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FortiGate Next Generation Firewall (NGFW) vs Fortinet FortiGate comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Sep 16, 2024

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
7.1
FortiGate Next Generation Firewall is costly yet effective, offering high security and potential cost savings compared to competitors.
Sentiment score
7.3
Fortinet FortiGate users experience cost reduction, improved security, and efficiency, with quick returns despite initial challenges, ensuring satisfaction.
Using FortiGate has enabled us to increase security, control user access, manage bandwidth, and enhance the ability to provide a variety of operations solutions to clients.
Clients are now comfortable and not wasting productive hours on IT support.
We have experienced a positive return on investment by utilizing Fortinet's products.
There's definitely an ROI. Having a centralized way of managing and applying policies across the entire organization always helps.
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
6.6
Experiences with FortiGate support vary, with praise for initial contact but concerns over follow-up times and regional delays.
Sentiment score
7.0
Fortinet FortiGate's customer service varies globally, with North America and Europe receiving quicker support compared to South Asia.
FortiGate offers good support.
Fortinet provides a prompt response.
Usually, it is fast and provides advice effectively.
He explained that it required a command line configuration, as it couldn't be done through the graphical user interface.
I would rate their support for FortiGate a nine out of ten.
They offer very accurate solutions.
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
7.6
FortiGate is praised for scalability across business sizes but may need model upgrades, affecting cost and feature expansion.
Sentiment score
7.3
Fortinet FortiGate is scalable, adaptable, and supports dynamic routing, but may face issues with non-Fortinet devices and licensing.
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.
The processor, the microprocessor and the security processors are very intelligent so they can scale significantly and manage that well.
There are many options available, and we can choose the size of the box based on our requirements.
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
8.3
FortiGate NGFW is highly stable, performs well with SD-WAN, and is reliable for large enterprises despite occasional bugs.
Sentiment score
7.9
Fortinet FortiGate is praised for stability, with updates enhancing reliability, though rare configuration issues may arise under heavy traffic.
There are no bugs or glitches, and it doesn't crash or freeze.
Improper handling of these can lead to a memory surge, a well-known bug that can cause the entire system to freeze.
It is less stable than Palo Alto Networks and Check Point firewalls because there are lots of bugs in the latest firmware.
 

Room For Improvement

FortiGate Next Generation Firewall requires enhancements in cost, interface, integration, stability, support, threat intelligence, and scalability for competitiveness.
Enhancements are needed in interface stability, SNMPv3 support, integration, user intuitiveness, analytics, cost-effectiveness, and customer support responsiveness.
Improvements could be made when companies expand and need better equipment and more licenses.
Configuring these services is quite complex and not very user-friendly, requiring technical steps that are difficult for normal users to understand.
I would like to see improvements in the IPS/IDS feature to enhance protection against attacks from attackers, including ransomware protection.
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.
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.
Investing in a solution that can accommodate such growth would be more cost-effective than repeatedly purchasing new hardware.
 

Setup Cost

FortiGate's pricing is seen as both competitive and expensive, offering scalability and amortization with potential additional costs.
Fortinet FortiGate offers cost-effective pricing, often cheaper than competitors, with variations based on hardware and licensing options.
It offers cost savings as it is generally cheaper than the competition.
The pricing of FortiGate Next Generation Firewall is competitive.
Fortinet tools like FortiGate are costly for us as a higher education institute in India.
Secure SD-WAN is free of charge.
The most expensive part is the renewal of the license subscription.
FortiGate is priced lower than Palo Alto.
 

Valuable Features

FortiGate Firewall offers a user-friendly interface, robust security features, seamless integration, quick updates, and fast deployment.
Fortinet FortiGate excels with robust security features, intuitive interface, affordable pricing, supporting VPN, firewall, UTM, and SD-WAN.
The firewall and VPN features are the most valuable in protecting our customers' networks.
The most valuable features of the FortiGate firewall include SSL inspection, VPN functionality, and threat intelligence features for preventing threats.
The common valuable feature for FortiGate is its UTM functionality, which includes various features under a license that is commonly implemented.
Fortigate blocks unusual traffic and therefore secures our network.
It's easy to monitor the end-to-end network through the firewall.
The firewall, IPS, and VPN functions are the most valuable features.
 

