Fortinet FortiGate vs McAfee Firewall Enterprise MFE [EOL] comparison

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Fortinet and McAfee are both solutions in the Firewalls category. Additionally, 92% of Fortinet users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 75% of McAfee users who would recommend it.

Fortinet FortiGate

Read 594 Fortinet FortiGate reviews

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64,570 Comparison Views

92% willing to recommend

McAfee Firewall Enterprise ...

Read 5 McAfee Firewall Enterprise MFE [EOL] reviews

75% willing to recommend

Fortinet FortiGate

McAfee Firewall Enterprise ...

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Mar 29, 2026

McAfee Firewall Enterprise MFE [EOL] and Fortinet FortiGate are competitors in the network security category. Fortinet FortiGate has the upper hand due to its advanced features and better long-term ROI.

Features: McAfee Firewall Enterprise MFE [EOL] includes application layer filtering, reputation-based filtering, and DoS prevention. It also offers convenient management for multiple firewalls via the McAfee Control Centre. Fortinet FortiGate excels with IPS, web filtering, and VPNs. It offers advanced app control, threat prevention, and SD-WAN integration capabilities.

Room for Improvement: McAfee Firewall Enterprise MFE [EOL] struggles with resource availability for server configuration, limited online help, and lacks newer features. Fortinet FortiGate could enhance its integrated management tools, simplify its advanced configuration processes, and improve initial documentation clarity for non-technical users.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: McAfee's deployment is less agile and lacks support due to its end-of-life status. Fortinet FortiGate provides a streamlined deployment process with comprehensive documentation and responsive customer support, making setup more efficient.

Pricing and ROI: McAfee Firewall Enterprise MFE [EOL] was initially cheaper, attracting budget-conscious clients. However, Fortinet FortiGate, though requiring a higher upfront investment, offers a better ROI through effective security measures and operational efficiencies.

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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

Average Rating

8.4

Reviews Sentiment

6.8

Number of Reviews

594

Ranking in other categories

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

McAfee Firewall Enterprise ...

Average Rating

7.0

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Featured Reviews

Vijay Ramani

Practice Head at a consultancy with 11-50 employees

Unified security has protected diverse environments and supports consistent policies everywhere

I would say 8 out of 10 regarding the stability of Fortinet FortiGate. It requires a lot of bug fixing and what I understand, Fortinet is fast enough to provide bug fixes and patches, but usually I suggest Fortinet should do thorough testing of their releases and software releases and once probably they can reduce the frequency of new releases but make it stable. That's what my recommendation is. As far as the core objective of Fortinet FortiGate is concerned, I think they are meeting the targets but I guess for rolling out new features and new updates, they are doing a bit of hurry just to cope with the market dynamics. But possibly, I understand that they are compromising on the quality of the software and stability. So over there they have to improve. Rest of the aspects, I guess they are doing pretty good. We are happy. Regarding my experience with Fortinet FortiGate in comparison to maybe some other vendors such as CyberArk, Fortinet is in the top three and they give a lot of competition to their nearest peers in the market. But I guess Fortinet is really struggling in software-defined LAN, Wi-Fi, and FortiSwitches space. So they have to make their products more affordable in Forti-switching and Forti-WiFi space. They are not able to compete effectively with the nearest competitor HP Enterprise and HP Aruba.

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reviewer999975

Computer Technician at a leisure / travel company with 1,001-5,000 employees

We cannot find resources to help us configure it, so most of the time the virus still goes on our computer and McAfee doesn't detect it

It's pretty easy to use on a daily basis, but there are no other features because it's hard to configure on the server. On the endpoint it's really easy to push. It's hard to configure on the server, though. It's hard to find resources to help us configure it, and there is not much online help that you can find. Most of the time, we were looking at the forums, and we needed to go very deep to find what we were looking for. It was hard, and McAfee was not really helpful when we were trying to get the product to work perfectly. This is why are changing it.

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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

"We’ve gone from only selling Fortinet FortiGate as an accessory to creating an entire department in our business dedicated to selling Fortinet products in the span of three years."

