Ratings Breakdown
User Reviews Overview
Feature Ratings
Ease-of-use
4.0 / 5
Value for Money
4.5 / 5
Customer Support
4.5 / 5
Functionality
4.5 / 5
Pros
"We never used to be able to securely connect to our work VPN - and now we can! This has been a life saver so I don't have to save all my files locally."
"We have been using these for a few years and have had great luck. Everything from the small Firebox series up to the XTM series that we have in place have been bulletproof. "
"Its performance and functions are really amazing, in a single team I have been able to ensure the entire network."
Cons
"no words, and all is going good. im sure its a future product for many companies. whatchguard is the product we need at this time."
"Reliability on hardware is poor, support isn't very helpful (e.g. they wont do a remote session to help), feature set is weak and generally the appliance lags behind its competitors."
"The interface may be a bit scary for a first time user of the appliance, however the Wizards can be extremely helpful."
Watchguard Firebox Reviews
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July 2018
Anonymous
Time Used: Less than 2 years
Review Source: Capterra
Ease-of-use
4.0
Value for money
5.0
Customer support
5.0
Functionality
5.0
July 2018
Our company uses the Watchguard UTM Firebox, and it is a beast of a firewall.
I feel very comfortable knowing our network and users are protected. Plus, I can easily modify the UTM with the help of Watchguard's support team should anything be needed.
Pros
Tons of features via its core offering but also through its additional subscription services like Gateway Antivirus, WebBlocker, Botnet Detection, and Intrusion Prevention Services. The traffic monitor is kind of intimidating but real-time and very searchable. I used a similar UTM before Watchguard and it did not have half the feature-set for tracking down issues with outside connectivity. We have had no attack issues since using the UTM. The support is very responsive and willing to take the time to address whatever the issue may be. I like this product a lot and feel very comfortable in its protection of our network.
Cons
I really don't have any cons for Watchguard other than it can be hard to configure all the features without their support team. There is a lot of information out there to do everything with this UTM but it is kind of tough to jump right in if you don't fully know what you're dealing with as far as firewall issues go.
October 2019
Jason from Arcstream Network Services
Company Size: 1 employee
Industry: Information Technology and Services
Time Used: More than 2 years
Review Source: Capterra
Ease-of-use
4.0
Value for money
4.0
Customer support
5.0
Functionality
5.0
October 2019
Great overall product for many applications
I have experienced relatively trouble free use of all their devices in the small to mid range. They provide great degrees of administration, control, security, and customer service and support.
Pros
Full in depth functionality is excellent. you can get as granular as you like for very deep control or general network use. It has great ability to create any kind of policy you want, and a crazy amount of other features for security and protection.
Cons
Tool tips and basic explanations on settings within the software would be very nice. there are so many options that it can get very complicated without much study and learning on the subject. for anyone who gets paid by time, this can be problematic. I do not care for the web interface and always use the System Manager Application.
Reasons for Switching to Watchguard Firebox
lack of free software administration, and not very easy to use.
April 2019

Louis from Blaucomm Ltd
Company Size: 2-10 employees
Industry: Telecommunications
Time Used: More than 2 years
Review Source: Capterra
Ease-of-use
4.0
Value for money
4.0
Customer support
3.0
Functionality
3.0
April 2019
Basic UTM with Poor Manufacturers Support & Poor Reliability
WatchGuard is a leading vendor but lags behind its direct competitors, and it's reliability on the smaller range makes it questionable. However the pricing and basic feature set make it attractive to SMB's.
Pros
The GUI is user friendly and looks quite modern and slick. Generally the configuration is logical and easy to navigate. The pricing is generally cheap.
Cons
Reliability on hardware is poor, support isn't very helpful (e.g. they wont do a remote session to help), feature set is weak and generally the appliance lags behind its competitors.
November 2017
Adam from Nederland ISD
Time Used: More than 2 years
Review Source: Capterra
Ease-of-use
5.0
Value for money
5.0
Customer support
5.0
Functionality
5.0
November 2017
Best Darn Firewall We Have Ever Used
Pros
We were introduced to Watchguard by a consultant after years with a Cisco PIX/ASA. We love the intuitive user interface and the level of security that has been provided by the appliance. The proof is in the traffic monitor!
Cons
The interface may be a bit scary for a first time user of the appliance, however the Wizards can be extremely helpful.
