Fortinet FortiOS vs Sangfor NGAF comparison

Fortinet and Sangfor are both solutions in the Firewalls category. Fortinet is ranked #20 with an average rating of 8.7, while Sangfor is ranked #22 with an average rating of 8.4. Fortinet holds a 1.1% mindshare in Firewalls, compared to Sangfor’s 1.1% mindshare. Additionally, 98% of Fortinet users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 90% of Sangfor users who would recommend it.

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Jan 25, 2026

Fortinet FortiOS and Sangfor NGAF compete in the network security solutions category. Fortinet FortiOS has an edge due to its comprehensive feature set and robust integration capabilities, whereas Sangfor NGAF stands out for its cost-effectiveness and ease of integration.

Features: Fortinet FortiOS offers a feature-rich environment including intrusion prevention, antivirus, web filtering, and SD-WAN capabilities. It emphasizes ease of use and high availability with excellent integration with Cisco products. Sangfor NGAF provides strong application control, WAN optimization, and an effective reporting system, along with a comprehensive security database for ransomware and viruses.

Room for Improvement: Users of Fortinet FortiOS seek improved VPN capabilities, simplified central management, and faster integration with third-party solutions. Additionally, they mention high licensing fees and slower support. Sangfor NGAF would benefit from a simplified web interface, easier deployment, and improved local technical support, alongside enhancing application control policies and reporting capabilities.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Fortinet FortiOS is flexible with on-premises and hybrid cloud deployment options, though customer service receives mixed feedback, being occasionally slow yet experienced. Sangfor NGAF offers simple deployment with competitive pricing but could improve its regional support and responsiveness, though it is commended for its proactive post-sales support.

Pricing and ROI: Fortinet FortiOS is seen as a good investment for those seeking scalability and advanced features, despite being costly for smaller businesses with mid-to-high-end pricing. Sangfor NGAF is a more budget-friendly option, offering appealing pricing for smaller companies and a lower total cost of ownership, retaining strong ROI without sacrificing security features.

To learn more, read our detailed Fortinet FortiOS vs. Sangfor NGAF Report (Updated: April 2026).

Buyer's Guide

Fortinet FortiOS vs. Sangfor NGAF

April 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

Fortinet FortiGate

Mindshare comparison

As of May 2026, in the Firewalls category, the mindshare of Fortinet FortiGate is 16.0%, down from 21.6% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Fortinet FortiOS is 1.1%, up from 1.0% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Sangfor NGAF is 1.1%, down from 1.2% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Firewalls Mindshare Distribution
Product	Mindshare (%)
Fortinet FortiGate	16.0%
Fortinet FortiOS	1.1%
Sangfor NGAF	1.1%
Other	81.8%

Firewalls

Featured Reviews

Abhinandan Yadav

Network Security Engineer at Arrow PC Network Pvt Ltd

Unified security and sd-wan have improved uptime and cut wan costs for multi-site branches

Users report stability issues in certain versions, which requires regular updates. Real-world attacks have also highlighted the need for urgent patching of vulnerabilities.Fortinet FortiGate, while a powerful and feature-rich web firewall, could improve in areas like firmware stability, documentation, and ease of use. The learning curve can be steep for some users. For beginners, support quality can vary, and frequent updates with occasional vulnerabilities call for careful patch management. However, once Fortinet FortiGate is configured, it remains highly reliable and efficient. Customer support needs improvement, as I find it very slow, with reports from other users reflecting that customer support is inadequate.

Read full review

Mitul-Shah

Associate Director IT Operations at Procento

Single-pane management has simplified firewall control and has improved risk mitigation

I would not say that Fortinet FortiOS is not very scalable. Generally, what happens is that for enterprises, we hire consultants who do the capacity planning and sizing to determine what kind of firewalls to put in place. At the same time, it is not only the number of users; it also depends on the number of WAN links coming in and everything, because we have been using Fortinet for bandwidth shaping and many other bandwidth-related functions. They should improve their machine learning AI capabilities of Fortinet FortiOS because there is too much competition. Other players are also improving and making a lot of changes in their UI and overall operating system.

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Zaid Farooqui

CIO at Indus Motor Company

Enhanced threat detection with integrated security features and good support

We are using application firewalling, WAF, and SD-WAN. The capabilities are mostly within the box. For example, you will get web application firewall WAF as part and parcel of this. SD-WAN is also bundled. It integrates with their SIEM and SOAR solutions very nicely. Lastly, the pricing point is very cost-efficient as well.

