The Top 11 Network Firewall Solutions
We take a look at the top network firewall solutions on the market, considering features, pricing and more.
Written by Alex Zawalnyski
Technical Review by Laura Iannini
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2.
Barracuda CloudGen Firewall
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3.
Check Point Quantum
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4.
Cisco Secure Firewall 4200 Series
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5.
ForcePoint NextGen Firewall
Network firewalls act as a secure outer perimeter to your network, preventing malicious content from accessing your systems.
Network firewalls work by examining every file and access request to your network, ensuring that only known and safe traffic is allowed to enter. This allows them to improve security posture through identifying and preventing the vast majority of harmful traffic, unauthorized access, data breaches, and malware.
We’ve compiled a shortlist of the top secure firewall solutions, with a breakdown of their key features and use cases. This should help you to understand more about each platform, so you can choose the right one for your business and improve your network security.
Our top firewalls reviews are based on features, market presence, technical capabilities, and user reviews.
NordLayer Cloud Firewall is a Firewall-as-a-Service (FWaaS) solution that safeguards private networks and cloud infrastructure from unauthorized access. It offers a fully managed security service that is accessible even for small teams.
Why We Picked NordLayer Cloud Firewall: We appreciate its DNS filtering capabilities, which effectively block malicious websites and filter out harmful or inappropriate content, enhancing overall network security.
NordLayer Cloud Firewall Best Features: Key features include DNS filtering, granular content control, a cloud-based control panel, automatic updates, and seamless integration into hybrid cloud environments. There are no hardware components required, which simplifies deployment.
What’s great:
- Effectively blocks malicious websites and inappropriate content
- Offers granular control over network access
- Simplifies management with a cloud-based control panel
- Ensures optimal security with automatic updates
- Easy to deploy without hardware requirements
What to consider:
- May not be suitable for organizations needing on-premises solutions
Pricing: NordLayer Cloud Firewall is available from $14 USD/user/month.
Who it’s for: NordLayer Cloud Firewall is best suited for businesses with hybrid cloud networks that lack the in-house capabilities to manage a firewall effectively. It is particularly beneficial for small teams seeking a managed security solution.
Barracuda CloudGen Firewall
Barracuda CloudGen Firewall is a comprehensive security solution that protects on-premises and multi-cloud networks from a wide range of cyber threats. It unifies IPS, URL filtering, antivirus, and application control to identify and prevent malicious traffic from gaining access.
Why We Picked Barracuda CloudGen Firewall: We appreciate its versatility, offering deployment options for on-premises or cloud environments, and its integration with Barracuda’s Advanced Threat Protection service for continuous threat defense.
Barracuda CloudGen Firewall Best Features: Key features include advanced threat signatures, behavioral and heuristic analysis, static code analysis, and a comprehensive sandbox. It also offers an in-built SD-WAN component for connecting distributed sites, multiple clouds, and remote users. Integrations include compatibility with Microsoft Azure, AWS, and Google Cloud Platform.
What’s great:
- Versatile deployment options for on-premises or cloud environments
- Advanced threat detection with multiple analysis methods
- In-built SD-WAN for simplified security management
- Integration with Barracuda’s global intelligence network
What to consider:
- Pricing information requires direct contact with Barracuda
Pricing: Contact Barracuda to start a free trial and for pricing information.
Who it’s for: Barracuda CloudGen Firewall is best suited for organizations with complex environments that require security across multiple offices or locations, particularly those utilizing multi-cloud setups.
Barracuda CloudGen Firewall
Check Point Quantum
CheckPoint Quantum is a Next-Generation Firewall (NGFW) that provides advanced network security across endpoints, networks, cloud, data centers, and remote users. It offers a unified management platform that enables organizations to manage on-premises, cloud, and remote sites from a single console.
Why We Picked CheckPoint Quantum: We like its ability to scale on demand while maintaining high uptime and its integration with SandBlast for zero-day protection.
CheckPoint Quantum Best Features: Key features include advanced threat prevention with SandBlast’s Zero Day protection, unified policy management, VPN, IoT security, third-party NAC compatibility, identity-based inspection, IPS, application control, URL filtering, threat extraction, and threat emulation. Integrations include compatibility with third-party Network Access Control systems and analytics.
