Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls vs WatchGuard XTM [EOL] comparison

Palo Alto Networks and WatchGuard are both solutions in the Firewalls category. Additionally, 96% of Palo Alto Networks users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 90% of WatchGuard users who would recommend it.

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Oct 19, 2025

WatchGuard XTM [EOL] and Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls are competing in the firewall technology space. While WatchGuard XTM [EOL] offers simple configurations and appeal to budget-conscious businesses, Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls provide more advanced security features, making them preferable for enterprises prioritizing comprehensive protection despite higher costs.

Features: WatchGuard XTM [EOL] provides basic security features, ease of use in small environments, and straightforward rule configuration. It is known for robust VPN capabilities. Meanwhile, Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls offer advanced threat prevention, application visibility, and cloud integration. These features emphasize Palo Alto’s focus on delivering a comprehensive security package with robust application control and detailed traffic visibility.

Room for Improvement: WatchGuard XTM [EOL] could enhance its feature set by integrating more advanced threat prevention tools and improving scalability for larger enterprises. Its application visibility and cloud integration also need enhancement. Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls, on the other hand, might improve in simplifying their deployment process and reducing the technical expertise required, as well as enhancing their initial cost-effectiveness.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: WatchGuard XTM [EOL] is praised for its straightforward deployment, appealing to businesses seeking quick and simple implementations. It is suitable for administrators with varying experience levels, offering intuitive management interfaces. Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls offer extensive support services, crucial for facilitating complex and large-scale deployments, despite requiring more technical know-how initially. Their customer service is comprehensive, helping users navigate through advanced configurations.

Pricing and ROI: WatchGuard XTM [EOL]'s lower cost attracts cost-sensitive organizations aiming for immediate savings. However, Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls justify their higher prices through long-term security benefits and advanced features, leading to potentially higher ROI. Businesses prioritizing robust security over initial expenditures might find Palo Alto’s offerings more valuable despite their costly nature.

To learn more, read our detailed Firewalls Report (Updated: March 2026).

Buyer's Guide

Firewalls

March 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:

Categories and Ranking

Fortinet FortiGate

Featured Reviews

Vasu Gala

Manager, Information Technology Operation/Presales at TechMonarch

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.

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Sven-Verbeke

Solution Architect // Network Consultant at Group S

Network security has improved and allows detailed user-based control over encrypted traffic

Bandwidth usage is not something we use much, but it depends on the SD-WAN plugin because the application load balancing is based on the SD-WAN product. That functionality does not work as it should, although the App-ID is working very well. SD-WAN functionality is working, but when you compare it with other products on the market, it is very limited. Palo Alto also has ION devices, and ION devices together with Prisma Access or Strata Cloud Manager now are more the way to go than using Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls on-premises. At the moment I have some issues, but the issues are more related to the general way of working of many vendors. They implement new things very fast and it is not always bug-free. With new releases, sometimes you still have some issues. This is the main concern. If you look back five or maybe ten years ago, the products were more stable and you had more decent releases, but that is something in general for many vendors. Palo Alto is also a factor with that. They want to bring new features to the market too fast. Features are a concern because all vendors try to compete against each other. If one vendor comes out with a new feature, then other vendors do the same. Sometimes they want to be the first on the market with it, and that sometimes introduces bugs or issues with the product.

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Generalm4545

General Manager- IT & Automation - Serum at a pharma/biotech company with 1,001-5,000 employees

Protects from attack software and hacking but it doesn't provide the reports in a readable format

In my opinion, image clarity is very important, because I don't get the proper image product on reports. This means that functionality is not there. My engineer does not know how he can replace an order. We attach a log after any kind of keys using a utility instead. For the internet policies that we are implementing, the policy should be based on proper protocols. We use the default policies and there are a number of third-party protocols that appear here. Management with WatchGuard XTM means that out of policy is the problem from our side. In this way, we can not do effective services for people with this one. The policy definition with WatchGuard XTM is not proper for all use case requirements. I've got weekly business reports that I am expecting attachments with from WatchGuard XTM that display data for all kinds of consideration which should be required. Main User Functionality Level Order must adhere to using the admin functionality on the registry, or else our users publish their own name. Maybe these recommendations are irrelevant, but I say that the issue to improve most with WatchGuard XTM is the Main User Function.

