Cisco Prime [EOL] vs Fortinet FortiManager comparison

Cisco and Fortinet are both solutions in the Network Management Applications category. Additionally, 91% of Cisco users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 95% of Fortinet users who would recommend it.

Cisco Prime [EOL]

Read 35 Cisco Prime [EOL] reviews

91% willing to recommend

Fortinet FortiManager

Read 72 Fortinet FortiManager reviews

4,954 Views
892 Comparison Views

95% willing to recommend

Cisco Prime [EOL]

Fortinet FortiManager

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Executive Summary

We performed a comparison between Cisco Prime [EOL] and Fortinet FortiManager based on real PeerSpot user reviews.

Find out what your peers are saying about Cisco, Fortinet, NetScaler and others in Network Management Applications.

To learn more, read our detailed Network Management Applications Report (Updated: January 2026).

Buyer's Guide

Network Management Applications

January 2026

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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

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Fortinet FortiManager

Average Rating

8.0

Reviews Sentiment

6.9

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Network Management Applications (3rd)

Featured Reviews

AndrewRichardson

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.

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SudeepMaydeo

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.

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Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"What I found most beneficial from Cisco Prime is that it gives you an insight into what your network does, even when you're not actively monitoring what's going on with your network."

"The most valuable is the assistance for network support."

"We use Cisco Prime for network mapping and surveys."

"The dashboard is a valuable feature. It's very clear, and the metrics make it easy to see the current network situation."

"Cisco Prime allows us to manage all the wireless controllers and access points."

"Cisco Prime is a good tool for inventory monitoring and wireless management."

"The interfaces are a valuable feature."

"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."

More Cisco Prime [EOL] pros

"Technical support is great. When we have sent urgent tickets and they do reply back within fifteen minutes."

"Centralized configuration is the most helpful feature. I like the ability to create templates and push them to all the devices at the same time. I also like that I can see the the logs with one device to provide zero touch on all other products."

"I appreciate the ability to connect via SSH through Fortinet FortiManager to the FortiGates I manage. This feature allows me to gather information about the interfaces without having to physically connect to the device. This is a convenient aspect that I find valuable."

"The solution's most valuable feature is the consolidation and the single point of administration solution."

"It can scale well."

"I like the rapid deployment feature. I also like that it's easy to troubleshoot. FortiManager is amazing because we can have a centralized policy. All our devices are integrated, and we can also engage in troubleshooting. We can use it for different deployments. One fantastic feature is the ability to create a version and deploy it immediately."

"The reports feature is excellent."

"It has multiple features in one box, which helps to avoid needing a lot of equipment. This is something that makes them unique."

More Fortinet FortiManager pros

Cons

"The solution can be slow at times."

"The solution is not easy to configure."

"I would love for Cisco Prime to show bandwidth usage and consumption, but I can't monitor bandwidth usage at a given time."

"Cisco needs to improve Prime's monitoring tab. If any device goes down, there is a 15-second lapse before we know. It would be much better if we were alerted two or three minutes before a device is about to fail, so we can dispatch a field engineer and avoid network downtime. I would like to see a feature that allows you to access the devices directly from Prime's monitoring tab. That would make work easier for us."

"If you think about a centralized monitoring system, Cisco Prime is not good because it does not support third-party vendors like Palo Alto or FortiGate."

"Cisco can only be used for Cisco environments and is not compatible with other vendors."

"The product's performance monitoring feature could be more intuitive."

"It should be able to monitor Palo Alto, Juniper, and Check Point products - not just Cisco solutions."

More Cisco Prime [EOL] cons

"Their EDR products could be better. They need to dedicate more R&D to that area."

"It's a difficult process to transfer one interface from one virtual domain to another."

"Within the management of some features on FortiManager, specifically the management of user objects used for VPN service, FortiManager is quite weak."

"The product is not very stable."

"You cannot integrate with other solutions."

"The solution has some bugs."

"It would be nice to have a virtual appliance as well."

"The price always has room for improvement."

More Fortinet FortiManager cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The product is expensive compared to other vendors in the market."

"If we have a license for Cisco DNA, we can use the same license for Cisco Prime."

"I rate the solution's pricing an eight out of ten."

"The price of Cisco Prime was reasonable because we purchased it as part of a Cisco One package. The package was a bundle of Cisco solutions together, such as Cisco ISE and CMX. The price is reasonable com compared to other solutions."

"The cost is quite high."

"The product's performance monitoring feature could be more intuitive."

"We update the license every five years."

"I would rate the solution's pricing an eight out of ten."

More Cisco Prime [EOL] pricing and cost advice

"For us, it is a little bit expensive."