What’s great:
- Scales on demand with high uptime
- Unified policy management across diverse environments
- Comprehensive threat prevention with SandBlast integration
- Compatibility with third-party systems for enhanced security
What to consider:
- Pricing details require direct contact with CheckPoint
Pricing: Contact CheckPoint for pricing information.
Who it’s for: CheckPoint Quantum is ideal for organizations seeking a high-performance, scalable network security solution that can effectively manage and protect diverse environments from a centralized console.
Check Point Quantum
Cisco Secure Firewall 4200 Series
Cisco Secure Firewall 4200 Series is designed to maintain network security by unifying policies across various environments. It offers high scalability and manages a throughput of up to 149 Gbps to ensure safe network traffic for large organizations.
Why We Picked Cisco Secure Firewall 4200 Series: We like the extensive visibility of security threats and the ability to stack up to 16 devices as a single unit, scaling seamlessly with organizational growth.
Cisco Secure Firewall 4200 Series Best Features: The series provides unified policy management, high throughput up to 149 Gbps, extensive threat visibility, zero-trust policies for automated access, and integration with Cisco Talos for enhanced security resilience. It also features high-performance network interfaces and the ability to stack multiple firewalls.
What’s great:
- High scalability with up to 16 stackable devices
- Extensive visibility over security threats
- Integration with Cisco Talos for improved security
- Zero-trust policies automate access and anticipate threats
- Maintains high throughput without compromising security
What to consider:
- Pricing information requires direct contact with Cisco
Pricing: Contact Cisco directly for pricing information.
Who it’s for: Cisco Secure Firewall 4200 Series is best suited for large organizations that need to maintain network integrity and handle high data throughput as they scale.
Cisco Secure Firewall 4200 Series
ForcePoint NextGen Firewall
Forcepoint Next-Generation Firewall (NGFW) is a robust solution designed to secure enterprise networks with advanced capabilities. It has gained recognition for its centralized management and granular policy configuration features.
Why We Picked Forcepoint NGFW: We appreciate its built-in secure SD-WAN that supports a Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) architecture, along with its scalability and customization options.
Forcepoint NGFW Best Features: The solution includes secure SD-WAN, centralized management, granular policy controls, automated unified policy updates, and scalable management capabilities. It also aggregates engine log data to provide network traffic insights.
What’s great:
- Supports a SASE architecture through secure SD-WAN
- Highly scalable and customizable
- Centralized management with granular controls
- Automated policy updates streamline management
- Aggregates network data for traffic insights
What to consider:
- Complex setups might need additional configuration time
Pricing: Contact Forcepoint directly for the latest pricing details.
Who it’s for: Forcepoint NGFW is ideal for enterprises needing a flexible, secure network solution with high availability and centralized management capabilities.
ForcePoint NextGen Firewall
Fortinet Fortigate Next Generation Firewall
Fortinet offers a scalable firewall solution designed for various environments, including remote offices, branch sites, campuses, data centers, and cloud setups. It leverages global intelligence to swiftly identify and mitigate threats across these diverse locations.
Why We Picked Fortinet: We appreciate Fortinet’s use of custom ASIC architecture in the FortiGate NGFW, which enables efficient threat protection at scale while reducing power consumption. Additionally, its AI-powered security performance and intelligence provide comprehensive visibility and proactive defense.
Fortinet Best Features: Key features include AI/ML-driven security with FortiGuard global intelligence, secure networking through SD-WAN, switching, wireless, and 5G capabilities. It operates on the FortiOS operating system, offering deep visibility and security across form factors, segmentation capabilities, and integration with public and private cloud protections, as well as extended protection via SASE.
What’s great:
- Efficient threat protection at scale with reduced power consumption
- AI-powered security with full visibility and convergence
- Comprehensive secure networking options
- Proactive defense against known and unknown threats
What to consider:
- Pricing details require direct contact with Fortinet
Pricing: Contact Fortinet for pricing information and to begin a free trial.
