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Fortinet FortiManager vs Zabbix 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:
 

ROI

Sentiment score
5.6
Fortinet FortiManager offers cost savings, improved visibility, and effective management, though pricing complexity varies with deployment size.
Sentiment score
6.9
Zabbix is praised for being cost-effective and scalable, minimizing downtime, and eliminating high licensing fees for enterprises.
Fortinet provides a strong ROI for organizations focused on comprehensive security.
Network Security Engineer/ Firewall Engineer at Charter Communications
The cost has been reduced for us by 24%.
Global Head of IT Infrastructure at EPL Americas
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
6.9
Fortinet FortiManager's customer support varies, with responsive teams but inconsistent service quality and regional disparities in expertise.
Sentiment score
6.8
Zabbix support is well-regarded, with strong community forums, responsive staff, and effective local partners aiding various user needs.
The people are very good, and they are very attentive.
Engineer of Preventa Sir at InterNexa S.A
They are responsive and resolve issues quickly when I raise a ticket.
Senior Associate at City Union Bank Ltd
Fortinet support is responsive and helpful.
Global Head of IT Infrastructure at EPL Americas
It is so straightforward that I have never had to use the support.
CTO at Oic
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
7.1
Fortinet FortiManager is praised for scalability and central management, suitable for medium to large enterprises despite some cost concerns.
Sentiment score
6.9
Zabbix offers scalable, flexible monitoring with cost efficiency, though complex scaling and database management may require improvements for large deployments.
Whenever you are monitoring or managing more than 10 or 20 firewalls, it is evident that you need a single pane of glass, which Fortinet FortiManager is offering.
Global Head of IT Infrastructure at EPL Americas
You can raise the capacity as you go, and there is no limit for hardware.
Security Architect at Bouygues Telecom Mobile
The problem is cloud connectivity and roaming profiles are not working, as there is no option for them.
Network engineer at JOYALUKKAS
Zabbix is very scalable and lightweight.
CTO at Oic
Zabbix has high scalability.
CTO at Four Nine Agency
I would rate its scalability ten out of ten.
Manager, Information Technology Zara & Inditex at Cenomi
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
7.9
Fortinet FortiManager is generally stable and reliable, with improvements in recent updates, though occasional bugs may occur.
Sentiment score
7.4
Zabbix is generally stable and reliable, requiring minimal resources, though occasional issues may arise from external factors.
I rate the solution's stability ten out of ten.
CISO at a financial services firm with 1,001-5,000 employees
95% of the time, there are no problems interacting with other devices.
Security Architect at Bouygues Telecom Mobile
It is an absolutely very stable product, and we have not encountered any kind of disruption as far as the product is concerned.
Global Head of IT Infrastructure at EPL Americas
Zabbix is very scalable and lightweight.
CTO at Oic
Zabbix is quite stable, and we haven't had any problems with Zabbix itself.
CTO at Four Nine Agency
I think the stability of Zabbix is around five to six on a scale of ten, where ten is the best and one is the worst.
Network Engineer at a computer software company with 11-50 employees
 

Room For Improvement

Fortinet FortiManager needs better documentation, GUI improvements, simplified configuration, enhanced integration, and more accessible pricing and support.
Zabbix needs user interface, reporting, and dashboard improvements, plus better configuration, automation, documentation, scalability, and advanced monitoring features.
FortiManager is a good tool, but there is a lack of really advanced documentation.
Security Architect at Bouygues Telecom Mobile
The graphical user interface could use improvement as it appears complex and not user-friendly.
Senior Network Engineer at SP SYSNET PTE. LTD.
Fortinet FortiManager could benefit from integrations with Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) solutions.
Senior Associate at City Union Bank Ltd
The only issue I can note is that it's Linux-based, and Linux documentation is not the best.
CTO at Oic
The potential and customization is a little difficult because you have to learn scripts.
Network Engineer at a computer software company with 11-50 employees
 

Setup Cost

Fortinet FortiManager is cost-effective for large deployments, despite higher costs for fewer devices and optional advanced features.
Zabbix is praised for being a free, open-source solution with optional low-cost support, attracting enterprise users.
I would rate the price 8 out of 10 with 10 being the most expensive.
General Manager/ Owner at Security Parameter
Some competing solutions in the market, like Sophos and SonicWALL, offer lower costs of up to 40 percent.
Network administrator at PISystems
I find Fortinet FortiManager to be a bit more expensive, especially when considering the environment.
Head of Presales at AcSys Networks Private Limited
Zabbix is providing everything free of cost.
Network Engineer at a computer software company with 11-50 employees
It is literally free.
CTO at Oic
 

Valuable Features

Fortinet FortiManager offers scalable, centralized device management with automation and security features for efficient network administration in distributed environments.
Zabbix offers open-source flexibility, scalability, automated monitoring, diverse integrations, and adaptability for complex infrastructures with strong community support.
I can automate the installation of configurations using different programming languages like Python or HPE, and it's a GUI solution, so it's pretty easy to use, even for basic users.
Security Architect at Bouygues Telecom Mobile
Being able to push consistent firewall rules and configuration changes across multiple FortiGates saves a ton of time and reduces errors compared to managing each device individually.
Network Security Engineer/ Firewall Engineer at Charter Communications
FortiManager captures all devices and provides reports for security analysis.
Senior Network Engineer at SP SYSNET PTE. LTD.
If disk usage surpasses a threshold, say 70%, I receive alerts and can take proactive action.
CTO at Oic
Zabbix has a lot of features, including monitoring, status updates, and collecting information telemetry from storages and servers as well.
CTO at Four Nine Agency
Zabbix is Linux-based open-source software, and the main use case is to reduce costs.
Network Engineer at Ogma Consulting
 

