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Fortinet FortiGate vs Juniper SRX Series Firewall comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Dec 1, 2024
 

Categories and Ranking

Fortinet FortiGate
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)
Juniper SRX Series Firewall
Ranking in Firewalls
17th
Average Rating
7.8
Reviews Sentiment
7.1
Number of Reviews
91
Ranking in other categories
Unified Threat Management (UTM) (5th)
 

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 Juniper SRX Series Firewall is 1.5%, down from 1.7% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Firewalls
 

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…
MURALI NIDAMANURI - PeerSpot reviewer
Highly scalable, user-friendly UI, and easy to maintain
We have used Juniper SRX Series Firewall in airports and multiple other industries The most valuable features of the Juniper SRX Series Firewall are the user-friendly UI, and accessing the solution is simple. The pricing strategy of the vendor could improve. I have been using Juniper SRX Series…

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"We use the filtering feature the most. It has filtering and inbuilt securities. We can create customized rules to define which users can access a particular type of site. We can create policies inside the firewall."
"Their reliability and their policy of pre-shipping replacements when a unit has failed."
"The SD-WAN function is very developed. It has SD-WAN functionality with security features in one device. We can manage from one single console SD-WAN and the security policy."
"You can purchase switches and you don't need to do anything with them. You just put in the firewall and the switches get all the policies and rules that you already have in the firewall. With Fortinet, you just connect the FortiSwitch to the Fortinet and that's it."
"The pricing is great and very reasonable."
"Security management tool that's easy to integrate and easy to work with. No issues found with its stability and scalability."
"FortiGate has a strong security topic which allows all of the Fortinet devices to communicate and share information which makes their security more powerful."
"There are great templates, so you don't have to customize them if you don't want to. You do have the option to custom create some folders and some reports, however, with what is there, you don't really need to go through extra effort, as they already give you a lot of predefined views of reports and so forth."
"You can scale the solution."
"The solution has been good for fulfilling our basic needs."
"The product provides good performance and has features comparable to other leading products in the market."
"I have used technical support quite a bit, and they are really good."
"I've found the security features, such as IDS and the VPN most valuable."
"Great as an inter-segmentation firewall or border or arch-firewall."
"The most valuable feature is robustness."
"Technical support is good. They quickly respond, and they even have local help here. They can actually give you an answer very quickly."
 

Cons

"One of the problems I was having was with user mapping, and it is an issue for which I have escalated tickets with Fortinet support."
"FortiGate can improve its token system, as it requires a purchase before use."
"The support team for Fortinet FortiGate needs to be more customer friendly."
"Fortinet FortiGate needs to improve the protection, it did not prevent us from being attacked. Additionally, Fortinet FortiGate could provide more features for WAF devices. I should not have to purchase two solutions, it would be a benefit to combine these features into one solution."
"The initial setup and configuration are not intuitive and require training."
"Fortinet FortiGate is not very easy to use. The navigation could be improved to make it easier to use."
"Reporting is limited to providing an external appliance for improving the reporting capabilities of the FortiAnalyzer. It does not offer a central management and is also sold separably as an appliance."
"Currently, without the additional reporting module, we only have access to basic reporting."
"In the next release, I would like to have a better web interface. It needs to be more user-friendly. Right now, you can only access many features through the console."
"It would be ideal if the solution could use cloud services to help update signatures or threat prevention systems."
"Juniper SRX is stable, but it could improve. FortiGate has better stability than Juniper SRX."
"The Juniper SRX product needs to improve in terms of innovation."
"The reporting is lacking."
"While the GUI is pretty good on the Juniper side, there can still be tweaks made to it that will make it even better."
"The CPU switch could be improved for a better overall performance of traffic flow."
"In the future, I would like to see the UI more responsive"
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"A year or two years back, its price was competitive and reasonable. That was one of the reasons that people easily switched to Fortinet. Over the last two years, the prices have increased drastically. However, the prices of others have also increased. An advantage is there from the price point but not as much as it was previously."
"Fortinet FortiGate allows you to purchase licenses for hardware and software."
"For our organization, the licensing costs are approximately $7,000 per year."
"The license is too expensive to renew. The license renewal process is also complex."
"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."
"The price is fair for what we get with FortiGate."
"Each feature costs money, so it is important to study your needs."
"Fortinet is competitive price-wise."
"In my opinion, the Juniper SRX Series Firewall is cheaper than other products."
"Compared to other vendors, the pricing of this solution is good."
"Juniper SRX is reasonably priced."
"It has a low price."
"Juniper SRX Series Firewall is worth its money."
"There was no additional licensing cost because there were no IPS services. It was just a firewall IP circuit router so they have the default licensing. We just need to renew the support yearly."
"It is best suited to an enterprise-level, as the mid-range companies may find that the cost is not affordable."
"The pricing is very inexpensive which is the main reason I bought the solution. One device costs around 50 EUR through the University's vendor who is modernizing our network."
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Comparison Review

it_user216600 - PeerSpot reviewer
Jan 3, 2016
Sophos UTM vs. Fortinet FortiGate
I have used both Sophos and Fortinet products in production and I have found the Sophos UTM appliances (hardware and virtual) to be a better fit most of the time -- with a few caveats which I will touch on below. In both instances, the transition from TMG will be mostly straightforward. The main…
 

