Try our new research platform with insights from 80,000+ expert users

Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN vs Fortinet FortiGate comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Sep 16, 2024
 

Categories and Ranking

Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN
Ranking in Software Defined WAN (SD-WAN) Solutions
2nd
Ranking in WAN Edge
2nd
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
7.3
Number of Reviews
90
Ranking in other categories
Network Management Applications (5th)
Fortinet FortiGate
Ranking in Software Defined WAN (SD-WAN) Solutions
1st
Ranking in WAN Edge
1st
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.2
Number of Reviews
317
Ranking in other categories
Firewalls (2nd)
 

Q&A Highlights

NC
Aug 23, 2021
 

Featured Reviews

MOHAMEDELSHERIF - PeerSpot reviewer
Good centralization and manageability for edge routers but quite expensive
The setup is quite straightforward and the solution is easy to deploy. Deployment time depends on the size the customer or enterprise. Each customer has its own use case so it is difficult to give a time estimate. In any case, the work is straightforward with no obstacles or challenges.
DineshKumar28 - PeerSpot reviewer
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…

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"There is minimum blind space in this solution."
"It is very stable with very good firmware."
"I have found the performance and the Zero-Touch provisioning helpful which makes it easier for us to develop."
"The scalability is the most valuable feature."
"So far, the feature that I like best is the policy configuration manager."
"The solution is great at aggregating the traffic and then sending it in one direction."
"The centralized management is the most important feature. We can monitor what is going on at every location in our network with just one center."
"This solution can scale from SMB to the enterprise level. It is very impressive."
"FortiGate is on the cheaper end, and it offers good value."
"It's great for capturing the traffic and troubleshooting it."
"Consolidated our network environment at all locations, but mainly at our datacenter."
"Fortinet FortiGate is scalable for our users. Right now, we have almost 70 users. We do not have any plan to increase our usage of FortiGate. For maintaining the firewall solution, one staff member is enough."
"It has a good UI and overall integration, including FortiGate Manager for controlling all firewalls from a single place."
"This solution has solid UTM features combined with a nice GUI."
"The most valuable feature of the solution revolves around SSL VPN."
"The initial installation is very straightforward."
 

Cons

"We recently found some bugs."
"We need them to start focusing on the SD-WAN compatibility with other environments and not being so vendor locked with Cisco environments."
"In the next release, Cisco should focus on simplifying the configuration of SD-WAN. SD-WAN has a lot of room to grow."
"Compresson deduplication should be added."
"We had some issues with Cisco SD-WAN but somehow we troubleshot it and things are going well. The issues have not been a large problem."
"The licensing model needs to be improved."
"It's an expensive solution."
"The user interface needs to be more friendly."
"It's my understanding that more of the current generation features could be brought in. There could be more integration with EDRs, for example."
"With FortiGate, the main complaint that I have heard is about the technical support."
"The support team for Fortinet FortiGate needs to be more customer friendly."
"The support structure needs to be improved because every time we contact them, there is a delay in the response."
"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."
"A sandbox would be good in order to be able to inspect the emails containing spam and be able to validate the emails that contain malware, prior to delivering to the customer."
"The process of configuring firewall rules appears excessively complex."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The initial cost is quite significant, but the investment is worthwhile."
"We pay for the Cisco Customer Care support, which is a couple of hundred dollars."
"Cisco is more expensive than FortiGate."
"For 600 links, the license for Cisco SD-WAN costs us US$250k a year."
"It's expensive. If you compare Cisco with Fortinet and Juniper, you'll find that Cisco is more expensive than other vendors."
"It is expensive."
"The price of the solution is the only negative factor, it is much more expensive compared with the Cisco Meraki SD-WAN solution."
"The pricing is fair, and it's on par with the market vendors. But based on the competition, Cisco could work on the pricing, go deep on discounts and provide more commercially viable solutions to customers."
"I would say that all things considered, the pricing is pretty good."
"The pricing is justified. It's a little pricey, but what you pay for is what you get."
"The price, in comparison to other products is very cheap."
"For our organization, the licensing costs are approximately $7,000 per year."
"I think that the pricing is fair."
"The licensing scheme of Fortinet is better than Cisco. It is more logical."
"Fortinet bundles FortiGate with other products and because of this, the price is a little expensive to some SMB enterprises."
"If you compare Fortinet FortiGate with Sophos and other firewall products available in the market, this solution is affordable."
report
Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Software Defined WAN (SD-WAN) Solutions solutions are best for your needs.
824,053 professionals have used our research since 2012.
 

Comparison Review

it_user216600 - PeerSpot reviewer
Jan 3, 2016
Sophos UTM vs. Fortinet FortiGate
I have used both Sophos and Fortinet products in production and I have found the Sophos UTM appliances (hardware and virtual) to be a better fit most of the time -- with a few caveats which I will touch on below. In both instances, the transition from TMG will be mostly straightforward. The main…
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Educational Organization
44%
Computer Software Company
13%
Financial Services Firm
6%
Manufacturing Company
5%
Educational Organization
22%
Computer Software Company
14%
Comms Service Provider
6%
Manufacturing Company
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Cisco SD-WAN?
When considering the most valuable features of Cisco SD-WAN, the decoupling of self-monitoring stands out significantly.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Cisco SD-WAN?
The product pricing is high. Fortinet is cheaper than Cisco. I rate the product’s pricing a seven out of ten, where one is cheap and ten is expensive.
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 at large. In my opinion, Fortinet would be the best option and l use Fortinet too...
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 the firewalls change every 5 to 7 years as stated but you really do need to upg...
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 good. The most valuable features for me are their web and email filtering. I wou...
 

Also Known As

Cisco SD-WAN
FortiGate 60b, FortiGate 60c, FortiGate 80c, FortiGate 50b, FortiGate 200b, FortiGate 110c, FortiGate, Fortinet Firewall
 

Learn More

 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Doyle Research, Ashton Metzler & Associates
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
Find out what your peers are saying about Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN vs. Fortinet FortiGate and other solutions. Updated: December 2024.
824,053 professionals have used our research since 2012.