I currently work in the automotive industry, providing software for automotive dealers, and we only use Fortinet FortiGate for corporate purposes.
DevOps Manager at a outsourcing company with 201-500 employees
Effective centralized management and tech support increase operational efficiency
Pros and Cons
- "The centralized management allowed us to manage 50 devices effectively, which I found better than Cisco."
- "During a recent upgrade from old devices to the latest ones, corporate IT faced challenges as there was no straightforward migration process, requiring many manual steps."
What is our primary use case?
What is most valuable?
One of the best features of Fortinet FortiGate is how effectively the software is written; the virtual network interfaces significantly outperform Cisco in my project. I didn't need separate switches or load balancers because I was able to resolve internal FQDNs of the load balancers, which was impressive. The centralized management allowed us to manage 50 devices effectively, which I found better than Cisco.
What needs improvement?
During a recent upgrade from old devices to the latest ones, corporate IT faced challenges as there was no straightforward migration process, requiring many manual steps. I've completed upgrades with Cisco before where the process was simple, but this time it wasn't the case for corporate IT. I also heard that SSL-based VPN will be discontinued, which could be concerning.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have used Fortinet FortiGate for several years; initially, I brought FortiGate to my previous company during a project.
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What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
Integrating SD-WAN capabilities with Fortinet FortiGate is straightforward, with minimal complexity involved.
How are customer service and support?
My experience with Fortinet FortiGate support has been excellent, as I was fortunate to have an office in Vancouver where Fortinet had staff. We worked closely with tech personnel through the project. While I usually don't give perfect scores, the support was great. However, one area for improvement is that many functions can only be accessed via CLI, which has discrepancies between the web interface and direct connection.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
I pushed corporate IT to replace SonicWall with Fortinet FortiGate, and now in my current company, we have FortiGate that we recently upgraded to the latest models.
What other advice do I have?
Managing Fortinet FortiGate involves three corporate IT personnel, and although it initially took them quite a while to handle some tasks, I provided scripts that allowed them to work much quicker. What took them a day or two is now a job of just 10 to 15 minutes. Scripting and utilizing Git repositories would make things smoother, and I intended to publish modules for Terraform but haven't had the time yet.
Overall, I would rate Fortinet FortiGate around an eight, as there is always room for improvement.
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
Last updated: Jul 17, 2025
Flag as inappropriateSenior Officer - IT Cyber Security Admin with 10,001+ employees
Hardware is very stable but technical support needs improvement
Pros and Cons
- "The dynamic segmentation feature in Fortinet FortiGate is pretty good."
- "The main thing they have to improve in Fortinet FortiGate is the technical support; the rest of the features are good enough. We can handle them, but sometimes you really need support, and in that case, we are not getting it at the proper time."
What is our primary use case?
Our main use case for Fortinet FortiGate is as a firewall. We are using it for cybersecurity purposes.
How has it helped my organization?
Our main purpose when we started working with Fortinet FortiGate was to secure our network in all aspects. Fortinet FortiGate performs a very important role in blocking malicious activity in our network. I'm not sure how much it has improved, but it has made our network stable and secure.
What is most valuable?
The hardware is very stable. Once you install the system, it works in any condition.
The dynamic segmentation feature in Fortinet FortiGate is pretty good.
What needs improvement?
The main thing they have to improve in Fortinet FortiGate is the technical support; the rest of the features are good enough. We can handle them, but sometimes you really need support, and in that case, we are not getting it at the proper time. I have been mentioning this for the last two years.
There is a migration issue from 600D to 600E, as we are not able to export the configuration file to 600E. It should be like export and import in all variants.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been working with Fortinet FortiGate since 2016, which is approximately nine years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
It's very stable. I would rate it a ten out of ten for stability.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
It's scalable.
How are customer service and support?
Their support is very poor.
How would you rate customer service and support?
Neutral
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
I have not worked with other vendors for the last ten years, but if I get any chance, I will explore Palo Alto.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
We want to purchase more Fortinet FortiGate devices, but people are not giving us a proper quotation. There needs to be more transparency in giving quotations. Sometimes prices are very high, and even after the conclusion, the buyer thinks there may be some more reduction in the price.
What other advice do I have?
Currently, we don't have any Fortinet FortiGate data center solutions, but in the future, we are going to plan this one.
