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Sophos UTM vs Zyxel Unified Security Gateway comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Nov 7, 2024

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

Sophos UTM
Ranking in Unified Threat Management (UTM)
5th
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
6.7
Number of Reviews
119
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Zyxel Unified Security Gateway
Ranking in Unified Threat Management (UTM)
12th
Average Rating
6.6
Reviews Sentiment
4.9
Number of Reviews
4
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of May 2026, in the Unified Threat Management (UTM) category, the mindshare of Sophos UTM is 9.4%, up from 7.1% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Zyxel Unified Security Gateway is 3.7%, up from 3.3% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Unified Threat Management (UTM) Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Sophos UTM9.4%
Zyxel Unified Security Gateway3.7%
Other86.9%
Unified Threat Management (UTM)
 

Featured Reviews

Bashir Bashir - PeerSpot reviewer
IT Manager at Vegol
Firewall management has become simpler and now provides real-time visibility and bandwidth control
The features I have found most valuable in Sophos UTM are that it is much easier to configure, I appreciate the reporting side of it, and the rules are very straightforward to work with. Sophos UTM's real-time insights into network health help my organization because I get real-time reports on what is happening on my network, what is trying to access me, the destination, and all that. I can then be reactive or proactive, and for zero-day, I think it is beneficial because it can learn what my network does. If anything goes outside what it expects, it sends a report on Sophos Central, so I find zero-day makes my work a bit easier. The use of Sophos UTM's intuitive management console has impacted my security policy enforcement in that it is much easier to configure; I configure with information rather than with presumptions.
reviewer2399337 - PeerSpot reviewer
Sales and technical consultant at a manufacturing company with 10,001+ employees
User has benefited from stable performance and effective completion of security tasks
I use it mostly for VPN and for some firewall solutions When considering my main use case with VPN, I can say that I got the Zyxel Unified Security Gateway, and it works fine. However, we are thinking about using a different solution based on open source because Zyxel Unified Security Gateway…

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"I have no problem with the cost or licensing of this solution; this is a primary reason why I wanted this solution, as it does the same thing cheaper than other name brands."
"​The initial configuration is straightforward thanks to the web GUI. In 30 minutes, you can have a running firewall with UTM protection enabled.​"
"UTM 9 brings along IPSec as well as iPhone and iPad support. This seems small but it’s useful."
"I definitely recommend Sophos. I rate it a nine out of ten."
"It does not take much effort or thinking to understand how it works.​"
"Sophos UTM is very user-friendly and has good integration with other solutions."
"This integration of the antivirus and the firewall works together to enhance security."
"Sophos UTM's best feature is SIM in the cloud, which combines the gateway solution and endpoint solution to send telemetry data to the cloud and provides full contact visibility regarding security."
"The Zyxel Unified Security Gateway solution is stable and does its job effectively."
"The solution can scale well."
"This is a capable appliance and the standard features work well for us."
"This is a capable appliance and the standard features work well for us."
"The most valuable features of the solution stem from web filtering, malware protection, and antivirus."
"The cost is very low."
 

Cons

"Because it is in Indonesia, technical support is only available via email and on the website. There does not appear to be enough technical advice available from support."
"It would be nice if it had basic features, such as DLP (Data Loss Prevention)."
"The solution could be improved by adding cloud soundboxing."
"Sophos UTM is not a highly available and scalable product."
"Its identification of users without the need of setting up Proxies or Identity software could be better, that is probably the trickiest section to setup."
"The solution's technical support for India needs to be improved."
"The technical support only communicates via email. I would prefer to communicate directly with someone."
"Sophos UTM could improve the way the configuration has to be done. I have to do the configuration through the command line interface but if it could be done through the graphical user interface it would be much better."
"Sometimes it reboots when you least expect it, and that's the main issue."
"The product has some scalability and data management issues where improvements are required."
"Although manageable, the user interface is a little bit slow and could be improved."
"I have never seen it in any company that I've worked with before, and I would advise other companies not to buy it."
"Although manageable, the user interface is a little bit slow and could be improved. The advanced UI allows me to do whatever I want, but this is where the issue of speed exists."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"If you can afford it, go for a small Check Point, as it is easier to manage."
"The solution is affordable compared to others, such as FortiGate. The price is important."
"Purchasing it through the AWS Marketplace went smoothly. We did not have any issues and the pricing was decent."
"The prices can be better, they could make it a lot cheaper."
"Unless you are in the United States, or you have to use Sophos, you can't contact Sophos directly. You have to use a third-party ​company, and they all have different ways of how they explain their licensing."
"The biggest issue with Sophos is the pricing. It's definitely more expensive. As I said, we looked at Webroot, which is a big alternative, and Sophos was almost three times the price of Webroot. That's a pretty big difference."
"We originally purchased the solution through the AWS Marketplace. I started my proof of concept doing pay-as-you-go, then moved to a VAR for a 'Bring Your Own Licence' (BYOL) licensing model. The BYOL license still requires you to accept the terms of the AWS Marketplace to deploy."
"For under 50 users, MSP licensing is profitable."
"The price of Zyxel Unified Security Gateway is good compared to other similar products in the market."
"This gateway is pretty cheap."
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893,244 professionals have used our research since 2012.
 

Comparison Review

it_user216600 - PeerSpot reviewer
Senior Technical Consultant with 51-200 employees
Jan 3, 2016
Sophos UTM vs. Fortinet FortiGate
I have used both Sophos and Fortinet products in production and I have found the Sophos UTM appliances (hardware and virtual) to be a better fit most of the time -- with a few caveats which I will touch on below. In both instances, the transition from TMG will be mostly straightforward. The main…
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Comms Service Provider
11%
Construction Company
9%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Computer Software Company
6%
Comms Service Provider
19%
Outsourcing Company
8%
Financial Services Firm
7%
Computer Software Company
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business75
Midsize Enterprise28
Large Enterprise27
No data available
 

Questions from the Community

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 good. The most valuable features for me are their web and email filtering. I wou...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Sophos UTM?
The pricing for Sophos UTM is reasonable; I do not have an issue with it, though I was considering RED because I have different sites I wanted to connect, and instead of doing site-to-site, the RED...
What needs improvement with Sophos UTM?
I would like to improve Sophos UTM in that there is software I use that goes deeper in the reporting on usage. There is software called Fastvue that breaks down everything in the firewall and whate...
What do you like most about Zyxel Unified Security Gateway?
The most valuable features of the solution stem from web filtering, malware protection, and antivirus.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Zyxel Unified Security Gateway?
I cannot definitively comment on whether Zyxel Unified Security Gateway is an affordable product as I haven't done comparisons with other solutions. When our license expires, we plan to explore ope...
What needs improvement with Zyxel Unified Security Gateway?
The integration capability is quite challenging. The system is very complicated, and many features are hidden. I'm looking for something new that is slightly simpler. Regarding user experience, the...
 

Also Known As

Astaro
No data available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

One Housing Group
Information Not Available
Find out what your peers are saying about Sophos UTM vs. Zyxel Unified Security Gateway and other solutions. Updated: April 2026.
893,244 professionals have used our research since 2012.