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Fortinet FortiGate IPS vs WatchGuard Intrusion Prevention Service comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Dec 19, 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 FortiGate IPS
Ranking in Intrusion Detection and Prevention Software (IDPS)
3rd
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.1
Number of Reviews
64
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
WatchGuard Intrusion Preven...
Ranking in Intrusion Detection and Prevention Software (IDPS)
25th
Average Rating
6.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.2
Number of Reviews
5
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of July 2025, in the Intrusion Detection and Prevention Software (IDPS) category, the mindshare of Fortinet FortiGate IPS is 7.1%, up from 6.6% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of WatchGuard Intrusion Prevention Service is 0.4%, down from 0.5% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Intrusion Detection and Prevention Software (IDPS)
 

Featured Reviews

Taha Turkestani - PeerSpot reviewer
Enhanced threat prevention with very good support and valuable behavior reports
We use FortiGate as a firewall. We have a FortiGate 201 model It's good that we didn't get hacked or attacked, indicating strong threat prevention. The reporting on employee behavior and the prevention of new viruses are essential features. Additionally, we have found it convenient for…
Gianluca Vinci - PeerSpot reviewer
Helps us protect published resources with a valuable alarm system
Our primary use case for the solution is to protect published resources The alarm system is valuable because it alerts us if an external intruder tries to attack published resources. The user interface can be improved because it is sometimes difficult to manage functionality. For example, the…

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Integrated management is a very valuable feature."
"FortiGate IPS is really easy to use. I don't have any problems with this."
"The firewalls are valuable for threat prevention."
"The initial setup is very easy."
"I like FortiGate's zero-trust capabilities and protection against zero-day threats. Zero-day threat protection is critical because we're seeing constant changes in the threat landscape. The sandboxing and web access controls are also robust."
"Simple interface and easy to deploy."
"The most useful feature of FortiGate IPS for me is Application Control."
"The most valuable features of Fortinet FortiGate IPS are firewall and filtering."
"The alarm system is valuable."
"The most important feature of this solution is the SLAs."
"It works right out of the box. You just have to enable it and you can start working."
"The initial setup was straightforward and, because we only need intrusion detection and prevention, we needed only about four hours to deploy it."
"The VPN and the filtering features are the most valuable. Its VPN is very strong, and its services are very nice. The main problem in India is the service. There are not enough Check Point and Fortinet Firewall services, but for this product, the service is very good."
 

Cons

"The most important feature to have is zero trust, which is lacking in Fortinet FortiGate IPS."
"They should provide us with a CSV number for patch updates. It will help us block specific signatures as well."
"There are no areas that need improvement at this point in time."
"FortGate's IPS reporting could be made better by giving more details regarding the source and destination of network traffic when it comes to the overview section. This would allow me to more easily follow the flow of traffic based on IP addresses, without having to integrate the IPS with other products that perform more sophisticated traffic analysis."
"I would like to be able to see more log details."
"The tool is expensive for small businesses, making it an area where the tool can improve the product by making it available at a cheaper rate."
"The user interface needs a bit of upgrading."
"Fortinet FortiGate IPS could improve the configuration. In some use cases, there can be some configuration conflicts."
"Multi properties could be added to the solution in the future to make it better."
"I would like to see faster automatation."
"Regarding technical support, they could use more engineers."
"The user interface and configuration can be improved."
"Its graphical user interface could be improved because not everybody is technical. There is a lack of knowledge, and they can give some training for this solution."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The tool is a bit pricey for small businesses, but it is still bearable in terms of cost."
"The pricing is reasonable."
"It's a year based license."
"There is only a standard license cost to use the solution."
"Fortinet FortiGate IPS is cheaper than other solutions like Cisco or Check Point."
"There is a license required to use Fortinet FortiGate with all the features. It has to be updated with the threats on an ongoing basis for the signatures to prevent threats and a license is needed to receive those security updates."
"We pay for the license of Fortinet FortiGate IPS annually. There are not any extra costs."
"If you compare the price of Fortinet FortiGate IPS to other firewalls, Check Point is priced very high followed by Palo Alto and Sophos. Fortinet FortiGate IPS price is more reasonable."
"It is not expensive. Other products like Fortinet and Check Point are of the same price."
"The price of WatchGuard Intrusion Prevention Service is pretty reasonable compared to similar solutions."
"The price of the solution is not expensive, it is less than FortiGate."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
15%
Comms Service Provider
10%
Financial Services Firm
9%
Manufacturing Company
8%
No data available
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Fortinet FortiGate IPS?
The most significant aspect of IPS is self-explanatory as it primarily focuses on intrusion prevention, which is crucial for Fortinet's internal outbreak prevention efforts and ensuring compliance ...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Fortinet FortiGate IPS?
I rate the pricing with an eight out of ten. They could always improve the pricing.
What needs improvement with Fortinet FortiGate IPS?
The pricing of Fortinet FortiGate IPS ( /products/fortinet-fortigate-ips-reviews ) could always be improved.
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Also Known As

FortiGate IPS
WatchGuard IPS
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Riverside Healthcare, Salt Lake City, Dell SecureWorks, Credit Bank Zagreb
Chester School District
Find out what your peers are saying about Fortinet FortiGate IPS vs. WatchGuard Intrusion Prevention Service and other solutions. Updated: June 2025.
860,632 professionals have used our research since 2012.