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Jovan Jovanovic - PeerSpot reviewer
Security Team Lead at Comtrade Group
Reseller
Top 5
Reports offer everything in one place to tell you what's happening on the network
Pros and Cons
  • "The initial setup is easy. Our clients use the FortiClient EMS, which is the central console for installing FortiClient. It is easy and very user friendly."
  • "With Fortinet, some clients have to wait two to four days for a response. That is the biggest complaint from end customer about Fortinet's technical support."

What is our primary use case?

Our customers choose the FortiClient as a solution for endpoint security because 90% of them are already using FortiGate as a firewall. FortiClient is interoperable with Fortinet firewalls, so, for them, installation and implementation are easy.

What is most valuable?

The most useful features are the reports that come from the end user's machines and devices. You have everything in one place to tell you what's happening on the network. 

It's a unique system and they have unique technical support. If something is wrong with a firewall or FortiClient, the client does not need to call different vendors. Fortinet has only one vendor and one technical support team.

On the other hand, it's easy for the system administrators to use.

What needs improvement?

Fortinet should support older Windows versions. Their competitor, Kaspersky, has an embedded security solution that covers HP and the oldest version of Windows, those before Windows 10 or Windows Vista.

In Eastern Europe, for example, there are a lot of companies that are still using Windows XP on their machines. Their machines, therefore, cannot be properly protected by FortiClient and they can easily end up with a Trojan horse in their system. Basically, anybody can jump into their network through these machines that are not covered and properly secured.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using this solution since the beginning. 

Buyer's Guide
Fortinet FortiClient
May 2025
Learn what your peers think about Fortinet FortiClient. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: May 2025.
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What do I think about the stability of the solution?

FortiClient is a stable solution. 

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

It is scalable. However, the scalability depends on a variety of factors. 

How are customer service and support?

We have had a few clients complain about Fortinet's tech support because it is not as big as Cisco's. However, Cisco is the biggest company on the market for these kinds of products. They have extensive tech support and they can get back to clients quickly. 

With Fortinet, some clients have to wait two to four days for a response. That is the biggest complaint from end customers about Fortinet's technical support.

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup is easy. Our clients use the FortiClient EMS, which is the central console for installing FortiClient. It is easy and very user friendly.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

The pricing is reasonable if you compare it to some other vendors. Of course, you can always get an additional discount from the Fortinet channel and account managers. You can also shop around with different vendors to see who will give you a better price. 

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

Private Cloud
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: Distributor
PeerSpot user
reviewer1355130 - PeerSpot reviewer
Solutions Architect at a comms service provider with 51-200 employees
Reseller
Can be used to deploy security to endpoints and also control the endpoints
Pros and Cons
  • "Starting from FortiGate and from the EMS server, you have to begin at the endpoint, and that's the most useful thing about using FortiClient."
  • "The deployment status is not good in Mac devices and sometimes in Windows-based devices using GPO, like Active Directory, that are not on the local network."

What is our primary use case?

There are two main use cases: the first is to deploy the security fabric environment from FortiGate to the endpoints so that there's only one policy in use. There's no need to deploy the policy in the firewall as well as the endpoint. So, if you deploy the policy in FortiGate, FortiClient can get that policy automatically.

The second is to control the endpoint, that is, to control the antiviral software and antispyware in general.

What is most valuable?

Telemetry has been valuable. Starting from FortiGate and from the EMS server, you have to begin at the endpoint, and that's the most useful thing about using FortiClient.

I haven't had to open a FortiClient support case yet with Fortinet because we have solved everything ourselves using the documentation provided. Information on deployment and that on how to solve many of the issues are well-documented in the Fortinet library.

What needs improvement?

The deployment status is not good in Mac devices and sometimes in Windows-based devices using GPO, like Active Directory, that are not on the local network. Deployment can be a painful task in these cases. 

You need to get a management console in the cloud because the EMS server must be deployed on-premises in order to connect to FortiGate. This is because the on-cloud server is not deployed well. It's not good enough yet for the customer to use. So, the deployment cases and the management console of the EMS server must be improved.

