What I like best about Palo Alto Networks Next-Generation Firewalls is the level of visibility and control they provide. App-ID, User-ID, and Content-ID make it possible to create policies based on applications, users, and risk rather than relying only on ports and IP addresses. I also value the integration of threat prevention, URL filtering, WildFire, and centralized management, which helps security teams detect threats faster and manage policies more consistently. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

What I dislike most about Palo Alto Networks Next-Generation Firewalls is the cost and complexity of licensing, especially when multiple security subscriptions are required. Initial deployment, policy optimization, and major software upgrades can also require significant planning and experienced administrators. Troubleshooting can sometimes be time-consuming, particularly in large environments with complex security policies and integrations Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

Our Palo Alto Firewall has been amazing. Since we installed it, we’ve had more insight and control over our network than ever before, and it’s made it much easier to understand what’s happening across the environment. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

The biggest downside for us was getting up to speed on the interface and figuring out how to set up our firewall rules. It took a bit of time to learn, but that’s pretty normal with any new platform you bring into an IT environment. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

I like Palo Alto Networks Cloud NGFW because it gives me full control over network traffic and helps me easily see which applications and users are active. The dashboard is simple and provides a lot of information in one place. I also appreciate the threading feature that blocks malware and unwanted traffic quickly, which makes me feel more confident because the protection is stronger and reliable. It makes cloud security easier and gives me peace of mind. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

The initial setup can be a little complex. It takes time to understand all of the options and settings, especially if someone is new to this kind of firewall. The documentation could be clearer. Some advanced features don't have easy guides, so I need to search more or ask my teammates. The pricing can be expensive for smaller teams; for larger companies, it works fine, but for small teams, it feels a bit high. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

If you have the budget and are willing to commit to their "Platformization" strategy (using them for network, cloud, and SOC), Palo Alto Networks delivers one of the most robust, high-performance security platforms available. That said, if you prefer a "best-of-breed" multi-vendor approach, the premium may be hard to justify given the high costs, added management complexity, and the integration friction you’re likely to run into. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

Palo Alto Networks builds incredibly solid packet-filtering hardware, but their software, support, and modern "AI-driven" cloud consoles often feel rushed, bloated, and optimized for sales pitches rather than the daily grind of network security engineers. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

The threat prevention capabilities are top-tier. Features like WildFire and the intrusion prevention system (IPS) give us peace of mind when it comes to zero-day threats. The fact that these security profiles run seamlessly without severely degrading our throughput performance is a massive plus. It has significantly improved our network's overall security posture Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

While the threat prevention features are excellent, the licensing structure is very expensive. Having to buy separate licenses for WildFire, URL filtering, and threat prevention quickly adds up and consumes a massive portion of our security budget. It would be much better if these core security features were bundled more affordably Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

The strongest part is the combination of App-ID, User-ID, and threat prevention in a single policy framework. It provides detailed visibility into applications and users, and the management experience is consistent across security rules, logging, and investigation. Performance is generally predictable when security profiles are enabled, which makes it suitable for complex enterprise environments. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

The platform has a meaningful learning curve, especially for teams new to application-based policy design. Licensing and subscriptions can be difficult to compare, and upgrades require careful planning because behavior changes may affect existing rules or integrations. Troubleshooting is powerful but sometimes involves moving between multiple views, so simpler guided diagnostics would improve day-to-day operations. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

I like the simplicity of use and the friendly graphical interface of Palo Alto Networks Next-Generation Firewalls. It's easy to apply filters and manage traffic logs, which is really handy. The dynamic and software updates are straightforward, so I can keep everything up to date and mitigate vulnerabilities easily. It's really clear how to navigate and find the objects, policies, devices, and objects I need to manage. Overall, it's streamlined and simplifies managing network security. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

I find Palo Alto support challenging, especially when opening TAC cases, as I often have to wait several days to months for updates, and sometimes I encounter inexperienced engineers. Also, the command line interface could be simplified since there are often large commands to type, which are hard to remember. Creating templates and template stacks after the initial setup can be challenging, although mistakes are luckily easy to fix. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

As a Senior Network and Cloud Security Architect, I specialize in engineering secure, highly available hybrid architectures combining Palo Alto Networks (PAN-OS, Panorama, Prisma Access) and AWS enterprise networking. I act as a technical peer to design scalable traffic flows, troubleshoot complex IPSec/BGP routing anomalies, and audit Infrastructure-as-Code for security and architectural gaps. When analyzing problems, I prioritize a zero-trust, least-privilege approach and will explicitly call out any deployment assumptions we are making. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

Difficult to use. It's been lagging and been sluggish over the past couple months. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

What I like most is the visibility into network traffic and the ability to create granular security policies. The interface is well organized once you’re familiar with it, and features like application-aware filtering and threat prevention help improve security without making management overly complicated. I also appreciate the detailed logging and reporting, which make it easier to investigate security events. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

The biggest drawback is the learning curve. Initial configuration can be time-consuming, and the licensing model can become costly depending on the features required. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

What I like most about Palo Alto Networks Next-Generation Firewalls is their strong security capabilities combined with ease of management. Features such as application-aware traffic inspection, user-based policies, intrusion prevention, URL filtering, and threat prevention provide excellent visibility and protection against modern cyber threats. The centralized management interface makes policy administration and monitoring efficient, while the platform is reliable, scalable, and integrates well with other security solutions Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

While the security capabilities are excellent, the platform can be expensive, especially when additional security subscriptions are required. The initial setup and policy configuration have a learning curve, and managing complex rule sets can become time-consuming in larger environments. Software upgrades also require careful planning to minimize service disruption Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.