Answers from the Community

FF
Mar 1, 2023
Mar 1, 2023
Hello Fahrorozi,From my point of view, I would rather choose SRX4200 solution over FortiGate1800. Why? 1. SRX4200 is a compact 1U device equipped with ports you actually need for full firewall usage and not for datasheet specifications.2. Juniper Networks started as a Network company so alongside with full NGFW functions of the SRX firewall you are also getting full L3 routing functionalities ...
See 2 answers
Sandi Tehendi - PeerSpot reviewer
Jan 27, 2023
Hi Fahrorozi,If I have to choose between these two, I will choose FG 1800. Reasons:1. More flexible ports to use from 1G to 40G2. Includes SSL VPN / client VPN for users3. Has better web management than SRX4. From the datasheet, some of the throughputs are also larger (IPv4 FW throughput, Max Session, Max Policies, etc).But you need to know what you need for your company.- Maybe you only need a 10G interface instead of a 1G- Maybe you don't need the SSL VPN / Client VPN- You also don't need a large throughput.Hope this helps.
Lukas Harkabus - PeerSpot reviewer
Mar 1, 2023
Hello Fahrorozi,From my point of view, I would rather choose SRX4200 solution over FortiGate1800.  Why? 1. SRX4200 is a compact 1U device equipped with ports you actually need for full firewall usage and not for datasheet specifications.2. Juniper Networks started as a Network company so alongside with full NGFW functions of the SRX firewall you are also getting full L3 routing functionalities same ones that are working on Juniper routers with complete granular configuration.3. All products from Juniper Networks are equipped with their JunOS Operating System which is built on FreeBSD with data and control plane separation. Main configuration and really fast troubleshooting power are provided with structured CLI where you can do everything you can imagine even get into FreeBDS for troubleshooting if needed. Also, a tool like MTR (My Traceroute) for troubleshooting is available. JunOS configuration is the same for every Juniper Networks device so when you will get used to it you can configure every platform the same way (except for stateful firewall functions dedicated only to the SRX platform).4. Web management is also included on a device that simplifies day-to-day configuration. Web management historically was not quite great, but starting JunOS 21.x it was really improved and provided all you need for device configuration and troubleshooting, also Juniper is still working on quality-of-life improvements.5. SSL VPN / Client VPN is fully integrated with Juniper SRX and also with a client application.6. Regarding performance, FortiGate was and maybe is still not providing full packet sanity checks (IP protocol, SEQ number, etc.) in the default configuration. When you enable these features, FortiGate loses some performance because HW acceleration is not possible with these features.7. Also when you are using NFS with source NAT then you will find a useful feature where you can set to NAT traffic with port number <1024.8. Regarding C&C, antimalware, IPS, and centralized management it's all similar to all other vendors. 9. Juniper SRX also provides VRF-light routing table separation, and also Full separation with Logical systems that have separate processes for each LSYS. You can also allocate CPU resources for each LSYS. 10. Regarding HA Clustering you can use an active/active data plane (data traversing -> one node in a cluster is entrance and destination is on another node) in a special use case. You can also have free hands regarding failovers using separate interfaces/interfaces groups based on BFD, interface status, and IP reachability. You can also deploy a full L3 cluster. This is only a subjective short summary, always depends on other factors (interfaces, budget, preferences, etc.). I would suggest you find the nearest partner (Forti or Juniper) to you, schedule a PoC and receive the solution you would prefer.Instead of FortiGate, I would definitely choose SRX. A different case is the native L7 firewall when I want to check all applications, then I would maybe consider Palo Alto vs SRX in some cases.
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Educational Organization
22%
Computer Software Company
14%
Comms Service Provider
6%
Manufacturing Company
6%
Educational Organization
51%
Computer Software Company
8%
Financial Services Firm
4%
Government
4%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

Which is the better NGFW: Fortinet Fortigate or Cisco Firepower?
When you compare these firewalls you can identify them with different features, advantages, practices and usage at large. In my opinion, Fortinet would be the best option and l use Fortinet too...
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 the firewalls change every 5 to 7 years as stated but you really do need to upg...
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 good. The most valuable features for me are their web and email filtering. I wou...
What do you like most about Juniper SRX?
Juniper SRX Series Firewall is a stable solution.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Juniper SRX?
Customers always want cheaper solutions. Fortinet is a cheaper solution than Juniper.
What advice do you have for others considering Juniper SRX?
Overall, I would rate it an eight out of ten because of the complexity of configurations and the maintenance.
 

Also Known As

FortiGate 60b, FortiGate 60c, FortiGate 80c, FortiGate 50b, FortiGate 200b, FortiGate 110c, FortiGate, Fortinet Firewall
Juniper SRX
 

Learn More

 

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
7-Eleven, AARNet Pty Ltd, Allegro Networks, alltours GmbH, Apollo Hotel Papendrecht, Armstrong Atlantic State University, Atlantech Online, Availity, Bajaj Capital, Baloise Insurance, BancABC, BAS Group, Black Lotus, Blue Box, Borealis, Carilion Clinic, Catholic Health System, CATV, Champlain College, Chinas Ministry of Railways, China University of Mining and Technology (CUMT), Cloud Dynamics, CloudSeeds, Cloudwatt, CODONiS, Colt Technology Services, Cork Internet Exchange, CSS Versicherung AG, CyrusOne, Danish Crown, Deloitte Belgium, Department of Energy, Divona Telecom, DQE Communications, DreamHost, European Government Agency, Expedient, Financial Market Information Services Provider, Fluidata, Fonality, Fox Sports, Global Financial Institution, Global Investment Bank, Global Investment Company, Energy Sciences Network (ESnet), Goethe University, HEAnet, High Performance Networks Inc., Hillenbrand
Find out what your peers are saying about Fortinet FortiGate vs. Juniper SRX Series Firewall and other solutions. Updated: December 2024.
824,053 professionals have used our research since 2012.