Fortinet FortiManager vs NetScaler comparison

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Fortinet FortiManager

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Jan 2, 2025

NetScaler and Fortinet FortiManager compete in the IT infrastructure and management space. NetScaler seems to have the upper hand in application delivery and flexibility, while Fortinet FortiManager excels in network management and orchestration.

Features: NetScaler offers a pay-as-you-grow deployment model, load balancing, and SSL offloading. It provides strong application delivery with excellent integration with Citrix products. Fortinet FortiManager offers centralized management for Fortinet devices, excellent scalability, and comprehensive security management. It supports automation features and orchestration for handling network infrastructures.

Room for Improvement: NetScaler users desire improved customization options, a more intuitive interface, and better technical support along with flexible licensing for smaller setups. Fortinet FortiManager could improve ease of troubleshooting, broaden device management capabilities, and enhance interface usability along with real-time traffic insights.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: NetScaler is known for its various deployment options and robust support, though some customers report delays and service inconsistencies. Fortinet FortiManager is user-friendly with strong centralization capabilities, but users seek improvements in real-time support and regional assistance.

Pricing and ROI: NetScaler is perceived as expensive with high licensing and support costs but offers favorable ROI due to its robust application delivery capabilities. Fortinet FortiManager is seen as cost-effective with reasonable pricing compared to competitors, providing good ROI, particularly in large-scale deployments.

To learn more, read our detailed Fortinet FortiManager vs. NetScaler Report (Updated: July 2025).

Fortinet FortiManager vs. NetScaler

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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 FortiManager

Ranking in Network Management Applications

4th

Average Rating

8.0

Reviews Sentiment

7.0

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

NetScaler

Ranking in Network Management Applications

5th

Average Rating

8.4

Reviews Sentiment

7.0

Number of Reviews

107

Ranking in other categories

Application Delivery Controllers (ADC) (1st), Web Application Firewall (WAF) (14th)

Mindshare comparison

As of July 2025, in the Network Management Applications category, the mindshare of Fortinet FortiManager is 5.4%, up from 4.7% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of NetScaler is 1.5%, up from 0.7% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Network Management Applications

Featured Reviews

Damitha Anuradha

Head of Presales at AcSys Networks Private Limited

Manage multiple devices with ease but experience complexity in deployment and limited AI features

I use Fortinet FortiManager to manage multiple devices in a single location. Although it does not provide a security posture itself, it depends on the firewall policies and settings in their respective firewalls. Fortinet FortiManager is primarily meant for the management of devices Fortinet…

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DEMİRHAN ÇAVUŞOĞLU

Cloud Consultant at Migros Ticaret A.Ş.

A tool for centralized management including inventory and sales tracking

Citrix ADM has the ability to implement policies to tighten security. For instance, you can restrict access to your network from outsiders or lack necessary security measures such as antivirus programs. Additionally, there's the Delivery Controller, which allows for comprehensive monitoring and management tasks such as remote restarts, maintenance, and registration. Another essential component is the Director, which provides detailed insights into sessions, including identifying session failures, connection issues, user lockouts, etc. It presents a list of problems to address, enabling you to click on them and resolve them efficiently.

Read full review

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The product is easy to use and manage."

"The solution is very stable."

"I appreciate the ability to connect via SSH through Fortinet FortiManager to the FortiGates I manage. This feature allows me to gather information about the interfaces without having to physically connect to the device. This is a convenient aspect that I find valuable."

"Technical support is great. When we have sent urgent tickets and they do reply back within fifteen minutes."

"It is easy to deploy to licenses."

"Fortinet has the option of synchronization in the cloud, so you can manage everything if you have a cloud account."

"For the whole security fabric from Fortinet, with a simple click you can see if some workstations or services are affected by an attack. You can really easily quarantine it, check the solution, and fix it."

"There is something called zero-touch provisioning, where you can add a new device without any configuration. You just add it to FortiManager and then forget about it."

