We use Fortinet FortiMail primarily for our email security. We're also using the solution for its anti-spam, antivirus, and sandbox features.
Head of Security Management at Ipko Telecommunications
Has a SPAM filtering feature and gives better protection against SPAM, phishing attempts, and ransomware; provides good support
Pros and Cons
- "Fortinet FortiMail has a lot of valuable features. It works great. It also has an antivirus feature. Support for Fortinet FortiMail was also great when my team wanted to block some geographic IPs, but couldn't figure out how to do it. The support team provided clear communication on how to resolve that issue. Another valuable feature of Fortinet FortiMail is SPAM filtering which tells you how many spammy emails you've received. Based on my current use cases, I'm happy with Fortinet FortiMail."
- "What's missing in Fortinet FortiMail is some sandbox information for some of the emails. It's probably configuration-based, where it could be configured on some emails. For example, there was malware in some emails that weren't detected in some of the Fortinet FortiMail sessions, but it should have been configured from my company's end to better catch scam emails, but overall, the solution is okay. At the moment, my company is okay with the current Fortinet FortiMail offerings, but in the past, because of a lack of understanding, my team wasn't able to quickly implement the geographical IP blocking feature. It was time-consuming to implement that feature, but that wasn't a fault of Fortinet FortiMail. The issue was from my team's end, but just by emailing the support team, that issue was resolved, so right now, there isn't any additional feature I'd like added to Fortinet FortiMail."
What is our primary use case?
How has it helped my organization?
Fortinet FortiMail has been beneficial to my company. In the past, there were a lot of SPAM and phishing attempts, but after Fortinet FortiMail was implemented, it gave better protection against SPAM, phishing attempts, and ransomware. The solution detects emails received from non-reputable sources. You can also finetune Fortinet FortiMail based on your requirements. For example, the solution used to quarantine even safe emails, but after finetuning it, Fortinet FortiMail now only blocks and quarantines unsafe emails.
What is most valuable?
Fortinet FortiMail has a lot of valuable features. It works great. It also has an antivirus feature.
Support for Fortinet FortiMail was also great when my team wanted to block some geographic IPs, but couldn't figure out how to do it. The support team provided clear communication on how to resolve that issue.
Another valuable feature of Fortinet FortiMail is SPAM filtering which tells you how many spammy emails you've received.
Based on my current use cases, I'm happy with Fortinet FortiMail.
What needs improvement?
What's missing in Fortinet FortiMail is some sandbox information for some of the emails. It's probably configuration-based, where it could be configured on some emails. For example, there was malware in some emails that weren't detected in some of the Fortinet FortiMail sessions, but it should have been configured from my company's end to better catch scam emails, but overall, the solution is okay.
At the moment, my company is okay with the current Fortinet FortiMail offerings, but in the past, because of a lack of understanding, my team wasn't able to quickly implement the geographical IP blocking feature. It was time-consuming to implement that feature, but that wasn't a fault of Fortinet FortiMail. The issue was from my team's end, but just by emailing the support team, that issue was resolved, so right now, there isn't any additional feature I'd like added to Fortinet FortiMail.
Buyer's Guide
Fortinet FortiMail
March 2025

Learn what your peers think about Fortinet FortiMail. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: March 2025.
844,944 professionals have used our research since 2012.
For how long have I used the solution?
We started using Fortinet FortiMail just this year, in particular, in March.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
Fortinet FortiMail is a stable solution.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
Fortinet FortiMail is a scalable solution.
How are customer service and support?
The Fortinet FortiMail team provided great support. On a scale of one to five, I'll give it the highest score, which is five.
How would you rate customer service and support?
Positive
How was the initial setup?
Though I wasn't part of the team that installed Fortinet FortiMail, my impression was that the installation was straightforward because it had some documentation on how to do it, and it was easy, so you won't have much trouble installing Fortinet FortiMail. You just need to learn the dashboard first, which is normal for first-time users of any other application. The solution did have a very user-friendly GUI.
