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Fortinet FortiOS vs Fortinet FortiWeb comparison

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Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Apr 20, 2025

Review summaries and opinions

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

ROI

Sentiment score
7.4
Fortinet FortiGate offers cost-effective security and performance improvements, boosting user productivity and reducing operational costs.
Sentiment score
8.0
Fortinet FortiOS offers scalability, ease of use, and competitive pricing, enhancing ROI despite borderline scenarios in some cases.
Sentiment score
7.3
Users experience significant cost savings, enhanced security, and efficient performance with easy deployment of Fortinet FortiWeb, despite some measurement challenges.
Clients are now comfortable and not wasting productive hours on IT support.
We have experienced a positive return on investment by utilizing Fortinet's products.
There's definitely an ROI. Having a centralized way of managing and applying policies across the entire organization always helps.
Once it is deployed, I do not have to revisit or replace the hardware.
The pricing of FortiOS is competitive and reasonable compared to other leading products such as Palo Alto and Check Point.
Fortinet is strong in terms of cost and compatibility with other vendors.
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
7.0
Fortinet FortiGate's support varies; praised for responsiveness but criticized for delays, with location impacting experiences and documentation praised.
Sentiment score
7.7
Fortinet FortiOS support is praised for responsiveness but criticized for slow responses and underqualified teams on complex issues.
Sentiment score
6.8
Fortinet FortiWeb's customer support is inconsistent, praised for responsiveness but criticized for slow responses and varying regional satisfaction.
He explained that it required a command line configuration, as it couldn't be done through the graphical user interface.
I would rate their support for FortiGate a nine out of ten.
They offer very accurate solutions.
I would rate them nine or ten out of ten.
Fortinet technical support is very responsive and helpful.
Support engineers sometimes lack eagerness to assist with issues such as the memory problem.
The expertise of engineers varies across different time zones, affecting the effectiveness of the support provided, especially during our daytime.
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
7.3
Fortinet FortiGate is scalable and flexible, but may require hardware changes and face integration issues with other vendors.
Sentiment score
8.8
Fortinet FortiOS excels in scalability, supporting diverse environments and expansion, despite some hardware limitations requiring forward planning.
Sentiment score
7.2
Fortinet FortiWeb effectively scales, supporting thousands, though upfront sizing and hardware constraints are key for optimal performance.
They scale up really well from smaller models like the FortiGate 40 and 50 to bigger sites with the FortiGate 100 for more throughput - up to enterprise datacenters.
The variation comes in terms of the interfaces and throughputs, but from a security perspective, you get the same benefit, irrespective of whether you have an entry-level unit or an enterprise.
You can choose a cheaper model if you only have 20-30 users, but you will need to spend more money for a FortiGate solution that covers 5,000.
When customers' networks grow and needs expand, we can easily switch between models to trade up devices.
It allows for the expansion of users and devices without additional licensing costs.
Fortinet FortiOS is scalable, allowing the addition of users and firewalls as required.
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
7.9
Fortinet FortiGate is generally stable and reliable, though firmware updates and resource intensity may temporarily affect performance.
Sentiment score
7.1
Fortinet FortiOS is praised for high stability, with rare issues quickly resolved, outperforming competitors like Cisco and SonicWall.
Sentiment score
7.9
Fortinet FortiWeb offers stable performance with rare issues, quickly resolved through support, ensuring reliable high-traffic management.
Improper handling of these can lead to a memory surge, a well-known bug that can cause the entire system to freeze.
It is less stable than Palo Alto Networks and Check Point firewalls because there are lots of bugs in the latest firmware.
We have not had any problems with the operating systems or maintenance of subscriptions.
While the product is largely stable, it sometimes faces memory issues in specific versions like 11 OE, which can be disruptive.
Stability is a seven out of ten because during version migrations, and sometimes with new versions, Fortinet is not as good.
I would rate the stability of FortiOS as an eight out of ten.
We have not faced any significant issues during deployments.
 

Room For Improvement

Fortinet FortiGate needs enhancements in stability, interface, pricing, VPN performance, third-party integration, and technical support.
Fortinet FortiOS needs enhanced VPN, hardware compatibility, reduced update size, improved GUI functionality, and better pricing and reporting tools.
Fortinet FortiWeb needs enhancements in throughput, cloud presence, integration, and user-friendly features to improve competitiveness and scalability.
If I have put 10 GBPS of throughput on a firewall and I enable all of these features available, such as IPS or UTM functionalities, the throughput comes down to 1 GBPS.
By providing an integrated solution, users would have access to all features and functionalities within a single window, eliminating the need to navigate through multiple windows.
Investing in a solution that can accommodate such growth would be more cost-effective than repeatedly purchasing new hardware.
Fortinet FortiOS faces memory issues, which can lead to unexpected downtimes.
There should be more documentation on how to use the CLI or how to perform CLI versions of tasks that can be done through the GUI.
Compared to other market leaders like Palo Alto and Check Point, FortiOS has many bugs in its initial releases.
The cloud-based security service of Fortinet FortiWeb could be enhanced to match the level of providers like Cloudflare.
 