"The solution requires you to have a license for every device, as well as for any advanced features being used, which makes it costly for high-volume users. However, for a large-scale environment with a lot of customers we have found it to be a worthwhile investment."

"Fortinet FortiManager operates on a licensing system that is dependent on the number of devices being managed. Yearly subscription renewal is necessary to continue using the service. Although there is a cost associated with Fortinet FortiManager, its price is undoubtedly justified by the value it provides in terms of the purpose it serves."

"In comparison with other products, the price of FortiManager is reasonable."

"I hope that the prices will become more competitive in subsequent releases, as the current pricing is perceived as somewhat elevated."

"The price point is very good."

"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."

More Fortinet FortiManager pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Government

13%

Computer Software Company

11%

Manufacturing Company

Healthcare Company

Computer Software Company

11%

Manufacturing Company

Financial Services Firm

Comms Service Provider

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	9
Midsize Enterprise	4
Large Enterprise	24

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	35
Midsize Enterprise	16
Large Enterprise	19

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Cisco Prime?

The most valuable features of Cisco Prime include its comprehensive functionality as a one-stop solution for basic SNMP port management.

See all answers

What needs improvement with Cisco Prime?

The product's performance monitoring feature could be more intuitive.

See all answers

What is your primary use case for Cisco Prime?

We use Cisco Prime for centralized configuration management backups and monitoring.

See all answers

What do you like most about Fortinet FortiManager?

The most valuable feature is the centralized management console.

See all answers

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.

See all answers

What needs improvement with Fortinet FortiManager?

I do not use Fortinet FortiManager daily, but I can speak with my security team and ask them what areas need future improvement for Fortinet FortiManager. When I installed it, I found it somewhat d...

See all answers

Comparisons

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Compared 10% of the time

Junos Space Network Director vs Cisco Prime [EOL]

Compared 10% of the time

Huawei eSight vs Cisco Prime [EOL]

Compared 10% of the time

More Cisco Prime [EOL] Competitors

Fortinet FortiGate Cloud vs Fortinet FortiManager

Compared 55% of the time

Cisco DNA Center vs Fortinet FortiManager

Compared 7% of the time

Palo Alto Networks Panorama vs Fortinet FortiManager

Compared 5% of the time

AlgoSec vs Fortinet FortiManager

Compared 4% of the time

Fortinet FortiOS vs Fortinet FortiManager

Compared 3% of the time

More Fortinet FortiManager Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Cisco Prime [EOL]

February 2026

Download Cisco Prime [EOL] product report

Buyer's Guide

Fortinet FortiManager

February 2026

Download Fortinet FortiManager product report

Also Known As

Cisco Prime Infrastructure

No data available

Overview

Cisco Prime products deliver next-generation management by supporting an intuitive workflow-oriented user experience and integrated lifecycle operations across Cisco architectures, technologies, and networks.

Cisco

Fortinet FortiManager offers centralized management for FortiGate devices, ensuring easy synchronization with cloud accounts, automation, and policy deployment, enhancing network security and performance.

Fortinet FortiManager provides comprehensive oversight and streamlined operations for FortiGate environments. It centralizes the administration of firewalls and other Fortinet devices, simplifying their configuration and deployment. Users benefit from its efficient automation and policy management capabilities, which reduce implementation times and enhance security protocols. FortiManager features seamless integration and robust monitoring within a single interface, offering visibility across network operations. While it requires improvements in documentation, platform integration, and licensing clarity, it remains an essential tool for large-scale network management.

What are the standout features?

Centralized Management: Simplifies administration of multiple devices from one console.
Automation: Speeds up policy deployment and reduces manual tasks.
Zero-Touch Provisioning: Facilitates easy device setup and deployment.
SD-WAN Management: Provides tools for managing wide area networks effectively.
Intuitive GUI: Offers a user-friendly management interface.

Why should users consider Fortinet FortiManager?

Ease of Use: Users appreciate the straightforward management processes.
Scalability: Adaptability to large-scale network demands.
Comprehensive Visibility: Detailed insights into network performance and security.
Reduced Implementation Time: Faster setup and configuration processes.

In the finance and healthcare industries, Fortinet FortiManager enhances security and compliance by streamlining policy management and deployment across multiple sites. Retail sectors benefit from its scalable network management, ensuring continuous and reliable connectivity across branches. Education institutions use it to manage complex security infrastructures, effectively handling multiple devices and networks to safeguard sensitive data.

Fortinet

Sample Customers

Mohawk Industries, Universidad EAFIT, Halton Healthcare

Black Gold Regional Schools, Amadeus Hospitality, Jefferson County, Chunghwa Telecom, City of Boroondara, Dimension Data

Buyer's Guide

Network Management Applications

January 2026

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