More Fortinet FortiManager pros

"Load balancing, cache redirection, content switching, all connected with traffic management."

"Enables a Web service that offers persistent client-server connections, IP restriction, URL rewrite (such as remove "/assets/" path from client-side URL path), and cache for CSS or JS files... You can easily use the GUI to set up all these requirements on the same network device within 20-30 minutes. (If you do the same steps on CLI, it might take less time.)"

"The stability is good. If there is a problem, the load will be shifted to other sites automatically, which has been a good experience for us."

"I like the ease of use. It's easy to manage. I also like it's ease of use with virtualization technologies with applications."

"HTTP analysis and action. We have a lot of custom web applications that sometimes require custom header insertions. Some of these custom apps are external and, via the content switching, we can use one IP and leverage various back-end web app servers."

"The most valuable feature of Citrix NetScaler was the seamless integration. Additionally, the UI is good."

"The load balancing feature of this solution is very good."

"The web application firewalling component is a powerful feature."

More NetScaler pros

Cons

"It requires a lot of resources. This is the main challenge."

"There may be a communication issue. However, other items may be the culprit, such as network connectivity. It depends on the customer's network."

"The solution has to be enhanced to manage new switches."

"FortiManager should improve the integration with third-party platforms."

"Can be difficult to configure."

"Regional support in African countries needs to be improved."

"The documentation could be better."

"The information extraction through command lines was could improve to some extent. Although there were some command lines available, there were not enough options. For instance, I needed to obtain the management IP address of my two Fortigates, but the Fortinet FortiManager did not provide me with the IP address on the LAN interface. I attempted to find this information through the command line but was unsuccessful. I also searched for articles on the internet, but could not find a solution. This is an aspect that could be improved or potentially there is a method to access this information that I have yet to discover."

More Fortinet FortiManager cons

"The tool needs to add a feature where we can access the network policy access manager."

"The customization has always been a key area where some improvements are required. In the beginning, everything was for customizing the outer shell of it. You had to use the command-based utility and you had to do a lot of manual work. They have improved it a little bit and now there are some GUI-based functionalities that can be used. However, more can be done that doesn't require a lot of intervention. Right now there are some features, there are some customizations that can be done, but it's still very tedious, very cumbersome, a lot of work. So that could be simplified."

"The solution should be able to scale more effectively than it does."

"The technical support has room for improvement."

"We had some bugs in the previous firmware. These were not big issues, but more testing on the firmware would be key to happier customers."

"Currently, it is not easy to use the configuration capabilities of the product."

"Does not include security. A web application firewall would be a nice addition."

"Finding relevant documentation for learning NetScaler can be challenging, especially for beginners who prefer a web interface over command-line interfaces."

More NetScaler cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The price of Fortinet FortiManager is inexpensive."

"I hope that the prices will become more competitive in subsequent releases, as the current pricing is perceived as somewhat elevated."

"For the licensing fee, we paid around 10,000 to 15,000 euros."

"Fortinet is a high-end product and the cost is high. They should consider reducing the price, especially for existing customers."

"Fortinet FortiManager operates on a licensing system that is dependent on the number of devices being managed. Yearly subscription renewal is necessary to continue using the service. Although there is a cost associated with Fortinet FortiManager, its price is undoubtedly justified by the value it provides in terms of the purpose it serves."

"Fortinet FortiManager is costly."

"On a scale from one to ten, where one is cheap and ten is expensive, I rate the solution's pricing a six out of ten."

"FortiManager isn't expensive, but its cost is dependent on which services are required."

More Fortinet FortiManager pricing and cost advice

"The solution's pricing is very high compared to its competitors."

"We are quite happy with price. It's not too high."

"We have a yearly licencing fee, and there are no additional costs."

"This product is more expensive than some of the competitors."

"F5 BIG-IP is much more expensive than Citrix ADC. For example, If we choose two platforms, Citrix ADC, 3000 version, and we choose F5, F4200 version. F5 BIG-IP has connections, timers, and throughput similar to Citrix ADC, but the price is very expensive."

