Sangfor NGAF vs WatchGuard Firebox comparison

Sangfor and WatchGuard are both solutions in the Firewalls category. Sangfor is ranked #23 with an average rating of 8.1, while WatchGuard is ranked #11 with an average rating of 8.0. Sangfor holds a 1.1% mindshare in Firewalls, compared to WatchGuard’s 2.6% mindshare. Additionally, 90% of Sangfor users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 94% of WatchGuard users who would recommend it.

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Nov 9, 2025

WatchGuard Firebox and Sangfor NGAF compete in the network security category. WatchGuard Firebox seems to have the upper hand due to its extensive features and user-friendly interface, while Sangfor NGAF excels in cost-effectiveness and straightforward controls.

Features: WatchGuard Firebox is noted for its intuitive setup, GUI integration, and effective VPN configuration. It offers layered security and detailed reporting features. Sangfor NGAF is praised for its robust application control, real-time threat detection, and affordability, making it ideal for smaller businesses.

Room for Improvement: WatchGuard Firebox users highlight the need for better cloud integration, improved third-party compatibility, and enhanced documentation. Sangfor NGAF could improve its interface simplicity, reporting capabilities, and global support presence.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: WatchGuard Firebox offers multiple deployment options, including hybrid cloud setups, and users commend its robust technical support. In contrast, Sangfor NGAF is perceived as complex in setup, with helpful support but occasionally slower response times.

Pricing and ROI: WatchGuard Firebox is competitively priced with flexible licensing models, providing perceived ROI through security enhancements. Sangfor NGAF is notably cost-effective, often cheaper than Fortinet and Palo Alto, with straightforward licensing appealing to budget-conscious buyers.

To learn more, read our detailed Sangfor NGAF vs. WatchGuard Firebox Report (Updated: December 2025).

Buyer's Guide

Sangfor NGAF vs. WatchGuard Firebox

December 2025

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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

Mindshare comparison

As of January 2026, in the Firewalls category, the mindshare of Fortinet FortiGate is 18.8%, down from 20.7% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Sangfor NGAF is 1.1%, down from 1.1% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of WatchGuard Firebox is 2.6%, down from 2.9% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Firewalls Market Share Distribution
Product	Market Share (%)
Fortinet FortiGate	18.8%
WatchGuard Firebox	2.6%
Sangfor NGAF	1.1%
Other	77.5%

Firewalls

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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Zaid Farooqui

CIO at Indus Motor Company

Enhanced threat detection with integrated security features and good support

We are using application firewalling, WAF, and SD-WAN. The capabilities are mostly within the box. For example, you will get web application firewall WAF as part and parcel of this. SD-WAN is also bundled. It integrates with their SIEM and SOAR solutions very nicely. Lastly, the pricing point is very cost-efficient as well.

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Pedro Soteras

CEO at ajuntament del Prat

Network protection has improved with stronger VPN connectivity but administration remains complex

Deploying WatchGuard Firebox was quite easy, but we have had some problems regarding the VPN and the administration of the tool and the two firewalls that we have. When comparing WatchGuard Firebox with our previous solution, Palo Alto, we have had some problems in administration because of the tools. I think that they have some aspects in their system that are cloud-provided, but they also have an on-premise solution, which makes this combination good. Although I should say that when compared to Palo Alto, we have taken a step backwards. In general, I would rate WatchGuard Firebox around 6-7; it is a good firewall, but they lack good administration tools. We experience many problems with the performance and administration tools on the web, including several issues with VPNs.

Read full review

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The best feature of Fortinet FortiGate is SD-WAN."

"FortiGate is a great solution, although initially, it faced challenges in the Brazilian market due to lower brand recognition than Cisco. However, explaining and demonstrating its product format and offerings has proven easy. The cost-effectiveness and better features of FortiGate have made some clients skeptical. We set up a trial period, and they eventually opted for it. Many clients were convinced it was great after experiencing the solution's capabilities firsthand."

"My clients appreciate it for its features. It is easy to install and manage, and it offers all-around protection, including web filtering, content filtering, IPS, and IDS."

"The most valuable feature is the web filter."

"The pricing is excellent. It's much less expensive than Cisco."

"Fortinet FortiGate has helped me reduce Mean Time To Respond, or MTTR, and helped my organization consolidate all of the tools in one application."

"FortiGate Next Generation Firewall can be described as the most complete solution."

"It has a good UI and overall integration, including FortiGate Manager for controlling all firewalls from a single place."

More Fortinet FortiGate pros

"Sangfor has the best capabilities for securing connections, securing web browsers, securing servers, and general threat protection."

