# Sophos Firewall alternatives: what AI models name instead, October 2026

IT AI Recommendation Index, October 2026 Edition. 176 of the 252 answers in the 1 category where Sophos Firewall holds a standing named it neither first nor as an alternative; these are the first choices those answers made. Page: https://it-ai-index.com/vendors/sophos-firewall/alternatives/

## Named instead, most often (every category and segment added)

- Fortinet FortiGate: 64
- Palo Alto Networks NGFW: 36
- Palo Alto Networks PA-Series: 5
- Check Point Quantum: 3
- Cisco Secure Firewall: 3
- Palo Alto Networks VM-Series: 3

## Next-generation firewalls

**Small business**: 38 of 84 answers did not name Sophos Firewall (Sophos Firewall is #2 of 8 at 12%).

- Fortinet FortiGate: first choice in 16 of those 38
- WatchGuard Firebox: first choice in 3 of those 38
- Cisco Meraki MX: first choice in 1 of those 38
- Firewalla: first choice in 1 of those 38
- FortiGate 50G: first choice in 1 of those 38
- FortiGate 90G: first choice in 1 of those 38
- Fortinet FortiGate 40F or 60F: first choice in 1 of those 38
- Fortinet FortiGate entry-level models: first choice in 1 of those 38

**Mid-market**: 57 of 84 answers did not name Sophos Firewall (Sophos Firewall is #2 of 8 at 4%).

- Fortinet FortiGate: first choice in 24 of those 57
- Palo Alto Networks NGFW: first choice in 6 of those 57
- Check Point Quantum: first choice in 1 of those 57
- Cisco Secure Firewall: first choice in 1 of those 57
- FortiGate 50G: first choice in 1 of those 57
- FortiGate-100F/200F: first choice in 1 of those 57
- FortiGate-80F: first choice in 1 of those 57
- FortiGate-VM NGFW: first choice in 1 of those 57

**Enterprise**: 81 of 84 answers did not name Sophos Firewall (Sophos Firewall is #5 of 5 at 0%).

- Palo Alto Networks NGFW: first choice in 30 of those 81
- Fortinet FortiGate: first choice in 24 of those 81
- Palo Alto Networks PA-Series: first choice in 5 of those 81
- Palo Alto Networks VM-Series: first choice in 3 of those 81
- Check Point Quantum: first choice in 2 of those 81
- Cisco Secure Firewall: first choice in 2 of those 81
- FortiGate: first choice in 1 of those 81
- FortiGate-VM NGFW: first choice in 1 of those 81

Published under CC BY 4.0. The output is the models' output; nothing here is a recommendation by the index.