I will recommend Fortinet FortiGate to other users only because the hardware is very stable. I would rate this solution a seven out of ten.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
On-premises
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
Last updated: Jun 28, 2025
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Fortinet FortiGate
March 2026
Learn what your peers think about Fortinet FortiGate. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: March 2026.
884,933 professionals have used our research since 2012.
ICT Technician at MEDS
Works well and provides a good return on investment
Pros and Cons
- "ROI is exceptionally good."
- "I find the management console not very straightforward, so that's an area where Fortinet FortiGate can improve. They should simplify it and make it more user-friendly."
What is our primary use case?
We are using Fortinet FortiGate 200F. Our main use cases are firewall and security.
What is most valuable?
It is very stable and scalable.
We are utilizing SD-WAN by Fortinet FortiGate. My experience in integrating SD-WAN capabilities with Fortinet FortiGate in my network is good, and it has worked well with no cases so far.
The effectiveness of Fortinet's unified SASE in providing consistent security policies rates at nine on a scale of ten.
What needs improvement?
I find the management console not very straightforward, so that's an area where Fortinet FortiGate can improve. They should simplify it and make it more user-friendly. In the next release, I would prefer a more simplified GUI; that's one area I would want to see a quick change.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been working with Fortinet FortiGate for three years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
I would rate the stability of Fortinet FortiGate a ten out of ten because it hasn't had an outage.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
In terms of scalability, it has excellent features. I would give it a ten out of ten because there's still more we can do with it.
How are customer service and support?
We have not contacted Fortinet directly for technical support. Currently, we are working through the local dealers, and our local dealer is Safaricom Telkom. We also purchased Fortinet FortiGate through them.
How would you rate customer service and support?
Positive
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
Before Fortinet FortiGate, we had a South African product called Kerio. We also had a Cisco router, which we had configured to provide some of those benefits, but the problem is it's cumbersome to configure, scalability is limited, and it's very expensive to acquire the hardware and the licenses, so in terms of ROI, I wouldn't recommend it.
How was the initial setup?
We outsourced the initial setup of Fortinet FortiGate. We had the vendor do it. The implementation took about three weeks.
What was our ROI?
I have seen a return on investment with Fortinet FortiGate. Before this, we used to have many manual systems with overheads in terms of manpower, licenses, and so on, but now there's a lot we have automated, so ROI is exceptionally good.
What other advice do I have?
We are also using FortiAnalyzer and Fortinet VPN, and I have been generally satisfied with them.
I would rate Fortinet FortiGate a nine out of ten, with the only drawback being the management interface.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
On-premises
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
Last updated: Jun 27, 2025
Flag as inappropriateChief Commercial Officer at InnovAge Home Care
Reliable and easy to use with good support
Pros and Cons
- "It is stable and easy to use. There are a lot of good resources available on the web."
- "Fortinet FortiGate has positively impacted our organization by preventing hackers from accessing our network."
- "Fortinet FortiGate could be improved in terms of user friendliness at the policy level and assigning URL based and keyword based features."
- "Fortinet FortiGate could be improved in terms of user friendliness at the policy level and assigning URL based and keyword based features."
What is our primary use case?
I use Fortinet FortiGate to secure our infrastructure, user data, data encryption, and to prevent DDoS attacks.
I also have experience with FortiManager and FortiCloud. I have experience in integrating SD-WAN capabilities with Fortinet FortiGate because I am using SD-WAN with multiple ISP lines, using it as a load balancer and for specific route traffic.
How has it helped my organization?
Fortinet FortiGate has positively impacted our organization by preventing hackers from accessing our network.
The performance of hardware-assisted DDoS protection in Fortinet FortiGate when managing data center traffic is very good.
What is most valuable?
One of the best features of Fortinet FortiGate is VLAN. Dynamic Segmentation and SD-WAN are also very good.
It is stable and easy to use. There are a lot of good resources available on the web.
What needs improvement?
Fortinet FortiGate could be improved in terms of user friendliness at the policy level and assigning URL based and keyword based features.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been working with Fortinet FortiGate for around three years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
Fortinet FortiGate is a stable solution and the best solution.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
The scalability of Fortinet FortiGate is good.
How are customer service and support?
I would rate technical support from Fortinet a ten out of ten.
How would you rate customer service and support?
