Try our new research platform with insights from 80,000+ expert users

IPFire vs Sophos XGS comparison

Sponsored
 

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
7.2
Number of Reviews
318
Ranking in other categories
Software Defined WAN (SD-WAN) Solutions (1st), WAN Edge (1st)
IPFire
Ranking in Firewalls
36th
Average Rating
8.0
Number of Reviews
1
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Sophos XGS
Ranking in Firewalls
13th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.6
Number of Reviews
83
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of April 2025, in the Firewalls category, the mindshare of Fortinet FortiGate is 21.1%, up from 17.7% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of IPFire is 1.7%, up from 0.2% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Sophos XGS is 2.4%, up from 1.0% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Firewalls
 

Featured Reviews

EhabAli - PeerSpot reviewer
Efficient, user-friendly, and affordable
In the past, NSS Labs was utilized to test files and verify the numbers and datasheets. It would be beneficial to have an organization or testing lab that can verify the numbers in our datasheets since changes are frequently made, which can be inconvenient for review. For instance, when comparing different competitors such as Forcepoint, Palo Alto, and Check Point, the throughput or numbers in the datasheet may be lower than the actual numbers. Conversely, Fortinet typically reports very high numbers, but they cannot be replicated in the real world. Therefore, it would be advantageous for them to partner with a neutral testing organization such as NSS Labs to validate these numbers, thus providing more credibility and comfort to everyone regarding the accuracy of the datasheets. For the migration, everyone has a firewall in use and I am selling Fortinet. Typically, I am replacing another firewall. Previously, there was a tool available to convert configurations from one firewall, such as Palo Alto, to Fortinet, but this tool is no longer free. If it could be made free again, it would be very beneficial. This tool shows a lot of promise and is very good. Making it free would help many companies deliver their products in a more efficient and integrated way. It would also be more valuable to include the tool with the firewall package or license instead of having to pay extra for it. Paying extra puts more pressure on small companies to deliver the firewall and complete the configuration, especially if they have hundreds or thousands of policies. It's very painful to move through these policies line by line. The stability has room for improvement. When it comes to Secure SD-WAN, everything is fine. They are going the right way. SD-WAN is very promising. They can provide the SD-WAN solution separately, but they will not take this approach because even the smallest firewall can support the features, so there is no need to have a separate service or appliance. They are following the right steps, and there is nothing to be improved. Feature-wise, I'm really satisfied with the new release, and the features they have added. For now, it's fine.
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…
Jaffar Ali - PeerSpot reviewer
Has provided stability, security, ease of management, and better reporting options
People use Sophos XGS because the overall channel support is very good, so they don't face issues. Additionally, it is competitive in pricing against Fortinet in some cases, especially when considering high availability, email subscriptions, and gateways Sophos XGS has provided stability,…

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The multi-tenancy feature is most valuable. It integrates very well with FortiManager and FortiAnalyzer."
"Fortigate is very scalable to serve our customers' needs. We have scaled already from fifty to more than a hundred instances of Fortinet FortiGate. Around 20 staff are required for deployment and maintenance, mostly engineers."
"The SD-WAN function is very developed. It has SD-WAN functionality with security features in one device. We can manage from one single console SD-WAN and the security policy."
"The inspection and web security features are most valuable."
"It is very flexible to use."
"The IPS is good. It protect my network from attackers."
"FortiGate has led to a reduction in our security budget."
"The security features that they have are quite good. On top of that, their licensing model is quite nice where they don't charge you anything for the SD-WAN functionality for the firewall."
"IPFire has prevented any kind of hacking and enables us to comply with customer requirements."
"It's user-friendly and quite easy to configure. It's easy to communicate with the Sophos support team."
"Sophos XGS is cost effective and provides all necessary security features and throughput."
"It is extremely easy to deploy and fast to learn."
"The most valuable features in Sophos XGS are bandwidth management, content filtering, and WAN link management failover. If one internet activity or one link would fail, automatically it will switch over to another one."
"The stability of Sophos XGS is very high."
"The policies are the greatest feature. They allow us to configure granular control over our network traffic."
"It's easy to use and user-friendly."
"The solution's most valuable features are IPS, IDS, and web application security."
 

