Fortinet FortiGate SWG vs Fortinet FortiProxy comparison

Fortinet FortiGate SWG and Fortinet FortiProxy are both solutions in the Secure Web Gateways (SWG) category. Fortinet FortiGate SWG is ranked #4 with an average rating of 8.7, while Fortinet FortiProxy is ranked #11 with an average rating of 7.9. Fortinet FortiGate SWG holds a 6.5% mindshare in WSG, compared to Fortinet FortiProxy’s 5.8% mindshare. Additionally, 100% of Fortinet FortiGate SWG users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 100% of Fortinet FortiProxy users who would recommend it.

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Jan 12, 2025

Fortinet FortiGate SWG and Fortinet FortiProxy both compete in the security solutions category. FortiGate SWG has an edge due to its remarkable security features, performance, and manageability, making it preferred over alternatives like Cisco.

Features: FortiGate SWG is equipped with comprehensive functionalities, ease of configuration, and robust VPN and web filtering capabilities. It offers excellent performance, stability, and an integrated management portal. FortiProxy provides granular access control, allowing administrators to define detailed policies on user web activities. It also excels in detailed reporting and enhanced web filtering, providing visibility into user activities.

Room for Improvement: FortiGate SWG users desire more cloud-integrated security features and quicker technical support. FortiProxy requires better web filtering, content categorization, and policy management. Both solutions could improve in documentation and integration with existing infrastructures, with FortiProxy also needing a boost in its intrusion prevention capabilities.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: FortiGate SWG is known for its flexible deployment across various environments, including on-premises and cloud-based settings. It offers a range of options but receives mixed reviews on customer service responsiveness. FortiProxy is similarly adaptable but has fewer deployment options and room for improvement in technical support, although generally satisfactory assistance is noted.

Pricing and ROI: FortiGate SWG is more suitable for large enterprises due to higher pricing but justifies its cost with significant ROI through extensive features. Users find its pricing justified by the robust security it offers, despite being slightly expensive compared to other solutions. FortiProxy is viewed as cost-effective and provides good value, appealing to a broader audience with moderate pricing. Improved licensing models could enhance its appeal further, and both products show potential for ROI, especially with long-term use or cloud-based implementations.

To learn more, read our detailed Fortinet FortiGate SWG vs. Fortinet FortiProxy Report (Updated: March 2025).

Buyer's Guide

Fortinet FortiGate SWG vs. Fortinet FortiProxy

March 2025

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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

iboss

Mindshare comparison

As of April 2025, in the Secure Web Gateways (SWG) category, the mindshare of iboss is 2.0%, up from 1.7% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Fortinet FortiGate SWG is 6.5%, down from 7.2% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Fortinet FortiProxy is 5.8%, up from 4.6% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Secure Web Gateways (SWG)

Featured Reviews

Matt Crockford

Head of Cybersecurity at SES Water

It's easy to roll out, and their understanding of our business made it seamless

One aspect we value about iboss is its simplicity. Their customer service is brilliant, and they are super responsive and knowledgeable. It's easy to roll out, and their understanding of our business made it seamless. We were impressed by the solution's mental health function, which can detect if someone needs help. It scans what users are browsing and flags warning signs so we can check to see if they are okay. We've had to use it a couple of times. The user interface is highly intuitive. Our IT team picked it up with minimal training. It's arranged so that it's easy to find where things are. Another advantage is the single pane of glass console, which gives you visibility into what's happening. We're not fully there yet because we haven't implemented zero trust, but we're excited about the possibilities from the demos we've seen. We launched a POC of iboss' ChatGPT Risk Protection feature two weeks ago. AI is a great tool, but you need to be careful what you put into it. My biggest fear is employees inputting sensitive corporate information or customer PII data into one of these chatbots. I was impressed by our trial of the feature. It's exactly what we wanted. Now, when a user goes to ChatGPT, there's a banner warning them not to share information, and we can block conversations containing customer data like bank details and email addresses. I don't want to stop people from using it, but we need visibility. We've only tried it on a test group of 15 people. You can configure it to look for specific keywords or integrate it with your DLP policy if you have that configured

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David Carlson

CIO at Camco Mfg.