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

"It is a safe product."

"The scalability is good in Fortinet FortiGate."

"The most valuable features of Fortinet FortiGate are the rules and quality of service."

"The solution is stable; it doesn't have any issues with bugs and glitches, it doesn't crash or freeze, and it's very reliable."

"The product is highly stable."

"Fortinet FortiGate has many functions, and it is one of the best next-generation firewalls with an affordable cost than other vendors."

"This is a quality product with ok support, and it is better than the competition we've tried."

"If you need real and effective security for your network, do not hesitate to buy a Fortigate appliance."

More Fortinet FortiGate pros

"Fortinet is a feature-rich firewall."

"The solution is very easy to configure and has a good interface, plus it offers more configuration options than other vendors."

"Fortinet FortiOS is very easy to use, and when comparing it to other products, its easiness is remarkable."

"It has a lot of scalability abilities which makes it easy to scale."

"The customer service and support team are excellent."

"We've been happy with the pricing."

"The most valuable feature of this solution would be the caching feature."

"The best aspects of the solution are the wire signature and VPN, secure VPN encryption, and bulk packet monitoring."

More Fortinet FortiOS pros

"We use Sangfor NGAF primarily for security, which has helped save our files from being encrypted by ransomware."

"I think the tool has the feature to detect and kill ransomware in three seconds."

"Sangfor NGAF specializes in ransomware detection and helps to protect our network from ransomware threats and malware."

"Sangfor serves most of the basic purposes of a firewall, is particularly good in the DPI where we can inspect the inbound and outbound traffic on a very granular level, gives a very good predictive measure as well as the current measure of things going on in our network, and gives us value for money overall."

"The solution is quite safe and good, and furthermore, it is very good for different environments."

"Particularly good in the DPI where we can inspect inbound and outbound traffic."

"We can utilize our own network rather than paying for a private one."

"The built-in features function as intended, providing exceptional value."

More Sangfor NGAF pros

Cons

"I would like to have SD-WAN as a part of the Next Generation Firewall. It would enhance high availability."

"It would be better if they had a dashboard where we could see what attacks were happening. It would be good to see who's trying to get into our network."

"Fortinet FortiGate could improve by having more storage in the hardware for log data."

"If you have the firmware version 6.4.3 and are using FortiLink in VLAN, it has trouble with tunneling networks for a wireless network; it won't give it a route to the internet."

"It is quite new for us, and we need to go more in-depth into the monitoring tools. It provides different features that we need to do what we want. So far, it is okay for us. In terms of improvement, in the future, they can provide a faster implementation of features. Some of the features are first available in other solutions. Fortinet sometimes takes a little bit longer than other solutions, such as Check Point, to implement new features."

"From a pricing perspective, I would rate them a six."

"The solution could be more evenly structured and I'd like to see orchestration in the calls included."

"It's one of the more expensive brands."

More Fortinet FortiGate cons

"There is some room for improvement in the support."

"Right now, we have to contend with CLI. We'd like it to be easier. We need the features to be in a UI."

"The support could be improved, Fortinet's response time is very slow. Setting up the VPN could be made much easier, especially when deployed with Azure."

"FortiOS could provide a more detailed analysis of the network and connected devices."

"FortiOS's stability could be better."

"Some features I have found to be hidden and cannot be accessed through the graphical user interface, you can only access them through the command-line interface(CLI). All the features should be accessible through the graphical user interface."

"The GUI could be improved to make it more usable, easier to administer, and easier to configure."

"Stability is a seven out of ten because during version migrations, and sometimes with new versions, Fortinet is not as good. Palo Alto is more stable than Fortinet, but this depends on the configuration."

More Fortinet FortiOS cons

"The GUI needs to be improved, lacks logic in some areas."

"The firewall system needs gradual improvements because there are more threats and challenges in the world every day."

"We have deployed many firewalls and have faced two or three faulty devices that we have to replace over a year because their power supply was faulty."

"Scalability for any network device is not very easy in terms of vertical scalability."

"Sangfor could improve their interface capacity on the 5100 series model and upgrade their hardware from one gig to 10 gig. This would improve the overall throughput."

"The cost of licensing is very high compared to other firewalls available here. There should be improvements in hardware scalability, allowing for more storage and memory capacity."

"However, the maintenance cost can be a bit high."

"I believe that IAM and NGFW need to merge into a single box, instead of there being two separate box solutions."

More Sangfor NGAF cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"It's very competitive."

