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Fortinet FortiGuard vs MetaDefender comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary

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 FortiGuard
Ranking in Threat Intelligence Platforms (TIP)
12th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
5.9
Number of Reviews
5
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
MetaDefender
Ranking in Threat Intelligence Platforms (TIP)
7th
Average Rating
9.4
Reviews Sentiment
6.2
Number of Reviews
7
Ranking in other categories
Advanced Threat Protection (ATP) (16th), Anti-Malware Tools (6th), Cloud Detection and Response (CDR) (6th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of May 2026, in the Threat Intelligence Platforms (TIP) category, the mindshare of Fortinet FortiGuard is 1.8%, up from 0.8% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of MetaDefender is 1.9%, down from 2.2% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Threat Intelligence Platforms (TIP) Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
MetaDefender1.9%
Fortinet FortiGuard1.8%
Other96.3%
Threat Intelligence Platforms (TIP)
 

Featured Reviews

Yaw Agyare - PeerSpot reviewer
Manager at Volta River Authority
Threat intelligence has consistently minimized downtime and safeguarded revenue
Fortinet FortiGuard's machine learning capabilities contribute to our cybersecurity by performing numerous predictions and assessing possibilities, enabling us to prepare ahead for potential incidents. I have benefited from automated threat response, which is absolutely brilliant because if we have to go through logs to see what is going on, we would never finish. Automating these things allows alerts to be given so we can concentrate effort on critical areas, helping us to optimize our resources effectively. We are also looking at automating the response, where response can be automated, and then we can focus on forensic investigations to understand what happened and see whether we need to tweak the automation to make it work better. The benefits I gain from using Fortinet FortiGuard include peace of mind. It has contributed to ensuring that we are always available and can meet our availability targets. This means that productivity is maintained, and revenues will rake in as planned. The moment something gets through and causes a breach, likely causing downtime, it means you're losing money.
reviewer2805510 - PeerSpot reviewer
Partner Account Manager at a wholesaler/distributor with 51-200 employees
File sanitization has protected critical networks and prevents hidden malware from entering
In my experience, the best features MetaDefender offers include the number of different antivirus engines that can scan files through multi-file scanning, often using 20 to 30 engines, with the top premium package around 33 engines, capturing 80 to 90% of malware in all those files. If any engine detects malware, the file is blocked, which increases detection because different engines catch different malware. When dealing with central government and defense, we find that if there is any kind of malware on the network or the file, whether that is a software file, hard disk file, or a pen drive, it cannot be allowed on the network. This is when we put it into the sandbox and perform file sanitization to ensure that nothing malicious comes into the network. Whenever we are dealing with central government or defense contracts, MetaDefender's core philosophy of trusting no file means it scans files, rebuilds them, and verifies their reputation, ensuring they contain no malicious content. This positively impacts our organization by detecting malware and stopping any kind of data leaks through the network. In terms of measurable outcomes across central government and defense, we are seeing saved time when files go through the antivirus file scanners. In financial services, such as with mortgage applications, the process sends files straight into MetaDefender file scanning that cleans out any malicious content.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The best features in Fortinet FortiGuard that I appreciate are the nice interface, ease of use, and straightforward administration and setup."
"The content filtering feature helps protect data by filtering potentially dangerous websites and brings significant benefit to the organization."
"The benefits I gain from using Fortinet FortiGuard include peace of mind; it has contributed to ensuring that we are always available and can meet our availability targets, which means that productivity is maintained and revenues will rake in as planned."
"The most valuable features of the solution are its ease of use and efficiency."
"The main benefits Fortinet FortiGuard provides are that it secures the network from external threats, it provides security, and it has a very perfect graphical user interface that is very easy to use."
"The best feature of MetaDefender is that it can isolate USB devices from the connected network, blocks malware and unsafe files, and ensures all endpoints follow security policy, so that my organization remains safe and reduces the risk of these threats."
"For one of my clients, a major bank in Turkey, they reported saving approximately 30 percent of their SOC time on analyzing emails since implementing MetaDefender."
"MetaDefender is 100% stable, making it one of the best cybersecurity solutions we offer, which provides confidence in promoting and recommending it to others."
"The effectiveness of the solution in blocking or sanitizing any content based on our policies is excellent."
"I like the simplicity, the way it works out of the box. It's pretty easy to run and configure. The integration of the network devices with the ICAP server was easily done."
"MetaDefender has positively impacted my organization by reducing the risk of file-based attacks, which has significantly improved our overall defense against phishing and malware delivery techniques."
"OPSWAT is the best alternative."
"MetaDefender is 100% stable, making it one of the best cybersecurity solutions we offer, which provides confidence in promoting and recommending it to others."
 

Cons

"The dashboard is an important and integral part of the product that could be improved."
"Currently, for our usage, the areas that have room for improvement are pricing and customization."
"When creating a ticket for support with configuration features, the support is reluctant to provide that support."
"I think that automated response could be improved if they can add automated response features into Fortinet FortiGuard."
"If the tool can be cheaper or less expensive, it can be good for users."
"Some capabilities are lacking in reporting because we do not have full statistics that are easy for users to understand."
"The documentation is not well written, and I often need to talk with support."
"While MetaDefender's mail gateway already gives fewer false positives, there is still room for improvement in reducing those even further."
"The main improvement needed is pricing because, as an enterprise solution, smaller partners do not often receive the attention they deserve."
"The main improvement needed is pricing because, as an enterprise solution, smaller partners do not often receive the attention they deserve."
"The UI can be more user-friendly, and initial steps and policy tuning take some time."
"What I would like to see improved in MetaDefender includes reducing the high cost of the license, as the pricing is very high."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"If one is very cheap and ten is very expensive, I rate the tool's price as a six to seven."
"We bought a three-year license, and that was pretty expensive. We agreed that it was really worth buying. It could be cheaper, but we understand that quality comes at a price."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Educational Organization
16%
Construction Company
9%
Venture Capital & Private Equity Firm
9%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Computer Software Company
19%
Financial Services Firm
12%
Healthcare Company
10%
Construction Company
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business5
Midsize Enterprise1
Large Enterprise4
 

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Fortinet FortiGuard?
Regarding pricing, I must say it is quite pricey, but if you look at the value it gives you, I think the value justifies the cost.
What needs improvement with Fortinet FortiGuard?
When going for support and asking for support for features, the support team asks to go for professional services, which are not covered in the support agreement. This is the reason exploration of ...
What is your primary use case for Fortinet FortiGuard?
Fortinet FortiGuard is used to filter emails coming to the email server. Fortinet FortiGuard threat intelligence is utilized, but not dedicatedly or specifically for threat intelligence purposes. F...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for MetaDefender?
I do not find it cost-effective, as the costing is high.
What needs improvement with MetaDefender?
I am not using the expanded file type and archive coverage feature because I was unaware of it. I am not using the enhanced reporting and audit visibility features, and I am unsure about them. Rega...
What is your primary use case for MetaDefender?
The use cases for MetaDefender involve checking an endpoint, such as a laptop or USB, to ensure that they are safe, clean, and meet security policy before they connect to the network. I can use it ...
 

Also Known As

No data available
OPSWAT MetaDefender, MetaDefender Core
 

Overview

Find out what your peers are saying about Fortinet FortiGuard vs. MetaDefender and other solutions. Updated: April 2026.
893,244 professionals have used our research since 2012.