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Fortinet FortiAnalyzer vs Security Onion comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Oct 9, 2024

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 FortiAnalyzer
Ranking in Log Management
7th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
7.3
Number of Reviews
106
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Security Onion
Ranking in Log Management
22nd
Average Rating
7.6
Reviews Sentiment
5.5
Number of Reviews
3
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of August 2025, in the Log Management category, the mindshare of Fortinet FortiAnalyzer is 1.9%, down from 2.5% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Security Onion is 4.9%, up from 4.8% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Log Management
 

Featured Reviews

Manikandan Kannan - PeerSpot reviewer
Simplifying log management by displaying detailed access information
The most valuable feature of Fortinet FortiAnalyzer is its ability to simplify and display logs clearly, providing details like which IPs are accessing the system, the destination, and the policies applied. This visualization and detail make managing logs more straightforward. In conjunction with our VMware setup, Fortinet FortiAnalyzer enhances organizational efficiency, meeting the standard log retention period for up to a year.
Jörg Kippe - PeerSpot reviewer
A mature and affordable solution that is easy to install and easy to update
The product takes time to learn, it's not that easy. In the beginning we had a lot of questions. If you want to use such a tool in an real (industrial) environment, you have to ask how to get the network data. Can we do a full packet capture? Can we provide agents to our end systems? There are no simple solutions to these questions. It's a general problem when running such systems in an industrial environment.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"With Fortinet FortiAnalyzer, it is easy to get reports and read specific logs."
"I would say that Fortinet's tech support is really good."
"Separating sections or conditions on Fortinet FortiAnalyzer is quite clear."
"FortiAnalyzer's best feature is centralized log analysis. It's based on SQL database, so I can fully customize my report, chart-wise and log-wise, and can create as many reports as I want without any limit."
"The most valuable feature of FortiAnalyzer is its visibility, especially in network investigations."
"This makes it easy to configure and use. I would recommend it to anyone."
"The most valuable feature is the capability to create a customized dashboard."
"The reporting features, which offer customization, real-time insights, and compliance support, are particularly noteworthy aspects."
"Security Onion is the most mature solution in the market."
"The most valuable feature of Security Onion for security monitoring is its ability to find infected ports."
"We use Security Onion for internal vulnerability assessment."
 

Cons

"Our organization wants the solution to be able to provide us access to a centralized dashboard that displays a log view for all firewalls under Fortinet FortiAnalyzer."
"We should be able to do the patch upgrades in a centralized manner. This functionality is currently not there. It would be good to be able to do the firmware updates from one place and at the same time. Currently, if we want to update all appliances, we require FortiManager, which is another solution from Fortinet. Its documentation can be improved. It will be helpful for implementing the product and gaining knowledge for management purposes."
"The cloud version can be expensive. If the customers could get the resources to store the logs on-premises, it would be much better."
"The solution should be more price competitive."
"I would like to see an improvement in the technical support. Stronger authentication will also be a plus."
"In terms of what could be improved, sometimes it's lagging and it also has some graphical issues with the GUI."
"Software reports are good but should match the dashboard and include top-level output instead of just base or low-level devices."
"Fortinet FortiAnalyzer can improve by introducing integration with other Fortinet solutions with automation with one interface would be helpful."
"The product is not easy to learn."
"Security Onion's user interface could be improved."
"The initial setup of the solution is a little bit difficult."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"I would rate the price of FortiAnalyzer as seven out of ten, with ten being the most expensive."
"The price is quite expensive. Fortinet products are very expensive. That is something which they should also look at, because if you compare Fortinet product to, say, Sophos for example, Fortinet is really high and that's the only thing which is a drawback for most users."
"It is acceptable for on-premises, but it is expensive for the cloud."
"​It depends upon the company.​"
"We found the price of Fortinet FortiAnalyzer to be reasonable."
"Compared to other products, the price is a little bit high."
"The program is expensive."
"There is a license needed to use this solution."
"Security Onion is a free solution."
"It is an open-source solution."
"Security Onion is an open-source solution."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
14%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Government
7%
Comms Service Provider
6%
Computer Software Company
12%
University
11%
Comms Service Provider
10%
Government
10%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Fortinet FortiAnalyzer?
The reporting features, which offer customization, real-time insights, and compliance support, are particularly noteworthy aspects.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Fortinet FortiAnalyzer?
I have experience with pricing, licensing, and setup costs as I prepare quotes for clients. While Fortinet FortiAnalyzer might be more expensive than some other solutions, it remains very competiti...
What needs improvement with Fortinet FortiAnalyzer?
When I had contact with FortiManager and Fortinet FortiAnalyzer, it was not so easy, but with some reading or training on the platform, it becomes easy to use.
What do you like most about Security Onion?
The most valuable feature of Security Onion for security monitoring is its ability to find infected ports.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Security Onion?
Security Onion is an open-source solution. On a scale from one to ten, where ten is expensive and one is cheap, I rate the solution's pricing a six out of ten.
What needs improvement with Security Onion?
The initial setup of the solution is a little bit difficult.
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

General Directorate of Information Technology
Information Not Available
Find out what your peers are saying about Fortinet FortiAnalyzer vs. Security Onion and other solutions. Updated: July 2025.
865,295 professionals have used our research since 2012.