Citrix SD-WAN [EOL] vs Forcepoint Next Generation Firewall comparison

Citrix and Forcepoint are both solutions in the Software Defined WAN (SD-WAN) Solutions category. Additionally, 90% of Citrix users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 78% of Forcepoint users who would recommend it.

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Download the report

Executive SummaryUpdated on Oct 12, 2025

Citrix SD-WAN [EOL] and Forcepoint Next Generation Firewall compete in the network security domain. User reviews suggest that Forcepoint has the upper hand due to its extensive feature set and perceived value, despite Citrix offering better pricing and support.

Features: Citrix SD-WAN [EOL] is known for its superior CIFS optimization, HDX WAN acceleration, and load balancing capabilities, enhancing branch communication and stability. In contrast, Forcepoint Next Generation Firewall is highlighted for its robust security features, including integrated multi-layer filtering, advanced threat protection, and centralized management.

Room for Improvement: Citrix SD-WAN [EOL] needs improvements in reporting, customization, and competitive pricing options for varying markets. Forcepoint Next Generation Firewall could benefit from a more user-friendly interface, improved support services, and simpler deployment processes.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Both Citrix SD-WAN [EOL] and Forcepoint favor on-premises deployments. However, Citrix's technical support receives mixed reviews with some delays in issue resolution, while Forcepoint requires skilled resources for deployment but maintains moderate support interactions.

Pricing and ROI: Citrix SD-WAN [EOL] is viewed as costly but delivers good ROI by reducing MPLS expenses. Its pricing strategy, including perpetual licenses, offers financial management benefits. Conversely, Forcepoint's pricing is high against some competitors, though it offers flexibility in model choices with additional costs for extra features.

To learn more, read our detailed Software Defined WAN (SD-WAN) Solutions Report (Updated: March 2026).

Buyer's Guide

Software Defined WAN (SD-WAN) Solutions

March 2026

Download the complete report

Helped 884,933 peers since 2012

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

Featured Reviews

Vasu Gala

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.

Read full review

Rohit Ghorpade

Cloud Network Engineer at a insurance company with 5,001-10,000 employees

A scalable solution for MCN controller but lacks technical supports, upgrades

There are a few things that can be improved, are domain-based routing and the slowness of virtual parts, and it may be due to the wrong configuration, which we have been unable to find out. Previously, we faced some issues with the slowness part. Apart from that, feature like end gateway level antivirus. We are currently using a NetFlow proxy to establish a virtual position for the NetFlow. Our current environment has many use cases, but we are not using them on the Citrix SD-WAN. When I navigate the NCL part, it involves configuration. I want to highlight this disadvantage. Sometimes, when we push the configuration, it tries to push it to all branch locations. This process takes a lot of time, nearly 30 minutes, to push a single change from the NCL. Overall, I don't think Citrix meets our use cases what we have. This is based on my feedback after using it for the past year and working on this Citrix SD-WAN. However, from my experience, it is the worst solution I have seen. There's no domain-based routing, which is horrible. That's why we are moving to other products. We have checked our use case requirements with Fortinet, Palo Alto, and they meet them. I will consider the PoC or another OEM. There are many things in the area you need to be prompt, like the automation part. If any link or device goes down, alerting notification, etc. We need to perform and highlight so many things to your management. This should be improved.

Read full review

reviewer2774055

Cybersecurity Engineer at a tech consulting company with 51-200 employees

Improved network segmentation has reduced lateral movement while the interface still needs modernization

