Fortinet FortiOS vs Stormshield Network Security comparison

Fortinet and Stormshield are both solutions in the Firewalls category. Additionally, 98% of Fortinet users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 85% of Stormshield users who would recommend it.

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive Summary

We performed a comparison between Fortinet FortiOS and Stormshield Network Security based on real PeerSpot user reviews.

Find out in this report how the two Firewalls solutions compare in terms of features, pricing, service and support, easy of deployment, and ROI.

To learn more, read our detailed Fortinet FortiOS vs. Stormshield Network Security Report (Updated: December 2025).

Buyer's Guide

Fortinet FortiOS vs. Stormshield Network Security

December 2025

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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

Featured Reviews

Vasu Gala

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.

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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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Benjamin

Network Engineer at ACS2I

The intrusion detection system helps our organization by automatically detecting and responding to potential threats

The tool's most valuable feature is its dashboard, which helps you manage different aspects of a single page. The intrusion detection system helps our organization by automatically detecting and responding to potential threats. It operates similarly to Darktrace, which detects and responds automatically based on the security rules you apply. Initially, you configure everything to block, and then you can whitelist specific items as needed.

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Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Consolidated our network environment at all locations, but mainly at our datacenter."

"The reporting and monitoring are very good."

"Easy to use support and licensing portal as well as activation process."

"The features that I have found most valuable are that it is good to use, and most importantly, the pricing. The customer especially likes the discount when they trade up or something like that."

"The price-to-performance ratio for using Fortinet FortiGate is always better compared to any other competitor, so they are rated better than the likes of Check Point or Palo Alto."

"It is easy to set up."

"Web filtering and two-factor authentication are great features."

"FortiGate is very simple to manage and easy to use."

More Fortinet FortiGate pros

"FortiGate as a product is very easy to configure."

"The initial setup is easy. It's the easiest firewall installation process on the market. I work with three or four other products and this one is the easiest."

"The product is scalable and easily expands."

"The stability of Fortinet meets our requirements and I'm satisfied with it."

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

"Fortinet FortiOS's valuable features include intuitive policy creation and deployment, precise parameter settings to determine thresholds, and security profiles such as web filtering and remote application filtering, among others."

"The most important feature of Fortinet FortiOS is the IPS."

"We primarily use Fortinet FortiOS for site-to-site VPNs, reporting features, and wireless capabilities. It is well integrated within the Fortinet ecosystem."

More Fortinet FortiOS pros

"Easily manageable in a variety of environments."

"Ease of use is the best feature of the product."

"It's an easy, straightforward management platform to use."

"The solution has improved my organization because I can see what traffic is happening and I can use it to block and prevent attacks."

"This solution is quick and easy to configure."

"I like that it works fine. Stormshield is a very good solution."

"The tool's most valuable feature is its dashboard, which helps you manage different aspects of a single page."

"The scalability of the solution is good."

More Stormshield Network Security pros

Cons

"There should be some open-source training or free training for decision makers, or some webinars should be available."

"One issue that I have had is that sometimes I need to monitor the traffic, so I need to filter it according to the user and which user is using it the most. I experience a bottleneck most of the time, particularly at the peak time when the number of contracts and users are at maximum."

"Fortinet technical support is lacking, as OEM support is slightly better."

"I think they need to improve more in order to be a competitor with the leaders of the field."

"The documentation available for Fortinet FortiGate should be improved"

"There is a need for enhancement with the signature management, improving the datasheet numbers, and scalability issues."

"Some of the filtering is not robust, you can escape it with a VPN. Some of the users bypass some of the filters. It catches some but it also misses some, that area could be improved. It's functioning reasonably but there's room for improvement in that area."

"It could use more templates for third-party site-to-site VPN setups other than FortiGate and Cisco."

More Fortinet FortiGate cons

"For monitoring purposes, we don't have any option to monitor the ISP link."