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Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"One of the most valuable features of FortiGate Next Generation Firewall (NGFW) is the ease of usability it offers."

"The most valuable feature of this solution is the analytics."

"The ROI is great, as these boxes are not that expensive compared to what they can do, their functionality, and the reporting you receive."

"It controls the traffic in the organization and the navigation of the Internet, blocks some sites, permits limited access to our information through the web, and lets us detect any attack of viruses or malware at the first point of contact."

"The most valuable features of Fortinet FortiGate are the APIs. They are the most widely known."

"For application filtration, I really appreciate many features of Fortinet FortiGate because it is more reliable, easy to use, and the reports are easy to read and understand."

"The best feature of Fortinet FortiGate is the IPS or IDS implementation."

"This firewall is an antivirus, protects against spam, and is an IPS."

More Fortinet FortiGate pros

"We have not had to replace hardware routers nor purchase additional hardware. So, that has provided a little bit of an ROI."

"This is arguably the best security protection that you can buy."

"The technology's very good. We have had a lot of good experience with this solution."

"The solution's most valuable feature is the robust firewall, which we can also use as a UTM device."

"The initial setup process is quite easy."

"We have seen a return on investment; some of the use cases that we have already delivered to the organization have shown that a lot of threats have been identified and have been blocked, and at the same time, the effort was significantly reduced on the deployment of new routes based on this."

"Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls' application context, traffic flow, netting, and other features help provide protection in a more secure way."

"Palo Alto NGFW provides a unified platform that natively integrates all security capabilities, which is very useful."

More Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls pros

"Go for it. It's a great product with many security features and offers great protection for your network."

"WatchGuard XTM2050A has enterprise class performance with the cost of an SMB class device."

"I like the HostWatch because I can see what traffic uses the most bandwidth and I can block that site."

"Flawless. I have had my firebox for 3 years now and never had an issue with it."

"For the current network demand, I think the product is worth buying as it is not too expensive and it has almost all the features that I need."

"It costs less than the SO works and others (like SonicWall, Cisco, and Barracuda) without increasing so much CPU use."

"I have found the GUI interface to be invaluable, as it is very intuitive and easy to manage."

"We use WatchGuard XTM as a privileged access management solution; I complained about another unstable product and we switched to WatchGuard, which has been good."

More WatchGuard XTM [EOL] pros

Cons

"At first glance, the interface for the device is very confusing."

"The captive portal could be improved."

"I would like to see improvements in the IPS/IDS feature to enhance protection against attacks from attackers, including ransomware protection."

"The ease of use could be improved."

"The learning curve is a bit higher."

"Some of the filtering is not robust, you can escape it with a VPN. Some of the users bypass some of the filters."

"The cloud features can be improved."

"The solution isn't exactly scalable, especially when it comes to the public cloud environment."

More Fortinet FortiGate cons

"I would like to see some Machine Learning because I have observed new types of attacks that are able to bypass existing security rules."

"In the cloud, the HA could be a lot better. Its price could also be better. It is very expensive."

"Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls offer best-in-breed security but could improve by reducing their pricing."

"We use ACC which is a tool for verifying the activity or traffic within your network. Currently, in ACC, the time of the samples that they offer is about five minutes. When you try to go down to a shorter duration, you can't. You only have five minutes. They can provide samples for shorter durations, such as one minute."

"On the entry-level models I would say commit speeds need to be improved; if I make changes on the firewall and I want to commit changes, that can take two or three minutes to commit those changes."

"This solution cannot be implemented on-premises; it's only a cloud solution. The price is high as well."

"We haven't had any issues so far."

"The machine learning component on the firewall level requires more computing power to perform at the full production level. Therefore, the ML is currently providing partial real-time attack prevention."

More Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls cons

"Sometimes the local firebox management tool is flaky."

"The technical support is very bad. The price is very high, the response time is very long, and technical support does not provide a general solution."

"The initial setup is neither simple nor complex. If you know the base in networking and how the firewall works, you will be able to figure it out."

