In my company, I'm using SSL VPN to connect external users who connect to our firewall to do some maintenance work. We have approximately 50 sites in our company and most of them are using Fortinet FortiGate.
Systems & Network Administrator at Giampaolo Group Inc.
Straightforward policies, flexible, and high availability
Pros and Cons
- "Fortinet FortiGate's most valuable features are ease of use, flexibility, and most of the configuration we can be done using the GUI. When we compare Fortinet FortiGate with other solutions the firewall policy are very easy to understand."
- "When we cluster the two Fortinet FortiGate boxes together we have some issues."
What is our primary use case?
What is most valuable?
Fortinet FortiGate's most valuable features are ease of use, flexibility, and most of the configuration we can be done using the GUI. When we compare Fortinet FortiGate with other solutions the firewall policy are very easy to understand.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using Fortinet FortiGate for approximately one year.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
Fortinet FortiGate has worked very well for what we are using it for. The stability is very good. It has very high availability.
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Fortinet FortiGate
March 2025

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What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
When we cluster the two Fortinet FortiGate boxes together we have some issues.
When one of the boxes is active, we can't see the HA box in the same console.
How are customer service and support?
We have not used the support from Fortinet FortiGate. We do all the support of the solution internally.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup of Fortinet FortiGate was very simple and straightforward.
What about the implementation team?
We did the implementation ourselves.
What other advice do I have?
I rate Fortinet FortiGate an eight out of ten.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
On-premises
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Network Engineer at a comms service provider with 51-200 employees
Useful resources, low price, and reliable
Pros and Cons
- "The most valuable features of Fortinet FortiGate are the ease of use and there are several operating systems that can include the hardware capacities. In the newer releases, the resources were more useful because they were included in the operating system."
- "The platform's interface could improve."
What is our primary use case?
We use both newer and older models of Fortinet FortiGate.
Fortinet FortiGate is used for protecting the perimeter network. Our customers require a solution that secures the network traffic or the communication with the central site.
The communication between the remote site and the central site is with the VPN and we need to analyze the traffic to assure security. Additionally, we use antivirus and IPS for protection. We can see the traffic when applying these objects with security.
What is most valuable?
The most valuable features of Fortinet FortiGate are the ease of use and there are several operating systems that can include the hardware capacities. In the newer releases, the resources were more useful because they were included in the operating system.
What needs improvement?
The platform's interface could improve.
The client and the Fortinet FortiGate have good integration, but there are times it doesn't work as it should. The union with the two technologies, endpoint, and firewall, doesn't work well. There are some things that do not work.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using Fortinet FortiGate for approximately 10 years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
This is a good solution for new clients.
I have found Fortinet FortiGate to be stable.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
There are times Fortinet FortiGate can not be scalable.
We have 20 people using the solution.
How are customer service and support?
The technical support is good. However, there are some problems with the new technology for the new version of the operating system that the support does not know much about.
We have had two or three cases when we had a problem and the support was very good and responsive. We had an immediate response.
How was the initial setup?
The implementation of Fortinet FortiGate is very easy. The equipment is simple to deploy.
What about the implementation team?
There is little maintenance required, and what needs to be maintained is easy to do.
Most projects required one engineer. If the project requires several branches, with simultaneous deployments, we can need more than three engineers.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
The price of Fortinet FortiGate is the lowest in the market.
What other advice do I have?
I rate Fortinet FortiGate an eight out of ten.
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: Partner
Buyer's Guide
Fortinet FortiGate
March 2025

Learn what your peers think about Fortinet FortiGate. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: March 2025.
844,944 professionals have used our research since 2012.
Pre-sales Analyst at Algar Telecom
Simple configuration, intuitive graphical interface, and efficient
Pros and Cons
- "The most valuable feature of Fortinet FortiGate is security. They are known for efficiency and are on the top of Gartner Quadrant reviews. Fortinet FortiGate has an easy-to-use platform with a good graphical interface. The configuration is simple and the solution provides an overall good layer of security."
- "Fortinet FortiGate could improve by having more storage in the hardware for log data."
What is our primary use case?
Depending on the final cost and any additional costs we deploy Fortinet FortiGate in the cloud or we can deploy on-premises in data centers.
What is most valuable?
The most valuable feature of Fortinet FortiGate is security. They are known for efficiency and are on the top of Gartner Quadrant reviews. Fortinet FortiGate has an easy-to-use platform with a good graphical interface. The configuration is simple and the solution provides an overall good layer of security.
What needs improvement?
Fortinet FortiGate could improve by having more storage in the hardware for log data.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using Fortinet FortiGate for approximately three years.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
Here in Brazil, we're going through difficult economic times and the tax on the dollar is high. All the solutions from minor competitors are growing in the market. The prices have come more competitive.
What other advice do I have?
