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Fortinet FortiAuthenticator vs Gemalto Protiva [EOL] comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Jun 3, 2026

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 FortiAuthenticator
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
64
Ranking in other categories
Single Sign-On (SSO) (10th), Authentication Systems (4th), Identity Management (IM) (14th), Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) (2nd)
Gemalto Protiva [EOL]
Average Rating
7.6
Number of Reviews
2
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Featured Reviews

Sachin Vinay - PeerSpot reviewer
Assistant Manager-Networks at a university with 1,001-5,000 employees
Supports secure remote authentication and provides comprehensive user activity tracking
The most important feature is the security capability because it provides a substantial amount of security for admin-related activities. Fortinet FortiAuthenticator can be used from anywhere in the world, and the authenticator services function globally. This global accessibility is one of the critical advantages, particularly since admin features are critical and security is a real concern. With Fortinet FortiAuthenticator, secure usage of firewall services and related functions is achieved. A complete log of all users who access the authenticator setup is maintained. Monthly logs are reviewed to check for any unnoticed activities. Each authenticated user's complete activity history is recorded. This logging capability allows for providing access to more admin users while ensuring security is not compromised and all users can be monitored.
PC
RAS Team Lead at Produban USA
A cost-effective solution, but the user interface lacks the ability to customize
In the UK, I think that we are one of the biggest utilizers of the service. With the restrictions that it has, I don't think it's got massive upscalability. For general users it is fine, but the scalability could be better. We started with approximately eight and a half thousand users, and we currently have about twelve-thousand people using it. This is used widely across a number of user groups, including administrators, end users, general users, and specific privileged users for two-factor authentication. We do plan to increase the usage of this solution. Our current capacity is fourteen thousand but we will probably grow beyond that.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"I prefer the passing tool that sent an active directory console to a Fortinet FortiAuthenticator, then Fortinet FortiAuthenticator does not pass the locks."
"FortiAuthenticator has helped a lot of our customers in the way that they do the business when they onboard their clients to the data center."
"The product's on-premise version doesn't have recurring costs."
"We use multi-factor authentication for enhancing security."
"The solution is easy to learn and makes it easy for our users to add FortiToken, and it's very easy to integrate if you have other Fortinet devices."
"The product is very easy to use and someone can easily manage working with it, so we do not need any support."
"The most valuable feature I find in FortiAuthenticator is web filtering."
"Features the addition and removal of access as needed for the VPN."
"The Gemalto Protiva suite is really complete as it has smart card managed software, Secure Digital Key, drivers, smart card reader, smart card, OTP readers etc."
"The most valuable feature for us is the ability to use Active Directory groups as virtual containers instead of domains because it means that we can control our access groups better."
 

Cons

"Initially, we deployed Fortinet FortiAuthenticator on VMware and faced challenges when migrating to an OpenStack environment, which required reconfiguration. I recommend Fortinet make its images migratable between environments."
"The interface is a bit misleading in areas."
"If two-factor authentication is needed also for the end-devices, for example endpoints or servers, I think FortiAuthenticator is not yet the most mature solution."
"I would like to see more support from Fortinet with tech support people who have as much expertise on the authenticator as they do on their firewalls."
"I would like to see more integration and inclusion of features for ransomware protection directly within the FortiAuthenticator without requiring additional devices."
"Regarding Fortinet technical support, I would say a six. Most of the time, the engineer will take time, such as 24 hours or 48 hours, maybe even more, because most of the time, they appear, gather the logs, and then disappear."
"We've had some issues with integration."
"It can not use SQL to query FortiAnalyzer directly."
"The user interface needs improvement. It is not obvious where things are; while the cosmetics are ok, the way it's laid out on the screen could be better."
"The user interface needs improvement."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"I price of the solution is expensive."
"The solution is not very expensive."
"The price seems okay. It's not that expensive compared to other authenticators."
"I would start off with a VM including the base license and scale according to the number of users you need to authenticate."
"FAC is an affordable solution for Middle Range (200E/400E) and also needs a package of mobility agents (2,000) perpetual."
"I rate the product price as two or three on a one-to-ten scale, where one is expensive, and ten is cheap."
"It costs more to license the high-availability option."
"The customers need to pay for licenses, and some pay on a yearly basis while others pay on a three-yearly or five-yearly basis. Also, it is not an expensive solution."
"This is a cost-effective solution compared to some other products out there."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Manufacturing Company
11%
Comms Service Provider
9%
Computer Software Company
9%
Construction Company
8%
No data available
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business38
Midsize Enterprise18
Large Enterprise11
No data available
 

Questions from the Community

What needs improvement with Fortinet FortiAuthenticator?
Fortinet can make Fortinet FortiAuthenticator better by having a cloud version of it. Currently, Fortinet FortiAuthenticator is only available for on-premises, and it is an on-premises solution. It...
What is your primary use case for Fortinet FortiAuthenticator?
Fortinet FortiAuthenticator is primarily used for authenticating admin users, including remote admin use cases. Remote admin use cases utilize Fortinet FortiAuthenticator to securely authenticate a...
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Also Known As

FortiAuthenticator
Protiva
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Black Gold Regional Schools, Amadeus Hospitality, Jefferson County, Chunghwa Telecom, City of Boroondara, Dimension Data
Exostar, Sunrise Health Region, Baker Tilly, Seattle Children's, SEW-Eurodrive
Find out what your peers are saying about Microsoft, Cisco, Okta and others in Authentication Systems. Updated: June 2026.
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