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Fortinet FortiAnalyzer vs syslog-ng 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
7.5
Number of Reviews
105
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
syslog-ng
Ranking in Log Management
17th
Average Rating
8.8
Reviews Sentiment
2.8
Number of Reviews
7
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of July 2025, in the Log Management category, the mindshare of Fortinet FortiAnalyzer is 1.9%, down from 2.7% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of syslog-ng is 2.5%, down from 2.8% 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.
RyanVargas - PeerSpot reviewer
It's a user-friendly open-source solution that can replace or augment a commercial product in some cases
I rate syslog-ng 10 out of 10. It's free and easy to use. It has built-in tools that help us index the various logs sent to it. It's a solid log product. If you're looking for a SIEM solution, syslog-ng will work as a stopgap measure at beginning of the project. It can also work as an injector for a true SIEM solution. You can send all the logs to syslog-ng and forward all the data to the SIEM solution after you've cleaned up the data and got the pertinent information. It's a good front end for a commercial SIEM solution, which becomes more expensive as you load more data into it. I would highly recommend syslog-ng for that use case. However, if you lack the expertise, you might need to go with a cloud-based SIEM instead. You need some in-house expertise or an outside consultant to manage it and set it up.

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 pretty straightforward."
"The product works well with other products."
"Fortinet FortiAnalyzer is a complete package for managing our equipment."
"The most valuable feature of the solution is reporting."
"The most valuable is its robust and comprehensive reporting functionality, providing a thorough overview of various metrics."
"It supports SQL for logging and reporting. Log data is inserted into the SQL database for log view and report generation."
"The solution is easy to use and easy to integrate."
"From my perspective, we need to see the traffic in a good way so we can know what has happened in our network. The analyzing tools and the monitoring tools and the logs are the important part in the network."
"For us, the most valuable feature is the use of compound search for searching logs at a specific time, by a specific user, or specific behavior."
"Syslog-ng provides easy access to all my logs. It helps me show managers and other clients precisely where an incident occurred. I also like it because you can integrate syslog-ng with multiple solutions to allow real-time monitoring."
"The ability to extract and store the logs is the most valuable feature of syslog-ng."
"Syslog-ng has a separate config file in addition to the core configuration."
"Syslog-ng has built-in features that we can use to create alerts for a SIEM solution. It isn't a true SIEM solution, but it's sufficient for the time being."
 

Cons

"The only issue is the cost of the licenses."
"Automated reports focusing on compliance issues would provide a clearer understanding of potential gaps and the need for remediation."
"Fortinet FortiAnalyzer needs to improve its pricing flexibility."
"When using this solution, you need a high-level expert to make it work as it should."
"If Fortinet could introduce some firewalling or maybe FortiAnalyzer on the cloud, that would be interesting because I've never seen it on a cloud."
"FortiAnalyzer's price could be lower."
"The FortiAnalyzer is not scalable."
"Sometimes, there is a problem with CPU consumption, where one process consumes 100%, and I need to restart FortiAnalyzer to fix this."
"There is room for improvement in terms of observability."
"The filtering has room for improvement."
"There is always the potential for additional integration and protocol extensions."
"Syslog-ng has built-in features that we can use to create alerts for a SIEM solution. It isn't a true SIEM solution, but it's sufficient for the time being."
"It's hard to find people who know how to use syslog-ng. I often find problems with configurations, and solutions aren't integrated correctly with syslog-ng. For example, there might be data with extra decimals, or the collector agents are incorrectly named. It isn't a problem with the solution; it's a lack of professionals."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"I rate FortiAnalyzer six out of 10 for affordability. FortiAnalyzer pricing isn't steady. It changes each quarter or year. That's one of the main problems in West Abaco because most businesses here are small or medium-sized enterprises. It makes budgeting complicated. You always want to pay the same price on the subscription."
"The cost of the license is high."
"The pricing is reasonable."
"I believe that Fortinet is a cost-effective brand, making it a competitive option in terms of pricing."
"The price is not expensive when compared to other solutions like Palo Alto."
"I do not know the price of Fortinet FortiAnalyzer. I did not pay for it, but I know the price of other Fortinet products. They are not cheap. I am from Poland. We have Zloty, not Euro, so for us, everything is expensive."
"Its price is okay for us. Fortinet products are cheaper than other solutions."
"Its worth spending on FortiAnalyzer if you have multiple firewalls in your network."
"Syslog-ng is a free open-source solution."
"Syslog-ng is open-source."
report
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
15%
Government
8%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Financial Services Firm
6%
Government
13%
Computer Software Company
12%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Manufacturing Company
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

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?
There are no extra expenses included aside from the licensing fee for Fortinet FortiAnalyzer, which I am paying annually.
What needs improvement with Fortinet FortiAnalyzer?
The UI needs to be improved in future updates.
What do you like most about syslog-ng?
For us, the most valuable feature is the use of compound search for searching logs at a specific time, by a specific user, or specific behavior.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for syslog-ng?
The pricing is in the middle. I would rate the pricing a six out of ten, with one being expensive and ten being cheap.
What needs improvement with syslog-ng?
There is room for improvement in terms of observability. Additionally, a possible new feature could be Kafka integration.
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

General Directorate of Information Technology
Tecnocom, University of Victoria, University of Exeter, Datapath
Find out what your peers are saying about Fortinet FortiAnalyzer vs. syslog-ng and other solutions. Updated: June 2025.
860,592 professionals have used our research since 2012.