"Citrix Web App and API Protection are in the middle when we talk about pricing and licensing"

"It's an expensive product but it works well."

"The licenses for this product are payable as a yearly subscription, and carry a high price-point. The subscription scheme is quite complicated, and costs will increase with each additional feature that is required, outside of the basic setup."

More NetScaler pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

15%

Manufacturing Company

Financial Services Firm

Comms Service Provider

Computer Software Company

16%

Financial Services Firm

11%

Government

Manufacturing Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Fortinet FortiManager?

The most valuable feature is the centralized management console.

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Fortinet FortiManager?

The pricing for Fortinet FortiManager is good and not expensive. It is competitively priced.

What needs improvement with Fortinet FortiManager?

I don't know how they can make Fortinet FortiManager better. The pricing and support could be improved. It would be good if they made small improvements anywhere. They can also have better integrat...

What do you like most about Citrix ADC?

The most valuable feature for us is the application firewalling in Citrix NetScaler, ensuring only valid traffic enters our environment.

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Citrix ADC?

After deployment, Citrix Netscaler shifted to a subscription-based license scheme for support, which is slightly more expensive.

What needs improvement with Citrix ADC?

Citrix NetScaler is a robust product, but mastering it requires significant learning and training due to its complexity. While it could be easier to manage, it is like transitioning from driving a ...

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Product Reports

Fortinet FortiManager

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Also Known As

No data available

Citrix ADC, Citrix NetScaler VPX, NetScaler Console, NetScaler Web Application Firewall

Overview

Fortinet FortiManager is used for centralized management of FortiGate firewalls, utilizing zero-touch deployment techniques to optimize configuration and deployment, reducing installation time and errors while improving network security and efficiency.

By centralizing policy management and monitoring across devices and locations, Fortinet FortiManager enhances security and operational efficiency. Automation tools simplify management, control, and consistent configuration across environments. It offers scalability for managing large numbers of devices, beneficial for organizations seeking unified threat protection and streamlined administration from one console. The platform integrates effortlessly with Fortinet products, supporting zero-touch provisioning, SD-WAN, and traffic analysis. Although intuitive, the graphical interface and overall performance require refinement, alongside enhanced support and documentation for troubleshooting and configuration.

What are the key features of Fortinet FortiManager?

Centralized Management: Streamlines device configuration across multiple systems.
Automation Tools: Simplifies implementation and maintenance of configurations.
Zero-Touch Provisioning: Reduces setup time and minimizes errors.
SD-WAN Support: Enhances wide-area network efficiency and effectiveness.
Traffic Analysis: Monitors network traffic for improved security insights.
Policy Pushing: Facilitates efficient deployment of security rules.

What benefits and ROI should users look for in reviews?

Operational Efficiency: Reduces installation time and configuration errors.
Scalability: Supports management of numerous devices.
Improved Security: Centralized management enhances threat protection.
Time Savings: Automation reduces manual intervention needs.
Cost-Effectiveness: Simplified administration can lower management costs.

Fortinet FortiManager is implemented across diverse industries like telecommunications, finance, and healthcare, where centralized management and enhanced security are crucial. Its ability to streamline processes and integrate with existing Fortinet products makes it ideal for organizations looking to maintain robust network security standards.

Fortinet

One platform for a consistent application delivery and security experience because nobody has time to learn multiple systems to manage ADC deployments. NetScaler is built with a single code base using a software-based architecture, so no matter which ADC form factor you choose — hardware, virtual machine, bare metal, or container — the behavior will be the same.

Sample Customers

Black Gold Regional Schools, Amadeus Hospitality, Jefferson County, Chunghwa Telecom, City of Boroondara, Dimension Data

ABB Schweiz, Aer Lingus, AIDS Healthcare Foundation, Amnet Technology Solutions, Aramex International, Ascenty, Atos, Autodesk

Fortinet FortiManager vs. NetScaler