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Fortinet FortiGate SWG vs Trend Micro Web Security comparison

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Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Dec 4, 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

iboss
Sponsored
Ranking in Secure Web Gateways (SWG)
7th
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.1
Number of Reviews
19
Ranking in other categories
Internet Security (3rd), Web Content Filtering (3rd), Cloud Access Security Brokers (CASB) (8th), ZTNA as a Service (11th), Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) (9th)
Fortinet FortiGate SWG
Ranking in Secure Web Gateways (SWG)
4th
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.1
Number of Reviews
43
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Trend Micro Web Security
Ranking in Secure Web Gateways (SWG)
16th
Average Rating
7.8
Reviews Sentiment
6.6
Number of Reviews
18
Ranking in other categories
Internet Security (5th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of May 2025, in the Secure Web Gateways (SWG) category, the mindshare of iboss is 2.1%, up from 1.7% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Fortinet FortiGate SWG is 6.4%, down from 7.0% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Trend Micro Web Security is 1.1%, down from 1.5% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Secure Web Gateways (SWG)
 

Featured Reviews

Matt Crockford - PeerSpot reviewer
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
Ayman Said - PeerSpot reviewer
Enables seamless traffic handling and effective network protection
We are using Fortinet FortiGate SWG for web filtering, application control, and IDPS. Additionally, we utilize it for VPN and the main features of a firewall Web filtering is very good, as well as IDPS. SD-WAN is a perfect feature. Additionally, the VPN is stable and very good. These features…
Durai  Singh - PeerSpot reviewer
Provides comprehensive protection for enterprises
The cons include it not being implemented in the mid-enterprise segment. For these organizations, it is an additional expense. Even companies with multi-tenant, multi-cloud, and multi-geolocation environments are not using this WAF solution because it is an investment. They already have endpoint protection, EDR, firewalls, and authentication. Spending on WAF is an extra investment for them. This is one reason mid-enterprise segments hesitate to adopt it.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Valuable features: Within the filter: Controls (Web categories, applications, and Allow/Block list) and Network (local Subnets). Within the reporter: Logs (Event Log) and Reports."
"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."
"I would definitely recommend iboss for web filtering purposes to other organizations or individuals."
"Content filtering is the most useful feature of iboss."
"Iboss is a solution that prevents advanced persistent threats, and has a zero tolerance for attacks."
"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."
"Technical support is pretty sharp and very responsive."
"We chose iboss for both zero trust and proxy (SWG) because their SWG was superior."
"I rate this solution a nine out of ten."
"The pricing on offer is excellent."
"Web filtering is the most useful feature."
"Web filters, particularly web application controls, grant us the ability to regulate user access effectively."
"The most useful features are application control, web filtering, and SD-WAN."
"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 product has the most valuable configuration, offloading, and security features."
"The performance is very good and the solution is simple to manage."
"It prevents phishing attacks, ransomware attacks, and other threats that can compromise data."
"It's a stable solution."
"Trend Micro has a centralized mechanism where we can control and monitor all system protections. It includes detecting any wireless problems, which will be displayed on our portal. We plan to investigate the issues with those systems internally."
"The product's installation phase was easy."
"It's secure and useful from an administrative point of view, with controllable login monitoring and so on."
"The solution's technical support team is responsive."
"Overall, I would rate this solution a ten out of ten."
"The security of Trend Micro Web Security is good."
 