Who it’s for: Fortinet’s solution is ideal for organizations operating from multiple sites across various verticals, providing robust and adaptive firewall capabilities to ensure security and efficiency.
Fortinet Fortigate Next Generation Firewall
Juniper SRX
Juniper SRX Series Firewalls are part of the Juniper Connected Security portfolio, designed to secure network edges, data center networks, and cloud applications with customizable, tailored security solutions.
Why We Picked Juniper SRX Series Firewalls: We appreciate the series’ versatility across different scales and business needs, offering performance from 1.9 Gbps to 1.44 Tbps. The solution’s single UI management enhances transparency and control over security measures.
Juniper SRX Series Firewalls Best Features: Key features include advanced security services, content security, Intrusion Prevention System (IPS), and EVPN-VXLAN support. The SRX series supports physical, virtual, and containerized form factors, and includes flexible WAN modules with T1/E1, ADSL2/2+, VDSL2, and 3G/4G LTE options.
What’s great:
- Versatile performance range suitable for various business sizes
- Comprehensive security features including IPS and content security
- EVPN-VXLAN support for fabric-aware security
- Real-time updates enhance visibility and threat response
- Flexible WAN connectivity options
What to consider:
- Customization may be required for complex setups
Pricing: Contact Juniper Networks directly for pricing information.
Who it’s for: Juniper SRX Series Firewalls are best suited for organizations seeking a scalable, customizable security solution that can be managed through a single, transparent UI, ideal for businesses of varying sizes and network complexities.
Juniper SRX
Palo Alto Networks VM-Series
Palo Alto Networks VM-Series firewall is a security solution that enhances safety within VMware NSX and enforces consistent security for Software-Defined Networks (SDNs) and virtual machines. It deploys policies and scales automatically, focusing on preventing lateral attack flow through micro-segmentation.
Why We Picked Palo Alto Networks VM-Series: We like that VM-Series allows businesses to create and automatically provision comprehensive security policies during the development lifecycle, ensuring robust security and compliance. Additionally, the integration with Panorama centralizes security management across various cloud environments, simplifying operations.
Palo Alto Networks VM-Series Best Features: Key features include micro-segmentation for isolating applications within trust zones, automatic policy deployment and scaling, comprehensive policy creation, and centralized management with Panorama. Integrations include VMware, Linux KVM, Nutanix, and Cisco, ensuring compatibility across different environments.
What’s great:
- Enables automatic policy provisioning during development
- Centralizes security management with Panorama
- Compatible with multiple virtualization platforms
- Prevents lateral movement through micro-segmentation
What to consider:
- Pricing is credit-based and requires direct contact with Palo Alto Networks
Pricing: Contact Palo Alto for more information on credit-based pricing.
Who it’s for: Palo Alto Networks VM-Series firewall is ideal for organizations with complex network environments seeking a virtualized security solution that can scale and adapt to their needs.
Palo Alto Networks VM-Series
Sophos Firewall
Sophos Firewall is an effective solution designed to consolidate network security in hybrid environments. It offers advanced features for mid-sized and large enterprises seeking a robust firewall solution.
Why We Picked Sophos Firewall: We like the Xstream architecture that optimizes traffic flow and throughput, along with its machine learning capabilities that enhance response times to new and emerging threats.
Sophos Firewall Best Features: Key features include Xstream architecture for traffic management, machine learning for threat response, TLS 1.3 inspection, zero-day threat containment via cloud sandbox, and add-on modules for specific connectivity needs. Integrations include Sophos MDR and XDR for extended visibility and enhanced response capabilities.
What’s great:
- Xstream architecture optimizes traffic flow and throughput
- Machine learning improves response to new and emerging threats
- TLS 1.3 inspection without downgrading
- Zero-day threat containment through cloud sandbox
- Seamless integration with Sophos MDR and XDR
What to consider:
- Pricing information requires direct contact with Sophos
Pricing: Contact Sophos directly for more information on pricing.
Who it’s for: Sophos Firewall is ideal for mid-sized and large enterprises looking for an advanced, feature-heavy firewall solution, particularly those operating in hybrid environments.