"Expensive Requires client-server application to use some advanced features"

"The issue that we had was that the integration with Active Directory was a bit of a hassle."

"VPN tunnel lost packet."

"Licensing should be improved."

"The WatchGuard gateway wireless functionality for managing access points leaves much to be desired."

More WatchGuard XTM [EOL] cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Each feature costs money, so it is important to study your needs."

"The solution is very expensive so pricing is rated a one out of ten."

"I would rate the pricing a five out of ten"

"I do not have first-hand experience with the rice of Fortinet FortiGate, but I have heard the price was reasonable."

"If the price of the license in Fortinet FortiGate was less expensive it would be better."

"It's a very full-featured and it's priced well solution."

"It has a competitive price."

"The price depends on the size of the company. From the beginning, you just want to know the internet bandwidths, speed, and the number of users to be able to offer the right product and model. They have a lot of products in FortiGate according to the size of the company, like 200D and 300D."

More Fortinet FortiGate pricing and cost advice

"Palo Alto Networks offers more cost efficiency compared to Cisco, with better operational and maintenance ease."

"Palo Alto can be priced higher than some less capable firewalls. However, they are exceptional when you consider the completeness of the solution and its ability to handle threats. Palo Alto is better than other solutions, which justifies a slightly higher price point. You have other tools that are easier to deploy, reducing your total cost of ownership. The newer models are faster, making the pricing more attractive."

"The cost is steep, but most firewalls cost a lot."

"The solution is expensive."

"Definitely look into a multi-year license, as opposed to a single-year. That will definitely be more beneficial in terms of cost... Palo Alto is definitely not the cheapest, but if you scale it the right way it will be very comparable to what's out there."

"It is a little bit expensive."

"Licensing is a big issue for us because of the complexity and the lack of engagement from Palo Alto. It has been hard to talk with them as we don't get the best answers."

"The cost of the license is platform-dependent. It would be nice if they standardized that across the board to make the license a flat fee instead of based on scale and the platform you're using. Functionality shouldn't change based on the platform or the amount of data going through it. It's the same functionality on there. That's one aspect customers often raise. The platform's price is what it is, but the ongoing cost of the annual license is hard for some customers to wrap their heads around."

More Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls pricing and cost advice

"It costs less than the SO works and others (like SonicWall, Cisco, and Barracuda) without increasing so much CPU use."

"The licensing and renewal is very expensive."

"Get at least a maintenance contract for the updates and take a larger WatchGuard than you need. A WatchGuard creates new ways to secure your network."

"Like all other manufacturers, there are a lot of features and different pricing. The best is to talk to a representative."

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

11%

Comms Service Provider

10%

Manufacturing Company

Financial Services Firm

Computer Software Company

10%

Manufacturing Company

Financial Services Firm

Educational Organization

No data available

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	361
Midsize Enterprise	135
Large Enterprise	190

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	74
Midsize Enterprise	56
Large Enterprise	85

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	24
Midsize Enterprise	7
Large Enterprise	3

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Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls have both great features and performance. I like that Palo Alto has regular threat si...

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Comparisons

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Compared 19% of the time

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Netgate pfSense vs Fortinet FortiGate

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OPNsense vs Fortinet FortiGate

Compared 3% of the time

Check Point Quantum Force (NGFW) vs Fortinet FortiGate

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Cisco Secure Firewall vs Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls

Compared 18% of the time

Cisco Meraki MX vs Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls

Compared 13% of the time

Check Point Quantum Force (NGFW) vs Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls

Compared 10% of the time

Check Point CloudGuard Network Security vs Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls

Compared 5% of the time

Azure Firewall vs Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls

Compared 4% of the time

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Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Fortinet FortiGate

March 2026

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Buyer's Guide

Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls

March 2026

Download Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls product report

Buyer's Guide

WatchGuard XTM [EOL]

March 2026

Download WatchGuard XTM [EOL] product report

Also Known As

Fortinet FortiGate Next-Generation Firewall

Palo Alto NGFW, Palo Alto Networks Next-Generation Firewall

No data available

Overview

Fortinet FortiGate is a versatile network security tool offering features like VPN, firewall, web filtering, intrusion prevention, and scalability. It is known for its performance and integration with other Fortinet products, making it a preferred choice for robust cybersecurity.

