Fortinet FortiGate vs Netskope Next Gen Secure Web Gateway comparison

Fortinet FortiGate vs. Netskope Next Gen Secure Web Gateway

November 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

iboss

Mindshare comparison

As of November 2026, in the Secure Web Gateways (SWG) category, the mindshare of iboss is 3.2%, up from 2.3% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Fortinet FortiGate is 6.0%, down from 6.3% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Netskope Next Gen Secure Web Gateway is 2.1%, down from 2.2% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Secure Web Gateways (SWG) Mindshare Distribution
Product	Mindshare (%)
Fortinet FortiGate	6.0%
iboss	3.2%
Netskope Next Gen Secure Web Gateway	2.1%
Other	88.7%

Secure Web Gateways (SWG)

Featured Reviews

Ashok Ananthula

Senior Consultant Proxy Engineering at a financial services firm with 10,001+ employees

Cloud gateway has strengthened remote web security and now needs better Mac and ISP support

The problem our organization had is that iboss failed for the Mac devices. It is not able to give a successful agent for the Mac agents. That is where in 2025, we had to migrate to the Palo Alto-based platform. If your use case is for just Windows laptops,you can consider this platform as an option One issue is the data center resiliency part. In India especially, they are not tied up with the Tier 1 ISPs like Tata or Airtel; they were having Tier 2 ISPs and encountered many issues reaching few major sites that my organization depends on, and they were having problems that they could not fix quickly. They also lack a mechanism to route that traffic within their data center; rather, they ask customers to make a pac file change to route it to Singapore explicitly. It would be better if they route from their backend , i mean even if I send it to India DC, they should be able to route it internally to make that work; however, they fail to do that and ask the customer to route it in the pac file. Another suggestion is that in China, they do not have the proper setup; they used to have numerous problems with slowness and lack of premium circuits in China as well. That leads to multiple sites working slowly with latency-related issues. So the main issue is the ISP-related problems that need to be solved.

Unified security has protected diverse environments and supports consistent policies everywhere

Vijay Ramani

Practice Head at a consultancy with 11-50 employees

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.

Granular web controls have improved user-specific access and reduced security incidents

reviewer2811576

Experto de Seguridad Informática at a financial services firm with 1,001-5,000 employees

For the moment, the solution is going quite well, and I cannot think of anything specific we could improve at the moment.Perhaps in file control, the maximum size of the files that can be analyzed is a negative aspect or an improvement that I consider necessary in Netskope Next Gen Secure Web Gateway.

More Fortinet FortiGate pros

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"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."

"I would definitely recommend iboss for web filtering purposes to other organizations or individuals."

"I would rate the technical support of iboss a solid 10 without a shadow of a doubt."

"It was a very easy product to install. It can be deployed very fast."

"First of all, the security policies are essential. I do not have to rely solely on Active Directory for our users."

"The students were always protected, and the content filtering worked very well, seeming to work better than other products we had tried previously."

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

"The console is cloud-based, which is something I really appreciate."

More iboss pros

"Overall, this is a very good solution and I personally haven't had any problems with it."

"The biggest lesson would be that Fortinet FortiGate provides a high level of security at a good total cost of ownership."

"Fortinet FortiGate has several valuable features; the configuration and policy setup are easy to implement, and there are embedded features including DLP, WAF, and proxy capabilities with security profiles for various functions."

"We use the FortiGate Sandbox to detect zero-day vulnerabilities, such as anomalies or malware, that are unknown and have not yet been discovered."

"One of the best features of Fortinet FortiGate is that it's a very powerful equipment that gives many security features in a single box with good performance, and the user interface is friendly to use and configure."

"The technical support from Fortinet FortiGate is 24 hours a day seven days a week, and 365 days a year, the support is good from Fortinet, and local distributor partner support has been helpful, we highly recommend them."

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

"It is easy to set up."

"The solution's CASB, DLP, and threat protection features are very good."

"The most valuable features of the solution are its three modules, which are SWG, ZTNA, and CASB."

"The solution has some useful features, such as microservices. They have sandboxing that allows the prevention, encryption, and remote browser isolation."

"Netskope Next Gen Secure Web Gateway has positively impacted my organization by allowing us to have total control and visibility over which users access and which websites they visit."

"So far, the solution has been excellent."

"As Netskope is a cloud-based application, it is possible to analyze and distinguish personal and enterprise instances."

"There are a lot of features, but the groups that are created for the policy groups available with Netskope are already relevant to any industry. So grouping the policies is the easiest part and a valuable feature."

"The ROI is in the security I'm getting for my users, which is also beneficial for me."

More Netskope Next Gen Secure Web Gateway pros

Cons

"Sometimes the agent stops working in iboss, and we have to reinstall the agent."

"iboss can be improved because the integration could be better; you need to import all the sites that you access today, and there are a few problems whenever you import thousands of websites, making the integration process messy for the users."

"The reporting feature needs improvement."

"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."

"Regarding pricing, setup costs, and licensing, iboss is not cheap, and that's my only concern."

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

"The endpoint-type solution is an area that needs some improvement."

