No more typing reviews! Try our Samantha, our new voice AI agent.

Check Point WAF (formerly CloudGuard WAF) vs Fortra's Digital Guardian comparison

Why PeerSpot?
 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Aug 13, 2026

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
6.3
Check Point WAF boosts efficiency by consolidating tools, saving costs, and improving security, with organizations reporting substantial financial benefits.
Sentiment score
7.2
Fortra's Digital Guardian enhances data protection and operational efficiency, offering up to 90% returns by preventing security disruptions.
When we are attacked, we can understand how important the solution is.
Cyber security manager at a government with 1,001-5,000 employees
When you migrate to the cloud, it feels like saving 90% of your time.
Manager, Managed Security Services at a tech vendor with 51-200 employees
Most of the operations happen in the background, so I do not spend much time on it.
Principal Cybersecurity Specialist at Unitel S.A.
It is reliable, it has a broad scope, and the vendor is easy to reach out to and makes it easy to request assistance.
Security Managed Services Associate at a tech vendor with 10,001+ employees
It doesn't block my workflows, saving me from wasting hours of troubleshooting security blocks that could happen with other tools.
Automation Engineer at a tech vendor with 10,001+ employees
If my data gets encrypted, I will pay far more than the license costs for this software.
Co-Founder and Business Development at TeCrypt
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
6.7
Check Point WAF's customer service is well-regarded for responsiveness and expertise, though speed and complexity resolution need improvement.
Sentiment score
7.9
Fortra's Digital Guardian support is praised for responsiveness and expertise, though technical assistance consistency and policy configuration are noted issues.
They need to increase the number of people for 24/7 support.
Principal Cybersecurity Specialist at Unitel S.A.
They were responsive even before we committed to buying their solution.
Infrastructure Manager at FPMH
I also received full technical support, especially during the implementation.
Cyber security manager at a government with 1,001-5,000 employees
For others looking into using Fortra's Digital Guardian, I would suggest learning the steps for monitoring and maintaining the server, especially policy configuration, since it is quite tricky and includes a lot of processes.
Security Managed Services Associate at a tech vendor with 10,001+ employees
Technical support from Fortra can vary; sometimes I encounter great engineers with high experience who can resolve issues quickly, but other times I face less experienced engineers which can cause delays in issue resolution.
System Engineer/Consultant at Notable Frontier Sdn Bhd
I have never had to contact Fortra's Digital Guardian's customer support because the software has never crashed or caused any issues on my machine.
Automation Engineer at a tech vendor with 10,001+ employees
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
7.3
Check Point WAF efficiently scales for cloud environments, accommodating growth and workload changes without bottlenecks, earning high scalability ratings.
Sentiment score
7.0
Fortra's Digital Guardian is praised for scalable, stable performance across thousands of endpoints, with minimal performance impact.
If I need to scale, I open a Whatsapp group with the director and the team, and we quickly proceed to do so.
Cyber security manager at a government with 1,001-5,000 employees
They have sufficient resources, and there are no challenges from a scalability perspective.
Project Manager at a outsourcing company with 1,001-5,000 employees
Check Point CloudGuard WAF's scalability is very good.
Sr. VP of Creative & Development at a non-tech company with 51-200 employees
Even when my laptop is under heavy load, running multiple instances of automated browsers via Selenium, PyCharm, and handling background API requests, the agent remains stable and completely unnoticeable.
Automation Engineer at a tech vendor with 10,001+ employees
It is very scalable; if a customer buys 10 licenses and tomorrow needs 100, it can be done easily with no additional requirements.
Co-Founder and Business Development at TeCrypt
While there are limits, we attempt to work around them, sometimes needing to collaborate with Fortra's Digital Guardian engineers to find solutions.
System Engineer/Consultant at Notable Frontier Sdn Bhd
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
8.2
Check Point WAF offers stable, reliable protection with minimal downtime, despite occasional configuration and licensing challenges that are quickly resolved.
Sentiment score
8.5
Users highly rate Fortra's Digital Guardian stability and reliability, confirming minimal downtime and no performance issues.
It is very stable.
Team Leader, Cloudops & Cloud Architect at a consultancy with 501-1,000 employees
It is very stable, never crashing or giving me an error that I can see.
Sysadmin at a government with 501-1,000 employees
I did not have any issues in the last three years during which I had more than ten critical services running on CloudGuard.
Information Technology - Infrastructure and Security at Cyprus Development Bank
Fortra's Digital Guardian is stable; it doesn't have a negative effect on my system performance.
Automation Engineer at a tech vendor with 10,001+ employees
For stability, I would rate Fortra's Digital Guardian a nine because it proves to be very reliable.
Co-Founder and Business Development at TeCrypt
 

