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Fortinet FortiADC vs Microsoft Azure Application Gateway comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Dec 17, 2024

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
5.2
Fortinet FortiADC is chosen for reliable load management, security, and support, offering moderate ROI and essential performance.
Sentiment score
6.1
Microsoft Azure Application Gateway enhances ROI by reducing infrastructure costs, simplifying setup, and using cost management tools for accurate assessments.
The alert system is efficient, sending alerts within a fraction of a second if any power issues arise.
Senior Network Engineer at SP SYSNET PTE. LTD.
Microsoft Azure Application Gateway significantly impacts our cost savings while maintaining higher performance.
IT Manager at Chong Hua Hospital
If we can use a shared resource, then the return on investment is really nice.
Cloud Specialist at a tech services company with 10,001+ employees
We have seen a return on investment in terms of time-saving and cost-saving by not creating our own infrastructure.
Information Security and Compliance Officer at Carnation
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
6.2
Fortinet FortiADC customer service is praised for effective support but varies in response time and relies on ticket prioritization.
Sentiment score
6.4
Microsoft Azure Application Gateway support experiences vary; some praise expertise, while others criticize delays and inconsistent quality.
The support team is knowledgeable and efficiently assists with automation and configuration problems.
Security Network Architect at Inmac
It varies depending on the engineer assigned; in most cases, we resolve issues on the first attempt.
Senior Technical Engineer at Safezone Secure Solutions Private Limited
The service is helpful yet not excellent.
Senior Network Engineer at SP SYSNET PTE. LTD.
I would say they provide the best support for Application Gateway because they own the product, so their support is top-notch.
Cloud Specialist at a tech services company with 10,001+ employees
There is room for improvement, specifically in paid support, by providing more direct contact.
Information Security and Compliance Officer at Carnation
I would rate Microsoft support as good because they have a very skilled technical support team in the background
Cloud Head at White-Spunner & Associates
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
7.5
Fortinet FortiADC provides scalable solutions with virtual and cloud options, though performance varies by model and infrastructure needs.
Sentiment score
7.4
Microsoft Azure Application Gateway provides scalable solutions but has mixed reviews regarding cost and ease of scaling and upgrades.
For those opting for a SaaS or cloud solution, there is scalability and flexibility.
Senior Technical Engineer at Safezone Secure Solutions Private Limited
It is scalable for some versions, however, as components reach their end of support, upgrades are necessary to maintain scalability.
Security Network Architect at Inmac
Microsoft Azure Application Gateway is a very scalable product.
IT Manager at Chong Hua Hospital
It has the autoscaling feature, so there is not much concern around performance; it can scale significantly.
Cloud Specialist at a tech services company with 10,001+ employees
Microsoft Azure Application Gateway is a scalable solution.
Cloud Head at White-Spunner & Associates
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
8.2
Fortinet FortiADC is praised for stability, reliable operation, effective support, and minor issues resolved through firmware updates.
Sentiment score
7.6
Microsoft Azure Application Gateway is stable and reliable, with high ratings, despite occasional issues due to misconfiguration.
The support system is reliable when issues like automation or configuration arise.
Security Network Architect at Inmac
Overall, it has been good; in the past it was very good, and now it is still performing well.
Senior Technical Engineer at Safezone Secure Solutions Private Limited
We have been using it for the past two to three years, and there have been good results with no problems so far.
Cloud Specialist at a tech services company with 10,001+ employees
The stability is good, and except for a few instances, I don't see the non-availability of Azure Cloud services.
Cloud Head at White-Spunner & Associates
 

Room For Improvement

Fortinet FortiADC needs advancements in algorithms, UI, support, documentation, scalability, features, pricing, licensing, performance, cloud, and AI integration.
Microsoft Azure Application Gateway is criticized for high costs, complexity, lacking documentation, and needing improvements in security, scalability, and support.
Fortinet has been a pioneer for enterprise solutions, such as firewalls, SASE, ZTNA, and SD-WAN solutions, and they are in a leader quadrant.
Senior Technical Engineer at Safezone Secure Solutions Private Limited
The limitation of managing all components and the differing versions pose challenges.
Security Network Architect at Inmac
If I need design help, they do not assist; they say it is a design issue they cannot support, and I must approach the system integrator.
Senior Network Engineer at SP SYSNET PTE. LTD.
One feature I mentioned is the support for non-HTTPS protocols such as TCP, which could allow one endpoint for all kinds of protocols.
Cloud Specialist at a tech services company with 10,001+ employees
There is room for improvement in terms of support, such as assigning agents directly for more straightforward engagement.
Information Security and Compliance Officer at Carnation
In future releases of Microsoft Azure Application Gateway, I would like to see more AI functionalities and a better dashboard as well as some customizations.
IT Manager at Chong Hua Hospital
 

Setup Cost

Fortinet FortiADC is affordable compared to competitors, with flexible licensing, varying costs, and potential discounts based on configurations.
Microsoft Azure Application Gateway's cost is debated; appreciated for scalability but potentially expensive with additional fees compared to AWS.
This solution is quite expensive compared to Kemp.
Senior Network Engineer at SP SYSNET PTE. LTD.
We would prefer to have it cheaper, but it is still expensive.
Cloud Specialist at a tech services company with 10,001+ employees
Azure solutions are quite expensive.
Information Security and Compliance Officer at Carnation
When it comes to pricing for Microsoft Azure Application Gateway, I would rate it a seven out of ten.
IT Manager at Chong Hua Hospital
 

