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FortiGate Next Generation Firewall (NGFW) vs Sangfor NGAF comparison

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Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Jan 5, 2025

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
317
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
46
Ranking in other categories
ZTNA (4th), Unified Threat Management (UTM) (9th)
Sangfor NGAF
Ranking in Firewalls
19th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.5
Number of Reviews
36
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of February 2025, in the Firewalls category, the mindshare of Fortinet FortiGate is 20.7%, up from 17.7% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of FortiGate Next Generation Firewall (NGFW) is 0.3%, up from 0.1% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Sangfor NGAF is 1.2%, up from 0.8% 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.
Anish Bheekoo - PeerSpot reviewer
Good support and highly scalable solution
In terms of support, they are very responsive. If you reach out to them, they will contact you within 15 minutes. Managing FortiGate is easy and simple compared to other products. It's not too complex. Even if we miss renewing our licenses, FortiGate provides a grace period of 90 days, which is exceptional. Most products only offer 30 days. That's the best part, in my opinion. The support is excellent. I've had very positive experiences with FortiGate's support team. They are friendly and always available. Their support is available 24/7 via phone, email, or chat. They even offer remote access if we need help with configuration or auditing logs. Their support is reliable both locally and internationally.
Zaid Farooqui - PeerSpot reviewer
Enhanced threat detection with integrated security features and good support
We are using application firewalling, WAF, and SD-WAN. The capabilities are mostly within the box. For example, you will get web application firewall WAF as part and parcel of this. SD-WAN is also bundled. It integrates with their SIEM and SOAR solutions very nicely. Lastly, the pricing point is very cost-efficient as well.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The CLI is robust and powerful, enabling rapid, consistent changes via SSH."
"Advanced routing (RIP, OSPF, BGP, PBR). It gives you a seamless and simple integration into a large network."
"The initial setup of Fortinet FortiGate was straightforward."
"We have found it to be very reliable and that's why our teams and various users in our company use it as our main firewall every day."
"We purchased Fortinet because of the pricing, its functionality, because it met our requirements, and the total cost of ownership over five years was quite reasonable. In the market, Fortinet is rated quite well."
"Our security improved from being able to put in rules and close off unwanted traffic."
"The most valuable feature is the ease of use."
"Its administrative panel is very intuitive and simple. It is simpler than the other solutions that we had. As an administrator, we are always looking for the easiest solution to manage network policies. We are able to filter everything on our network and also use the VPN feature, which is important these days when people are working remotely during COVID."
"User identification and application identification are valuable features."
"The most valuable feature of FortiGate Next Generation Firewall is its SD-WAN."
"When I survey FortiGate products, I see that they have a good performance, especially in terms of next generation firewalls."
"The common valuable feature for FortiGate is its UTM functionality, which includes various features under a license that is commonly implemented."
"FortiGate Next Generation Firewall has a stateless balance proposition"
"The firewall and VPN features are the most valuable in protecting our customers' networks."
"Routing and reporting are two areas where the product has an added advantage compared to any other product."
"FortiGate Next Generation Firewall has a simple configuration."
"We've found the technical support to be helpful."
"The stability of Sangfor NGAF is good."
"While the features are not dissimilar to other brands, configuration is much more simple, which works out great for Indonesian people."
"The level of support provided to local companies is good. They transform their application control and other settings according to that country."
"Particularly good in the DPI where we can inspect inbound and outbound traffic."
"Sangfor NGAF's standout feature is its powerful application control, enabling precise restrictions on mobile user access to approved applications."
"The product is very fast and reliable."
"I think Sangfor NGAF is more valuable than Cisco products because of its simplicity and ease of management. If I compare it with Palo Alto and Cisco, both are quite complex products. And if I compare it with FortiGate firewalls from Fortinet, I have also used all these products. Fortinet and Sangfor NGAF are similar products because the applications behind the application and policy layers are almost identical."
 

