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Fortinet FortiGate-VM vs Fortinet FortiOS comparison

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Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Sep 16, 2024
 

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)
Fortinet FortiGate-VM
Ranking in Firewalls
9th
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.5
Number of Reviews
118
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Fortinet FortiOS
Ranking in Firewalls
28th
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
8.4
Number of Reviews
76
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of December 2024, in the Firewalls category, the mindshare of Fortinet FortiGate is 20.5%, up from 17.3% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Fortinet FortiGate-VM is 1.9%, up from 1.7% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Fortinet FortiOS is 0.9%, up from 0.9% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Firewalls
 

Q&A Highlights

DL
Mar 23, 2021
 

Featured Reviews

DineshKumar28 - PeerSpot reviewer
Effective threat prevention with responsive customer support
We are using Fortinet FortiGate as a firewall Fortinet FortiGate has been invaluable. It has helped save costs due to its various features, reliable performance, very good UI, low latency, and stability. The Threat Intel engine in Fortinet FortiGate is highly rated for its effectiveness in…
SHUBHAM BHINGARDE - PeerSpot reviewer
A tool to help businesses create a blockage for external traffic
The tool improved the security in our company's virtualized environment, as it was helpful in creating an additional layer of security for the organization and for the use of the internet. The tool was the most important product to be implemented in the organization. To be able for our organization to build our services, we need to operate inside a certain network while ensuring that the outside traffic gets blocked by using the firewall services from the tool, as it helps to create a secure network inside our company. Without the tool in our organization, our network would have been compromised. The aforementioned area consists of details related to how the tool helps with the workload protection aspect. I recommend the solution to others who plan to use it since it helps in areas where it helps block a particular website with the help of the firewall functionalities that it possesses. The tool also helps block outside traffic, and it is mandatory to implement a firewall as an organization grows for the smooth operations of business. I rate the tool a ten out of ten.
Saleem Ullah Khan - PeerSpot reviewer
Easy to set up, reliable, and good for traffic management
We are not scaling it right now. We bought it sometime back and we didn't need to scale it. We bought a higher end for our use case, which is still sufficient for another few years. We have 200 or so users of different levels and positions on it. We do not have plans to increase usage. This firewall is quite a capable firewall - even up to 1000 users. Due to that, we didn't find any requirement to expand it or replace it somehow. It has helped us build our software-defined WAN, LAN, et cetera. It is sufficient for us. It gives us Gbps throughput, which is good enough. The firewall itself is 32Gbps capable, which is more than what we need.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Their interface is very easy to use, it is without bugs."
"The network security and cloud security are most valuable."
"Fortinet FortiGate is user-friendly and affordable."
"The base firewall features are quite valuable to us."
"The most valuable feature of Fortinet FortiGate is security. They are known for efficiency and are on the top of Gartner Quadrant reviews. Fortinet FortiGate has an easy-to-use platform with a good graphical interface. The configuration is simple and the solution provides an overall good layer of security."
"FortiGate improved our security. It's one of the best hardware firewalls."
"Fortinet offers the latest versions to cater to the needs of enterprises."
"Allows for firewall rules to be programmed and named in a way that makes it “readable”"
"The user interface, stability, and scalability are the most valuable features."
"One notable feature is the SD-WAN, which is a strong component of the FortiGate-VM. The fabric feature is also good, but not all customers use FortiGate's networking components, such as the switches."
"The policies are very valuable. They allow me to secure and manage future traffic effectively."
"The performance overall is very good."
"I did like the ability to back up the configuration into the cloud, as opposed to having to store the configurations or just downloading them, the backups, to local devices."
"The solution can scale well."
"Operations have been flawless."
"It offers the same robust features and functionality in virtual, on-premise, and traditional data center environments."
"The most valuable features of Fortinet FortiOS are user-friendliness, ease of use, and threat prevention."
"It's very easy to use."
"This is a user friendly solution and offers comprehensive integrations."
"I have found the most valuable feature of Fortinet FortiOS is the low maintenance."
"Compared to other firewalls, the segmentation is much easier in FortiGate."
"A good network security system for medium-sized businesses with an excellent GUI interface that gives a graphic view of network status."
"Has a very simple OS and a good price point."
"The classification of the websites is helpful."
 