For threat prevention, I noticed on another customer that there were repeated scanning and exploit attempts against some public-facing service running on HTTPS. I configured Forcepoint Next Generation Firewall to handle IPS by enabling it with critical and high severity signatures only to reduce false positives. I turned on IP reputation filtering to filter out known malicious networks, applied rate limiting on specific services in the DMZ, and logged events centrally for correlation. As a result, exploit attempts were much less than before, being blocked before reaching the back-end servers from the firewall itself, with no performance degradation on the applications. The security team received clear and actionable logs that were centralized, so they knew what was happening all the time. Strong network segmentation is my favorite feature that Forcepoint Next Generation Firewall offers. The policies are very deterministic and readable, and it has excellent east-west blocking and least privilege architecture. Application awareness identifies traffic beyond just the port itself; I can identify the application using a specific port and block risky applications even if they use allowed ports, which is great for environments with shadow IT. The integrated threat prevention is also very good, with IPS featuring well-tuned signatures and reputation-based filtering that blocks known bad actors before they can touch any applications. It supports both IPsec and SSL VPN tunnels, along with site-to-site, client-to-site, and hybrid cloud links, integrating well with Active Directory and LDAP. Additionally, centralized log management and reporting are very actionable and structured, with clarity in the policies for auditing. Overall, its stability and reliability are commendable. A real example of how Forcepoint Next Generation Firewall's readable policies and application awareness features made my work easier was fixing a flat network problem without breaking actual applications. I inherited an environment where users, application servers, and databases were loosely segmented, with port-based and messy firewall rules. Security audits flagged lateral movement risks, and application owners were scared of outages if I tightened security too much. Forcepoint Next Generation Firewall made it easy by providing very easy-to-read and logical policies. I built policies that are clear, showing communications from the user zone to the application zone to specific applications, or from the app zone to the database zone, using only required database protocols. By default, I applied a deny rule between zones unless explicitly allowed by the readable rules I implemented. The policy view clarified who talks to whom, which rules exist, why they exist, and the business function they support, effectively stopping port abuse. Security posture has definitely improved greatly since using Forcepoint Next Generation Firewall. From a flat or semi-flat network, I now have clear zone-based segmentation, with increased operational efficiency. The admins using the firewall have rules that are easy to read and intent-based, making changes easier to review and approve. There is less fear that one wrong rule could break production and fewer outages caused by security changes, without hidden matches or rule shadowing surprises. Clear hit count visibility helps me clean unused rules, leading to much fewer outages caused by changes on the firewalls. The centralized log management with supported log types provides better visibility for the SOC team and the SIEM team, as Forcepoint Next Generation Firewall sends very easy-to-parse and search clear logs to the SOC team. I did see measurable, defensible results after using Forcepoint Next Generation Firewall, including fewer security incidents reaching the back-end servers. This reduction is due to strong segmentation, application awareness, and IPS features, leading to a 60 to 70 percent reduction in security alerts that actually reach the servers. DMZ exploit attempts dropped to near zero, and no lateral movement incidents were detected post network segmentation. Additionally, overall SOC efficiency improved due to well-structured and contextual logs reflecting clear policy intent, resulting in a 35 to 40 percent reduction in mean time to triage. SOC analysts stopped chasing noise and false positives, as they had much clearer logs to use confidently.

Read full review

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The initial setup is straightforward."

"The most valuable feature is the bundled subscription, which is IPS, TV and web filtering."

"The common valuable feature for FortiGate is its UTM functionality, which includes various features under a license that is commonly implemented."

"The most valuable feature of FortiGate is FortiView which provides proactive monitoring."

"Fortinet FortiGate is a simple solution, and the integration with other solutions in the Fortinet portfolio, such as the Security Fabric integration, is competitive."

"The solution is very easy to understand. It's not overly complex."

"It's a flexible solution."

"The IPS and the application control feature are the most valuable."

More Fortinet FortiGate pros

"The VPN and the load balancing are the most valuable features."

"The SD-WAN solution as it is already is quite feature-rich and the upgrade process is very simple."

"The main advantage of Citrix SD-WAN is that it enables fast communication between our branches and data centers. And, with its cloud management features, it also makes the process of adding new branches into our company network much easier."

"It allows us to use additional VPNs, offering more options compared to other VPN solutions."

"Downtime for branch offices is now almost zero. We have 100% real-time visibility into all of our lines. MPLS links have been replaced with lower-cost links, saving a larger percentage of line costs. Overall, I see SD-WAN as a must. And the Citrix SD-WAN product has delivered on expectations and exceeded them. (With later firmware updates we now have good firewall capabilities in the product too)."

"The reliability of connectivity is most valuable."

"The solution's most valuable feature is load balancing."

"If you only take into consideration its features and capability, it is definitely one of the better products available in the market to date."

More Citrix SD-WAN [EOL] pros

"Technical support has been quite helpful in the past."

"I like the Firewall and the IPS."

"It provides decent protection for the LAN, especially in run mode."

"When our customer needs some optimization, along with performance and security. If they want everything in one package, I recommend Forcepoint because they have everything."

"McAfee NSP helps the organization by filtering most of the active inbound attacks that would otherwise compromise the users and servers."

"Forcepoint is a good, stable solution."