August 2018
Anonymous
Company Size: 11-50 employees
Time Used: Less than 2 years
Review Source: Capterra
Ease-of-use
4.0
Value for money
5.0
Customer support
5.0
Functionality
5.0
August 2018
Great appliance for SMBs, easy console and awesome support
One thing that needs to be mentioned is the exceptional support WG offers. The engineers are great and answer to the point, or offer remote help. Also their documentation is very well written and detailed. Software is great, console(s) do what they're supposed to and the hardware is pretty good as well. I highly recommend it to small-medium businesses.
Pros
Web console is great for most of the options, it's fast and easy to use, even if you're not very experienced with networks. It doesn't have all the features (or not as clear as through WSM) but it does the job very well. We use it for protection of 3 sites and BOVPN.
Cons
As said, the web console is sometimes leading you to issues, such as faulty firewall rules or endless searching of where the option you're looking for really is. WSM (older/desktop app console) works great, but it's kind of old. Other than that, nothing else wrong!
June 2017
Susan from Fitts Insurance Agency, Inc.
Company Size: 11-50 employees
Industry: Insurance
Time Used: More than 2 years
Review Source: Capterra
Ease-of-use
4.0
Value for money
5.0
Customer support
4.0
Functionality
4.0
June 2017
The WatchGuard is effective and easy to customize.
We were hit with the Crypto virus twice with our other firewall. This has given us complete protection.
Pros
Great intrusion prevention via IPS, URL filtering, Gateway AV, port restriction and APT blocker. Making entries for exceptions is fast and effective.
May 2018
Amir from Information Technology and Services
Company Size: 51-200 employees
Industry: Telecommunications
Time Used: Less than 12 months
Review Source: Capterra
Ease-of-use
5.0
Value for money
5.0
Customer support
5.0
Functionality
5.0
May 2018
I try Watchguard and its an amazing product for us, we are under going on IT.
its a good price when I compaire to other products with same features.
Pros
Easy to use "not complicated" and no need to be certified to work with, very strong and have all what Im searching for.
Cons
no words, and all is going good. im sure its a future product for many companies. whatchguard is the product we need at this time.
May 2017
Joey from CaptiveOne
Time Used: Less than 2 years
Review Source: Capterra
Ease-of-use
3.0
Value for money
5.0
Customer support
4.0
Functionality
4.0
May 2017
Great features for a reasonable price. Setup is a bit tricky but tech support was great
Pros
I like the protection provided for a reasonable price. The ability to manage access points is a bonus
Cons
Configuration is a bit difficult. An example of this is connecting to one of the four available ethernet connections. By default those ports are not activated and it easy to assume they are.
May 2019

Ali from OPENLINK_
Company Size: 51-200 employees
Industry: Banking
Time Used: Less than 6 months
Review Source: Capterra
Ease-of-use
3.0
Value for money
4.0
Customer support
4.0
Functionality
3.0
May 2019
This product changed my vision of the firewall.
I have a UTM installed in my company as a main firewall
Pros
Its performance and functions are really amazing, in a single team I have been able to ensure the entire network.
Cons
As all security equipment maintaining active licensing is extremely important for additional functions, although firewall functions are maintained.
Reasons for Choosing Watchguard Firebox
It is the best cost-benefit ratio
February 2019
Anonymous
Company Size: 11-50 employees
Time Used: Less than 12 months
Review Source: Capterra
Ease-of-use
4.0
Value for money
4.0
Customer support
5.0
Functionality
4.0
February 2019
Great Firewall solution
Pros
Deployment options and administration. Site to site VPN setup. IPsec options using standards.
Cons
Had difficulty setting up a site to site VPN with another product from a different vendor.
February 2018
Bridget from Greater Mankato Growth
Time Used: Less than 2 years
Review Source: Capterra
Ease-of-use
3.0
Value for money
3.0
Customer support
3.0
Functionality
3.0
February 2018
Watch guard is good for connecting to our work VPN...now if our work VPN was faster it'd be great!
Pros
We never used to be able to securely connect to our work VPN - and now we can! This has been a life saver so I don't have to save all my files locally.
Cons
Interface just seems a little outdated, and not super user friendly...but any tech savvy user can figure it out eventually.
June 2018
Grant from Wiseman Consulting
Time Used: More than 2 years
Review Source: Capterra
Ease-of-use
4.0
Value for money
4.0
Customer support
5.0
Functionality
5.0
June 2018
I use these all the time for our clients
Pros
We have been using these for a few years and have had great luck. Everything from the small Firebox series up to the XTM series that we have in place have been bulletproof.
Cons
Costs are kind of all over the board. The units and subscriptions are available on amazon for less than what I can get them through my channels (mainly Ingram) for and my customer wonders why my prices are more expensive.