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Fortinet FortiClient vs Trend Micro Smart Protection comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Sep 9, 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
5.7
Fortinet FortiClient improved productivity, enabled better remote work, reduced costs, and enhanced security despite some unused features.
Sentiment score
3.5
Trend Micro Smart Protection offers positive ROI, emphasizing prevention, good returns, and brand protection over time, despite initial skepticism.
The VPN performance has a substantial impact on our remote workforce.
Technology Consultant at 1ware
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
6.7
Fortinet FortiClient's support is praised for responsiveness but criticized for inconsistency and delayed responses compared to competitors.
Sentiment score
6.1
Trend Micro Smart Protection's customer service varies, with delays in some regions, especially for higher-tier issues.
They initiate the troubleshooting process quickly and resolve issues in a timely manner.
Medical Coder at a tech services company with 1,001-5,000 employees
In 99% of cases, we do not have to do configurations on our own as they are normally handled by their service providers.
Director at a manufacturing company with 11-50 employees
They provide very good support, and an issue I had was resolved quickly over the phone.
Head IT at Burraq Cyber Security Solutions
The agent is very light, and it doesn't cause any issues on the machine.
Solutions Architect at a tech services company with 51-200 employees
I would rate their technical support a nine out of ten as it helps with every query.
Information Technology Service Desk Manager at a tech vendor with 5,001-10,000 employees
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
7.2
Fortinet FortiClient is scalable, suitable for small to large enterprises, but reviews on ease of scaling are mixed.
Sentiment score
7.6
Trend Micro Smart Protection is scalable and adaptable across various sectors, though large expansions may require planning.
We normally take into consideration while installing the product that it can scale up to approximately 20%, but not more than that.
Director at a manufacturing company with 11-50 employees
Most of our clients are using the free version rather than the paid version due to the high range of maximum users available for the free version.
Senior Technical Manager at Flexaccel
I hope Fortinet will start an insider developer program where professionals can provide feedback on new releases to ensure improvements.
Head IT at Burraq Cyber Security Solutions
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
7.9
Fortinet FortiClient is highly stable, with minor issues mostly network-related, and users frequently rate it nine or ten.
Sentiment score
7.7
Trend Micro Smart Protection is stable and reliable, with high scores and minor compatibility issues reported by some users.
Its stability level is excellent.
IT Manager at CNE
I normally get a call within 15-20 minutes after logging a complaint.
Director at a manufacturing company with 11-50 employees
Fortinet FortiClient is a stable product with no glitches or latency issues.
Senior Technical Manager at Flexaccel
 

Room For Improvement

Fortinet FortiClient needs improved management, simplicity, features, compatibility, pricing, connectivity, scalability, authentication, and better support across OS.
Trend Micro Smart Protection requires enhancements in integration, AI capabilities, usability, documentation, support, system compatibility, deployment, and security.
FortiClient needs improvement in restricting user information and ensuring more secure customer data to better protect source code and reduce the risk of security breaches.
Head IT at Burraq Cyber Security Solutions
There are advanced features like Zero Trust that I currently do not use but could be beneficial for security.
Senior Manager Tech Compliance at Qenta Inc.
Fortinet frequently releases updates without thorough testing.
Medical Coder at a tech services company with 1,001-5,000 employees
We've experienced compatibility issues with Windows endpoint protection.
Security Architect at Kyndryl
Trend Micro Smart Protection has been discontinued because it uses Linux CentOS OS.
Information Technology Service Desk Manager at a tech vendor with 5,001-10,000 employees
 

Setup Cost

Fortinet FortiClient is cost-effective for basic VPNs, with competitive licensing for advanced features despite recent price increases.
Trend Micro Smart Protection is seen as reasonably priced despite costs varying from 100 Euros to $15,000 annually.
FortiClient is a value-for-money product and is not considered expensive compared to similar products on the market.
Global Head of IT Infrastructure at EPL Americas
Justifying the price to clients can be difficult.
Head IT at Burraq Cyber Security Solutions
FortiClient is included in a package with the UTM features, so there is no separate cost for it.
Senior Manager Tech Compliance at Qenta Inc.
However, their pricing is comparable to CrowdStrike.
Security Architect at Kyndryl
 

Valuable Features

Fortinet FortiClient provides cost-effective, comprehensive security with seamless integration, advanced features, and ease of deployment and management.
Trend Micro Smart Protection offers AI-driven endpoint security, seamless integration, ransomware protection, and light resource usage enhancing system efficiency.
The most valuable feature of FortiClient is its high security level.
Head IT at Burraq Cyber Security Solutions
We appreciate its VPN capabilities and the features that offer extra security functionalities like antivirus and malware scanning.
Infrastructure Manager at a retailer with 501-1,000 employees
I strongly recommend this solution, especially for Fortinet customers who use FortiGate or other Fortinet products, as they can easily integrate these features and exchange information seamlessly.
Technology Consultant at 1ware
The most effective features of Trend Micro Smart Protection are its antivirus and malware capabilities.
Security Architect at Kyndryl
The most valuable features and functionalities in Deep Discovery are that it is used for monitoring malicious traffic, and it operates down to the firewall and inspects any malicious traffic.
Information Technology Service Desk Manager at a tech vendor with 5,001-10,000 employees
 

