Try our new research platform with insights from 80,000+ expert users

Fortinet FortiOS vs Sangfor NGAF comparison

Sponsored
 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Jan 25, 2026

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
Sponsored
Ranking in Firewalls
1st
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
580
Ranking in other categories
Secure Web Gateways (SWG) (2nd), Intrusion Detection and Prevention Software (IDPS) (1st), Software Defined WAN (SD-WAN) Solutions (1st), WAN Edge (1st), ZTNA (1st), Unified Threat Management (UTM) (1st)
Fortinet FortiOS
Ranking in Firewalls
20th
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
8.0
Number of Reviews
82
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Sangfor NGAF
Ranking in Firewalls
23rd
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.5
Number of Reviews
34
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of January 2026, in the Firewalls category, the mindshare of Fortinet FortiGate is 18.8%, down from 20.7% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Fortinet FortiOS is 1.1%, up from 0.9% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Sangfor NGAF is 1.1%, down from 1.1% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Firewalls Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Fortinet FortiGate18.8%
Fortinet FortiOS1.1%
Sangfor NGAF1.1%
Other79.0%
Firewalls
 

Featured Reviews

Vasu Gala - PeerSpot reviewer
Manager, Information Technology Operation/Presales at TechMonarch
A stable solution with an intuitive interface and quick customer service
I have been working with Fortinet FortiGate, WatchGuard, Sophos, and SonicWall. I'm not as comfortable with SonicWall because of their UI and limitations. I prefer Fortinet above all other options. When it comes to configuration, I am confident in my ability to handle various tasks, including creating policies such as firewall rules, web policies, and application policies. Additionally, I can configure VPNs and implement load balancing, among other tasks. Overall, I feel much more comfortable working with Fortinet. Fortinet has made significant improvements by integrating AI with firewalls for threat analysis and prevention. In the past 2-3 years, they have launched FortiSASE and SIEM, and they also provide SOC services. Both Palo Alto and Fortinet FortiGate are excellent. While Fortinet FortiGate comes at higher prices, the functionality and support justify the cost. They promptly resolve firmware issues and inform all support providers about configuration changes.
MS
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.
Zaid Farooqui - PeerSpot reviewer
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.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The best feature of Fortinet FortiGate is SD-WAN; it ensures continuous connectivity by taking over during link failures, preventing any downtime for the company."
"It is a good product. It does what we want it to do so. I didn't find many false-positives or things like that. We mainly use the IPS and URL filtering features, and they are pretty good."
"The email protection and VPN features are the most valuable."
"It has the same functionalities throughout the range of products."
"FortiGate also makes GRE tunneling possible."
"One of the valuable features is a standardized OS."
"The scalability is good in Fortinet FortiGate."
"The most useful features in Fortinet FortiGate are the security features, where we can analyze what kind of traffic is inside our network, and we also utilize ZTNA for limiting and managing our network access."
"In my opinion, Fortinet FortiOS provides significant benefits to users, such as saving time, saving money, and streamlining workflow processes."
"This is a user friendly solution and offers comprehensive integrations."
"The stability of Fortinet meets our requirements and I'm satisfied with it."
"FortiGate as a product is very easy to configure."
"It's very easy to use."
"The solution constantly adds features that are useful and user-friendly such as the ability to tweak firewalls through the CLI."
"The most valuable features of Fortinet FortiOS are its simplicity, highly user-centric, and performs well. The line speed and for heavy traffic, is helpful for us."
"In terms of benefits, it’s a standard solution used by many, and our customers and partners widely utilize the VPN features. It’s elementary to work with and implement because it is familiar across different infrastructures."
"The capabilities are mostly within the box."
"The tool's performance is good."
"The VPN connectivity feature is really nice."
"You might try Sangfor if you are on a tight budget. The price is affordable, and Sangfor offers a lot of features. We don't have any complaints about Sangfor."
"The most valuable feature of Sangfor NGAF is its integration."
"It seems to be a durable, stable product."
"The absolute best part of Sangfor NGAF is their support. It's a 24/7 support channel, and the last time I requested their assistance I got a reply within three minutes. They helped solve the problem immediately."
"The level of support provided to local companies is good. They transform their application control and other settings according to that country."
 