Fortinet FortiMail implementation didn't take long. You first put it on the testing platform with a test domain, then you implement it in a production environment, where you'll learn how to use it, and determine how to best put the solution in production. Next, you set up or orient email traffic to the platform, then let the admins and Fortinet FortiMail support team do the work in terms of finetuning the solution and figuring out how to implement it based on company requirements. Though I don't have exact information on how long the deployment took, it was just a short period. For example, for Fortinet FortiMail to be up and running, it took just a couple of days.
What about the implementation team?
My company worked with Fortinet FortiMail support in implementing the solution in the test environment, then in production.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
My company has a three-year license for Fortinet FortiMail, including the support, but I'm not so sure of how much the solution costs because I'm not part of the procurement team. What's more important to me is the functionality and stability of Fortinet FortiMail.
In terms of Fortinet FortiMail licensing, the cost is calculated based on company requirements. For example, it's based on the features you need for your environment, on capacity, how many CPUs you have, etc.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
We evaluated other options before deciding on Fortinet FortiMail. We tested Fortinet FortiMail first, discussed it with others, then went with Fortinet FortiMail.
What other advice do I have?
My company is using the latest version of Fortinet FortiMail.
Approximately six hundred to seven hundred people have mailboxes within the company, but in terms of Fortinet FortiMail usage, my company has five administrators for it. Two administrators deal with cybersecurity issues and security checks, then the other two administrators focus on the network, while a system administrator deals directly with product health. I'd say that there are three standard users of Fortinet FortiMail and two backup users.
I would recommend Fortinet FortiMail to others looking into implementing the solution for business purposes.
My rating for Fortinet FortiMail is ten out of ten.
My company is a customer of Fortinet FortiMail.
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.

Manager Information Security at NCCPL
Has good stability, but its scanning features need improvement for authentic emails
Pros and Cons
- "It is a scalable solution."
- "Sometimes, authentic emails get blocked by the solution's firewall."
What is our primary use case?
We use the solution to scan the email for phishing or spam. We filter those emails, send them to the server and then deliver them to the end users.
What is most valuable?
The solution has all the essential email scanning features, including bulk scanning, fraud detection, etc.
What needs improvement?
Sometimes, authentic emails get blocked by the solution's firewall. In this case, our network team has to keep tuning the device from time to time.
For how long have I used the solution?
We have been using the solution for the last five years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
It is a stable solution.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
It is a scalable solution. We have 3000 solution users in our organization.
How are customer service and support?
The solution's technical support is good.
How would you rate customer service and support?
Positive
How was the initial setup?
The solution's initial setup process is easy. In case of any difficulties, we contact the vendor's support team. The process involves configuring the policies of the device as part of the information security.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
The solution is reasonably priced compared to Cisco.
What other advice do I have?
It is an old and excellent product. You can use it on your organization's core system. I rate it a seven out of ten.
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Buyer's Guide
Fortinet FortiMail
March 2025

Learn what your peers think about Fortinet FortiMail. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: March 2025.
844,944 professionals have used our research since 2012.
Network Security Consultant at SigmaTelecom
Provides virus outbreak prevention and FortiSandbox integration
Pros and Cons
- "The most valuable features of Fortinet FortiMail are its virus outbreak prevention and FortiSandbox integration."
- "Fortinet FortiMail should allow more flexibility with the content rules."
What is our primary use case?
I have one deployment, which is a service provider, so it's working in a multi-tenancy environment. At least ten customers are being handled by this multi-tenant Fortinet FortiMail. We use Fortinet FortiMail mainly for incoming messages and also as a server.
How has it helped my organization?
In the first presentation we did, we were able to demonstrate to our client that 98.2% of the emails they received were spam emails. Furthermore, out of the spam emails, around 2,000 messages were found to contain viruses. Fortinet FortiMail was able to block these 2,000 virus-infected messages that would have otherwise gone unnoticed. Since we use Fortinet FortiMail as a multi-tenant environment in our cloud, we also save our customers' bandwidth as the spam emails are not downloaded.
