate can lead to increased operational expenses."
"The renewal price and the availability could be improved."
"I mostly do administration, and I found Cisco to be the hardest major firewall manufacturer to deal with, with Fortinet FortiGate being the second hardest for me."
"The AI with Fortinet FortiGate is not very well integrated on their devices, and their cloud infrastructure is not as good as Cisco's."
"Fortinet could improve the windows opener or the virtual IP solutions for opening windows. The virtual IP settings need improvement as firewalls are trending in new development directions."
"Fortinet technical support is lacking, as OEM support is slightly better."
"Accessing the internet was a bit complicated."
"The graphical interface could be much better."
"We'd like an interface that can monitor everything."
"There could be improvements for IPsec VPN setup."
"In future releases, this solution could have more graphical elements on the dashboard to make it easier to understand."
"In previous versions, NAT rules were easier to create. After version 18.5, creating a NAT rule has become more complex, requiring the creation of a separate policy and an additional component."
"The configurations can be a bit complex."
"Support is great, however, it can always be improved."
"They should customers who are facing issues with their product reviews; they found bots in it. If they can do their proper research and use the user analysis and testing, that would greatly help the clients."
"The solution could improve by using fewer hardware resources compared to other products like Palo Alto, which has better performance."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The price range is quite acceptable and normal."
"Cost-wise, there is not much difference from Sophos, but feature-wise, we get more features."
"FortiGate's pricing falls within the mid-range when compared to other leading firewall solutions."
"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 price of Fortinet FortiGate is better than Cisco, Check Point, and Palo Alto. In terms of pricing, it's probably a better-priced firewall solution overall."
"Other firewalls are more expensive than Fortinet FortiGate, such as the Azure firewall."
"The price of Fortinet FortiGate is reasonable for an SME."
Information not available
"The licensing cost is in the normal range and is not very costly."
"XGS' price could be lower, though it's moderately priced in the market."
"The pricing for Sophos XGS is reasonable."
"I pay close to $10,000 per year, which I find to be expensive compared to the other similar solution or equivalent solutions."
"The pricing for Sophos is much better compared to that of Fortinet and Check Point. On a scale from one to five with one being expensive and five being competitive, I would rate Sophos' pricing at four. The pricing can be for the hardware appliance and the license, or it can be subscription-based. It can be around 3000 USD up to 25,000 USD per year depending on the model or series of the hardware you choose to buy."
"It is roughly around $4,000."
"A central firewall on the cloud with a cluster might be 70,000 to 80,000 euros for a three-year license."
"We paid around 17,000 pounds for a three-year package."
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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%
Comms Service Provider
21%
Computer Software Company
14%
Government
8%
Educational Organization
7%
Computer Software Company
13%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Comms Service Provider
8%
Educational Organization
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
 

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 IPFire?
The graphical interface could be much better.
What is your primary use case for IPFire?
I use IPFire ( /products/ipfire-reviews ) to protect my home.
What advice do you have for others considering IPFire?
Sometimes configuring IPFire is challenging. Overall, I would rate this solution as eight out of ten.
What do you like most about Sophos XGS?
The policies are the greatest feature. They allow us to configure granular control over our network traffic.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Sophos XGS?
I am satisfied with the price, rating it a nine. There are no extra expenses required after buying the product.
What needs improvement with Sophos XGS?
There is room for improvement in Sophos XGS, specifically in three areas: slowness, centralized synchronization, and ...
 

Also Known As

FortiGate 60b, FortiGate 60c, FortiGate 80c, FortiGate 50b, FortiGate 200b, FortiGate 110c, FortiGate, Fortinet Firewall
No data available
No data available
 

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
1. Siemens 2. IBM 3. Cisco 4. Dell 5. HP 6. Intel 7. Oracle 8. Google 9. Microsoft 10. Amazon 11. Apple 12. Facebook 13. Twitter 14. Netflix 15. Adobe 16. SAP 17. VMware 18. Juniper Networks 19. Ericsson 20. Nokia 21. AT&T 22. Verizon 23. T-Mobile 24. Vodafone 25. Orange 26. Deutsche Telekom 27. British Telecom 28. Comcast 29. Time Warner 30. Sony 31. Samsung 32. LG
Information Not Available
Find out what your peers are saying about IPFire vs. Sophos XGS and other solutions. Updated: July 2025.
865,295 professionals have used our research since 2012.