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Fortinet FortiAuthenticator vs Symantec Advanced Authentication comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Aug 11, 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 FortiAuthenticator
Ranking in Authentication Systems
3rd
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
63
Ranking in other categories
Single Sign-On (SSO) (7th), Identity Management (IM) (10th), Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) (2nd)
Symantec Advanced Authentic...
Ranking in Authentication Systems
17th
Average Rating
7.8
Reviews Sentiment
8.7
Number of Reviews
9
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of January 2026, in the Authentication Systems category, the mindshare of Fortinet FortiAuthenticator is 4.5%, down from 8.0% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Symantec Advanced Authentication is 1.3%, up from 0.5% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Authentication Systems Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Fortinet FortiAuthenticator4.5%
Symantec Advanced Authentication1.3%
Other94.2%
Authentication Systems
 

Featured Reviews

Yonas Abebe - PeerSpot reviewer
Senior Network and Security Engineer at Symbol Technologies PLC
Integration capabilities simplify authentication and migration challenges need addressing
The integration capabilities of Fortinet FortiAuthenticator are very interesting, as it can be integrated with third-party devices easily and is straightforward to configure. The integration with FortiToken is outstanding, adding a layer of security for authentication. In addition, it can be used by integrating with zero trust single access, enhancing overall security measures.
Umair (Abu Mohaymin) Akhlaque - PeerSpot reviewer
Group CEO at Flexsolutions
Ensures robust security features and ease of deployment, although it may lack some of the more modern authentication options
There has been a need for aggressive development to modernize the product and align it with contemporary security requirements. While the rebranding has been a step forward, further enhancements are essential to meet the evolving demands of the market. It lacks features such as ActiveSync Exchange security, and it doesn't offer alternatives like password-less authentication via biometrics or patches. While Symantec mainly relies on traditional token-based or password-based methods, newer authentication methods are missing from its repertoire. Support services often lack promptness and depth of knowledge, leaving customers waiting for weeks to resolve issues. In the realm of multifactor authentication, swift resolution of problems is critical, as any slowdown or interruption can significantly impact operations. Urgent improvement is necessary to ensure that support responses are faster and more effective, aligning with the demands of MFA implementation.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The product is good, cost-effective, and functionally efficient."
"Valuable features include the robust SSO features, when you have more complicated authentication within an organization. We can mix AD, Radius, Portal, SSO Portals (Google, etc.), and build our own environment. It is very flexible."
"The most valuable feature is the flexibility in using the SMS messages."
"The initial setup of Fortinet FortiAuthenticator was straightforward, working effectively out of the box."
"We have a perpetual license for 2FA."
"FortiAuthenticator is a very good solution. It is all jury-based. FortiAuthenticator is very easy for anyone to understand how it works and be able to take action."
"The initial setup is so easy and there is no problem in the implementation."
"The first valuable feature is being able to see everything on one platform. This includes logs and authentication failure."
"It tells us exactly what we want in terms of authentication to various applications and provides protection for users who access them."
"Rules on Risk Authentication are very good."
"One of the most valuable aspects is its remarkable stability."
"One of the most valuable features of this solution is that it's a strong authentication solution that's able to integrate with applications."
 

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."
"There have been numerous support tickets sent to Fortinet since this does not appear to be a mature product."
"Fortinet FortiAuthenticator could benefit from some artificial intelligence functionality and resolution of some glitches that may exist."
"It does the job I paid for, but the graphical interface could be improved."
"The solution could be more automated. It should be able to let me automate a lot of things so that what normally is done as a matter of manual processes can be handled quicker. Slow integrations can be taken up/out if there was more automation."
"The user interface and clustering are areas with shortcomings that need improvement."
"Integration with FortiGate could be more fluid."
"The customization capability of Fortinet FortiAuthenticator is not very flexible."
"Advanced Authentication talks about the Device ID. But how the device ID is captured, I want to know more about that."
"Urgent improvement is necessary to ensure that support responses are faster and more effective, aligning with the demands of MFA implementation."
"We have seen quite a few issues with bugginess. It is indeed pretty buggy and we have had to install some fixes."
"This solution could be improved with risk-based authentication. I think that this product has everything that most customers are looking for, but modern technology has people looking for security tools with risk-based authentication, which they have a separate tool for. If they could integrate this, it would improve Symantec Advanced Authentication. They have to look at what's newly trending and how things are moving forward, and then adapt and adopt those features. Symantec's technical support should also be improved, in terms of response time."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"I would start off with a VM including the base license and scale according to the number of users you need to authenticate."
"The price seems okay. It's not that expensive compared to other authenticators."
"We pay for licensing on a yearly basis."
"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."
"It is usually cheap. Without a license, you can use some basic features. You can buy a 20-year license and implement the solution once."
"I rate its pricing a three to five out of ten."
"I would rate the pricing a four out of ten, where one is cheap, and ten is expensive. It is not that costly. It is cheap, easy to manage, easy to install, and easy to configure."
"There are eventually going to be implementation costs. Sometimes you're required to have custom code developments there, so that has to be part of the implementation price."
"The price is reasonable."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
14%
Comms Service Provider
11%
Government
7%
Manufacturing Company
7%
No data available
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business38
Midsize Enterprise18
Large Enterprise11
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business2
Large Enterprise7
 

Questions from the Community

What needs improvement with Fortinet FortiAuthenticator?
Fortinet FortiAuthenticator could benefit from some artificial intelligence functionality and resolution of some glitches that may exist.
What do you like most about Symantec Advanced Authentication?
One of the most valuable aspects is its remarkable stability.
What needs improvement with Symantec Advanced Authentication?
There has been a need for aggressive development to modernize the product and align it with contemporary security requirements. While the rebranding has been a step forward, further enhancements ar...
 

Also Known As

FortiAuthenticator
CA Advanced Authentication, CA Strong Authentication, CA Risk Authentication, Arcot WebFort, Arcot RiskFort
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Black Gold Regional Schools, Amadeus Hospitality, Jefferson County, Chunghwa Telecom, City of Boroondara, Dimension Data
Global bank, Large Filipino Bank and SK Infosec
Find out what your peers are saying about Fortinet FortiAuthenticator vs. Symantec Advanced Authentication and other solutions. Updated: December 2025.
881,082 professionals have used our research since 2012.