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Azure Firewall vs FortiGate Next Generation Firewall (NGFW) comparison

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Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Sep 16, 2024
 

Categories and Ranking

Fortinet FortiGate
Sponsored
Ranking in Firewalls
2nd
Average Rating
8.4
Number of Reviews
316
Ranking in other categories
Software Defined WAN (SD-WAN) Solutions (1st), WAN Edge (1st)
Azure Firewall
Ranking in Firewalls
21st
Average Rating
7.4
Number of Reviews
36
Ranking in other categories
Microsoft Security Suite (12th)
FortiGate Next Generation F...
Ranking in Firewalls
13th
Average Rating
8.4
Number of Reviews
43
Ranking in other categories
ZTNA (4th), Unified Threat Management (UTM) (9th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of October 2024, in the Firewalls category, the mindshare of Fortinet FortiGate is 19.0%, up from 16.9% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Azure Firewall is 2.4%, down from 3.4% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of FortiGate Next Generation Firewall (NGFW) is 0.3%, up from 0.1% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Firewalls
 

Featured Reviews

DineshKumar28 - PeerSpot reviewer
Sep 25, 2024
Effective threat prevention with responsive customer support
We are using Fortinet FortiGate as a firewall Fortinet FortiGate has been invaluable. It has helped save costs due to its various features, reliable performance, very good UI, low latency, and stability. The Threat Intel engine in Fortinet FortiGate is highly rated for its effectiveness in…
Charan Kumar - PeerSpot reviewer
Nov 1, 2023
Easy to use and configure but could be more robust
I use the solution as a firewall. We use it for segmentation and zero-trust security.  It's helped us improve our security posture.  It's integrated with Azure. You don't have an additional licensing cost and no additional maintenance. The configurations are also comparatively easy. The cost of…
Eduardo_Lopez - PeerSpot reviewer
Jul 25, 2023
A reliable tool for connectivity with strong WiFi ports and SD-WAN
I’ve worked with network and security information since 1999. My use cases for FortiGate are in the telecom environment. In my experience, we have used Fortinet to connect sites. I’m working with an SMB in São Paulo, and we work with small equipment. I have a project to define a model from the end…

Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Pros

"SSL-VPN is very useful for us and has been very reliable."
"The most valuable features of Fortinet FortiGate are remote access, web filtering, and IPS."
"Layer-3 firewall and routing are the most valuable features."
"Consolidated our network environment at all locations, but mainly at our datacenter."
"It is easy to manage, and it doesn't need much knowledge from the team. It is a stable device, and there are many features that are included out of the box."
"Using this product makes the VPN seamless and almost invisible to me in the sense that I don't have to think about it."
"Our project needs to link two sides through the internet. One of these was in Cairo and the other in another city. We used FortiGate as the integrating solution between the two locations, i.e. the Fortinet 30E & 100E."
"I like how we can achieve total integration."
"Azure Firewall's feature that I have found most valuable is its scalability."
"It is easy for me to protect certain ports or even the IP addresses, as well as do whitelisting, blacklisting, and the FQDN when we want virtual machines connected and to protect certain websites."
"I think that one of the best features is definitely the premium version, along with the IDPs in terms of the intrusion detection and prevention system."
"One of the best features is that it natively integrates with Azure Services and tools. When you have a third-party offering, that is not the case. But Azure Firewall provides a comprehensive and seamless security solution for your Azure resources."
"I can easily configure it."
"The solution is very stable. When comparing it to other environments, it's actually quite impressive."
"Performance and stability are the key features of this product."
"The feature that I have found the most valuable is the control over the network permissions and the network."
"FortiGate Next Generation Firewall has a stateless balance proposition"
"User identification and application identification are valuable features."
"It is a very user-friendly solution. Moreover, Foritgate offers good performance."
"You can integrate certain other services with FortiGate and use additional threat intelligence services because they allow you to combine various solutions, enhancing your overall security."
"The setup is easy."
"The solution has helped our organization secure our network and connect remote sites."
"I like the common administration and the possibility of adding Fortinet defense systems."
"The solution is user-friendly and easy to operate."
 