Positive
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
Before choosing Fortinet FortiGate, I was using Sophos Cyberoam, which is outdated. I switched from Sophos to Fortinet FortiGate because the Sophos device was outdated, not providing the same SD-WAN features at the same cost and central level.
What was our ROI?
We got our ROI in the second year due to its stability.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
The licensing cost is at the intermediate level.
What other advice do I have?
I would rate Fortinet FortiGate a ten out of ten.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
On-premises
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
Co-Founder at CodeCraft Technologies Private Limited
A user-friendly firewall with good security features
Pros and Cons
- "Its usability is good. We can easily navigate the system, and we have a very good user experience."
- "Previously, we were using another firewall device, Sophos. Compared to that, Fortinet FortiGate provides more features and better security."
- "I want some additional features. For example, I want something to ensure that when we are using Google email or Microsoft email, or Google Workspace, emails can only be accessed on designated machines given to our employees. I would like them to access data from designated machines, not from any machine. It should work for designated mobiles and laptops. I don't know if Fortinet provides something like that out of the box."
- "The people we are working with are not able to configure MFA. They are having some technical issues. Fortinet needs to ensure that its partners are well-trained."
What is our primary use case?
I was involved in deciding on Fortinet FortiGate, but I am not the one who's using it on a day-to-day basis.
We want to make sure that our on-prem servers are protected. We basically use VPN to configure that on Fortinet FortiGate, so that is the major purpose, and that part is working well.
How has it helped my organization?
We have not had any incidents where our servers got compromised. It's all good.
For security, it has all the required features, such as the web filter and DNS filter. Also, for accessing the network, we have various rules.
What is most valuable?
Our IT staff says that some of the security features are better than Sophos's.
Its usability is good. We can easily navigate the system, and we have a very good user experience. It's easier to understand the software compared to Sophos, which I feel is a little more technical and could be difficult for a first-time user.
What needs improvement?
I want some additional features. For example, I want something to ensure that when we are using Google email or Microsoft email, or Google Workspace, emails can only be accessed on designated machines given to our employees. I would like them to access data from designated machines, not from any machine. It should work for designated mobiles and laptops. I don't know if Fortinet provides something like that out of the box.
For how long have I used the solution?
We have just installed Fortinet FortiGate, and it has been two months since our installation.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
Fortinet FortiGate is stable.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
Fortinet FortiGate is scalable.
How are customer service and support?
We are going through the vendor for technical support. If we have any issues, we raise a ticket, and they respond immediately.
How would you rate customer service and support?
Positive
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
Previously, we were using another firewall device, Sophos. Compared to that, Fortinet FortiGate provides more features and better security. Fortinet FortiGate supports WAN migration. Fortinet FortiGate is also better in terms of speed. In the dashboard, we can get all the stats reports and logs.
How was the initial setup?
Deployment is not very difficult because they have their migration tool.
What about the implementation team?
We are facing some challenges. We are working with a third-party vendor, not FortiGate directly, for the installation and other things. The problem is that their knowledge is very limited. We are facing some challenges. With Sophos, we could enable multi-factor authentication for VPN users. FortiGate also allows that, as per our initial analysis. The people we are working with are not able to configure MFA. They are having some technical issues. Fortinet needs to ensure that its partners are well-trained.
Only two people were involved in the deployment process. The vendor side had their own technician, and we had one person here.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
Cost-wise, there is not much difference from Sophos, but feature-wise, we get more features.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
We did some comparisons between Fortinet FortiGate and Sophos. We went with Fortinet FortiGate because of the security features and easy-to-understand console.
What other advice do I have?
I would rate Fortinet FortiGate an eight out of ten.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
On-premises
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
Senior Manager IT at a tech services company with 1,001-5,000 employees
Reliable security has improved internet routing and optimized multi-site traffic performance
Pros and Cons
- "Fortinet FortiGate is one of the best firewalls in the market currently, with a lot of next generation firewall features embedded into it, including SD WAN, which is one of the best services for traffic steering, managing packet log jitter and latency for any applications, making it unbeatable in terms of pricing compared to other firewalls."
- "The one concern I have with Fortinet FortiGate is the firmware versions, which often have many bugs when upgraded, leading us to revert back to older versions multiple times in my lifecycle."
What is our primary use case?
