Palo Alto Networks Virtualized Next-Generation Firewalls - VM Series vs. Sophos UTM

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
Virtualized Next-Generation Firewalls - VM Series
Score 9.7 out of 10
N/A
The VM-Series is a virtualized form of Palo Alto next-generation firewall that can be deployed in a range of cloud environments. The VM-Series natively analyzes all traffic in a single pass to determine the application identity, the content within, and the user identity.N/A
Sophos UTM
Score 8.9 out of 10
N/A
Sophos UTM provides core firewall features, plus sandboxing and AI threat detection for advanced network security. It has customizable deployment options.N/A
Pricing
Palo Alto Networks Virtualized Next-Generation Firewalls - VM SeriesSophos UTM
Editions & Modules
No answers on this topic
No answers on this topic
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
Virtualized Next-Generation Firewalls - VM SeriesSophos UTM
Free Trial
NoYes
Free/Freemium Version
NoNo
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
NoNo
Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
Additional Detailst2.small - $0.123 - Total / hr m3.medium - $0.417 - Total / hr m3.large - $0.883 - Total / hr m3.xlarge - $1.366 - Total / hr m3.2xlarge- $1.982 - Total / hr c3.large - $0.555 - Total / hr c3.xlarge - $1.11 - Total / hr c3.2xlarge - $1.72 - Total / hr c3.4xlarge - $2.59 - Total / hr c3.8xlarge - $3.68 - Total / hr c4.large - $0.55 - Total / hr c4.xlarge - $1.099 - Total / hr c4.2xlarge - $1.698 - Total / hr c4.4xlarge - $2.546 - Total / hr c4.8xlarge - $3.841 - Total / hr m4.large - $0.868 - Total / hr m4.xlarge - $1.365 - Total / hr m4.2xlarge- $1.931 - Total / hr
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
Palo Alto Networks Virtualized Next-Generation Firewalls - VM SeriesSophos UTM
Top Pros
Top Cons
Features
Palo Alto Networks Virtualized Next-Generation Firewalls - VM SeriesSophos UTM
Firewall
Comparison of Firewall features of Product A and Product B
Palo Alto Networks Virtualized Next-Generation Firewalls - VM Series
9.5
6 Ratings
11% above category average
Sophos UTM
-
Ratings
Identification Technologies9.76 Ratings00 Ratings
Visualization Tools9.56 Ratings00 Ratings
Content Inspection10.06 Ratings00 Ratings
Policy-based Controls9.56 Ratings00 Ratings
Active Directory and LDAP9.56 Ratings00 Ratings
Firewall Management Console9.46 Ratings00 Ratings
Reporting and Logging9.36 Ratings00 Ratings
VPN9.26 Ratings00 Ratings
High Availability8.85 Ratings00 Ratings
Stateful Inspection10.06 Ratings00 Ratings
Proxy Server9.44 Ratings00 Ratings
Best Alternatives
Palo Alto Networks Virtualized Next-Generation Firewalls - VM SeriesSophos UTM
Small Businesses
pfSense
pfSense
Score 9.2 out of 10
pfSense
pfSense
Score 9.2 out of 10
Medium-sized Companies
Next-Generation Firewalls - PA Series
Next-Generation Firewalls - PA Series
Score 9.3 out of 10
pfSense
pfSense
Score 9.2 out of 10
Enterprises
Next-Generation Firewalls - PA Series
Next-Generation Firewalls - PA Series
Score 9.3 out of 10
Next-Generation Firewalls - PA Series
Next-Generation Firewalls - PA Series
Score 9.3 out of 10
All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
User Ratings
Palo Alto Networks Virtualized Next-Generation Firewalls - VM SeriesSophos UTM
Likelihood to Recommend
9.5
(8 ratings)
9.0
(11 ratings)
Usability
-
(0 ratings)
10.0
(1 ratings)
Support Rating
10.0
(1 ratings)
7.9
(3 ratings)
User Testimonials
Palo Alto Networks Virtualized Next-Generation Firewalls - VM SeriesSophos UTM
Likelihood to Recommend
Palo Alto Networks
PaloAlto VM-200 is a virtualized firewall with high processing power and network edge protection. The great advantage is being able to implement in a VMware environment without worrying about hardware, rack space, physical network connections and others. It can be easily managed via the web and remotely to create protection, access and reporting rules. The VM-200 firewall can be used by any company, small or large because it has several models available according to the real needs of each one.
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Sophos
UTM works great if you want a solid, obvious firewall. There's not a lot of second-guessing as to what you are about to do with every change you make. If you incorporate their wireless access points and RED (remote ethernet device) for remote users or small offices, it's considerably much easier to set up than other comparable solutions. If you are looking to manage your firewalls via the cloud, you are out of luck.
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Pros
Palo Alto Networks
  • Decrypt internet traffic
  • daily reporting of top internet users
  • classify internet traffic in real-time to allow us to understand the organization needs.
  • Strong AI capabilities
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Sophos
  • Firewall Protection. The protection is unmatched, setup it a little daunting, but once set up it pretty much runs itself.
  • Site-to-site VPN. Super easy to deploy so we are able to network all our sites together.
  • The DHCP server function is actually really nice, I prefer using it over the traditional way of using a DC for DHCP.
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Cons
Palo Alto Networks
  • High Availability can be improved to allow active-active deployment
  • All command line documentation to provide and support automation
  • It will be nice to have link aggregation just like in the hardware firewall models.
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Sophos
  • Better standard support, it used to be great, now, not so much (for paying customers, that only aquired the Hardware)
  • Better wireless solution, there is always room for that, now that everybody needs robust wifi, even at home!
  • Faster and more robust wireless Access Points, or different vendor-like compatibility.
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Usability
Palo Alto Networks
No answers on this topic
Sophos
The interface is no non-sense and easy to understand. No need for any consultants to help implement this solution. The performance is consistent and solid. Paired with a good amount of firmware and definitions, it's hard to find any fault in this product. It's interoperability with other Sophos products make a compelling argument to invest in more Sophos products.
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Support Rating
Palo Alto Networks
Palo Alto VM series are best selling and industry's top-selling security product which customers prefer while securing their public cloud environment
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Sophos
I find the support fair. The wait can be frustrating when dealing with fire. The pandemic has not helped with this. Although the wait can be long, the support reps are knowledgeable and was able to resolve the issues I was facing.
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Alternatives Considered
Palo Alto Networks
palo alto firewalls are application-oriented systems. They can beat other product which are based on layer 3/4 inspection. Vm series are also quickly available and could be useful in urgent deployment needs . other vendors like Fortinet and cisco could take much more time to provide the VM and in some cases installation and license validation are complicated
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Sophos
I would rate Sophos second on this list right below Webroot. Webroot has an easier user interface and policy builder. However, Sophos would be on top of its UI would be improved. I would rank CrowStrike third and McAfee last. Sophos is great for complex environments that have multiple needs.
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Return on Investment
Palo Alto Networks
  • ROI has been achieved quickly through lack of security incidents.
  • Inline filtering happens at line rate, unline Sourcefire from Cisco.
  • Great incentives from PAN to switch made a difference in the choice to change.
Read full review
Sophos
  • Sophos has provided a secure Firewall for us.
  • Integration with Sophos Central makes it easier to manage both.
  • Site to site VPN Failover groups has caused more trouble than it's worth.
  • High availability doesn't recognize when you are restarting for an update.
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