Cons

"Bandwidth usage in reporting could be improved for Fortinet FortiGate."
"Regarding challenges, customers initially faced issues like internet dropping, but after firmware upgrades, everything worked well."
"Fortinet FortiGate could improve by adding FortiAnalyzer to its solution, we should not have to use another solution. FortiAnalyzer can provide more detailed information."
"Fortinet FortiGate could improve if it had a cloud-managed solution."
"FortiLink is the interface on the firewall that allows you to extend switch management across all of your switches in the network. The problem with it is that you can't use multiple interfaces unless you set them up in a lag. Only then you can run them. So, it forces you to use a core type of switch to propagate that management out to the rest of the switches, and then it is running the case at 200. It leaves you with 18 ports on the firewall because it is also a layer-three router that could also be used as a switch, but as soon as you do that, you can't really use them. They could do a little bit more clean up in the way the stacking interface works. Some use cases and the documentation on the FortiLink checking interface are a little outdated. I can find stuff on version 5 or more, but it is hard to find information on some of the newer firmware. The biggest thing I would like to see is some improvement in the switch management feature. I would like to be able to relegate some of the ports, which are on the firewall itself, to act as a switch to take advantage of those ports. Some of these firewalls have clarity ports on them. If I can use those, it would mean that I need to buy two less switches, which saves time. I get why they don't, but I would still like to see it because it would save a little bit of space in the server rack."
"The main aspect of FortiGate that could be improved is load balancing. Our management team does not want to buy another appliance for only load balancing."
"Usually, we sell the bundle with the UTM or threat management piece with IPS, IDS. Other providers, such as Palo Alto, are ahead in terms of safe functionality. So, for me, delivering truly safe service is probably something that still needs to be improved."
"Some of the features in the graphical user interface do not work, which requires that we used the command-line-interface."
"The reporting, logging, and monitoring features, as well as the flexibility of the policies, need to be improved."
"Right now, with Azure Firewall, we cannot have a normal inbound traffic flow. For inbound, Microsoft suggests using application gateways, so the options are very limited. I cannot use this firewall as an intermediate firewall because of the limitations, and I cannot point routing to another firewall. So if I want to use back-to-back firewall architecture in my environment, I cannot use Azure Firewall for that type of configuration either."
"You have to have a defined IP range within your network to associate it with your network. The problem is you have to plan ahead of time if you expect to use the firewall in the future so that you don't have to reconfigure your subnets or that specific IP range. Other than that, I don't any issues. I use it for basic configuration for a single application, so I really don't try to leverage it for multiple applications where I might find some complexity or challenges."
"It would be much easier if the on-premises, firewall rules, had some kind of export-import possibility in place, which is not the case right now."
"It needs a lot of improvement, especially on intruder detection. They are working hard on that."
"Azure Firewall has limited visibility for IDPS, no TLS inspection, no app ID, no user ID, no content ID, no device ID. There is no antivirus or anti-spyware. Azure Firewall doesn't scan traffic for malware unless it triggers an IDPS signature. There is no sandbox or machine learning functionality, meaning we are not protected from Zero-day threats. There is no DNS security and limited web categories."
"The interface could be improved, it's not very user friendly."
"It is a cloud service, but the lending speed for each region is not always the same. For example, in China, the speed is slow. They need to think about how to make sure that the service pace or speed is always the same in all regions. It would be a great improvement if they can provide the same pace worldwide."
"The product has to be upgraded every few weeks."
"FortiGate may include AI capabilities and integrate external threat intelligence. However, version management and backup/restore operations could be improved."
"Its load balancing feature could be easy to configure."
"Its technical support could be better."
"Being a great product, some changes in the pricing would make it a great choice for even more organizations."
"The solution must improve the support provided for customers around the globe, considering the time differences in different places."
"The room for improvement is to have more flexibility on the virtual machines of their next-generation platforms."
"When considering the policy of the vendors, they do not offer much of a discount policy, making the licensing model an area that needs improvement."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Fortinet is competitive price-wise."
"It has been two years. I don't remember the actual price, but it was affordable. We buy the boxes and then use the license for three years."
"It is quite affordable for our customers. There is a separate cost for IPS, antivirus, web filtering, and other features. They have a great choice of licenses. You can go for the license that you want, which is quite useful."
"It is expensive. You need to pay for the subscription every year, which is very expensive. The subscription includes technical support and hardware exchange in case of failure."
"Fortinet's pricing is more straightforward than other solutions. If Fortinet doesn't stick out when you're searching for a solution, you are a glutton for punishment. You only need to know two things when purchasing a Fortinet solution: your total bandwidth and bandwidth at the site. You need to estimate the future bandwidth with other solutions if your customer plans to upgrade."
"The licensing scheme of Fortinet is better than Cisco. It is more logical."
"The price is really low. It's cheap in comparison to the cost of Cisco or CheckPoint, for example."
"Fortinet FortiGate's price can be reduced."
"The pricing of Azure Firewall is pay-as-you-go. Fortinet also has a pay-as-you-go model, but Azure's pricing is higher and, with FortiGate, you also have the license."
"The licensing module is good."
"Azure Firewall comes with Azure native services. We did not buy any kind of license for it. Whether you have a free subscription or a pay-as-you-go model, you can deploy the Azure Firewall service... The amount that you use will determine how much you pay."
"I rate the product pricing a five out of ten."
"It is pay-as-you-go. So, you pay based on the usage. If I remember it well, there is a basic fee, and there is a traffic fee. It is not per month. It is per hour or something like that. It is not so expensive."
"The total cost of ownership is much less than Palo Alto, Cisco, or any other brand."
"Azure Firewall is quite an expensive product."
"The pricing should be competitive. If you compare Azure's pricing to that of security solutions from AWS or GCP, theirs is much more competitive. Azure Firewall should also have similar competitive prices so that it is accessible to small- and medium-sized organizations."
"The solution's pricing is competitive."
"The product is a little bit expensive."
"The product is not very expensive."
"I would rate the pricing a seven out of ten"
"FortiGate Next Generation Firewall is a very cheap solution."
"I would rate pricing to be about four or five out of ten, it is reasonable."
"I rate the pricing an eight and a half on a scale of one to ten, where one is low, and ten is high."
"It is an expensive solution."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Educational Organization
22%
Computer Software Company
15%
Manufacturing Company
6%
Comms Service Provider
6%
Computer Software Company
17%
Financial Services Firm
10%
Government
9%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Computer Software Company
23%
Comms Service Provider
13%
Educational Organization
7%
Non Profit
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

