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Palo Alto Networks CN-Series vs Sophos Firewall comparison

Why PeerSpot?
 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Jan 19, 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

Palo Alto Networks CN-Series
Ranking in Firewalls
34th
Average Rating
9.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.4
Number of Reviews
2
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Sophos Firewall
Ranking in Firewalls
4th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
304
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of August 2026, in the Firewalls category, the mindshare of Palo Alto Networks CN-Series is 0.4%, up from 0.1% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Sophos Firewall is 6.5%, down from 11.9% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Firewalls Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Sophos Firewall6.5%
Palo Alto Networks CN-Series0.4%
Other93.1%
Firewalls
 

Featured Reviews

Ahmed_Shalaby - PeerSpot reviewer
Senior Cyber Security Engineer at Beta Information Technology
Application control excels and integration with monitoring system boosts efficiency
I am an integrator working with Palo Alto Networks CN-Series and Panorama. I have been involved with the implementation of Palo Alto Networks CN-Series The stability of Palo Alto Networks CN-Series is excellent. Application control is one of the most valuable features. Its monitoring capability…
Ashutosh Jha - PeerSpot reviewer
Project Engineer at IT Solution
Robust protection has blocked external threats and provides clear visibility into user activity
Sophos Firewall offers multiple features, including IPS, IDS, ATP, NDR, XOps, web protection, application protection, web server protection, and many more. Out of all those features, I find web protection and application protection to be very helpful and valuable in my daily work. Sophos Firewall has positively impacted my organization by preventing outside threats, allowing me to easily monitor my users, and configuring any rule for any user regarding what they need to use and what I am restricting for the particular user. I can share that it has improved productivity because if anyone could ransom my network, they could demand money to decrypt the files, thus saving us money, time, and providing reliability.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The app inspection is very helpful for network security."
"The stability of Palo Alto Networks CN-Series is excellent."
"The most valuable features of Sophos XG for our use cases are its firewall capabilities, its ability to connect to wide area and local networks, and its VPN functionality."
"Sophos XG offers a robust solution with quota management features that are per IP and per user, which I find to be very effective."
"It is a scalable solution."
"The solution seems to be very easy to use."
"I would recommend Sophos XG due to its good value for money, despite its integration issues."
"Compared to other products, Sophos XGS is a user-friendly solution."
"Our ROI is 100% as Sophos XG blocks ransomware attacks and saves the company money by reducing bandwidth consumption, minimizing virus infections, and preventing employees from accessing time-wasting websites."
"The initial setup and configuration was very easy for us, and I think it's easier than the other options in the marketplace."
 

Cons

"Palo Alto Networks CN-Series could improve on its pricing as it is quite expensive."
"I'd like to see more IOPs features."
"The principal tech support is not very present in Malaysia."
"The weakest point is the technical support because they are difficult to get into contact with."
"We need to know which feature is suited to different environments. More live sessions or time-bound training would help us understand better."
"SD-WAN would benefit from further improvement, particularly in terms of incorporating optimization techniques that are not typically found in traditional firewalls. Nowadays, WAN optimization features are being integrated into many firewalls, and implementing similar capabilities in SD-WAN would enhance its performance and functionality."
"The program is rather expensive."
"Sometimes, there is an issue with anti-spam, and Sophos XG suddenly stops processing incoming or outgoing emails. The only solution for this issue is to restart the appliance."
"SD-WAN needs to be improved because it often fails at the network security level."
"It would be good if we could do dual customization."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

Information not available
"It is very expensive."
"We pay about $150."
"The licensing cost is in the normal range and is not very costly."
"For our company, the price was reasonable."
"Sophos XGS is a very expensive solution."
"The price of Sophos XG is reasonable."
"On a scale from one to ten, where one is cheap and ten is expensive, I rate the solution's pricing a seven out of ten."
"The Sophos pricing, in general, is better than SonicWall, Fortinet, WatchGuard, or anybody else."
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Top Industries

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

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business210
Midsize Enterprise61
Large Enterprise53
 

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Palo Alto Networks CN-Series?
The pricing of Palo Alto Networks CN-Series is quite expensive, rating around eight on a scale of one to ten for cost.
What needs improvement with Palo Alto Networks CN-Series?
Palo Alto Networks CN-Series could improve on its pricing as it is quite expensive. The SD-WAN implementation using Panorama needs enhancement because it involves a specific plugin and configuring ...
What is your primary use case for Palo Alto Networks CN-Series?
I am an integrator working with Palo Alto Networks CN-Series ( /products/palo-alto-networks-cn-series-reviews ) and Panorama. I have been involved with the implementation of Palo Alto Networks CN-S...
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 the firewalls change every 5 to 7 years as stated but you really do need to upg...
Which is better - Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls or Sophos XG?
Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls have both great features and performance. I like that Palo Alto has regular threat signatures and updates. I also appreciate that I can just import addresses and URL...
What are the main differences in features between Sophos XG and FortiGate 80F?
Hi Arvind P , The Sophos XG firewall has a number of models right from XG86 to XG135w under the 1U Desktop Form Factor. The Sophos XG appliance that offers a direct competition to the Fortigate 80...
 

Also Known As

No data available
Sophos XG, Sophos XGS
 

Overview

Find out what your peers are saying about Palo Alto Networks CN-Series vs. Sophos Firewall and other solutions. Updated: August 2026.
911,493 professionals have used our research since 2012.