"It is stable and scalable. In addition, their support is great. When you ask them for something, they provide support, and if required, they also involve the R&D team to help you to resolve the issues in your configuration."

"The people we deal with is a local partner in Cambodia and we can get good support from them."

More Forcepoint Next Generation Firewall pros

Cons

"When considering the policy of the vendors, they do not offer much of a discount policy, making the licensing model an area that needs improvement."

"This product could be improved with Active directory integration and better handling in IPsec and GRE Tunnels."

"It claims it does DLP, but the degree and level of controls are very basic."

"Fortinet FortiGate is a very good device overall, though it can be improved in certain areas regarding the licenses, particularly the big one called unified threat management, which has many capabilities."

"It would be nice if FortiGate incorporated some built-in endpoint protection features. I would also like a built-in SOC dashboard for managing multiple Fortinet firewalls."

"The one concern I have with Fortinet FortiGate is the firmware versions, which often have many bugs when upgraded, leading us to revert back to older versions multiple times in my lifecycle."

"Due to its higher cost, Fortinet FortiGate can lead to increased operational expenses."

"Backup can be improved."

More Fortinet FortiGate cons

"The initial setup could be a bit easier."

"Enhancements are needed to improve the stability."

"The price could be improved, it's an expensive solution."

"There are a few things that can be improved, are domain-based routing and the slowness of virtual parts, and it may be due to the wrong configuration, which we have been unable to find out."

"Even though the monitoring is pretty good, there is some room for improvement there."

"The firewall reporting could be easier to use and filter. (It works well enough, but if I need to give an area for improvement, I think this would be it.). The built-in reporting on the product in this regard is not great."

"Citrix SD-WAN's knowledge base has a few missing things, so you may need to seek help from support."

"I am happy with this product. If anything, its price can be reduced. It is a bit expensive."

More Citrix SD-WAN [EOL] cons

"My team is looking for more throughput and better integration with our security framework."

"While they offer a comprehensive bundled solution, some users may prefer on-premise deployments for certain features, such as URL filtering."

"The security features need to be improved."

"While the policies are easy to read, the UI feels a bit dated and sometimes clunky on certain pages."

"Intel could ditch the Java-based GUI rendering and could use some serious revamp on the way they manage their GUI."

"Forcepoint Next Generation Firewall is overall good, but AI enabled features are not available."

"They should provide more details on potential cyber threats."

"Making this solution easier to use would be an improvement."

More Forcepoint Next Generation Firewall cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Fortinet FortiGate is expensive."

"Fortinet FortiGate's price can be reduced."

"The price of Fortinet FortiGate is the lowest in the market."

"The licensing cost is at the intermediate level."

"The pricing of the solution is very competitive."

"We are on an annual license to use Fortinet FortiGate."

"Currently, we are paying about $1,500 a month for three sites."

"The pricing is justified. It's a little pricey, but what you pay for is what you get."

More Fortinet FortiGate pricing and cost advice

"The price is relatively expensive."

"It depends on the scale. In our case, it would have been better if we had known about the life cycling steps, but otherwise, it is worth the money."

"As NetScaler is now, I find it quite pricey."

"It is a bit expensive. A cheaper product would be good, but everybody likes things to be cheaper. We bought the devices up front, and then we pay for the annual support."

"It's a little bit on the high side compared to the other products."

"The license was a one-time purchase. It's expensive."

"Citrix SD-WAN is quite an affordable product."

"It would be helpful to have a demo license available for customers who want to prove the concept and conduct a proof of concept (POC) before committing to the solution. This is particularly important for customers in Egypt who often require a demonstration of the solution's features and compatibility with their needs before making any investment or incurring costs. Providing a demo license would allow customers to assess whether the solution would meet their needs or not."

More Citrix SD-WAN [EOL] pricing and cost advice

"We have just a subscription for the cloud, and this license is great. The license is so good."

"It is an affordable product. We purchase its yearly license."

"We would love to take other solution from Forcepoint, but unfortunately the price is too high. That's why we are not considering using Forcepoing for our proxy and DLB. They have a very good DLB, but the matter in the end is the cost."

"The pricing should be more competitive against other vendors in the market."

"It requires a yearly subscription."

"We have found the price could be reduced. It is a little expensive."

"Forcepoint is very expensive but it's really secure."

"The cost is fair, but it could be improved."

More Forcepoint Next Generation Firewall pricing and cost advice

See which vendors are best for you

Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Software Defined WAN (SD-WAN) Solutions solutions are best for your needs.

