Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls vs Sangfor NGAF comparison

Palo Alto Networks and Sangfor are both solutions in the Firewalls category. Palo Alto Networks is ranked #6 with an average rating of 8.7, while Sangfor is ranked #18 with an average rating of 7.9. Palo Alto Networks holds a 3.4% mindshare in Firewalls, compared to Sangfor’s 1.3% mindshare. Additionally, 96% of Palo Alto Networks users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 90% of Sangfor users who would recommend it.

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Apr 6, 2025

Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls and Sangfor NGAF are competitors in the network security market. Palo Alto has an advantage due to its advanced threat prevention features and visibility tools.

Features: Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls offer WildFire for sophisticated threat prevention and enhanced application-level control with app-ID and user-ID, providing insights into network activities. Sangfor NGAF delivers application control and is noted for its simplicity and ease of deployment, catering to smaller enterprises.

Room for Improvement: Palo Alto could improve its pricing, user-friendliness, and support, as well as enhance machine learning integration. Sangfor NGAF could expand its feature set with SD-WAN capabilities and improve international support and user interface.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Palo Alto's NG Firewalls are lauded for technical documentation but criticized for cost and configuration complexity. Support experiences are varied. Sangfor NGAF is praised for straightforward deployment and competitive pricing, though support access and training opportunities can improve.

Pricing and ROI: Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls are a premium solution with high costs, justified by security capabilities and performance, but challenging for budget-conscious organizations. Sangfor NGAF offers cost-effective, competitive pricing, suitable for small to medium enterprises, providing essential security features and simple licensing.

To learn more, read our detailed Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls vs. Sangfor NGAF Report (Updated: April 2025).

Buyer's Guide

Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls vs. Sangfor NGAF

April 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 May 2025, in the Firewalls category, the mindshare of Fortinet FortiGate is 21.4%, up from 17.7% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls is 3.4%, up from 3.1% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Sangfor NGAF is 1.3%, up from 0.9% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Firewalls

Featured Reviews

EhabAli

Sr. Cybersecurity Solutions Architect at BMB

Efficient, user-friendly, and affordable

In the past, NSS Labs was utilized to test files and verify the numbers and datasheets. It would be beneficial to have an organization or testing lab that can verify the numbers in our datasheets since changes are frequently made, which can be inconvenient for review. For instance, when comparing different competitors such as Forcepoint, Palo Alto, and Check Point, the throughput or numbers in the datasheet may be lower than the actual numbers. Conversely, Fortinet typically reports very high numbers, but they cannot be replicated in the real world. Therefore, it would be advantageous for them to partner with a neutral testing organization such as NSS Labs to validate these numbers, thus providing more credibility and comfort to everyone regarding the accuracy of the datasheets. For the migration, everyone has a firewall in use and I am selling Fortinet. Typically, I am replacing another firewall. Previously, there was a tool available to convert configurations from one firewall, such as Palo Alto, to Fortinet, but this tool is no longer free. If it could be made free again, it would be very beneficial. This tool shows a lot of promise and is very good. Making it free would help many companies deliver their products in a more efficient and integrated way. It would also be more valuable to include the tool with the firewall package or license instead of having to pay extra for it. Paying extra puts more pressure on small companies to deliver the firewall and complete the configuration, especially if they have hundreds or thousands of policies. It's very painful to move through these policies line by line. The stability has room for improvement. When it comes to Secure SD-WAN, everything is fine. They are going the right way. SD-WAN is very promising. They can provide the SD-WAN solution separately, but they will not take this approach because even the smallest firewall can support the features, so there is no need to have a separate service or appliance. They are following the right steps, and there is nothing to be improved. Feature-wise, I'm really satisfied with the new release, and the features they have added. For now, it's fine.

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AmjadKhan1

Head of data centers at a non-profit with 10,001+ employees

Provides inline protection with a unified view and anti-spyware capabilities

I would rate Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls ten out of ten because it is the best. Our disaster recovery site utilizes Palo Alto Networks Next-Generation Firewalls. We are also in the process of upgrading the firewalls at our 365 sites in Pakistan to Palo Alto Networks firewalls. While budget firewalls may advertise comparable features, they often fall short of effectively detecting viruses, threats, and ransomware. In contrast, Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls, combined with Cortex XDR, provide comprehensive threat intelligence and detection capabilities, ensuring superior security coverage. I recommend conducting a proof of concept before selecting a firewall. This will allow you to evaluate different options and determine which best suits your needs. While Palo Alto offers robust firewall solutions, it's essential to compare them with other vendors to ensure you make an informed decision.

