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Check Point UTM-1 [EOL] vs Fortinet FortiGate comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Mar 29, 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

Check Point UTM-1 [EOL]
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.4
Number of Reviews
19
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Fortinet FortiGate
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
591
Ranking in other categories
Secure Web Gateways (SWG) (2nd), Firewalls (1st), Intrusion Detection and Prevention Software (IDPS) (1st), Software Defined WAN (SD-WAN) Solutions (1st), WAN Edge (1st), ZTNA (1st), Unified Threat Management (UTM) (1st)
 

Q&A Highlights

Oct 04, 2017
 

Featured Reviews

William Cambronero - PeerSpot reviewer
Consultant at ITQS
Great firewalls, VPN, and Intrusion prevention capabilities
Some features that could be improved are advanced threat protection, sandboxing, and vulnerability management. Another point is to improve the technical support provided by Check Point UTM-1. Although the company offers different standards, including basic and premium, by mail and by telephone, they present a very large deficiency in the time it takes to comply with the provisions of the SLA. Coordinating a meeting is complicated by the schedules. The documentation should also be improved by having it unified.
Abhinandan Yadav - PeerSpot reviewer
Network Security Engineer at Arrow PC Network Pvt Ltd
Unified security and sd-wan have improved uptime and cut wan costs for multi-site branches
Users report stability issues in certain versions, which requires regular updates. Real-world attacks have also highlighted the need for urgent patching of vulnerabilities.Fortinet FortiGate, while a powerful and feature-rich web firewall, could improve in areas like firmware stability, documentation, and ease of use. The learning curve can be steep for some users. For beginners, support quality can vary, and frequent updates with occasional vulnerabilities call for careful patch management. However, once Fortinet FortiGate is configured, it remains highly reliable and efficient. Customer support needs improvement, as I find it very slow, with reports from other users reflecting that customer support is inadequate.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Check Point has been in the security industry for so long that it has evolved different solutions and technologies."
"Browsing speed has picked up considerably as users now have to do their official work and cannot browse social sites instead."
"It has given us the ability to securely connect remote office sites to our Core Data Network over ISP DPLC Circuits."
"The most important features are performance and ease of management."
"Check Point is not cheap when compared to other solutions, but it provides high level security, and as an organization we are fully satisfied with this product."
"The UTM platform has been the most valuable, as it's a great system with the possibility of having several plates implemented on the same appliance."
"We can create a domain to separate and segregate some functions, some services."
"The solution came to give us an elimination of having independent products such as antivirus firewalls and all the types of applications that were previously used for this type of content filtering, and now it is a single solution."
"The CLI and GUI do a good job of putting a lot at your fingertips."
"It offers web filtering capabilities at a more affordable price compared to other solutions like PSMs or NETGEAR."
"This firewall is an antivirus, protects against spam, and is an IPS."
"The network security and cloud security are most valuable."
"Customer Service: They're good. Technical Support: They're very good."
"It's great for capturing the traffic and troubleshooting it."
"Fortinet FortiGate's most valuable features are the UTM package which provides internet blocking restrictions and load balancing. Additionally, the solution is easy to use and the security reporting is good. The security fabric which they have launched Fortinet FortiGate IPS, it's very good in terms of giving details."
"From the firewall perspective, the rules and policies are very sufficient and easy to use."
 

Cons

"Some features that could be improved are advanced threat protection, sandboxing, and vulnerability management."
"The interface needs improvement."
"The solution should be more user-friendly."
"Customer service is definitely degrading, according to me."
"The interface needs improvement."
"Memory and processing power: These devices are strictly for small business applications."
"I am not able to see a demo."
"The entire GUI, look and feel of the application."
"The support is the main thing that needs to be improved."
"In the past six to seven years with the Fortinet FortiGate, we've had two major downtimes, both caused by firmware upgrades."
"The customization is a little bit difficult because we have to customize everything."
"Need to Improvement in Reporting"
"IP tracing works only so-so."
"Fortinet FortiGate can improve by integrating the web application firewall and the DDoS protection part of the solution. Having a WAF feature, web application firewall, and proxy together would be a good benefit."
"From a support perspective, I had more issues that I didn't think the person on my case handled the way I was expecting. We called them for a geolocation issue and we didn't get any proper assistance."
"However, the problem is that their subscription price is very high."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"This cost is between 3,000 and 5,000 euros per year, so some other solutions are cheaper and the pricing should be improved."
"The pricing is too high."
"On a scale of one being cheap and ten being expensive, I rate the tool's price as an eight."
"There is a need to pay for a license for the product."
"If the customer is looking for SD-WAN, it comes free with FortiGate."
"They are very competitive, but we like to have the factory warranty taken care of."
"Licensing for Fortinet FortiGate is on a yearly basis. Pricing for it is a bit high. It could be cheaper."
"It is expensive. You need to pay for the subscription every year, which is very expensive. The subscription includes technical support and hardware exchange in case of failure."
"The licensing costs are very low."
"Setup cost may be not so low, as you expect, because it depends on different factors, but TCO for 5 years may pleasantly surprise you."
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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…
 

Answers from the Community

Oct 4, 2017
Oct 4, 2017
Hi, It's very hard to compare brand name of firewalls and you did not clarify specific models. Normally, an IT is often using a firewall and suggest that brand name. Actually, it will depend on what bundle of service you choose in each brand name of firewall. Of course, Palo Alto - it's worth it. My suggestion is base on your requirement of security and your budget, then read the specs of each ...
2 out of 42 answers
it_user125442 - PeerSpot reviewer
Dono at a tech consulting company
Jul 18, 2017
it_user627312 - PeerSpot reviewer
Co-Founder with 51-200 employees
Jul 18, 2017
Hi, It depends on their requirements. Each solution adds a different layer of value.
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
No data available
Computer Software Company
10%
Comms Service Provider
10%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Financial Services Firm
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business10
Midsize Enterprise6
Large Enterprise6
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business367
Midsize Enterprise135
Large Enterprise193
 

Questions from the Community

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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

No data available
Fortinet FortiGate Next-Generation Firewall
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

AccessIT Group Inc., Accuvant, Cadre Computer Resources Inc., Compuquip Technologies Inc, Dimension Data North America Inc., Forsythe Solutions Group, Gotham Technology Group LLC, GuidePoint Security LLC, Iovations, IPS
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 Fortinet, Netgate, Sophos and others in Firewalls. Updated: April 2026.
893,164 professionals have used our research since 2012.