Non-IT people could plug it in, connect it to the fiber, and get it running without IT help.

FortiGate is easy to configure. We configured one of the units and sent it to Indiana to be installed. We asked them to give us a call when they got it, so we could help them through the process, but they called us back to tell us it works great. Non-IT people could plug it in, connect it to the fiber, and get it running without IT help. That was fantastic. Fortinet also offers a single pane of glass that we can use to manage our routers with gateways, so that's convenient. We're running a VPN to our remote location, and the performance is good. We're changing all our VPN connectors on our laptops from Cisco's Anywhere to Fortinet's VPN because the performance is just so much better.

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Adnan Kallas

Sr. Network & Security Engineer at Data Consult

Superior threat protection with robust IPS and antivirus capabilities

The main use case is to protect internal enterprise users in an enterprise network. Users from different departments such as finance, IT, and sales who want to access the internet, search social media, or visit websites are protected from potential threats when using Fortinet FortiProxy. It allows…

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Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The solution has massively improved our security posture, giving us full visibility into what our staff does online."

"Technical support is pretty sharp and very responsive."

"We were impressed by the solution's mental health function, which can detect if someone needs help. It scans what users are browsing and flags warning signs so we can check to see if they are okay. We've had to use it a couple of times."

"The iboss system is highly reliable. The false positive rates are small compared to some other systems we've experienced through other partner agencies who use competing solutions."

"iboss has significantly lowered the number of security incidents. It is crazy how much it blocks and how much it is aware of the outside danger."

"iboss is easy to use despite its complexity. Multiple engineers manage it, but it's significantly more straightforward to administer than traditional VPNs and web proxies."

"Its initial setup was straightforward."

"Iboss is a solution that prevents advanced persistent threats, and has a zero tolerance for attacks."

More iboss pros

"FortiGate is easy to configure. We configured one of the units and sent it to Indiana to be installed. We asked them to give us a call when they got it, so we could help them through the process, but they called us back to tell us it works great."

"We have found the product to be scalable."

"It is simpler to configure. It is not like Cisco Firepower, where you go crazy trying to follow the Cisco documentation to figure out how to configure one little thing. Unlike Cisco Firepower, where you can't do everything through the web interface and you have got to do some command line stuff, Fortinet FortiGate SWG is simpler. There are four different things in Cisco to get in, which is not the case with Fortinet FortiGate SWG. It is one of my favorite solutions to work with. I would much rather work with it than Cisco Firepower, for example. Even though I've got 20 years of Cisco experience with different firewalls, I would much prefer this solution."

"FortiGate is a great solution, although initially, it faced challenges in the Brazilian market due to lower brand recognition than Cisco. However, explaining and demonstrating its product format and offerings has proven easy. The cost-effectiveness and better features of FortiGate have made some clients skeptical. We set up a trial period, and they eventually opted for it. Many clients were convinced it was great after experiencing the solution's capabilities firsthand."

"FortiGate SWG's most valuable feature is integration with vulnerability management."

"The user interface is intuitive. Anyone can configure the firewall with little knowledge of the product. The back-end is robust with good security."

"The pricing on offer is excellent."

"The solution is easy to use and checks the access control as a firewall."

More Fortinet FortiGate SWG pros

"It seamlessly integrates with various security products, enhancing threat intelligence and improving indicators of compromise."

"The most valuable feature is intrusion prevention (IPS) and antivirus profiles. These features help control user activity, ensuring that they access only permitted websites and protects from downloading viruses."

"I liked the tool's ability to provide detailed access control. For example, we could allow users to watch YouTube videos but not post comments. This level of control wasn't available in FortiGate."

"The tool's most valuable feature is its granular access control. For example, users can browse the main site if you allow access to Amazon, but it stops them from visiting secondary Amazon websites without specific permission. This granular control is really helpful."

"The tool's most valuable feature is traffic inspections."

"The solution's stability is good."

"The most valuable features of Fortinet FortiProxy are its simplicity and performance."

"We can use Fortinet FortiProxy configuration for your network."

More Fortinet FortiProxy pros

Cons

"Sometimes when you call in support, you get someone who is just following a sheet. It feels like a runaround. You feel that you are running into that support wall."