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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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Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"We've found the solution to be pretty stable."

"The initial setup is very straightforward and easy, with wizards helping to configure the device efficiently."

"The most valuable features of Fortinet FortiGate are it is one of the most mature firewalls in the UTM bundle."

"One of the valuable features is a standardized OS."

"Run Script is the best tool to use in Fortinet FortiGate with multiple environments."

"The most valuable feature is the interface, which is very user friendly. We are utilizing most of the features, like content filtering. The firewall is powerful."

"Its administrative panel is very intuitive and simple. It is simpler than the other solutions that we had. As an administrator, we are always looking for the easiest solution to manage network policies. We are able to filter everything on our network and also use the VPN feature, which is important these days when people are working remotely during COVID."

"The most valuable features are simplicity, management, and that it's constantly evolving."

More Fortinet FortiGate pros

"The solution allows us to set parameters on where our users can go. We can block certain sites or ads if we want to."

"Our clients find the most valuable features in Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls to be the user-friendly interface, extensive capabilities, and highly granular rule creation process."

"The payload is a very valuable feature."

"GlobalProtect and App-ID features are very good."

"I love the Policy Optimizer feature. I am also completely happy with its stability."

"I'm using most of its features such as antivirus, anti-spam, and WAF. I'm also using its DNS Security and DNS sinkhole features, as well as the URL filtering and application security features."

"The most valuable features are web filtering and application filtering."

"We utilize advanced threat prevention features like web filtering and SSL decryption, which haven't caused any issues."

More Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls pros

"The VPN connectivity feature is really nice."

"Sangfor is a good solution that provides a WAF and firewall solution. Most other vendors, like Sophos and Fortinet and Cisco, only provide one solution. That's a valuable feature of Sangfor."

"It enables us to not only detect but also prevent various types of incoming threats, allowing us to take appropriate corrective actions and exercise control over the network."

"The stability of Sangfor NGAF is good."

"The top functionality is the reporting feature."

"The level of support provided to local companies is good. They transform their application control and other settings according to that country."

"The most valuable feature of Sangfor NGAF is its integration."

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

More Sangfor NGAF pros

Cons

"Fortinet FortiGate could improve if it had a cloud-managed solution."

"The UI could be improved."

"My only complaint about FortiGate is a lack of QinQ VLAN tunneling. I haven't found this feature in any Fortinet product. You can do this on all Cisco routers, including the smaller models. However, QinQ isn't available on the biggest, most expensive Fortinet units. They still don't have that. I think now we're on software version 6.0, and they still haven't found a solution for QinQ. It isn't a dealbreaker, but that's my main complaint."

"The performance could be a bit better. Right now, I find it to be lacking. Having good performance is very important for our work."

"Currently, FortiGate is providing SSL VPN. But they're missing some features that are available in Palo Alto's SSL VPN."

"Reporting is limited to providing an external appliance for improving the reporting capabilities of the FortiAnalyzer. It does not offer a central management and is also sold separably as an appliance."

"This product could be improved with Active directory integration and better handling in IPsec and GRE Tunnels."

"Due to its higher cost, Fortinet FortiGate can lead to increased operational expenses."

More Fortinet FortiGate cons

"Technical support could be faster."

"There should be more comprehensive documentation, case histories, and technical training on new technologies available on their portal. It will help us with troubleshooting."

"Lacks mobility between on-prem and cloud based."

"The machine learning in Palo Alto NG Firewalls for securing networks against threats that are able to evolve and morph rapidly is good, in general. But there have been some cases where we get false positives and Palo Alto has denied traffic when there have been new updates and signature releases. Valid traffic gets blocked. We have had some bad experiences with this. If there were an ability, before it denies traffic, to get some kind of notification that some traffic is going to be blocked, that would be good."

"We're working with the entry-level appliances, so I don't know what the higher-end ones are like, however, on the entry-level models I would say commit speeds need to be improved."

"The only downside of Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls, in my opinion, is the relatively higher price compared to Cisco FortiGate. This is especially noticeable when deploying basic configurations and considering the cost of licenses."

"The pricing could be improved. They need to work on the setup over the firewall, VLAN, and PPPoE."

"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

"It has an issue with the Sangfor Cloud Platform rather than the firewall. When we run a virtual machine, the window tabs display Chinese characters."