See recommendations

884,933 professionals have used our research since 2012.

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

11%

Comms Service Provider

10%

Manufacturing Company

Financial Services Firm

Marketing Services Firm

Manufacturing Company

Computer Software Company

Government

Manufacturing Company

10%

Computer Software Company

10%

Financial Services Firm

Government

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	360
Midsize Enterprise	135
Large Enterprise	190

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	7
Midsize Enterprise	5
Large Enterprise	10

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	29
Midsize Enterprise	10
Large Enterprise	12

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...

See all answers

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...

See all answers

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 ...

See all answers

What needs improvement with Citrix SD-WAN?

The solution's licensing model could be improved. Citrix SD-WAN is a good product from a technical point of view. How...

See all answers

What advice do you have for others considering Citrix SD-WAN?

If a customer already has Citrix NetScaler and is not looking to change anything in their existing environment, we pr...

See all answers

What do you like most about Forcepoint Next Generation Firewall?

The product's initial setup phase is easy.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Forcepoint Next Generation Firewall?

My experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing is limited because I do not work with pricing, but I have exper...

See all answers

What needs improvement with Forcepoint Next Generation Firewall?

I found one problem with Forcepoint Next Generation Firewall. They still do not have any VPN clients for Windows comp...

See all answers

Comparisons

Sophos Firewall vs Fortinet FortiGate

Compared 19% of the time

Cisco Secure Firewall vs Fortinet FortiGate

Compared 13% of the time

Netgate pfSense vs Fortinet FortiGate

Compared 4% of the time

Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls vs Fortinet FortiGate

Compared 4% of the time

OPNsense vs Fortinet FortiGate

Compared 3% of the time

More Fortinet FortiGate Competitors

Aruba EdgeConnect SD-WAN Platform vs Citrix SD-WAN [EOL]

Compared 24% of the time

Prisma SD-WAN vs Citrix SD-WAN [EOL]

Compared 13% of the time

Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN vs Citrix SD-WAN [EOL]

Compared 12% of the time

VMware VeloCloud SD-WAN vs Citrix SD-WAN [EOL]

Compared 11% of the time

FatPipe WAN Optimization vs Citrix SD-WAN [EOL]

Compared 8% of the time

More Citrix SD-WAN [EOL] Competitors

Commvault Cloud vs Forcepoint Next Generation Firewall

Compared 7% of the time

Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN vs Forcepoint Next Generation Firewall

Compared 6% of the time

Palo Alto Networks Advanced Threat Prevention vs Forcepoint Next Generation Firewall

Compared 5% of the time

Fortinet FortiOS vs Forcepoint Next Generation Firewall

Compared 5% of the time

Check Point Quantum Force (NGFW) vs Forcepoint Next Generation Firewall

Compared 4% of the time

More Forcepoint Next Generation Firewall Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Fortinet FortiGate

March 2026

Download Fortinet FortiGate product report

Buyer's Guide

Citrix SD-WAN [EOL]

March 2026

Download Citrix SD-WAN [EOL] product report

Buyer's Guide

Forcepoint Next Generation Firewall

March 2026

Forcepoint Next Generation Firewall report

Download Forcepoint Next Generation Firewall product report

Also Known As

Fortinet FortiGate Next-Generation Firewall

Citrix CloudBridge, WOC, NetScaler SD-WAN

Forcepoint NGFW, Stonesoft Next Generation Firewall, McAfee Network Security Platform, Intel Security Network Security Platform

Overview

Fortinet FortiGate is a versatile network security tool offering features like VPN, firewall, web filtering, intrusion prevention, and scalability. It is known for its performance and integration with other Fortinet products, making it a preferred choice for robust cybersecurity.

Fortinet FortiGate stands out as a comprehensive cybersecurity solution with strong performance and ease of configuration. It delivers unified threat management, integrating features such as dynamic routing, SD-WAN support, and centralized management. Despite its strengths, improvements in the web interface's stability, pricing structures, and reporting capabilities are needed. Users seek better integration with third-party tools and automation advancements to enhance the experience further. These enhancements, alongside improvements in bandwidth management and the reduction of licensing costs, are points of interest for users looking to capitalize on FortiGate's extensive capabilities.

What are Fortinet FortiGate's key features?

