SME firewalls 2026: FortiGate vs Stormshield vs Sophos XGS.
Comparison of the 3 NGFWs for SMEs. Criteria: performance + security + sovereignty + price.
Fortinet FortiGate 60F / 80F
SMEs 10-200 users, global Security Fabric
- ✓Unbeatable NGFW performance at this price (10 Gbps FW, ~1 Gbps with full UTM)
- ✓Security Fabric: native integration of FortiAP, FortiSwitch, FortiClient, FortiSIEM
- ✓Excellent built-in SD-WAN
- ✓Very comprehensive documentation, huge community
- ✓FortiCloud Free (7-day logs) included
- ✓Massive distribution across Europe + Africa
- −Annual FortiGuard (UTM) licenses required for security features
- −UI can feel cluttered for beginners
- −History of critical CVEs (patch promptly)
- −USA origin: a sensitive point for OIV/NIS2 in sensitive sectors
SMEs seeking unbeatable performance/price + the Security Fabric ecosystem
Stormshield SN310 / SN510
SMEs in sensitive sectors, public administrations, OIV (vital-importance operators)
- ✓French sovereignty (Airbus Defence subsidiary)
- ✓ANSSI CSPN certification at Standard and Enhanced levels
- ✓Qualified to handle Restricted Distribution (DR) data
- ✓Security policy focused on granularity (zoning, identity, context)
- ✓French technical support (Lille / Paris)
- ✓Compliant with public administration + OIV requirements
- −Raw performance lower than FortiGate at an equivalent price
- −Less extensive software + hardware ecosystem
- −More expensive hardware for comparable throughput
- −Smaller community
Public administrations, local authorities, OIV, SMEs needing sovereignty / DR / NIS2 essential entity
Sophos XGS 116 / 126
SMEs 10-150 users, Sophos security ecosystem
- ✓Synchronized Security with Intercept X (auto-isolation of compromised endpoints)
- ✓Sophos Firewall OS (SFOS): modern, intuitive interface
- ✓Xstream Protection: high-performance DPI on encrypted traffic
- ✓Sandstorm cloud sandbox included
- ✓Built-in ZTNA (option)
- ✓Strong choice if already running Sophos endpoint
- −Lower raw performance than FortiGate at an equivalent price
- −Weaker distribution than Fortinet in France
- −Migration from WatchGuard / SonicWall is not trivial
SMEs running Sophos endpoint and seeking pre-integrated Synchronized Security
Detailed comparison table
| Criterion | FortiGate | Stormshield | Sophos XGS |
|---|---|---|---|
| Firewall throughput (without UTM) | 10 Gbps (60F) | 1.5-3 Gbps | 7.5 Gbps (XGS 116) |
| Throughput with full UTM enabled | ~1-1.5 Gbps | ~500 Mbps | ~700 Mbps |
| IPS / IDS | Yes (FortiGuard) | Yes (built-in) | Yes (Sophos XStream) |
| Anti-virus + sandbox | FortiGuard + FortiSandbox | Included | Sandstorm cloud included |
| Web filtering categories | FortiGuard (90+ cat) | Stormshield URL DB | Sophos Web Protection |
| SSL / IPsec VPN | Yes (high performance) | Yes | Yes |
| ZTNA / Zero Trust | FortiSASE (option) | Limited ZTNA | Built-in Sophos ZTNA |
| Built-in SD-WAN | Excellent | Basic | Good |
| Synchronized Security endpoint↔FW | Via FortiClient EMS | No | Native (with Intercept X) |
| ANSSI CSPN certification | No | Yes (Standard + Enhanced) | No |
| Vendor sovereignty | USA | France (Airbus) | UK |
| Cloud management datacenters | USA + EU | France | EU + USA |
| Entry-level SME HW price (~50 users) | ~690 € | ~1,400 € | ~1,100 € |
Recommendation by profile
→ FortiGate 60F
Unbeatable performance, Security Fabric ecosystem, strong distribution. B2B standard in France.
→ Stormshield SN310
ANSSI CSPN certification, French sovereignty. Mandatory for sensitive sectors + NIS2 essential.
→ Sophos XGS 116
Synchronized Security = auto-isolation of compromised endpoints. Max ROI with a Sophos ecosystem.
How these products were selected
This page does not rank the market. The products compared were selected because each meets at least one public, verifiable criterion: listed in the ANSSI catalogue of certified and qualified products, included in an independent comparative test published in open access, or covered by an official price list available online. What the sources do not say is not asserted here.
- 1.Catalogue des produits, services, profils de protection, sites certifiés, qualifiés et agréés, ANSSI, 2026-09-08, checked 2026-09-09.Stormshield Network Security 4.3.x holds the Standard-level qualification, decided 13 February 2025 and valid until 22 March 2027. Fortinet and Sophos are absent from the catalogue.
- 2.Certified Products, Common Criteria Portal, checked 2026-09-09.Live EAL4+ certificates for FortiOS 7.2, Sophos Firewall OS v19.0.2 and the Stormshield 4.3.12.2 suite. A certification covers a software version, not a hardware model.
Vendor pricing changes without notice: the check date says when we last looked. Spotted an error or a source worth adding? Write to us and the page is corrected.
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