FortiOS's best features are its function as an internet gateway and how easy it is to manage.
Networks & Securities Solutions supervisor at a tech vendor with 201-500 employees
Easy-to-manage internet gateway
Pros and Cons
- "FortiOS's best features are its function as an internet gateway and how easy it is to manage."
- "FortiOS's interface and monitoring could be improved."
What is most valuable?
What needs improvement?
FortiOS's interface and monitoring could be improved.
For how long have I used the solution?
I've been working with FortiOS for three years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
FortiOS's stability could be better.
Buyer's Guide
Fortinet FortiOS
March 2025

Learn what your peers think about Fortinet FortiOS. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: March 2025.
839,422 professionals have used our research since 2012.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup was simple.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
FortiOS is affordable, but its price could be lower.
What other advice do I have?
I would give FortiOS a rating of nine 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

Great UTM features, reasonable price and scalable solution
Pros and Cons
- "The customer service and support team are excellent."
- "The report and policy optimization tools can be improved in the next release."
What is our primary use case?
This solution is deployed both on the public cloud and on-premises.
What is most valuable?
We have found the UTM features most valuable.
What needs improvement?
The report and policy optimization tools can be improved in the next release.
For how long have I used the solution?
We have been using this solution as vendors for six years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
The solution is stable and we haven't received any complaints.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
The solution is scalable.
How are customer service and support?
The customer service and support team are excellent.
How would you rate customer service and support?
Positive
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup was straightforward in comparison to other firewalls. Our implementation took approximately one hour, but it may differ for others depending on their customer requirements.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
FortiOS has a reasonable price compared to other solutions.
What other advice do I have?
I rate FortiOS an eight out of ten because I believe Fortinet can make improvements on policy optimization, reporting and traffic logs to enhance user readability.
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: Partner
Buyer's Guide
Fortinet FortiOS
March 2025