"This solution has a very friendly GUI and CLI as compared to other vendors."

"Overall, it’s a good solution, and I would recommend it to others."

"FortiGate also makes GRE tunneling possible."

"The enterprise-level support is excellent, and we receive quick assistance from Fortinet FortiGate."

"The main benefit is the grouping of our security monitoring."

"FortiGate Secure SD-WAN includes best-of-breed next-generation firewall (NGFW) security, SD-WAN, advanced routing, and WAN optimization capabilities, delivering a security-driven networking WAN edge transformation in a unified offering."

"The support is good because, although the response time for tickets may occasionally take some time, at the end of the day they have always solved the issue at hand."

More Fortinet FortiGate pros

"It does give certain protection for everything that is well configured on our McAfee server. We have good protection with it. If we could find a feature and make it work, it would work perfectly, there would be no bugs, and it would be really good."

"ROI: It's good."

"We have 10 offices throughout Brazil, and now they are all connected by using the VPN feature of the firewall."

"It's a very functional and stable product if you're looking for a Layer 7 firewall with reputation filtering and encrypted traffic inspection."

"For managing multiple MFE firewalls it is incredibly handy, convenient, and it is easy to use the product with McAfee Control Centre."

Cons

"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."

"The solution lacks sufficient filtering."

"The product's data guard feature should support a USB port when the internet connection is unavailable."

"Stability and technical support are the two major issues I have found with Fortinet."

"In the past six to seven years with the Fortinet FortiGate, we've had two major downtimes, both caused by firmware upgrades."

"At first glance, the interface for the device is very confusing."

"The solution is very expensive."

"The updates Fortinet provides are sometimes unstable."

More Fortinet FortiGate cons

"The hardware is not stable and we have faced many stability issues."

"HA configuration is a bit difficult for the first time."

"Migrating from v7 to v8 of McAfee Firewall Enterprise, in many cases, involves you having to completely re-write all of your previous McAfee Firewall Enterprise v7 policies due to the difference in the way the interfaces are named in the product going from v7 to v8."

"Customer support and AV are both lacking and are really hard to come to you when the product is installed. Those are the two major points that they need to work on."

"Administration of the firewall is a little confusing for end users."

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Fortinet is the least expensive solution."

"It is around $50,000 per month."

"Fortinet FortiGate IPS' licensing is quite simple to understand."

"It is an expensive solution."

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

"It has been two years. I don't remember the actual price, but it was affordable. We buy the boxes and then use the license for three years."

"On a scale of one being cheap and ten being expensive, I rate the tool's price as an eight."

"Before choosing a piece of equipment you have to take into account the cost-benefit offered by each one. Sometimes it is not worth paying a very cheap price to have a minimum level of security."

More Fortinet FortiGate pricing and cost advice

Information not available

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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

Comms Service Provider

10%

Manufacturing Company

Computer Software Company

Financial Services Firm

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Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	372
Midsize Enterprise	138
Large Enterprise	195

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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...

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Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Fortinet FortiGate

September 2026

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Buyer's Guide

Firewalls

September 2026

McAfee Firewall Enterprise MFE [EOL] report

Download McAfee Firewall Enterprise MFE [EOL] product report

Also Known As

Fortinet FortiGate Next-Generation Firewall

Firewall Enterprise MFE, Intel Security Firewall Enterprise MFE

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

McAfee Firewall Enterprise defends critical assets, such as regulated data repositories (customer, financial, and healthcare data), email and web servers, extranets, and data centers. This proxy-based firewall also offers application visibility and deep application controls for defense, delivers strong policy-based controls, blocks the latest threats, and eliminates unwanted traffic.

McAfee

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

French Ministry of Education, RWTH Aachen, Avency, Cegedim, Cobweb, Intel Security, Cemex Mauser, R_sler Oberfl_chentechnik

Find out what your peers are saying about Fortinet, Netgate, Cisco and others in Firewalls. Updated: September 2026.

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