Fortinet FortiGate vs Juniper Session Smart Router comparison

Fortinet and Juniper are both solutions in the Software Defined WAN (SD-WAN) Solutions category. Fortinet is ranked #1 with an average rating of 8.5, while Juniper is ranked #12 with an average rating of 9.0. Fortinet holds a 13.9% mindshare in SDW, compared to Juniper’s 2.4% mindshare. Additionally, 92% of Fortinet users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 100% of Juniper users who would recommend it.

Fortinet FortiGate

Read 580 Fortinet FortiGate reviews

67,415 Views
5,393 Comparison Views

92% willing to recommend

Juniper Session Smart Router

Read 4 Juniper Session Smart Router reviews

1,227 Views
1,018 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

Fortinet FortiGate

Juniper Session Smart Router

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Dec 28, 2025

Fortinet FortiGate and Juniper Session Smart Router compete in the network security and routing sector. Fortinet has an advantage in pricing and support, whereas Juniper leads with advanced features that enhance functionality.

Features: Fortinet FortiGate includes robust security features, firewall capabilities, VPNs, and application control. Juniper Session Smart Router offers session-based routing, intelligent network path management, and application-aware networking, providing advanced routing intelligence for complex networking.

Room for Improvement: Fortinet could enhance its user interface for more intuitive management, expand reporting features for better analytics, and improve integration capabilities with third-party applications. Juniper's complexity in configuration can be reduced for easier management; documentation could be more comprehensive, and better guidance on leveraging features for maximum performance would be beneficial.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Fortinet FortiGate simplifies deployment with comprehensive support, promoting a quick setup and issue resolution. Juniper Session Smart Router, while efficient in deployment and offering session optimization support, might face challenges due to its complexity. Fortinet's straightforward deployment and extensive support are generally appreciated for ease and efficiency.

Pricing and ROI: Fortinet FortiGate is known for its competitive pricing, offering a clear ROI with cost-effectiveness and rapid deployment promoting quicker ROI realization. Juniper Session Smart Router, although requiring a higher initial investment, promises significant ROI through its feature-rich performance and superior network control. Fortinet excels in affordability, whereas Juniper offers long-term advantages through advanced functionalities.

To learn more, read our detailed Fortinet FortiGate vs. Juniper Session Smart Router Report (Updated: December 2025).

Buyer's Guide

Fortinet FortiGate vs. Juniper Session Smart Router

December 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

Fortinet FortiGate

Ranking in Software Defined WAN (SD-WAN) Solutions

1st

Average Rating

8.4

Reviews Sentiment

6.9

Number of Reviews

580

Ranking in other categories

Secure Web Gateways (SWG) (2nd), Firewalls (1st), Intrusion Detection and Prevention Software (IDPS) (1st), WAN Edge (1st), ZTNA (1st), Unified Threat Management (UTM) (1st)

Juniper Session Smart Router

Ranking in Software Defined WAN (SD-WAN) Solutions

12th

Average Rating

8.6

Reviews Sentiment

5.6

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Routers (7th)

Mindshare comparison

As of January 2026, in the Software Defined WAN (SD-WAN) Solutions category, the mindshare of Fortinet FortiGate is 13.9%, down from 20.1% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Juniper Session Smart Router is 2.4%, down from 3.3% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Software Defined WAN (SD-WAN) Solutions Market Share Distribution
Product	Market Share (%)
Fortinet FortiGate	13.9%
Juniper Session Smart Router	2.4%
Other	83.7%

Software Defined WAN (SD-WAN) Solutions

Featured Reviews

Vasu Gala

Manager, Information Technology Operation/Presales at TechMonarch

A stable solution with an intuitive interface and quick customer service

I have been working with Fortinet FortiGate, WatchGuard, Sophos, and SonicWall. I'm not as comfortable with SonicWall because of their UI and limitations. I prefer Fortinet above all other options. When it comes to configuration, I am confident in my ability to handle various tasks, including creating policies such as firewall rules, web policies, and application policies. Additionally, I can configure VPNs and implement load balancing, among other tasks. Overall, I feel much more comfortable working with Fortinet. Fortinet has made significant improvements by integrating AI with firewalls for threat analysis and prevention. In the past 2-3 years, they have launched FortiSASE and SIEM, and they also provide SOC services. Both Palo Alto and Fortinet FortiGate are excellent. While Fortinet FortiGate comes at higher prices, the functionality and support justify the cost. They promptly resolve firmware issues and inform all support providers about configuration changes.

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SRI GANESH PHANIYAPPA

Sub Divisional Engineer NOC Bangalore at Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited

Delivered tailored features and meets requirements effectively

We are using it as a DNG. This means all subscriber PPPoE sessions or ILS Smart VPN connections are terminated through the access network to this BNG, Uniphore BNG. From there, they are managed Everything has been fine. Although we did not explore much about the solution, they provided us with a…

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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

"Its usability is good. We can easily navigate the system, and we have a very good user experience."