Sophos Firewall
VMWare vDefend Distributed Firewall
VMWare vDefend Distributed Firewall is a software-defined Layer 7 firewall that secures multi-cloud traffic across virtualized workloads. It offers advanced threat prevention add-ons and enables effective implementation of a zero-trust strategy.
Why We Picked VMWare vDefend: We appreciate its stateful firewalling with IDS/IPS, sandboxing, and Network Traffic Analysis (NTA) capabilities. It simplifies security architecture by distributing the firewall to each host, enhancing network segmentation and stopping lateral attack movement.
VMWare vDefend Best Features: Features include stateful firewalling, IDS/IPS, sandboxing, NTA, Network Detection and Response (NDR), and elastic throughput scaling with workloads. It also provides superior workload context, scalable traffic-flow analysis, and malicious IP address filtering powered by VMware Contexa. Integrations are managed through the NSX+ console.
What’s great:
- Simplifies security architecture with distributed firewalling
- Enhances network segmentation and stops lateral attack movement
- Offers scalable traffic-flow analysis and superior workload context
- Provides elastic throughput that scales with workloads
What to consider:
- Advanced threat prevention add-ons may require additional configuration
Pricing: Contact VMWare directly for more information on pricing.
Who it’s for: VMWare vDefend is a versatile solution suitable for organizations of any size, particularly those planning to scale their operations.
VMWare vDefend Distributed Firewall
WatchGuard Firebox M Series
WatchGuard Firebox M Series firewalls deliver extensive network visibility, enabling organizations to make swift and informed security decisions. This solution offers cost-effective security that is easy to deploy, ideal for smaller and midsize organizations.
Why We Picked WatchGuard Firebox M Series: We appreciate the platform’s ability to integrate multi-factor authentication directly through the Firebox, eliminating the need for a separate RADIUS server. Additionally, the customizable port configurations allow for easy adaptation as the network evolves.
WatchGuard Firebox M Series Best Features: Key features include URL filtering, intrusion prevention, application control, and ransomware prevention. The integration with AuthPoint provides seamless multi-factor authentication. Over 100 dashboards and reports offer detailed network insights. Firebox M Series appliances feature empty bays for network module additions, enabling customization to meet various networking needs.
What’s great:
- Comprehensive network visibility and reporting
- Easy integration of multi-factor authentication
- Customizable port configurations for network adaptability
- Cost-effective and easy to deploy
- Robust security services without multiple single-point solutions
What to consider:
- Pricing information requires direct contact with WatchGuard
Pricing: Contact WatchGuard directly for pricing information.
Who it’s for: WatchGuard Firebox M Series is best suited for smaller and midsize organizations seeking an easy-to-manage platform that delivers enterprise-grade security without the complexity and expense of multiple solutions.
WatchGuard Firebox M Series
Other Network Firewalls Services
We researched lots of mobile analytics solutions while we were making this guide. Here are a few other tools worth your consideration:
A cloud-native network firewall solution to protect services running in Azure.
Delivers high security performance, flexible extension, advanced threat detection, and automated policy implementation.
Secures networks against incoming threats and complex DDoS attacks.
A NGFW that integrates AI technology, cloud threat intelligence, and IoT security for comprehensive coverage.
A comprehensive platform focused on maintaining traffic throughput, whilst ensuring that malicious traffic is stopped.
FAQs
Everything You Need To Know About Network Firewall Solutions (FAQs)
Network firewalls are security tools that are designed to prevent malicious actors and dangerous content from accessing your network. They are a means of strengthening your perimeter, allowing you to block, in bulk, any unknown or dangerous elements that try to get into your network.
Historically, firewalls were hardware devices that all network traffic would have had to pass through. While on-premises, hardware firewalls are still available, they can also be deployed as software tools too.
Today’s firewalls are dynamic and proactive pieces of kit. They use features like sandboxing and zero trust access to keep your network safe all of the time, even when encountering new and unknown threats. Malicious actors are constantly looking for new ways to breach your defenses, sandboxing gives you the chance to understand how code will behave before allowing it onto your systems, while zero-trust access embeds a cautious and skeptical approach, decreasing the chances of letting anything slip through the net.
