Fortinet Secure Networking is a commercial next-gen firewalls solution by Fortinet. Sophos Firewall is a commercial next-gen firewalls solution by Sophos. Features, integrations, deployment and the company behind each one, side by side.
What our shortlists say about each one.
Best for: Organizations consolidating NGFW, SD-WAN, and SASE under one vendor
For SMBs, Fortinet is one of the few enterprise-grade NGFW vendors that scales down to smaller environments without a completely different product line. The FortiGate appliances cover everything from small branch offices to large data centers. The managed SOC-as-a-Service option is worth considering if you don't have 24x7 coverage internally.
From Best Next-Generation Firewall Solutions for Business, Fall 2026
Best for: Small IT teams wanting firewalls and endpoints in one console
Sophos is here because the firewall, endpoints and MDR can act on the same threat together, which means fewer steps for a small IT team. It sells to all sizes but fits best where a few people run the whole network. The value depends on running Sophos endpoints too, so if you use another endpoint product, weigh it as a firewall alone.
From Best Next-Generation Firewall Solutions for Business, Fall 2026
Reviewed by Nika (Nikoloz) Kokhreidze.
Converged network security platform with NGFW, SD-WAN, SASE, and SecOps
Next-gen firewall with SD-WAN, ZTNA, and automated threat response capabilities
See more solutions in this category, or build a security stack from your picks.
Based on what each listing shows: deployment, company size, price and open source.
Fortinet Secure Networking fits if you need both cloud and on-premises options.
Sophos Firewall fits if you need to run it on your own servers.
Common questions when comparing Fortinet Secure Networking vs Sophos Firewall for next-gen firewalls.
Fortinet Secure Networking: Converged network security platform with NGFW, SD-WAN, SASE, and SecOps. Built by Fortinet.
Sophos Firewall: Next-gen firewall with SD-WAN, ZTNA, and automated threat response capabilities. Built by Sophos.
The table above shows where their features, integrations, deployment and company size fit differ.
Fortinet Secure Networking is made by Fortinet. Sophos Firewall is made by Sophos. The vendor behind a product decides its roadmap, support, and longevity, so check each company's profile before you commit.
Often, yes. Fortinet Secure Networking and Sophos Firewall are both Next-Gen Firewalls products, and both cover ZTNA. Use the table above to see where features, deployment and company size fit differ.
Need the answer fast? Best Next-Generation Firewall Solutions for Business picks Palo Alto Networks Next-Generation Firewalls, Fortinet FortiGate Next-Generation Firewall, Cisco Secure Firewall and 4 more.See the shortlist