We use Fortinet FortiGate for web filtering, IPS reporting, and firewall policy routing.
Network Administrator at Automated Outsourcing services
Secure, multifeatured, and user-friendly solution for protecting networks
Pros and Cons
- "Secure, user-friendly, stable, and scalable network security solution. Installation is straightforward."
- "I'm happy with FortiGate; it's a product I can recommend to others because it doesn't give me any issues."
- "Fortinet FortiGate can be integrated with different platforms. They have integrations in place, but I can't say they're 100%."
What is our primary use case?
What is most valuable?
What we like about Fortinet FortiGate is that it's fast. You can also use it immediately, e.g. you don't have to wait and apply the policy before you can use it. It's robust and offers immediate usage, unlike Check Point, which we noticed was a slow product.
Fortinet FortiGate is also more secure, depending on how you set up the SD-WAN technology.
We also like the zero trust access, arrays, and the EDR features on this product. It's also 100% more user-friendly, e.g. even when I worked with them configuration-wise. The availability of the support hotline and their knowledgebase articles, e.g. the Cookbook, help a lot. Those articles are accessible to everyone, and they're free.
Whenever you implement a solution, you can run through Cookbook, then you can install the Fortinet certificate if you aren't able to, if you're stuck, but most of the time you are likely to get it right. The Cookbook explain everything straight to the point, and this makes it much easier.
What needs improvement?
Fortinet FortiGate can be integrated with different platforms. They have integrations in place, but I can't say they're 100%.
For how long have I used the solution?
I've used Fortinet FortiGate for three years, and the last time I used it was last year.
Buyer's Guide
Fortinet FortiGate
August 2026
Learn what your peers think about Fortinet FortiGate. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: August 2026.
908,858 professionals have used our research since 2012.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
The product is very stable. It's a powerful product.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
Fortinet FortiGate is a scalable product.
How was the initial setup?
Installing Fortinet FortiGate is straightforward. The Cookbook tells you where the issue is, then the packs that come with the software, they are quick to advise on what bugs you can expect, and how those bugs can be fixed. I enjoyed installing the product.
The initial setup for Fortinet FortiGate took less than a week. We spent another week migrating the policy, or recreating the policies on the new object, because of the incompatibility with Check Point. We had to recreate the policies, otherwise, the change was quick, and we just had to mount them and connect the HA link and the other internet link. The setup was quick.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
The product has different licensing models, depending on what you're going to do. For the IoT service, initially the program was for free, then the IoT service and the mix firmware that we had, we had to pay.
Services are separate in terms of Fortinet FortiGate license models, e.g. you could have IPS, AV scanning on high availability, etc. The license could be on annual renewal.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
I evaluated Check Point, but my problem was that it was too slow to install, and you have to wait long while your environment is down. With Fortinet FortiGate, it was instant. Fortinet FortiGate is very easy to install, unlike Check Point. Fortinet FortiGate is a better product.
What other advice do I have?
I have experience with Fortinet FortiGate. I used to manage the product in the past, but in a different company. I transferred to another company into a new position, and Fortinet FortiGate is being used in my current company.
This product can be deployed both on-premises and on cloud. We use version 300E for on-premises, and VM04 on cloud.
They are doing a lot of things to improve Fortinet FortiGate, that I can't think of anything else I'd like added to it. There's zero trust access, the EDR, and the arrays. I can't really say that there's anything that they have not started. They're able to provide what I want.
We started with 100 users of Fortinet FortiGate in the company, then it went up to 270 users, because we also had a child company with end users of this product.
We didn't have to contact technical support for Fortinet FortiGate, because we had a third-party guy who was helping us, and we seldom contact him. If we find an issue, we just email, and he'll write back to us. We also get advise on the old firmware, for example, that there's a higher chance it's static and could be affected by vulnerabilities. Any help was done quickly, and it was nice. Nowadays, we are doing all the work, e.g. not having to contact our third-party guy.
