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Fortinet FortiWeb Cloud WAF-as-a-Service vs NetScaler comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Nov 30, 2025

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 FortiWeb Cloud WAF...
Ranking in Web Application Firewall (WAF)
18th
Average Rating
8.8
Reviews Sentiment
6.7
Number of Reviews
7
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
NetScaler
Ranking in Web Application Firewall (WAF)
10th
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.0
Number of Reviews
107
Ranking in other categories
Application Delivery Controllers (ADC) (1st), Network Management Applications (4th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of February 2026, in the Web Application Firewall (WAF) category, the mindshare of Fortinet FortiWeb Cloud WAF-as-a-Service is 0.8%, up from 0.4% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of NetScaler is 4.1%, down from 4.2% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Web Application Firewall (WAF) Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
NetScaler4.1%
Fortinet FortiWeb Cloud WAF-as-a-Service0.8%
Other95.1%
Web Application Firewall (WAF)
 

Featured Reviews

RA
Global Head - DevOps and AIOps Startegist at a manufacturing company with 10,001+ employees
Cloud security has reduced web attack incidents and protects our public applications and APIs
The best features Fortinet FortiWeb Cloud WAF-as-a-Service offers include managed WAF rules, OWASP protection, bot mitigation, and Fortinet threat intelligence. In day-to-day work, I use all of the features: managed WAF rules, OWASP protection, bot mitigation, and Fortinet threat intelligence. This provides a strong baseline security without requiring deep WAF expertise internally. The integration with the broader Fortinet security system is a plus regarding the features. In terms of its impact on our organization, Fortinet FortiWeb Cloud WAF-as-a-Service has been positively protecting us from security threats and automated attacks. With this layered protection against common web and API attacks, we have noticed that the incidents and risks have been reduced to a greater extent.
LD
Information Technology Division Director at Ethiopian Roads Administration
Offers better visibility into user sessions compared to other solutions
Improvements are needed to address the issue of machines becoming unregistered, ensuring stability for end users. Troubleshooting with Citrix support can be challenging, so clearer diagnostics would be beneficial. As for global server load balancing, it works well on-premises, depending on user volume and service stability. Overall, it's satisfactory for us.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"With this layered protection against common web and API attacks, we have noticed that the incidents and risks have been reduced to a greater extent."
"I rate the overall solution ten out of ten."
"It is user-friendly and easy to work with."
"The technical support is really good."
"It is a secure tool."
"Fortinet has created a holistic product that integrates features including AI and API protection, with straightforward automation and articulate reporting that even less experienced engineers can use easily."
"Regular updates are one of the aspects I appreciate about Fortinet FortiWeb Cloud WAF-as-a-Service, and it is provided by a leading brand in cybersecurity."
"Fortinet FortiWeb offers a variety of protections, including machine learning that helps protect web applications."
"Scalability is great. One of the best features of NetScaler is that it can scale out."
"The load balancing and VPN features are most valuable. AAA authentication is also valuable."
"Most of the functions are user-friendly and great."
"One feature that works really well is the SSL VPN. It's very easy to set up and you can go very granular with it. You can define what user groups get what kind of access and the management overhead is very low."
"NetScaler Gateway: Why? Availability/Security: We delivered more than 200 applications thru Xenapp. This feature give us the possibility to deliver the applications anywhere. Currently, 30% of access is made through our NetScaler Gateway (Internet connections)."
"Its customer support service is good."
"The most valuable feature for us is the application firewalling in Citrix NetScaler, ensuring only valid traffic enters our environment."
"Global load balancing between data centers."
 

