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Forcepoint Next Generation Firewall vs Fortinet FortiGate comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Mar 29, 2026

Review summaries and opinions

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

ROI

Sentiment score
5.2
Forcepoint Next Generation Firewall reduces costs and improves efficiency with centralized management, automation, and reduced workforce needs.
Sentiment score
5.8
Fortinet FortiGate provides significant ROI by enhancing security, reducing costs, and improving productivity despite its initial cost.
Cybersecurity ROI could be $1 or $100 million, depending on the risk of data behind it.
Sales Manager at Mega tech S.A
It is easy and offers different solutions for each solution type with small, mid, and large scale options available.
Senior Network Engineer at Anthology
I did see a return on investment with Forcepoint Next Generation Firewall, as mentioned by the efficiency improvements and the metrics related to how much I cut investigation time, the number of incidents, and the ease of making changes or pushing new configurations.
Cybersecurity Engineer at a tech consulting company with 51-200 employees
Clients are now comfortable and not wasting productive hours on IT support.
Managing Director at a manufacturing company with 10,001+ employees
The automation part is giving us a cost benefit and speed; we can react faster.
BDM Fortinet & BDM Teamlead at Exclusive Networks
It's a very useful tool to mitigate and protect your enterprise.
Staff Infrastructure & Security Engineer at Mozn Systems
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
5.8
Most customers find Forcepoint Firewall support helpful and reliable, despite occasional delays and logistical challenges.
Sentiment score
6.5
Fortinet FortiGate's support is praised for responsiveness and capability, but concerns remain about consistency and response times.
Unlike Fortinet where you can escalate an issue and quickly get responses from the development team, Forcepoint's process seems slow and challenging.
Sales Manager at Mega tech S.A
TAC engineers are very experienced and troubleshoot issues within the expected timeframe with no problems.
Senior Network Engineer at Anthology
We have a point of contact from the account manager to the presales representative, and they connect with the technical support team, providing support in Indian time, so we do not have to worry about US or European time zones.
Pre Sales Lead Government & Defense at Accops Systems Pvt Ltd
He explained that it required a command line configuration, as it couldn't be done through the graphical user interface.
Sr. Cybersecurity Solutions Architect at BMB
I would rate their support for FortiGate a nine out of ten.
Specialist at a comms service provider with 11-50 employees
They offer very accurate solutions.
Network Operations Engineer at Inara Technologies
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
7.2
Forcepoint Next Generation Firewall offers scalable integration, supporting diverse environments with ease in both on-premises and cloud deployments.
Sentiment score
7.1
Fortinet FortiGate is scalable and flexible, offering robust performance across physical, virtual, and cloud deployments for various environments.
I can have one management node similar to Palo Alto Panorama, with multiple nodes covering different sites, data centers, or zones.
Cybersecurity Engineer at a tech consulting company with 51-200 employees
Even if you have some firewalls in the cluster, it is not necessary to have them on the same version.
IT Consultant at M-COM s.r.o
In a country such as India with a large population, we often need to scale up or down depending on projects and requirements, and it is very much easy to do both ways.
Pre Sales Lead Government & Defense at Accops Systems Pvt Ltd
They scale up really well from smaller models like the FortiGate 40 and 50 to bigger sites with the FortiGate 100 for more throughput - up to enterprise datacenters.
IT Manager at Daltons Limited
The variation comes in terms of the interfaces and throughputs, but from a security perspective, you get the same benefit, irrespective of whether you have an entry-level unit or an enterprise.
Cewa Solutions Architect at a tech services company with 11-50 employees
We determine sizing based on multiple factors: number of users, available links, traffic types, server count, services in use, and whether services will be published.
General Surgery Specialist at Helwan University Cairo
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
7.7
Forcepoint Firewall is reliable with minor issues; high-availability setups reduce downtime, though complex deployments may face challenges.
Sentiment score
7.7
Fortinet FortiGate is praised for reliability and performance, with minor issues during upgrades and new firmware releases.
It has many freezes for no reason.
Cyber Security Specialist at a comms service provider with 501-1,000 employees
Forcepoint Next Generation Firewall should make some improvements because there is some instability with their software.
System Engineer at a computer software company with 1,001-5,000 employees
We're experiencing 99.999% availability consistently.
Manager, Information Technology at a consumer goods company with 11-50 employees
I would rate the stability of Fortinet FortiGate a ten out of ten.
NAC Support at Rah Infotech Pvt Ltd
Currently, we are experiencing a general outage of one of the main internet service providers of the Dominican Republic, and we have not been impacted in our operations because with SD-WAN, we have another internet service provider and we are working with the second WAN connection without any disruption.
CISO at a financial services firm with 1,001-5,000 employees
 

