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Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN vs FatPipe SD-WAN comparison

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Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary

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

Fortinet FortiGate
Sponsored
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
574
Ranking in other categories
Secure Web Gateways (SWG) (2nd), Firewalls (1st), Intrusion Detection and Prevention Software (IDPS) (1st), ZTNA (2nd), Unified Threat Management (UTM) (1st)
Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN
Ranking in Software Defined WAN (SD-WAN) Solutions
2nd
Ranking in WAN Edge
2nd
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
96
Ranking in other categories
Network Management Applications (6th)
FatPipe SD-WAN
Ranking in Software Defined WAN (SD-WAN) Solutions
19th
Ranking in WAN Edge
19th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
1
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of October 2025, in the Software Defined WAN (SD-WAN) Solutions category, the mindshare of Fortinet FortiGate is 18.3%, down from 20.9% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN is 14.6%, down from 19.0% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of FatPipe SD-WAN is 0.9%, up from 0.7% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Software Defined WAN (SD-WAN) Solutions Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Fortinet FortiGate18.3%
Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN14.6%
FatPipe SD-WAN0.9%
Other66.2%
Software Defined WAN (SD-WAN) Solutions
 

Featured Reviews

Vasu Gala - PeerSpot reviewer
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.
Henry Rosenstiehl - PeerSpot reviewer
Comprehensive support and ease of implementation enhance operational efficiency
With Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN, I have centralized orchestration and management. The transport independence of MPLS or connectivity and internet connectivity is another excellent feature. End-to-end segmentation is also provided. I use the application-aware routing feature. Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN supports dynamic police-based routing decisions based on application type or different performance metrics such as jitter or latency. The benefit of that feature is that it improves user experience. The principal benefit of application-aware routing is that critical applications are prioritized or routed over the best performing paths to reduce outages and service degradation. There is full visibility of applications. Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN has integrated security features which include base firewall, URL filtering, IPS, and secure segmentation, and it supports integration with other Cisco products such as Umbrella or Snort. This feature is beneficial for the client because the information is secure. It is important that Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN supports cloud, on-premises, and hybrid environments for my organization because it allows for scalability and faster deployment in the cloud. It reduces operational needs because I don't need to manage physical controller hardware, and updates and maintenance can be centralized and automated. The zero-touch provisioning feature is very important for the speed of deploying new branch locations. I can deliver the device to the branch, and it is important because simplified deployment makes the implementation start more easily since devices are auto-configured and authenticate without manual intervention.
Akshay Kharkar - PeerSpot reviewer
Beneficial technology, reliable, and simple deployment
Our client has a data center and all the applications servers and servers are in their data center. We design a solution, for all their branches. If they wanted to access the internet or the applications, they route traffic to their data center and then can access these applications with FatPipe…

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"I like the common administration and the possibility of adding Fortinet defense systems."
"We have a redundant setup for failover, however, it has not had to fail over ever and we have not had a capacity issue."
"The biggest lesson would be that Fortinet FortiGate provides a high level of security at a good total cost of ownership."
"The best features of Fortinet FortiGate include the simple user interface."
"Fortinet FortiGate is quite popular in my region, so we are implementing Fortinet FortiGate firewalls. Fortinet FortiGate is the best option on the market when it comes to firewalls. It's straightforward to deploy and has good stability and performance."
"The most valuable features of Fortinet FortiGate are the ability to work in proxy mode, which other solutions, such as Palo Alto cannot. There are some features that are better that come at no extra license or subscriptions cost, such as basic SD-WAN. The DLT is useful, other solutions have the same feature too, such as Palo Alto."
"The product is easy to configure."
"The best feature of Fortinet FortiGate is value for money. It is very easy to deploy and scale. It saves us costs and increases bandwidth throughput."
"I would recommend Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN as it is a good product."
"The user experience is pretty good."
"The solution can scale. We haven't had any issues doing so."
"The initial setup is quite simple."
"SD-WAN provides a range of common benefits, including cost reduction, increased visibility, and scalability"
"The centralized management is the most important feature. We can monitor what is going on at every location in our network with just one center."
"The scalability is the most valuable feature."
"Any technical support we needed was great."
"The most valuable feature of FatPipe SD-WAN is it's based on SD-WAN technology."
 

