# Small Business Firewall: FortiGate, Sophos, WatchGuard or UniFi

Source : https://cybercaribou.com/en/comparisons/small-business-firewall-comparison · Cyber Caribou

> FortiGate, Sophos XGS, WatchGuard Firebox or UniFi: licensing, IPS, web filtering, SD-WAN, VPN and cloud management compared for Canadian small businesses.

The firewall is often the first security device a small business buys, and the last one anyone looks at afterwards. It sits on a shelf next to the modem until the licence renewal notice shows up, or a vulnerability bulletin lands for that exact model.

Choosing between Fortinet, Sophos, WatchGuard and Ubiquiti isn't just a hardware comparison. You're picking a licensing model you'll pay for over five years or more, a console your IT provider has to know well, and an update cadence you'll need to keep up with.

- We compared entry-level models aimed at small offices and branches, using manufacturers' official pages and technical documentation reviewed in October 2026.
- Criteria: licensing model, intrusion prevention, web filtering, sandboxing, SD-WAN, remote access VPN, centralized management, published pricing and ecosystem.
- When a manufacturer doesn't publish something, we write "Not specified" rather than guess. Bundles change often, so confirm with your reseller.
- This comparison is not sponsored.

## The real cost: the box or the subscription?

Three of the four vendors sell hardware paired with subscriptions, and those subscriptions unlock the protections that matter most.

- **Fortinet** groups its FortiGuard services into three bundles. ATP includes IPS, antivirus, FortiSandbox SaaS and application control. URL and DNS filtering require the UTP bundle; the Enterprise bundle includes everything.
- **Sophos** ships a Base Licence with the hardware: networking, unlimited remote access VPN, site-to-site VPN and reporting. The Xstream Protection bundle adds Network Protection (IPS), Web Protection, Zero-Day Protection, Central Orchestration and DNS Protection, which is only sold in the bundle.
- **WatchGuard** offers four tiers. Standard Support covers the firewall, VPN and SD-WAN; Basic Security Suite adds IPS, gateway antivirus and WebBlocker filtering; Prime adds APT Blocker and DNSWatch; Total adds ThreatSync XDR and EDR Core.
- **Ubiquiti** requires no licence for baseline IPS and content filtering. The optional CyberSecure subscription adds richer signatures (Proofpoint) and filtering (Cloudflare).

The practical advice: compare total cost over five years, renewals included. A quote should never show only the first-year price. Our guide to a [small business cybersecurity budget](https://cybercaribou.com/en/blog/small-business-cybersecurity-budget) helps put that line item in context.

## Management and logs: who's watching?

A firewall nobody checks protects less than you think. All four vendors offer a cloud console, on different terms.

FortiGate Cloud has a free basic tier limited to seven days of logs and one default report; the Standard subscription adds management, analytics and a year of logs, and requires a FortiCare Premium contract. Sophos includes cloud management at no extra charge with its protection bundles. WatchGuard includes centralized management in WatchGuard Cloud from Standard Support up. Ubiquiti describes Site Manager as a licence-free dashboard for every UniFi site.

Those logs are often the first source investigators use to piece together a [ransomware attack](https://cybercaribou.com/en/blog/ransomware-small-business-attack-anatomy). Check how long they're kept and who gets the alerts.

## Remote access VPN: the most exposed feature

VPN gateways and management interfaces exposed to the internet are prime targets. The joint advisory from CISA and its partners, including the Canadian Centre for Cyber Security, on the most exploited vulnerabilities of 2023 lists flaws in products from several firewall and VPN manufacturers. None of them is immune; what matters is how fast you patch.

One recent change deserves attention from Fortinet customers: as of FortiOS 7.6.3, SSL VPN tunnel mode has been removed, and models with 2 GB of RAM or less no longer support SSL VPN at all. Fortinet recommends migrating to IPsec VPN before upgrading. If your staff connect through SSL VPN, plan that migration with your IT provider.

Whatever the brand, require multi-factor authentication on the VPN, turn off management access from the internet, and follow a [patch management policy](https://cybercaribou.com/en/blog/patch-management-policy-small-business) that covers emergencies.