What is most valuable?
The most valuable features of Fortinet FortiMail are its virus outbreak prevention and FortiSandbox integration.
What needs improvement?
Fortinet FortiMail should allow more flexibility with the content rules. FortiMail does not allow users to use the content itself as a matching policy attribute. This limits the flexibility of policy configuration, and we have to adapt by using specific sources to apply specific content filtering.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using Fortinet FortiMail for the past seven to eight years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
I rate Fortinet FortiMail a nine out of ten for stability.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
I rate Fortinet FortiMail an eight out of ten for scalability. We are expanding our customer base with Fortinet FortiMail because security is now perceived as an investment in Brazil.
How was the initial setup?
Fortinet FortiMail's deployment is straightforward. It's not like plug-and-play, but if you use the default configuration, you can enable very strict security without digging into the configurations.
What was our ROI?
Since we started offering the anti-spam with FortiMail as a service, we have moved from OpEx to CapEx.
What other advice do I have?
I am using the latest version of Fortinet FortiMail. Users need to understand the SMTP standards to configure Fortinet FortiMail properly. If you make mistakes in the configuration, you may allow users on the internet to use your email as an MTA. This was the mistake committed by one of our customers who tried to deploy the solution himself without proper knowledge. You must have some knowledge about the solution so you can internally configure it.
Overall, I rate Fortinet FortiMail an eight out of ten.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
Hybrid Cloud
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Tecnical manager at Watronix Information Technology Ltd
A stable tool to prevent phishing attacks
Pros and Cons
- "The most valuable feature of the solution is the tool's ability to prevent phishing attacks."
- "The sandboxing features are not well done in Fortinet FortiMail, making it an area of improvement."
What is our primary use case?
My company provides the tool to our clients or customers who want to control phishing and need a tool that offers DLP functionalities.
What is most valuable?
The most valuable feature of the solution is the tool's ability to prevent phishing attacks.
What needs improvement?
I haven't worked with Fortinet FortiMail competitors, but I feel whatever it does covers everything that is needed. I probably haven't had the chance to look at the products offered by Fortinet FortiMail's competitors. The tool fulfills the requirements of the client.
Fortinet FortiMail has certain shortcomings but can do well if it integrates with sandboxing features. The integration of tools with sandboxing features is something Fortinet can work on because it can change the way the product detects malicious activities. The sandboxing features are not well done in Fortinet FortiMail, making it an area of improvement.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have experience with Fortinet FortiMail.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
It is a stable solution. There is no requirement for users to have real-time access when using the tool. The product does a good job in the way the messages are delivered, and in the way, the emails are scanned.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
It is a scalable solution.
My company caters to the needs of three or four customers of the solution.
My company's clients are mostly medium-sized enterprises.
How are customer service and support?
Fortinet FortiMail office provides good support to users. Within the region where I operate, the support offered by Fortinet is good, especially considering the taken by the technical team to resolve issues.
The longest time taken by the support team to resolve an issue is a day, and it is mostly because the support depends on the time you raise a ticket with the technical team, or it may be based on the support contract that a user has opted for in the company. Support also depends on the contract a user has chosen, which may include support for twenty-four hours and seven days a week in a year or eight to five support.
I rate the technical support a seven out of ten.
How would you rate customer service and support?
Neutral
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
In the past, I haven't worked with any commercial tools similar to Fortinet FortiMail, but I know a few online tools that can be integrated into our company's systems. I chose to work with Fortinet FortiMail since it was strongly recommended by someone who had been using it.
How was the initial setup?
With the right guidance, the product's initial setup phase is not that complicated. Fortinet FortiMail provides good documentation and a support team to help users.
The solution is deployed with the help of Open Virtual Appliance (OVA).
The time taken to deploy the solution depends on the organization, but generally, the deployment process takes around seven days to complete in SMEs.
What was our ROI?
