For enterprises seeking advanced firewall solutions, Check Point and Palo Alto Networks stand out as top providers in the industry.
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Check Point’s Quantum NGFW features AI-driven threat prevention and a highly adaptable solution suitable for organizations of all sizes. Conversely, Palo Alto Networks NGFWs offer sophisticated deep learning capabilities to detect evasive threats and provide robust security controls across diverse environments.
While both options offer quality features, distinct variations exist that could make one NGFW more suitable for your business.
This article delves into the Check Point and Palo Alto NGFWs to help you determine the best fit for your business.
Comparison Table: Check Point vs Palo Alto
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Check Point and Palo Alto Pricing Comparison
Check Point NGFW Pricing
The pricing of Check Point’s Quantum NGFW and Security Gateways varies based on hardware, software specifications, and organization size. The range of appliances caters to businesses of different sizes with varying security requirements.
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Based on my findings, the starting price for Check Point NGFW hardware is approximately $890 for a basic firewall appliance, with prices increasing for more advanced products.
Fortunately, Check Point provides accessible access to their product catalog, showcasing all gateway solutions along with their prices. However, access requires the creation of an official Check Point account.
Furthermore, Check Point offers free trials and product demos upon user request through their official website.
Palo Alto Networks NGFW Pricing
In terms of pricing, Palo Alto Networks NGFWs are positioned at the higher end due to their well-equipped security offerings. Similarly to other NGFW providers, prices are dependent on the chosen hardware and software package.
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I recommend reaching out to them directly for a tailored price quote based on your business requirements. With Palo Alto, hardware costs range from approximately $1,400 to $4,100 for advanced appliances.
They also extend free trials of their cloud NGFW for both AWS and Azure. Additionally, official product demos for their NGFW can be requested on their website after providing basic details.
Check Point vs. Palo Alto: Feature Comparison
Security Capabilities
Both Check Point and Palo Alto Networks NGFWs offer a plethora of advanced security features designed to safeguard corporate and enterprise environments.
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Check Point’s Quantum Security NGFW prioritizes scalability with its innovative firewall cluster design, empowering businesses to enhance their system incrementally and achieve up to 1 terabit per second of threat prevention.
Administrators can take advantage of Check Point’s unified policy capabilities to implement detailed rules and user-specific policies from a centralized interface. This simplifies the process of ensuring security for intricate organizational structures. Additionally, Check Point offers robust threat prevention against zero-day exploits and other malicious threats by leveraging its AI-powered engine and threat intelligence database.
Furthermore, Palo Alto Networks NGFWs offer a diverse array of firewall types, including physical, cloud-based, virtual machine, and container firewalls, catering to various enterprise sizes and demands effectively.
Additionally, the NGFW from Palo Alto Networks provides comprehensive traffic visibility through detailed logs, reporting features, and notifications that cover all security incidents and network traffic. This aids IT teams and managers in identifying emerging vulnerabilities or concealed threats within the network.
Palo Alto Networks NGFWs also offer WildFire malware analysis and reporting functionality, providing insights on all malware passing through the firewall. This assists in enhancing organizational awareness and security practices by discerning risks and threats upon detection.
Performance and third-party assessment results
Both vendors have shown outstanding performance in independent security assessments. According to the 2024 Cloud Network Firewall evaluation by CyberRatings, Check Point and Palo Alto Networks NGFWs were recognized as “highly Recommended” for their effectiveness in combating security threats.
Security effectiveness, as defined by CyberRatings, includes a NGFW’s capability in threat prevention, overall reliability, policy enforcement, TLS/SSL functionality, among other factors. These two solutions were among the six products awarded this distinction out of the eleven NGFW providers evaluated in the test.
Palo Alto’s Cloud NGFW holds a slight advantage over Check Point in the overall effectiveness scores. Particularly, the Palo Alto Networks VM-Series NGFW achieved a perfect 100% in security effectiveness, while Check Point’s CloudGuard service scored a commendable 99.80%.
Both vendors demonstrated similar throughput rates (Mbps), with Palo Alto reaching 1,036 Mbps and Check Point achieving 1,180 Mbps.
These results indicate that Check Point and Palo Alto Networks NGFWs can deliver comparable high-quality firewall solutions. Nevertheless, Palo Alto’s superior effectiveness score of 100% does give it an edge over Check Point’s NGFW.
User-Friendliness
In terms of user experience, Palo Alto edges out Check Point’s NGFW, based on reviews shared on Gartner Peer Insights. Specifically, Palo Alto received a score of 4.6 out of 5 for user-friendliness, whereas Check Point earned a respectable 4.4 out of 5.
One Gartner reviewer highlighted how Palo Alto’s “single pane of glass viewing” allows for seamless management of multiple environments, a critical feature for obtaining a clear overview of firewall-related events and tools.
On the contrary, some Gartner reviewers noted that Check Point’s NGFW has a moderate learning curve with its software. However, they mentioned that after mastering the fundamentals, it becomes fairly straightforward to navigate. While ease of use can be subjective, this is important to consider if you are planning to invest in Check Point’s firewall.
Check Point NGFW advantages and disadvantages
Advantages
- Excellent scalability for businesses of various sizes.
- Advanced policy capabilities.
- Robust centralized management system.
Disadvantages
- Steep learning curve and setup complexity.
Palo Alto Networks NGFWs advantages and disadvantages
Advantages
- Enhanced security effectiveness as of 2024.
- Wide range of firewall options available.
- Intuitive user interface.
Disadvantages
- Higher initial cost.
Decision between Check Point and Palo Alto for your organization
Both Check Point and Palo Alto present compelling security features as top NGFW solutions in 2024. In my opinion, the slight edge goes to Palo Alto Networks NGFW due to its higher security effectiveness and superior user experience.
For most enterprises, Palo Alto Networks NGFWs is the preferred choice, offering robust threat protection and a plethora of functionalities. The fact that many users consider it their primary option despite the higher price point speaks volumes about its value.
However, Check Point is also a viable option. With its feature-rich Quantum Security NGFW, it caters well to businesses anticipating rapid growth and frequent changes. Organizations benefit from Check Point’s firewall cluster design and powerful management tools as their security needs evolve over time.
Approach
My assessment of Check Point and Palo Alto Networks involved a thorough examination of their security features, capabilities, and practical value for businesses.
This evaluation was based on detailed scrutiny of NGFW documentation, official product resources, and feature comparisons with other market competitors.
Moreover, I took into account genuine user feedback from reputable review platforms to enhance the accuracy of my recommendations. This approach aimed to capture real-world opinions and experiences with these solutions beyond just the technical evaluation of their features.
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