## How to choose

Ask these questions in order:

1. **Who will run it?** If your IT provider already knows one brand well, that outweighs any single feature. A misconfigured firewall is no better than an ordinary router.
2. **How many sites?** Beyond one office, SD-WAN and centralized management start to matter. All four offer them, at different licence levels.
3. **What do you already have?** Sophos endpoints, UniFi Wi-Fi or Fortinet access points: integration makes management easier.
4. **Which protections do you need?** If web filtering and sandboxing are essential, confirm they're actually in the bundle you're quoted.
5. **What's the five-year budget?** Hardware, subscriptions, support and admin hours.

In short: UniFi suits small offices with simple needs, FortiGate suits multi-site networks that want a full ecosystem, Sophos suits companies already using that vendor, and WatchGuard suits businesses that want a clear all-in-one tier.

Already have a firewall? Our [cybersecurity audit](https://cybercaribou.com/en/services/cybersecurity-audit) reviews its configuration, including overly permissive rules, exposed management ports, outdated firmware and VPN access without multi-factor authentication.

## FAQ

**Isn't the router from my internet provider good enough?**
It blocks unsolicited inbound connections, but it generally offers no intrusion prevention, no web filtering, no properly managed remote access VPN and no usable logs after an incident. For a business with an office network, remote staff or personal information to protect, a managed business firewall remains the norm.

**What happens if we don't renew the security subscription?**
With Fortinet, Sophos and WatchGuard, subscription-based protections such as intrusion signatures, web filtering and sandboxing depend on an active licence. With Sophos, support also determines access to firmware updates. A firewall without a subscription keeps enforcing its rules but protects less and less over time. Ask the reseller for the renewal price at quote time.

**How quickly should firewall updates be applied?**
As fast as possible when the advisory affects the VPN or the management interface. A joint advisory from CISA and the Canadian Centre for Cyber Security lists firewall and VPN gateway flaws from several manufacturers among the most exploited vulnerabilities. Plan a monthly maintenance window and an emergency procedure.

**Is a firewall still useful if everything is in the cloud?**
Yes, but its role changes. It protects the office network, guest Wi-Fi, printers and devices you can't protect any other way, and it filters browsing. Protecting cloud accounts relies mostly on multi-factor authentication and conditional access.

## Sources

- [Fortinet: entry-level FortiGate firewalls and FortiGuard bundles](https://www.fortinet.com/products/next-generation-firewall/entry-level)
- [Fortinet: FortiGuard security subscriptions](https://www.fortinet.com/support/support-services/fortiguard-security-subscriptions)
- [Fortinet Docs: FortiGate Cloud subscription tiers (administration guide 26.1)](https://docs.fortinet.com/document/fortigate-cloud/26.1.0/administration-guide/568218)
- [Fortinet Docs: Secure SD-WAN configurable without a separate licence](https://docs.fortinet.com/document/fortigate/7.0.0/sd-wan-architecture-for-enterprise/86084)
- [Fortinet Community: SSL VPN changes starting with FortiOS 7.6.3](https://community.fortinet.com/fortigate-3/technical-tip-changes-on-ssl-vpn-modes-starting-from-v7-6-3-204117)
- [Sophos: Sophos Firewall](https://www.sophos.com/en-us/products/next-gen-firewall)
- [Sophos: Sophos Firewall licensing and how to buy](https://www.sophos.com/en-us/products/next-gen-firewall/how-to-buy)
- [Sophos: cloud management for Sophos Firewall](https://www.sophos.com/en-gb/products/next-gen-firewall/ecosystem-central)
- [Sophos: second-generation XGS desktop models](https://www.sophos.com/en-us/products/next-gen-firewall/xgs-smb-branch-office-firewalls)
- [WatchGuard: Firebox security services](https://www.watchguard.com/wgrd-products/security-services)
- [WatchGuard: next-generation Firebox tabletop series (August 5, 2025)](https://www.watchguard.com/de/wgrd-news/press-releases/next-gen-firebox-tabletop-series-watchguard)
- [Ubiquiti: UniFi Cloud Gateways](https://ui.com/cloud-gateways)
- [Ubiquiti Canadian store: Cloud Gateway Ultra and CyberSecure](https://ca.store.ui.com/ca/en/category/cloud-gateways-compact/products/ucg-ultra)
- [Ubiquiti: understanding UniFi cloud architecture and Site Manager](https://help.ui.com/hc/en-us/articles/30319146145175-Understanding-UniFi-Cloud-Architecture)
- [CISA and partners (including the Canadian Centre for Cyber Security): 2023 top routinely exploited vulnerabilities (AA24-317A)](https://www.cisa.gov/news-events/cybersecurity-advisories/aa24-317a)