Room For Improvement

Forcepoint Next Generation Firewall needs a user-friendly interface, better integration, improved support, and competitive pricing.
Fortinet FortiGate needs feature enhancements, better GUI support, and comprehensive improvements in integration, support, and cost efficiency.
Fast response and efficient handling of issues, similar to how Fortinet responds, would be great.
Sales Manager at Mega tech S.A
AI improvements could be beneficial, as having AI capabilities has become an important checkmark feature.
CEO at a comms service provider with 11-50 employees
I recommend that additional features be included in a single license to avoid the need for extra licensing costs.
Head of IT Department at Mana
If I have put 10 GBPS of throughput on a firewall and I enable all of these features available, such as IPS or UTM functionalities, the throughput comes down to 1 GBPS.
Presales Manager at a tech services company with 201-500 employees
By providing an integrated solution, users would have access to all features and functionalities within a single window, eliminating the need to navigate through multiple windows.
Operation Manager at a tech services company with 11-50 employees
Investing in a solution that can accommodate such growth would be more cost-effective than repeatedly purchasing new hardware.
Manager Network (IT/OT) at a consumer goods company with 5,001-10,000 employees
 

Setup Cost

Forcepoint's pricing is competitive, especially in Asia, with variable licensing terms and additional costs for extra features.
Fortinet FortiGate offers competitive pricing with varied costs, providing good value despite some considering it pricey, especially for renewals.
The costs can be high since additional features require separate licenses.
Head of IT Department at Mana
In terms of price, I would say Forcepoint Next Generation Firewall is not expensive.
Pre Sales Lead Government & Defense at Accops Systems Pvt Ltd
In terms of pricing, I would place Forcepoint in the middle when compared to other firewalls like Fortinet and Palo Alto.
Sales Manager at Mega tech S.A
Secure SD-WAN is free of charge.
Sr. Cybersecurity Solutions Architect at BMB
The most expensive part is the renewal of the license subscription.
Operation Manager at a tech services company with 11-50 employees
Last year, I renewed the support for three years, which can sometimes be expensive but depends on the security benefits and how it helps us.
Network & System Admin at Invoke Studios
 

Valuable Features

Forcepoint NGFW offers robust security, easy integration, advanced protection, and versatile deployment with centralized management for seamless connectivity.
Fortinet FortiGate offers user-friendly, scalable network security with robust features, seamless integration, and comprehensive protection, making it highly reliable.
Forcepoint Next Generation Firewall has impacted my organization positively by making it very easy to work and offering a more competitive price compared to other vendors.
Cyber Security Specialist at a comms service provider with 501-1,000 employees
Forcepoint Next Generation Firewall has positively impacted my organization by providing always-on perimeter security.
Responsabile System and Security at a energy/utilities company with 501-1,000 employees
Strong network segmentation is my favorite feature that Forcepoint Next Generation Firewall offers.
Cybersecurity Engineer at a tech consulting company with 51-200 employees
The firewall, IPS, and VPN functions are the most valuable features.
Specialist at a comms service provider with 11-50 employees
FortiGate provides solid protection against viruses, malware, and other threats.
Global Chief Information Officer at a manufacturing company with 1,001-5,000 employees
Within the same dashboard, you get to see the security profiles, the type of traffic that's passing through, the top applications that are being consumed, etc.
Presales Manager at a tech services company with 201-500 employees
 

Categories and Ranking

Forcepoint Next Generation ...
Ranking in Firewalls
18th
Ranking in Software Defined WAN (SD-WAN) Solutions
8th
Ranking in WAN Edge
8th
Average Rating
7.6
Reviews Sentiment
6.5
Number of Reviews
52
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Fortinet FortiGate
Ranking in Firewalls
1st
Ranking in Software Defined WAN (SD-WAN) Solutions
1st
Ranking in WAN Edge
1st
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
590
Ranking in other categories
Secure Web Gateways (SWG) (2nd), Intrusion Detection and Prevention Software (IDPS) (1st), ZTNA (1st), Unified Threat Management (UTM) (1st)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of April 2026, in the Firewalls category, the mindshare of Forcepoint Next Generation Firewall is 0.7%, up from 0.4% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Fortinet FortiGate is 17.2%, down from 21.3% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Firewalls Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Fortinet FortiGate17.2%
Forcepoint Next Generation Firewall0.7%
Other82.1%
Firewalls
 