Room For Improvement

Check Point WAF users seek better pricing, simplicity, AI features, multilingual support, enhanced APIs, and improved documentation and support.
Fortra's Digital Guardian needs better user-friendliness, scalability, support, CPU usage, visibility, and faster reporting with reduced license costs.
The provider could improve by providing better guidance and support during the configuration process.
Infrastructure Manager at FPMH
Future releases should include better bot mitigation, behavioral anomaly detection, compliance templates, advanced threat intel integration, and streamlined multi-cloud support to boost protection and usability.
Senior Cyber Security Engineer at a computer software company with 501-1,000 employees
A machine learning-based adaptive mode could help the WAF learn over time and auto-tune policies.
Technical Support Executive at a computer software company with 501-1,000 employees
System reporting and default system reporting are not totally usable and require customization to be practical.
System Engineer/Consultant at Notable Frontier Sdn Bhd
Fortra's Digital Guardian does have some mishaps and imperfections, but it has been really helpful for us as a DLP tool.
Security Managed Services Associate at a tech vendor with 10,001+ employees
I give Fortra's Digital Guardian a seven because it doesn't compromise my system performance, but I don't get any visibility about what's happening and I don't know which criteria are used for preventing data leaks or classifying my files as sensitive or not sensitive.
Automation Engineer at a tech vendor with 10,001+ employees
 

Setup Cost

Check Point WAF pricing is high but justified by robust features, reliable security, and flexible licensing options.
Fortra's Digital Guardian is valued for scalability and security but is expensive, targeting enterprise clients over smaller businesses.
It is more expensive than f5, where we purchased everything as bundles, and Check Point costs more, but it is worth the money.
Cyber security manager at a government with 1,001-5,000 employees
It is less costly than Cloudflare, Fortinet, and other vendors.
Project Manager at a outsourcing company with 1,001-5,000 employees
I know that its price is relatively expensive compared to other products but it gives benefits that are worth it.
Ciso at a government with 1,001-5,000 employees
It is not affordable for us in terms of the license because it is not something related to the license as much as from a company perspective.
Co-Founder and Business Development at TeCrypt
I know that it is expensive.
Security Senior Consultant at a financial services firm with 5,001-10,000 employees
 

Valuable Features

Check Point WAF offers AI-driven security, seamless cloud integration, and cost-effective protection with centralized management and simplified configuration.
Fortra's Digital Guardian offers robust data protection through customizable policies, real-time visibility, and seamless integration with existing processes.
Upon implementation and evaluation with third-party penetration testing, it meets rigorous security standards required for dealing with financial institutions.
Infrastructure Manager at FPMH
It can protect against zero-day attacks and hidden anomalies.
Security Administrator at regione marche
The solution preemptively blocks zero-day attacks and detects hidden anomalies effectively.
Information Technology - Infrastructure and Security at Cyprus Development Bank
Fortra's Digital Guardian can detect any user activity after installation and commissioning without the need for policy implementation; it just works by system default.
System Engineer/Consultant at Notable Frontier Sdn Bhd
With this file tagging, everything that needs to be controlled or monitored is blocked for any file transfer because once the file is tagged by Fortra's Digital Guardian, that tag remains wherever the file is placed.
Security Managed Services Associate at a tech vendor with 10,001+ employees
Fortra's Digital Guardian's lightweight nature impacts my productivity and workflow positively because it delivers enterprise security without hurting developer productivity, and the system performance remains stable.
Automation Engineer at a tech vendor with 10,001+ employees
 

Categories and Ranking

Check Point WAF (formerly C...
Ranking in Data Loss Prevention (DLP)
9th
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.0
Number of Reviews
81
Ranking in other categories
Application Security Tools (5th), Web Application Firewall (WAF) (5th), DevSecOps (2nd)
Fortra's Digital Guardian
Ranking in Data Loss Prevention (DLP)
14th
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.2
Number of Reviews
7
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of November 2026, in the Data Loss Prevention (DLP) category, the mindshare of Check Point WAF (formerly CloudGuard WAF) is 1.0%, up from 0.4% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Fortra's Digital Guardian is 1.3%, up from 1.0% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Data Loss Prevention (DLP) Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Check Point WAF (formerly CloudGuard WAF)1.0%
Fortra's Digital Guardian1.3%
Other97.7%
Data Loss Prevention (DLP)
 

