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Cato SASE Cloud Platform vs Fortinet FortiGate comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Dec 28, 2025

Review summaries and opinions

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

ROI

Sentiment score
7.7
Cato SASE Cloud offers increased reliability and reduced costs, achieving a 246% ROI in under six months.
Sentiment score
5.8
Fortinet FortiGate offers cost-effective, robust security, reducing expenses, enhancing efficiency, easy implementation, quick ROI, and improved network management.
Clients are now comfortable and not wasting productive hours on IT support.
Managing Director at a manufacturing company with 10,001+ employees
The automation part is giving us a cost benefit and speed; we can react faster.
BDM Fortinet & BDM Teamlead at Exclusive Networks
It's a very useful tool to mitigate and protect your enterprise.
Staff Infrastructure & Security Engineer at Mozn Systems
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
7.5
Cato SASE Cloud's customer service is praised for responsiveness and problem-solving, though professional services can be expensive.
Sentiment score
6.6
Fortinet FortiGate's customer service is generally praised for responsiveness, though some users experience delays in critical situations.
Their knowledge portal and Cato Academy portal are excellent resources.
Product Lifecycle manager at Air Spring
Our customer service experience is excellent
Vice President at a tech services company with 1,001-5,000 employees
The quick resolution of issues with Fortinet FortiGate is due to the support of the company and the fact that the equipment is easy to work with.
IT Manager at a consultancy with 10,001+ employees
I would rate the technical support for Fortinet FortiGate a ten out of ten.
NAC Support at Rah Infotech Pvt Ltd
As a solution provider, when I encounter problems, I connect directly with Fortinet support, and they provide solutions within a very short time.
Manager, Information Technology Operation/Presales at TechMonarch
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
8.2
The Cato SASE Cloud Platform is praised for scalability, supporting growth effortlessly for businesses of all sizes and demands.
Sentiment score
7.1
Fortinet FortiGate is scalable and popular for SMEs but requires careful design and may incur scaling costs and licensing constraints.
As an MSSP, we find it scalable for end users across EPP platforms, network, and cloud sides.
Product Lifecycle manager at Air Spring
They scale up really well from smaller models like the FortiGate 40 and 50 to bigger sites with the FortiGate 100 for more throughput - up to enterprise datacenters.
IT Manager at Daltons Limited
The variation comes in terms of the interfaces and throughputs, but from a security perspective, you get the same benefit, irrespective of whether you have an entry-level unit or an enterprise.
Cewa Solutions Architect at a tech services company with 11-50 employees
We determine sizing based on multiple factors: number of users, available links, traffic types, server count, services in use, and whether services will be published.
General Surgery Specialist at Helwan University Cairo
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
8.3
Cato SASE Cloud Platform is highly stable, with users praising its reliable performance and minimal outages or issues.
Sentiment score
7.7
Fortinet FortiGate is praised for its stability, with effective long-term performance and improvements in newer firmware versions.
I would rate the stability of the solution as ten on a scale of one to ten.
Vice President at a tech services company with 1,001-5,000 employees
We're experiencing 99.999% availability consistently.
Manager, Information Technology at a consumer goods company with 11-50 employees
I would rate the stability of Fortinet FortiGate a ten out of ten.
NAC Support at Rah Infotech Pvt Ltd
Currently, we are experiencing a general outage of one of the main internet service providers of the Dominican Republic, and we have not been impacted in our operations because with SD-WAN, we have another internet service provider and we are working with the second WAN connection without any disruption.
CISO at a financial services firm with 1,001-5,000 employees
 

Room For Improvement

Cato SASE Cloud needs better granularity, integration, enhanced security, and user-friendly features, with advanced reporting and AI integration.
Fortinet FortiGate needs enhanced UI, simplified licensing, improved performance, reporting, third-party integration, and expanded automation features.
The platform lacks strong security features on the edge.
Product Lifecycle manager at Air Spring
These sessions should be around five to ten minutes long, allowing users and partners to quickly grasp the information without disrupting their daily tasks.
Managing Director at a manufacturing company with 10,001+ employees
The solution should be able to implement machine learning and analytics of all the logs for threat detection and protection.
Senior Systems Engineer at Caribbean Development Company
It would be better for customers to get immediate replacements even with a standard subscription.
Director at a tech services company with 11-50 employees
 

Setup Cost

Cato SASE Cloud offers flexible, value-driven pricing based on bandwidth, with competitive costs and robust functionality compared to rivals.
Enterprise buyers find Fortinet FortiGate costly initially, but cheaper overall, despite some high renewal and setup costs.
The pricing is flexible due to our special partnership with Cato Networks.
Vice President at a tech services company with 1,001-5,000 employees
Last year, I renewed the support for three years, which can sometimes be expensive but depends on the security benefits and how it helps us.
Network & System Admin at Invoke Studios
It offers cost savings as it is generally cheaper than the competition.
IT Infrastructure Architect at Apotek 1
It is about 20% cheaper.
Network Security Engineer at TD SYNNEX
 

Valuable Features

Cato SASE Cloud Platform offers zero-trust connectivity, advanced security, and scalability with reduced operational costs and streamlined management.
Fortinet FortiGate provides robust, flexible security solutions with key features like web filtering, SSL VPN, SD-WAN, and centralized management.
It is scalable for end users across network and cloud sides and saves operational costs.
Product Lifecycle manager at Air Spring
These features help reduce our downtime, manage the ISPs, and deploy SLAs for all the website traffic.
Head IT at Burraq Cyber Security Solutions
The most valuable feature of FortiGate is FortiView which provides proactive monitoring.
General Manager Group IT at DART GLOBAL LOGISTICS PTE. LTD.
We got a firewall and gave an SSL VPN to my client to connect to their servers, after which, such kind of activities involving ransomware attacks stopped.
Owner at Mindware Computer Solutions
 