"Its pricing could be better."

"Their on-premise hardware's network interface is capped at one gigabit, which is sort of a problem. If you stand a filter up where all traffic flows through that, according to them, in order to go above a gigabit, you have to have multiple devices, which in today's IT seems a little bit silly. They could easily put in an SFP port into their device that could accommodate 10 gigs or at least offer a box."

"Iboss is growing so fast that it is often hard for them to keep up with the challenges."

"I'd like to see them accelerate development on the security side, particularly around data loss prevention."

"The reporting feature needs improvement. It doesn't give you the expected results. It is quite difficult to get the specific reports needed, and it is not as intuitive as the rest of the platform."

"The dashboards for local use could be better."

"Sometimes, obviously, there are bugs."

More iboss cons

"It is complicated to manage different kinds of on-premise boxes."

"We are providing VoIP and the IP licensing could improve in Fortinet FortiGate SWG."

"The software is a bit expensive to renew."

"Their technical support could be improved a little bit in terms of responsiveness."

"Fortinet needs to continue to improve network traceability. Other than that, we haven't run into anything that would give me any concern."

"They have not yet extended to the cloud."

"Fortinet FortiGate SWG can be expensive for some customers."

"They should make the product user-friendly and enhance the security features."

More Fortinet FortiGate SWG cons

"Integration with existing infrastructure was generally easy, especially if you had tools like LDAP. However, I had to go through a lot of documentation as it was my first time working with a proxy server. We did experience some issues with certain web applications not working properly after implementing Fortinet FortiProxy."

"Its power supply process for some of the proxies needs improvement."

"For IT administrators and managers, the reporting features are the main issues that should be addressed in order to improve the performance, security, and effective utilization of the product."

"I see that the solution's interface is not in French...It would be good for our company if we could have the tool interface in French."

"Fortinet FortiProxy should improve by adding more documentation and guides."

"Fortinet FortiProxy should integrate AI/ML technologies. Its pricing needs to be more flexible."

"Its web filtering capabilities could be improved."

Pricing and Cost Advice

"It is probably in line with other solutions, but I do not deal with the financial side."

"It is not expensive, and it is also not cheap. iboss is priced right in the sweet spot for the number of features it offers."

"It is expensive compared to one of its competitors."

"We have not priced the solution recently, but they were competitive with other vendors in the past."

"We had the cost of purchasing a new appliance along with the implementation and licensing costs. However, the following year, the cost of just licensing was similar to what was paid the previous year for a new appliance along with the implementation and licensing costs."

"The overall pricing for iboss is very competitive and transparent."

"Fortinet FortiGate SWG is an affordable solution."

"When comparing this solution to others, I would rate it a ten out of ten in terms of pricing. However, the issue of requiring a separate license for redundancy is a drawback, and I would rate it a nine out of ten."

"It is a cost-effective solution that meets the user's needs."

"We pay about $4,000 for a yearly license, and there aren't any additional fees."

"I would rate the pricing a six out of ten, where one is cheap and ten is expensive."

"The product is expensive compared to one of its competitors."

"The product is expensive."

"FortiGate SWG is reasonably priced."

More Fortinet FortiGate SWG pricing and cost advice

"It can be considered expensive, with a limited lifespan and support that eventually requires updating to newer solutions."

"The solution is neither too expensive nor very cheap."

"The tool's pricing is in the middle."

"Price-wise, Fortinet FortiProxy is moderate - not the highest among competitors, but not cheap either."

"It offers a more cost-effective solution than alternatives like FortiMail, FortiGate, and various Barracuda devices."

"It is a cost-effective solution."

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

13%

Financial Services Firm

12%

Manufacturing Company

Government

Computer Software Company

15%

Government

Comms Service Provider

Financial Services Firm

15%

Computer Software Company

13%

Government

Manufacturing Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about iboss?

Content filtering is the most useful feature of iboss.

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What needs improvement with iboss?

I have the same complaint about them that I have about other software companies. Sometimes when you call in support, ...

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What is your primary use case for iboss?

We are a PreK-12 public school district, and we use iboss to filter internet content for our students at home and sta...

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What do you like most about Fortinet FortiGate SWG?

