FortiMonitor vs SolarWinds Network Device Monitor comparison

Fortinet and SolarWinds are both solutions in the Network Monitoring Software category. Fortinet is ranked #22 with an average rating of 8.8, while SolarWinds is ranked #27 with an average rating of 7.9. Fortinet holds a 0.7% mindshare in NMS, compared to SolarWinds’s 0.8% mindshare. Additionally, 100% of Fortinet users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 95% of SolarWinds users who would recommend it.

FortiMonitor

Read 15 FortiMonitor reviews

1,869 Views
1,346 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

SolarWinds Network Device M...

Read 23 SolarWinds Network Device Monitor reviews

1,335 Views
1,295 Comparison Views

95% willing to recommend

FortiMonitor

SolarWinds Network Device M...

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Oct 10, 2024

SolarWinds Network Device Monitor and FortiMonitor are products in the network monitoring space. FortiMonitor appears to have the upper hand due to its superior features, providing deeper insights into network operations, despite its complex deployment.

Features: SolarWinds Network Device Monitor offers reliable performance, efficient monitoring capabilities, and straightforward pricing. FortiMonitor includes advanced analytics, integration capabilities, and a broader feature set, appealing to those seeking comprehensive monitoring solutions.

Room for Improvement: SolarWinds Network Device Monitor could enhance its advanced analytics capabilities, integration options, and broaden its feature set. FortiMonitor might improve by simplifying deployment, offering more budget-friendly pricing, and refining its user interface for easier navigation.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: SolarWinds Network Device Monitor is known for its easy deployment and effective customer support, attracting organizations seeking a quick setup. FortiMonitor has a more complex deployment model but provides comprehensive customer support, guiding users through its complexity.

Pricing and ROI: SolarWinds Network Device Monitor has competitive setup costs, offering a strong return on investment for basic monitoring needs. FortiMonitor requires a higher initial investment but delivers excellent returns for organizations needing detailed network insights, highlighting the value of its comprehensive capabilities against the economical value of SolarWinds for simpler requirements.

To learn more, read our detailed FortiMonitor vs. SolarWinds Network Device Monitor Report (Updated: December 2025).

Buyer's Guide

FortiMonitor vs. SolarWinds Network Device Monitor

December 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

FortiMonitor

Ranking in Network Monitoring Software

22nd

Average Rating

8.4

Reviews Sentiment

7.1

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

IT Infrastructure Monitoring (23rd), IT Alerting and Incident Management (10th), Digital Experience Monitoring (DEM) (7th)

SolarWinds Network Device M...

Ranking in Network Monitoring Software

27th

Average Rating

7.8

Reviews Sentiment

6.4

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of January 2026, in the Network Monitoring Software category, the mindshare of FortiMonitor is 0.7%, up from 0.7% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of SolarWinds Network Device Monitor is 0.8%, up from 0.5% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Network Monitoring Software Market Share Distribution
Product	Market Share (%)
FortiMonitor	0.7%
SolarWinds Network Device Monitor	0.8%
Other	98.5%

Network Monitoring Software

Featured Reviews

reviewer2677554

Network Engineer III at a energy/utilities company with 1,001-5,000 employees

Managing diverse networks with detailed alerts enhances device oversight

FortiManager is very helpful in managing our networks. We use it to manage 20 farms and various networks with hundreds of devices. The version we are using provides more detail than the older dashboard. We appreciate the alerting capabilities, which are integrated with SolarWinds to notify our team via SMS.

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Sorin Gogean

IT Infrastructure Senior Network Technician at Autoliv

Offers some features but needs better customization and analysis tools

There are solutions that can perform better, but due to pricing for our corporate implementation, we had to stay with this solution. It accomplishes the necessary tasks, but there is room for improvement. The features are not as customizable as we would prefer, but they are workable. If configured properly, you can perform a drill-down analysis. However, I have not used this feature much for our infrastructure on the network side.

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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

"FortiMonitor has a very intuitive dashboard, which makes it particularly helpful for analyzing traffic, alerts, and other information."

"With FortiMonitor, you can get all the logs of the traffic information of the destination or the source."

"The product's initial setup phase is easy."

"The solution helps to see client infrastructure. It has many boxes and blinks green or red when the station goes up or down. We have different domains for the device groups that we monitor."

"The most valuable feature of FortiMonitor is user monitoring. We are able to see if the user is following the policy or not from their system. Additionally, the solution integrates well with Fortinet FortiGate and has centralized management."

"Fortinet's customer support is very good."

"FortiMonitor is 100% stable."

More FortiMonitor pros

"The most valuable feature of SolarWinds Network Device Monitor is it can alert you when a device is not working."

"Link monitoring is the most valuable feature of this solution."

"The product is useful for switches and IP phones."

"The most valuable feature of SolarWinds Network Device Monitor is it shows you the utilization of devices to allow you to take proactive action before something goes down or reaches the saturation point. You can take proactive action to fix the problem before it occurs."

"Overall, I rate SolarWinds Network Device Monitor ten out of ten."

"The initial setup is straightforward."

"The deployment process is quick."

"SolarWinds Network Device Monitor is a straightforward product with valuable functionality."

