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Barracuda SSL VPN[EOL] vs Fortinet FortiClient comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Jan 19, 2026

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

Barracuda SSL VPN[EOL]
Ranking in Enterprise Infrastructure VPN
31st
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.5
Number of Reviews
4
Ranking in other categories
SSL VPN (14th)
Fortinet FortiClient
Ranking in Enterprise Infrastructure VPN
1st
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.7
Number of Reviews
102
Ranking in other categories
Endpoint Protection Platform (EPP) (12th), Endpoint Compliance (1st)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of January 2026, in the Enterprise Infrastructure VPN category, the mindshare of Barracuda SSL VPN[EOL] is 1.1%, up from 0.8% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Fortinet FortiClient is 7.8%, down from 14.3% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Enterprise Infrastructure VPN Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Fortinet FortiClient7.8%
Barracuda SSL VPN1.1%
Other91.1%
Enterprise Infrastructure VPN
 

Featured Reviews

Ikh-Erdene Namsrai - PeerSpot reviewer
Senior System Administrator at Mongolian Mining Corporation
Provides good scalability and has a simple setup process
We use Barracuda SSL VPN for network connection The product is easy to connect. There could be more security features included in the product. We are the latest version of Barracuda SSL VPN. I rate Barracuda SSL VPN's stability an eight or nine out of ten. We have 30-40 Barracuda SSL VPN…
KL
Senior Technical Manager at Flexaccel
Remote access has become seamless and secure while deployment remains simple for our users
Performance could be improved today. People are now moving toward SASE, which stands for Secure Access, Secure Edge Solution. Fortinet also has that offering, which would be easier since it operates through the cloud, acting as a first line of defense. When the user connects to the internet, they connect to the cloud first for posture assessment and monitoring before connecting to the outside world. The impact is significant because nowadays people are adopting SASE. During COVID time, many users were trying to connect back to their office, causing the performance or CPU utilization of the firewall to increase tremendously, which slowed down performance. I have not worked with endpoint telemetry in Fortinet FortiClient that could have been helpful for threat mitigation.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The most valuable feature would be that you can actually narrow down your session to one application on one server, which is really nice."
"The product is easy to connect."
"It's a stand alone system that functions well."
"The setup is straightforward and hassle-free."
"It is very simple to use. I've used some of the others in the past, such as Cisco AnyConnect, which was a nightmare. I've used a couple of others, but FortiClient is very simple to use."
"Fortinet FortiClient offers a vulnerability test feature, allowing us to monitor end-user devices. This includes ensuring necessary updates, such as Windows updates, are not overlooked."
"It is a feature-rich product that is easy to use and install without sacrificing security."
"The integration of the vulnerability scan, mobile detection, and VPN client."
"Fortinet FortiClient is easy to use, and the single-access managed login is pretty good."
"The configuration is the most valuable feature."
"Compared to other similar solutions, it is faster in connecting."
"It's simple, downloadable, and there's usually no problem."
 

Cons

"Reporting could be improved."
"There could be more security features included in the product."
"Barracuda should find other ways to stir up interest about this product."
"Since it's not going to be getting any more software updates as per the end of this year, we have to move off to a different product.."
"The tool becomes slow occasionally, and this should be improved."
"The solution requires skillful users."
"FortiClient's encryption key could be stronger so that it's not broken too easily."
"An area of improvement could be better integration with the active directory. I did not find it easy to configure."
"Sometimes users stay on the old version of FortiClient."
"The current version of this solution does not show the malicious websites that have been visited. They should add this to an upcoming release."
"Initially, the support was very poor. It is getting better, but they should continue to improve this."
"We do not use the solution every day and there are times when the new users have trouble reconnecting. The technology itself works but our users getting adopted to it is a major problem. Having the user adapt to the desktop landing page that it begins on is throwing them off a bit."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The product is affordable and reasonably priced so it would make a lot of sense for people to use it long-term."
"Barracuda SSL VPN is inexpensive."
"The product's licensing is yearly and expensive."
"I don't have the licensing schema for the VPN solution because we just purchased the VPN gateway."
"It is a yearly subscription license. I don't see a problem with the pricing. Resellers add their markup and then give it to us, but I don't see that as a major challenge. It is fine."
"I don't know it by heart, but it is comparable to other solutions. It is based on the number of clients. It is probably 50 Euros per year per client. It greatly depends on the number of clients you're handling because the more clients you are ordering it for, the cheaper it will be."
"The pricing is good because you get and end-to-end security solution in one package price."
"Pricing is an area that I would like to see improved, as it could be lower."
"The licensing fee varies with what one is trying to accomplish. It can range from being free to costing several hundred thousand dollars per year."
"Licensing was free up to ten users and after that, it was pretty reasonable."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
21%
Comms Service Provider
11%
Performing Arts
10%
Educational Organization
10%
Manufacturing Company
11%
Computer Software Company
11%
Comms Service Provider
8%
Financial Services Firm
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business59
Midsize Enterprise23
Large Enterprise25
 

Questions from the Community

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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

Information Not Available
Black Gold Regional Schools, Amadeus Hospitality, Jefferson County, Chunghwa Telecom, City of Boroondara, Dimension Data
Find out what your peers are saying about Fortinet, OpenVPN, Check Point Software Technologies and others in Enterprise Infrastructure VPN. Updated: January 2026.
881,082 professionals have used our research since 2012.