The interface and other reports are all user-friendly.

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What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Fortinet FortiGate SWG?

On a scale from one to ten, I would rate the pricing for FortiGate AWG as nine, which is perfect.

See all answers

What needs improvement with Fortinet FortiGate SWG?

I would rate the technical support of Fortinet a six or seven out of ten. It is not very helpful. I would like to see...

See all answers

What do you like most about Fortinet FortiProxy?

The tool's most valuable feature is traffic inspections.

See all answers

What needs improvement with Fortinet FortiProxy?

One issue is the limitation in using Fortinet FortiProxy for remote users, as it requires users to be members of the ...

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What advice do you have for others considering Fortinet FortiProxy?

Before implementing Fortinet FortiProxy, study your enterprise architecture and know your needs. Consider using the h...

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Comparisons

Zscaler Internet Access vs iboss

Compared 18% of the time

Cisco Umbrella vs iboss

Compared 15% of the time

Netskope vs iboss

Compared 13% of the time

Cloudflare One vs iboss

Compared 11% of the time

Check Point Harmony SASE (formerly Perimeter 81) vs iboss

Compared 4% of the time

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Cisco Umbrella vs Fortinet FortiGate SWG

Compared 21% of the time

Sangfor Internet Access Gateway (IAG) vs Fortinet FortiGate SWG

Compared 7% of the time

Prisma Access by Palo Alto Networks vs Fortinet FortiGate SWG

Compared 4% of the time

Netskope Next Gen Secure Web Gateway vs Fortinet FortiGate SWG

Compared 3% of the time

Forcepoint Secure Web Gateway vs Fortinet FortiGate SWG

Compared 2% of the time

More Fortinet FortiGate SWG Competitors

Forcepoint Secure Web Gateway vs Fortinet FortiProxy

Compared 8% of the time

Zscaler Internet Access vs Fortinet FortiProxy

Compared 6% of the time

Cisco Umbrella vs Fortinet FortiProxy

Compared 6% of the time

Cisco Web Security Appliance vs Fortinet FortiProxy

Compared 6% of the time

F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager (APM) vs Fortinet FortiProxy

Compared 4% of the time

More Fortinet FortiProxy Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

iboss

March 2025

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Buyer's Guide

Fortinet FortiGate SWG

March 2025

Download Fortinet FortiGate SWG product report

Buyer's Guide

Fortinet FortiProxy

March 2025

Download Fortinet FortiProxy product report

Also Known As

iBoss Cloud Platform

FortiGate SWG, FortiGate Secure Web Gateway

FortiProxy

Overview

iboss offers a comprehensive security platform designed for diverse use cases such as web filtering, data loss protection, corporate proxy services, and URL filtering.

iboss integrates advanced features to address dynamic security needs, leveraging its strength in SASE, ZTNA, AI initiatives, and cloud integration, while ensuring seamless operations for remote work. It excels in historical forensics, malware protection, and flexible cloud deployments. Users benefit from comprehensive traffic scanning, robust malware detection, and PaaS capabilities that reduce hardware management. An intuitive admin console ensures efficient management with content filtering and low false positives. SSL decryption enhances security, while DLP protects data in AI conversations. Deployment is rapid and scalable, allowing effortless integration with emerging technologies.

What features does iboss offer?

Granular Web Filtering: Provides precise control over web content access.
Traffic Scanning: Monitors data through multiple ports for security breaches.
Malware Detection: Ensures superior protection against malware threats.
PaaS Capabilities: Eliminates need for hardware management.
SSL Decryption: Enhances data protection by decrypting secure connections.
DLP Capabilities: Safeguards data during AI interactions.

What benefits and ROI should users consider?

Scalability: Adapts quickly to growing demands and emerging tech integration.
Rapid Deployment: Reduces time to implement security measures.
User-Friendly Admin Console: Facilitates efficient operations management.
Low False Positives: Increases accuracy of threat detection systems.

iboss finds significant application in sectors such as education, where web filtering for K-12 is crucial, and in corporate environments requiring robust proxy services and URL filtering for network security. Its adaptability is essential in scenarios demanding flexible, decentralized security frameworks, particularly for remote work setups.

iboss

Fortinet FortiGate SWG is a comprehensive web security solution provided by Fortinet. FortiGate SWG combines web filtering, malware protection, data loss prevention (DLP), and application control capabilities into a single integrated platform. It is designed to protect organizations from web-based threats, enforce compliance policies, and provide secure access to web resources.