"I think Sangfor NGAF is more valuable than Cisco products because of its simplicity and ease of management. If I compare it with Palo Alto and Cisco, both are quite complex products. And if I compare it with FortiGate firewalls from Fortinet, I have also used all these products. Fortinet and Sangfor NGAF are similar products because the applications behind the application and policy layers are almost identical."

"The top functionality is the reporting feature."

"So far, the performance and reliability of the product have supported our company's critical network traffic."

"The price versus value is good because the solution is less expensive than Sophos, Fortinet, or SonicWall."

"The absolute best part of Sangfor NGAF is their support. It's a 24/7 support channel, and the last time I requested their assistance I got a reply within three minutes. They helped solve the problem immediately."

"In our hospital, Sangfor NGAF works well for us in terms of ensuring confidentiality and availability, which are crucial in the healthcare industry."

"It seems to be a durable, stable product."

More Sangfor NGAF pros

"It does its job very well, and it is quite easy to put to use."

"There are no problems with the technical support. If a problem occurs it gets resolved immediately with our technical support partners."

"The ports that I have assigned appear to be unattainable to outside 'mal-actors,' unless they have an address registered on the internet that this thing is expecting. That's a layer of security."

"The solution has a useful traffic monitor."

"The main features of the solution are the control of the site-to-site network access and the overall features."

"I have found the DNS Watch feature for intrusion and prevention response and APT Locker most valuable to me."

"From my experience with their customer service team, I would say that they seem quite knowledgeable and fairly quick to respond."

"The set up was quite straightforward and we handled it in-house. It took a few hours to deploy the product."

More WatchGuard Firebox pros

Cons

"They could improve the response time and quality of support."

"We were not able to build a full-mesh VPN; however, I am not sure if this was the fault of Fortinet FortiGate."

"If I had any criticism that I would give FortiGate, it would be that they need to stop changing their logging format. Every time we do a firmware upgrade, it is a massive issue on the SIM. Parsers have to be rebuilt. Even the FortiGate guys came in and said that they don't play well in the sandbox."

"Areas of improvement for Fortinet FortiGate include the need for more training and certification, especially when dealing with distributors globally, which presents challenges in product availability and delivery timelines."

"It is somewhat expensive compared to other solutions such as Sophos."

"Fortinet FortiGate IPS could improve the configuration. In some use cases, there can be some configuration conflicts."

"Some of the web policy reports could be improved."

"I would like to see more advanced developments of a wireless controller in the future."

More Fortinet FortiGate cons

"The support for YouTube or the Internet is not enough."

"The cost of licensing is very high compared to other firewalls available here. There should be improvements in hardware scalability, allowing for more storage and memory capacity."

"The tool is expensive."

"The product must provide more IPS features."

"There is room for improvement in dependency on certain infrastructure, like the DNS dependency on the current DNS server that the company has. It should be standalone. It should not depend on any other DNS server."

"Sangfor NGAF could improve by refining its application control policies, especially in addressing challenges with certain types of applications."

"An area of improvement for Sangfor NGAF could be in the field of reporting and logging."

"An area for improvement would be the number of ports defined on the box. In the next release, I would like them to develop their provisioning stage of enrolling end devices."

More Sangfor NGAF cons

"They need to stop the VLAN limitation. They have a VLAN limitation on the size of their boxes. It is the worst thing ever. They basically sell their boxes by the size and the number of VLANs it can handle, which is a real issue. You spend a couple of thousand dollars for a firewall, and you can only do 30 VLANs, which is extremely silly, as a matter of fact. It would be really great to have something for easier mass rule changes. It also needs a drag-and-drop function so that you don't have to constantly duplicate firewall rules. It would be nice to have such a feature because you got one WatchGuard, and you want to mirror its config and change a couple of things in another one and move some things around. It is not as easy as you would necessarily think. It is kind of expensive, and its pricing can be a little better for sure."

"They are working on cloud-based options. However, they do not have the options fully functional in their solution at this time."

"There's always room for improvement, especially if the threats are getting more sophisticated and the IT department cannot sufficiently meet this kind of sophistication with their own knowledge and experience. Knowing that this solution can get up to the level of addressing a lot of these threats is something that everybody wishes for. If we look at the dark web and the lawful web, they are two opposites, and if these two good and bad collide in the world of the internet, you want the best possible product—especially if you cannot get to that point of knowledge. I am just an individual and end user, with limited knowledge of usage. That's why I say there's always room for improvement, from their side and also from mine, because by knowing exactly what they can achieve and the knowledge that they can get on an everyday basis, and the portion that is understandable to me, it's an improvement for them as well."