Categories and Ranking

Fortinet FortiClient
Ranking in Endpoint Protection Platform (EPP)
12th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.7
Number of Reviews
102
Ranking in other categories
Endpoint Compliance (1st), Enterprise Infrastructure VPN (1st)
Trend Micro Smart Protection
Ranking in Endpoint Protection Platform (EPP)
32nd
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
45
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of February 2026, in the Endpoint Protection Platform (EPP) category, the mindshare of Fortinet FortiClient is 1.7%, down from 2.2% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Trend Micro Smart Protection is 0.9%, up from 0.5% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Endpoint Protection Platform (EPP) Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Fortinet FortiClient1.7%
Trend Micro Smart Protection0.9%
Other97.4%
Endpoint Protection Platform (EPP)
 

Featured Reviews

KL
Senior Technical Manager at Flexaccel
Remote access has become seamless and secure while deployment remains simple for our users
Performance could be improved today. People are now moving toward SASE, which stands for Secure Access, Secure Edge Solution. Fortinet also has that offering, which would be easier since it operates through the cloud, acting as a first line of defense. When the user connects to the internet, they connect to the cloud first for posture assessment and monitoring before connecting to the outside world. The impact is significant because nowadays people are adopting SASE. During COVID time, many users were trying to connect back to their office, causing the performance or CPU utilization of the firewall to increase tremendously, which slowed down performance. I have not worked with endpoint telemetry in Fortinet FortiClient that could have been helpful for threat mitigation.
reviewer2759025 - PeerSpot reviewer
Information Technology Service Desk Manager at a tech vendor with 5,001-10,000 employees
Deep traffic inspection has strengthened threat detection and provides smooth zero day protection
I have been dealing with Deep Discovery that inspects incoming and outgoing traffic, and it is used for packet filtering. The most valuable features and functionalities in Deep Discovery are that it is used for monitoring malicious traffic, and it operates down to the firewall and inspects any malicious traffic. I have used Deep Discovery's sandbox analysis feature. The sandboxing feature helps our threat detection efforts as it internally inspects the malicious data and holds it in the sandbox, and after the analysis, the file is quarantined. I evaluate Deep Discovery's real-time visibility on network traffic as a better solution for inspecting traffic. In incident response, Deep Discovery captures zero-day threats easily and provides the best visibility on the console. I assess the effectiveness of Trend Micro's real-time analysis in my defense strategy as good, as it does not disturb any work and operates very smoothly in the background without any utilization.
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Manufacturing Company
11%
Computer Software Company
10%
Comms Service Provider
8%
Financial Services Firm
6%
Manufacturing Company
12%
Performing Arts
11%
Computer Software Company
7%
Healthcare Company
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business59
Midsize Enterprise23
Large Enterprise25
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business16
Midsize Enterprise14
Large Enterprise17
 

Questions from the Community

How does Fortinet FortiClient compare with Open VPN Access Server?
Fortinet FortiClient is a feature-rich solution that is easy to use and deploy without sacrificing safety and security. It has a very fast connection rate and has a built-in VPN. With this solution...
What's the difference between Fortinet's FortiEDR and FortiClient?
I suggest Fortinet’s FortiEDR over FortiClient for several reasons. For starters, FortiEDR guarantees solid protection because it continually scans servers for emerging vulnerabilities, which gives...
What do you like most about Trend Micro Smart Protection?
The tool offers centralized security management. The tool's deployment is flexible.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Trend Micro Smart Protection?
I find that Trend Micro Smart Protection is affordable; I don't think it can be quite expensive.
What needs improvement with Trend Micro Smart Protection?
Technical support needs to be improved. We had a customer move from Trend Micro because they didn't the support. Both response time and ownership are the problems with support. Trend Micro Smart Pr...
 

Also Known As

FortiClient
Trend Micro Smart Protection Complete
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Black Gold Regional Schools, Amadeus Hospitality, Jefferson County, Chunghwa Telecom, City of Boroondara, Dimension Data
Atma Jaya Catholic University of Indonesia, Blekinge County Council, Bulgarian American Credit Bank, Cancer Research UK, Delacour, Evalueserve, Gulftainer, Hiroshima Red Cross Hospital & Atomic-bomb Survivors Hospital, Mazda Motor Logistics Europe, MEDHOST, Nikigolf, Ochsner Health System, SIAX Computing Solutions, Tegen
Find out what your peers are saying about Fortinet FortiClient vs. Trend Micro Smart Protection and other solutions. Updated: February 2026.
881,757 professionals have used our research since 2012.