Firewalls act as a secure outer perimeter, monitoring what is able to access your network and what is not, based on pre-set and customizable rules defined by you. Firewalls use a range of in-built technologies to identify threats, however nuanced and well disguised they are. You can adjust security policies to ensure that the firewall is suited to your network specifications.
The four main ways that firewalls assess the content entering your network include:
- Proxy Service – this filters messaging and traffic at the application layer
- Packet Filtering – this assesses a small amount of data (a packet), allowing it to judge if the content should be allowed access
- Stateful Inspection – this monitors active connections to make its assessment
- Next Generation Firewalls (NGFW) – this uses deep packet inspection as well as application-level assessment; many of the products listed in this article are classed as NGFW
However, firewalls don’t just filter content – the combination of traffic filtering with other threat protection capabilities is what makes them such a robust line of defense. Some other common firewall capabilities include:
- Sandboxing technology
- Secure SD-WAN
- Zero Trust Network Architecture
- Integration with other security tools for streamlined management and heightened visibility
Every organization that uses digital services should be looking to employ some type of firewall because they take a good deal of the work out of addressing network threats. They act as the first line of defense, automatically blocking a high proportion of attacks, which allows you to focus on the more complex or nuanced attacks.
Many of the firewalls on the market today go well beyond offering a secure perimeter. Whilst retaining the ability to filter unwanted and dangerous traffic, they deliver a range of effective security features to make your network as secure as possible. When you are looking to invest in a solution to improve your network security, it is worth considering some of the following features to identify the most appropriate tool for your use-case.
- Sandboxing:This feature can run files within an isolated environment isolated, allowing you to understand how a piece of code behaves, meaning that you can decide if it is safe or not
- Unified security management: This helps teams manage and enforce consistent security policies across their network environment
- Secure SD-WAN: This allows secure and fast connection between clouds and between office locations
- Zero Trust approach: This involves looking for constant verification that a user is authentic, rather than assuming they are authorized
- Integration: You can enhance the level of your security and response through gathering data from other tools, as well as providing more effective response
- Data exfiltration: While all firewalls examine traffic coming in for harmful code, you should also examine traffic going out to make sure that sensitive data is not being shared and your accounts are not being used to distribute malware
- Scalability: It’s important that your firewall can handle the scope and scale of your network as it grows
- Threat Intelligence: Some firewalls will include threat intelligence to identify specific security risks that your organization must navigate.
Packet filtering firewalls
As the name would suggest, packet filtering firewalls revolve around the filtering of incoming (and outgoing) packets. It can deny access or exit based on sender and recipient IP addresses, protocols, and ports, referring to predetermined policies set by administrators. Any packets that do not fall in line with these policies are automatically blocked. Access control lists are the protocol within this firewall that dictate what needs to be looked for in packets and what action ought to be taken.
So, what is a packet?
A network packet is, essentially, data sent over a network. Often, large messages struggle to be sent over networks due to their size, so they’re broken down into these smaller packets. Think of breaking a letter down into small notes to be sent. Each of these packets will have a header and a body; the header contains user data and control information, which helps direct the packet to where it needs to go, and the body is the “main message”.
Filtering incoming packets is referred to as Ingress filtering, whereas egress filtering scans outbound information. Ingress filtering is especially useful in determining whether an email is coming from a spoofed IP address. IP spoofing is an attack used by threat actors by changing the source address on an email. Packet filtering can verify whether or not the source address on the email matches the address registered with the packets.
A packet filtering firewall isn’t completely foolproof, however. While it’s a low-cost option that can scan traffic at fast speeds and one device can service the entire network, there are some drawbacks. They’re not often secure, as they will allow any traffic to enter provided it is on an approved port – regardless of whether or not the traffic is malicious. Deploying and managing access control lists can also be time consuming and difficult.
Application-Level Firewalls
Application firewalls (or proxy firewalls) can be seen as a complimentary firewall to packet filtering methods that takes it one step further. With a set of predetermined rules, this firewall will filter and monitor all HTTP traffic that traverse between web applications and the internet. Deployed at the application layer, this firewall essentially serves as the only entrance and exit to each individual application in a network. It does so by in-depth packet filtering, sorting based on characteristics such as destination ports and HTTP request strings. Different policies can be built and customized for each individual application and dictates rules for HTTP connections.