More SolarWinds Network Device Monitor pros

Cons

"There is room for improvement in the FortiMonitor report. It is not ideal for showcasing to tech customers or managers, especially when trying to display high CPU usage from logins within a specific range of months or the most recent month."

"We use FortiToken, and it's a pain to use because you have to send things through your phone and then confirm by email. Only after this can you log in. It's dual-factor authentication. I wish that I could just log in or bring up a dashboard where I could log in from."

"FortiMonitor's monitoring could be much better. It should be like, in Palo Alto."

"FortiMonitor could be improved by making it more convenient for smaller workloads, such as when configuring a few branches."

". Enhancements in the dashboard, such as clearer alerting, maintenance window management, software version tracking, and better visualization, would be beneficial."

"FortiMonitor could be improved by making it more convenient for smaller workloads, such as when configuring a few branches."

"The tool's price in Vietnam is high, making it an area of concern where improvements can be made."

"FortiMonitor could improve by having compatibility with other operating systems, such as Linux."

More FortiMonitor cons

"The solution is not user-friendly."

"The security needs improvement, which is why we are moving away from Solar Winds. We have security concerns."

"There is no mobile version of this product, and our team should be able to access it using a mobile device."

"SolarWinds Network Device Monitor could improve by being more user-friendly. The network has so many features which make it difficult to find how to configure how to use it. It is not simple to customize."

"In terms of price, it could be less expensive."

"If everything were in the package so that everything was ready to go out of the box, that would be ideal."

"The reporting feature needs improvement because we are unable to configure reports that were included during initial implementation."

"The security could always be improved."

More SolarWinds Network Device Monitor cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"On a scale from one to ten, I rate the pricing a nine since it is a good solution that is available at a cheap price."

"We have a large customer base for Fortinet, and the additional buying power got us really great discounts."

"The price of FortiMonitor is approximately $200 annually for 225 users. The price is competitive."

"In terms of licensing, while it may not be the most expensive option on the market, it's relatively cost-effective. You can obtain licenses at a lower cost, with the calculation being straightforward. For example, if you onboard around 5,000 devices, you'll need approximately 5,000 licenses, as each device typically counts as one license."

"The tool's pricing model in Vietnam is a bit high. I rate the product price as an eight out of ten."

"FortiMonitor's price is very high."

"There are additional costs needed for certain functionality, such as scalability."

"Compared to other solutions, FortiMonitor is a very expensive solution."

"I rate the product's price as three to three and a half or on a scale of one to ten, where one means low price, and ten means high price."

"SolarWinds Network Device Monitor is not an expensive solution."

"The enterprise license is good for the SolarWinds Network Device Monitor. However, it is expensive, they should reduce their price."

"Thankfully, it doesn't take a lot of manpower to install and deploy."

"The product is expensive."

"The price of the SolarWinds Network Device Monitor is good."

"When compared with other solutions SolarWinds is more expensive."

"I find the cost of SolarWinds Network Device Monitor reasonable for our company. Though, I'm not aware of the exact licensing cost."

More SolarWinds Network Device Monitor pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

11%

Manufacturing Company

Healthcare Company

Financial Services Firm

Manufacturing Company

15%

Financial Services Firm

10%

Computer Software Company

10%

Government

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	8
Midsize Enterprise	2
Large Enterprise	6

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	6
Midsize Enterprise	4
Large Enterprise	14

Questions from the Community

What is the best network monitoring software for large enterprises?

I have a clear bias because I work for Panopta. We aren't a fit for everyone, but I can confirm that Panopta is a lot less work to stand up and maintain. It's also a lot easier to use and onboard n...

See all answers

What do you like most about FortiMonitor?

In FortiMonitor, we're linked up with our Netgear, CactusServer, and NOC. It's really valuable because everything's migrating to one dashboard for us system engineers. We can keep an eye on traffic...

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for FortiMonitor?

FortiMonitor does save time but not significantly on costs, as there are still expenses related to procurement, installation, and licensing.

See all answers

What do you like most about SolarWinds Network Device Monitor?

I rate the product's initial setup process a nine on a scale of one to ten, where one means it is a difficult phase and ten is an easy process.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for SolarWinds Network Device Monitor?

I am not a positive person regarding SolarWinds Network Device Monitor.

See all answers

What needs improvement with SolarWinds Network Device Monitor?

See all answers

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Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Digital Experience Monitoring (DEM)

December 2025

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Buyer's Guide

SolarWinds Network Device Monitor

December 2025

SolarWinds Network Device Monitor report

Download SolarWinds Network Device Monitor product report

Also Known As

Panopta

Network Device Monitor

Overview

FortiMonitor is a comprehensive, SaaS-based digital experience monitoring (DEM) platform that helps organizations modernize their performance-monitoring tools. It provides visibility into endpoint application performance and digital experience—no matter where the user resides or where the application is hosted.

Fortinet

Network Device Monitor is a free tool that makes it easy to monitor the real-time performance and health of a single device on your network with a desktop dashboard that alerts you when your device is in trouble.

SolarWinds

Sample Customers

SONY, GoDaddy, HCL, ING, ARMOR, billboard

Air Rarotonga

Buyer's Guide

FortiMonitor vs. SolarWinds Network Device Monitor

December 2025

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