# Sophos Firewall vs Palo Alto Networks NGFW: which do AI models recommend for firewalls, October 2026

IT AI Recommendation Index, October 2026 Edition, Next-generation firewalls. One of fourteen models named Sophos Firewall first on the direct prompt; zero named Palo Alto Networks NGFW. Page: https://it-ai-index.com/network/next-generation-firewalls/sophos-firewall-vs-palo-alto-networks-ngfw/

| | First-choice share | Rank | Negative rate | Labels | Models naming it |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sophos Firewall | 4% | #2 of 8 | 3% | 35 | 14 of 14 |
| Palo Alto Networks NGFW | 2% | #3 of 8 | 20% | 44 | 14 of 14 |

## The direct prompt, model by model

- GLM 4.7 FlashX: sophos firewall first (first choices: Fortinet FortiGate, Sophos Firewall)
- GPT-5.4 mini: neither first, one named (first choices: Fortinet FortiGate) (alternatives: Check Point Quantum, Cisco Secure Firewall, Palo Alto Networks NGFW)
- Gemini 3.5 Flash: neither first, one named (first choices: Fortinet FortiGate) (alternatives: Check Point Quantum, Palo Alto Networks NGFW, Sophos Firewall)
- Perplexity Sonar: neither first, one named (first choices: Fortinet FortiGate) (alternatives: Palo Alto Networks PA-Series, Sophos Firewall)
- Grok 4.1 Fast: neither first, one named (first choices: Fortinet FortiGate) (alternatives: Sophos Firewall, WatchGuard Firebox)
- Mistral Small: neither first, one named (first choices: Fortinet FortiGate) (alternatives: Palo Alto Networks NGFW, Sophos Firewall)
- DeepSeek V4 Flash: neither first, one named (first choices: Fortinet FortiGate) (alternatives: Sophos Firewall)
- MiniMax M2.5: neither first, one named (first choices: Fortinet FortiGate) (alternatives: Palo Alto Networks NGFW, Sophos Firewall)
- GPT-6 Luna: neither first, one named (first choices: Fortinet FortiGate) (alternatives: Check Point Quantum, Palo Alto Networks NGFW)
- Muse Glimmer 30B: neither first, one named (first choices: Fortinet FortiGate) (alternatives: Palo Alto Networks PA-Series, SonicWall Gen 7, Sophos Firewall)
- Claude Haiku 4.5: neither named (first choices: Fortinet FortiGate) (alternatives: Check Point Quantum, Palo Alto Networks PA-Series)
- Llama 4 Maverick: neither named (first choices: Fortinet FortiGate) (alternatives: Cisco Secure Firewalls, Palo Alto Networks' PA-Series)
- Qwen 3.7 Flash: neither named (first choices: Fortinet FortiGate) (alternatives: Check Point Harmony Edge / Infinity, Palo Alto Networks PA-Series)
- Kimi K2: neither named (first choices: Fortinet FortiGate) (alternatives: Cisco Meraki MX, Palo Alto Networks PA-Series, SonicWall NSa Series, Sophos XG, WatchGuard Firebox)

## What the models said about Sophos Firewall

- "Avoid SMB UTMs (Sophos, Barracuda) if you have a high-throughput environment" (Gemini 3.5 Flash, negative prompt, hard negative)
- "The best next-generation firewall for a company with a limited budget is Untangle NG Firewall (Arista) or Sophos Firewall." (Llama 4 Maverick, budget prompt, first choice)
- "Most mid-market B2B companies will find Fortinet FortiGate or Sophos Firewall to be the best fit" (GLM 4.7 FlashX, direct prompt, first choice)
- "consolidates IPS, web filtering, application control, VPN, and sandboxing into a single appliance, suitable for mid-sized organizations and SMBs" (Llama 4 Maverick, paraphrase prompt, alternative)

## What the models said about Palo Alto Networks NGFW

- "Palo Alto Networks failed both network and transport-layer categories" (Muse Glimmer 30B, negative prompt, hard negative)
- "Top-tier app control and Recommended ratings, but cons include high costs ("often most expensive per Mbps"), subscription stacking inflating TCO, and steep learning curve." (Grok 4.1 Fast, negative prompt, soft negative)
- "Palo Alto Networks, Fortinet, Cisco Secure Firewall/ASA, and Check Point all appear repeatedly in vulnerability lists and active exploitation coverage" (GPT-5.4 mini, negative prompt, soft negative)
- "Palo Alto Networks is widely considered the gold standard for enterprise-grade threat prevention and deep application visibility." (Gemini 3.5 Flash, comparative prompt, first choice)
- "Strongest reputation for advanced threat prevention... deepest security capabilities and strongest premium platform feel." (GPT-5.4 mini, comparative prompt, first choice)
- "Known for its "Single Pass" architecture... especially strong in security-focused enterprise environments" (Mistral Small, comparative prompt, first choice)

Share is the count of first choices across the direct, paraphrase, budget and scale prompts over all fourteen models, for a mid-market B2B company; rank is within the category. Comparisons are drawn for the top eight products in each category. Published under CC BY 4.0; the output is the models' output, and nothing here is a recommendation by the index.