Development of a mail protection feature would be nice because there's not one present right now. Something that looks at the email that's getting into the PC or the possibility to use a monitor for the EMS server would be great.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been working with this solution for around one year.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

Overall, the stability is okay. Ease of deployment, VPN access, and the policies are implemented well. I haven't had any need to restart the servers of the PC due to FortiClient.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

The scalability is great, and you can scale it as the company grows.

How was the initial setup?

In Windows 10 devices, the initial setup was okay. It is not really bad if you have access straight to the PC. Deploying unattended is a hard thing to do. Sometimes, it doesn't work using the GPO Active Directory.

Our deployment strategy is to install the solution in the lab using 10 devices, test all the policies, and after that deploy it to the whole company. The lab stage is really easy and is a nice experience. 

When you have a massive deployment, because most of the uses are not in the local area to be covered, deployment has to be done using remote access. That's a painful task. We have had to deploy 190 devices almost manually because they were not on the local network.

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

My clients evaluated Sophos and Intercept X. They liked the ease of deployment with Intercept X because the control comes from working in the cloud. Sophos also has the management console on the cloud. However, the clients were already using Fortigate, so they wanted to keep that level of protection.

What other advice do I have?

It's a little harder to deploy on Mac devices. When I installed FortiClient, it didn't even work at the beginning. The user experience in Mac to check the antivirus and antispyware protection is not good.

In order to work with FortiClient very well, you need to deploy the VPNs through FortiGate. So those who would like to use Fortinet FortiClient would need to evaluate the bandwidth capacity and how they are going to use a feature that's called split tunneling. That's the main thing they have to consider in order to design their requirements for the person who is going to develop and implement it on the customer's side.

On a scale from one to ten, I would rate Fortinet FortiClient at eight.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

On-premises
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: Reseller
PeerSpot user
Buyer's Guide
Fortinet FortiClient
May 2025
Learn what your peers think about Fortinet FortiClient. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: May 2025.
851,823 professionals have used our research since 2012.
Senior Network Consultant at a tech services company with 10,001+ employees
Real User
Top 20
Stable, scalable and more cost efficient than Cisco
Pros and Cons
  • "The stability is pretty good."
  • "There should be more frequent releases or updates."

What is most valuable?

Fortinet FortiClient supports SSL VPN.

What needs improvement?

Not too many releases have been made. The latest concerned version seven. The one before it, six, was around for a long time. From the client's perspective, there has not been released anything which fully stacks up against Cisco. There should be more frequent releases or updates.

The solution can initially be a pain for new users and may take around two weeks for one to properly familiarize himself with it. 

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

The stability is pretty good. 

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

The scalability is pretty good. 

How are customer service and support?

I cannot comment on tech support as I have not had dealings with it. 

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup is pretty straightforward, since even Cisco can use a called SDM when it comes to FortiGate supporting a web interface. However, FortiGate is more convenient in some cases. 

In certain scenarios we would simply deploy FortiGate VPN, which we find to be comparatively more convenient, simple and stable than Cisco. I am talking about the FortiClient.

The solution may take new engineers some time to familiarize themselves with it, but it is, fortunately, close to Cisco in its concept. This means that if one has a background with Cisco, he can easily adopt all the functions and configuration procedures to the solution, including the command line from the FortiGate scenario.

The solution can initially be a pain for new users and may take around two weeks for one to properly familiarize himself with it. At this point, one can quickly understand the entire procedure.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

The solution is more cost efficient than Cisco, as FortiGate tends not to charge for the client license, which allows one to make free use of whatever is supported on the device.

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

Not too many releases have been made. The latest involved version seven and the one before it, six, was around for a long time. From the client's perspective, there has not been released anything which fully stacks up against Cisco. There should be more frequent releases or updates.

The initial setup is pretty straightforward, since even Cisco can use a called SDM when it comes to FortiGate supporting a web interface. However, FortiGate is more convenient in some cases.

In certain scenarios we would simply deploy FortiGate VPN, which we find to be comparatively more convenient, simple and stable than Cisco. I am talking about the FortiClient. It is also more cost efficient, as FortiGate tends not to charge for the client license, which allows one to make free use of whatever is supported on the device. 

