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 13.2% 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 581 Fortinet FortiGate reviews

69,102 Views
5,528 Comparison Views

92% willing to recommend

Juniper Session Smart Router

Read 4 Juniper Session Smart Router reviews

1,282 Views
1,051 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: February 2026).

Buyer's Guide

Fortinet FortiGate vs. Juniper Session Smart Router

February 2026

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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

581

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 February 2026, in the Software Defined WAN (SD-WAN) Solutions category, the mindshare of Fortinet FortiGate is 13.2%, down from 19.9% 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	13.2%
Juniper Session Smart Router	2.4%
Other	84.4%

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

"The firewalls are valuable for threat prevention."

"By utilizing features such as dynamic path selection and application-aware routing, we've been able to reduce latency for critical applications such as VoIP and video by 20-30% during peak times."

"The main value comes from the simplicity of the product in terms of configuring and managing."

"Secure, user-friendly, stable, and scalable network security solution. Installation is straightforward."

"The tool's most valuable feature is IPS. In my experience, I haven't encountered any issues with integration. It easily integrates with the FortiGate solution. However, verifying through documentation and assessing their support is necessary."

"Integrated management is a very valuable feature."

"The most valuable features of Fortinet FortiGate are the rules and quality of service."

"There are lots of features and most of them are deployed for internet security. Users are protected if they accidentally go to some malicious sites."

More Fortinet FortiGate pros

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

"Customer service is very prompt."

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

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

"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

"FortiGate can only retain logs for 24 hours or 7 days. I'm not sure if it holds them for a longer period, such as for a month. It will be useful for assessing our strategy and monitoring our environment without investing in FortiGate Analyzer. It would be beneficial if Fortinet could enhance the FortiGate by providing more statistical and monitoring views for a longer timeframe, rather than requiring access to FortiGate Analyzer."

"Fortinet FortiGate could improve by having more capabilities for troubleshooting VPN connections. For example, I do get some feedback about the current status, but I could use some history and logging of important events. The information is logged in our Syslog server, but I could use that information from the device. If they could provide a GUI to have some more insight on what's going with my VPN would be useful."

"For Fortinet FortiGate, their code development would definitely be something they need to improve on to reduce vulnerabilities that need to be patched."

"The solution has many heightened points which we cannot get to without working on CLI."

"The integration with third-party tools may be something that they should work on."

"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 learning curve is a bit higher."

"The support we receive when we need to upgrade is not satisfactory and has room for improvement."

More Fortinet FortiGate cons

"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."

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

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

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

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The initial setup is super straight forward and as far as the licensing goes for the small product that we have, the pricing was pretty competitive. It wasn't as simple and as cheap as a SonicWall but for the service we would get it was a good price."

"The beauty is the price performance ratio is great with FortiGate. It provides all the features we needed and the price is comparable with others' firewalls. The price is quite competitive with the firewalls with similar features."

"FortiGate Next Generation Firewall is a very cheap solution."

"It's very affordable."

"Fortinet FortiGate allows you to purchase licenses for hardware and software."

"Fortinet costs are 25% lower than the high-cost provider. There is an equipment cost and a recurring monthly cost for licenses and technical support."

"There is a licensing fee; it is on a yearly basis."

"The tool is a bit pricey for small businesses, but it is still bearable in terms of cost."

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…

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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%

Financial Services Firm

Computer Software Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	357
Midsize Enterprise	133
Large Enterprise	189

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...

See all answers

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 14% of the time

Netgate pfSense vs Fortinet FortiGate

Compared 5% of the time

Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls vs Fortinet FortiGate

Compared 4% of the time

OPNsense vs Fortinet FortiGate

Compared 3% of the time

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Compared 14% of the time

VMware VeloCloud SD-WAN vs Juniper Session Smart Router

Compared 10% of the time

Aruba EdgeConnect SD-WAN Platform vs Juniper Session Smart Router

Compared 9% of the time

NFX Series Network Services Platform vs Juniper Session Smart Router

Compared 7% of the time

Prisma SD-WAN vs Juniper Session Smart Router

Compared 6% of the time

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Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Fortinet FortiGate

February 2026

Download Fortinet FortiGate product report

Buyer's Guide

Routers

February 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

February 2026

Free Report: Fortinet FortiGate vs. Juniper Session Smart Router

Find out what your peers are saying about Fortinet FortiGate vs. Juniper Session Smart Router and other solutions. Updated: February 2026.

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