"The product is scalable."

"Fortinet FortiGate has positively impacted my client's organization because we have know-how of FortiGate; we could debug problems, we could set up our settings as planned, and I appreciate the easy way of configuration, that we can use parallel GUI and CLI, or CLI and web interface, which we can use in parallel."

"The strengths of Fortinet FortiGate include network security, VPN, site-to-site tunnels, client VPN solutions, two-factor authentication for VPN clients, and SD-WAN for branch level. We have implemented these solutions for various customers."

"We use the filtering feature the most. It has filtering and inbuilt securities. We can create customized rules to define which users can access a particular type of site. We can create policies inside the firewall."

"The scalability is easy with switches and access points that are basically plug-and-play for the most part."

"It is user friendly, and has all the features you need."

"The interface is very good."

More Fortinet FortiGate pros

"The solution is especially Session's smart, application-aware, AI-based."

"The most valuable feature of Juniper Session Smart Router is its unique SDR channel."

"They provided us with a customized product according to our requirements."

"Customer service is very prompt."

"As compared to the other major vendors in the SD-WAN market, such as VeloCloud, Cisco, and others, the tunnel-free and secure vector routing technology is its major USP, which gives plenty of room to discuss with the customer why IPSec from 1998 is a bit outdated."

Cons

"Fortinet FortiGate needs to improve the protection, it did not prevent us from being attacked. Additionally, Fortinet FortiGate could provide more features for WAF devices. I should not have to purchase two solutions, it would be a benefit to combine these features into one solution."

"Reporting is limited to providing an external appliance for improving the reporting capabilities of the FortiAnalyzer. It does not offer a central management and is also sold separably as an appliance."

"One of the features that I would like to have is to do with endpoint production, it should be integrated. For example, the firewall gets notified of any kind of forensic event that needs to be done, such as if there is a ransomware attack and how it originated, all those records have to be available from the firewall, which is not."

"Technical support for this solution can be improved."

"Their support's response time can be better. In the past six months, they took quite a long time to respond to the support tickets."

"FortiGate can improve its token system, as it requires a purchase before use."

"The support is not good because I generally search for solutions online. When I open a case, they usually identify it as a bug they are working on."

"Monitoring and reporting could be better."

More Fortinet FortiGate cons

"Juniper Session Smart Router can improve the integration for Wi-Fi devices and add additional Sassy deployments."

"The UI of the SSR conductor is the main part where improvements can be done. Today, for every configuration step, you have to do a series of clicks. What we are missing there are wizards. For example, I have two applications, and I want one application to be prioritized against the other. In such a case, a wizard for assigning policies to a service without configuring each step by hand would be very helpful. There should be an overhaul of the GUI of the conductor. The functionality they have got in the Mist portal should be baked into the conductor itself. It would be really great, but as we all know, that won't happen."

"Regarding improvement, we still need to see what it can do."

"Juniper Session Smart Router could be better in terms of software performance."

Pricing and Cost Advice

"It is less expensive than a Cisco solution."

"The pricing is justified. It's a little pricey, but what you pay for is what you get."

"The licensing costs are very competitive."

"The price of Fortinet FortiGate when compared to other solutions is high. However, my knowledge of the price is from third parties and I am not sure how accurate it is. I typically work in the technical area of my organization."

"I give the pricing of the solution a six out of ten."

"Here in Brazil, we're going through difficult economic times and the tax on the dollar is high. All the solutions from minor competitors are growing in the market. The prices have come more competitive."

"Licensing for Fortinet FortiGate is on a yearly basis. Pricing for it is a bit high. It could be cheaper."

"I rate the pricing an eight and a half on a scale of one to ten, where one is low, and ten is high."

More Fortinet FortiGate pricing and cost advice

"It is a simple bandwidth-based license and the orchestration comes bundled with the solution by default."

"We are currently renegotiating the offer for the licenses and the license bundle model. The license for an ISP has to be different from the license for an end customer. This is something we are currently renegotiating with Juniper, but, of course, the pricing for the licensing is always an issue when you want to get more customers."

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Comparison Review

it_user216600

Senior Technical Consultant with 51-200 employees

Jan 3, 2016

Sophos UTM vs. Fortinet FortiGate

I have used both Sophos and Fortinet products in production and I have found the Sophos UTM appliances (hardware and virtual) to be a better fit most of the time -- with a few caveats which I will touch on below. In both instances, the transition from TMG will be mostly straightforward. The main…

Read full review

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

12%

Comms Service Provider

Manufacturing Company

Financial Services Firm

Manufacturing Company

19%

Comms Service Provider

11%

Computer Software Company

Government

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	357
Midsize Enterprise	133
Large Enterprise	188

No data available

Questions from the Community

Which is the better NGFW: Fortinet Fortigate or Cisco Firepower?