"The cost is too high... They have to focus on more features with less cost for the customer. If you see the market, where it's going, there are a lot of players offering more features for less cost."

"Other firewalls are more expensive than Fortinet FortiGate, such as the Azure firewall."

"FortiGate SWG is a cost-effective solution well-suited for organisations of all sizes."

"We saved a bundle by not needing all the past appliances from an NGFW."

"Licensing is usually on a three-year period."

"It's not the cheapest, but it's value for money. Given everything we've got out of it: the DMZ port, the VPN, and the high availability, it's a pretty reasonable price."

"The license for Fortinet FortiGate is affordable in my country."

More Fortinet FortiGate pricing and cost advice

"It is not cheap."

"The price of Fortinet FortiOS is less than $10,000 annually. The price of the support is reasonable compared to competitors."

"The solution is cost effective. I would rate the pricing a five out of ten."

"Pricing for the tool can vary. Sometimes, aggressive pricing is offered at the start, but later, as subscriptions and expansions are needed, the costs can increase, and customers may have to pay whatever is required."

"There is a license required for the solution and the price is fair."

"The Fortinet solutions can be a bit expensive."

"The best solution in the category including the price in Thailand is Fortinet FortiOS."

"The pricing is competitive for the medium and high markets but for the small markets it can be expensive."

More Fortinet FortiOS pricing and cost advice

"I rate the product price as one on a scale of one to ten, where one is low price and ten is high price."

"The pricing is reasonable."

"For over 2000 users, the cost is around 5000 to 6000 USD. If you want a web application firewall, you have to purchase an additional license for it."

"For four to five physical appliances for a licensed firewall, it costs approximately $4,000."

"When it comes to the price of firewall solutions, Sangfor NGAF takes the cake."

"The license of Sangfor NGAF can be purchased at different interval lengths, such as annually or three years. They offer a range of packages to choose from, such as combo or hybrid packages. We are using the complete solution package which includes IM, NGF and SSL VPN, and WAF."

"The solution has a TCO that is 32% to 50% less than Sophos, Fortinet, and SonicWall."

"Sangfor is cheaper than competing vendors."

More Sangfor NGAF pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

10%

Comms Service Provider

10%

Manufacturing Company

Financial Services Firm

Manufacturing Company

Computer Software Company

Comms Service Provider

Financial Services Firm

Manufacturing Company

11%

Comms Service Provider

Financial Services Firm

Computer Software Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	367
Midsize Enterprise	135
Large Enterprise	193

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	43
Midsize Enterprise	13
Large Enterprise	23

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	15
Midsize Enterprise	10
Large Enterprise	10

Questions from the Community

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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 ...

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Features comparison between Palo Alto and Fortinet firewalls

In the best tradition of these questions, Feature-wise both are quite similar, but each has things it's better at, it...

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

I rate the pricing for FortiOS as eight or nine out of ten. It is an affordable solution for us.

See all answers

What needs improvement with Fortinet FortiOS?

I would not say that Fortinet FortiOS is not very scalable. Generally, what happens is that for enterprises, we hire ...

See all answers

What do you like most about Sangfor NGAF?

I think Sangfor NGAF is more valuable than Cisco products because of its simplicity and ease of management. If I comp...

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Sangfor NGAF?

The licensing cost is quite high compared to other available firewalls in the market.

See all answers

What needs improvement with Sangfor NGAF?

The cost of licensing is very high compared to other firewalls available here. There should be improvements in hardwa...

See all answers

Comparisons

Sophos Firewall vs Fortinet FortiGate

Compared 18% of the time

Cisco Secure Firewall vs Fortinet FortiGate

Compared 13% of the time

Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls vs Fortinet FortiGate

Compared 5% of the time

Netgate pfSense vs Fortinet FortiGate

Compared 3% of the time

Check Point Quantum Force (NGFW) vs Fortinet FortiGate

Compared 3% of the time

More Fortinet FortiGate Competitors

Fortinet FortiWeb vs Fortinet FortiOS

Compared 9% of the time

Cisco Secure Firewall vs Fortinet FortiOS

Compared 8% of the time

Forcepoint Next Generation Firewall vs Fortinet FortiOS

Compared 5% of the time

Azure Firewall vs Fortinet FortiOS

Compared 5% of the time

Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls vs Fortinet FortiOS

Compared 5% of the time

More Fortinet FortiOS Competitors

Sophos Firewall vs Sangfor NGAF

Compared 13% of the time

H3C SecPath Firewalls vs Sangfor NGAF

Compared 7% of the time

Cisco Secure Firewall vs Sangfor NGAF

Compared 7% of the time

Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls vs Sangfor NGAF

Compared 6% of the time

More Sangfor NGAF Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Fortinet FortiGate