"They're using a lot of application-specific IC, so that may be causing some performance issues. And whenever a Fortinet adds new features, it can affect performance."

"We had assistance from one person from our local vendor for the implementation."

"While it is a solid solution, there are some product limitations which exclude it from deployment in some situations."

"FortiOS's bandwidth and interface could be improved."

"I want to see a better integration or a better integration with the endpoint protection or with EDR with the security life cycle."

"Fortinet FortiOS's integration could be improved."

"There should be more documentation on how to use the CLI or how to perform CLI versions of tasks that can be done through the GUI."

More Fortinet FortiOS cons

"Stormshield Network Security is quite expensive."

"This solution has a big problem with web filtering and it needs to be improved."

"The product must improve its pricing."

"A more user-friendly interface would be helpful."

"The filtering configuration could be better. We have some difficulties with the filtering configuration and the filter extension. It's not that easy. It's not that straightforward. In the next release, I would like to see a reporting system. Stormshield doesn't have any tutorials on how to do the configuration and things like that. They just have documentation on the website. If you want to configure, for example, Cisco or Fortinet, you can find tutorials on YouTube. They show you how to configure the features, and so on. In Stormshield, there is nothing on social media or the internet on how to configure different things. The lack of documentation or the lack of material makes it difficult for others to adopt this solution."

"With Stormshield, there are difficulties joining things, and it can be complex depending on the architecture."

"The SD card could be more secure."

"The biggest issue was their support department was not able to help us, then everything stops. This is a no-go area for me."

More Stormshield Network Security cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"There is a license to use Fortinet FortiGate."

"We have the full license that included all of the features and support."

"For the performance that we get, the price is reasonable. There are cheaper options, but they may not deliver the same kind of performance that we want. For the performance they provide, the price is acceptable."

"In my opinion, the pricing of the product is reasonable."

"It is too expensive for us. My organization is very small, and we have a total of ten users. We have three internal users and seven external users. The FortiGate 100D series is too expensive for renewing the licenses."

"We find the most valuable aspect of this solution is the price. It is affordable, and cheaper than other firewalls."

"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."

"I think that the pricing is fair."

More Fortinet FortiGate pricing and cost advice

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

"It would be better if it were cheaper. We have the firewall in our office, and the license is expiring in 20 to 25 days. We got a quote for almost 80,000 Pakistani Rupees, which is a little costly."

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

"It is not cheap; it is also not expensive. It is somewhere in the middle."

"FortiOS is affordable, but its price could be lower."

"The price of Fortinet FortiOS is reasonable and it is paid annually. You are able to select the features that you want."

"The pricing could always be lower."

"The scalability of Fortinet FortiOS is good. However, central management is intuitive for the end-users. We had a lot of questions about central management, and sometimes they didn't use it and did their firewall management directly on FortiGate instead of using Fortinet FortiOS."

More Fortinet FortiOS pricing and cost advice

"We bought a three-year license, and we renew it whenever it expires. The price could be better. It's always very expensive."

"The SN200 series costs between $500 USD and $600 USD per year, whereas the SN700 series costs approximately $1,000 annually."

"We chose Stormshield for its price, as the Azure firewall was too expensive."

"The pricing could be better."

"I think the price is good."

"The price of this solution and the price of support are ok."

"For mid-sized companies, they sell their appliances for good prices."

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

12%

Comms Service Provider

Manufacturing Company

Financial Services Firm

Computer Software Company

11%

Manufacturing Company

10%

Financial Services Firm

Government

Comms Service Provider

16%

Computer Software Company

15%

Manufacturing Company

Government

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	357
Midsize Enterprise	133
Large Enterprise	188

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

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	9
Midsize Enterprise	5
Large Enterprise	2

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...

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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...

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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 do you like most about Fortinet FortiOS?

The SSL VPN is fee for use is most attractive.

See all answers

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 advice do you have for others considering Stormshield Network Security?