Valuable Features

Fortinet FortiADC excels in load balancing, security, and ease of integration, offering scalable, reliable, and comprehensive traffic management solutions.
Microsoft Azure Application Gateway provides secure, efficient traffic management with integration, automation, and scalability benefits for straightforward application deployment.
I use server load balancing and employ layer seven features, which provide more granular traffic shaping and detailed logs.
Senior Network Engineer at SP SYSNET PTE. LTD.
When integrated with FortiAnalyzer, it has much more significance.
Senior Technical Engineer at Safezone Secure Solutions Private Limited
FortiADC provides load-balancing capabilities needed for integration with other Fortinet platforms.
Security Network Architect at Inmac
We are using it for some of the security features for our applications, particularly for securing traffic in transit with SSL.
Information Security and Compliance Officer at Carnation
The Web Application Firewall (WAF) in Microsoft Azure Application Gateway has been very effective in protecting applications from security threats.
IT Manager at Chong Hua Hospital
The gateway's Web Application Firewall feature enhances security as it is the first entry point to your network from the outside world.
Cloud Head at White-Spunner & Associates
 

Categories and Ranking

Fortinet FortiADC
Ranking in Application Delivery Controllers (ADC)
6th
Average Rating
7.8
Reviews Sentiment
6.7
Number of Reviews
25
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Microsoft Azure Application...
Ranking in Application Delivery Controllers (ADC)
4th
Average Rating
7.4
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
50
Ranking in other categories
Web Application Firewall (WAF) (5th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of January 2026, in the Application Delivery Controllers (ADC) category, the mindshare of Fortinet FortiADC is 9.8%, up from 9.6% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Microsoft Azure Application Gateway is 6.6%, down from 8.5% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Application Delivery Controllers (ADC) Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Microsoft Azure Application Gateway6.6%
Fortinet FortiADC9.8%
Other83.6%
Application Delivery Controllers (ADC)
 

Featured Reviews

GANESAN K - PeerSpot reviewer
Senior Technical Engineer at Safezone Secure Solutions Private Limited
Has supported load balancing for medical applications and could benefit from more custom configuration options
Some customers need custom management for handling their applications across the servers. Instead of having a predefined solution, if we had space for custom-based algorithms to load balance the traffic, it would be better. We have faced such cases with A10, where we can leverage many custom scripts and do much more. Even though A10 primarily focuses on SMBs, they have also ventured into the enterprise market. Fortinet has been a pioneer for enterprise solutions, such as firewalls, SASE, ZTNA, and SD-WAN solutions, and they are in a leader quadrant. Therefore, they should have more options. From a pricing perspective, it is expensive.
SS
Cloud Specialist at a tech services company with 10,001+ employees
Mutual TLS has secured our web services and now needs broader protocol support
The most valuable feature we have found in Microsoft Azure Application Gateway is mutual TLS. We find mutual TLS valuable because we can verify the client securely by setting up the trust certificate of the client, and also if we do it at the client side as well. This successfully develops mutual trust, ensuring that we know the client who is calling our service is a legitimate client. That is a very nice feature.Microsoft Azure Application Gateway has helped manage our traffic efficiently because we have many web services that we can put behind the same URL, and we can have different URLs with the same Application Gateway with a limited number of listeners. We can do host-based routing as well as URL-based routing or path-based routing. It supports both, so we can have even a single URL supporting many applications, or we can have different URLs for different applications respectively. We have both use cases.
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
11%
Financial Services Firm
9%
Government
9%
Energy/Utilities Company
6%
Computer Software Company
14%
Financial Services Firm
10%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Government
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business12
Midsize Enterprise4
Large Enterprise7
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business22
Midsize Enterprise6
Large Enterprise24
 

Questions from the Community

Is Citrix ADC (formerly Netscaler) the best ADC to use and if not why?
For ADC, any ADC can do a good job. But in case if you want to add WAF functionality to the same ADC hardware you have to look for other ADC's like F5, Imperva, Radware, Fortinet, etc.
Do you recommend Fortinet FortiADC?
I recommend Fortinet FortiADC. My experience with Fortinet has been very positive. Our company has been using it for around five years. We mainly use FortiADC for the load balancing of application ...
What do you like most about Fortinet FortiADC?
The user interface is very easy and integrates with Sandbox easily.
What's the difference between Azure Front Door and Application Gateway?
We found Azure Front Door to be easily scaled and very stable. The implementation is very fast and Microsoft provides excellent support. Azure Front Door can quickly detect abnormalities before the...
How does AWS WAF compare to Microsoft Azure Application Gateway?
Our organization ran comparison tests to determine whether Amazon’s Web Service Web Application Firewall or Microsoft Azure Application Gateway web application firewall software was the better fit ...
What do you like most about Microsoft Azure Application Gateway?
Application Gateway automatically redirects unwanted users and takes care of the security aspect. It also handles the performance side of things, which is why we use it.
 

Also Known As

FortiADC Application Delivery Controller, FortiADC
Azure Application Gateway, MS Azure Application Gateway
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Black Gold Regional Schools, Amadeus Hospitality, Jefferson County, Chunghwa Telecom, City of Boroondara, Dimension Data
Lilly, AccuWeather, AIRFRANCE, Honeywell
Find out what your peers are saying about Fortinet FortiADC vs. Microsoft Azure Application Gateway and other solutions. Updated: December 2025.
881,082 professionals have used our research since 2012.