As a customer, we work with Fortinet FortiGate. Our major use case for Fortinet FortiGate is our Internet, serving as the main device for routing, firewall features, and everything.
What is most valuable?
Fortinet FortiGate is one of the best firewalls in the market currently, with a lot of next generation firewall features embedded into it, including SD WAN, which is one of the best services for traffic steering, managing packet log jitter and latency for any applications, making it unbeatable in terms of pricing compared to other firewalls.
It has a significant impact on our network performance as we are a health care company where users access health care business website URLs, and any latency is managed by SD WAN without manual intervention, benefiting the operation as we have more than a thousand users across different locations.
Fortinet FortiGate Unified SASE is effective in providing security policies across multiple locations, incorporating zero touch provisioning that is very impactful and beneficial in managing network problems.
In terms of hardware-assisted DDoS protection with Fortinet FortiGate, it is performance-based, depending on the number of concurrent sessions, users, and the specifications of the hardware product.
What needs improvement?
The one concern I have with Fortinet FortiGate is the firmware versions, which often have many bugs when upgraded, leading us to revert back to older versions multiple times in my lifecycle.
For example, when upgrading the firmware version, we noticed that one of the services was not working, resulting in no packet flow for a VLAN until we reverted back.
The main area for improvement in Fortinet FortiGate is the firmware versions, as we face uncertainties regarding upgrades and frequent bugs that require self-fixing of problems.
For how long have I used the solution?
We have been using Fortinet FortiGate since two thousand three.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
Fortinet FortiGate is very much scalable, with all models from Fortinet being impactful.
How are customer service and support?
Technical support from Fortinet is generally good, though there are times when it could be better.
How would you rate customer service and support?
Positive
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
We have used other firewalls, including Palo Alto, which we find to be very pricey compared to Fortinet FortiGate.
How was the initial setup?
The deployment process for Fortinet FortiGate is straightforward.
What about the implementation team?
We conducted the deployment ourselves without the help of an integrator or consultant.
What was our ROI?
The return on investment with Fortinet FortiGate is very good, as it is one of the best products available in the market.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
In terms of price for Fortinet FortiGate, it is not considered that expensive when compared to other products; it is medium priced for SMB businesses.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
Palo Alto is a premier product, but both solutions have their unique advantages, making it difficult to declare one superior to the other.
What other advice do I have?
We have Fortinet FortiGate in different locations, where every location serves as a data center using hub and spoke technology, connecting all spokes to a primary hub and a secondary hub for reliability.
We use segmentation in core switches; however, the segmentation features are primarily managed by Cisco switches and not by Fortinet FortiGate firewall.
The effects of SD WAN integration on remote users and application performance are very positive, as we integrate all traffic through Fortinet FortiGate SD WAN and aim for configurations that enhance efficiency across locations.
We have been using SD WAN with Fortinet FortiGate for more than five or six years.
Fortinet FortiGate Unified SASE is effective in providing security policies across multiple locations, incorporating zero touch provisioning that is very impactful and beneficial in managing network problems.
The effects of SD WAN integration on remote users and application performance are very positive, as we integrate all traffic through Fortinet FortiGate SD WAN and aim for configurations that enhance efficiency across locations.
With Fortinet FortiGate, the SD WAN feature is included with no additional costs, which stands in contrast to other products like Cisco and Palo Alto, which charge extra for similar features.
I would rate this review an eight out of ten.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
On-premises
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
Last updated: Mar 4, 2026
Flag as inappropriateOfficer in Charge of IT Department at Advanced Centre for Treatment, Research and Education in Cancer(ACTREC)
Ensures network security with reliable policy management and smooth deployment
Pros and Cons
- "We have received a very good ROI; it has provided significant time savings of almost 20-25%."
- "A disadvantage exists when we are collecting the logs, as it sometimes becomes very difficult to interpret the logs that are generated from the firewall."
What is our primary use case?
Fortinet FortiGate is a perimeter firewall which we are using for protecting our network and for defining policies so that only restricted access is given from outside to serve this purpose.
What is most valuable?
Fortinet FortiGate serves as our perimeter firewall which we utilize for protecting our network and defining policies to ensure only restricted access is given from outside.
What needs improvement?
A disadvantage exists when we are collecting the logs, as it sometimes becomes very difficult to interpret the logs that are generated from the firewall. The main challenge is finding out which IP is generating what kind of traffic.
