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Fortinet FortiGate vs Zscaler Internet Access comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary
 

Categories and Ranking

Fortinet FortiGate
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.2
Number of Reviews
317
Ranking in other categories
Firewalls (2nd), Software Defined WAN (SD-WAN) Solutions (1st), WAN Edge (1st)
Zscaler Internet Access
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.0
Number of Reviews
51
Ranking in other categories
Secure Web Gateways (SWG) (2nd), Internet Security (2nd)
 

Mindshare comparison

While both are Enterprise Networking solutions, they serve different purposes. Fortinet FortiGate is designed for Firewalls and holds a mindshare of 20.5%, up 17.3% compared to last year.
Zscaler Internet Access, on the other hand, focuses on Secure Web Gateways (SWG), holds 15.5% mindshare, down 16.9% since last year.
Firewalls
Secure Web Gateways (SWG)
 

Q&A Highlights

it_user822630 - PeerSpot reviewer
Mar 06, 2019
 

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…
Bhaskar Rao - PeerSpot reviewer
It offers us a single point of control, but we've had some problems with performance
We use Zscaler as a secure internet proxy. All of the traffic is filtered through it. We have about 3,000 users at the organization.  All internet traffic goes through Zscaler, which protects the organization's IP, which isn't published publicly. Zscaler's cloud services filter and clear all…

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The most valuable features are simplicity, management, and that it's constantly evolving."
"Security, SD-WAN, and Streetscape are valuable features."
"The inspection and web security features are most valuable."
"This solution has helped our organization by having strong functions and a reliable firewall."
"Web filtering and two-factor authentication are great features."
"FortiGate has led to a reduction in our security budget."
"Its stability is the most valuable."
"The IPsec tunnels are very easily created, and quite interoperable with devices from other vendors."
"The solution is scalable and stable."
"The most valuable features I found in Zscaler Internet Access are the restriction of users for a particular URL, the security feature related to stopping DDoS, and the VPN."
"The users are at different locations, and Zscaler helps us to put the organization's central security controls on these roaming users."
"Stability-wise, I rate the solution a nine and a half out of ten...The setup phase was easy."
"Zscaler Web Security protects our users in remote locations from internet threats - even if they are not connected to our network."
"The solution’s customer service is good."
"I like the granularity of the control of all the traffic, including SSL inspection. I also like the fact that the user interface is intuitive. The latencies with Zscaler are minimal compared to those of any other competitor. Other competitors do not really have the global scale that Zscaler has and cannot promise low latencies."
"The URL filtering has been the most valuable feature."
 

Cons

"Its reporting and pricing need improvement."
"They've become quite expensive."
"Some configuration elements cannot be easily altered once created."
"I would like to see a more intuitive dashboard."
"Fortinet FortiGate could improve by having a frequent ask questions(FAQ) area for people to receive quick answers to popular questions. Additionally, it would be beneficial to have an SMS notification feature. For example, if you cannot access your email you could receive an SMS message."
"The support team for Fortinet FortiGate needs to be more customer friendly."
"There were quite a few problems with the stability of the system."
"Fortinet FortiGate could improve by adding enhancements to FortiMail, FortiSOAR, and FortiDeceptor."
"​When you have appliances, SSL inspection is always a headache due to poor performance and/or lack of ciphers implemented. ​"
"What could be improved in Zscaler Internet Access is its price. It could be cheaper."
"Zscale is providing a proxy IP, and most government sites will block traffic from a proxy. Also, we see some performance issues on the cloud side during DC failover."
"Zscaler Internet Access can improve by adding traffic filtering based on the DNS."
"There are many functionalities in Zscaler Internet Access that need improvements, such as an advanced firewall and logging capabilities to track calls."
"The reporting functionality could be a bit easier to use. There is a reporting function, but it's quite hard to do any good reporting, from a user-management perspective. For example, if a department manager wants to know how his department is using the web, there is a way to get the data, but it's quite cumbersome to get it and show it well. And that's true for comparing between departments."
"Zscaler does not provide dedicated IPs to each customer. Hence, they share a pool of IPs provided by Zscaler. There is a chance of blacklisting these IPs. I also do not like the multi-management portal."
"Zscaler Internet Access needs to integrate more ISPs. It is good to have more than three ISPs."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Fortinet's pricing is more straightforward than other solutions. If Fortinet doesn't stick out when you're searching for a solution, you are a glutton for punishment. You only need to know two things when purchasing a Fortinet solution: your total bandwidth and bandwidth at the site. You need to estimate the future bandwidth with other solutions if your customer plans to upgrade."
"They are very competitive, but we like to have the factory warranty taken care of."
"I give the pricing a nine out of ten."
"By default, they give SD-WAN along with the firewall. They don't have separate licensing for the SD-WAN functionality. However, they have security licenses that are sold separately on a subscription basis. Customers can consume these security features to protect their users from internet traffic."
"The product pricing is reasonable."
"The pricing depends on the FortiGate model we are using, ranging from $3,000 to $20,000 US dollars."
"The solution requires a license annually, it is not a user license, you can have as many users as your want. I must renew the license regularly per device."
"The price, in comparison to other products is very cheap."
"It is quite expensive. It does its job, but it is quite expensive for what we need."
"The pricing is an issue. It is expensive compared to other firewalls on the market."
"Zscaler is transparent about its pricing model."
"Our monthly fee is around R3000."
"​Be aware that you will need to invest some time and money to adapt your environment for Zscaler (traffic redirection, software deployment, authentication, etc).​"
"If we need any extra features, the price will increase."
"The tool is moderately priced."
"Roughly, we might spend $70,000 a month on the solution. We don't pay for anything beyond the standard licensing fee."
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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

