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Fortinet FortiGate vs WatchGuard XTM [EOL] comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Mar 29, 2026

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
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
592
Ranking in other categories
Secure Web Gateways (SWG) (2nd), Firewalls (1st), Intrusion Detection and Prevention Software (IDPS) (1st), Software Defined WAN (SD-WAN) Solutions (1st), WAN Edge (1st), ZTNA (1st), Unified Threat Management (UTM) (1st)
WatchGuard XTM [EOL]
Average Rating
8.0
Number of Reviews
34
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Q&A Highlights

Miriam Tover - PeerSpot reviewer
Service Delivery Manager at PeerSpot
Mar 23, 2020
 

Featured Reviews

Abhinandan Yadav - PeerSpot reviewer
Network Security Engineer at Arrow PC Network Pvt Ltd
Unified security and sd-wan have improved uptime and cut wan costs for multi-site branches
Users report stability issues in certain versions, which requires regular updates. Real-world attacks have also highlighted the need for urgent patching of vulnerabilities.Fortinet FortiGate, while a powerful and feature-rich web firewall, could improve in areas like firmware stability, documentation, and ease of use. The learning curve can be steep for some users. For beginners, support quality can vary, and frequent updates with occasional vulnerabilities call for careful patch management. However, once Fortinet FortiGate is configured, it remains highly reliable and efficient. Customer support needs improvement, as I find it very slow, with reports from other users reflecting that customer support is inadequate.
Generalm4545 - PeerSpot reviewer
General Manager- IT & Automation - Serum at a pharma/biotech company with 1,001-5,000 employees
Protects from attack software and hacking but it doesn't provide the reports in a readable format
In my opinion, image clarity is very important, because I don't get the proper image product on reports. This means that functionality is not there. My engineer does not know how he can replace an order. We attach a log after any kind of keys using a utility instead. For the internet policies that we are implementing, the policy should be based on proper protocols. We use the default policies and there are a number of third-party protocols that appear here. Management with WatchGuard XTM means that out of policy is the problem from our side. In this way, we can not do effective services for people with this one. The policy definition with WatchGuard XTM is not proper for all use case requirements. I've got weekly business reports that I am expecting attachments with from WatchGuard XTM that display data for all kinds of consideration which should be required. Main User Functionality Level Order must adhere to using the admin functionality on the registry, or else our users publish their own name. Maybe these recommendations are irrelevant, but I say that the issue to improve most with WatchGuard XTM is the Main User Function.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Fortinet FortiGate has positively impacted our organization by preventing hackers from accessing our network."
"Fortinet FortiGate helps improve my organization since it's quick and easy to install, and we don't have to call support frequently."
"It is stable and easy to use. There are a lot of good resources available on the web."
"Fortinet FortiGate has been a Perimeter Security which defends our network from Internet attackers, armed with zero-day exploits of common Internet services like HTTP and SMTP."
"Fortinet FortiGate offer a good value for money solution"
"FortiGate Next Generation Firewall has a simple configuration."
"I never encountered any stability issues; it is a very stable product."
"The SD-WAN is the most valuable feature."
"Simply, give this tool a try; it will generate great benefits in terms of the scalability and environment."
"The multi-WAN feature allows us to configure multiple external interfaces."
"It configures in all-in-one place.​"
"I would recommend this product, as it is a very flexible one with probably the most intuitive configuration."
"We compared this solution to Juniper, and we find that WatchGuard is a much better product."
"There is a site-to-site VPN configuration between others people."
"It's a solid firewall option with new and useful features typically being added with each new firmware release."
"We're really happy with WatchGuard."
 

Cons

"Fortinet FortiGate can be integrated with different platforms. They have integrations in place, but I can't say they're 100%."
"Fortinet FortiGate IPS could improve the VPN. There are times it is slow."
"We had some issues in the beginning while setting it up, but after doing the firmware update, it is working fine."
"The solution could have licensing fees reduced in the future."
"Performance and technical support are the main issues with this solution."
"The web interface could be made better."
"FortiGate may include AI capabilities and integrate external threat intelligence. However, version management and backup/restore operations could be improved."
"I have contacted the support from Fortinet FortiGate IPS. The service was good but the speed could be better."
"I would like them to improve the product's overall protections. This would be good for all product users."
"VPN tunnel lost packet."
"I would like them to improve the product's overall protections."
"I think the anti-Spam feature, and the real time log to inspect the bandwidth users both need improving."
"It's a fine product, but some features like the max bandwidth don't work well. Also, the VPN errors are not helpful when troubleshooting."
"I feel that paying a yearly maintenance fee for firmware updates is not worth it in my opinion."
"Our device was not functioning properly, so we returned the product and as a result, our business was down for two days."
"Licensing should be improved."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"It has a competitive price."
"The pricing for the product is alright."
"When comparing the price of Fortinet FortiGate SWG to other solutions it is expensive. The price could be better."
"It is somewhat expensive compared to other solutions such as Sophos."
"For our organization, the licensing costs are approximately $7,000 per year."
"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."
"The product is expensive. I rate its pricing a six out of ten."
"I rate FortiGate Next Generation Firewall a five out of ten for pricing."
"Like all other manufacturers, there are a lot of features and different pricing. The best is to talk to a representative.​"
"It costs less than the SO works and others (like SonicWall, Cisco, and Barracuda) without increasing so much CPU use."
"The licensing and renewal is very expensive."
"Get at least a maintenance contract for the updates and take a larger WatchGuard than you need. A WatchGuard creates new ways to secure your network."
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Comparison Review

it_user216600 - PeerSpot reviewer
Senior Technical Consultant with 51-200 employees
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

Miriam Tover - PeerSpot reviewer
Service Delivery Manager at PeerSpot
Mar 23, 2020
Mar 23, 2020
The main difference between Watchguard and Fortinet is the operating system, and how it uses the hardware features. The user interface in Fortinet is cleaner and we can adjust network and security needs in a logical way. Point-of-care only for SSO, certificate usage does not work sometimes, but this issue is handled in new OS releases.
2 out of 17 answers
MZ
IT Director at Guangdong Technion Institute of Technology
Mar 18, 2019
Hi Nick, Thank you for email. I have no experience of WatchGuard product. Regards, Michael Zhang
reviewer895482 - PeerSpot reviewer
ICT Officer at a non-profit with 5,001-10,000 employees
Mar 18, 2019
Hi Nick, Sorry, but I can hardly provide relevant comparison between two products as I have never used WatchGuard XTM. As I have no intention to promote certain brand, no matter how satisfied I am with FortiGate - I feel incompetent to advise on this matter. Best regards, Vladimir
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
11%
Comms Service Provider
10%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Financial Services Firm
7%
Marketing Services Firm
15%
Financial Services Firm
15%
Performing Arts
13%
Manufacturing Company
11%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business367
Midsize Enterprise135
Large Enterprise193
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business24
Midsize Enterprise7
Large Enterprise3
 

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...
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Also Known As

Fortinet FortiGate Next-Generation Firewall
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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
AVG, Cyren, Kaspersky Lab, Lastline, NCP engineering, Trend Micro, Websense
Find out what your peers are saying about Fortinet, Netgate, Sophos and others in Firewalls. Updated: April 2026.
890,088 professionals have used our research since 2012.