Fortinet FortiGate stands out as a comprehensive cybersecurity solution with strong performance and ease of configuration. It delivers unified threat management, integrating features such as dynamic routing, SD-WAN support, and centralized management. Despite its strengths, improvements in the web interface's stability, pricing structures, and reporting capabilities are needed. Users seek better integration with third-party tools and automation advancements to enhance the experience further. These enhancements, alongside improvements in bandwidth management and the reduction of licensing costs, are points of interest for users looking to capitalize on FortiGate's extensive capabilities.

What are Fortinet FortiGate's key features?

VPN: Ensures secure remote connections.
Firewall: Protects against unauthorized access.
Web Filtering: Blocks malicious sites and content.
Application Control: Manages and controls applications.
Intrusion Prevention: Detects and prevents vulnerabilities.
SSL Inspection: Enhances security by inspecting encrypted traffic.

What benefits should be considered when evaluating Fortinet FortiGate?

Affordability: Offers cost-effective security solutions.
Reliability: Known for consistent and stable performance.
Integration: Seamlessly integrates with other Fortinet products.
Comprehensive Protection: Provides broad threat protection capabilities.

Fortinet FortiGate is widely implemented across industries as a primary firewall system for securing internet gateways and safeguarding data centers. It supports businesses in achieving SD-WAN integration and enhances cybersecurity by providing essential features like antivirus, web filtering, and application control. Enterprises utilize FortiGate for securing remote connections and ensuring compliance with security standards, making it adaptable for different network sizes and industries.

Fortinet

Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls deliver advanced threat protection with machine learning, enhancing security through real-time attack prevention. Known for application visibility and a user-friendly interface, they offer robust network protection and flexibility in rule creation.

Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls are designed to secure environments with features like GlobalProtect VPN, WildFire malware detection, and unified platform integration. Their strong firewall capabilities and high-performance throughput make them suitable for perimeter and data center protection, VPN configurations, application control, and network segmentation. Users consistently highlight the ease of managing network security policies and integrating third-party tools, ensuring a comprehensive protection strategy. While enhancements in support, training resources, and configuration simplicity are needed, these firewalls are integral for securing both on-prem and cloud environments, aligning with platforms like Azure and AWS.

What are the key features of Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls?

Application Visibility: Provides insight into network traffic for better control.
Threat Prevention: Uses machine learning for real-time attack prevention.
GlobalProtect VPN: Secures remote access efficiently.
WildFire Malware Detection: Detects and prevents advanced threats.
Unified Platform Integration: Enhances network security through seamless integration with other tools.

What benefits should be evaluated when considering Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls?

Flexibility in Rule Creation: Allows customized security policies to meet specific needs.
High-Performance Throughput: Ensures efficient network operations under high load.
Comprehensive Policy Management: Simplifies overseeing and adjusting security policies.
Robust Endpoint Security: Protects endpoints against sophisticated threats.
Seamless Integration: Works well with third-party tools for a comprehensive solution.

Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls are commonly implemented across industries for securing LAN environments, URL filtering, and ensuring Zero Trust security. They secure both on-premises and cloud infrastructures, often becoming integral parts of security frameworks within enterprises. Leveraging these firewalls in conjunction with Azure or AWS enhances the overall network protection strategies employed by organizations.

Palo Alto Networks

Small businesses need big security, too, and the WatchGuard XTM Series firewall/VPN appliances deliver that strong protection, but without the hefty price tag. Enterprise-grade security includes full HTTPS content inspection, VoIP support, and optional security subscriptions like Application Control and Intrusion Prevention Service.

WatchGuard

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

SkiStar AB, Ada County, Global IT Services PSF, Southern Cross Hospitals, Verge Health, University of Portsmouth, Austrian Airlines, The Heinz Endowments

AVG, Cyren, Kaspersky Lab, Lastline, NCP engineering, Trend Micro, Websense

Find out what your peers are saying about Fortinet, Netgate, Sophos and others in Firewalls. Updated: March 2026.

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