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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

"The product's most valuable features are monitoring and configuration."
"The most valuable feature of Cisco Prime is the heat map."
"We use the solution to control the physical service station that is part of the SCADA network. We connect and control them remotely."
"The interfaces are a valuable feature."
"The VLAN mapping function has been most impactful in simplifying our network management tasks."
"We use this solution to troubleshoot our wireless systems, specifically regarding signal strength."
"The solution helps with the management and support of the enterprise network."
"Cisco Prime is a good tool for inventory monitoring and wireless management."
"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."
"It is easy to manage a huge number of devices with FortiManager."
"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."
"This solution enables you to centralize the rules and the configuration of all the equipment."
"FortiManager helps automate configuration deployment, allowing us to plan and schedule configurations."
"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."
"Being able to push consistent firewall rules and configuration changes across multiple FortiGates saves a ton of time and reduces errors compared to managing each device individually."
"FortiManager's best feature is the integration of administrator users."
 

Cons

"They could consider offering more flexible pricing options for their customers."
"There is room for improvement in the Access layer."
"The product needs to improve its interface and reporting."
"Lacking in integration with a SIEM tool."
"The solution can be slow at times."
"The user interface of Cisco Prime could be more user-friendly and increase its performance."
"Maybe it could be a little cheaper."
"The product's pricing can be cheaper."
"Pricing-wise, it could always be less, even though it is less expensive than Palo Alto."
"Can be difficult to configure."
"Configuring Fortinet without internet access is challenging."
"When I started, it was a bit difficult, however, now it's okay. It can be a bit complex for basic users."
"In future updates, I would like to see more customization and AI integration."
"Their EDR products could be better. They need to dedicate more R&D to that area."
"The user interface can feel clunky, especially for more complex tasks such as managing large-scale policy packages or custom scripts."
"The solution has to be enhanced to manage new switches."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"We update the license every five years."
"Cisco Prime is an expensive solution."
"The cost is quite high."
"I would rate the pricing of Cisco Prime a seven out of ten."
"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."
"You need to get special quotes from the company for each order."
"The product is expensive compared to other vendors in the market."
"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."
"For us, it is a little bit expensive."
"Compared to Check Point or Cisco, Fortinet FortiManager is more affordable but it is still on the higher end."
"The pricing is based on a licensing model by feature."
"Our organization pays a monthly license fee for the solution."
"Fortinet FortiManager can be expensive."
"The price point is very good."
"The price of Fortinet FortiManager is inexpensive."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Government
13%
Computer Software Company
11%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Healthcare Company
8%
Computer Software Company
11%
Financial Services Firm
9%
Manufacturing Company
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.
882,160 professionals have used our research since 2012.