I rate Fortinet FortiGate a nine out of ten.
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
IT Infrastructure Specialist at a government with 1,001-5,000 employees
A resilient, secure, and scalable solution that provides a secure connection for remote work.
Pros and Cons
- "The web filtering feature and the intrusion protection system are the most valuable. It is a resilient appliance. I never had an issue with it in terms of any security breaches."
- "Its reporting capabilities can be improved. It should have some out-of-the-box reporting capabilities and some degree of customization. The basic reporting that it currently has is not sufficient to create more usable reports. It needs some sort of out-of-the-box reporting. They try to make customers purchase FortiAnalyzer for this kind of reporting, which is an additional cost. Other firewall vendors, such as SonicWall and Sophos, provide this sort of reporting without any additional cost."
What is our primary use case?
We utilize the services to ensure the stability of our network and clients protection from external treats. With the recent pandemic mobile working have increased in demand and Fortinet have easily bridge that gap to continue to support employee needs.
How has it helped my organization?
It has provided us the ability to work remotely during the pandemic. It opens a secure connection to the office for an employee working remotely from home.
What is most valuable?
The web filtering feature and the intrusion protection system are the most valuable.
It is a resilient appliance.
What needs improvement?
Its reporting capabilities can be improved. Some out-of-the-box reports needs to be able to provide usable data for example for web monitoring and reporting or browsing patterns and details. Some customers does not require any forensic type reporting and may not want to invest in all the features offered by the FortiAnalyzer.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using this solution for the past seven years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
It is stable.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
It is scalable. There are no issues. In terms of the number of users who use FortiGate, we have only about ten users for remote working. Only selected users utilize this remote capability.
How are customer service and technical support?
Technical support is good. If I have an inquiry or request, it is usually addressed within the same business day or within the 24 hours period as per the vendor's support agreement.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
I was on a Check Point platform, and then I migrated to FortiGate. Migrating from the Check Point environment to the FortiGate environment was new for me. We rely on a vendor for support. The vendor was kind of phasing out the support of the Check Point product. That's why we switched.
How was the initial setup?
We are currently on 80D, and it was a direct upgrade. The deployment didn't take that long because it was a direct replacement or upgrade from an older appliance 60D to 80D. It was easy for the vendor to deploy because they saved the policies and other things that were in use for the older appliance and had to be migrated over to the new appliance. It was done within maybe a day or two.
What about the implementation team?
We outsourced it to a local vendor, and it was deployed by the vendor. We do our own internal monitoring, and the vendor does the actual set up. So far, our experience with the vendor has been excellent in terms of response. Their technical staff is also very knowledgeable.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
We just pay an affordable flat monthly fee to the vendor for the monitoring and support.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
I learned about different options and their benefits and listened to vendors' proposals for migration. We evaluated pfSense, which is open source. We were trying to determine whether to go for open source as opposed to an industry-standard and proprietary product. I also engaged other vendors who offered Sophos technology and SonicWall. I trusted the vendor-supported product and considered the cost associated with the migration. The current vendor could upgrade it with no implementation cost, and we just had to pay a monthly service fee or rental.
Based on the research, FortiGate seemed like a reasonable firewall, and it is also more or less recognized and trusted all over, so I trusted FortiGate. Overall, I was happy with the performance of the FortiGate, so I kind of stuck with that one.
What other advice do I have?
I would definitely recommend this product, but there are other products in the market, such as Sophos and SonicWall, that are just as effective.
We will be using this solution for at least the next three years. We renewed the license for three years in August of this year. We are thinking of upgrading to a newer appliance before that.
I would rate Fortinet FortiGate an eight out of ten. I am pleased with this solution and the features it offers right now. It just needs minor adjustments in terms of reporting and staying up to date with industry standards.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
On-premises
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Network Manager at a transportation company with 5,001-10,000 employees
Installation is super easy, stable operations, and has prompt and responsive customer service
Pros and Cons
- "The product is easy to use and is stable. The SV1 functionality is a benefit."
- "Some of the software stability could improve."
What is our primary use case?
We use it as a firewall for securing our HQ and branch.
What is most valuable?
The product is easy to use and is stable. The SV1 functionality is a benefit.
What needs improvement?
A feature for bandwidth monitoring and the ability to have more bandwidth testing would be useful to include in future releases.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using the solution for just about a year.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
We have approximately 40,000 employees and the product is very scalable. The different hardware units are quite good and are an appropriate size for enterprise-sized businesses.
How are customer service and technical support?
They're very prompt and responsive, and very helpful. In our experience, they responded on the same day and the next day for fixes.
How was the initial setup?
The installation was super easy, we were up and running in less than 50 minutes.
What about the implementation team?
We did it the implementation ourselves. We used an in house team of four to do the deployment.
What was our ROI?
Some of the software stability could improve.
