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Cisco DNA Center vs Fortinet FortiManager comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Jan 2, 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
5.4
Cisco DNA Center offers ROI through time savings despite its cost with a user rating of 4/5 to 7/10.
Sentiment score
6.5
Fortinet FortiManager offers cost savings, enhanced visibility, and strong ROI, despite potential delays with new project deployments.
Although Cisco DNA Center is expensive, we have seen a return on investment in terms of time savings.
Fortinet provides a strong ROI for organizations focused on comprehensive security.
The cost has been reduced for us by 24%.
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
6.2
Cisco DNA Center support is generally well-received, though some users encounter delays and desire better documentation and consistency.
Sentiment score
6.8
Fortinet FortiManager support is responsive and helpful but lacks consistency and promptness, with regional differences in expertise noted.
Overall, Cisco DNA Center rates eight out of ten as a complete solution.
The support for Cisco DNA Center is good.
Fortinet's support has proven to be reliable, particularly as we've been engaged with them since the project's initiation.
They are responsive and resolve issues quickly when I raise a ticket.
Fortinet support is responsive and helpful.
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
7.6
Cisco DNA Center offers scalable network management with effective expansion, despite limited IPv6 support and high licensing costs.
Sentiment score
7.3
Fortinet FortiManager offers scalable, centralized management for diverse devices, excelling in virtual environments and large enterprise networks.
From my experience, we can easily manage numerous devices.
The solution is designed for large enterprise companies.
Whenever you are monitoring or managing more than 10 or 20 firewalls, it is evident that you need a single pane of glass, which Fortinet FortiManager is offering.
You can raise the capacity as you go, and there is no limit for hardware.
The problem is cloud connectivity and roaming profiles are not working, as there is no option for them.
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
7.5
Cisco DNA Center is generally stable, with users praising its reliability despite minor bugs and stability challenges.
Sentiment score
7.9
Fortinet FortiManager is reliable with occasional minor bugs, requiring updates and good internet or hardware for optimal performance.
When we communicate problems, they solve them effectively.
I rate the solution's stability ten out of ten.
95% of the time, there are no problems interacting with other devices.
It is an absolutely very stable product, and we have not encountered any kind of disruption as far as the product is concerned.
 

Room For Improvement

Cisco DNA Center needs better integration, pricing, UI, stability, deployment, reporting, training, and troubleshooting for improved usability.
Fortinet FortiManager needs better support, documentation, integration, user interface, pricing, scalability, traffic monitoring, bug fixes, and feature improvements.
The AI-driven insights have contributed significantly to faster troubleshooting and predictive analytics.
The client history in Cisco DNA Center can be longer than 10 days, perhaps extending to 15 or 20 days.
FortiManager is a good tool, but there is a lack of really advanced documentation.
In such cases, their CPE or other devices on-site may become unreliable, leading to occasional configuration discrepancies.
The graphical user interface could use improvement as it appears complex and not user-friendly.
 

Setup Cost

Cisco DNA Center's high costs and licensing requirements can deter smaller businesses, appealing mainly to large enterprises.
Fortinet FortiManager offers competitive and reasonable pricing, with negotiable discounts, making it appealing for scalable network management.
I hope that the prices will become more competitive in subsequent releases, as the current pricing is perceived as somewhat elevated.
I would rate the price 8 out of 10 with 10 being the most expensive.
Some competing solutions in the market, like Sophos and SonicWALL, offer lower costs of up to 40 percent.
 

Valuable Features

Cisco DNA Center provides analytics, centralized management, and enhanced security with automation, real-time monitoring, and AI-driven network insights.
Fortinet FortiManager offers centralized management, automation, scalability, and comprehensive logging, enhancing efficiency and reducing manual effort in network operations.
The most valuable features include AI-driven insights which make troubleshooting much easier.
If there is a problem, I can inspect the situation and see what is happening, which is beneficial.
I can automate the installation of configurations using different programming languages like Python or HPE, and it's a GUI solution, so it's pretty easy to use, even for basic users.
Being able to push consistent firewall rules and configuration changes across multiple FortiGates saves a ton of time and reduces errors compared to managing each device individually.
FortiManager captures all devices and provides reports for security analysis.
 

Categories and Ranking

Cisco DNA Center
Ranking in Network Management Applications
1st
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.2
Number of Reviews
43
Ranking in other categories
Network Monitoring Software (11th), Network Automation (2nd)
Fortinet FortiManager
Ranking in Network Management Applications
4th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
7.0
Number of Reviews
70
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of October 2025, in the Network Management Applications category, the mindshare of Cisco DNA Center is 21.8%, down from 28.8% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Fortinet FortiManager is 5.0%, up from 4.6% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Network Management Applications Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Cisco DNA Center21.8%
Fortinet FortiManager5.0%
Other73.2%
Network Management Applications
 

Featured Reviews

Mahir Öztürk - PeerSpot reviewer
Client history has helped resolve past network issues more efficiently
I mostly use the client history feature of Cisco DNA Center. I didn't use the real-time monitoring capability of Cisco DNA Center because I primarily used it for client history regarding issues and problems. I don't use it for real-time monitoring. If there is a problem, I can inspect the situation and see what is happening, which is beneficial.
Damitha Anuradha - PeerSpot reviewer
Manage multiple devices with ease but experience complexity in deployment and limited AI features
I use Fortinet FortiManager to manage multiple devices in a single location. Although it does not provide a security posture itself, it depends on the firewall policies and settings in their respective firewalls. Fortinet FortiManager is primarily meant for the management of devices Fortinet…
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
14%
Manufacturing Company
11%
Government
9%
Financial Services Firm
6%
Computer Software Company
14%
Comms Service Provider
9%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Financial Services Firm
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business10
Midsize Enterprise9
Large Enterprise25
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business33
Midsize Enterprise15
Large Enterprise19
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Cisco DNA Center?
The most valuable feature of the solution stems from the fact that it gives some kind of ease in operations, especially since our company is moving from CLI to GUI-based configuration.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Cisco DNA Center?
After evaluating other solutions, we will provide feedback.
What needs improvement with Cisco DNA Center?
We have utilized the software-defined access (SDA) feature of Cisco DNA Center. The AI-driven needs enhancements and Integration and unification of visibility and monitoring to include other areas ...
What do you like most about Fortinet FortiManager?
The most valuable feature is the centralized management console.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Fortinet FortiManager?
The pricing for Fortinet FortiManager is good and not expensive. It is competitively priced.
What needs improvement with Fortinet FortiManager?
There are some aspects that Fortinet FortiManager could improve upon. The user interface can feel clunky, especially for more complex tasks such as managing large-scale policy packages or custom sc...
 

Also Known As

DNA Center
No data available
 

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 Cisco DNA Center vs. Fortinet FortiManager and other solutions. Updated: September 2025.
869,089 professionals have used our research since 2012.