Setup Cost

Fortinet FortiGate is cost-effective, offers flexible licensing, and includes most features with straightforward pricing despite some high renewal costs.
Fortinet FortiOS is cost-effective initially but pricier for renewals, suitable for mid-sized to large enterprises.
Fortinet FortiWeb offers competitive, cost-effective pricing with flexible options, appealing to enterprises for value, transparency, and performance.
Secure SD-WAN is free of charge.
The most expensive part is the renewal of the license subscription.
FortiGate is priced lower than Palo Alto.
It is an affordable solution for us.
Fortinet products are somewhat pricey, similar to Cisco equivalents, however, they have justified their price point.
I am satisfied with the pricing, licensing, and setup costs of FortiOS, rating it nine out of ten compared to other familiar leading firewalls.
Fortinet FortiWeb is cost-effective compared to solutions like F5.
 

Valuable Features

Fortinet FortiGate offers robust security and management features, valued for ease of use, cost-effectiveness, and consistent performance.
Fortinet FortiOS is praised for user-friendly features, robust threat detection, and seamless integration, making it a top security choice.
Fortinet FortiWeb offers advanced security features with seamless integration, intuitive interface, and enhanced threat detection using AI and machine learning.
The firewall, IPS, and VPN functions are the most valuable features.
FortiGate provides solid protection against viruses, malware, and other threats.
Within the same dashboard, you get to see the security profiles, the type of traffic that's passing through, the top applications that are being consumed, etc.
It is user-friendly when it comes to turning on features, and it has been reliable and effective.
The threat intelligence in FortiOS is very high, and the system is scalable without additional licensing costs.
The solution offers good threat intelligence, which is crucial for our customers' security purposes.
The machine learning-based threat detection is significant, as it uses a learning method that eases the configuration burden, making it very useful.
 

Categories and Ranking

Fortinet FortiGate
Sponsored
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.2
Number of Reviews
328
Ranking in other categories
Firewalls (2nd), Software Defined WAN (SD-WAN) Solutions (1st), WAN Edge (1st)
Fortinet FortiOS
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.9
Number of Reviews
80
Ranking in other categories
Firewalls (17th)
Fortinet FortiWeb
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.7
Number of Reviews
95
Ranking in other categories
Web Application Firewall (WAF) (5th)
 

Mindshare comparison

Firewalls
Web Application Firewall (WAF)
 

Featured Reviews

EhabAli - PeerSpot reviewer
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.
Harshama Silva - PeerSpot reviewer
We have improved network security with user-friendly controls and high threat intelligence
FortiOS is very user-friendly and easy to configure for L1, L2, and L3 personnel. Its web filtering, application control, and IPS features are very user-friendly, easy to manage, and deploy. The threat intelligence in FortiOS is very high, and the system is scalable without additional licensing costs. FortiOS allows us to expand the number of users and devices as our network needs grow.
Kacem CHAMMALI - PeerSpot reviewer
Even if an attacker detects the IP address, they can't connect directly to the server due to FortiWeb
The xFF, or X-Forwarded-For feature, IP reputation, and protected hostname. We can block access using the IP address, so no one can connect to our web server or website using the real IP. They need to use the FQDN instead. Even if an attacker detects the IP address, they can't connect directly to the server due to FortiWeb and the option to protect the hostname. All traffic passes through FortiWeb. Machine learning capabilities in FortiWeb: I don't use machine learning all the time. In the initial phase of FortiWeb deployment, we use the learning process to detect the traffic passing through FortiGate to our website.
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Educational Organization
21%
Computer Software Company
14%
Comms Service Provider
7%
Manufacturing Company
6%
Computer Software Company
16%
Financial Services Firm
9%
Government
9%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Educational Organization
41%
Computer Software Company
8%
Financial Services Firm
7%
Government
5%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

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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...
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?
I rate the pricing for FortiOS as eight or nine out of ten. It is an affordable solution for us.
What do you like most about Fortinet FortiWeb?
The WAF profiles has been effective at mitigating web-based threats.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Fortinet FortiWeb?
Fortinet FortiWeb is cost-effective compared to solutions like F5. It offers strong performance for the price, provid...
What needs improvement with Fortinet FortiWeb?
The cloud-based security service of Fortinet FortiWeb could be enhanced to match the level of providers like Cloudfla...
 

Also Known As

FortiGate 60b, FortiGate 60c, FortiGate 80c, FortiGate 50b, FortiGate 200b, FortiGate 110c, FortiGate, Fortinet Firewall
No data available
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
Black Gold Regional Schools, Amadeus Hospitality, Jefferson County, Chunghwa Telecom, City of Boroondara, Dimension Data
Lush, Barnabas Health, Options, Riverside Healthcare, Hillsbourough County Schools, Columbia Public Schools, Schiller AG
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