Fortinet FortiGate-VM vs Zyxel Unified Security Gateway comparison

Fortinet FortiGate-VM vs. Zyxel Unified Security Gateway

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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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Pietro Di Blasi

Pre-Sales Analyst at a comms service provider with 51-200 employees

Organize networks efficiently while benefiting from strong reliability and support

The main use is for clients who are migrating to the cloud. We started this journey during the pandemic, and the main case is with clients who are moving to either a private or a public cloud The solution allows us to organize our networks and access within one vendor, using an integrated…

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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 initial setup of Fortinet FortiGate was straightforward."

"Consolidated our network environment at all locations, but mainly at our datacenter."

"The secure web gateway module and the application control module are valuable. HA operations are very easy."

"The next-generation firewall is great."

"LinkGreat firewall capabilities"

"It's very easy to set up, it's very easy to make policies and, for an organization, that means you don't need IT expert in firewalls. You just need to have somebody who knows a little bit of IT, and that's it. With other products, you need someone with a "Masters" degree in firewalls."

"It is easy to manage, and it doesn't need much knowledge from the team. It is a stable device, and there are many features that are included out of the box."

"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."

More Fortinet FortiGate pros

"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 setup is simple."

"In spite of the solution being inexpensive, it has everything one would need."

"The most valuable features are the IPS and Antivirus."

"The solution is very secure, and its technical support is on point."

"I rate the tool's stability a ten out of ten."

"The support is good. We don't have any issues with the technical support."

"The pricing of the solution is good."

More Fortinet FortiGate-VM pros

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

"The solution can scale well."

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

Cons

"Fortinet FortiGate can improve the integration with Active Directory. Additionally, I would like to have a Cloud Controller, such as they do in the Cisco Meraki solution."

"They are doing good, but they can improve the distributor assignment. The availability of the product and the timeline of delivery are the main things. The distribution should be swift, and the distributor should not reach out to end customers directly. They should work as a distributor. There should also be one more local distributor. Currently, there is only one distributor in Pakistan, and the rest of them are in UAE. It is difficult to work with only one distributor. Sometimes, you don't get along with the same distributor, and that's why they should have one more distributor. Their licensing should also be improved. The activation or renewal of the product should be done from the date of renewal, not from the date on which the license expired."

"I feel that the reporting needs to be improved."

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

"The biggest "gotcha" is that if the client purchases what they call the UTM shared bundle, which has unified threat management on both, it's not as easy to manage if you have more than one firewall."

"The non-error conserve mode has room for improvement."

"Some of the web policy reports could be improved."

"The support system could be improved."

More Fortinet FortiGate cons

"The solution can improve by adding separate interfaces for proxy and flow-based usage."

"In the next releases, it would be nice to see central cloud management."

"They could provide more integration options with different platforms."

"In terms of improvement, there have been some problems with the bandwidth of the security layer."

"Integrating multi-factor authentication with FortiGate-VM can be challenging. While multi-factor authentication is important, not all customers have it enabled. Integration with third-party solutions like ManageEngine or Duo can be complex and sometimes problematic during testing."

"Price-wise, it could be slightly better, however, if you compared it to other makes and models of equal category, it is generally cheaper."

"SD-WAN could be enhanced to provide a clear division between control and data planes, utilizing controllers to manage tasks within the network."

"I have had a data issue with physical devices that could improve."

More Fortinet FortiGate-VM cons

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

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

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

Pricing and Cost Advice

"If the price of the license in Fortinet FortiGate was less expensive it would be better."

"I had to pay for the license for the firewall, but it is guaranteed to have updates. I expect a good service for it. It was about €1000 for a year, and there was no additional cost."

"Its pricing is fine. It is on a yearly basis. Other than the licensing fee, there is no extra fee."

"Their licensing costs are annual. The UTM feature license along with their support is called FortiCare. We include that as a part of the annual maintenance cost. Palo Alto or Juniper also have an annual subscription charge for UTM. Price, of course, can always be more competitive, but it is not the most expensive product. The price-performance ratio is quite high for FortiGate."

"It is expensive. You need to pay for the subscription every year, which is very expensive. The subscription includes technical support and hardware exchange in case of failure."

"I give the pricing a nine out of ten."

"The license is yearly. We pay for the top end. It's called 360."

"The support subscription for the solution is annual. You are paying for support and there are two levels of support, professional and advanced."

More Fortinet FortiGate pricing and cost advice

"Fortinet FortiGate-VM is a very expensive solution."

"We don't have to pay for the licenses. But we might purchase licenses in the future."

"The product’s licensing must be a little cheaper."

"At present, the SD-WAN licenses are on an annual basis."

"It's a mid-ranged product."

"I rate the product price a three on a scale of one to ten, where one is a high price, and ten is a low price."

"VMs can be affordable, but for high-demand scenarios, I'd still recommend the hardware. For the cost, it's a ten out of ten."

"The best part of Fortinet is the license is bundled together, so it is easy to use and apply."

More Fortinet FortiGate-VM 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%

Financial Services Firm

Manufacturing Company

Government

Computer Software Company

21%

Comms Service Provider

17%

Real Estate/Law Firm

Retailer

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

No data available

Questions from the Community

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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 Zyxel Unified Security Gateway?

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

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.

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...

Sophos XG vs Fortinet FortiGate

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Compared 5% of the time

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Compared 19% of the time

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Compared 11% of the time

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Compared 6% of the time

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Compared 5% of the time

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Compared 5% of the time

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Product Reports

Fortinet FortiGate

Download Fortinet FortiGate product report

Fortinet FortiGate-VM

Download Fortinet FortiGate-VM product report

Unified Threat Management (UTM)

February 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

FortiGate Virtual Appliance, FortiGate-VM

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

FortiGate Virtual Appliances allow you to mitigate blind spots by implementing critical security controls within your virtual infrastructure. They also allow you to rapidly provision security infrastructure whenever and wherever it is needed. FortiGate virtual appliances feature all of the security and networking services common to traditional hardware-based FortiGate appliances. With the addition of virtual appliances from Fortinet, you can deploy a mix of hardware and virtual appliances, operating together and managed from a common centralized management platform.

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

Security7 Networks, COOPENAE

Information Not Available

Fortinet FortiGate-VM vs. Zyxel Unified Security Gateway