"The area I would like to see improvement in is the ability with in the reporter to navigate directly to the content the user is traversing. It is kind of there, but it's not perfect. Quite frequently, I receive links that lead me to pages with error messages."

More iboss cons

"I have found the support from Fortinet FortiGate very poor. I do not use them anymore because they are not very good."

"The biggest problem we have is the way they handle virtual IPs. It's not handled well at all and even pfSense handles that better."

"In their datasheet, they put the throughput as huge, but once you enable all the features of the box, the performance is impacted dramatically."

"I believe Fortinet can make Fortinet FortiGate better with reduced costs, free certification, and improved security."

"I think they could improve the monitoring."

"The search tool needs improvement."

"I would like to be able to see more log details."

"Customer support needs improvement. I have had to take the direct internal sources, such as sales contacts, and after that I rarely see support response."

More Fortinet FortiGate cons

"Netskope Next Gen Secure Web Gateway needs to integrate IoT, which can help to control devices."

"Improvement in the solution is required in certain areas where the product does not provide access to its direct end users, who use the portal as an administrator."

"I think the accuracy could be improved."

"Cost competitiveness is its area of improvement. They will have to figure out how can they strategically price it because there are a few players in the game who have been doing it for a long time. They will have to figure out how to go to market on the pricing."

"The initial setup and implementation are not straightforward."

"The solution needs to improve its on-premise detection technique."

"The solution lacks a good reporting feature."

"They should work on marketing material to put out their work with a little more effort."

More Netskope Next Gen Secure Web Gateway cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

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

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

"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."

"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."

"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."

"The pricing or licensing of Fortinet FortiGate is quite effective as it offers different bundles that aggregate most required features, while also allowing clients the option to select specific components alone."

"The support subscription for the solution is annual. You are paying for support and there are two levels of support, professional and advanced."

"FortiGate Next Generation Firewall is an expensive solution."

"I rate the price of Fortinet FortiGate SWG a seven and a half out of ten since it is not a cheap solution, though I feel it is a good product for the money one pays."

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

"Setup costs and pricing depends on many variables, but it's mostly affordable."

"It is quite affordable for our customers. There is a separate cost for IPS, antivirus, web filtering, and other features. They have a great choice of licenses. You can go for the license that you want, which is quite useful."

"The license is too expensive to renew. The license renewal process is also complex."

More Fortinet FortiGate pricing and cost advice

"The price is average. Because the license is user-based, you can increase it as per the user quantity."

"The solution's overall cost is cheaper than regular web security solutions."

"The license model is based on the number of users. You have the possibility to have 10,000 users if you wish."

"The product is cheap."

"We pay a licensing fee of $10,000 on a yearly basis."

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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…

What needs improvement with iboss?

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Financial Services Firm

11%

Manufacturing Company

10%

Comms Service Provider

Construction Company

Comms Service Provider

Manufacturing Company

Computer Software Company

Outsourcing Company

Financial Services Firm

16%

Construction Company

Manufacturing Company

Outsourcing Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	15
Midsize Enterprise	8
Large Enterprise	16

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	373
Midsize Enterprise	139
Large Enterprise	195

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	8
Midsize Enterprise	3
Large Enterprise	4

Questions from the Community

iboss could be improved by making the dashboard more user-friendly, providing more detailed real-time alerts, and imp...

What is your primary use case for iboss?

iboss is primarily used for cloud security, helping to protect users when they access websites and cloud applications...

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for iboss?

The pricing and licensing for iboss were reasonable for the security features. The setup costs were manageable, thoug...

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 a...

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...

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 ...

Which lesser known firewall product has the best chance at unseating the market leaders?

Netscope, Zscaler if they continue route they are on now. FIrewalls needs great deal of automation on each end, datac...

Which lesser known firewall product has the best chance at unseating the market leaders?

Those firewalls that allow extend the perimeter. Nowadays, there is a issue with the static perimeter and all is goin...

What needs improvement with Netskope Next Gen Secure Web Gateway?

For the moment, the solution is going quite well, and I cannot think of anything specific we could improve at the mom...

Prisma Access by Palo Alto Networks vs iboss

Comparisons

Compared 10% of the time

Netskope vs iboss

Compared 8% of the time

Cisco Umbrella vs iboss

Compared 6% of the time

FortiSASE vs iboss

Compared 5% of the time

Zscaler Internet Access vs iboss

Compared 5% of the time

More iboss Competitors

Cisco Secure Firewall vs Fortinet FortiGate

Compared 15% of the time

Sophos Firewall vs Fortinet FortiGate

Compared 12% of the time

Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls vs Fortinet FortiGate

Compared 6% of the time

Netgate pfSense vs Fortinet FortiGate

Compared 3% of the time

OPNsense vs Fortinet FortiGate

Compared 2% of the time

More Fortinet FortiGate Competitors

Prisma Access by Palo Alto Networks vs Netskope Next Gen Secure Web Gateway

Compared 15% of the time

Menlo Secure vs Netskope Next Gen Secure Web Gateway

Compared 14% of the time

dope.swg vs Netskope Next Gen Secure Web Gateway

Compared 6% of the time

Cato SASE Cloud Platform vs Netskope Next Gen Secure Web Gateway

Compared 4% of the time

Prisma Access Browser vs Netskope Next Gen Secure Web Gateway

Compared 4% of the time

More Netskope Next Gen Secure Web Gateway Competitors

Product Reports

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iboss

October 2026

Download Fortinet FortiGate product report

Fortinet FortiGate

November 2026

Netskope Next Gen Secure Web Gateway

October 2026

Netskope Next Gen Secure Web Gateway report

Download Netskope Next Gen Secure Web Gateway product report

Also Known As

iBoss Cloud Platform

Fortinet FortiGate Next-Generation Firewall

No data available

Overview

iboss is the Zero Trust SASE platform that gives organizations complete visibility and governance over their AI, data, and applications through one unified platform, one console, one policy engine, and one data lake.

