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Cisco Prime [EOL] vs Fortinet FortiManager comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary

Review summaries and opinions

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

Categories and Ranking

Cisco Prime [EOL]
Average Rating
7.8
Reviews Sentiment
6.5
Number of Reviews
35
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Fortinet FortiManager
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
74
Ranking in other categories
Network Management Applications (3rd)
 

Featured Reviews

AR
Network Engineer at Edmonton Catholic School Board
Has an easy implementation process, but the performance monitoring feature could be more intuitive
The project implementation was easy overall. Adapting Cisco's solutions to our specific environment required effort, as their documentation only covers some network scenarios. The deployment didn't happen all at once; it was staged and controlled to ensure a smooth transition. We started with a small test environment before gradually rolling it out to all campuses. This gradual approach helped mitigate the risk of any issues arising across multiple locations simultaneously, especially on a critical day like Monday morning. We have a team of three executives working on the process. Their job roles included network specialists and a manager. It requires maintenance, which is included in the annual cost. We receive updates and support as part of the renewal process.
SudeepMaydeo - PeerSpot reviewer
Global Head of IT Infrastructure at EPL Americas
Ensures seamless integration and centralized visibility for network security operations
The version upgrade from a single dashboard for all the firewalls in one click is the beauty of Fortinet FortiManager as the most impactful feature in managing our network security. Fortinet FortiManager's policy management enhances our security protocols by enabling us and giving integrated centralized visibility, which has proven to be very healthy. Because of this, we have identified some of the vulnerabilities in our systems, and we mitigated them through Fortinet FortiManager. The central dashboards and the visibility are what appealed to us to go with Fortinet FortiManager. Fortinet FortiManager has adapted to changes in our network scale and complexity as we have geographically 18 international locations, all equipped with firewalls and some cybersecurity initiatives and IT infrastructure initiatives.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Has a good wireless heatmap and search management features."
"The solution's configuration management tool is amazing because it centralizes and pushes configurations which saves a lot of volume and effort."
"Cisco Prime is a good tool for inventory monitoring and wireless management."
"When you have a central management plan, it saves a lot of costs."
"As a large organization, it is difficult to individually monitor every device. Instead, we use Cisco Prime to keep an eye on the network and services. We do not use it as a node tool, as we have other tools for network operation centers. When services go down, it can cause issues, we rely on Cisco Prime to monitor and notify us of any service disruptions. We mainly use Cisco Prime Infrastructure for configuration-level tasks."
"In terms of reliability especially, Cisco is light years ahead."
"The interfaces are a valuable feature."
"The most valuable feature of Cisco Prime is the heat maps."
"Setup, setting policies, and reporting were all very easy. We had no issues whatsoever getting the solution up and running."
"Without FortiManager, you cannot manage a complex environment across several sites with multiple firewalls."
"The solution is very stable."
"This solution enables you to centralize the rules and the configuration of all the equipment."
"The firmware version upgrades are the most valuable feature."
"For the whole security fabric from Fortinet, with a simple click you can see if some workstations or services are affected by an attack, you can really easily quarantine it, check the solution, and fix it, and it's very good from a security perspective."
"The user interface is very easy to navigate."
"You can configure it at your ease."
 

Cons

"The solution needs to include centralized management that aligns with the Greenfield network and its focus on real-time, scenario-based applications."
"The solution is not easy to configure. It's not user-friendly for admins."
"I want the tool to improve data visibility."
"The product is expensive compared to other vendors in the market."
"I rate Cisco Prime seven out of 10 for affordability. All Cisco solutions are expensive."
"They could consider offering more flexible pricing options for their customers."
"Prime is used for managing all the infrastructure and if it can be integrated with the SIEM tool it could be well managed."
"Cisco Prime needs to have lower prices and more customization options."
"The fabric for integrations or connections could be improved."
"Their EDR products could be better. They need to dedicate more R&D to that area."
"It requires a lot of resources. This is the main challenge."
"The deployment of Fortinet FortiManager is quite complex and should be easier. It requires improvement in vulnerability management and should integrate automated AI features to enhance its reliability."
"One of the biggest limitations is the grammar of the API – not the API itself."
"Its licensing model should be improved."
"The solution has to be enhanced to manage new switches."
"In the next release, FortiManager should include more protection features."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The cost is quite high."
"Cisco Prime is an expensive solution."
"You need to get special quotes from the company for each order."
"The product is expensive compared to other vendors in the market."
"I rate the solution's pricing an eight out of ten."
"The solution is not inexpensive but is worth it for large-scale environments."
"The product's performance monitoring feature could be more intuitive."
"We update the license every five years."
"The license model they use depends on the size and is not limited to the users."
"Fortinet is a high-end product and the cost is high. They should consider reducing the price, especially for existing customers."
"In comparison with other products, the price of FortiManager is reasonable."
"On a scale from one to ten, where one is cheap and ten is expensive, I rate the solution's pricing a six out of ten."
"FortiManager is reasonably priced - I pay around US$40,0000 per year, which covers fifty locations."
"For us, it is a little bit expensive."
"Pricing could improve a little bit so I rate it a seven out of ten."
"The licensing costs depend on how many devices you want to use."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Construction Company
13%
Government
11%
Financial Services Firm
7%
Healthcare Company
7%
Financial Services Firm
10%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Computer Software Company
8%
Construction Company
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business9
Midsize Enterprise5
Large Enterprise24
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business34
Midsize Enterprise17
Large Enterprise21
 

Questions from the Community

Ask a question
Earn 20 points
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Fortinet FortiManager?
I am satisfied with the licensing cost, and I would rate it an 8.5.
What needs improvement with Fortinet FortiManager?
I think Fortinet FortiManager can be improved as the web page loading is slightly slow.
What is your primary use case for Fortinet FortiManager?
My main use case for Fortinet FortiManager is to manage multiple FortiGate devices. I can confirm that I use Fortinet FortiManager perfectly in my main use case.
 

Also Known As

Cisco Prime Infrastructure
No data available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Mohawk Industries, Universidad EAFIT, Halton Healthcare
Black Gold Regional Schools, Amadeus Hospitality, Jefferson County, Chunghwa Telecom, City of Boroondara, Dimension Data
Find out what your peers are saying about Cisco, Fortinet, Skyline Communications and others in Network Management Applications. Updated: July 2026.
908,858 professionals have used our research since 2012.