Cons

"From a pricing perspective, I would rate them a six."
"The performance and speed are aspects of the solution that could always be improved upon."
"One area for improvement involves FortiAnalyzer, specifically regarding the SOC part and log interpretation. Sometimes interpretation is very difficult."
"Fortinet FortiGate has started implementing AI, however, it hasn't reached full maturity."
"The solution could improve the configuration, there are times the configuration is missing."
"Areas of improvement for Fortinet FortiGate include the need for more training and certification, especially when dealing with distributors globally, which presents challenges in product availability and delivery timelines."
"It would be nice if backups could more easily migrate between different models."
"Fortinet needs to continue to improve network traceability. Other than that, we haven't run into anything that would give me any concern."
"An area for improvement lies in enhancing the integration with the security functions of the SD-WAN."
"The cost is too high for certain countries, for example, those in Africa. The solution needs to be more cost-effective."
"Cisco SD-WAN could improve on the ease of integration, the configuration should be easier. At the moment the process is more command line based and it would be better if it was able to be done through an interface."
"The product needs to have more understanding staff in their support team. The tool needs to provide support in every stage of deployment. We did not get the expected support from their team. The product is also not easy to use."
"Technical support could be more helpful and responsive."
"The main issue is that not in the technology, but it comes back comparison. When we do a comparison with other SD WAN solutions, they are priced better."
"Some competitors are much faster in providing out-of-the-box solutions, more innovative solutions. In terms of innovation, in many cases, they're lagging behind."
"We need them to start focusing on the SD-WAN compatibility with other environments and not being so vendor locked with Cisco environments."
"FatPipe SD-WAN can improve the price to scale the solution."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"It has a competitive price."
"It could be more competitive and cost-effective."
"Its pricing is competitive with other solutions."
"The price of Fortinet FortiGate is the lowest in the market."
"Fortinet FortiGate is reasonably priced."
"I give the pricing of the solution a six out of ten."
"It's one of the more expensive brands. The 100 series costs around $4,000. They are similar in pricing to what you might get from Cisco solutions and probably other similar ones. They're not more expensive than other similar solutions, but they're certainly not cheaper either."
"It is very cost-effective. You get features similar to other firewalls, such as Palo Alto, but at a lower price."
"It is much cheaper than other solutions. Most of our clients are the top 500 companies, and they all have a corporate contract."
"The price of Cisco SD-WAN could improve, it is expensive. The cost of the solution is approximately 30 percent higher than competitors."
"The pricing for Cisco SD-WAN is more expensive than other brands or solutions, such as Fortinet and Palo Alto Networks, so it's one out of ten."
"The costs are a bit on the high side."
"The license consists of an annual fee."
"Cisco SD-WAN is more expensive than its competitors."
"For 600 links, the license for Cisco SD-WAN costs us US$250k a year."
"Cost-wise, Cisco SD-WAN is comparatively high."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
15%
Comms Service Provider
9%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Financial Services Firm
6%
Computer Software Company
15%
Financial Services Firm
11%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Comms Service Provider
6%
Computer Software Company
17%
Media Company
17%
Outsourcing Company
10%
Retailer
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business350
Midsize Enterprise130
Large Enterprise187
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business44
Midsize Enterprise15
Large Enterprise42
No data available
 

Questions from the Community

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 a...
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...
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 ...
What do you like most about Cisco SD-WAN?
When considering the most valuable features of Cisco SD-WAN, the decoupling of self-monitoring stands out significant...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Cisco SD-WAN?
The pricing of Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN is rated between eight and nine out of ten, where ten is the most expensive.
What needs improvement with Cisco SD-WAN?
Cisco can improve Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN by simplifying licensing and platform integration with other Cisco products s...
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Also Known As

No data available
Cisco SD-WAN
FatPipe Symphony, Symphony, FatPipe Symphony SD-WAN, Symphony SD-WAN
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

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
Doyle Research, Ashton Metzler & Associates
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Find out what your peers are saying about Fortinet, Cisco, Broadcom and others in Software Defined WAN (SD-WAN) Solutions. Updated: September 2025.
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