"Its documentation could be improved. Sometimes, you need to search a bit longer to find what you are looking for."

"Its graphical user interface could be improved because not everybody is technical. There is a lack of knowledge, and they can give some training for this solution."

"I believe there is a need for additional measures to connect mobile devices securely to the Firebox router."

"The scalability of the solution needs improvement."

"In terms of the reporting and management features — and this isn't necessarily a WatchGuard issue, this seems to be more of an industry-wide issue — you get reports, but a lot of times you don't know what you're looking at. You're so overwhelmed with the data. You're getting a lot of stuff that doesn't matter, so it takes time to parse through it, to actually get what you want to know."

More WatchGuard Firebox cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"FortiGate Next Generation Firewall is a very cheap solution."

"It is somewhat expensive compared to other solutions such as Sophos."

"The price of Fortinet FortiGate is reasonable."

"The initial setup is super straight forward and as far as the licensing goes for the small product that we have, the pricing was pretty competitive. It wasn't as simple and as cheap as a SonicWall but for the service we would get it was a good price."

"We pay about $4,000 for a yearly license, and there aren't any additional fees."

"The solution requires a license annually, it is not a user license, you can have as many users as your want. I must renew the license regularly per device."

"It cost us around $73,000 for three years."

"Here in Brazil, we're going through difficult economic times and the tax on the dollar is high. All the solutions from minor competitors are growing in the market. The prices have come more competitive."

More Fortinet FortiGate pricing and cost advice

"Price-wise, I would not consider Sangfor NGAF to be a cheap product. It is an expensive firewall solution, though not as expensive as something like Palo Alto, which is costly. However, the higher price point is justifiable given the feature set the tool provides that other firewalls may not offer in a single dedicated appliance."

"It costs about 8 to 10 thousand dollars per year for 500 users, standard licensing fees included."

"The price could be more competitive."

"We purchased one year technical support and return to factory support, and we also purchased one-year technical support services. So those were additional."

"When it comes to the price of firewall solutions, Sangfor NGAF takes the cake."

"Sangfor NGAF price is reasonable and there is an annual license. However, the maintenance cost can be a bit high."

"It is one of the cheapest tools in the market."

"If one is very cheap and ten is very expensive, I rate the tool's price as three out of ten."

More Sangfor NGAF pricing and cost advice

"The price of WatchGuard Intrusion Prevention Service is pretty reasonable compared to similar solutions."

"We pay about $3,500 every three years."

"WatchGuard offers competitive pricing with attractive margins, benefiting both the company and its partners."

"The licensing can be a one-time purchase unless you need the extra services for example twenty-four seven support."

"It has a very good price. It is not the most expensive one, and it is also not the cheapest one. It is just spot-on in terms of price."

"I usually tell people that it's really affordable as well, particularly compared to Cisco."

"I think the larger firewall packages are much better because a normal firewall is not enough for these times. You need IPS, APT, and all the security features of a firewall that you can buy."

"The two larger devices are about $1,000 each and the smaller ones are about $500 or $600 each... It's cheaper and you have more control because it's self-managed."

More WatchGuard Firebox pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

12%

Comms Service Provider

Manufacturing Company

Financial Services Firm

Manufacturing Company

11%

Financial Services Firm

Computer Software Company

Comms Service Provider

Computer Software Company

11%

Comms Service Provider

11%

Manufacturing Company

Retailer

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	357
Midsize Enterprise	133
Large Enterprise	188

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	15
Midsize Enterprise	10
Large Enterprise	10

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	92
Midsize Enterprise	27
Large Enterprise	15

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...

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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...

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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 ...

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What do you like most about Sangfor NGAF?

I think Sangfor NGAF is more valuable than Cisco products because of its simplicity and ease of management. If I comp...

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What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Sangfor NGAF?

The licensing cost is quite high compared to other available firewalls in the market.

See all answers

What needs improvement with Sangfor NGAF?

The cost of licensing is very high compared to other firewalls available here. There should be improvements in hardwa...

See all answers

What is your primary use case for WatchGuard Firebox?

We are providing our services to all WatchGuard customers in the region.

See all answers

What is your primary use case for WatchGuard Firebox?

We just use it as a secondary WiFi device. We're a small office and we needed to set up a WiFi device for a few of ou...

See all answers

What is your primary use case for WatchGuard Firebox?

We're a hospital and we use it for developing our incoming and outgoing policies, and we also use it for VPN.

