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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)
4th
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.1
Number of Reviews
65
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
WatchGuard Intrusion Preven...
Ranking in Intrusion Detection and Prevention Software (IDPS)
26th
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 April 2025, in the Intrusion Detection and Prevention Software (IDPS) category, the mindshare of Fortinet FortiGate IPS is 7.2%, up from 6.6% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of WatchGuard Intrusion Prevention Service is 0.4%, down from 0.4% 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 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 on endpoint devices."
"We like signature-based anomaly detection and zero-day protection features."
"I like FortiGate's zero-trust capabilities and protection against zero-day threats. Zero-day threat protection is critical because we're seeing constant changes in the threat landscape. The sandboxing and web access controls are also robust."
"I appreciate FortiGate for its reliable, powerful, and flexible setups."
"The detection is great."
"The ease of use, concise reports, and threat identification are very user-friendly and valuable."
"The solution protects the environment from internal and external threats."
"I have found the decryption of Fortinet FortiGate IPS very good. It's called SSL deep inspection, it's working very well. This is how you decrypt access and traffic, and it is through the IPS antivirus center. Additionally, the UI is user-friendly."
"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."
"It works right out of the box. You just have to enable it and you can start working."
"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."
 

Cons

"FortiGate's logging and reporting could be improved. I would also like to see Fortinet add a guest management portal."
"It would be better if they had a dashboard where we could see what attacks were happening. It would be good to see who's trying to get into our network."
"The solution could improve the integration."
"The reporting was limited."
"The solution has limited scalability."
"The customization is a little bit difficult."
"The solution’s stability could be improved because we sometimes faced some drops."
"They should add a feature for detailed reporting."
"Multi properties could be added to the solution in the future to make it better."
"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."
"Regarding technical support, they could use more engineers."
"I would like to see faster automatation."
"The user interface and configuration can be improved."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"We pay for the license of Fortinet FortiGate IPS annually. There are not any extra costs."
"There is a license required to use Fortinet FortiGate with all the features. It has to be updated with the threats on an ongoing basis for the signatures to prevent threats and a license is needed to receive those security updates."
"The pricing is reasonable."
"We are currently evaluating a Palo Alto solution, and the pricing could be a reason for going for Palo Alto."
"The pricing for FortiGate IPS is competitive with other products in the category."
"There is only a standard license cost to use the solution."
"They are more expensive than others."
"The solution could be better priced."
"The price of the solution is not expensive, it is less than FortiGate."
"The price of WatchGuard Intrusion Prevention Service is pretty reasonable compared to similar solutions."
"It is not expensive. Other products like Fortinet and Check Point are of the same price."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
20%
Financial Services Firm
10%
Comms Service Provider
9%
Manufacturing Company
9%
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?
There are no extra expenses involved after purchasing the solution. Pricing could be better, however, overall, it is considered a middle-level price for a middle-level company.
What needs improvement with Fortinet FortiGate IPS?
There could be improvements in the mathematical algorithms used for behavior analytics of traffic. More advanced AI capabilities would be beneficial in future updates.
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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: March 2025.
844,944 professionals have used our research since 2012.