FortiGate Next Generation Firewall (NGFW) vs Zyxel Unified Security Gateway comparison

Fortinet and Zyxel are both solutions in the Unified Threat Management (UTM) category. Fortinet is ranked #9 with an average rating of 8.5, while Zyxel is ranked #14 with an average rating of 6.0. Additionally, 95% of Fortinet users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 66% of Zyxel users who would recommend it.

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Nov 7, 2024

Zyxel Unified Security Gateway and FortiGate Next Generation Firewall are competitors in the network security category. FortiGate NGFW holds the upper hand due to its superior security capabilities that justify its higher price point.

Features: Zyxel Unified Security Gateway includes VPN and firewall functionality, catering to small to medium-sized businesses with its basic security features. FortiGate NGFW provides advanced features such as intrusion prevention, deep packet inspection, and automated remediation tools, making it a more robust choice for comprehensive network protection.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Zyxel offers an easy deployment process suitable for businesses with limited IT resources, along with strong customer support. FortiGate NGFW's deployment may be more complex due to advanced settings, but it is supported by a dedicated service team to ensure proper configuration and optimization.

Pricing and ROI: Zyxel Unified Security Gateway is budget-friendly and offers a solid return on investment for cost-sensitive businesses. FortiGate NGFW requires a higher initial investment, yet compensates with enhanced security features and performance, providing substantial long-term value.

To learn more, read our detailed FortiGate Next Generation Firewall (NGFW) vs. Zyxel Unified Security Gateway Report (Updated: January 2025).

Buyer's Guide

FortiGate Next Generation Firewall (NGFW) vs. Zyxel Unified Security Gateway

January 2025

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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

Featured Reviews

EhabAli

Sr. Cybersecurity Solutions Architect at BMB

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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Anish Bheekoo

IT Lead at CMH

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.

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Alexander Azikov

It Manager at Diamond Braces

A robust appliance that is reasonably priced and straightforward to set up

Although manageable, the user interface is a little bit slow and could be improved. There are two user interface options available, namely the basic and the advanced. The basic UI is not very good and doesn't have a lot of features, although it is fast. The advanced UI allows me to do whatever I want, but this is where the issue of speed exists. At one of our sites, the CPU utilization was very high, and for no reason. Technical support needs to be more responsive to requests.

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Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The features that I have found most valuable are the SD-WAN and their IP4 policy."

"It increases security posture and is helpful for firewall reporting, intrusion protection, web filtering, and SD-WAN implementation."

"FortiGate's web and URL filtering are unlike any other firewall I've used. The functionality of URL filtering in those solutions is problematic because everything is encrypted, and firewalls can't break that encryption protocol. Fortinet has an SSL proxy, so the encryption is done before the packet ever leaves the FortiGate. The URL filter is definitely one of the most helpful features."

"In terms of security, we have not experienced any security flaws or loopholes, and it has proven to be quite stable."

"The most valuable features of the solution are SD-WAN, filtering testing applications, web filtering, and the new VPN."

"The GUI is good."

"The most important features with FortiGate are the web filter and application controls. We can control our internet usage and use the web filter for application purposes."

"It does a lot for you for intrusion protection and as an antivirus. The threat management bundle is worth the money. You don't need another company to monitor your web traffic for you. You can do everything yourself on the firewall. You restrict your own black list for people on the firewall. You don't need to pay some other company for another product to do that for you. The firewall can do that for you. So, it's an easy-to-use product for people to be independent. They don't need to rely on other vendors to do what the firewall can do. They can do everything."

More Fortinet FortiGate pros

"The usability of the solution is its best feature."

"The most valuable features of the FortiGate firewall include SSL inspection, VPN functionality, and threat intelligence features for preventing threats."

"The most valuable features we found are the SD-WAN, FortiGate SD-WAN, and the standard UTM protection, among others."

"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 documentation and assessing their support is necessary."

"FortiGate Next Generation Firewall has a stateless balance proposition"

"FortiGate Next Generation Firewall can be described as the most complete solution."

"The most valuable feature of FortiGate Next Generation Firewall is its SD-WAN."

"User identification and application identification are valuable features."

More FortiGate Next Generation Firewall (NGFW) pros

"The solution can scale well."

"This is a capable appliance and the standard features work well for us."

"The most valuable features of the solution stem from web filtering, malware protection, and antivirus."

Cons

"The cloud features and integration could be improved."

"Regarding challenges, customers initially faced issues like internet dropping, but after firmware upgrades, everything worked well."

"A sandbox would be good in order to be able to inspect the emails containing spam and be able to validate the emails that contain malware, prior to delivering to the customer."

"The advanced models are expensive."

"The monitor and the visibility, in this proxy, is very weak."

"The security of Fortinet FortiGate could improve."

"In terms of what could be improved, the SD-WAN is quite difficult, because if you install the new box, 15 is okay, but if you change from an old configuration, if there is already configuration and a policy when you change to SD-WAN, you must change the whole policy that you see in the interface."

"The solution can have more features in a single box that can be multi-applied to integrate everything."

More Fortinet FortiGate cons

"The solution needs to improve its support."

