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Palo Alto Networks K2-Series vs Palo Alto Networks PA-Series comparison

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Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Sep 16, 2024

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
Sponsored
Ranking in Firewalls
2nd
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.2
Number of Reviews
327
Ranking in other categories
Software Defined WAN (SD-WAN) Solutions (1st), WAN Edge (1st)
Palo Alto Networks K2-Series
Ranking in Firewalls
28th
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.7
Number of Reviews
34
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Palo Alto Networks PA-Series
Ranking in Firewalls
15th
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.3
Number of Reviews
32
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of April 2025, in the Firewalls category, the mindshare of Fortinet FortiGate is 21.1%, up from 17.7% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Palo Alto Networks K2-Series is 0.0%, up from 0.0% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Palo Alto Networks PA-Series is 0.5%, up from 0.1% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Firewalls
 

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.
Krishnakumar M - PeerSpot reviewer
One of the best tools for the prevention of evasive threats
There is a feature called granular application controls, which I liked. Instead of relying on ports and IP addresses, they use AMP ID. This kind of solution is very good. Another valuable feature is the prevention of evasive threats, which is one of the best tools I've encountered. SSL decryption and app ID-based SSL decryption are also impressive, along with the integration with user ID. Identity-based policies ensuring only authorized users can access specific resources are excellent features. Normally, there is something called SIM or SCIM in IDA IDM, but this feature is provided on the box, which is exemplary.
Deminda Dilan - PeerSpot reviewer
Good for enterprise-level businesses and offers many features like URL filtering and antivirus capabilities
Palo Alto can improve the web application firewall (WAF) feature at layer 7. Currently, I don't think it's available. If they can improve that, it would be better. We wouldn't need to purchase a separate WAF solution because they already have advanced URL filtering. But I don't think that advanced URL filtering has the same features as a dedicated WAF, like F5 or other solutions. That is an area for improvement. If they can improve the WAF feature, customers won't have to buy a separate WAF solution. They could do it with the same Palo Alto firewall, perhaps through a subscription-based model. So the web application firewall feature has to be improved.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The solution is scalable."
"Fortinet FortiGate is a scalable solution."
"The most valuable features of Fortinet FortiGate are the rules and quality of service."
"The scalability is good in Fortinet FortiGate."
"The web filtering facility and application control are the most valuable features from the point of view of our clients. The VPN feature is also quite popular amongst our clients. Two-factor authentication is one of the good features in Fortinet. These features are important for the current scenario of security. Security has become a necessity nowadays. With cyber-attacks becoming more common, protecting an organization's data is one of the major tasks. It is also very stable and scalable, and it is very straightforward to configure. Their technical support is also good."
"The most valuable feature is the web filter."
"Easy to use support and licensing portal as well as activation process."
"Provides good firewall security and has great VPN features."
"Everything I could possibly want has already been implanted in the new version."
"The most valuable feature of Palo Alto Networks K2-Series is its management abilities. Additionally, the updates are very good."
"We've found the solution offers us good stability."
"The solution is reliable and scales well."
"As long as the solution is kept updated, it's pretty stable."
"Palo Alto's App-ID is what differentiates it from other competitors."
"K2-Series' best features include its scalability, which is the best on the market."
"I like the tool's WildFire feature."
"Palo Alto has predefined applications that you can control at the application level."
"It is stable when you set up something and put it into production. Once it works, you don't have other tasks or actions to perform."
"The solution is easy to manage."
"It is a scalable solution."
"The most effective features for threat prevention in the PA-Series are its integration with Cortex and the use of machine learning AI for advanced threat detection."
"It is scalable. But that depends on what model you are using."
"I like the tool's security and web filtering features."
"It is a stable solution. Stability-wise, I rate the solution a ten out of ten."
 