Categories and Ranking

FortiGate Next Generation F...
Ranking in Firewalls
11th
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.4
Number of Reviews
48
Ranking in other categories
ZTNA (4th), Unified Threat Management (UTM) (9th)
Fortinet FortiGate
Ranking in Firewalls
2nd
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.2
Number of Reviews
318
Ranking in other categories
Software Defined WAN (SD-WAN) Solutions (1st), WAN Edge (1st)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of March 2025, in the Firewalls category, the mindshare of FortiGate Next Generation Firewall (NGFW) is 0.4%, up from 0.2% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Fortinet FortiGate is 20.8%, up from 17.8% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Firewalls
 

Featured Reviews

MOHAN SUKUMAR - PeerSpot reviewer
User-based policies improve network security but integration complexity persists
The main area needing improvement is the user-friendliness of FortiGate's integration with other Fortinet tools like FortiAuthenticator and VPN services. Configuring these services is quite complex and not very user-friendly, requiring technical steps that are difficult for normal users to understand. Fortinet support's resolution of issues is slow, and the research on making the solution user-friendly needs to progress further.
EhabAli - PeerSpot reviewer
Efficient, user-friendly, and affordable
In the past, NSS Labs was utilized to test files and verify the numbers and datasheets. It would be beneficial to have an organization or testing lab that can verify the numbers in our datasheets since changes are frequently made, which can be inconvenient for review. For instance, when comparing different competitors such as Forcepoint, Palo Alto, and Check Point, the throughput or numbers in the datasheet may be lower than the actual numbers. Conversely, Fortinet typically reports very high numbers, but they cannot be replicated in the real world. Therefore, it would be advantageous for them to partner with a neutral testing organization such as NSS Labs to validate these numbers, thus providing more credibility and comfort to everyone regarding the accuracy of the datasheets. For the migration, everyone has a firewall in use and I am selling Fortinet. Typically, I am replacing another firewall. Previously, there was a tool available to convert configurations from one firewall, such as Palo Alto, to Fortinet, but this tool is no longer free. If it could be made free again, it would be very beneficial. This tool shows a lot of promise and is very good. Making it free would help many companies deliver their products in a more efficient and integrated way. It would also be more valuable to include the tool with the firewall package or license instead of having to pay extra for it. Paying extra puts more pressure on small companies to deliver the firewall and complete the configuration, especially if they have hundreds or thousands of policies. It's very painful to move through these policies line by line. The stability has room for improvement. When it comes to Secure SD-WAN, everything is fine. They are going the right way. SD-WAN is very promising. They can provide the SD-WAN solution separately, but they will not take this approach because even the smallest firewall can support the features, so there is no need to have a separate service or appliance. They are following the right steps, and there is nothing to be improved. Feature-wise, I'm really satisfied with the new release, and the features they have added. For now, it's fine.
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Comparison Review

it_user216600 - PeerSpot reviewer
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
Computer Software Company
21%
Comms Service Provider
12%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Educational Organization
7%
Educational Organization
22%
Computer Software Company
14%
Comms Service Provider
6%
Manufacturing Company
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about FortiGate Next Generation Firewall (NGFW)?
The tool's most valuable feature is IPS. In my experience, I haven't encountered any issues with integration. It easily integrates with the FortiGate solution. However, verifying through documentat...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for FortiGate Next Generation Firewall (NGFW)?
The price is very aggressive in India as India is a rapidly growing market, the original equipment manufacturer offers competitive pricing.
What needs improvement with FortiGate Next Generation Firewall (NGFW)?
I would like to see improvements in some of the hard drive features on FortiGate so that we can generate reporting within a single box.
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

No data available
FortiGate 60b, FortiGate 60c, FortiGate 80c, FortiGate 50b, FortiGate 200b, FortiGate 110c, FortiGate, Fortinet Firewall
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Information Not Available
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 FortiGate Next Generation Firewall (NGFW) vs. Fortinet FortiGate and other solutions. Updated: March 2025.
839,422 professionals have used our research since 2012.