VPN: Ensures secure remote connections.
Firewall: Protects against unauthorized access.
Web Filtering: Blocks malicious sites and content.
Application Control: Manages and controls applications.
Intrusion Prevention: Detects and prevents vulnerabilities.
SSL Inspection: Enhances security by inspecting encrypted traffic.

What benefits should be considered when evaluating Fortinet FortiGate?

Affordability: Offers cost-effective security solutions.
Reliability: Known for consistent and stable performance.
Integration: Seamlessly integrates with other Fortinet products.
Comprehensive Protection: Provides broad threat protection capabilities.

Fortinet FortiGate is widely implemented across industries as a primary firewall system for securing internet gateways and safeguarding data centers. It supports businesses in achieving SD-WAN integration and enhances cybersecurity by providing essential features like antivirus, web filtering, and application control. Enterprises utilize FortiGate for securing remote connections and ensuring compliance with security standards, making it adaptable for different network sizes and industries.

Fortinet

Citrix SD-WAN [EOL] enhances connectivity and performance by optimizing bandwidth utilization, ensuring reliable communication across branch offices and headquarter data centers. It offers centralized management, efficient deployment options, and improved network reliability.

Citrix SD-WAN [EOL] is designed for businesses seeking enhanced connectivity solutions that boost application performance while reducing costs. With HDX WAN Optimization and reliable Active-Active connectivity, it assures improved bandwidth management. Tailored for both cloud and on-premise deployments, it supports fast communication and seamless integration, making it user-friendly even for those with limited technical expertise. Security features and zero-touch deployments further enhance its appeal. However, users highlight areas needing improvement, such as configuration intuitiveness, pricing alignment for specific markets, and stability. Enhanced reporting, networking features, and technical support are desired. Integration with Windows, security elements like firewalls, and licensing clarity require attention to meet user expectations.

What are the key features of Citrix SD-WAN [EOL]?

HDX WAN Optimization: Enhances application performance and traffic.
Load Balancing: Ensures efficient traffic distribution across networks.
Reliable Connectivity: Provides seamless failover and reduced costs through MPLS replacement.
Cloud Management: Simplifies deployment and management via the cloud.
Zero-Touch Deployment: Facilitates easy setup and provisioning.
Active-Active Lines: Optimizes bandwidth utilization and performance.
Backup Capabilities: Centralizes data management for security.

What benefits should users look for in Citrix SD-WAN [EOL]?

Enhanced Connectivity: Improves stability and reduces downtime.
Cost Reduction: Efficiently decreases expenses by replacing MPLS.
Network Optimization: Offers better bandwidth for diverse communication types.
Secure Interconnectivity: Ensures secure and reliable network connections.
Management Flexibility: Supports cloud or on-premise deployment options.

Industries benefit from Citrix SD-WAN [EOL] by leveraging its features to ensure stable, redundant connectivity between branches and data centers. Organizations experiencing frequent line failures or high reliance on bandwidth-heavy applications find it particularly useful. It caters to sectors needing reliable data management and enhanced networking.

Citrix

Forcepoint Next Generation Firewall is a versatile and comprehensive solution for perimeter security, offering features such as SD-WAN, IPS, VPN, and cloud or on-premises subscription keys. It is preferred by many clients over Cisco and is used for obligation redundancy, VPN access, and as the main point of security in infrastructure.

The product is praised for its simplicity, flexibility, complete feature set, scalability, and central management capabilities. Other valuable features include IPS, firewall, sandbox, application control, filtering, security management center, connectivity, and integration capabilities.

Forcepoint

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

AIDS Healthcare Foundation, Cornerstone Home Lending Inc., Dallara, ecVision, Essar, Eurofred, Groupe Promutuel, HMSHost Corporation, Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines Ltd, Royal Caribbean International

California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR)

Buyer's Guide

Software Defined WAN (SD-WAN) Solutions

March 2026

Download Free Report

Find out what your peers are saying about Fortinet, Cisco, Check Point Software Technologies and others in Software Defined WAN (SD-WAN) Solutions. Updated: March 2026.

DOWNLOAD NOW

884,933 professionals have used our research since 2012.

See our list of best Software Defined WAN (SD-WAN) Solutions vendors and best WAN Edge vendors.

We monitor all Software Defined WAN (SD-WAN) Solutions reviews to prevent fraudulent reviews and keep review quality high. We do not post reviews by company employees or direct competitors. We validate each review for authenticity via cross-reference with LinkedIn, and personal follow-up with the reviewer when necessary.