Cons

"The SD-WAN functionality is a bit overly complicated and not fully documented."
"Application management can be improved."
"They sometimes hide some features and if you want to enable them, you have to go in the CLI, enable the feature and configure it through the CLI. Customers, typically, like everything to be done by the GUI."
"The performance and speed are aspects of the solution that could always be improved upon."
"The support system could be improved."
"I could not configure sFlow from the FortiGate graphical user interface. I realized that the sFlow configuration is available only from the CLI, and discovered that sFlow is not supported on virtual interfaces, such as VDOM links, IPsec, or GRE."
"The solution lacks multi-language support."
"The Wi-Fi controller needs a lot of improvement."
"I would like to see the threat intelligence capability integrated with other vendors such as Cisco and Forcepoint."
"The technical support, and how they provide it to the client, needs to be improved."
"It would be really helpful to have dashboards that provide information on IOC blockings such as where and how many. It will also be good to know how many hashing files have been reported. It would also be nice to have easy access to this information. Otherwise, it's a painful, manual task."
"The password function of the solution could be improved. Additionally, some of the processes take too long to complete."
"They should implement the features that the other firewalls have."
"It would be nice if it could easily be integrated with Elasticsearch or Nagios."
"Higher levels of support are excellent but new users may need additional options."
"Sometimes there are interactions with support or the provider that are not ideal."
"The support provided by the solution is not that good."
"The UI definitely needs work. In my opinion, the UI could be simpler and more user-friendly for the average user."
"With Palo Alto Networks PA-Series, I find that the support team takes a long time to resolve the issues that a user may face during the use of the product."
"Pricing flexibility could be an aspect worth considering, as it has been a concern for some of our clients."
"Compared to other vendors, the solution's community should be strong enough to solve the problems engineers face."
"The web interface is slow."
"The product's gateway services can be improved."
"There is room for improvement in streamlining this process for smoother transitions."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Its licenses cost the same for different subscription plans."
"The price of Fortinet FortiGate is the lowest in the market."
"I would say that all things considered, the pricing is pretty good."
"The license of Fortinet FortiGate should be reduced."
"While Fortinet FortiGate has a higher price point compared to Sophos XG, its user-friendly interface justifies the cost."
"The price of FortiGate is comparable to that of most other firewall solutions and is more affordable than Cisco."
"FortiGate's pricing falls within the mid-range when compared to other leading firewall solutions."
"Fortinet FortiGate's price can be reduced."
"The price of this solution is too high."
"Palo Alto Networks K2-Series is an expensive solution, the price could be reduced. They are more expensive than some of their competitors."
"It is an expensive solution."
"Palo Alto firewalls are very expensive."
"This product is designed for large companies. The price would not be suitable for a small or medium size company."
"When comparing Palo Alto Networks K2-Series with other solutions it is on the higher end of the price scale."
"It would be nice if they lowered their prices for small businesses."
"We are on an annual license to use Palo Alto Networks K2-Series."
"It is a very expensive solution."
"This product has an affordable and reasonable price point."
"The prices are pretty high, definitely on the upper end."
"With Palo Alto, even when you enable all the modules, it still provides the exact throughput they advertise."
"Palo Alto’s pricing is way higher than any other solution provider."
"The product is offered to users at high prices compared to the pricing model of the other vendors in the market."
"The product is expensive."
"Compared to other vendors, Palo Alto Networks PA-Series is expensive."
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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
27%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Energy/Utilities Company
8%
Media Company
7%
Computer Software Company
17%
Manufacturing Company
13%
University
9%
Comms Service Provider
7%
 

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 ...
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 is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Palo Alto Networks K2-Series?
The pricing for the Palo Alto Networks K2-Series solution is affordable and there are no complaints about the licensing.
What do you like most about Palo Alto Networks PA-Series?
The reporting feature and application ID functionality within Palo Alto Networks PA-Series are incredibly valuable to...
What needs improvement with Palo Alto Networks PA-Series?
The interface of Palo Alto Networks PA-Series should be made much more user-friendly.
 

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
State of North Dakota, SEGA, Alameda County Office of Education, Temple University, VERGE, CAME
Information Not Available
Find out what your peers are saying about Palo Alto Networks K2-Series vs. Palo Alto Networks PA-Series and other solutions. Updated: April 2025.
848,207 professionals have used our research since 2012.