We don't really need a team for deployment and maintenance. There's another engineer we're sharing ideas with, otherwise, deployment and maintenance are both very straightforward. You just need to know what you're doing, e.g. a good path, IPsec channels, etc., and it'll be much easier.
I can recommend Fortinet FortiGate to others, especially because I understand it the most now. We do know everybody won't choose it, because Check Point, Cisco, and other competitors are coming up with robust devices. Everyone wants to win against their competitors, but I'm happy with FortiGate. It's a product I can recommend to others.
I'm rating Fortinet FortiGate a ten out of ten, because it doesn't give me any issues. It's very easy for me to rate it a ten.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
Hybrid Cloud
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
Senior Supervisor at MEPEQ
Robust, easy to use, and has excellent technical support that is quite responsive
Pros and Cons
- "The performance is good."
- "Fortinet FortiGate is a firewall that protects all network data."
- "I would like to see better pricing in the next release, as well as a simplification of the installation."
What is our primary use case?
Fortinet FortiGate is a firewall that protects all network data. We use it as our primary firewall in the office.
What is most valuable?
The performance is good.
It is easy to use.
What needs improvement?
I would like to see better pricing in the next release, as well as a simplification of the installation.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been working with Fortinet FortiGate for six years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
Fortinet FortiGate is a stable product.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
Fortinet FortiGate is a scalable product.
In our company, it is the main gateway for the internet, and we have less than 100 users.
Deployment is faster per user. Each one has a laptop or a PC, as well as a mobile phone, so we have less than 100 devices per user, but with mobile phones and Internet access, that number can rise to more than 100.
How are customer service and support?
I have contacted technical support many times, they are very important and they are very good. They follow up on all of the cases that we have opened.
The response time is great.
They also always have an updated version of the firmware.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
I now have UniFi Switches for our WiFi access point. We began using UniFi to replace Cisco Linksys Ethernet switches.
I am also working with QNAPS for network connections.
For virtual meetings, we use Google Meet. Some of our customers use Webex but we mainly work with Google Meet.
In our company, we have Kaspersky, as well as Fortinet.
How was the initial setup?
It's not straightforward. You must have at least the knowledge and the settings. It's not that simple.
The length of time it takes to install is determined by the configuration you have inside. It could take anywhere from 30 minutes to three hours.
In our company, I am responsible for the solution's maintenance and deployment.
What about the implementation team?
We had the assistance of a consultant at first.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
Licensing fees are paid on a yearly basis.
It would be better if it could be made a little less expensive.
It will be more expensive for the first year, then it will gradually decrease by a certain amount per year or something along those lines.
We have the full license that included all of the features and support.
Aside from the licensing fees, there are no other costs.
What other advice do I have?
I would rate Fortinet FortiGate a nine 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.
Buyer's Guide
Fortinet FortiGate
August 2026
Learn what your peers think about Fortinet FortiGate. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: August 2026.
908,858 professionals have used our research since 2012.
Network Engineer at a logistics company with 10,001+ employees
A simple-to-configure and stable product with VPN concentrator and competitive pricing
Pros and Cons
- "The simplicity of the configuration and the stability of the product are most valuable. The VPN concentrator is very useful."
- "We are happy to use this product."
- "It is quite new for us, and we need to go more in-depth into the monitoring tools. It provides different features that we need to do what we want. So far, it is okay for us. In terms of improvement, in the future, they can provide a faster implementation of features. Some of the features are first available in other solutions. Fortinet sometimes takes a little bit longer than other solutions, such as Check Point, to implement new features."
What is our primary use case?
We are using it in our data center. It is being used at the perimeter of our data center to protect the applications that we have inside the data center. We are at the beginning of its installation in our data center. We have recently installed a new cluster for IPS functionality, and we have to check if this cluster does the job.
We are using its latest version.
What is most valuable?
The simplicity of the configuration and the stability of the product are most valuable. The VPN concentrator is very useful.
What needs improvement?