Cons

"The security of Fortinet FortiGate could improve."
"They can do more tests before they release new versions because I would like to be more assured. We had some experiences where they release something new and great, but some of the old features are disabled or they don't work well, which impacts the product satisfaction. The manufacturer should be able to prove that everything works or not only that it might work. This is applicable to most of the other services, software, and hardware companies. They all should work on this. We cannot trust every new release, such as a beta release, on the first day. We wait for some comments on the forums and from other companies that we know. We always wait a few weeks before we use the updated version. They should also extend the VPN client application, especially for Linux versions. Currently, it has an application for Linux devices, but it doesn't work the way we want to connect to the VPN. They use only the old connection, not the new one. They have VPN client applications for Windows and Mac, but they can add more useful features to better manage the devices and monitor the current health of each device. Such features would be helpful for our company."
"Fortinet FortiGate can improve by integrating the web application firewall and the DDoS protection part of the solution. Having a WAF feature, web application firewall, and proxy together would be a good benefit."
"Fortinet FortiGate can be integrated with different platforms. They have integrations in place, but I can't say they're 100%."
"The renewal price and the availability could be improved."
"The command line is complicated, and the interface could be better."
"Fortinet FortiGate needs to improve the protection, it did not prevent us from being attacked. Additionally, Fortinet FortiGate could provide more features for WAF devices. I should not have to purchase two solutions, it would be a benefit to combine these features into one solution."
"Some configuration elements cannot be easily altered once created."
"The solution needs to improve its support."
"FortiGate may include AI capabilities and integrate external threat intelligence. However, version management and backup/restore operations could be improved."
"There is room for improvement in pricing."
"The solution’s pricing is high."
"FortiGate Next Generation Firewall's performance and threat intelligence could be improved."
"The pricing of the solution is expensive, so it could be cheaper."
"There's a limitation wherein you can only have about 30 virtual or secondary IPs on a particular interface."
"Someone without certification and experience with other firewalls might find it a bit more challenging to grasp the FortiGate format and its platform layout."
"Sangfor could improve by providing better real-time reporting, as the current reports don't offer the level of detail we need, especially for runtime insights."
"Our experience with its customer support was quite challenging."
"The firewall system needs gradual improvements because there are more threats and challenges every day."
"Scalability for any network device is not very easy in terms of vertical scalability."
"The solution should be able to work in a hybrid setup."
"Occasional issues with breaches which are dealt with expediently."
"The solution has too many bugs and these slow down the implementation."
"They need to increase the number of ports in the firewall."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Here in Brazil, we're going through difficult economic times and the tax on the dollar is high. All the solutions from minor competitors are growing in the market. The prices have come more competitive."
"No comment."
"The pricing of the solution is very competitive."
"Pricing and licensing is a little bit complicated in FortiGate. They are always on the higher side. This is one issue that we always raise with the company that they should reduce the price according to Indian market requirements. There are no costs in addition to the standard licensing fees."
"The license for Fortinet FortiGate is affordable in my country."
"Price-wise, it's at a good price point for our market."
"Other firewalls are more expensive than Fortinet FortiGate, such as the Azure firewall."
"Fortinet Secure SD-WAN delivered the lowest total cost of ownership (TCO) per Mbps among all other vendors."
"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."
"If we have an older version, the support costs get quite high."
"The tool's pricing is neither cheap nor expensive. Overall, I find it to be competitive in the market."
"FortiGate Next Generation Firewall is a very cheap solution."
"It's an expensive solution"
"I would rate the pricing a seven out of ten"
"FortiGate Next Generation Firewall costs our company around $12000 per year."
"Although the solution's pricing is high, compared with other products, it may be cheap."
"-"
"Sangfor is cheaper than competing vendors."
"In my opinion, the price of the tool is good in the Pakistani market. We can easily get discounts if needed."
"The price is unmatcheable."
"If one is very cheap and ten is very expensive, I rate the tool's price as three out of ten."
"The solution has a TCO that is 32% to 50% less than Sophos, Fortinet, and SonicWall."
"If you know you have around 200+ computer users on your network, then the Sangfor NGAF 5200-F-I model would be the minimum recommended model for that amount of users. This model includes modules for packet filtering, deep packet inspection, malware scanning, DSCP filtration, and many other features."
"It costs about 8 to 10 thousand dollars per year for 500 users, standard licensing fees included."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Educational Organization
22%
Computer Software Company
14%
Comms Service Provider
6%
Manufacturing Company
6%
Computer Software Company
21%
Comms Service Provider
13%
Non Profit
7%
Educational Organization
7%
Computer Software Company
13%
Manufacturing Company
11%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Educational Organization
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

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 price is very aggressive in India as India is a rapidly growing market, the original equipment manufacturer offer...
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 wi...
What do you like most about Sangfor NGAF?
I think Sangfor NGAF is more valuable than Cisco products because of its simplicity and ease of management. If I comp...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Sangfor NGAF?
The licensing cost is quite high compared to other available firewalls in the market.
What needs improvement with Sangfor NGAF?
The cost of licensing is very high compared to other firewalls available here. There should be improvements in hardwa...
 

Also Known As

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

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
The Ministry of Science, Technology, and Innovation (Indonesia), Lawson, Inc. (Philippines), Universiti Sultan Zainal Abidin (Indonesia), TEK Automotive (Italy), etc.
Find out what your peers are saying about FortiGate Next Generation Firewall (NGFW) vs. Sangfor NGAF and other solutions. Updated: January 2025.
832,138 professionals have used our research since 2012.