"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."

"The solution has too many bugs and these slow down the implementation."

"The setup phase is quite complex."

"Sangfor need greater exposer in the market because the market is mainly saturated by Fortinet. The user experience of Fortinet is quite different compared to NGAF. If we want to switch our users from Fortinet to NGAF, we have to convince them that the user experience will be much easier once once they start to use it."

"The support offered by the product has certain shortcomings where improvements are required. The knowledge levels and response time of the support team need improvement."

"They need to increase the number of ports in the firewall."

"Sangfor could improve their interface capacity on the 5100 series model and upgrade their hardware from one gig to 10 gig. This would improve the overall throughput."

More Sangfor NGAF cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"It has been two years. I don't remember the actual price, but it was affordable. We buy the boxes and then use the license for three years."

"The licensing costs are very low."

"It scales well if you know what to buy from a physical box standpoint. They seem to offer something for every level."

"Fortinet is the least expensive solution."

"Pricing is good. They offer a lot of things, the most important is the support. Every time you upgrade your license, you also get insurance for the equipment. If you have any problem with equipment, they send in new equipment."

"Setup costs and pricing depends on many variables, but it's mostly affordable."

"Before choosing a piece of equipment you have to take into account the cost-benefit offered by each one. Sometimes it is not worth paying a very cheap price to have a minimum level of security."

"The price for the device and software is high. However, the solution is of good quality and has a lot of features."

More Fortinet FortiGate pricing and cost advice

"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."

"Unfortunately, Palo Alto Networks products aren't cheap, but you have to pay the price for good security technology. I don't know the exact price, but it's about $10,000 to $15,000 without a subscription. Cisco is priced similarly. FortiGate is inexpensive in Poland, so a lot of customers prefer that. Though it's pricey, customers ultimately realize Palo Alto is the best security solution because it's stable and the network security functions are practical. Cisco has some problems from time to time, but I feel comfortable with Palo Alto Networks."

"Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls are expensive."

"This is not the firewall to choose if you are looking for the cheapest and fastest solution. Palo Alto NGFWs are expensive. By the time you license them up and get them fully functional, you have spent quite a bit of money. If it is a small branch office with 10 to 15 users, that is hard to justify."

"The price could be better. Pricing is very different compared to WatchGuard, which costs around 60 lakhs, and FortiGate, which costs approximately 40 lakhs. Palo Alto Networks costs about a crore which is very high pricing. We bought this firewall, and our organization did not want to pay so much. We spent around one crore rupees which is not within our budget at all, and we are unhappy with them."

"We would advise that this solution has a higher price point than other comparable products, however, the license fee covers all the features that the solution can provide and there are not extra costs involved."

"You get what you pay for."

"We are on an annual license for this solution. I am happy with the price and when comparing it to other solutions it is priced competitively."

More Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls pricing and cost advice

"I rate the product price as one on a scale of one to ten, where one is low price and ten is high price."

"Sangfor is cheaper than competing vendors."

"The price is unmatcheable."

"The price falls in the mid-range, neither exceptionally low nor high."

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

"The price could be more competitive."

"Sangfor NGAF is a cheaply priced product, especially if I consider the previous product that was used in my company."

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

More Sangfor NGAF pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Educational Organization

20%

Computer Software Company

14%

Comms Service Provider

Manufacturing Company

Computer Software Company

15%

Financial Services Firm

10%

Manufacturing Company

Government

Computer Software Company

13%

Manufacturing Company

10%

Financial Services Firm

Educational Organization

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

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 is a better choice, Azure Firewall or Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls?

Azure Firewall Vs. Palo Alto Network NG Firewalls Both solutions provide stellar stability and security. Azure Firew...

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Features comparison between Palo Alto and Fortinet firewalls

In the best tradition of these questions, Feature-wise both are quite similar, but each has things it's better at, it...

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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 si...