Cons

"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."
"Sometimes, obviously, there are bugs."
"I'd like to see them accelerate development on the security side, particularly around data loss prevention."
"SSL decryption: We had issues with learners using apps instead of using web browsers. This type of encryption is tough for any appliance in a BYOD environment."
"Our iboss subscription access should be more secure with an OTP or VPN etc. It is easy to gain access if, for example, hackers obtain my username and password."
"The reporting feature needs improvement."
"Our biggest problem with their service was it did not recognize the device and filtering did not always work correctly."
"Fold that in with the risk intelligence they're getting from all of the different subscriptions they are a part of. Now, these security companies subscribe to things like emerging threats, databases, etc. You can fold all this intelligence to decide what's happening on an endpoint. I would love to see them start moving into that space. That would compete directly with Microsoft. Maybe that's why they haven't. Having that ability native within the solution would be great. The other area in which I would love to see improvement is more detailed descriptions of why they block websites."
"The solution has many heightened points which we cannot get to without working on CLI."
"Zero trust could be added. Nowadays, solutions like Zscaler, Netskope, and even SecureWorks combine multiple features into a single product."
"Fortinet FortiGate SWG can be expensive for some customers."
"We are providing VoIP and the IP licensing could improve in 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 improvements in their support."
"We can't identify which users are causing challenges when we have issues."
"It is complicated to manage different kinds of on-premise boxes."
"The UI/UX experience can be a little better."
"The system should generate reports when an attack has been stopped, contained, or removed."
"The installation is a little bit complex."
"The stability of the product is an area of concern where improvements are required."
"They could improve the platform's ability to control normal traffic and prevent attacks like SQL injection and cross-site scripting."
"I would like to see better scalability and better performance."
"his legacy version currently lacks WFA, which is a useful tool for managing bandwidth and applying data control limits to specific users. It's especially beneficial for organizations using Android and Azure."
"This solution has a lot of restrictions on what non-administrator users can do, including generating comparative code. We would like to see this changed as the product is developed."
"The product should be more secure and stable. It is also not flexible."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"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."
"We have not priced the solution recently, but they were competitive with other vendors in the past."
"It is expensive compared to one of its competitors."
"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."
"FortiGate SWG is reasonably priced."
"When comparing the price of Fortinet FortiGate SWG to other solutions it is expensive. The price could be better."
"It is less expensive than a Cisco solution."
"I rate the product's pricing a seven out of ten. Its one-year license cost is competitive with three and five-year licenses offered by other products."
"The cost has increased since the update so I would rate it eight out of ten."
"FortiGate SWG is a cost-effective solution well-suited for organisations of all sizes."
"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."
"Pricing for Fortinet FortiGate SWG is more suitable for enterprise or large-sized organizations because they are the ones who can afford it versus small and medium-sized organizations."
"I rate the product's price a five on a scale of one to ten, where one is low price and ten is high price."
"There's annual and monthly options for the license. When you're on the managed services option, it's monthly. They're also setting up an option via AWS where there will be a monthly option via the AWS shopfront."
"I don't remember the exact pricing, but I think that it is approximately $10.00 per user."
"We pay for the license on an annual basis."
"It is pricey. Trend Micro has been in the field for 30 years, so you have to pay a premium amount for that."
"I rate the product price a three on a scale of one to ten, where one is cheap, and ten is expensive."
"We have found this product to be very cost effective. The endpoint product costs roughly $20, and when purchasing the endpoint product, there are multiple other features included."
"The license is yearly and user based."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
13%
Financial Services Firm
11%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Government
6%
Computer Software Company
15%
Comms Service Provider
9%
Government
8%
Financial Services Firm
7%
Manufacturing Company
12%
Computer Software Company
12%
Financial Services Firm
9%
Government
7%
 

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.
What needs improvement with iboss?
I have a couple of thoughts for improvement, but usually when I address them with my rep, they put it into the featur...
What is your primary use case for iboss?
We use it primarily for simpler filtering because we're a K12 entity.
What do you like most about Fortinet FortiGate SWG?
The interface and other reports are all user-friendly.
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.
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...
Do you recommend Trend Micro Web Security?
I would recommend Trend Micro Web Security to organizations looking for an end-to-end security solution. Trend Micro ...
What do you like most about Trend Micro Web Security?
Trend Micro has a centralized mechanism where we can control and monitor all system protections. It includes detectin...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Trend Micro Web Security?
It is pricey. Trend Micro has been in the field for 30 years, so you have to pay a premium amount for that. SentinelO...
 

Also Known As

iBoss Cloud Platform
FortiGate SWG, FortiGate Secure Web Gateway
Virus Wall, VirusWall, Trend Micro VirusWall
 

Overview

 

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
Landwirtschaftskammer Nordrhein-Westfalen, Mosaic Medical, Okinawa Prefectural Education Center, RAK Investment Authority
Find out what your peers are saying about Fortinet FortiGate SWG vs. Trend Micro Web Security and other solutions. Updated: April 2025.
851,604 professionals have used our research since 2012.