"The management consoles can be improved."

"The solution must improve the support provided for customers around the globe, considering the time differences in different places."

"There have been several vulnerabilities in the firewall. It is hackable, some of the images are hackable."

"There should be more testing before releasing software since it can be a little buggy sometimes when new features come out after updates."

"The solution needs to integrate VPN features."

"There is room for improvement in pricing."

"The vendors offer models with different levels of productivity of the product to its users, which is not possible in FortiGate Next Generation Firewall (NGFW). It lacks integration options."

More FortiGate Next Generation Firewall (NGFW) cons

"Although manageable, the user interface is a little bit slow and could be improved."

"Sometimes it reboots when you least expect it, and that's the main issue."

"The product has some scalability and data management issues where improvements are required."

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The pricing of the solution is very competitive."

"While Fortinet FortiGate has a higher price point compared to Sophos XG, its user-friendly interface justifies the cost."

"We pay for the solution annually."

"Licensing for Fortinet FortiGate is on a yearly basis. Pricing for it is a bit high. It could be cheaper."

"We are on an annual license to use Fortinet FortiGate."

"Its licenses cost the same for different subscription plans."

"The value is the capability of having multiple services with one unique license, not having the limitation per user licensing schema, like other vendors."

"Fortinet FortiGate is reasonably priced."

More Fortinet FortiGate pricing and cost advice

"We pay $500 per year for the license."

"Although the solution's pricing is high, compared with other products, it may be cheap."

"I would rate pricing to be about four or five out of ten, it is reasonable."

"I think price-wise, the solution is totally reasonable since it has many products to serve, starting from small homes to massive scale sites."

"FortiGate Next-Generation Firewall is cheaper than Cisco or CheckPoint."

"The solution's pricing is competitive."

"I would rate the pricing a seven out of ten"

"If we have an older version, the support costs get quite high."

More FortiGate Next Generation Firewall (NGFW) pricing and cost advice

"The price of Zyxel Unified Security Gateway is good compared to other similar products in the market."

"This gateway is pretty cheap."

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Educational Organization

22%

Computer Software Company

14%

Comms Service Provider

Manufacturing Company

Computer Software Company

20%

Comms Service Provider

12%

Educational Organization

Manufacturing Company

Computer Software Company

21%

Comms Service Provider

17%

Retailer

Real Estate/Law Firm

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...

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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...

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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 ...

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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...

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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...

See all answers

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...

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What do you like most about Zyxel Unified Security Gateway?

The most valuable features of the solution stem from web filtering, malware protection, and antivirus.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Zyxel Unified Security Gateway?

The price of Zyxel Unified Security Gateway is good compared to other similar products in the market.

See all answers

What needs improvement with Zyxel Unified Security Gateway?

If you have very secure data, Zyxel Unified Security Gateway will not be very useful. My company doesn't have to deal...

See all answers

Comparisons

Sophos XG vs Fortinet FortiGate

Compared 23% of the time

Netgate pfSense vs Fortinet FortiGate

Compared 13% of the time

Cisco Secure Firewall vs Fortinet FortiGate

Compared 11% of the time

WatchGuard Firebox vs Fortinet FortiGate

Compared 5% of the time

Meraki MX vs Fortinet FortiGate

Compared 5% of the time

More Fortinet FortiGate Competitors

OPNsense vs FortiGate Next Generation Firewall (NGFW)

Compared 31% of the time

Tailscale vs FortiGate Next Generation Firewall (NGFW)

Compared 26% of the time

Netgate pfSense vs FortiGate Next Generation Firewall (NGFW)

Compared 17% of the time

Fortinet FortiGate-VM vs FortiGate Next Generation Firewall (NGFW)

Compared 5% of the time

Twingate vs FortiGate Next Generation Firewall (NGFW)

Compared 3% of the time

More FortiGate Next Generation Firewall (NGFW) Competitors

Netgate pfSense vs Zyxel Unified Security Gateway

Compared 20% of the time

OPNsense vs Zyxel Unified Security Gateway

Compared 11% of the time

Fortinet FortiGate-VM vs Zyxel Unified Security Gateway

Compared 8% of the time

WatchGuard Firebox vs Zyxel Unified Security Gateway

Compared 6% of the time

Stormshield Network Security vs Zyxel Unified Security Gateway

Compared 2% of the time

More Zyxel Unified Security Gateway Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Fortinet FortiGate

February 2025

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Buyer's Guide

FortiGate Next Generation Firewall (NGFW)

February 2025

FortiGate Next Generation Firewall (NGFW) report

Download FortiGate Next Generation Firewall (NGFW) product report

Buyer's Guide

Unified Threat Management (UTM)

January 2025

Download Zyxel Unified Security Gateway product report

Also Known As

FortiGate 60b, FortiGate 60c, FortiGate 80c, FortiGate 50b, FortiGate 200b, FortiGate 110c, FortiGate, Fortinet Firewall

No data available

Overview

Fortinet FortiGate offers comprehensive network security and firewall protection across multiple locations. It effectively manages data traffic and secures environments with features like VPN, intrusion prevention, and UTM controls.

