Sophos XGS 4300 vs Fortinet, Meraki, Palo Alto
Posted by Saif Khan on 2026 Sep 13th
Sophos XGS 4300 vs Fortinet, Meraki and Palo Alto
A like-for-like look at the Sophos XGS 4300 against the FortiGate 400F, Cisco Meraki MX250 and Palo Alto PA-3410. The XGS 4300 publishes 75 Gbps firewall throughput, 26.2 Gbps threat protection and 8 Gbps of TLS inspection. Where a competitor leads, the table below says so.
One caveat before the numbers: vendors measure throughput differently, so these figures are not laboratory-equivalent. Use them to narrow the shortlist, then test on your own traffic.
The Sophos XGS 4300 is a different class of machine. Firewall throughput leaps to 75 Gbps and TLS inspection to 8 Gbps, well beyond the mid 1U models. This is a firewall for a large site or a busy data-center edge, and the alternatives worth putting beside it are the upper rackmounts from Fortinet, Cisco Meraki, and Palo Alto. Prices are in USD.
At this size the measurement gap between vendors is at its widest, so the headline firewall numbers are close to meaningless as a comparison. The security-enabled figures and your real throughput requirement are what matter.
Sophos XGS 4300 and its rivals
| Model | Firewall throughput | Threat / security throughput | TLS inspection | Managed by | Price (USD) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sophos XGS 4300 (Xstream) | 75 Gbps | 26.2 Gbps Threat Protection | 8 Gbps, native | Sophos cloud console | See current price |
| Fortinet FortiGate 600F | vendor-published (confirm datasheet) | vendor-published (confirm datasheet) | vendor-published | FortiCloud / FortiManager | Quote (Nuformat) |
| Cisco Meraki MX250 | 7.5 Gbps (stateful) | 3 Gbps Advanced Security (detection) | Not native (add-on) | Meraki Dashboard (cloud) | Hardware + license (quote) |
| Palo Alto PA-1420 | 9.5 Gbps (appmix) | 5.8-6.0 Gbps Threat Prevention | Yes (licensed) | Panorama | Quote |
All figures vendor-published (sophos.com, fortinet.com, documentation.meraki.com, paloaltonetworks.com), measured by differing methods. USD, checked September 7, 2026. Where a competitor figure is not confirmed in the current datasheet, it is marked as such rather than estimated.
The honest read
At the 4300 tier the 8 Gbps of native TLS inspection is the figure that separates it from the pack; Cisco Meraki still has no native HTTPS inspection here, and it would take a large Palo Alto to match that decryption headroom. Palo Alto’s PA-1420 still lists a higher raw threat-prevention number, so if you are buying purely on that metric, size up the Palo Alto line. For an organization that decrypts and inspects a lot of traffic and wants it bundled and cloud-managed, the 4300 is built for the job.
A different class of firewall
The 4300 is not a mid-market upgrade; it is a large-site or data-center-edge appliance with 8 Gbps of native TLS inspection. At this level the comparison narrows to who can decrypt and inspect at scale. Cisco Meraki cannot do it natively on the MX line; matching the 4300’s decryption headroom pushes the Palo Alto and Fortinet options up their ranges, which brings licensing and rack space into the decision.
Questions buyers ask
Who needs an XGS 4300?
Large sites and data-center edges that inspect a lot of encrypted traffic. Its 8 Gbps of TLS inspection is well beyond the mid 1U models.
Does Cisco Meraki match the 4300 for TLS inspection?
No. The MX line does not inspect HTTPS natively, so it cannot match the 4300’s native decryption at this scale.
Do the throughput numbers compare directly across vendors?
No. Sophos and Fortinet use large UDP packets, Palo Alto uses an application mix, and Cisco Meraki quotes stateful-firewall figures for a cloud appliance. Compare the security-enabled row and your traffic.
Which of these can Nuformat sell me?
Sophos and Fortinet. Cisco Meraki and Palo Alto are here for comparison only.
Three ways to buy a Sophos XGS firewall
Sophos now sells the XGS and its Xstream Protection in more than one way, which is worth weighing before you commit:
- Buy outright, term license. Purchase the appliance with a 1, 3, or 5-year Xstream Protection subscription paid upfront, and own the hardware. The 12-month Xstream figure quoted here is this option.
- Own the hardware, license monthly (MSP Flex). Buy the appliance outright, then pay for the Xstream Protection license monthly through a Sophos MSP partner’s MSP Flex billing instead of a multi-year term upfront. Billing is monthly, in arrears based on usage.
- Hardware as a Service (HWaaS). Launched July 1, 2026 for MSPs in the US and Canada, HWaaS combines the appliance, standard shipping, and Xstream Protection into a single monthly price billed through MSP Flex. It carries a mandatory 12-month initial term, then continues month to month, on select XGS models.
MSP Flex and HWaaS are delivered through a Sophos MSP partner. Ask Nuformat which fits your budgeting.
Get a quote
Ask Nuformat to quote the Sophos XGS 4300 with Xstream Protection, appliance and subscription together, sized for your throughput and users. Serving Canada and the USA. Contact us.
Sources
- Sophos XGS Series datasheet (XGS 4300): sophos.com
- Fortinet FortiGate datasheets: fortinet.com
- Cisco Meraki MX datasheets: documentation.meraki.com
- Palo Alto datasheets: paloaltonetworks.com
- Sophos firewalls at Nuformat