When you compare these firewalls you can identify them with different features, advantages, practices and usage at large. In my opinion, Fortinet would be the best option and l use Fortinet too...

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What is the biggest difference between Sophos XG and FortiGate?

From my experience regarding both the Sophos and FortiGate firewalls, I personally would rather use FortiGate. I know the firewalls change every 5 to 7 years as stated but you really do need to upg...

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What are the biggest technical differences between Sophos UTM and Fortinet FortiGate?

As a solution, Sophos UTM offers a lot of functionality, it scales well, and the stability and performance are quite good. The most valuable features for me are their web and email filtering. I wou...

See all answers

What needs improvement with Juniper Session Smart Router?

I did not find any problem with Juniper. Regarding improvement, we still need to see what it can do.

See all answers

What is your primary use case for Juniper Session Smart Router?

We are using it as a DNG. This means all subscriber PPPoE sessions or ILS Smart VPN connections are terminated through the access network to this BNG, Uniphore BNG. From there, they are managed.

See all answers

What advice do you have for others considering Juniper Session Smart Router?

On a scale of one to ten, I rate the solution nine.

See all answers

Comparisons

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Compared 20% of the time

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Compared 13% of the time

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Compared 6% of the time

OPNsense vs Fortinet FortiGate

Compared 3% of the time

Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls vs Fortinet FortiGate

Compared 3% of the time

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Compared 17% of the time

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Compared 11% of the time

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Compared 10% of the time

NFX Series Network Services Platform vs Juniper Session Smart Router

Compared 8% of the time

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Compared 6% of the time

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Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Fortinet FortiGate

January 2026

Download Fortinet FortiGate product report

Buyer's Guide

Routers

January 2026

Download Juniper Session Smart Router product report

Also Known As

Fortinet FortiGate Next-Generation Firewall

128T Networking Platform, 128 Technology SD-WAN, Juniper SSR Series

Overview

Fortinet FortiGate is a versatile network security tool offering features like VPN, firewall, web filtering, intrusion prevention, and scalability. It is known for its performance and integration with other Fortinet products, making it a preferred choice for robust cybersecurity.

Fortinet FortiGate stands out as a comprehensive cybersecurity solution with strong performance and ease of configuration. It delivers unified threat management, integrating features such as dynamic routing, SD-WAN support, and centralized management. Despite its strengths, improvements in the web interface's stability, pricing structures, and reporting capabilities are needed. Users seek better integration with third-party tools and automation advancements to enhance the experience further. These enhancements, alongside improvements in bandwidth management and the reduction of licensing costs, are points of interest for users looking to capitalize on FortiGate's extensive capabilities.

What are Fortinet FortiGate's key features?

VPN: Ensures secure remote connections.
Firewall: Protects against unauthorized access.
Web Filtering: Blocks malicious sites and content.
Application Control: Manages and controls applications.
Intrusion Prevention: Detects and prevents vulnerabilities.
SSL Inspection: Enhances security by inspecting encrypted traffic.

What benefits should be considered when evaluating Fortinet FortiGate?

Affordability: Offers cost-effective security solutions.
Reliability: Known for consistent and stable performance.
Integration: Seamlessly integrates with other Fortinet products.
Comprehensive Protection: Provides broad threat protection capabilities.

Fortinet FortiGate is widely implemented across industries as a primary firewall system for securing internet gateways and safeguarding data centers. It supports businesses in achieving SD-WAN integration and enhances cybersecurity by providing essential features like antivirus, web filtering, and application control. Enterprises utilize FortiGate for securing remote connections and ensuring compliance with security standards, making it adaptable for different network sizes and industries.

Fortinet

The 128T Networking Platform (128T) natively provides network-based security, control, and insight across data centers, wide-area networks (WAN), and edge locations for enterprises, service providers, and cloud companies alike. 128T is reshaping the way organizations design, deploy, and operate real-world networks by making them dramatically simpler, smarter, and more secure — it’s going to fix the router — and ultimately the network — as we know it.

Juniper

Sample Customers

Amazon Web Services, Microsoft, IBM, Cisco, Dell, HP, Oracle, Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile, Sprint, Vodafone, Orange, BT Group, Telstra, Deutsche Telekom, Comcast, Time Warner Cable, CenturyLink, NTT Communications, Tata Communications, SoftBank, China Mobile, Singtel, Telus, Rogers Communications, Bell Canada, Telkom Indonesia, Telkom South Africa, Telmex, Telia Company, Telkom Kenya

Revation Systems

Buyer's Guide

Fortinet FortiGate vs. Juniper Session Smart Router

December 2025

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