The solution may take new engineers some time to familiarize themselves with it, but it is, fortunately, close to Cisco in its concept. This means that if one has a background with Cisco, he can easily adopt all the functions and configuration procedures to the solution, including the command line from the FortiGate scenario. 

I would recommend the solution to others, even when it comes to my friend, who has a small business, for which FortiGate compares more favorably than that of Cisco. If having a fancy system is not important to the person, but he is simply looking for a workable and stable solution, then FortiGate is the way to go.

What other advice do I have?

I would recommend the solution to others, even when it comes to my friend, who has a small business, for which FortiGate compares more favorably than that of Cisco. If having a fancy system is not important to the person, but he is simply looking for a workable and stable solution, then FortiGate is the way to go. 

I rate Fortinet FortiClient as a nine out of ten. 

Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
Chief Executive Officer at Clemtech LLC
Real User
Good support and great stability for secure VPN connectivity
Pros and Cons
  • "The solution offers great stability."
  • "The solution should have faster turnaround when it comes to new technology."

What is our primary use case?

We use the solution for operational technology and remote maintenance and monitoring.

What is most valuable?

Our typical customer is interested in VPN extension and a zero trust process. 

What needs improvement?

The solution should have faster turnaround when it comes to new technology. I'm speaking of next generation technology. For instance, they have a laboratory for investigating new technologies and I work with them towards the goal of releasing these to the industry a bit faster to allow us to start planning. 

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been working with Fortinet FortiClient for around two years. 

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

The solution offers great stability. Of course, the way we're connecting it relies on the network, but they offer other solutions to help with the stability besides the Network.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

The solution can be scaled to Class A.

How are customer service and support?

Their support is very good. I actually had a briefing with them today concerning a very large government project that I'm working on and feel their technical support to be very good.

How was the initial setup?

I would say that the setup and initiation of all the VPN types is pretty simple. The setup depends on what the solution is. They have straightforward solutions for which they had to test a lot of support for matching purposes.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

The licensing fee varies with what one is trying to accomplish. It can range from being free to costing several hundred thousand dollars per year. 

What other advice do I have?

For one looking for a secure virtual private network that maintains connectivity and has future development for next generations of VPN, the solution is a good place to start. 

I rate Fortinet FortiClient as a nine out of ten. 

Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: Partner
PeerSpot user
Sr. Manager at Emirates Technology Solutions
Real User
A stable and reliable solution for secure and easy access to our applications
Pros and Cons
  • "Secure and easy connect is the most valuable feature. It is a reliable solution, and it works."
  • "In terms of improvements, their SSL VPN tunnel can be a lot better. I've seen other products that have got much better VPN features than Fortinet. Some of my colleagues get this error called "License not available." When they get this error, they have to uninstall and reinstall it. This kind of problem is there, and sometimes, we have to open a case with Fortinet to resolve it. Their support is quick, so we are able to resolve and move forward. In terms of new features, when it is connecting, it should check the endpoint and say whether the end client is actually safe enough or whether there is a vulnerability. It should give a pop-up on the client itself. Because I'm on the admin side, I can also see this information in the log. However, if a non-IT user, such as a user from finance, is working on this and there is some problem, he or she would not know about this and would call IT admin to say that this is not working. If the users get a message explaining why and what is happening, it is easy for them to understand."

What is our primary use case?

This is used by our employees when they need to access our bookkeeping applications, such as Tally, from outside. We also have a couple of managers for our clients, and to manage that infrastructure, I use FortiClient to connect to that firewall and manage the server storage and everything else for them.

We have most of our things on the cloud except a small unit, which is on-prem. Except for the financial bookkeeping, which we have on-prem, the rest is all on the cloud. 

We are not using its latest version. We are using the previous version of the client.

What is most valuable?

Secure and easy connect is the most valuable feature. It is a reliable solution, and it works.

What needs improvement?

In terms of improvements, their SSL VPN tunnel can be a lot better. I've seen other products that have got much better VPN features than Fortinet.

