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VirusTotal vs WatchGuard Firebox comparison

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Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Feb 15, 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

VirusTotal
Ranking in Anti-Malware Tools
8th
Average Rating
8.8
Reviews Sentiment
7.3
Number of Reviews
10
Ranking in other categories
Threat Intelligence Platforms (TIP) (7th)
WatchGuard Firebox
Ranking in Anti-Malware Tools
7th
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
143
Ranking in other categories
Data Loss Prevention (DLP) (12th), Firewalls (11th), Intrusion Detection and Prevention Software (IDPS) (4th), Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) (11th), Application Control (4th), Unified Threat Management (UTM) (3rd)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of November 2026, in the Anti-Malware Tools category, the mindshare of VirusTotal is 3.1%, down from 4.1% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of WatchGuard Firebox is 1.6%, up from 0.8% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Anti-Malware Tools Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
WatchGuard Firebox1.6%
VirusTotal3.1%
Other95.3%
Anti-Malware Tools
 

Featured Reviews

Hanish Dhamecha - PeerSpot reviewer
SOC Analyst L2 at a tech vendor with 10,001+ employees
Improves security alerts and analysis with comprehensive insights
I would like to see improvements in the score consistency and accuracy. VirusTotal should add more details like those from competitors such as URL Void or Symantec URL Checker, which show the category of websites. The addition of a file selection option to analyze files would also enhance the service.
reviewer2805000 - PeerSpot reviewer
Senior System Administrator at a consultancy with 51-200 employees
Centralized security management has improved VPN reliability and simplified daily operations
WatchGuard Firebox is a strong and reliable platform overall, but there are a few areas where improvements could make the experience even better. One area is the user interface and navigation in some management tools. While the platform is powerful, certain configurations and troubleshooting workflows can feel less intuitive compared to some newer cloud-native firewall platforms. Another point is reporting and log analysis. Although the logging features are very useful, deeper analytics and more customizable reporting dashboards would make security monitoring much more effective. Firmware upgrades and policy synchronization can sometimes require careful planning to avoid security interruptions. Overall, the core security and VPN functionality are very solid, but improving usability, reporting, and automation would make the platform even stronger. One area that could be improved is the learning curve for new administrators. While experienced engineers can work with the platform effectively, some advanced networking and security configurations can be a bit complex for junior technicians. More guided configuration workflows, smarter recommendations, and simplified troubleshooting tools would make onboarding easier. Another improvement would be more flexible reporting customization for executive-level and client-facing reports.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"With VirusTotal, I can check for any hash, malware, file, domain, IP URL, or malicious URL, and Kaspersky stays clean."
"The most valuable feature is the worldwide malware information database."
"It is quite simple for anyone if they just want to check some suspicious URLs."
"It allows us to see if there have been previous reports on certain indicators of compromise, providing insights from other security professionals."
"I have never had any problems with stability or bugs while using VirusTotal."
"It gives detailed information about suspicious IPs, which is one of its most valuable features."
"It provides detailed insights into possible malicious behavior, dropped files, and TCP connections."
"It can scan the dark web and find if an email ID has been compromised. This is another area that we have not explored yet."
"This solution has provided ease and speed of rules, with unparalleled troubleshooting and excellent reporting."
"I like WatchGuard's network segmentation features. It's easy to configure user policies."
"WatchGuard Firebox has improved our organization one hundred percent from before we started using it."
"The price of the solution is not expensive, it is less than FortiGate."
"It's pretty simple to understand when you want to do any diagnostics on your network. If you want to go in and see what packages are having trouble getting through, what's being held, stalled, etc., it's very easy to use in that way."
"The tool's most valuable feature is the dashboard."
"From my experience with their customer service team, I would say that they seem quite knowledgeable and fairly quick to respond."
"It does the job of what it says it does. We set it to what we want it to block and then it blocks it."
 

Cons

"VirusTotal needs better advertisement and promotion, especially in the Middle East, since it is not yet widely recognized or popular in that region."
"VirusTotal has predefined reports, but there is a lot of manual effort involved."
"They can improve the telemetry. Whenever we handle a sample, they cannot provide any information about a victim."
"There is room for improvement, particularly in making some of the most useful features more accessible in the non-paid version."
"I would like to see an improved user interface and some automation."
"The platform could improve in the areas of endpoints and networks."
"I would like to see improved correlation with other threat intelligence sources, not just reliant on its own database, to enhance the database of threat intelligence that VirusTotal offers."
"There should be room for improvement, particularly in the API side of things."
"The usability could be better, but it is definitely manageable. If we have to go to a backup internet connection, that could be a little bit easier."
"In terms of usefulness and reducing frustration, at my level, it's a three."
"The time they take to classify an application once they find that it is unknown can be better."
"WatchGuard Gateway AntiVirus is just a firewall."
"The pricing could be improved. It is definitely one of the more expensive products, though you can't really compare it to Ubiquiti or SonicWall."
"My impression of WatchGuard's spam-blocking capabilities is that this might be the weakest point of the product, as it does not have great spam management compared to other competitors in the market, but it has not affected us excessively."
"While the management of interfaces is straightforward, certain advanced configurations can become complex in large deployments, as it mainly targets small to mid-cap industries."
"The administrative UI/UX could be significantly improved."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"VirusTotal is an expensive solution."
"The pricing is very economical."
"We are using VirusTotal with free licenses, managing the license limits across three or four accounts, thus incurring no costs."
"The pricing is reasonable."
"The price of WatchGuard is very good."
"The licensing can be a one-time purchase unless you need the extra services for example twenty-four seven support."
"The pricing was in line with everyone else; maybe slightly higher."
"Over the years, the costs have increased, especially since I cater to very small businesses."
"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."
"It is kind of expensive. I buy it on the appliance. I always buy three-year total security."
"I buy a three-year renewal on the main device, which is usually around $3,000 to $4,000. They usually upgrade the device when I do it. You get a big discount when you do three years."
"I find the solution to be very affordable."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Comms Service Provider
12%
Computer Software Company
11%
Financial Services Firm
10%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Outsourcing Company
13%
Comms Service Provider
12%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Financial Services Firm
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business4
Midsize Enterprise2
Large Enterprise5
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business104
Midsize Enterprise30
Large Enterprise17
 

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for VirusTotal?
I do not know about the pricing or licensing as our organization services VirusTotal for our clients.
What needs improvement with VirusTotal?
I would like to see improvements in the score consistency and accuracy. VirusTotal should add more details like those from competitors such as URL Void or Symantec URL Checker, which show the categ...
What is your primary use case for VirusTotal?
As I work in an incident response role, my daily task is to mitigate the security alert and perform the analysis part. When any alerts come, I check the IPs from where they originate and the locati...
What is your primary use case for WatchGuard Firebox?
We are providing our services to all WatchGuard customers in the region.
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 our employees.
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.
 

Also Known As

No data available
WatchGuard Threat Detection and Response, WatchGuard Application Control, WatchGuard Data Loss Prevention, WatchGuard Gateway AntiVirus, WatchGuard Intrusion Prevention Service
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Information Not Available
Ellips, Diecutstickers.com, Clarke Energy, NCR, Wrest Park, Homeslice Pizza, Fortessa Tableware Solutions, The Phoenix Residence
Find out what your peers are saying about VirusTotal vs. WatchGuard Firebox and other solutions. Updated: September 2026.
920,769 professionals have used our research since 2012.