Try our new research platform with insights from 80,000+ expert users

Meraki MX vs Palo Alto Networks VM-Series comparison

Sponsored
 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary

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
7.2
Fortinet FortiGate offers cost-effective and efficient security with quick ROI, reducing expenses in data communication and management.
Sentiment score
7.4
Meraki MX reduces costs and management time while enhancing network efficiency and long-term cost-effectiveness despite initial high expenses.
Sentiment score
7.4
Palo Alto Networks VM-Series delivers high ROI with enhanced security, quick setup, and agility, justifying its higher cost.
They have good integration if you have multiple firewalls and it allows you to be able to push out policies to all of them at the same time.
Clients are now comfortable and not wasting productive hours on IT support.
If we used a similar solution that required a 'per seat' license per VPN, we would have literally spent over 100x what the solution cost us.
Customers can see data within a week, indicating a quick return on investment.
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
7.1
Fortinet FortiGate's customer service is praised for problem-solving but criticized for inconsistent response times and language barriers.
Sentiment score
8.0
Meraki MX's customer service is praised for 24/7 availability and efficiency, despite occasional delays and varying expertise levels.
Sentiment score
7.9
Palo Alto Networks VM-Series support is praised for efficiency but has occasional issues with delays and communication. Ratings vary.
The response time for a critical priority one issue was over four hours and they only responded because we threatened legal action for them violating our support contract.
They say they will respond in 24 hours, but I have received responses in a maximum of one hour, which is impressive.
The technical support from Fortinet FortiGate is 24 hours a day seven days a week, and 365 days a year.
The support quality could be improved.
The technical support is very good.
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
7.1
Fortinet FortiGate is scalable, flexible, and adaptable, though some face hardware upgrades and licensing challenges during deployment sizes.
Sentiment score
8.4
Meraki MX offers scalable solutions for various needs, efficiently supporting from small to enterprise operations despite some hardware limits.
Sentiment score
7.5
Palo Alto Networks VM-Series offers excellent scalability, suitable for various businesses with flexible cloud deployment and effective traffic management.
The devices will usually fail way before reaching the capacity advertised in the data sheets, especially when you activate several of the features the device can handle.
The solution is working and it is still stable even across all of these devices and servers.
We have over 10,000 users behind it.
If I were to rate it on a scale, it would receive nine out of ten, and with two-factor authentication, it would be ten.
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
7.9
Fortinet FortiGate is praised for its stability and reliability, with occasional issues improved by updates and configurations.
Sentiment score
8.2
Meraki MX is stable, excels in harsh environments, but faces occasional feature issues and sporadic reboots, mostly rated highly.
Sentiment score
8.4
Palo Alto Networks VM-Series is highly stable and reliable, with minor update issues and seamless high-load performance.
All of these issues were resolved in v5.2.
Stability has dramatically improved over the previous main version branch of FortiOS; 5.2.x and 5.4.x are stable enough for critical environments.
Overall, the devices have been very stable.
 

Room For Improvement

Fortinet FortiGate needs improvements in stability, usability, integration, cost-effectiveness, and documentation for enhanced user satisfaction and performance.
Meraki MX needs improved features, lower costs, more security, better integration, enhanced management, and combined platform functionalities.
Palo Alto Networks VM-Series needs modern interface updates, better scalability, and improved integration with AWS, Azure, and AI features.
FortiWAN supports OSPF but does not support the BGP protocol.
Fortinet VPN and DDoS capabilities are great, yet we need to provide a solution that enables CASB and integration to the cloud.
The relationship between their accounts team and my leadership team seems to be the reason for phasing out FortiGate.
There is a need for two-factor authentication, particularly for VPN and CloudProtect.
When managing the firewall, it involves a Strata Cloud web browser that requires improvement to enhance deployment ease and call center efficiency.
 

