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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
6.9
Number of Reviews
72
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

"We use this solution to troubleshoot our wireless systems, specifically regarding signal strength."
"The solution's configuration management tool is amazing because it centralizes and pushes configurations which saves a lot of volume and effort."
"The most valuable is the assistance for network support."
"It gives you the ability to upgrade switches remotely, schedule the upgrade time, perform backups, and monitor the health of all networks."
"Cisco Prime is user-friendly, so we are comfortable using it."
"The solution helps with the management and support of the enterprise network."
"Cisco Prime has been around for a long time, and it keeps getting better and better."
"I have found the solution to be scalable."
"Fortinet FortiManager can centrally manage all FortiGates and is effective for the deployment of updates and patches."
"The most valuable feature is the central configuration for firewall policies."
"The product is a combination of management and monitoring from the same interface."
"A fully integrated solution."
"The solution brings device management into one single pane of glass and is a pretty good product."
"I find Fortinet's technical support for FortiManager effective and I would rate it eight out of ten."
"FortiManager's most valuable feature is central management."
"The main benefit of Fortinet FortiManager is the ability to control all the devices from a central location, view their statuses, and manage their configurations and updates from a single management console."
 

Cons

"This solution could be improved if it could monitor configuration changes."
"They can also improve the management of more enterprise devices."
"The user interface of Cisco Prime could be more user-friendly and increase its performance."
"The product needs to improve its interface and reporting."
"Cisco can only be used for Cisco environments and is not compatible with other vendors."
"There is room for improvement in the Access layer."
"The solution can be slow at times."
"The solution has issues with real time monitoring of devices and NetFlow such as inadequate visualization for reports, sources, and destinations."
"The GUI could be updated. It's not as good as it could be and is something the solution should improve in an upcoming release."
"Within the management of some features on FortiManager, specifically the management of user objects used for VPN service, FortiManager is quite weak."
"Pricing-wise, it could always be less, even though it is less expensive than Palo Alto."
"If you have more than one FortiMail device, you can't manage it then with FortiManager on FortiGate."
"In future updates, I would like to see more customization and AI integration."
"There is a degradation of performance if we activate logs on FortiManager."
"Setting up FortiManager can be complex because it involves changes from other devices and a lot of configuration."
"The fabric for integrations or connections could be improved."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"We update the license every five years."
"I rate the solution's pricing an eight out of ten."
"I would rate the solution's pricing an eight out of ten."
"Cisco Prime is an expensive solution."
"The cost is quite high."
"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 product's performance monitoring feature could be more intuitive."
"The solution is not inexpensive but is worth it for large-scale environments."
"If you compare Fortinet and Palo Alto, Fortinet is cheaper, but if you compare Cisco and Fortinet, sometimes Cisco is cheaper because Cisco gives us more discounts because of the size. Cisco isn't cheap, but sometimes, we get a big discount from them."
"Fortinet FortiManager is costly."
"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."
"Pricing could improve a little bit so I rate it a seven out of ten."
"The price of Fortinet FortiManager is inexpensive."
"Fortinet is a high-end product and the cost is high. They should consider reducing the price, especially for existing customers."
"FortiManager is a bit expensive - I would rate its pricing three out of ten."
"In comparison with other products, the price of FortiManager is reasonable."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Government
14%
Computer Software Company
11%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Healthcare Company
7%
Computer Software Company
11%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Comms Service Provider
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business9
Midsize Enterprise4
Large Enterprise24
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business35
Midsize Enterprise16
Large Enterprise19
 

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.
What needs improvement with Cisco Prime?
The product's performance monitoring feature could be more intuitive.
What is your primary use case for Cisco Prime?
We use Cisco Prime for centralized configuration management backups and monitoring.
What do you like most about Fortinet FortiManager?
The most valuable feature is the centralized management console.
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 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...
 

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, NetScaler and others in Network Management Applications. Updated: January 2026.
882,594 professionals have used our research since 2012.