Cons

"Better visibility and more intuitive reporting would be helpful for Fortinet FortiWeb Cloud WAF-as-a-Service."
"The only thing I encountered was related to integration, mostly concerning translation."
"The usability of the interface could be improved as it is not user-friendly."
"I do not have any notes on improvement."
"The utilization of AI in Fortinet FortiWeb Cloud WAF-as-a-Service still needs to be upgraded and improved."
"Fortinet FortiWeb Cloud WAF-as-a-Service could be improved with better logging capabilities, as many come with less spacing, necessitating a FortiSIM for enhanced functionality."
"The usability of the interface could be improved as it is not user-friendly."
"If one device or switch fails, the failover to another device is not seamless which is painful."
"Needs configuration processes like disabling LB VIPs, automatically disabling the IPs used."
"Its GUI should be improved. Its CLI is powerful, but GUI needs more features."
"Maybe creating policies with simple regular expressions."
"The vendor provides frequent patches, however, the security of the website has room for improvement."
"Some of our customers have questioned the security of this solution lately, wondering whether it is safe or not, so enhancements in this respect would be good."
"An area for improvement in Citrix Web App and API Protection is for it to give real-time notifications and alerts. It would be practical if the solution warns you if there's an attack or if the load or traffic volume increases or decreases. An additional feature I'd like to see in Citrix Web App and API Protection is a prediction or artificial intelligence on what is happening, for example, attacks."
"Citrix is more expensive than Horizon."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

Information not available
"Citrix ADC could improve the price and make it less expensive, other competitors have a better prices. This would allow Citrix ADC to keep dominating the market."
"The licenses for this product are payable as a yearly subscription, and carry a high price-point. The subscription scheme is quite complicated, and costs will increase with each additional feature that is required, outside of the basic setup."
"Citrix NetScaler VPX is not the cheapest solution out there, but you get what you pay for."
"Regarding pricing, while it's expensive, I can't comment on the exact ROI without a budget analysis. However, in terms of service quality, it's worth the price."
"For the specific use case that my customers primarily engage with, I would give the pricing a rating of seven out of ten."
"F5 BIG-IP is much more expensive than Citrix ADC. For example, If we choose two platforms, Citrix ADC, 3000 version, and we choose F5, F4200 version. F5 BIG-IP has connections, timers, and throughput similar to Citrix ADC, but the price is very expensive."
"The pricing for Citrix Web App and API Protection is unreasonable. I don't know the exact price, but I heard it's tens of thousands and it's a bit too much for the small country I live in."
"On a scale from one to ten, where one is cheap, and ten is expensive, I rate the solution's pricing an eight or nine out of ten."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
14%
Energy/Utilities Company
11%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Comms Service Provider
8%
Computer Software Company
12%
Government
9%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Financial Services Firm
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business3
Midsize Enterprise2
Large Enterprise3
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business45
Midsize Enterprise23
Large Enterprise57
 

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Fortinet FortiWeb Cloud WAF-as-a-Service?
In terms of pricing, setup cost, and licensing, my experience with Fortinet FortiWeb Cloud WAF-as-a-Service has been good. Pricing aligns well with enterprise-grade managed WAF offerings. While not...
What needs improvement with Fortinet FortiWeb Cloud WAF-as-a-Service?
Better visibility and more intuitive reporting would be helpful for Fortinet FortiWeb Cloud WAF-as-a-Service. Clearer insights from Fortinet FortiWeb Cloud WAF-as-a-Service will make it easier to d...
What is your primary use case for Fortinet FortiWeb Cloud WAF-as-a-Service?
Our primary use case is protecting public facing web applications and APIs against OWASP Top 10 threats and automated attacks. Fortinet FortiWeb Cloud WAF-as-a-Service was used to protect a custome...
What do you like most about Citrix ADC?
The most valuable feature for us is the application firewalling in Citrix NetScaler, ensuring only valid traffic enters our environment.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Citrix ADC?
After deployment, Citrix Netscaler shifted to a subscription-based license scheme for support, which is slightly more expensive.
What needs improvement with Citrix ADC?
Citrix NetScaler is a robust product, but mastering it requires significant learning and training due to its complexity. While it could be easier to manage, it is like transitioning from driving a ...
 

Also Known As

No data available
Citrix ADC, Citrix NetScaler VPX, NetScaler Console, NetScaler Web Application Firewall, NetScaler VPX - Customer Licensed
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Information Not Available
ABB Schweiz, Aer Lingus, AIDS Healthcare Foundation, Amnet Technology Solutions, Aramex International, Ascenty, Atos, Autodesk
Find out what your peers are saying about Fortinet FortiWeb Cloud WAF-as-a-Service vs. NetScaler and other solutions. Updated: February 2026.
881,757 professionals have used our research since 2012.