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Fortinet FortiSandbox vs Palo Alto Networks VM-Series comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Dec 1, 2024

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
7.8
Fortinet FortiSandbox ensures high ROI by preventing cyber threats, saving costs, and securing data, rated nine out of ten.
Sentiment score
5.7
Palo Alto Networks VM-Series delivers strong ROI through enhanced security, rapid deployment, and significant time savings despite high pricing.
Customers can see data within a week, indicating a quick return on investment.
Senior Manager Technical Security at Hitachi Systems, Ltd.
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
7.2
Fortinet FortiSandbox generally offers friendly, informed support, but users face delays and need better handling of complex issues.
Sentiment score
7.5
Customers appreciate Palo Alto Networks VM-Series support for responsiveness and expertise, despite occasional delays and high premium service costs.
Sometimes the technical engineer is very good and helpful, and sometimes we go through many processes until it gets escalated to a higher level or to another advanced technical engineer.
Security Manager at a computer software company with 11-50 employees
The support quality could be improved.
Senior Manager Technical Security at Hitachi Systems, Ltd.
Resolving issues promptly.
Head of Sales at Omgea Exim Ltd
They are responsive and provide high-quality assistance.
Cyber security consultant at L&T Technology Services
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
7.4
Fortinet FortiSandbox is scalable and adaptable, though experiences vary with cloud licenses and hardware requirements.
Sentiment score
7.4
Palo Alto Networks VM-Series is scalable, easy to deploy, and suits businesses with positive feedback on flexibility and growth.
They are easy to upgrade, and with credit licensing, they scale effectively according to demand.
Security Technical Lead at a tech services company with 11-50 employees
The solution is scalable and can easily handle an increase in the number of users.
Cyber security consultant at L&T Technology Services
It is easy to use with an excellent graphical user interface and extensive documentation, which contributes to its high scalability.
Senior Security Consultant at Netsecurity.no
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
7.6
Fortinet FortiSandbox is generally rated as stable and reliable, with users giving stability ratings between eight and nine.
Sentiment score
8.2
Palo Alto Networks VM-Series is highly regarded for stability, reliable performance, and consistent uptime, despite minor navigation delays.
Fortinet FortiSandbox works fine, is easy to manage, and functions well.
Security Manager at a computer software company with 11-50 employees
Hardware is generally very stable.
Security Technical Lead at a tech services company with 11-50 employees
I have not experienced any major problems or downtime.
Senior IT Infrastructure Specialist at contemi
Perfection is unlikely as the dynamic nature of traffic and constant changes can result in occasional bugs despite regular updates.
Senior Security Consultant at Netsecurity.no
 

Room For Improvement

Fortinet FortiSandbox needs better vendor integration, enhanced features, improved usability, and faster, more automated security analysis capabilities.
Palo Alto Networks VM-Series needs UI updates, better platform integration, scalability, user-friendliness, and improved documentation for broader efficiency.
I think Fortinet FortiSandbox could introduce more automation tools and AI tools.
Security Manager at a computer software company with 11-50 employees
Integration with CSIRT across all use levels would make it easier for administrators to stay updated on the blocked entities without manual intervention.
Cyber security consultant at L&T Technology Services
Most customers go for partner-enabled support, which involves multiple layers, leading to delays.
Security Technical Lead at a tech services company with 11-50 employees
Having those features missing, we are not proposing Palo Alto Networks VM-Series to all customers.
Sr. Network Engineer at a tech services company with 1-10 employees
 

Setup Cost

Fortinet FortiSandbox is priced mid-range, with options for cloud and on-prem, plus potential support license costs.
Palo Alto VM-Series is costly but reliable, with complex licensing; AWS Marketplace offers scalable subscription options.
The cost is in the mid-range.
Security Manager at a computer software company with 11-50 employees
Palo Alto is expensive in terms of pricing, particularly when comparing features to cost.
Security Technical Lead at a tech services company with 11-50 employees
The cost involves purchasing through a vendor, which might mark up due to the supply chain.
Senior IT Infrastructure Specialist at contemi
Pricing for Palo Alto Networks is higher than other OEMs, but considering the robustness and features, it gains customer trust.
Head of Sales at Omgea Exim Ltd
 