The tool is like a firewall and works well. I don't have any issue with it. I rate it an eight out of ten.

See all answers

Comparisons

Sophos Firewall vs Fortinet FortiGate

Compared 20% of the time

Cisco Secure Firewall vs Fortinet FortiGate

Compared 13% of the time

Netgate pfSense vs Fortinet FortiGate

Compared 6% of the time

OPNsense vs Fortinet FortiGate

Compared 4% of the time

Fortinet FortiGate-VM vs Fortinet FortiGate

Compared 1% of the time

More Fortinet FortiGate Competitors

Fortinet FortiWeb vs Fortinet FortiOS

Compared 12% of the time

Cisco Secure Firewall vs Fortinet FortiOS

Compared 10% of the time

Fortinet FortiManager vs Fortinet FortiOS

Compared 4% of the time

Fortinet FortiGate-VM vs Fortinet FortiOS

Compared 3% of the time

Infoblox Advanced DNS Protection vs Fortinet FortiOS

Compared 3% of the time

More Fortinet FortiOS Competitors

Netgate pfSense vs Stormshield Network Security

Compared 11% of the time

WatchGuard Firebox vs Stormshield Network Security

Compared 8% of the time

Sophos Firewall vs Stormshield Network Security

Compared 8% of the time

OPNsense vs Stormshield Network Security

Compared 7% of the time

Cisco Secure Firewall vs Stormshield Network Security

Compared 3% of the time

More Stormshield Network Security Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Fortinet FortiGate

January 2026

Download Fortinet FortiGate product report

Buyer's Guide

Fortinet FortiOS

January 2026

Download Fortinet FortiOS product report

Buyer's Guide

Stormshield Network Security

January 2026

Download Stormshield Network Security product report

Also Known As

Fortinet FortiGate Next-Generation Firewall

No data available

NETASQ Firewalls

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 a comprehensive security operating system that powers Fortinet's network security solutions. It provides advanced threat protection, network visibility, and centralized management for organizations of all sizes. With its robust features and intuitive interface, FortiOS enables businesses to secure their networks, applications, and data from cyber threats.

One of the key features of FortiOS is its advanced threat protection capabilities. It incorporates multiple security technologies, including firewall, antivirus, intrusion prevention system (IPS), and web filtering, to detect and block a wide range of threats. This ensures that organizations are protected against malware, ransomware, and other malicious activities. FortiOS also offers extensive network visibility, allowing organizations to monitor and analyze network traffic in real-time. This visibility enables businesses to identify potential security risks, detect anomalies, and take proactive measures to mitigate threats.

Additionally, FortiOS provides detailed reports and analytics, helping organizations gain insights into their network security posture. Centralized management is another crucial aspect of FortiOS. It allows businesses to manage and configure their security policies, devices, and users from a single console. This simplifies the management process and ensures consistent security across the entire network infrastructure.

Moreover, FortiOS supports integration with other Fortinet products, enabling seamless security orchestration and automation. FortiOS is designed to be scalable and flexible, making it suitable for organizations of all sizes. It offers a range of deployment options, including physical appliances, virtual machines, and cloud-based solutions. This flexibility allows businesses to choose the deployment model that best fits their requirements and easily scale their security infrastructure as their needs evolve.

Fortinet

NETASQ's integrated intrusion prevention engine uses protocol conformity analysis, application filtering and antivirus analysis to inspect authorized traffic flows and strengthen application security. NETASQ enables you to establish and configure user-based security policies, giving you greater control over which network resources each user is authorized to access.

Stormshield

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

ACESUR group, Ministry of Education Oman, Anios Laboratories, Zain, DLM Location

Buyer's Guide

Fortinet FortiOS vs. Stormshield Network Security

December 2025

Free Report: Fortinet FortiOS vs. Stormshield Network Security

Find out what your peers are saying about Fortinet FortiOS vs. Stormshield Network Security and other solutions. Updated: December 2025.

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