Categories and Ranking

Fortinet FortiManager
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
72
Ranking in other categories
Network Management Applications (3rd)
Zabbix
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.0
Number of Reviews
108
Ranking in other categories
Application Performance Monitoring (APM) and Observability (10th), Network Monitoring Software (1st), Server Monitoring (1st), IT Infrastructure Monitoring (1st), Cloud Monitoring Software (1st)
 

Mindshare comparison

While both are Network Management solutions, they serve different purposes. Fortinet FortiManager is designed for Network Management Applications and holds a mindshare of 4.4%, down 5.1% compared to last year.
Zabbix, on the other hand, focuses on Network Monitoring Software, holds 6.9% mindshare, down 11.8% since last year.
Network Management Applications Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Fortinet FortiManager4.4%
Cisco DNA Center14.4%
Cisco Catalyst Center7.9%
Other73.3%
Network Management Applications
Network Monitoring Software Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Zabbix6.9%
SolarWinds NPM3.4%
PRTG Network Monitor3.3%
Other86.4%
Network Monitoring Software
 

Featured Reviews

SudeepMaydeo - PeerSpot reviewer
Global Head of IT Infrastructure at EPL Americas
Ensures seamless integration and centralized visibility for network security operations
The version upgrade from a single dashboard for all the firewalls in one click is the beauty of Fortinet FortiManager as the most impactful feature in managing our network security. Fortinet FortiManager's policy management enhances our security protocols by enabling us and giving integrated centralized visibility, which has proven to be very healthy. Because of this, we have identified some of the vulnerabilities in our systems, and we mitigated them through Fortinet FortiManager. The central dashboards and the visibility are what appealed to us to go with Fortinet FortiManager. Fortinet FortiManager has adapted to changes in our network scale and complexity as we have geographically 18 international locations, all equipped with firewalls and some cybersecurity initiatives and IT infrastructure initiatives.
KamranBhatti - PeerSpot reviewer
Network Engineer at a computer software company with 11-50 employees
Helps reduce response time but has room to improve customization complexity
We are not working on simple standalone solutions like Kaspersky DDoS Protection or Hybrid Cloud Security. Once you understand Zabbix, then it is easy to customize those web pages and graphs for our customer use. It is fully automated to your requirements. Zabbix is working fine with no issues, and I am satisfied with it. We have combined Zabbix and SolarWinds. The integration works fine, and it is easy to integrate Zabbix with the IT environment. We were trying to purchase MDR (Managed Detection and Response), but we are not working on that. I don't have real experience with MDR. We are using Falcon software for that. We are working with Falcon Complete, not with Sandbox. We are not using Kaspersky for business or cloud protection. For that, we are using Zabbix CrowdStrike Falcon Complete solution. I have given this review an overall rating of 8.
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Comparison Review

it_user174738 - PeerSpot reviewer
IT Developer at a tech services company with 51-200 employees
May 31, 2015
Nagios vs. Zabbix vs. PRTG vs. Spiceworks vs. Solarwinds Network Performance Monitor
I have researched a quite a few network monitoring tools which can be used for various monitoring purposes of not only the servers, but the intermediate routers as well. There are majorly three types of these softwares. Ones which are completely open-source, you can do almost anything you want…
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
12%
Financial Services Firm
9%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Comms Service Provider
9%
Computer Software Company
13%
Financial Services Firm
10%
Comms Service Provider
8%
Manufacturing Company
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business35
Midsize Enterprise16
Large Enterprise19
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business56
Midsize Enterprise23
Large Enterprise34
 

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?
I am satisfied with the licensing cost, and I would rate it an 8.5.
What needs improvement with Fortinet FortiManager?
I do not use Fortinet FortiManager daily, but I can speak with my security team and ask them what areas need future improvement for Fortinet FortiManager. When I installed it, I found it somewhat d...
What do you like most about Zabbix?
The template system in Zabbix is very beneficial as it saves time in configuration.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Zabbix?
I think Zabbix is economical, whereas SolarWinds is expensive. SolarWinds has a lot of secure features, but Zabbix is providing everything free of cost. Zabbix is economical, and you can install it...
What needs improvement with Zabbix?
The potential and customization is a little difficult because you have to learn scripts. I think Zabbix needs to improve the customization better. At present, I am satisfied with the functionality ...
 

Comparisons

 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Black Gold Regional Schools, Amadeus Hospitality, Jefferson County, Chunghwa Telecom, City of Boroondara, Dimension Data
1. IBM 2. Dell 3. Cisco 4. HP 5. Oracle 6. Microsoft 7. Amazon 8. Google 9. Facebook 10. Twitter 11. LinkedIn 12. Netflix 13. Adobe 14. VMware 15. Salesforce 16. SAP 17. Intel 18. AT&T 19. Verizon 20. T-Mobile 21. Vodafone 22. Ericsson 23. Nokia 24. Siemens 25. General Electric 26. Honeywell 27. Philips 28. Sony 29. Samsung 30. LG 31. Panasonic 32. Toshiba
Find out what your peers are saying about Cisco, Fortinet, NetScaler and others in Network Management Applications. Updated: January 2026.
881,082 professionals have used our research since 2012.