Featured Reviews

Ajit Pratap Kundan - PeerSpot reviewer
Pre Sales Lead Government & Defense at Accops Systems Pvt Ltd
Unified security management has improved traffic control and simplified remote workforce access
Forcepoint Next Generation Firewall does help in vulnerability identification and response by providing a single unified console through which I am able to monitor and manage infrastructure. The URL filtering capability of Forcepoint Next Generation Firewall helps in blocking malicious sites. We have to take care of both known threats and unknown threats. The firewall takes care of known threats, and we protect ourselves from unknown threats such as malicious code and malware that we cannot create firewall rules for. With these routing capabilities and policies, only whitelisted things get processed or passed. The biggest advantages of Forcepoint Next Generation Firewall, especially as a partner, service provider, and integrator, are that it is very easy to integrate these APIs with our solution, and most of the features I am getting in the clientless mode. Even with the client mode, it is easy to integrate with our client, allowing the customer to get a single client to address all the features of the firewall as well as the GTNA perspective. The flexibility of deployment, especially for the government and defense sectors, is that they want an on-premises solution, while the rest of the PSUs or enterprise segment are comfortable with the cloud offering, which is the SaaS offering and the way to go in the future.
Abhinandan Yadav - PeerSpot reviewer
Network Security Engineer at Arrow PC Network Pvt Ltd
Unified security and sd-wan have improved uptime and cut wan costs for multi-site branches
Users report stability issues in certain versions, which requires regular updates. Real-world attacks have also highlighted the need for urgent patching of vulnerabilities.Fortinet FortiGate, while a powerful and feature-rich web firewall, could improve in areas like firmware stability, documentation, and ease of use. The learning curve can be steep for some users. For beginners, support quality can vary, and frequent updates with occasional vulnerabilities call for careful patch management. However, once Fortinet FortiGate is configured, it remains highly reliable and efficient. Customer support needs improvement, as I find it very slow, with reports from other users reflecting that customer support is inadequate.
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Comparison Review

it_user216600 - PeerSpot reviewer
Senior Technical Consultant with 51-200 employees
Jan 3, 2016
Sophos UTM vs. Fortinet FortiGate
I have used both Sophos and Fortinet products in production and I have found the Sophos UTM appliances (hardware and virtual) to be a better fit most of the time -- with a few caveats which I will touch on below. In both instances, the transition from TMG will be mostly straightforward. The main…
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Construction Company
10%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Financial Services Firm
9%
Computer Software Company
8%
Computer Software Company
11%
Comms Service Provider
10%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Financial Services Firm
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business29
Midsize Enterprise11
Large Enterprise12
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business366
Midsize Enterprise135
Large Enterprise192
 

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Forcepoint Next Generation Firewall?
My experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing is limited because I do not work with pricing, but I have experience with support, setup, and some licensing.
What needs improvement with Forcepoint Next Generation Firewall?
I found one problem with Forcepoint Next Generation Firewall. They still do not have any VPN clients for Windows computers with ARM processors. This has started to become a problem because we have ...
Which is the better NGFW: Fortinet Fortigate or Cisco Firepower?
When you compare these firewalls you can identify them with different features, advantages, practices and usage at large. In my opinion, Fortinet would be the best option and l use Fortinet too...
What is the biggest difference between Sophos XG and FortiGate?
From my experience regarding both the Sophos and FortiGate firewalls, I personally would rather use FortiGate. I know the firewalls change every 5 to 7 years as stated but you really do need to upg...
What are the biggest technical differences between Sophos UTM and Fortinet FortiGate?
As a solution, Sophos UTM offers a lot of functionality, it scales well, and the stability and performance are quite good. The most valuable features for me are their web and email filtering. I wou...
 

Also Known As

Forcepoint NGFW, Stonesoft Next Generation Firewall, McAfee Network Security Platform, Intel Security Network Security Platform
Fortinet FortiGate Next-Generation Firewall
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR)
Amazon Web Services, Microsoft, IBM, Cisco, Dell, HP, Oracle, Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile, Sprint, Vodafone, Orange, BT Group, Telstra, Deutsche Telekom, Comcast, Time Warner Cable, CenturyLink, NTT Communications, Tata Communications, SoftBank, China Mobile, Singtel, Telus, Rogers Communications, Bell Canada, Telkom Indonesia, Telkom South Africa, Telmex, Telia Company, Telkom Kenya
Find out what your peers are saying about Forcepoint Next Generation Firewall vs. Fortinet FortiGate and other solutions. Updated: April 2026.
886,932 professionals have used our research since 2012.