Palo Alto Networks Next-Generation Firewalls Reviews & Product Details

What I like best about Palo Alto Networks Next-Generation Firewalls is their ability to provide comprehensive visibility and granular control over applications, users, and network traffic. Features such as App-ID, User-ID, and advanced threat prevention make it easier to enforce security policies, detect threats, and protect the network without relying solely on traditional ports and protocols. The centralized management and detailed reporting also simplify administration and troubleshooting. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

What I dislike most is the relatively high cost of licensing, subscriptions, and ongoing support. The initial setup and policy configuration can also be complex, especially for administrators who are new to the platform. In addition, software upgrades and troubleshooting may sometimes require careful planning to avoid service disruptions. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

I appreciate the SP3 architecture which makes Palo Alto Networks a leader in the security market. The App-ID and content-ID engines work without much latency introduced, allowing us to control what applications and content are going through the environment effectively. Managing Palo Alto Networks Next-Generation Firewalls is easier and the predefined signature-based feature set helps in controlling access without much delay. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

I still think the URL filtering needs to be more improved. Fewer URL categories won't work for greater control. URLs are dynamic in nature now, and redirected URLs may lead access to malicious sites. Palo Alto could add more engines to tackle this. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

The firewall has a great UI that’s easy to navigate. It delivers high-performance throughput for VPN, concurrent sessions, threat prevention, and more. While it includes onboard storage for caching logs, it still integrates well with legacy log collection systems such as Kiwi Syslog. they are also on the leaders magic quadrant Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

Their pricing is steep and is separated into different parts, such as a DNS subscription, Threat Intelligence, and more which can make it a bit complicated to understand and manage. Support is provided via a reseller and not directly with Palo Alto in my region. There are no AI capabilities present on our firewalls, or maybe we dont have a license for it. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

I like the ability to see exactly who is on the network and what specific applications they are using, and the fact that I can write rules based on that rather than dealing with messy IP addresses, which is unmatched. The built-in cloud threat intelligence and machine learning consistently catch zero-day exploits and malware faster and more accurately than any other firewall we've used. It stops brand new threats in seconds without requiring us to wait for manual updates. The accuracy of these features ensures our team doesn't waste time chasing false alarms, allowing us to focus only on real threats. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

The upfront hardware cost is already high, but the ongoing licensing is where it really hurts. Every essential security feature like URL filtering, advanced threat prevention, and WildFire requires its own separate, expensive subscription. It takes up a massive chunk of our budget. Every time you make a change to the configuration, you have to run a commit to apply it. This process can take a surprisingly long time to complete, which is a big daily annoyance when you are trying to make quick tweaks or troubleshoot an issue in real time. It was a steep learning curve and definitely not a plug and play experience. Because Palo Alto firewalls are so feature rich and fundamentally different from legacy port based firewalls, the initial architecture setup took a lot of careful planning. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

Palo NGFW is a solid, secure firewall. It’s easy to manage and offers a wide range of features that make it very robust. In particular, I like the ability to add dynamic object lists, since that lets us integrate it with some of our other systems and better safeguard our network at the edge. The monitoring capabilities also provide good insight and troubleshooting into the traffic that flows through the firewall. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

The depth of the available features can feel a bit overwhelming and complicated at times, but overall there isn’t much to dislike. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

Deep packet inspection with App-ID and Content-ID for intelligent traffic filtering.

Granular control and visibility over applications, users, and content.

Seamless integration with threat intelligence and cloud services (like WildFire, Cortex XSOAR).

Highly effective against zero-day threats with automated signature updates.

Scalable across on-premise, hybrid, and cloud environments.

Centralized management via Panorama makes multi-device administration efficient. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

Licensing and subscription costs can be high, especially for smaller teams.

Initial setup and configuration can be complex without trained staff.

Some advanced features (like SD-WAN, cloud-delivered security services) require add-ons and separate licensing.

Occasional UI lags in the web interface during heavy traffic loads.

Support response time can vary depending on subscription tier. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

I work in network protection, supporting several firewall vendors, and Palo Alto provides by far the more reliability and easy way to handle and unify resources Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

Cloud documentation could be more consistent and easier to navigate, especially for advanced troubleshooting scenarios. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

I find the Usermapping and UserID features on Palo Alto Networks Next-Generation Firewalls very helpful for monitoring and knowing what users are actually doing. The Application Control feature is also valuable as it allows me to control each user specifically in an access policy to a specific destination and manage the applications they're trying to open. The firewalls have great capabilities for inspections and controlling, which solves complex inspection issues. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

I couldn't create manual user groups with integrated users from LDAP. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

What stands out most about Palo Alto Networks' Next-Generation Firewalls is their deep visibility and precise control.

In short:

App-ID identifies real applications (not just ports)

User-ID enables identity-based policies

Strong threat prevention with advanced detection

All-in-one platform simplifies security operations Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

Dislikes about Palo Alto Networks NGFWs:

Expensive (hardware + licenses)

Complex licensing

Steep learning curve

Can impact performance with full inspection Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

The most valuable feature is the level of visibility into network traffic. It makes it much easier to identify threats and manage applications compared to traditional firewalls. The policy management is flexible, and the reporting tools give our team useful insights into potential risks. Integration with cloud environments is also a big advantage, since it allows us to apply consistent security policies across on-premises and cloud workloads. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

The initial deployment process was more challenging than expected, and the learning curve for new administrators is steep. While the product is powerful, configuring policies correctly can take time and sometimes requires additional training. Support is generally good but can be slow during peak hours. Pricing is also on the higher side, which may be a concern for smaller organizations. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.