Cons

"The pricing could always be better."
"The solution lacks multi-language support."
"The visibility of the network can be better. The GUI can be improved for better visibility of the network flow. Other solutions have better GUI in terms of network visibility."
"We would like to see better pricing."
"Fortinet FortiGate needs to improve the logging and reporting. Additionally, the next-generation application's policies should be improved. When they were released they had bugs."
"They need to improve their technical support."
"I would like to see more advanced developments of a wireless controller in the future."
"There aren't really any negative aspects to discuss."
"Accessing the internet was a bit complicated."
"Sophos should work on its marketing strategy as it seems to lag behind Fortinet."
"I rate Sophos' support five out of 10. It's sometimes difficult to contact them, and finding a solution is not easy."
"The first time a person sets it up, they will need training."
"Some features need remuneration and there are performance improvements required."
"Sophos' technical support has degraded in the last couple of years. They seem to need to ask a lot of questions, even with simple problems, and take a long time to provide solutions."
"There is no option for right-clicking on any feature after logging into the firewall. I am unable to open a feature in a new tab. In FortiGate, I can do it; in Sophos, I cannot."
"In my view, Sophos operates effectively in a reactive mode, focusing on static detection and forwarding traffic. However, Fortinet takes a more proactive approach, blocking both connection and route connections. While Sophos forwards any connection in both inbound and outbound traffic, I believe this is a positive aspect, especially in a country with various sizing considerations. This is my perspective, emphasizing the significance of Sophos XGS in software work."
"The solution could improve inspection processes and troubleshooting for VPNs because this area is very weak."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Before choosing a piece of equipment you have to take into account the cost-benefit offered by each one. Sometimes it is not worth paying a very cheap price to have a minimum level of security."
"It has a competitive price."
"Setup costs and pricing depends on many variables, but it's mostly affordable."
"I would rate the pricing a five out of ten"
"The price is high compared to some of the other solutions."
"Easy to understand licensing requirements."
"In terms of the market, it's not a cheap product, but it's cost-effective."
"The price of FortiGate is reasonable as I plan to buy new switches. The initial gadgets are already booted, and the pricing seems normal on the market. As for additional costs, I haven't subscribed to many extra features, so I'm only using what I need. Last year, I renewed the support for three years, which can sometimes be expensive but depends on the security benefits and how it helps us."
Information not available
"The price of Sophos XGS depends on the type of license. However, the licensing cost is approximately 60 percent of the total cost."
"I would like to see them reduce the price."
"The licensing cost is in the normal range and is not very costly."
"The price of Sophos XGS is less than competitors worldwide. However, in Turkey the solution is expensive."
"The cost is comparable to other similar solutions."
"The price of the solution is reasonable and their target market is small to medium-sized companies."
"The cost of Sophos XGS is based on per unit, per appliance, and capacity."
"I can't recall the exact amount that was paid. It was likely around $12,000 or less - around $4,000 a year."
report
Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Firewalls solutions are best for your needs.
845,406 professionals have used our research since 2012.
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Educational Organization
22%
Computer Software Company
14%
Comms Service Provider
7%
Manufacturing Company
6%
Comms Service Provider
23%
Computer Software Company
14%
Government
8%
Educational Organization
8%
Computer Software Company
15%
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?
Accessing the internet was a bit complicated.
What is your primary use case for IPFire?
We use the solution for firewall, intrusion prevention and detection. We installed it in order to comply with custome...
What advice do you have for others considering IPFire?
I recommend the solution. Overall, I rate the solution an eight or nine 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?
The pricing is justified, and the solution is considered budget-friendly compared to other vendors.
What needs improvement with Sophos XGS?
Hardware stability needs improvement. I have experienced multiple hardware complaints, particularly during firmware u...
 

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 Netgate, Fortinet, OPNsense and others in Firewalls. Updated: March 2025.
845,406 professionals have used our research since 2012.