#17 of 18 firewall and router platforms · Updated October 2026
Forcepoint NGFW review 2026
Forcepoint Network Security Platform (formerly Forcepoint NGFW) · Portfolio reshuffle
Forcepoint NGFW ranks #17 of 18 firewall and router platforms in the Firewall and Router Ledger 2026, with a Ledger Index of 47.3 out of 100. Forcepoint's Stonesoft-derived firewall keeps a clean KEV record and strong clustering, under three renames since 7.0 and the thinnest public evidence in this group.
Scores
Source: Firewall and Router Ledger 2026, edition 2026-10-16. How each score works: methodology.
Pros
- Firewall and NAT core4/5
- Threat protection4/5
- High availability and performance4/5
- Management, API and automation4/5
Cons
- Network services2.5/5
What the Ledger says
Forcepoint's firewall scores well on clustering, central policy and inline IPS, which are the Stonesoft strengths it inherited, and its KEV record since 2023 is clean. The scorecard carries grade C because the release note feature lists could not be read, no release dates for 7.3 to 7.5 were found, and the product has been renamed three times under a private-equity owner that sold half the company in 2023. A buyer should ask which legal entity owns and supports the NGFW line today and for the long-term support dates of the version they deploy. Until the release notes are read, the routing, VPN and threat scores are held one half step below what the vendor's materials suggest.
No AI feature is documented for the NGFW engine or the Security Management Center in the sources read. The SMC API is the only automation surface.
Capability by area
Buying, lock-in and release record
Buying and licence (commercial risk)(lower is better)
- Price and licence volatility2.5
- Quote only; no changes found, and no public prices to track
- Purchase constraints3.5
- Quote-based licensing through partners; no free or community edition
- Channel and access3
- Partner sales; release notes public, downloads behind the support portal
- Owner stability4
- Private-equity owner since January 2021; government business divested in 2023; owner of the NGFW line after the split not confirmed
- Cost of staying supported3
- Subscription support; Feature Stream releases supersede each other and the long-term dates are not published
Technical lock-in(lower is better)
- Formats3.5
- Policies live in the SMC database; policy snapshots exportable in Forcepoint's own format
- Export path3.5
- No converter to other vendors found
- Stack coupling3
- Engines require the Security Management Center
- Hardware / cloud coupling2
- ESXi and KVM on RHEL; Hyper-V limited; appliances optional
- Skills and tooling coupling3.5
- SMC-specific tooling and a small skills base
Release credibility
- Cadence3
- Version numbers show a feature release each year and several maintenance builds, but no release dates beyond the 7.5.0 document date were found
- Roadmap transparency1.5
- Release notes public; no public roadmap; feature lists in PDFs that could not be read
- Say-do2.5
- No dated promises found to test; three product names since 7.0
- Velocity2.5
- Maintenance builds dominate the 7.3 to 7.5 list; feature content of 7.5 not read
- Lifecycle stability2
- Three renames since 7.0; lifecycle model named but no dates published
Partners and services
- Partner programme openness3
- Partner programme exists; terms not read
- Multi-tenancy and self-service3
- SMC administrative domains (grade C)
- API and infrastructure-as-code2
- SMC API; no Terraform or Ansible content found
- Skills and certification2.5
- Forcepoint certification; niche skills base
Alternatives to Forcepoint NGFW
Questions about Forcepoint NGFW
Is Forcepoint NGFW any good?
Forcepoint NGFW ranks #17 of 18 firewall and router platforms in the Firewall and Router Ledger 2026, with a Ledger Index of 47.3 out of 100. Its strongest areas are firewall and nat core, threat protection, high availability and performance. Its weakest are network services.
What are the best alternatives to Forcepoint NGFW?
The closest by Ledger Index are IPFire (48.1), Arista NG Firewall (46.4), TNSR (48.6), OpenWrt (51.8).
How is Forcepoint NGFW licensed and sold?
Quote only; no changes found, and no public prices to track.
How much lock-in does Forcepoint NGFW bring?
Forcepoint NGFW scores 15.5 out of 25 on technical lock-in (lower is better). Export path: No converter to other vendors found.
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