NGFW vs Cloud/SASE FWaaS TCO – PoCLAB Cost Studio

PoCLAB Cost Studio

NGFW vs Cloud/SASE FWaaS TCO

Inputs & Assumptions

DC NGFW vs Cloud/SASE FWaaS – TCO model

Compare a datacenter NGFW + hairpinned traffic against a cloud/SASE firewall-as-a-service model across your edges, including hardware, licenses, bandwidth and operations.

DC NGFW stack

Cloud/SASE FW-as-a-Service

Includes DC transit & FTEs

Edges e.g. 150 branch edges

Time horizon (years) 3–7 typical

Datacenter NGFW Model

NGFW CAPEX total ($) chassis, modules, install

NGFW subscriptions / year ($) threat, URL, IPS, etc.

DC transit / edge / month ($) hairpin egress, backbone

NGFW ops FTE count policy, upgrades, tuning

Ops Cost (Shared)

Ops cost / FTE / year ($) fully loaded

Cloud/SASE FWaaS Model

Cloud FWaaS / edge / month ($) firewall-as-a-service

Residual DC transit / edge / month ($) if some traffic still hairpins

Cloud FWaaS infra OPEX / year ($) connectors, minimal DC infra

Cloud FWaaS ops FTE count policy + monitoring

5-Year TCO Comparison

DC NGFW Legacy perimeter

$0 / edge / month

Cloud/SASE FWaaS Cloud firewall

$0 / edge / month

Relative 5-Year TCO –

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Cloud FWaaS is neutral vs. DC NGFW in this model.

Adjust bandwidth, CAPEX, and FTE assumptions to explore upside.

All values are directional only. This calculator is designed to compare architectures rather than provide a formal quote. Tune inputs to match your contracts (bandwidth tiers, refresh cycles, discounts, etc.).