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4.3

Vendors › Firewall / UTM / Network Security › SonicWall Network Security

SonicWall Network Security logo

SonicWall Network Security

SonicWall

Founded 1991·US·PE-backed
4.3

Combined score

G2
4.3520
Gartner
4.4380
⚠

Security incident on record - Multiple CVEs actively exploited 2021-2024 - CISA has warned organisations to patch promptly

▪ Editorial verdict

SonicWall has served the SMB firewall market for over 25 years with appliances that cover the fundamentals at an accessible price point. For very small businesses and branch offices that need basic stateful inspection, VPN connectivity, and content filtering, SonicWall covers the requirements at a lower cost than Sophos or Fortinet.

The CVE history is a material concern. Multiple critical SonicWall vulnerabilities have been actively exploited between 2021 and 2024, appearing repeatedly in CISA's Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog. Buyers must be committed to rigorous and immediate patching as a condition of SonicWall deployment.

The verdict: SonicWall works for very small businesses and branch offices with basic firewall requirements and tight budgets. Organisations must maintain rigorous patch discipline. Any organisation with significant security requirements should evaluate Sophos Firewall or Fortinet FortiGate.

Last reviewed: September 2026

G2

4.3520 reviews

Gartner

4.4380 reviews

PeerSpot

8.0130 reviews
Gartner MQ: Niche Player (HMF MQ 2025)

Firewall / UTM / Network Security assessment

PROTECTIONAdequate
Security services breadth
3 / 5

FW + IPS + AV + URL filtering + application control + SSL inspection. Scored 3 because feature breadth is adequate for SMB but less comprehensive than enterprise NGFW platforms.

Sources: SonicWall documentation

Threat prevention quality
3 / 5

Scored 3 because multiple critical CVEs actively exploited in 2021-2024 suggest threat prevention controls have weaknesses. CISA has specifically warned organisations to patch promptly.

Sources: CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog 2021-2024

OPERATIONSAdequate
Throughput under load
3 / 5

Scored 3 because throughput under full security inspection is less than enterprise firewalls. Adequate for SMB workloads.

Sources: SonicWall documentation

Policy management UX
4 / 5

Good SMB-oriented management console. Scored 4 because the UI is accessible for IT generalists.

Sources: SonicWall documentation, G2 reviews

ANALYTICSAdequate
Traffic & threat visibility
3 / 5

Basic application and threat reporting. Scored 3 for adequate SMB-level visibility.

Sources: SonicWall documentation

TRUST & ECOSYSTEMAdequate
Scalability & HA
3 / 5

Basic HA available. Scored 3 because scalability is designed for SMB - not suitable for large enterprise deployments.

Sources: SonicWall documentation

Strongest: Policy management UX

Watch out for: Scalability & HA

Strengths & limitations

Strengths

●Most affordable NGFW for SMBs - strong value positioning
●Strong MSP channel - widely used by managed service providers
●SSL inspection and application control at competitive pricing

Watch out for

●Multiple critical CVEs exploited in the wild (2021-2024) - security concerns
●Niche Player in Gartner MQ - not enterprise-grade
●Less feature-rich than Fortinet or Palo Alto at scale

Best for

Very cost-conscious SMBs and MSP-managed small businesses - but evaluate CVE history and patch cadence carefully.

Not suitable for: Security-sensitive orgs - multiple critical CVEs actively exploited 2021-2024

Compliance coverage

●HIPAA
●NIST CSF
●PCI-DSS
●GDPR
●ISO 27001
○Essential Eight
○AU Privacy Act
○SOC 2
○CMMC
○NIS2
○DORA
○CIS Benchmarks

Switching intelligence

Switching from

Common migration paths based on review data

  • Basic routers

Also considering

Vendors typically shortlisted alongside

← Back to Firewall / UTM / Network SecurityCompare with other Firewall / UTM / Network Security vendors ➲

Quick facts

Pricing modelhardware appliance + subscription; SonicCloud available
Pricing rangeSMB from $150/year; mid-market from $500/year
Free trialNo
Min seatsNo minimum
Deployment time< 1 day
Complexity2 / 5
Pricing transparency4 / 5
AU presenceYes
IRAP assessedNo
Open sourceProprietary

Deployment

ModelsHardware, SaaS, VM, MSP
OS supportAll - network-level protection
CloudAWS, Azure
SupportPhone, Email, Chat
Data residencyUS, EU

Company

SonicWall

Founded 1991 · 1,000-2,000 employees · PE-backed

HQ: US

$400M+ revenue est.

Certifications

FIPS 140-2, PCI-DSS, ISO 27001

Integrations

SonicWall NSMActive DirectoryAzure ADSplunkSIEM via syslog