For how long have I used the solution?
We have been using Fortinet FortiGate for more than 10 years. We started with FGT 60, then moved on to 100, then 300, and currently we are using 501E.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
It went smoothly and we have found it very useful because we have a redundant internet lease line. It takes care of all our requirements.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
We have been informed by Fortinet FortiGate that it has already reached the end of service. It will be supported until next year, so we might procure a new solution. It cannot be scaled, so we will have to replace the box itself.
How are customer service and support?
We have been using Fortinet FortiGate for quite a long time. As mentioned, we have used the last four series, and we found the product to be very stable. We regularly update it when updates are available, and the support has been good so far.
How would you rate customer service and support?
Positive
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
We are not using any previous solutions.
How was the initial setup?
The system integrator performed the installation and it went smoothly. My team mentioned it is very easy to do the setup. Since it is software-based rather than hardware-based, and our people are very familiar with the software, the implementation proceeded smoothly.
What about the implementation team?
The system integrator performed the installation.
What was our ROI?
We have received a very good ROI. It has provided significant time savings of almost 20-25%.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
The solution is affordable.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
My team has indicated that Fortinet FortiGate is more simple and secure compared to alternatives.
What other advice do I have?
I rate Fortinet FortiGate a nine out of ten.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
On-premises
If public cloud, private cloud, or hybrid cloud, which cloud provider do you use?
Other
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
Last updated: Sep 4, 2025
Flag as inappropriateImplemented secure connectivity across branches with reliable network performance
Pros and Cons
- "The integration of SD-WAN capabilities with Fortinet FortiGate has positively impacted application performance."
What is our primary use case?
We are using Fortinet FortiGate for branch-to-branch connectivity. It handles internet outages, internet breaks to the cloud, and internet connectivity to the internal systems in the branches.
What is most valuable?
The SD-WAN and VPN tunnels are the best features of Fortinet FortiGate in my opinion. My major workload runs on Fortinet FortiGate, as it serves as the main backbone of the network.
What needs improvement?
The firmware in Fortinet FortiGate needs improvement. Some firmwares have many bugs, such as filter issues and VPN connectivity problems. Last month, with version 7.4.6, we experienced web filter issues. They need to fix the bugs before releasing firmware.
For how long have I used the solution?
We have been using Fortinet FortiGate for up to 15 years, and it performs well.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
In my opinion, Fortinet FortiGate is a stable solution.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
Fortinet FortiGate's scalability is flexible and scalable.
How are customer service and support?
The customer service and technical support of Fortinet FortiGate rates seven out of ten. The technical support and RMA process are acceptable. We don't raise many tickets, but when we do, we receive late responses for technical tickets, which is why I rate it seven out of ten.
How would you rate customer service and support?
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
We used Palo Alto and Cisco Meraki before choosing Fortinet FortiGate.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup of Fortinet FortiGate is very easy.
What about the implementation team?
We used in-house resources for our setup instead of an integrator, reseller, or consultant.
What was our ROI?
We currently have approximately 110 Fortinet FortiGates and 40 managers. Each year we increase by almost 10 to 20 FortiGates. We are also considering FortiSASE and have discussed this with Fortinet FortiGate. We are planning changes in return on investment from this solution this quarter.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
The pricing depends on market competition, which is high because Cisco Meraki and Palo Alto offer similar costs for pricing, setup, and licensing of Fortinet FortiGate. They need to compete with lower margins as prices are getting high for Fortinet FortiGate.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
We are currently using Palo Alto and Cisco due to some issues with the Fortinet FortiGate sales people. We have installed equipment in almost four locations, and we are using these three solutions simultaneously.
What other advice do I have?
We are planning to implement SASE and have already discussed this with Fortinet FortiGate. We are currently only discussing the possibility of using SASE.
The integration of SD-WAN capabilities with Fortinet FortiGate has positively impacted application performance. The implementation is straightforward for new users. My experience in integrating SD-WAN capabilities with Fortinet FortiGate has been excellent, rating it 10 out of 10.
Overall, I rate Fortinet FortiGate 9 out of 10.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
On-premises
If public cloud, private cloud, or hybrid cloud, which cloud provider do you use?
Other
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
Last updated: Jul 31, 2025
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Updated: March 2026
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