Categories and Ranking

Cato SASE Cloud Platform
Ranking in Intrusion Detection and Prevention Software (IDPS)
12th
Ranking in Software Defined WAN (SD-WAN) Solutions
6th
Ranking in WAN Edge
6th
Average Rating
9.0
Reviews Sentiment
7.6
Number of Reviews
30
Ranking in other categories
WAN Optimization (1st), Cloud Access Security Brokers (CASB) (6th), ZTNA as a Service (6th), Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) (3rd), Remote Browser Isolation (RBI) (2nd)
Fortinet FortiGate
Ranking in Intrusion Detection and Prevention Software (IDPS)
1st
Ranking in Software Defined WAN (SD-WAN) Solutions
1st
Ranking in WAN Edge
1st
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
580
Ranking in other categories
Secure Web Gateways (SWG) (2nd), Firewalls (1st), ZTNA (1st), Unified Threat Management (UTM) (1st)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of January 2026, in the WAN Edge category, the mindshare of Cato SASE Cloud Platform is 7.4%, up from 6.3% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Fortinet FortiGate is 16.3%, down from 23.2% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
WAN Edge Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Fortinet FortiGate16.3%
Cato SASE Cloud Platform7.4%
Other76.3%
WAN Edge
 

Featured Reviews

AK
Product Lifecycle manager at Air Spring
Integrated platform optimizes network and security management through seamless AI system integration and user-friendly toggles
The platform lacks strong security features on the edge. All security features are on the cloud. For someone who wants to break out traffic locally from the LAN, there are only basic firewalls included. I would like to see more robust edge security features to replace existing customer on-premises firewalls.
Vasu Gala - PeerSpot reviewer
Manager, Information Technology Operation/Presales at TechMonarch
A stable solution with an intuitive interface and quick customer service
I have been working with Fortinet FortiGate, WatchGuard, Sophos, and SonicWall. I'm not as comfortable with SonicWall because of their UI and limitations. I prefer Fortinet above all other options. When it comes to configuration, I am confident in my ability to handle various tasks, including creating policies such as firewall rules, web policies, and application policies. Additionally, I can configure VPNs and implement load balancing, among other tasks. Overall, I feel much more comfortable working with Fortinet. Fortinet has made significant improvements by integrating AI with firewalls for threat analysis and prevention. In the past 2-3 years, they have launched FortiSASE and SIEM, and they also provide SOC services. Both Palo Alto and Fortinet FortiGate are excellent. While Fortinet FortiGate comes at higher prices, the functionality and support justify the cost. They promptly resolve firmware issues and inform all support providers about configuration changes.
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Use our free recommendation engine to learn which WAN Edge solutions are best for your needs.
881,082 professionals have used our research since 2012.
 

Comparison Review

it_user216600 - PeerSpot reviewer
Senior Technical Consultant with 51-200 employees
Jan 3, 2016
Sophos UTM vs. Fortinet FortiGate
I have used both Sophos and Fortinet products in production and I have found the Sophos UTM appliances (hardware and virtual) to be a better fit most of the time -- with a few caveats which I will touch on below. In both instances, the transition from TMG will be mostly straightforward. The main…
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
14%
Manufacturing Company
14%
Financial Services Firm
9%
Comms Service Provider
8%
Computer Software Company
12%
Comms Service Provider
9%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Financial Services Firm
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business14
Midsize Enterprise7
Large Enterprise10
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business357
Midsize Enterprise133
Large Enterprise188
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Cato Networks?
The solution is a simple WAN solution. We've onboarded the socket on the Cato platform, and it provides connectivity. There is no complex routing.
What is your primary use case for Cato Networks?
Actually, we propose Moogsoft as a solution. Previously we were using the solution for our customer, and we were basically using in-house to train our resources. We still propose this as a solution...
What advice do you have for others considering Cato Networks?
My experience would be four out of five. I personally need to understand it more deeply. But it appears good at this point, as it's one of the good products which are expanding very fast and the ma...
Which is the better NGFW: Fortinet Fortigate or Cisco Firepower?
When you compare these firewalls you can identify them with different features, advantages, practices and usage at large. In my opinion, Fortinet would be the best option and l use Fortinet too...
What is the biggest difference between Sophos XG and FortiGate?
From my experience regarding both the Sophos and FortiGate firewalls, I personally would rather use FortiGate. I know the firewalls change every 5 to 7 years as stated but you really do need to upg...
What are the biggest technical differences between Sophos UTM and Fortinet FortiGate?
As a solution, Sophos UTM offers a lot of functionality, it scales well, and the stability and performance are quite good. The most valuable features for me are their web and email filtering. I wou...
 

Also Known As

Cato Networks
Fortinet FortiGate Next-Generation Firewall
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Paysafe, AdRoll, Pet Lovers Centre, Arlington Orthopedics, Humphreys & Partners Architects
Amazon Web Services, Microsoft, IBM, Cisco, Dell, HP, Oracle, Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile, Sprint, Vodafone, Orange, BT Group, Telstra, Deutsche Telekom, Comcast, Time Warner Cable, CenturyLink, NTT Communications, Tata Communications, SoftBank, China Mobile, Singtel, Telus, Rogers Communications, Bell Canada, Telkom Indonesia, Telkom South Africa, Telmex, Telia Company, Telkom Kenya
Find out what your peers are saying about Cato SASE Cloud Platform vs. Fortinet FortiGate and other solutions. Updated: January 2026.
881,082 professionals have used our research since 2012.