Organizations rely on Fortinet FortiGate for its robust integration with advanced security policies, ensuring significant protection for enterprises, cloud environments, and educational sectors. It facilitates network segmentation, application-level security, and authentication management, securing communication within and between locations such as branches and data centers. Its efficient SD-WAN and UTM features enable streamlined data management and enhanced threat protection capabilities. Users appreciate its centralized management, facilitating seamless operations across diverse environments.

What are the key features of Fortinet FortiGate?

VPN Capabilities: Ensure secure remote access for users and seamless site-to-site connections.
Intrusion Prevention System (IPS): Detect and prevent security threats and vulnerabilities.
Advanced Firewall: Offers robust firewalling with application control and web filtering.
SD-WAN: Optimizes application performance and enhances bandwidth management.
SSL VPN: Provides reliable and secure access for remote workers.

What benefits should users expect from Fortinet FortiGate?

High-performance Security: Delivers effective threat mitigation with high availability.
Centralized Management: Simplifies network operations with cloud-based management tools.
Detailed Analytics: Provides comprehensive insights into network activity and security threats.
Load Balancing: Ensures optimal resource distribution and traffic management.

Fortinet FortiGate is crucial in sectors like education, offering robust networks for secure data flow between campuses and facilitating remote learning. In enterprise environments, it allows efficient management of application traffic and security across multiple branches, while in the cloud, it seamlessly integrates with diverse platforms to enhance security infrastructure.

Fortinet

The FortiGate Next Generation Firewall (NGFW) from Fortinet is a comprehensive cybersecurity solution designed to cater to a wide array of organizational needs. It integrates seamlessly into the Fortinet Security Fabric, offering robust protection against various internal and external threats, including attacks, malware, and vulnerabilities. The NGFW is known for its advanced features such as SSL inspection, application control, visibility enhancements, and an effective intrusion prevention system (IPS). This IPS plays a critical role in identifying and blocking malicious traffic by monitoring and inspecting incoming data.

FortiGate NGFW can be deployed in diverse environments, including on-premises, in the cloud, or hybrid setups. The firewall is equipped with next-generation antivirus capabilities, IPS, web filtering, sandboxing, and intelligent security automation features like threat intelligence integration and automated incident response. Its reporting and analytics tools are comprehensive, aiding in enhancing an organization's security posture.

A notable aspect of the FortiGate NGFW is its diverse and highly rated features, including a powerful VPN, a user-friendly Firewall Management Console, policy-based controls, and advanced reporting and logging capabilities. The system also supports Identification Technologies, Visualization Tools, Content Inspection, and seamless integration with Active Directory and LDAP directories. Its High Availability and the flexibility to deploy in various configurations, such as on-premises or as a Virtual Machine, make it a versatile choice for different business needs.

The FortiGate NGFW also excels in providing secure connectivity. It supports various VPN protocols, offers SD-WAN for intelligent traffic routing, and integrates SASE for unified security and networking solutions. These features contribute to improved security, reduced operational costs, and increased agility for organizations.

When it comes to user experiences and satisfaction, FortiGate NGFW has garnered positive feedback, with an average rating of about 4.26 out of 5 on PeerSpot Reviews. Users from diverse roles, including core network teams, technical officers, and cybersecurity engineers, and from various sectors such as tech services, education, and finance, have found the solution effective. This indicates its versatility and suitability across different company sizes and types.

However, there are areas for improvement. Enhancing the details in Logging Services and making 10 Gigabit Interfaces available for lower models are some suggested enhancements. Simplifying the installation of FortiAP services is also noted as a potential area for improvement.

Fortinet

ZyWALL USG Series delivers high-access quality to help businesses satisfy the demand for always-online communications. For internal deployments, the ZyWALL USG Series provides active-passive High-Availability (HA) service to support device or connection failover.

With Device HA Pro service, the ZyWALL USG Series also supports instant failover, so connections are always maintained when a failover event occurs. For external deployments, the ZyWALL USG Series features multi- WAN load balancing/failover and a comprehensive mobile broadband USB modem support list for WAN backup operations. The ZyWALL USG Series also supports IPSec load balancing and failover, providing additional resilience for mission-critical VPN failover with VTI Interface deployments.

ZyWALL USG110/210/310 thoroughly protects networks with industry-leading firewall, Anti-Malware/ Virus, Anti-Spam, Content Filtering, IDP, and Application Patrol functionality. Regulate unauthorized use of Web applications over your network, such as Facebook, Google apps, and Netflix, among others. Zyxel security measures are enhanced with SSL Inspection, blocking threats hidden in SSL-encrypted connections while facilitating deeper policy enforcement. Furthermore, newly improved Content Filtering 2.0 enhances HTTPS Domain Filter, Browser SafeSearch, and Geo IP Blocking for an array of security enhancements to ensure clean Web connections.

Zyxel

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

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Buyer's Guide

FortiGate Next Generation Firewall (NGFW) vs. Zyxel Unified Security Gateway

January 2025

Free Report: FortiGate Next Generation Firewall (NGFW) vs. Zyxel Unified Security Gateway

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