Learn what your peers think about Fortinet FortiOS. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: March 2025.
839,422 professionals have used our research since 2012.
Systems Engineer at a tech services company with 11-50 employees
Scalable, with extensive features and good technical support
Pros and Cons
- "There are a lot of features that we like within the solution. The resources or performance of the firewall is very good. However, the real selling point is the fact that the solution offers so many features, it gives our clients a lot of extras that they can work with. There's a lot on offer."
- "Right now, it's very trendy to integrate everything into the cloud. This solution would be more effective if they did more integration in that regard."
What is our primary use case?
We primarily use the solution for our firewalls.
Basically we're providing security distribution for our client. One of the solutions we utilize are firewalls. It helps secure the environment and monitor traffic.
What is most valuable?
There are a lot of features that we like within the solution. The resources or performance of the firewall is very good. However, the real selling point is the fact that the solution offers so many features, it gives our clients a lot of extras that they can work with. There's a lot on offer.
What needs improvement?
Right now, it's very trendy to integrate everything into the cloud. This solution would be more effective if they did more integration in that regard.
For how long have I used the solution?
I've been using the solution since 2016. It's been a few years now.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
The solution is very stable, however, in rare instances where there happens to be a bug or glitch, the good thing about them is that they release fixes whenever there's a bug on the OS. Users will need to upgrade their OS if this is the case in order to get the fix. It's great that they deal with the bugs head-on and put out fixes efficiently.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
The solution is quite scalable. It's one of its selling features. Although, I believe that most competitors would also scale just as well.
How are customer service and technical support?
Support is very fast and reliable, but it absolutely depends on the ticket, or what it is comprised of or how hard the errors or problems are. Easy questions are dealt with quite quickly, but harder issues might take at least an hour or so before a user would get a reply.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
We mostly focus on Fortinet products for our firewalls. We don't really use a different solution and haven't used something else in the past. I'm familiar with Sophos firewalls but have not deployed any just yet.
While Sophos is more expensive than Fortinet, from what I have seen, their functionality is basically the same. The difference between the two appears to be simply in the architecture of each solution. They are quite similar, but the user interface is a bit different.
How was the initial setup?
I'm quite comfortable with the solution, so for me the process of installing the solution is quite straightforward. I would say it's very straightforward, and it's easy to learn, especially because they offer a very good GUI. It's not as easy to set up as, for example, FortiGate, which is an application on FortiOS. FortiOS is just a bit more complex.
The deployment time varies. It largely depends on the number of security policies that demand attention. It's most likely one day or so, so it's not too long. However, it can vary. You only need one person to deploy the product.
What about the implementation team?
We implement the solution for our clients. We handle the deployment for them ourselves using our in-house team. Typically I'll be the one to deploy it for the clients directly, and then I'll hand everything over to after-sales support.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
I'm not sure of the pricing, but my understanding, after looking into Sophos, is that Fortinet is less expensive than Sophos.
What other advice do I have?
We're using version 6.2 of the solution right now, however, the latest version available is 6.4.
I'm part of the security team at our organization. We're business partners with Fortinet.
I would advise other companies to choose a firewall brand that they can they afford. Cost is an important aspect. It needs to work well within an organization's budget. It doesn't make sense to look at products that are out of an organization's price range, so make sure you are looking at options that are affordable.
The second thing to consider is the solution's functionality. If that particular brand or particular product has the functionality required, and they are able to implement it on their network or in their infrastructure, that's a good sign.
The third consideration should be support. It's important for a company to understand how fast and how reliable the support is. That's very important after the sale.
I'd rate the solution 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
Technical Lead at a tech services company with 51-200 employees
As always there is room for improvement in any product, we have always struggled with reporting
Pros and Cons
- "We have expanded the wireless access point and switches using Fortinet FortiOS."
- "The additional features I would like to see included in the next release is better troubleshooting and reporting."
What is our primary use case?
Network edge security, single Entry/Exit for multiple branches. and recently have started with SDWAN investigations and labs.
How has it helped my organization?
Having used the FortiOS for a period, the improvement of functions and additions have been both "Great" and "Poor," as one gets used to using a product, menu and layout changes can be a bit confusing at first, however you slowly start to get more familiar over time.
What is most valuable?
VPN Services, and FortiView for quick troubleshooting and tracking.
What needs improvement?
Reporting, having only recently migrated to 6.04 there will be some time to see what improvements have been made, with some of the menu changes and inclusions through the versions.
For how long have I used the solution?
We have been making use of FortiGate for close to ten years and multiple OS Versions.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
in 10 years, we have had little to no issues with the functionality, stability of the product from my standpoint has been very stable, preventative maintenance schedules, and keeping up with the latest information on the product is key.
How are customer service and technical support?
We have had no issues to date.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
We have an array of products that are specific to our environments, and the requirements around the service needed for that specific environment, FortiOs ticked the boxes to the best match for our requirement.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup of Fortinet FortiOS was straightforward, with the new inclusion of SDWAN there are some learning still to be done but in general, if the planning is done correctly the intitial setup is a breeze.
What about the implementation team?
A combination of both was used.
What other advice do I have?
Research and plan, ensure that the product falls in line with your requirement and has room to grow, and don't let a Product dictate your requirements.
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: Reseller.
Systems manager at a educational organization with 51-200 employees
Effective policy management and straightforward implementation
Pros and Cons
- "I have found the most valuable features to be the policies, cache, and the SD-WAN."
- "Fortinet FortiOS could improve by having better authentication methods with Microsoft or Google Services."
What is our primary use case?
I am using Fortinet FortiOS as my main firewall.
What is most valuable?
I have found the most valuable features to be the policies, cache, and the SD-WAN.
What needs improvement?
Fortinet FortiOS could improve by having better authentication methods with Microsoft or Google Services.
In an upcoming release, they could improve the user interface.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using Fortinet FortiOS for approximately three years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
Fortinet FortiOS is highly stable.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
I have found Fortinet FortiOS is scalable.
We have approximately 500 users using this solution in my organization. We might increase usage in the future.
How are customer service and support?
I am only using the resellers' support, not the Fortinet support.
How was the initial setup?
The implementation is simple and the full implementation took approximately three days.
What about the implementation team?
We use integrators for the implementation of the solution.
We have three staff members that handle the deployment of the solution.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
I am on a two-year contract and I pay annually for Fortinet FortiOS.
What other advice do I have?
My advice to those wanting to implement this solution is to use a good partner that can help set up and troubleshoot the solution.
I rate Fortinet FortiOS an eight out of ten.
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Principal Cyber Security Architect at a comms service provider with 5,001-10,000 employees
Technical support offers good regional support and it has good scaling options
Pros and Cons
- "It has a lot of scalability abilities which makes it easy to scale."
- "In terms of what needs improvement, the pricing could be lower. The price is very steep."
What is our primary use case?
We use the on-prem deployment model of this solution and on the cloud. Our primary use case of this solution is for bandwidth management and VPN.
What needs improvement?
In terms of what needs improvement, the pricing could be lower. The price is very steep.
I would like to see in the next release that any client, even small ones from a home office, can run on any access point, not just the one that can be used with Fortinet. It should have an appliance that can be used to support and manage other access points. All the products should be uniform and easy to find.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using Fortinet FortiOS for around three years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
It is quite stable. It is easy for me to integrate interfaces.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
It has a lot of scalability abilities which makes it easy to scale.
How are customer service and technical support?
Their technical support is quite good an informative. They also offer regional support which has been good. We are satisfied.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup was straightforward.
What other advice do I have?
I would rate this solution an eight out of ten. I would recommend it to someone considering it.
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: Partner.
DevOps at Halcom
Great user experience, good GUI, and stable
Pros and Cons
- "The user experience is great. The graphical user interface is also good."
- "There are some issues with the performance. We also had some issues while updating the firmware."
What is our primary use case?
We use it for our corporate network's protection.
What is most valuable?
The user experience is great. The graphical user interface is also good.
What needs improvement?
There are some issues with the performance. We also had some issues while updating the firmware.
The download options can be better. While downloading VPN clients, it is a little bit difficult to get different versions. You need to log on and search.
Their support can be better.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using this solution for about three 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.
How are customer service and support?
We have had both good and bad experiences with them. Their support could be better.
How was the initial setup?
I never set it up from the beginning. I joined in the middle of this project.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
It is not cheap; it is also not expensive. It is somewhere in the middle.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
They had already decided on Fortinet when I joined the project.
What other advice do I have?
I would recommend this solution. I would rate it an eight out of 10.
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.

Buyer's Guide
Download our free Fortinet FortiOS Report and get advice and tips from experienced pros
sharing their opinions.
Updated: March 2025
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Download our free Fortinet FortiOS Report and get advice and tips from experienced pros
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