We supply and deploy all four leading firewall brands, so we are often asked which one is “best”. The honest answer: the best firewall is the one that fits your environment, your team and your budget — and is configured and maintained properly.
Start with these questions
- How much traffic, and which features? Throughput figures on data sheets drop sharply once IPS, application control and SSL inspection are switched on. Size for the protected throughput you actually need, with room to grow.
- How many sites and internet links? Multi‑branch organisations and sites with two ISPs benefit from built‑in SD‑WAN and central management.
- What do you already run? Matching your existing switching and Wi‑Fi can simplify management and support.
- Who will manage it? Choose a platform your team (or your managed‑service provider) knows well.
- What are the ongoing costs? Budget for security subscriptions and support renewals, not just the hardware.
Where each brand typically shines
- Fortinet FortiGate — strong price‑to‑performance, integrated SD‑WAN, and firewall, switching and Wi‑Fi managed together. A popular choice from SMEs to large enterprises.
- Cisco — a broad portfolio from campus to cloud. Meraki makes managing many branches from one dashboard straightforward.
- Check Point — deep threat prevention and mature, auditable central management, often favoured by banks and regulated industries.
- Juniper — high‑throughput routing and SRX security for data centres, ISPs and demanding WANs, with Mist AI for wireless operations.
The part that matters most
Most firewall failures are configuration failures: “allow any” rules, unpatched firmware, expired subscriptions and nobody reading the logs. Whichever brand you choose, insist on a documented baseline, regular rule reviews and someone accountable for monitoring.