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FortiGate Next Generation Firewall (NGFW) vs IPFire comparison

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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

Fortinet FortiGate
Sponsored
Ranking in Firewalls
2nd
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.2
Number of Reviews
328
Ranking in other categories
Software Defined WAN (SD-WAN) Solutions (1st), WAN Edge (1st)
FortiGate Next Generation F...
Ranking in Firewalls
10th
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.4
Number of Reviews
50
Ranking in other categories
ZTNA (5th), Unified Threat Management (UTM) (9th)
IPFire
Ranking in Firewalls
36th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
8.5
Number of Reviews
2
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of April 2025, in the Firewalls category, the mindshare of Fortinet FortiGate is 21.1%, up from 17.7% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of FortiGate Next Generation Firewall (NGFW) is 0.4%, up from 0.2% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of IPFire is 1.7%, up from 0.2% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Firewalls
 

Featured Reviews

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.
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.
Amr Fouad - PeerSpot reviewer
Prevented any kind of hacking and enables us to comply with customer requirements
We use the solution for firewall, intrusion prevention and detection. We installed it in order to comply with customers requirements IPFire has prevented any kind of hacking and enables us to comply with customer requirements. Accessing the internet was a bit complicated. We opted for this…

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The feature I like most is the SD-WAN. It allows you to manage more than one ISP at the same time. And there is a high-availability mode, so if one of your ISPs is down, you still have a backup."
"The most valuable features are simplicity, management, and that it's constantly evolving."
"The main reason why I purchased the particular unit was that it had good reviews and what other people were saying as far as its completeness and its leading capabilities in terms of endpoint security was very good."
"The GUI is good."
"Customers want to load balance more than eight lines or six internet lines. FortiGate is the only solution that can accomplish this."
"There is a tool called FSSO, which is a single sign-on user ID agent that works perfectly."
"The FortiGate controls the user's activities and maximizes my bandwidth use overall."
"It is a one box solution, which covers most of the edge device’s requirements."
"It is a scalable solution."
"It is a very user-friendly solution. Moreover, Foritgate offers good performance."
"It is a stable solution compared to other vendors."
"FortiGate Next Generation Firewall can be described as the most complete solution."
"FortiGate NGF is simple compared to other firewalls. It is easy to use and you don't need any training. Any person with basic firewall knowledge can use it."
"FortiGate Next Generation Firewall has a stateless balance proposition"
"The most valuable feature of FortiGate Next Generation Firewall is its SD-WAN."
"Fortinet offers comprehensive security solutions for various purposes."
"IPFire has prevented any kind of hacking and enables us to comply with customer requirements."
"I would rate the stability as ten out of ten for IPFire."
 

Cons

"In the next release, I would like to see the interface simplified to be more user-friendly."
"The search tool needs improvement. It's very difficult to search for policies right now."
"Tunnel flapping was one of the major things I had seen wherein your internet link remains but your VPN tunnel is down. However, since I got a fix from the TAC team, I have not noticed it, but the customer complained a few times that they couldn't access the internet because of this problem."
"My only complaint about FortiGate is a lack of QinQ VLAN tunneling. I haven't found this feature in any Fortinet product. You can do this on all Cisco routers, including the smaller models. However, QinQ isn't available on the biggest, most expensive Fortinet units. They still don't have that. I think now we're on software version 6.0, and they still haven't found a solution for QinQ. It isn't a dealbreaker, but that's my main complaint."
"We would like to see a better training platform implemented."
"The renewal price and the availability could be improved."
"This product could be improved with Active directory integration and better handling in IPsec and GRE Tunnels."
"The support system could be improved."
"The solution must improve the support provided for customers around the globe, considering the time differences in different places."
"I see problems with the licensing. If I have to add a new feature, we need to add a license."
"The web process often has a memory leak."
"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."
"One of the weaknesses of the solution is something we noticed, especially after comparing the tool with SD-WAN features, since, unfortunately, in a massive scale size environment, the solution is not good. I"
"The inability to change passwords when using FortiGate firewall and relying on a local FortiGate database for account creation can be problematic, particularly in non-Active Directory setups."
"The solution needs to improve its support."
"The product has to be upgraded every few weeks."
"The graphical interface could be much better."
"Accessing the internet was a bit complicated."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Its pricing is good. It's average or normal as compared to Palo Alto and Check Point firewalls."
"Fortinet is competitive price-wise."
"The price is fair compared to the other competitors."
"In the Asian economy in which we operate, FortiGate is expensive."
"Pricing for this product is comparatively lower than other products. It's an affordable solution, but when expanding the number of users, they'll ask you to replace the model, so that's an added cost."
"The support subscription for the solution is annual. You are paying for support and there are two levels of support, professional and advanced."
"These boxes are not that expensive compared to what they can do, their functionality, and the reporting you receive. Fortinet licensing is straightforward and less confusing compared to Cisco."
"I think the price of Fortinet FortiGate is very reasonable."
"I would rate pricing to be about four or five out of ten, it is reasonable."
"FortiGate Next Generation Firewall is a very cheap solution."
"The solution is more expensive than Sophos. It could be cheaper. The licensing is on a yearly basis. We have had it for about three years. We must only pay extra for the license, additional requirements, and the hardware box."
"Although the solution's pricing is high, compared with other products, it may be cheap."
"The tool's pricing is neither cheap nor expensive. Overall, I find it to be competitive in the market."
"The product is a little bit expensive."
"It's an expensive solution"
"FortiGate Next-Generation Firewall is cheaper than Cisco or CheckPoint."
Information not available
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Educational Organization
21%
Computer Software Company
14%
Comms Service Provider
7%
Manufacturing Company
6%
Computer Software Company
20%
Comms Service Provider
11%
Financial Services Firm
9%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Comms Service Provider
23%
Computer Software Company
14%
Government
8%
Educational Organization
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
 

Questions from the Community

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 a...
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...
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 ...
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 easi...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for FortiGate Next Generation Firewall (NGFW)?
The pricing of the FortiGate firewall is good. It offers cost savings as it is generally cheaper than the competition.
What needs improvement with FortiGate Next Generation Firewall (NGFW)?
There should be more testing before releasing software since it can be a little buggy sometimes when new features com...
What needs improvement with IPFire?
Accessing the internet was a bit complicated.
What is your primary use case for IPFire?
We use the solution for firewall, intrusion prevention and detection. We installed it in order to comply with custome...
What advice do you have for others considering IPFire?
I recommend the solution. Overall, I rate the solution an eight or nine out of ten.
 

Also Known As

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

Overview

 

Sample Customers

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
Information Not Available
1. Siemens 2. IBM 3. Cisco 4. Dell 5. HP 6. Intel 7. Oracle 8. Google 9. Microsoft 10. Amazon 11. Apple 12. Facebook 13. Twitter 14. Netflix 15. Adobe 16. SAP 17. VMware 18. Juniper Networks 19. Ericsson 20. Nokia 21. AT&T 22. Verizon 23. T-Mobile 24. Vodafone 25. Orange 26. Deutsche Telekom 27. British Telecom 28. Comcast 29. Time Warner 30. Sony 31. Samsung 32. LG
Find out what your peers are saying about Netgate, Fortinet, OPNsense and others in Firewalls. Updated: March 2025.
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