Setup Cost

Fortinet FortiGate offers competitive pricing with varied costs; affordable long-term licenses, though renewal complexity can accumulate costs.
Meraki MX pricing is high but valued for ease of use and features, with flexible licenses and negotiable discounts.
Palo Alto Networks VM-Series offers strong firewall capabilities but is more costly with a complex licensing model.
The cost of the original deployment fell below £5,000, and licenses are priced at around £3,000.
Every time you upgrade your license, you also get insurance for the equipment.
Overall, FortiGate is affordable.
The pricing is reasonable and reflects the quality of the product.
 

Valuable Features

Fortinet FortiGate offers advanced security features, user-friendly configuration, and comprehensive management tools, valued for robust protection and flexibility.
Meraki MX provides user-friendly, cloud-managed network security with features like AutoVPN, SD-WAN, traffic shaping, and automatic updates.
Palo Alto Networks VM-Series offers advanced security, easy deployment, and seamless integration with cloud services, enhancing network protection.
The two most valuable features are VPN and firewalling.
WiFi network for visitors isolated from our corporate WiFi network using only one unit
Allows for firewall rules to be programmed and named in a way that makes it 'readable'
We use these tools to prevent all known and unknown threats using Palo Alto Networks' Wildfire and other data filtering tools to gather information, analyze traffic, manage malicious traffic, and offer visibility, control, and attack prevention.
Palo Alto offers excellent security, with features such as email scanning, malware protection, and efficient VPN and antivirus capabilities.
 

Categories and Ranking

Fortinet FortiGate
Sponsored
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)
Meraki MX
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.4
Number of Reviews
62
Ranking in other categories
Unified Threat Management (UTM) (3rd)
Palo Alto Networks VM-Series
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.2
Number of Reviews
59
Ranking in other categories
Firewalls (10th), Advanced Threat Protection (ATP) (10th)
 

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…
Mike Cote - PeerSpot reviewer
Easy to manage and dashboard allows us to see and manage customers
The solution's most valuable feature is the Meraki dashboard, which is a single pane of glass. The dashboard allows us to see and manage all our Meraki customers. Since it's cloud-based management, we can remotely support Meraki, which makes it easy for us. We like to sell and deploy Meraki MX because of the ease of management.
AshwaniTyagi - PeerSpot reviewer
Advanced protection and good integration capabilities with good reliability
We use Palo Alto Networks VM-Series to offer services to our customers as a managed security service provider. We provide solutions and services to our customers across the globe. For example, if I want to host a firewall in the cloud or somewhere where the physical appliance is not a possibility…
report
Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Firewalls solutions are best for your needs.
824,053 professionals have used our research since 2012.
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Educational Organization
22%
Computer Software Company
14%
Comms Service Provider
6%
Manufacturing Company
6%
Educational Organization
27%
Computer Software Company
15%
Manufacturing Company
5%
Government
4%
Computer Software Company
17%
Financial Services Firm
11%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Government
6%
 

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 a...
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...
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 ...
Fortigate 60d vs. Meraki MX67 for a small company without a dedicated IT Department
We have Meraki Mx devices now, we are looking to replace them. But that is because the Meraki MX platform lacks SSL I...
Which is better - Meraki MX or Cisco ASA Firewall?
Cisco Adaptive Security Appliance (ASA) software is the operating software for the Cisco ASA suite. It supports netw...
What do you like most about Meraki MX?
I am happy with the technical support for the solution. I rate the technical support a ten out of ten.
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...
How does Azure Firewall compare with Palo Alto Networks VM Series?
Both products are very stable and easily scalable. The setup of Azure Firewall is easy and very user-friendly and the...
 

Also Known As

FortiGate 60b, FortiGate 60c, FortiGate 80c, FortiGate 50b, FortiGate 200b, FortiGate 110c, FortiGate, Fortinet Firewall
MX64, MX64W, MX84, MX100, MX400, MX600
No data available
 

Learn More

Video not 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
Hyatt, ONS
Warren Rogers Associates
Find out what your peers are saying about Meraki MX vs. Palo Alto Networks VM-Series and other solutions. Updated: December 2024.
824,053 professionals have used our research since 2012.