Featured Reviews

Krishnakumar Mahadevan - PeerSpot reviewer
CISO at Spink Solutions Private Limited
Cloud security has strengthened risk posture and improved advanced threat visibility
There are some API gateway and API securities I mentioned. If these are incorporated with AI-related features, particularly those seven key vulnerabilities I mentioned—token theft and tool poisoning—that would be beneficial. AI-related features are not included yet in Check Point CloudGuard WAF. However, they are present in FortiGate. That is the advantage of FortiGate now. FortiGate is stopping all AI-related vulnerabilities now. FortiGate has this capability. It is unfortunate that even Palo Alto also lacks one or two of these features. Check Point Quantum is very good, without a doubt. However, their capabilities are not in comparison with Palo Alto. There are some features, but there are some gaps in comparison with Palo Alto.
Mohamed Abdel-Hassanein - PeerSpot reviewer
Co-Founder and Business Development at TeCrypt
Consolidated data protection has streamlined compliance and incident response from one dashboard
The biggest advantage in Fortra's Digital Guardian is that two products in a single product can be configured, monitored, and troubleshot through a single dashboard. Another advantage is that they split the tool for database and the network. If the customer needs to do data classification or DLP for the database, they can purchase the license for the database only. If the customer needs to do it for the network, they can purchase the network license only. If it is an enterprise customer and they need to buy both, they can. However, one disadvantage is that they do not focus on small to mid customers. They start talking about 400 users and more. Regarding real-time data visibility, it helps manage data security for the clients completely. I can do everything from a single dashboard, including gap analysis and instant response. I have over 15 years of experience as a technical person working hands-on with the product, so I have technical skills. The advantage of Fortra's Digital Guardian is that it includes a forensics tool and incident response, which allows me to determine incidents before and after they occur. In case of an incident, I can put a scenario and action plan, and if the customer gets hacked or attacked, I can identify where, who, how, and when this happened. That is a good advantage. Fortra's Digital Guardian is very effective in detecting insider threats in the company, especially for low awareness customers who can send unexpected messages. As we all know, most attacks come from the inside, and more than 79% of attacks result from human error, not malicious intent, but it can be accidental. So if I can classify the data and put some restrictions, it is not a constraint on the employees inside but instead protects them and the company. Speaking of cross-platform protection in Fortra's Digital Guardian, it streamlines data protection processes for the clients. The most important factor is to protect the customer's data, which is their real asset, regardless of where the data resides—on the cloud or on-premises, in static or in transit. What matters is how to protect that data, and I need visibility on it, which is very well managed within Fortra's Digital Guardian. Regarding the network, it can also be managed and controlled if it is split across on-prem or in the cloud, and I have complete and clear visibility on all assets. The flexibility of deployment within Fortra's Digital Guardian is good, but it is not more than 90% of Arab countries, mainly Egypt, that allow on-cloud implementation. As such, on-prem solutions are the most applicable implementations fully fulfilled by Fortra's Digital Guardian.
report
Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Data Loss Prevention (DLP) solutions are best for your needs.
920,769 professionals have used our research since 2012.
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Outsourcing Company
15%
Computer Software Company
14%
Financial Services Firm
10%
Construction Company
8%
Financial Services Firm
13%
Outsourcing Company
13%
Comms Service Provider
11%
Manufacturing Company
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business57
Midsize Enterprise24
Large Enterprise40
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business3
Midsize Enterprise1
Large Enterprise3
 

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for CloudGuard for Application Security?
It is a little bit expensive, but the pricing model is acceptable, though a reduction would make it more competitive with leaders such as Palo Alto.
What needs improvement with CloudGuard for Application Security?
The false positive rate is a concern, but I could recommend improvements where false positives have to be minimized better. This all depends on how the rules are customized and configured, and it c...
What is your primary use case for CloudGuard for Application Security?
The main purpose is to have network security through machine learning, which can offer threat detection and intelligence for my endpoints, and I am looking for application security. I am looking fo...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Fortra's Digital Guardian?
It is not affordable for us in terms of the license because it is not something related to the license as much as from a company perspective; Fortra needs to put themselves on a scale for enterpris...
What needs improvement with Fortra's Digital Guardian?
The main concerns I have are pricing and the fact that it is handled through a distributor or reseller. Fortra does not have a local team here in the country, and they depend completely on distribu...
What is your primary use case for Fortra's Digital Guardian?
The most important use case for my clients in Fortra's Digital Guardian is that it consolidates two products into a single product: the DLP and data classification instead of having to implement an...
 

Also Known As

Check Point CloudGuard Application Security, CloudGuard Application Security, CloudGuard AppSec, Check Point CloudGuard Code Security
No data available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Orange España, Paschoalotto
Information Not Available
Find out what your peers are saying about Check Point WAF (formerly CloudGuard WAF) vs. Fortra's Digital Guardian and other solutions. Updated: November 2026.
920,769 professionals have used our research since 2012.