Cons

"The product does need better support in the cloud environment. It's not exactly cloud-native right now."
"I would like to see improvements in the support from Fortinet. Here in the Philippines, whenever we have problems with a Fortinet product, we mostly ask for support from distributors and resellers and not directly from Fortinet."
"The graphical user interface of Fortinet's FortiGate product does not function well with text-based interfaces."
"We would like to see a better training platform implemented."
"The Wi-Fi controller needs a lot of improvement."
"There are some complex administration tasks in their administration portal. That needs to be improved."
"Price, of course, can always be more competitive or better."
"Fortinet already improved FortiGate, but in the current market, many brands of security devices have improved together. Fortinet still needs to catch up with market standards. Fortinet is lacking in features in comparison to competitors."
"There should be a bit more automation."
"I have had a data issue with physical devices that could improve."
"Integration could be better. Whatever devices I'm using with FortiGate are all compatible. The access points and switches are also FortiGate, so I can easily integrate them. But it would be better if we could embed other devices as well. There are compatibility issues with other brands, and we need that. We can only integrate universal brands with FortiGate. The initial setup could also be easier."
"The solution should provide more useful GUI features."
"SD-WAN could be enhanced to provide a clear division between control and data planes, utilizing controllers to manage tasks within the network."
"Support could be improved a little."
"We have had some stability issues."
"The interface needs to be updated and simplified."
"The product needs a feature that allows users to create another site on a VPN."
"Fortinet needs to make this solution even more robust. Sometimes when we get a DDoS attack, the cannot withstand it. We can run out of sessions very easily. That said, I suppose if you want more a robust system, then you could purchase higher-end solutions, which are more expensive. Still, I would like to see more protection from even in the low-end version."
"Fortinet FortiOS's integration could be improved."
"The solution's graphic interface could be a bit more responsive and include notations when changes are made."
"The solution needs improvement with DDoS protection."
"I would like to see the features of FortiAnalyzer included in Fortinet FortiOS. Right now, you're required to have an additional license and a different device for features such as processing the log, reporting, and analyzing traffic."
"It would be great if they can push the Microsoft updates through Fortinet OS and provide a centralized patch management system. They should also include the data loss prevention (DLP) and data leakage prevention features. They could also add network monitoring more effectively."
"In the future I would like to see more user-friendly dashboards and a drop in the price."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The Indian market is different than the European and American markets. When you compare they need to be a bit more aggressive on pricing."
"I would say that all things considered, the pricing is pretty good."
"The price is really low. It's cheap in comparison to the cost of Cisco or CheckPoint, for example."
"The product pricing is reasonable."
"Pricing for this product is comparatively lower than other products. It's an affordable solution, but when expanding the number of users, they'll ask you to replace the model, so that's an added cost."
"These boxes are not that expensive compared to what they can do, their functionality, and the reporting you receive. Fortinet licensing is straightforward and less confusing compared to Cisco."
"Its pricing is fine. It is on a yearly basis. Other than the licensing fee, there is no extra fee."
"The price range is quite acceptable and normal."
"It has a flexible pay-as-you-go pricing model."
"The pricing is really good."
"At present, the SD-WAN licenses are on an annual basis."
"The price: It is a bit higher than the other competitors. This is why I started to look at other brands."
"I rate the product's pricing an eight out of ten."
"The price is similar to Symantec Endpoint, but it's more expensive than Forcepoint solutions. Fortinet is better than Forcepoint."
"We are on an annual license for this solution and it could be cheaper."
"The price is expensive compared with other vendors, like Cisco and Huawei."
"The pricing could always be lower."
"Be sure to choose a licensing plan that leaves a little headroom so performance is not an issue."
"A yearly subscription might be around $20,000 to $30,000."
"We pay $100,000. That covers the cost of the hardware that we run the VN's on. That also includes any SGNA costs for the internal support tech."
"The pricing is competitive for the medium and high markets but for the small markets it can be expensive."
"A medium 100 or 200 Series box costs around $3000, and the software cost is around 55% of the hardware cost."
"The Fortinet solutions can be a bit expensive."
"The solution is quite affordable and I rate the cost a four out of ten."
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Answers from the Community

DL
Mar 23, 2021
Mar 23, 2021
In the best tradition of these questions, Feature-wise both are quite similar, but each has things it's better at, it kind of depends what you value most. PA is good at app control, web filtering and such like, they have always been top of the pile there. The GUI is very good, and their product is very user-focused. Fortinet is good for scalability and predictable high throughput (ASICs in the...
2 out of 4 answers
AT
Mar 20, 2021
Hi, Both FT and PA have compelling features for large Enterprises. I would like to add a few good points about Fortinetwhich might be helpful ( from my 13 years of engagement with them as Distributor and Partner) Fortinet:  Have higher throughput; which comes with competitive rates Wide range of models to select to meet your requirement, without spending heavliy Outstanding customer support and very active customer care team Easly available skilled resources from the channel for deployment and post-implementation support  Regards Abhilash
LD
Mar 22, 2021
Hi PaloAlto is better when working on app control feature and special virtual wire links. Execpt that specific point, Fortinet is above. Best Regards, Damien
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Educational Organization
22%
Computer Software Company
14%
Comms Service Provider
6%
Manufacturing Company
6%
Computer Software Company
21%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Manufacturing Company
6%
Government
6%
Computer Software Company
17%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Financial Services Firm
9%
Government
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

Which is the better NGFW: Fortinet Fortigate or Cisco Firepower?
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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...
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 ...
Features comparison between Palo Alto and Fortinet firewalls
In the best tradition of these questions, Feature-wise both are quite similar, but each has things it's better at, it...
Which would you recommend - FortiGate VM or Azure Firewall?
Both of these solutions are excellent options that provide flexible scalability and solid security. Fortinet Fortigat...
What do you like most about Fortinet FortiGate-VM?
An enhanced security solution for any kind of alert that we have configured.
What do you like most about Fortinet FortiOS?
The SSL VPN is fee for use is most attractive.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Fortinet FortiOS?
Regarding the cost, the initial purchase is relatively cheap because it comes bundled. However, the subscription rene...
What needs improvement with Fortinet FortiOS?
Sometimes, Fortinet FortiOS changes its CLI (command line interface) with new versions, which leads to internal incom...
 

Also Known As

FortiGate 60b, FortiGate 60c, FortiGate 80c, FortiGate 50b, FortiGate 200b, FortiGate 110c, FortiGate, Fortinet Firewall
FortiGate Virtual Appliance, FortiGate-VM
No data available
 

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
Security7 Networks, COOPENAE
Black Gold Regional Schools, Amadeus Hospitality, Jefferson County, Chunghwa Telecom, City of Boroondara, Dimension Data
Find out what your peers are saying about Fortinet FortiGate-VM vs. Fortinet FortiOS and other solutions. Updated: December 2024.
824,053 professionals have used our research since 2012.