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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

Comparisons

Sophos XG vs Fortinet FortiGate

Compared 22% of the time

Netgate pfSense vs Fortinet FortiGate

Compared 13% of the time

Cisco Secure Firewall vs Fortinet FortiGate

Compared 11% of the time

WatchGuard Firebox vs Fortinet FortiGate

Compared 5% of the time

More Fortinet FortiGate Competitors

Azure Firewall vs Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls

Compared 11% of the time

Sophos XG vs Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls

Compared 10% of the time

Check Point NGFW vs Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls

Compared 10% of the time

Cisco Secure Firewall vs Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls

Compared 10% of the time

Meraki MX vs Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls

Compared 9% of the time

More Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls Competitors

Sophos XG vs Sangfor NGAF

Compared 16% of the time

Netgate pfSense vs Sangfor NGAF

Compared 4% of the time

Sophos XGS vs Sangfor NGAF

Compared 4% of the time

Check Point NGFW vs Sangfor NGAF

Compared 3% of the time

Cisco Secure Firewall vs Sangfor NGAF

Compared 3% of the time

More Sangfor NGAF Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Fortinet FortiGate

May 2025

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Buyer's Guide

Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls

April 2025

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Buyer's Guide

Sangfor NGAF

April 2025

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Also Known As

FortiGate 60b, FortiGate 60c, FortiGate 80c, FortiGate 50b, FortiGate 200b, FortiGate 110c, FortiGate, Fortinet Firewall

Palo Alto NGFW, Palo Alto Networks Next-Generation Firewall

Sangfor NGAF Firewall Platform

Overview

Fortinet FortiGate offers comprehensive network security and firewall protection across multiple locations. It effectively manages data traffic and secures environments with features like VPN, intrusion prevention, and UTM controls.

Organizations rely on Fortinet FortiGate for its robust integration with advanced security policies, ensuring significant protection for enterprises, cloud environments, and educational sectors. It facilitates network segmentation, application-level security, and authentication management, securing communication within and between locations such as branches and data centers. Its efficient SD-WAN and UTM features enable streamlined data management and enhanced threat protection capabilities. Users appreciate its centralized management, facilitating seamless operations across diverse environments.

What are the key features of Fortinet FortiGate?

VPN Capabilities: Ensure secure remote access for users and seamless site-to-site connections.
Intrusion Prevention System (IPS): Detect and prevent security threats and vulnerabilities.
Advanced Firewall: Offers robust firewalling with application control and web filtering.
SD-WAN: Optimizes application performance and enhances bandwidth management.
SSL VPN: Provides reliable and secure access for remote workers.

What benefits should users expect from Fortinet FortiGate?

High-performance Security: Delivers effective threat mitigation with high availability.
Centralized Management: Simplifies network operations with cloud-based management tools.
Detailed Analytics: Provides comprehensive insights into network activity and security threats.
Load Balancing: Ensures optimal resource distribution and traffic management.

Fortinet FortiGate is crucial in sectors like education, offering robust networks for secure data flow between campuses and facilitating remote learning. In enterprise environments, it allows efficient management of application traffic and security across multiple branches, while in the cloud, it seamlessly integrates with diverse platforms to enhance security infrastructure.

Fortinet

Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls offer comprehensive security, including application control, traffic shaping, threat prevention, and load balancing, designed to secure internal networks, perimeter protection, VPN services, and cloud environments.

Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls are a key choice for managing and protecting data centers, securing remote access, network segmentation, malware prevention, and ensuring high availability and performance for business-critical applications. Known for stability and strong security, these firewalls use application-aware identifiers and IPS/IDS subscriptions to offer advanced threat protection. The unified platform facilitates seamless integration, while GlobalProtect and centralized management via Panorama enhance ease of use. However, there are areas for improvement, including pricing strategies, training, user support, and integration with third-party applications.

What are the essential features?

Stability: Reliable performance in different environments.
Application Control: Identifies applications to manage traffic.
Advanced Threat Protection: Includes DNS security, WildFire, and machine learning.
GlobalProtect: Secure remote access for users.
Centralized Management: Managed via the Panorama platform.

What benefits or ROI should users expect?

Security: Protects against threats with robust features.
User-Friendly: Simplified interface and easy configuration.
High Availability: Ensures performance for critical applications.
Integration: Seamless with existing systems and applications.
Support: Reliable technical support and resources.

In industries like finance, healthcare, and retail, Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls secure sensitive data and meet regulatory requirements. These firewalls help manage large-scale networks in these sectors, providing essential security features and maintaining high-performance standards. They are implemented to ensure compliance, protect patient information, secure financial transactions, and safeguard customer data.

Palo Alto Networks

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

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

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

Buyer's Guide

Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls vs. Sangfor NGAF

April 2025

Free Report: Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls vs. Sangfor NGAF

Find out what your peers are saying about Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls vs. Sangfor NGAF and other solutions. Updated: April 2025.

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