The product has an immediate impact on its users after deployment because it lets them know how the attacks are being blocked, and it provides a good analysis of why a certain email or activity has been flagged. There is good feedback related to the product from users.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
It is a fairly priced product, considering what it does. The product offers good value for the money users spend on it.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
There are no tools similar to Fortinet FortiMail that are available because each product has its own way of functioning. Similar products will have many features that may be similar, so duplication of services is something a company wants to avoid. It is probably the better choice to select a product that is the easiest to use and offers a good support team.
What other advice do I have?
I rate the overall product an eight out of ten.
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: partner
Technical Manager at Triple C
A reasonably priced solution suitable for small to medium enterprises
Pros and Cons
- "The user quarantine feature in the solution is good...It is a stable solution."
- "The solution lacks to provide more visibility when there is a problem, and it needs to be tracked."
What is our primary use case?
Fortinet FortiMail is sufficient for our use cases.
What is most valuable?
The user quarantine feature in the solution is good. Not all the solutions have user quarantine features since they mostly have system quarantine features. The integration with Active Directory is great. The solution's antispam is really very efficient, especially the greylisting. Recently, the protection against impersonation is doing a great job.
What needs improvement?
The solution lacks to provide more visibility when there is a problem, and it needs to be tracked. The solution should provide users with more visibility so that they can track a problem.
For how long have I used the solution?
It has been only a very short time since I started using Fortinet FortiMail. I use it for my company and for our customers. My company has a partnership with Fortinet.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
It is a stable solution.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
Regarding scalability, we did not receive any case where we had to expand. I recommend the solution to businesses that range from small to medium, including those who do not have a very large environment. It is possible to scale it more since we have one enterprise where it is deployed at a large scale.
How are customer service and support?
Fortinet's technical support is great. Usually, we do the first level of support. And when there is a really difficult problem, we raise tickets, and they are very good at handling such problems. I rate the technical support a nine out of ten.
How would you rate customer service and support?
Positive
How was the initial setup?
It is easy to deploy.
Regarding the time taken for deployment, If it is in gateway mode, then it will not take more than two to three hours. If such necessities are not there in place, it will take more time.
What about the implementation team?
We do the implementation. Also, we provide professional services since we sell the product with professional services.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
The pricing is reasonable, and this is why small to medium enterprises are adopting it. Price-wise, the solution is not far from Microsoft ATP. So, it is affordable.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
What other advice do I have?
In fact, some vendors tried to work with us, but we found Fortinet to be very good.
Overall, I rate the solution a nine out of ten.
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: Partner
Network Engineer at Pronet
Rock solid stability, excellent user friendly features, with technical support covering all the bases
Pros and Cons
- "They have a feature called CDR, Content Disarm, Reconstruction, click protection, and DLP for encryption purposes."
- "I think they need to look into it and improve their signatures. This will help with blocking incoming spam emails."
What is our primary use case?
It is an email security solution used to protect the email from spam, phishing, and URL redirection attacks. I used to place Fortinet FortiMail just after their internet server. So they create multi-layered architecture to protect their servers, their users, or SMTP servers from spam emails. One of the users is only using Fortinet FortiMail to relay the outbound email because he is facing some issues. The mailbox they have is not able to send bulk emails, for example, at the bank, they used to send bulk emails regarding some offers or advertisements. The SMTP server must be expandable email.
What is most valuable?
They have a feature called CDR, Content Disarm, Reconstruction, click protection, and DLP for encryption purposes.
What needs improvement?
I have faced issues from one of the customers that they received spam emails. I think they need to look into it and improve their signatures. They can do this by adding more signatures to block spam emails.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been working with Fortinet FortiMail for the past three years now.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
It is stable and we have not experienced any technical issues with Fortinet FortiMail.
How are customer service and support?
Technical support is very good.
How was the initial setup?