Cons

"The price could be improved."
"Currently, FortiGate is providing SSL VPN. But they're missing some features that are available in Palo Alto's SSL VPN."
"I would like the deployment and integration of this product to be easier. We should be able to deploy the features more easily and have different types of access. It should be easier to integrate. Currently, we need to develop APIs to use this interface."
"The solution needs to improve its support."
"Like any hardware, it has finite scalability restrictions."
"The web-cache feature which was previously on the FortiGate device, but was deleted with the recent upgrade should be returned. It was a very valuable feature for us."
"Palo Alto has a feature called WildFire Analysis that is unavailable in FortiGate. WildFire is better than a sandbox because it can address zero-day threats and vulnerabilities. It can immediately identify zero-day threats from the cloud."
"Areas that have room for improvement in Fortinet FortiGate include support and GUI enhancement."
"The GUI could be improved to make it more usable, easier to administer, and easier to configure."
"I can only compare it with SonicWall, and it is missing many advanced features that SonicWall has."
"FortiOS's interface and monitoring could be improved."
"The solution is good, but they have poor marketing in Nigeria. They need to market their product better."
"FortiOS doesn't work well with all browsers. I think they need to do a better job of making it compatible with the various browsers that are out there."
"The solution's firmware updates have significant bugs and issues."
"Right now, it's very trendy to integrate everything into the cloud. This solution would be more effective if they did more integration in that regard."
"Sometimes, Fortinet FortiOS changes its CLI (command line interface) with new versions, which leads to internal incompatibility. When this happens, you need to update the configuration to match the new format, as the commands aren’t always the same. This can create some confusion and extra work because, unlike other vendors where the CLI commands remain primarily consistent with updates, Fortinet often changes the syntax between versions."
"Sangfor NGAF could improve the policies and default criteria. They could be much better."
"I believe that IAM and NGFW need to merge into a single box, instead of there being two separate box solutions."
"The product must provide more IPS features."
"An area of improvement for Sangfor NGAF could be in the field of reporting and logging."
"They need to improve their research team and they need to study their data to analyze it and build the product."
"The firewall system needs gradual improvements because there are more threats and challenges every day."
"Sangfor need greater exposer in the market because the market is mainly saturated by Fortinet. The user experience of Fortinet is quite different compared to NGAF. If we want to switch our users from Fortinet to NGAF, we have to convince them that the user experience will be much easier once once they start to use it."
"The solution should be able to work in a hybrid setup."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"These boxes are not that expensive compared to what they can do, their functionality, and the reporting you receive. Fortinet licensing is straightforward and less confusing compared to Cisco."
"Work through partners for the best pricing."
"The price for the Fortinet FortiGate is reasonable. Secure SD-WAN is free of charge. If you have their firewall, it's free of charge. It's very tempting."
"The license is yearly. We pay for the top end. It's called 360."
"A year or two years back, its price was competitive and reasonable. That was one of the reasons that people easily switched to Fortinet. Over the last two years, the prices have increased drastically. However, the prices of others have also increased. An advantage is there from the price point but not as much as it was previously."
"Fortinet FortiGate is expensive."
"Pricing and licensing is a little bit complicated in FortiGate. They are always on the higher side. This is one issue that we always raise with the company that they should reduce the price according to Indian market requirements. There are no costs in addition to the standard licensing fees."
"It is around $50,000 per month."
"The support contracts are usually about $100 - $200 a device."
"A medium 100 or 200 Series box costs around $3000, and the software cost is around 55% of the hardware cost."
"The price of Fortinet FortiOS has been reasonable."
"Be sure to choose a licensing plan that leaves a little headroom so performance is not an issue."
"We had a three-year license to use Fortinet FortiOS and we are going to renew it this year."
"We pay an annual license fee. It is rather expensive so I would like to perhaps see a drop in price in the future."
"The software costs roughly half what the hardware costs. Overall, the product is expensive."
"A yearly subscription might be around $20,000 to $30,000."
"In my opinion, the price of the tool is good in the Pakistani market. We can easily get discounts if needed."
"If one is very cheap and ten is very expensive, I rate the tool's price as three out of ten."
"The pricing is reasonable."
"The price falls in the mid-range, neither exceptionally low nor high."
"Sangfor NGAF price is reasonable and there is an annual license. However, the maintenance cost can be a bit high."
"Sangfor is cheaper than competing vendors."
"It is one of the cheapest tools in the market."
"The product is very cost-effective compared to other brands or vendors."
report
Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Firewalls solutions are best for your needs.
881,082 professionals have used our research since 2012.
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
12%
Comms Service Provider
9%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Financial Services Firm
6%
Computer Software Company
11%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Financial Services Firm
9%
Government
7%
Manufacturing Company
11%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Computer Software Company
8%
Comms Service Provider
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business357
Midsize Enterprise133
Large Enterprise188
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business43
Midsize Enterprise13
Large Enterprise23
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business15
Midsize Enterprise10
Large Enterprise10
 

Questions from the Community

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 ...
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...
What do you like most about Fortinet FortiOS?
The SSL VPN is fee for use is most attractive.
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.
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...
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.
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...
 

Also Known As

Fortinet FortiGate Next-Generation Firewall
No data available
Sangfor NGAF Firewall Platform
 

Overview

 

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.
Find out what your peers are saying about Fortinet FortiOS vs. Sangfor NGAF and other solutions. Updated: December 2025.
881,082 professionals have used our research since 2012.