Your endpoints may already stop malware. Your data and application activity can still be invisible. iboss decrypts and understands every connection, then turns that signal into answers security leaders can act on.

The platform leads with three capabilities in this order: AI Security and Visibility, Data Security and Visibility, and App Visibility and Control. Zero Trust Network Access, VPN replacement, and SD-WAN sit underneath as the access fabric that carries those three. Trusted by global enterprises and government agencies.

What are the most important features of Iboss?

- AI Security and Visibility: conversation capture, shadow-AI discovery, AI DLP, and agent governance across Claude, Co-Work, ChatGPT, Gemini, and Grok, and emerging services.

- Data Security and Visibility: full SSL/TLS decryption, deep content inspection, MIP label compliance, and one-click compliance reporting.

- App Visibility and Control: signatureless CASB, dual risk scoring, in-app controls, and SSPM for major SaaS.

- Containerized Zero Trust SASE: dedicated containers, isolated SSL keys, one console, one policy engine, one data lake.

- Access fabric: ZTNA, VPN replacement, and SD-WAN under the same platform.

What benefits should users consider in reviews?

- Complete visibility over AI, data, and applications from one platform instead of separate point tools.

- Encrypted traffic is inspected by default so data decisions use content and context together.

- Shadow SaaS and new web tools appear as they are used, with enforceable controls in one console.

- Native data sovereignty through dedicated containers, in-region inspection, and per-customer SSL key custody.

- Scale proven in published materials: 10M+ users, 100+ countries, 150B+ transactions, 2.5B+ threats blocked.

Economic buyers are CISOs, CIOs, and VPs of Security. Champions include security architects, network and infrastructure leaders, SecOps, and GRC. Primary segments: enterprise and business, financial services, government (including FedRAMP Gov Cloud), healthcare, manufacturing, legal and professional services, retail and hospitality, and MSP/MSSP partners. Education, including K-12, is one vertical among these.

iboss

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

Netskope Next Gen Secure Web Gateway delivers advanced web security with features like malware control, DLP, and swift connectivity. With cloud-native operations, it enhances security without on-premise hardware.

Organizations leveraging Netskope Next Gen Secure Web Gateway benefit from its ease of policy management, swift connections, and consolidation of technologies. The gateway ensures robust security with features such as CASB, URL filtering, threat prevention, and sandboxing. Its operations are cloud-native, eliminating the need for on-premise hardware, and it integrates effectively with IAM and PAM systems. Broad SaaS coverage and an emphasis on architectural governance enhance web activity security and visibility. While there is room to improve file control, IoT functionality, and endpoint features, it remains a trusted option for safe web browsing, filtering, and security through advanced policy controls and prevention methods.

What are the key features of Netskope Next Gen Secure Web Gateway?

Policy Ease: Simplifies managing security policies for diverse web applications.
Swift Connections: Ensures fast and secure internet connections for uninterrupted workflow.
Malware Control: Provides robust protection against malware with comprehensive control features.
Data Loss Prevention (DLP): Prevents data breaches through effective monitoring and management.
Cloud-Native Operations: Operates fully in the cloud, eliminating the need for physical hardware.
CASB Integration: Offers seamless integration with Cloud Access Security Broker for enhanced security.
Threat Prevention: Detects and prevents potential online threats effectively.

What benefits and ROI should be considered when evaluating Netskope Next Gen Secure Web Gateway?

Security Enhancement: Provides increased security through advanced threat prevention and control tools.
Cost Efficiency: Reduces the need for on-premise hardware, lowering total cost of ownership.
Operational Efficiency: Enhances operational workflow with faster and more secure internet connections.
Comprehensive Integration: Integrates seamlessly with existing IAM and PAM systems, facilitating ease of use.
Actionable Insights: Offers detailed reporting and analytics for informed decision-making.

Netskope Next Gen Secure Web Gateway is widely implemented across industries for secure internet navigation, application control, and threat prevention. Enterprises use it to prevent shadow IT, manage SaaS traffic, and enforce governance according to specific industry regulations, ensuring security and compliance.

Netskope

Sample Customers

Trusted by global enterprises and government agencies.

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

Arrow, Cloudrise, Sainsbury, Evalueserve, Stroock, Apria, Ather Energy, CSA, AVX Corporation Nuna, City of San Diego Case, Genomic Health Case Study, Oak Hill Advisors, MaRS Discovery District.