What other advice do I have?
I would recommend FortiGate to others.
I rate Fortinet FortiGate an eight out of ten
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
On-premises
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Directorate at a wholesaler/distributor with 51-200 employees
A user friendly solution that helps protect us against spam
Pros and Cons
- "It is user friendly, and has all the features you need."
- "I feel that the reporting needs to be improved."
What is our primary use case?
Our primary use case for this solution is to protect ourselves against email spam.
How has it helped my organization?
This solution helps to protect us against spam and offers features like intrusion prevention.
What is most valuable?
The most important feature is that it's easy to use. It is user-friendly and has all the features you need. You can have IDS (Intrusion detection systems) and IPS (Intrusion prevention systems) in just one device. You don't need multiples.
What needs improvement?
The reporting needs to be improved. Also, the VPN (Virtual private network) monitoring needs improvement.
Beyond these improvements, I cannot think of any additional features that I would like.
For how long have I used the solution?
More than five years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
It is a stable solution. We rarely have problems.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
Regarding scalability, we have bought a very large box, so it meets all of our requirements.
We have a big company, with fifteen hundred end points.
How are customer service and technical support?
The technical support is excellent.
How was the initial setup?
I was not there when the initial setup was done.
Currently, we have five staff in charge of maintenance.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
Each feature costs money, so it is important to study your needs.
What other advice do I have?
Before implementing this solution, you have to study your network first, and then consider your needs. Decide what features you need and what features you don't need.
It is important to know what is required from the device because they come in very different models. There are different features and each feature costs money, so you need to be prepared so that you can optimize your cost. You don't want to end up buying something that you won't use in the future.
I would rate this solution eight out of ten.
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
It has improved the security posture and visibility of our traffic
Pros and Cons
- "Easy to use support and licensing portal as well as activation process."
- "I would like to see improvements made to the dashboard and UI, as well as to the reporting."
What is our primary use case?
E-commerce environment, enterprise data center.
How has it helped my organization?
It has improved the security posture and visibility of our traffic. The OS and the firmware updates are very straightforward.
What is most valuable?
All the features are very good, straightforward licensing, Fortinet product integration, standardized FortiOS and automatic uninterruptable firmware upgrade. Easy to use support and licensing portal as well as activation process.
What needs improvement?
I would like to see improvements made to the dashboard and UI, as well as to the reporting. I would also like them to consider offering more predefined security templates.
For how long have I used the solution?
One to three years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
No issues.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
No issues.
How are customer service and technical support?
Customer Service:
An eight and a half out of 10.
Technical Support:
They are able to identify an issue and resolve it within a pretty short period of time.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
We previously used Cisco ASA. We switched to Fortinet Fortigate because it was easy to manage, and it uses a Single OS for the whole product. We were also able to learn how to use it very quickly.
How was the initial setup?
It is very straightforward.
What about the implementation team?
We implemented it ourselves with some assistance from vendor. Because of the limited assistance from the vendor, we do not know what the level of expertise was.
What was our ROI?
No
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
They have very competitive solutions across the entire product line.
They also offer very clear licensing and pricing.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
Checkpoint, Cisco, Palo Alto, Sonicwall, Huawei, and Sophos.
What other advice do I have?
I found that the memory usage for the Fortigate firewall are relatively higher than other firewall brand when compared to same traffic volume. It might be the scan engine do their job well or the scan engine not well tuning. If there is a details information about this would be good.
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
IT Infrastructure managerInformation an Communication Services Manager at a agriculture with 5,001-10,000 employees
Great load balancing feature, secure and stable
Pros and Cons
- "Good load balancing feature."
- "We have an issue with hotel guest vouchers."
What is our primary use case?
We've used this solution for the guest portal for our client and we also use it to secure the network of our firm. I am the IT infrastructure manager and we are customers of Fortinet.
What is most valuable?
I like the fact that we don't have to use our IP address and that it roams. I also like the load balancing feature which allows you to attach several internet connections and load balance.
What needs improvement?
We have an issue with the license when it expires because we're unable to use the computers. We are in the hotel industry and there's an issue with vouchers when guests come in wanting to use them.
For how long have I used the solution?
I've been using this solution for five years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
It's a stable solution. We had some issues after we upgraded but on the whole it's stable.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
We don't have scalability requirements so I can't comment.
How are customer service and technical support?
We had some issues with the local support, particularly with regard to purchasing the subscription. It took a very long time and at one point the license had expired and it took a while to sort out.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup is simple and doesn't take much time.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
This is an affordable solution.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
FortiGate is the most effective solution for us and it's a cheaper option to Check Point or Palo Alto which we looked at. They are both very expensive.
What other advice do I have?
I would rate this solution an eight out of 10.
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.

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Updated: March 2025
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In fact I only apply on our DMZ firewall rules I only get the same result.