it_user822630 - PeerSpot reviewer
Mar 6, 2019
Mar 6, 2019
IT really depends on the type of business you had currently. These days almost all security vendors are offering Virtual Appliances so it's a preference based decision. Almost all vendors are offering basic features with some add-ons / additional features with differences among others competitors. Look at 1. FortiGate, 2. Cisco Meraki, 3. SOPHOS Products they all provide you flexibility to have...
2 out of 63 answers
it_user519153 - PeerSpot reviewer
Feb 28, 2018
There are several factors to consider: · In-house expertise to manage a physical firewall · Number of locations requiring a firewall · Current and planned linkage between office locations · Value of the information you want to protect I’m personally a fan of on-premise physical firewalls for high $ information to protect. However, if the $ risk is not particularly high, your in-house expertise to manage firewalls is low, and you have multiple locations to protect, I would recommend a security gateway service with VPN connections between your offices and the location of the security provider. I cannot recommend one supplier over another. If you choose to go with a physical firewall, Fortigate has a good reputation. Regards,
it_user351612 - PeerSpot reviewer
Feb 28, 2018
Depending what is your goal and where offices are based. When you want to protect your users in offices, then you would want to have kind of perimeter firewall (usually appliance) - standard (old) way. Fortinet is affordable and OK. When you wan't better check Palo Alto Networks. In case your offices are close (in milliseconds) to Zscaler cloud then you could also use this. Ask them to share information of their "cloud" locations and measure RTT from your offices. Note that all your traffic will go via Zscaler cloud (privacy, confidentiality). With Fortinet or similar appliance, you have possibilty to have VPN for your users with home office. Not sure when it's feasible with cloud solution from Zscaler. Like said really depends on where you are, what kind of business you are doing.
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Educational Organization
22%
Computer Software Company
14%
Comms Service Provider
6%
Manufacturing Company
6%
Educational Organization
24%
Computer Software Company
13%
Financial Services Firm
9%
Manufacturing Company
8%
 

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...
Which is the better security solution - Cisco Umbrella or Zscaler?
Cisco Umbrella and Zscaler Internet Access are two broad-spectrum Internet security solutions that I have tried. Zscaler Internet Access is a good option for carrying out multiple security functi...
Which is better, Zscaler internet access or Netsckope CASB?
We researched Netskope but ultimately chose Zscaler. Netskope is a cloud access security broker that helps identify and manage cloud applications, protecting your sensitive data from exfiltration....
 

Also Known As

FortiGate 60b, FortiGate 60c, FortiGate 80c, FortiGate 50b, FortiGate 200b, FortiGate 110c, FortiGate, Fortinet Firewall
ZIA
 

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
Ulster-Greene ARC, BanRegio, HDFC, Ralcorp Holdings Inc., British American Tobacco, Med America Billing Services Inc., Lanco Group, Aquafil, Telefonica, Swisscom, Brigade Group
Find out what your peers are saying about Fortinet FortiGate vs. Zscaler Internet Access and other solutions. Updated: January 2023.
824,053 professionals have used our research since 2012.