Valuable Features

Fortinet FortiSandbox delivers excellent threat detection, seamless integration, fast performance, ease of use, and robust customization options.
The VM-Series provides scalable, flexible security with advanced threat management, visibility, and integration features, enhancing network protection.
The smooth integrations between Fortinet FortiSandbox and other Fortinet solutions such as FortiWeb and FortiFirewall and with other Fortinet environments are what I really appreciate.
Security Manager at a computer software company with 11-50 employees
We use these tools to prevent all known and unknown threats using Palo Alto Networks' Wildfire and other data filtering tools to gather information, analyze traffic, manage malicious traffic, and offer visibility, control, and attack prevention.
Senior Manager Technical Security at Hitachi Systems, Ltd.
Palo Alto's robust threat intelligence supports new updates, and I can open cases directly with their Threat Intelligence team.
Security Technical Lead at a tech services company with 11-50 employees
The DNS security significantly enhances security through visibility and detection, allowing control over crucial traffic like DNS, which is often exploited by ransomware.
Senior Security Consultant at Netsecurity.no
 

Categories and Ranking

Fortinet FortiSandbox
Ranking in Advanced Threat Protection (ATP)
6th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.1
Number of Reviews
39
Ranking in other categories
Threat Deception Platforms (4th)
Palo Alto Networks VM-Series
Ranking in Advanced Threat Protection (ATP)
12th
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
66
Ranking in other categories
Firewalls (13th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of March 2026, in the Advanced Threat Protection (ATP) category, the mindshare of Fortinet FortiSandbox is 5.3%, down from 8.0% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Palo Alto Networks VM-Series is 2.1%, up from 1.4% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Advanced Threat Protection (ATP) Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Fortinet FortiSandbox5.3%
Palo Alto Networks VM-Series2.1%
Other92.6%
Advanced Threat Protection (ATP)
 

Featured Reviews

AN
Security Manager at a computer software company with 11-50 employees
Advanced sandboxing has protected users from zero-day threats and has simplified secure file scanning
The smooth integrations between Fortinet FortiSandbox and other Fortinet solutions such as FortiWeb and FortiFirewall and with other Fortinet environments are what I really appreciate. We have minimum false positives during threat detection. Our clients have not given negative feedback from detection. As you know, it still needs some tuning after implementation. However, we never receive negative feedback for many false positives during implementation.
AV
Cyber security consultant at L&T Technology Services
Enhance cybersecurity for large enterprises using advanced threat management
An improvement could be the integration of security intelligence with Palo Alto cloud via APIs. This would allow IOCs, domains, and hash values to be automatically entered, reducing manual entry. Integration with CSIRT across all use levels would make it easier for administrators to stay updated on the blocked entities without manual intervention.
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Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Advanced Threat Protection (ATP) solutions are best for your needs.
884,933 professionals have used our research since 2012.
 

Top Industries

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

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business15
Midsize Enterprise13
Large Enterprise9
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business30
Midsize Enterprise16
Large Enterprise24
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Fortinet FortiSandbox?
The real-time analysis capability of FortiSandbox is beneficial for email analysis.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Fortinet FortiSandbox?
The cost is in the mid-range. It is not low and it is not high.
What needs improvement with Fortinet FortiSandbox?
I think Fortinet FortiSandbox could introduce more automation tools and AI tools.
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 kind of depends what you value most. PA is good at app control, web filtering a...
How does Azure Firewall compare with Palo Alto Networks VM Series?
Both products are very stable and easily scalable. The setup of Azure Firewall is easy and very user-friendly and the overall cost is reasonable. Azure Firewall offers a solid threat awareness, can...
 

Also Known As

FortiSandbox
No data available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Lush, Barnabas Health, Options, Riverside Healthcare, Hillsbourough County Schools, Columbia Public Schools, Schiller AG
Warren Rogers Associates
Find out what your peers are saying about Fortinet FortiSandbox vs. Palo Alto Networks VM-Series and other solutions. Updated: March 2026.
884,933 professionals have used our research since 2012.