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 73 Fortinet FortiManager reviews

6,044 Views
1,451 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, Hewlett Packard Enterprise and others in Network Management Applications.

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

Buyer's Guide

Network Management Applications

May 2026

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Helped 893,915 peers since 2012

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

6.8

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Network Management Applications (3rd)

Featured Reviews

ZeeshanAli1

Senior Network Engineer at a healthcare company with 10,001+ employees

Robust, cost-effective, and provides good visibility, but the scalability could improve

We are extremely satisfied with the reliability and robustness of Cisco Prime Infrastructure, which we have been using for many years. Compared to newer products such as DNS centers or others, it has proven to be much more stable, which is important for large-scale operations. Stability is a primary concern for us, and we are glad that Cisco Prime Infrastructure meets our expectations in that regard. Furthermore, in regards to Legacy Plus new hardware, Cisco Prime has proven to be a reliable and adaptable solution thus far. Not only can it support older hardware, but it also has the capability to handle new features with the latest updates. If we consider new solutions such as DNS Center, we may have to sacrifice some legacy features that we still rely on. We may need to continue using these legacy features for a few more years due to various reasons such as budget constraints or the site not being a high priority. However, if we switch to a new product at this stage, we may lose a lot of the monitoring and other capabilities that we have with Cisco Prime. We have a close relationship with Cisco and understand that they are not prioritizing investments in Cisco Prime as they are encouraging customers to adopt the Cisco DNA Center. This means that we don't anticipate many new features to be added to the product in the future. While we know that we will eventually have to transition to a new solution, in the meantime, we plan to do a quick refresh of our legacy products.

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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

"The interfaces are a valuable feature."

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

"The hardware Cisco provides is excellent. It's a well-made product."

"Operationally, Prime is quite easy to use and I like the wireless heatmap and search management features."

"The VLAN mapping function has been most impactful in simplifying our network management tasks."

"Cisco Prime can help customers fix their Wi-Fi issues with scientific and digital data."

"Cisco Prime allows us to do a lot of functions with the users and it is flexible."

"The solution's configuration management tool is amazing because it centralizes and pushes configurations which saves a lot of volume and effort."

More Cisco Prime [EOL] pros

"Fortinet FortiManager allows a full view of all the devices on the network from one location."

"Stability is good within the product."

"The solution brings device management into one single pane of glass and is a pretty good product."

"The SD-WAN deployment environment, and the SD-WAN templates are particularly useful. Managing the solution is very intuitive. The initial setup of the solution was very straightforward."

"The general policy, its integration, and deployment are all easy."

"FortiManager is for the syncing of devices, and when companies are using multiple devices from Fortinet, such as FortiGate, FortiSwitches, and FortiAP, it is required so that a single person can centrally manage all of the devices, making it a very useful application."

"I pushed templates from FortiManager to our site, and they were deployed successfully."

"We like the central management capabilities."

More Fortinet FortiManager pros

Cons

"The overall management capabilities of Prime need to be improved."

"The onboarding process could be improved and developed to enhance compatibility for non-Cisco devices."

"The solution is a bit pricey."

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

"The overall management capabilities of Prime need to be improved."

"The solution is considered legacy and DNAC has overcome it because of centralized controls that allow a complete LAN network to be moved to centralized management."

"This is not a scalable solution."

"If you look at some of the wireless site-survey tools that are available in the commercial space, Cisco should include similar solutions, which would help our on-plant engineers when they're doing a site survey."

More Cisco Prime [EOL] cons

"We have some visibility issues with the reporting."

"The solution has some bugs."

"The price is a bit too high."

"There are a lot of bugs that need to be fixed, for example, the ZTP."

"For the IPSEC tunnels, Fortimanager doesn't have all of the features that are available on Fortigate."

"We have experienced a series of minor bugs that necessitated contacted technical support on several occasions."

"This solution needs more experienced technical support staff. There's nothing special about it compared to other vendors."

"There may be a communication issue. However, other items may be the culprit, such as network connectivity. It depends on the customer's network."

More Fortinet FortiManager cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

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

"You need to get special quotes from the company for each order."

"We update the license every five years."

"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."

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

"The solution is not inexpensive but is worth it for large-scale environments."

"Cisco Prime is an expensive solution."

More Cisco Prime [EOL] pricing and cost advice

"Fortinet FortiManager can be expensive."

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

"This is an affordable solution, and its licensing model is based on the number of devices."

"The pricing model is affordable."

"FortiManager is a bit expensive - I would rate its pricing three out of ten."

"The pricing is based on a licensing model by feature."

"Our organization pays a monthly license fee for the solution."

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

More Fortinet FortiManager pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Government

12%

Construction Company

Manufacturing Company

Comms Service Provider

Financial Services Firm

10%

Computer Software Company

10%

Manufacturing Company

Comms Service Provider

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	9
Midsize Enterprise	5
Large Enterprise	24

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	34
Midsize Enterprise	17
Large Enterprise	20

Questions from the Community

Ask a question

Earn 20 points

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 would like to see functionality that simplifies my life. I understand that adding new devices should be simplified.

See all answers

Comparisons

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Compared 13% of the time

ExtremeCloud IQ vs Cisco Prime [EOL]

Compared 13% of the time

Cisco Nexus Dashboard Fabric Controller (Formerly DCNM) vs Cisco Prime [EOL]

Compared 10% of the time

NetMaster Network Intelligence vs Cisco Prime [EOL]

Compared 9% of the time

Junos Space Network Director vs Cisco Prime [EOL]

Compared 9% of the time

More Cisco Prime [EOL] Competitors

Fortinet FortiGate Cloud vs Fortinet FortiManager

Compared 38% of the time

Cisco DNA Center vs Fortinet FortiManager

Compared 8% of the time

Palo Alto Networks Panorama vs Fortinet FortiManager

Compared 7% of the time

Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN vs Fortinet FortiManager

Compared 5% of the time

AlgoSec vs Fortinet FortiManager

Compared 4% of the time

More Fortinet FortiManager Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Cisco Prime [EOL]

May 2026

Download Cisco Prime [EOL] product report

Buyer's Guide

Fortinet FortiManager

May 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

May 2026

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