Some of my colleagues get this error called "License not available." When they get this error, they have to uninstall and reinstall it. This kind of problem is there, and sometimes, we have to open a case with Fortinet to resolve it. Their support is quick, so we are able to resolve and move forward.

In terms of new features, when it is connecting, it should check the endpoint and say whether the end client is actually safe enough or whether there is a vulnerability. It should give a pop-up on the client itself. Because I'm on the admin side, I can also see this information in the log. However, if a non-IT user, such as a user from finance, is working on this and there is some problem, he or she would not know about this and would call IT admin to say that this is not working. If the users get a message explaining why and what is happening, it is easy for them to understand.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using this solution since 2017. 

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

It is stable and reliable.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

I never had the need for scalability. I always size my requirements with a 30% buffer.

I have five users in my core office, and on the client-side, I have about ten users.

How are customer service and technical support?

Their support is quick. They are responsive.

How was the initial setup?

I am used to working with firewalls, so it is easy for me.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

It is a yearly subscription license. I don't see a problem with the pricing. Resellers add their markup and then give it to us, but I don't see that as a major challenge. It is fine.

What other advice do I have?

I would recommend this solution. It works, and we are okay with it.

I would rate Fortinet FortiClient an eight out of ten.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

Public Cloud

If public cloud, private cloud, or hybrid cloud, which cloud provider do you use?

Microsoft Azure
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: Partner
PeerSpot user
Steven Hall - PeerSpot reviewer
Head Of Consulting at Acurus
Real User
Easy to setup, good support, and the EMS is easy to use
Pros and Cons
  • "From Forticlient, the EMS, the central management is easy to use."
  • "I would like to see endpoint detection and response included."

What is our primary use case?

The primary use case of this solution is for antivirus, anti-malware, and endpoint protection.

What is most valuable?

From FortiClient, the EMS, the central management is easy to use. 

The profiles that you can set up centrally as well, are good. We can have different profiles for the main control versus the database server versus an end-user device, which is a good feature. 

The VPN all-in-one Endpoint Protection and VPN all-in-one client is a good feature as well.

I think it's pretty good overall, to be honest. In terms of what it does, I am really comfortable with ForitClient.

What needs improvement?

I would like to see endpoint detection and response included.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been working with FortiClient for approximately two years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

There are always a couple of bugs in EMS, but if you upgrade to the latest version, they normally fix them. 

The EMS console can be a little buggy, but FortiClient is fine.

How are customer service and technical support?

We contact technical support all of the time, and for other things as well, and they are very good.

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup is straightforward.

It took about one week to deploy.

What about the implementation team?

I have a team of five engineers who work with us to maintain the solution.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

The price point again is silver products and that is what I'm trying to work out. So I don't know if that's a bad or a good thing for Forticlient. I don't know where it's priced. 

I don't know about the price.

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

I have not compared it against different products.

What other advice do I have?

I can recommend FortiClient to others who are interested in using it.

I would rate FortiClient an eight out of ten. Nothing ever gets a ten. That would mean that it's perfect and there is no room for improvement. That is never the case with anything in life.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

Hybrid Cloud
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: Partner
PeerSpot user
Infrastructure Specialist at a computer software company with 11-50 employees
Real User
User friendly with an easy initial setup and good reliability
Pros and Cons
  • "It is a scalable product."
  • "They have an EDR feature for end protection detection and response, and this is actually with an add-on subscription, which is charged separately. What I would like to see is this included with the base cost."

What is our primary use case?

We primarily use the solution for remote access.

What is most valuable?

It's very easy to use. It's nice and much easier to use than other solutions we've seen in action.

The initial setup is simple.

It is a scalable product.

The stability is great.

What needs improvement?

The EDR feature to be included in the basic license.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

The stability is good. We have never experienced an outage.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

I have seen it working before COVID and during COVID. It has scaled up quite easily. There's no problem with expanding it.

Right now, I'm in a small company and there are 50 users. Previously, a year ago, I was in a bigger organization with 300 users that were using FortiClient.

How are customer service and support?

I haven't had any incident or any interaction with the technical support service.

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

I've used other solutions in the past. One main difference is it is light, so it consumes minimum resources. The user does not understand the difference in the performance of the endpoint of the laptop or the PC. 