An external user will make a request to access a network which will pass through the application layer firewall, which will then decide whether or not to grant access after verifying the request. In addition to monitoring and granting access, application firewalls can also accept requests to web pages and applications but at the same time mask the identity and IP address of the internal network and devices for added protection. They also offer deep packet inspection.
Application-level firewalls can be deployed as either hardware, software, or a server plug-in. They can cause a slowness of traffic and can be difficult to configure and deploy. It is also one of the more pricier firewall solutions.
Circuit Level Firewalls
Circuit firewalls (or circuit level gateway firewall) assess Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) connections and monitor any active sessions. They work at the session layer in the OSI model. Circuit firewalls, predominantly, assess the security of an established connection after a User Datagram Protocol (UDP) or TCP connection has been completed.
It also works by protecting devices inside the network when they make a connection with a remote host. It does so by creating the connection on behalf of the device, masking the user’s identity and IP address.
While similar to packet filtering firewalls, they take it one step further by verifying established connections. Like packet filtering, it is also a fairly simple and straightforward measure that doesn’t take too much to run in terms of cost and deployment. However, their simplicity is also a drawback in that they cannot monitor data packet contents, meaning that a data packet that contains malware could slip past a circuit firewall if the TCP connection is legitimate. As such, other firewalls are needed in conjunction.
Stateful Firewalls
A stateful firewall monitors active network connection sessions, tracking and sorting traffic based on the destination port. It also scans incoming traffic for any risks or malicious activity. This firewall examines every packet that crosses the network, assessing whether it belongs to an established TCP or another network session. Stateful firewalls can also track and log a packet’s history.
Basic versions of this firewall block any traffic that is coming or going that can be considered harmful. They can detect and flag access attempts by unauthorized individuals and servers. Some more advanced stateful firewalls also have multilayer inspection capabilities, which tracks transactions across multiple protocol layers in the OSI model.
Stateful firewalls are certainly more robust and effective than packet filtering or circuit firewalls but can hinder network performance and can be cumbersome for admins to manage.
Next Generation Firewalls
Next Generation firewalls (NGFW or NextGen firewalls) are a little different to the other firewalls in this list. They’re part of the third generation of firewalls that seek to consolidate traditional firewall methods with additional features in a bid to overcome traditional firewall limitations. At a glance, NextGen firewalls filter traffic as it moves through a network. The filtering capabilities are determined by the ports assigned to applications and traffic.
Capabilities seen in traditional first and second gen firewalls that a next generation firewall also harnesses include: packet filtering, stateful inspection, VPN support, port address translation, and network address translation. Alongside these traditional firewall capabilities, NextGen moves across other layers in the OSI model to deliver a more comprehensive firewall solution. It provides application-level inspection, intel from outside the firewall, intrusion prevention, and offers in depth investigation into packet payloads and signatures to find any harmful activity. It can block DDoS attacks, block breaches from encrypted apps, and provide strong analysis features.
Next generation firewalls aim to consolidate traditional firewall methods with this involved packet inspection without hindering network performance. It’s often regarded as a more advanced stateful firewall. NextGen is a robust firewall solution that offers stronger security than the others on this list. It is a suitable option for companies with remote and hybrid working environments, and for companies that have Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) policies. For all their benefits, NextGen firewalls are often expensive, and configuration and deployment take a skilled team and a lot of time.
Written By
Alex is an experienced journalist and content editor. He researches, writes, factchecks and edits articles relating to B2B cyber security and technology solutions, working alongside software experts. Alex was awarded a First Class MA (Hons) in English and Scottish Literature by the University of Edinburgh.
Technical Review
Laura Iannini is an Information Security Engineer. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Cybersecurity from the University of West Florida. Laura has experience with a variety of cybersecurity platforms and leads technical reviews of leading solutions. She conducts thorough product tests to ensure that Expert Insights’ reviews are definitive and insightful.