FortiGate SWG Benefits:

Comprehensive web filtering and security features
Ease of use and management
Integration with other Fortinet products
Strong threat detection capabilities
Scalability and flexibility
Granular control over user access and activity

FortiGate SWG Features:

Web Filtering: FortiGate SWG employs URL filtering and content categorization to control and enforce web access policies.
Malware Protection: The solution provides real-time protection against web-borne threats, such as malware, ransomware, and phishing attacks.
Data Loss Prevention (DLP): FortiGate SWG helps prevent sensitive data from being leaked or exfiltrated through web channels.
SSL Inspection: The solution supports SSL/TLS decryption and inspection, allowing organizations to examine encrypted web traffic for threats and enforce security policies.
Application Control: FortiGate SWG enables granular control over web applications and protocols.
Advanced Threat Intelligence: FortiGate SWG leverages Fortinet's threat intelligence services to provide up-to-date information about emerging threats and zero-day vulnerabilities.
User Authentication and Access Control: The solution supports various authentication methods, including single sign-on (SSO) and integration with identity providers, to ensure secure user authentication and access control for web resources.
Reporting and Analytics: FortiGate SWG provides comprehensive reporting and analytics capabilities.

FortiGate SWG is typically deployed as a hardware appliance or as a virtual appliance in on-premises environments, but it may also be available as a cloud-based service. It is part of Fortinet's broader security fabric ecosystem, allowing integration with other Fortinet products to provide a unified and coordinated security infrastructure.

Reviews from Real Users

Below are some reviews and helpful feedback written by FortiGate SWG users.

David Carlson, CIO at Camco Mfg., says that "Non-IT people could plug it in, connect it to the fiber, and get it running without IT help".

Suresh Vijayen, Product Manager at IX Telecom, writes that FortiGate SWG "Provides helpful technical support, but its dashboard needs to be more user-friendly".

Chandan Munshi, Chief Technical Officer at Provision Technologies LLP, states that "The user interface is intuitive. Anyone can configure the firewall with little knowledge of the product. The back-end is robust with good security."

Fortinet

Fortinet FortiProxy is a secure web gateway that provides advanced web filtering, malware protection, and SSL inspection capabilities. It is designed to protect organizations from web-based threats and prevent data loss by enforcing granular policies for web access. FortiProxy is available as a physical or virtual appliance and can be deployed on-premises or in the cloud. FortiProxy uses a combination of signature-based and behavior-based detection techniques to identify and block known and unknown threats. It also includes advanced features such as sandboxing and machine learning to detect and prevent zero-day attacks. FortiProxy can inspect SSL traffic to detect and block threats hidden in encrypted traffic. FortiProxy provides granular control over web access by allowing administrators to create policies based on user identity, device type, time of day, and other factors. It also includes pre-defined categories for web filtering, such as social media, gambling, and adult content. FortiProxy can also enforce compliance with regulatory requirements such as GDPR and HIPAA. FortiProxy integrates with Fortinet's Security Fabric, allowing it to share threat intelligence with other Fortinet products and provide a coordinated response to threats. It also includes a web-based management console that provides real-time visibility into web traffic and allows administrators to quickly respond to security incidents.

Fortinet FortiProxy is a comprehensive web security solution that provides advanced protection against web-based threats and allows organizations to enforce granular policies for web access.

Fortinet

Sample Customers

More than 4,000 global enterprises trust the iboss Cloud Platform to support their modern workforces, including a large number of Fortune 50 companies.

Salt Lake County, Catholic College Bendigo, Azienda Unita Sanitaria

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Buyer's Guide

Fortinet FortiGate SWG vs. Fortinet FortiProxy

March 2025

Free Report: Fortinet FortiGate SWG vs. Fortinet FortiProxy

Find out what your peers are saying about Fortinet FortiGate SWG vs. Fortinet FortiProxy and other solutions. Updated: March 2025.

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