They provide two types of Fortinet FortiMail. The first one is the box you need, the hardware. You just have to mount it in the rack and there is a configuration, actually, that you have to learn. If I am going to configure that it will take three to four hours. Then we can launch it live and move it into the production environment. Then there are other solutions that are VM-based and their configuration is the same, but the two differences are that it is not a physical box but a virtual machine and requires designing like ESXi or Hyper-V.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
Fortinet FortiMail has an annual license agreement.
What other advice do I have?
I would rate Fortinet FortiMail an eight out of ten.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
On-premises
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: Partner
Network Administrator at Mahreq Group
Great anti-spam properties and perfect configuration
Pros and Cons
- "The solution is very, very stable."
- "I would like it if the solution could be more affordable."
What is our primary use case?
Our primary use case of this solution is for its anti-spam properties. In order to protect our mail server in our data center from spams, we need an anti-spam program.
What is most valuable?
The solution helps me to do internal routing and to configure interfaces. FortiMail works on the profile.
What needs improvement?
I would like it if the solution could be more affordable.
For how long have I used the solution?
I've been using Fortinet Fortimail for three years now.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
The solution is very, very stable. We've had only one problem with FortiMail in the past when our internal hard-disk broke down due to a bad sector on the disk. My colleague contacted FortiMail's technical team, and they replaced it for us. This was bad for us because our systems were down for three days. But up to now, that was our only issue with this solution.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
We have about 300 users and we plan to increase our usage by opening new branches and new factories. So I believe the program is scalable.
How are customer service and technical support?
The technical team was very helpful. Our only issue was that, because we are in Egypt, Fortinet had to use their distributors in Egypt to fix our problem, and that is why it took three days to get the hard disk, install it and reconfigure it. Luckily our last configuration didn't take up much time, only about one hour, thanks to a backup of the last configuration that was available online. But if it has to be shipped from the distributors, it will take three days at least.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
My company previously used a software but when using an anti-spam solution as a hardware, it's better than an application, because an application could be corrupted.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
My company pays around 28.000 Egyptian Pounds per year for this program. It is rather expensive in my opinion.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
We compared it to Sophos, but it is more for users that aren't IT experts. It is so easy that anyone can use it - even my young child can configure Sophos. But for Fortinet, you need an IT expert. This is why we chose Fortinet, and we found that it is a very good solution.
I've also been using Cisco and it's a very good firewall. It's an old program, but it's doing its job for me. I use it for deviant connections and for publishing my internal server to the internet. So the Cisco firewall is also doing its job very well.
What other advice do I have?
I rate this program a ten out of ten, because it's configured right. The person who configured it actually knows what the real function of anti-spam is. It protects me from cryptography. I do see some connection delay from time to time, but I believe it is because of the Sandbox check.
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Sr. Presales Consultant at a comms service provider with 501-1,000 employees
Provides efficient scalability, but its cybersecurity features need improvement
Pros and Cons
- "Fortinet’s support services are good."
- "The product's cybersecurity features could be better."
What is most valuable?
They offer a range of features like firewalls, email, endpoint security, etc. Fortinet’s support services are good. We can provide a demo for customers to see email filtering during their POC.
What needs improvement?
The product's cybersecurity features could be better compared to Proofpoint.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using Fortinet FortiMail as an integrator and reseller for four years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
The product is stable.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
The product is scalable.
How are customer service and support?
The product's technical support team is good.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
Some customers find Fortinet easier to use, while others prefer Proofpoint. There are differences in catching malicious emails and handling false positives in both solutions. Based on customers' feedback, Proofpoint is often seen as more robust but comes with a higher cost.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup is easy. Anyone with an experience in email security solutions can install it. Deployment time depends on the environment; it may take as little as two days or up to two weeks. It requires one executive to implement and maintain it. The product needs tuning every one or two months for maintenance. The engineer has to check for email caches.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
Fortinet FortiMail is inexpensive.
What other advice do I have?
You have to consider the specific environment's requirements, including the cost and its impact on the business while looking for a vendor.
I rate Fortinet FortiMail a seven out of ten.
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: Reseller

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Updated: March 2025
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