May 2026

Download Fortinet FortiGate product report

Buyer's Guide

Fortinet FortiOS

May 2026

Download Fortinet FortiOS product report

Buyer's Guide

Sangfor NGAF

April 2026

Download Sangfor NGAF product report

Also Known As

Fortinet FortiGate Next-Generation Firewall

No data available

Sangfor NGAF Firewall Platform

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

Fortinet FortiOS is recognized for its intuitive interface, ease of use, and comprehensive security features, making it a valuable tool for network security and management. Its integration capabilities and affordability prove beneficial for small to mid-sized businesses.

Fortinet FortiOS stands out as a firewall operating system, offering solutions in network security with a user-friendly design. It provides strong management tools like Unified Threat Management, web filtering, intrusion prevention, and antivirus functionalities. Its scalability and robust support make it ideal for diverse business environments. Users can benefit from high availability, seamless integration with other networks, and SD-WAN capabilities. Though there is room for improvement in monitoring and logging features, as well as VPN complexity and browser compatibility, its comprehensive range of features supports secure operations.

What are some key features of Fortinet FortiOS?

Unified Threat Management: Consolidates multiple security features into one platform for streamlined protection.
Web Filtering: Blocks access to harmful websites to enhance browsing safety.
Intrusion Prevention: Identifies and mitigates network threats in real time.
Antivirus Capabilities: Detects and neutralizes malicious software before it infiltrates systems.
Advanced Threat Detection: Uses analytics to uncover sophisticated threats.

What benefits should users expect from Fortinet FortiOS?

Scalability: Easily adapts to an organization's growing security needs.
Stability: Provides consistent and reliable performance for network infrastructures.
Robust Support: Access to extensive resources and customer support for issue resolution.
Integration: Harmonizes efficiently with existing networks and third-party solutions.
Pricing: Offers a competitive and reasonable cost structure.

Fortinet FortiOS is leveraged across multiple industries for its strong security capabilities. Companies utilize it for secure connections, VPN setups, and traffic management. It is essential for organizations seeking to protect data centers, ensure secure branch connectivity, and deploy SD-WAN. Its design supports implementation in cloud environments and enhances virtual infrastructure protection, making it particularly suitable for small to mid-tier businesses looking for comprehensive security measures.

Fortinet

Sangfor NGAF offers a user-friendly firewall solution with a strong virus database and competitive pricing. It supports SSL VPN connectivity, intrusion detection, and is known for easy deployment and integration capabilities.

Sangfor NGAF is a comprehensive security platform providing robust network protection through its application control and detailed threat insights. While effective in preventing threats and ensuring network security, it has areas needing improvement such as real-time reporting and system support. It delivers secure internet and VPN connections, proficiently handling malware threats. However, it faces challenges with user experience, reporting capabilities, hardware scalability, and needs better third-party integration. Licensing costs are noted to be high, and there are performance variations between versions.

What are the key features of Sangfor NGAF?

User-friendly deployment: Offers an uncomplicated setup process.
Robust virus database: Provides reliable threat detection.
SSL VPN connectivity: Ensures secure remote access.
Application control: Manages application usage for enhanced security.
Intrusion detection: Detects unauthorized access attempts.
URL filtering: Prevents access to malicious websites.

What benefits should users expect when evaluating Sangfor NGAF?

Affordability: Competitive pricing compared to peers.
Integration: Good capabilities with existing systems.
Support: Noted for providing reliable customer service.
Threat prevention: Effective in securing networks against various threats.

Sangfor NGAF is widely used across industries including education, healthcare, and finance for its reliable network security. It is favored for securing internal servers, offering robust threat protection, and managing bandwidth efficiently at a budget-friendly rate.

Sangfor

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

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

The Ministry of Science, Technology, and Innovation (Indonesia), Lawson, Inc. (Philippines), Universiti Sultan Zainal Abidin (Indonesia), TEK Automotive (Italy), etc.

Buyer's Guide

Fortinet FortiOS vs. Sangfor NGAF

April 2026

Free Report: Fortinet FortiOS vs. Sangfor NGAF

Find out what your peers are saying about Fortinet FortiOS vs. Sangfor NGAF and other solutions. Updated: April 2026.

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