Which is the better NGFW: Fortinet Fortigate or Cisco Firepower?
When you compare these firewalls you can identify them with different features, advantages, practices and usage a...
What is the biggest difference between Sophos XG and FortiGate?
From my experience regarding both the Sophos and FortiGate firewalls, I personally would rather use FortiGate. I know...
What are the biggest technical differences between Sophos UTM and Fortinet FortiGate?
As a solution, Sophos UTM offers a lot of functionality, it scales well, and the stability and performance are quite ...
What is a better choice, Azure Firewall or Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls?
Azure Firewall Vs. Palo Alto Network NG Firewalls Both solutions provide stellar stability and security. Azure Firew...
How does Azure Firewall compare with Palo Alto Networks VM Series?
Both products are very stable and easily scalable. The setup of Azure Firewall is easy and very user-friendly and the...
Which would you recommend - FortiGate VM or Azure Firewall?
Both of these solutions are excellent options that provide flexible scalability and solid security. Fortinet Fortigat...
What do you like most about FortiGate Next Generation Firewall (NGFW)?
The tool's most valuable feature is IPS. In my experience, I haven't encountered any issues with integration. It easi...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for FortiGate Next Generation Firewall (NGFW)?
Although the solution's pricing is high, compared with other products, it may be cheap. We pay around 1,000 for the s...
 

Also Known As

FortiGate 60b, FortiGate 60c, FortiGate 80c, FortiGate 50b, FortiGate 200b, FortiGate 110c, FortiGate
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Overview

 

Sample Customers

Amazon Web Services, Microsoft, IBM, Cisco, Dell, HP, Oracle, Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile, Sprint, Vodafone, Orange, BT Group, Telstra, Deutsche Telekom, Comcast, Time Warner Cable, CenturyLink, NTT Communications, Tata Communications, SoftBank, China Mobile, Singtel, Telus, Rogers Communications, Bell Canada, Telkom Indonesia, Telkom South Africa, Telmex, Telia Company, Telkom Kenya
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Find out what your peers are saying about Azure Firewall vs. FortiGate Next Generation Firewall (NGFW) and other solutions. Updated: October 2024.
813,161 professionals have used our research since 2012.