See all answers

Comparisons

Sophos Firewall vs Fortinet FortiGate

Compared 20% of the time

Cisco Secure Firewall vs Fortinet FortiGate

Compared 13% of the time

Netgate pfSense vs Fortinet FortiGate

Compared 6% of the time

OPNsense vs Fortinet FortiGate

Compared 4% of the time

Palo Alto Networks WildFire vs Fortinet FortiGate

Compared 2% of the time

More Fortinet FortiGate Competitors

Sophos Firewall vs Sangfor NGAF

Compared 19% of the time

Cisco Secure Firewall vs Sangfor NGAF

Compared 6% of the time

H3C SecPath Firewalls vs Sangfor NGAF

Compared 5% of the time

Netgate pfSense vs Sangfor NGAF

Compared 5% of the time

More Sangfor NGAF Competitors

Sophos Firewall vs WatchGuard Firebox

Compared 7% of the time

OPNsense vs WatchGuard Firebox

Compared 7% of the time

Sophos UTM vs WatchGuard Firebox

Compared 4% of the time

SonicWall TZ vs WatchGuard Firebox

Compared 4% of the time

SonicWall NSa vs WatchGuard Firebox

Compared 4% of the time

More WatchGuard Firebox Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Fortinet FortiGate

January 2026

Download Fortinet FortiGate product report

Buyer's Guide

Sangfor NGAF

January 2026

Download Sangfor NGAF product report

Buyer's Guide

WatchGuard Firebox

January 2026

Download WatchGuard Firebox product report

Also Known As

Fortinet FortiGate Next-Generation Firewall

Sangfor NGAF Firewall Platform

WatchGuard Threat Detection and Response, WatchGuard Application Control, WatchGuard Data Loss Prevention, WatchGuard Gateway AntiVirus, WatchGuard Intrusion Prevention Service

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

Sangfor Next Generation Firewall (also known as NGAF) is a converged security solution providing protection against advanced threat, malware, viruses, ransomware and web-based attacks using integrated security features like firewall, IPS, anti-virus, anti-malware, APT, URL filtering, Cloud Sandbox, and WAF. As the world's first AI-enabled and fully integrated Next Generation Firewall & Web Application Firewall (WAF), NGAF offering the security visibility, real-time detection and response, simplified operation and maintenance and high-performance application layer security needed to operate an enterprise network in total security. Tested and proven to provide cutting-edge network security by ICSA Labs and endorsed by Gartner Inc., NGAF harnesses the power of Sangfor’s Neural-X threat intelligence and analytics platform and Engine Zero’s innovative malware detection to provide next-generation protection for today’s enterprise.

Sangfor

WatchGuard Firebox is a high-performance firewall known for its ease of setup, offering robust security with layered protection and centralized management capabilities.

WatchGuard Firebox stands out for its intuitive management and high throughput, addressing security needs with features like VPN, web filtering, and threat detection. Its centralized control and reporting abilities, along with Active Directory integration, make it popular among varied organizations. Its user-friendly interface and ongoing updates enhance usability and reliability. However, there's a call for better cloud-based administration, scalability, and improved integration with third-party vendors.

What are the key features of WatchGuard Firebox?

Ease of Setup: Quick and straightforward installation process.
GUI: User-friendly graphical interface for simplified navigation.
VPN Features: Secure and efficient virtual private network management.
Web Filtering: Advanced filtering for safer browsing experiences.
Threat Detection: Proactive monitoring and detection of cyber threats.

What benefits or ROI should be evaluated?

Centralized Control: Streamlined management from a single point.
High Throughput: Efficient data handling and processing capacity.
Stable Performance: Consistent and reliable operational functionality.
Active Directory Integration: Seamless connection with user directories.
Customer Service: Strong support service for customer inquiries.

WatchGuard Firebox is implemented across industries to secure internet gateways and protect data in multi-site businesses. Its applications span from Unified Threat Management (UTM) and intrusion prevention to compliance support in business environments requiring secure connectivity through VPNs.

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

The Ministry of Science, Technology, and Innovation (Indonesia), Lawson, Inc. (Philippines), Universiti Sultan Zainal Abidin (Indonesia), TEK Automotive (Italy), etc.

Ellips, Diecutstickers.com, Clarke Energy, NCR, Wrest Park, Homeslice Pizza, Fortessa Tableware Solutions, The Phoenix Residence

Buyer's Guide

Sangfor NGAF vs. WatchGuard Firebox

December 2025

Free Report: Sangfor NGAF vs. WatchGuard Firebox

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