How was the initial setup?

It's easy to implement. I'd rate it at a five out of five in terms of ease of execution.

What about the implementation team?

We handle the implementations in-house. We do not need any integrators or consultants to assist us. 

What other advice do I have?

I would rate the solution at a nine out of ten.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

On-premises
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: PARTNER
PeerSpot user
reviewer1459728 - PeerSpot reviewer
IT Manager/systems engineer at a tech services company with 51-200 employees
Real User
Good integration with Fortigate but needs the USB key blocking function
Pros and Cons
  • "It is not at all interesting for me as a standalone product, but as a product that is integrated with FortiGate with all features, it is actually a great tool and a great experience. I had test installed FortiClient working from home. I remembered and knew which web categories were denied or allowed. All those policies were correctly reflected standalone, for example, on my laptop."
  • "For buying or deploying it with additional features, apart from VPN client, web security, or antivirus, I would like to see the USB key blocking function included in this solution for endpoint security. For endpoint security, you need antivirus and all of the features included in antivirus software these days, web security, and USB key locking feature. If it is implemented in a way that in one package, you have all the primary features needed for security these days, it would be nice. All of those features will probably be additionally charged as it is a web security feature on FortiClient."

What is our primary use case?

Initially, we needed a VPN client, but afterward, we needed some other functionalities included in FortiClient. The primary use is that users have to connect it to the VPN, and the secondary use is for web security.

We are using the latest version, which has become free to use recently. FortiClient released a version that includes web security and antivirus. 

What is most valuable?

It is not at all interesting for me as a standalone product, but as a product that is integrated with FortiGate with all features, it is actually a great tool and a great experience. I had test installed FortiClient working from home. I remembered and knew which web categories were denied or allowed. All those policies were correctly reflected standalone, for example, on my laptop. 

What needs improvement?

For buying or deploying it with additional features, apart from VPN client, web security, or antivirus, I would like to see the USB key blocking function included in this solution for endpoint security. For endpoint security, you need antivirus and all of the features included in antivirus software these days, web security, and USB key locking feature. If it is implemented in a way that in one package, you have all the primary features needed for security these days, it would be nice. All of those features will probably be additionally charged as it is a web security feature on FortiClient.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using Fortinet FortiClient for two years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

Sometimes, users cannot connect to the VPN, but this is very rare. When that happens, users just need to restart the computer or shut down FortiClient. In the last two years, out of a hundred users, two or three users reported this case. Afterward, nobody reported this. They know how to solve the issue.

How are customer service and technical support?

They are actually very good. I have contacted their global support prior to buying FortiGate because I had some questions. Afterward, we contacted the local support for the solutions asking how to do this, how to do that, and is it possible with FortiGate. That's all.

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

I have been working with this company for two and a half years. When I joined as an IT manager, we weren't using FortiGate at all. They had ISA Server 2006, and I was looking for a replacement because ISA was not my cup of tea. It was old to handle the number of requests that we had. We had an increase in the number of users, and ISA couldn't handle the load. FortiGate was a logical replacement.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

Generally, Fortinet is not cheap. The features that are available for free are only for FortiClient VPN clients, not other solutions. It includes web security, antivirus, and one more feature. 

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

We did some comparisons and decided to use Fortinet. One of the most important things was Gartner's recommendation related to Fortinet, which was actually very high in 2019. It also had a good position in the market in terms of the number of users using this solution and the user experience.

What other advice do I have?

I would recommend this solution, but it depends on the expectations of the users. There are so many solutions like Sophos and Palo Alto. We are looking for an extended solution to prevent unwanted problems with viruses on the internet. We would like to implement extended web security for other users, but we have a limited budget. We would like to implement FortiClient or Trend Micro USB key locket. We are expecting to get the price for Fortinet as well as Trend Micro endpoint security for about a hundred users.

I would rate Fortinet FortiClient a seven out of ten.

Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
Buyer's Guide
Download our free Fortinet FortiClient Report and get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions.
Updated: May 2025
Buyer's Guide
Download our free Fortinet FortiClient Report and get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions.