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Fortinet FortiGate IPS vs WatchGuard Intrusion Prevention Service comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Dec 19, 2024

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 IPS
Ranking in Intrusion Detection and Prevention Software (IDPS)
3rd
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.1
Number of Reviews
64
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
WatchGuard Intrusion Preven...
Ranking in Intrusion Detection and Prevention Software (IDPS)
25th
Average Rating
6.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.2
Number of Reviews
5
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of July 2025, in the Intrusion Detection and Prevention Software (IDPS) category, the mindshare of Fortinet FortiGate IPS is 7.1%, up from 6.6% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of WatchGuard Intrusion Prevention Service is 0.4%, down from 0.5% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Intrusion Detection and Prevention Software (IDPS)
 

Featured Reviews

Taha Turkestani - PeerSpot reviewer
Enhanced threat prevention with very good support and valuable behavior reports
We use FortiGate as a firewall. We have a FortiGate 201 model It's good that we didn't get hacked or attacked, indicating strong threat prevention. The reporting on employee behavior and the prevention of new viruses are essential features. Additionally, we have found it convenient for…
Gianluca Vinci - PeerSpot reviewer
Helps us protect published resources with a valuable alarm system
Our primary use case for the solution is to protect published resources The alarm system is valuable because it alerts us if an external intruder tries to attack published resources. The user interface can be improved because it is sometimes difficult to manage functionality. For example, the…

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The most useful features of Fortinet FortiGate IPS are you can create a virtual firewall within it, most other firewalls do not have this feature. You are able to manage your network and have network segmentation within your firewall. Additionally, you can create virtual switches within the firewall and have policy management, such as firewall and access policy."
"The firewalls are valuable for threat prevention."
"Integrated management is a very valuable feature."
"The solution is stable."
"It does not require a lot of maintenance."
"The Fortinet FortiGate IPS has a good interface and integration."
"The feature that I find most valuable is its protection of the websites."
"You have access to CLI in case you have no web access."
"The VPN and the filtering features are the most valuable. Its VPN is very strong, and its services are very nice. The main problem in India is the service. There are not enough Check Point and Fortinet Firewall services, but for this product, the service is very good."
"It works right out of the box. You just have to enable it and you can start working."
"The alarm system is valuable."
"The most important feature of this solution is the SLAs."
"The initial setup was straightforward and, because we only need intrusion detection and prevention, we needed only about four hours to deploy it."
 

Cons

"There are no areas that need improvement at this point in time."
"Overall, the integration could be better."
"Fortinet FortiGate IPS could improve the configuration. In some use cases, there can be some configuration conflicts."
"The system can slow down when inspections are carried out."
"I would like to see more AI features included in future updates, as that would add significant value."
"There could be improvements in the mathematical algorithms used for behavior analytics of traffic."
"The solution could improve the configuration, there are times the configuration is missing."
"The price of the solution could be cheaper."
"I would like to see faster automatation."
"Its graphical user interface could be improved because not everybody is technical. There is a lack of knowledge, and they can give some training for this solution."
"Multi properties could be added to the solution in the future to make it better."
"Regarding technical support, they could use more engineers."
"The user interface and configuration can be improved."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"There is only a standard license cost to use the solution."
"The licensing costs are very competitive."
"We pay for the license of Fortinet FortiGate IPS annually. There are not any extra costs."
"We are currently evaluating a Palo Alto solution, and the pricing could be a reason for going for Palo Alto."
"The price is okay, so far so good."
"Fortinet FortiGate IPS' licensing is quite simple to understand."
"It is not expensive as compared to Cisco."
"It's a year based license."
"The price of the solution is not expensive, it is less than FortiGate."
"It is not expensive. Other products like Fortinet and Check Point are of the same price."
"The price of WatchGuard Intrusion Prevention Service is pretty reasonable compared to similar solutions."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
14%
Comms Service Provider
10%
Financial Services Firm
9%
Manufacturing Company
8%
No data available
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Fortinet FortiGate IPS?
The most significant aspect of IPS is self-explanatory as it primarily focuses on intrusion prevention, which is crucial for Fortinet's internal outbreak prevention efforts and ensuring compliance ...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Fortinet FortiGate IPS?
I rate the pricing with an eight out of ten. They could always improve the pricing.
What needs improvement with Fortinet FortiGate IPS?
The pricing of Fortinet FortiGate IPS ( /products/fortinet-fortigate-ips-reviews ) could always be improved.
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Also Known As

FortiGate IPS
WatchGuard IPS
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Riverside Healthcare, Salt Lake City, Dell SecureWorks, Credit Bank Zagreb
Chester School District
Find out what your peers are saying about Fortinet FortiGate IPS vs. WatchGuard Intrusion Prevention Service and other solutions. Updated: July 2025.
861,524 professionals have used our research since 2012.