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AWS Direct Connect vs Fortinet FortiClient comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Aug 6, 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

AWS Direct Connect
Ranking in Enterprise Infrastructure VPN
12th
Average Rating
9.0
Reviews Sentiment
7.4
Number of Reviews
9
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Fortinet FortiClient
Ranking in Enterprise Infrastructure VPN
1st
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
99
Ranking in other categories
Endpoint Protection Platform (EPP) (13th), Endpoint Compliance (2nd)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of July 2025, in the Enterprise Infrastructure VPN category, the mindshare of AWS Direct Connect is 2.1%, down from 2.7% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Fortinet FortiClient is 12.8%, down from 13.4% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Enterprise Infrastructure VPN
 

Featured Reviews

Flavio Gomes Figueira Camacho Junior - PeerSpot reviewer
Establish secure and private connections between on-premise infrastructure and cloud environments
AWS Direct Connect allows me to connect our on-premise infrastructure directly with AWS infrastructure. This is particularly beneficial because it helps me use our infrastructure for databases and testing while leveraging AWS's computing power for production purposes. I also do not need to expose management of our machines to the public internet, enhancing security by using a private connection.
MuhammadJahangir - PeerSpot reviewer
Users only need to install the VPN and authenticate with their email address
I primarily use remote VPN solutions to connect securely. We have configured both site-to-site VPN and remote VPN, and it is connected to FortiClient Implementing this solution has streamlined time management in our organization. Without SSO, we would need manual configuration for each PC, but…

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"It is a stable solution."
"Direct Connect provides an improved connection quality and a diversified link, which contributes to high availability and failover capabilities."
"The most valuable feature of Direct Connect is its low latency to the users."
"AWS Direct Connect provides a secure and encrypted connection over the internet."
"Overall, I rate the solution ten out of ten."
"AWS Direct Connect allows me to connect our on-premise infrastructure directly with AWS infrastructure."
"It is a highly scalable solution."
"AWS Direct Connect is highly secure and much faster compared to normal network infrastructure."
"The VPN connection is the feature that I like the most."
"It's got a very friendly user interface."
"Installation was easy."
"A valuable feature of FortiClient is that we can connect from anywhere if we have Fortinet access."
"The integration with Active Directory is a valuable feature, allowing SSO for users."
"It's easy to use, easy to deploy, and I have more visibility over my network that shows which users are connected to the firewalls, which users are connected to the network, and what they're accessing."
"EMS central reporting with fabric connectivity to FortiGate and FortiAnalyser is great and has seamless integration which makes managing 3000 devices a breeze."
"The most valuable feature of FortiClient is its user-friendly interface that allows easy navigation and access to all endpoint devices."
 

Cons

"The platform's stability needs improvement."
"It can be difficult to configure compared to cloud-based GUIs."
"It would be good if we could connect AWS Direct Connect from different networks."
"Having more locations could improve the convenience of using the service."
"AWS Direct Connect is straightforward and performs well for me."
"Its terminologies are challenging to interpret."
"It is complicated to do additional BGP configuration for the product."
"I would like to see better traffic visibility and higher throughput security, especially for organizations that require more than what the current limit allows."
"FortiClient is not communicating with the new version of the firewall."
"Fortinet needs to cover more areas where threats can come from."
"I don't think FortiClient is bad, but it's very buggy. We ran into some issues with the EMS, which amounted to more than 10 cases last year."
"I have yet to find the benefits of the latest upgraded version."
"One area for improvement in FortiClient is the speed of connectivity."
"The solution can improve by adding new remote console or endpoint features to make the solution easier to use."
"Occasionally, the solution may provide a slow connection. In addition, there may be initialization and authorization issues that one may need to take care of while using the solution."
"It would be interesting if the solution offered a way to try to investigate and create a use case to trace vectors."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"It is an expensive solution."
"It has reasonable pricing in terms of the features offered."
"The price is okay and competitive."
"As a technical team member, I am not responsible to look into the pricing matters. These aspects are typically handled by the management team, who have the authority to obtain the necessary licenses based on certain established principles."
"The cost per port is very less as compared to the other technologies."
"The pricing is good because you get and end-to-end security solution in one package price."
"Fortinet requires you to buy a lot of product in order for you to have proper protection."
"Fortinet FortiClient comes free with the purchase of the FortiGate solution. There is a license required for this solution. You later can upgrade from the free version which will allow more endpoints. The cost of the license subscription is based on how many endpoints you require."
"Anyone can download this product for free, but you have to have a FortiGate gateway that you are connecting to."
"Generally, Fortinet is not cheap. The features that are available for free are only for FortiClient VPN clients, not other solutions. It includes web security, antivirus, and one more feature."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
15%
Financial Services Firm
15%
Manufacturing Company
8%
University
5%
Educational Organization
22%
Computer Software Company
13%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Comms Service Provider
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about AWS Direct Connect?
AWS Direct Connect provides a secure and encrypted connection over the internet.
What needs improvement with AWS Direct Connect?
AWS Direct Connect should support cross-cloud connections, such as migrations between Azure ( /products/microsoft-azure-reviews ) and AWS ( /products/amazon-aws-reviews ), for disaster recovery pur...
What is your primary use case for AWS Direct Connect?
I have used AWS Direct Connect ( /products/aws-direct-connect-reviews ) in projects to directly connect artifacts and for setting up a call center service in a customer service project. It is used ...
How does Fortinet FortiClient compare with Open VPN Access Server?
Fortinet FortiClient is a feature-rich solution that is easy to use and deploy without sacrificing safety and security. It has a very fast connection rate and has a built-in VPN. With this solution...
What's the difference between Fortinet's FortiEDR and FortiClient?
I suggest Fortinet’s FortiEDR over FortiClient for several reasons. For starters, FortiEDR guarantees solid protection because it continually scans servers for emerging vulnerabilities, which gives...
 

Also Known As

No data available
FortiClient
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Expedia, Intuit, Royal Dutch Shell, Brooks Brothers
Black Gold Regional Schools, Amadeus Hospitality, Jefferson County, Chunghwa Telecom, City of Boroondara, Dimension Data
Find out what your peers are saying about AWS Direct Connect vs. Fortinet FortiClient and other solutions. Updated: June 2025.
860,592 professionals have used our research since 2012.