It is quite new for us, and we need to go more in-depth into the monitoring tools. It provides different features that we need to do what we want. So far, it is okay for us. In terms of improvement, in the future, they can provide a faster implementation of features. Some of the features are first available in other solutions. Fortinet sometimes takes a little bit longer than other solutions, such as Check Point, to implement new features.
For how long have I used the solution?
It is quite a new product for us. We started using it only about six months ago.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
Its stability is okay for us. Since we have put this new cluster, we haven't had any problems or crashes. It's okay for us from this point of view.
We got this firewall just less than a year ago, and we hope to see good performance in three or four years.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
There are around 10,000 people in our company, and they are all using FortiGate because they all need to go through this cluster of firewalls.
How are customer service and support?
I have not yet interacted with them. That's because we didn't encounter any important issues. When we have any technical questions, our partner has been able to answer our questions. So, I don't have any experience with Fortinet support.
How was the initial setup?
It is straightforward at the beginning.
What about the implementation team?
We worked with a partner. Usually, when we have a project, we do the initial setup with this partner. After that, we are able to manage the firewall without any outside help.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
Its pricing is competitive with other solutions.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
We chose it after comparing different solutions on the market.
What other advice do I have?
I would recommend this product. It is very easy to use. We are happy to use this product.
I would rate it an eight out of 10.
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.
Security Presales Consultant at a tech services company with 501-1,000 employees
Straightforward implementation, priced well, and effective proxy mode
Pros and Cons
- "The most valuable features of Fortinet FortiGate are the ability to work in proxy mode, which other solutions, such as Palo Alto cannot. There are some features that are better that come at no extra license or subscriptions cost, such as basic SD-WAN. The DLT is useful, other solutions have the same feature too, such as Palo Alto."
- "Fortinet firewalls are a great new generation firewall."
- "Fortinet FortiGate could improve by having better visibility. Palo Alto has better visibility."
What is our primary use case?
Fortinet FortiGate is a firewall used for network security.
How has it helped my organization?
Fortinet FortiGate has helped our organization because it provides us with all features that are existing in all the other firewalls, they have a great firewall. Fortinet firewall gives you all the controls you need to control and inspect your traffic from malicious attacks.
What is most valuable?
The most valuable features of Fortinet FortiGate are the ability to work in proxy mode, which other solutions, such as Palo Alto cannot. There are some features that are better that come at no extra license or subscriptions cost, such as basic SD-WAN. The DLT is useful, other solutions have the same feature too, such as Palo Alto.
Fortinet FortiGate can be deployed in the cloud, they have a full portfolio for security. You are able to integrate other Fortinet solutions together to take full advantage of their security portfolio.
The Fortinet FortiGate documentation library and full resources can be reached easily. You can search and find a solution to a problem you might have. Additionally, the overall solution is highly user-friendly.
What needs improvement?
Fortinet FortiGate could improve by having better visibility. Palo Alto has better visibility.
When using Fortinet FortiGate you sometimes have to use the CLI to do some configurations which can be sometimes more difficult than using a GUI that other solutions can use, such as Palo Alto.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using Fortinet FortiGate for approximately 40 years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
The stability is very good in Fortinet FortiGate. If there are bugs or problems the issues are fixed quite quickly with updates. Palo Alto has a similar level of stability, they support their appliance from updates to the OS.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
Fortinet FortiGate has good scalability. You can deploy it in multiple areas and in multiple deployment modes such as firewall, inter-firewall, or core firewall. Fortinet FortiGate has appliances on multiple series that have different performances. You can choose multiple areas or multiple sites.
How are customer service and support?
I have not used the support from Fortinet FortiGate. I have solved the issues I have had from using my own experience.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
I have used Palo Alto previously.
When comparing Fortinet FortiGate and Palo Alto, they are equivalent to each other. However, Palo Alto is the Gartner Magic Quadrant leader and is easy to deploy. It would be difficult to describe the advantages or disadvantages because they are very similar.
How was the initial setup?
Fortinet FortiGate has simple ways some of the features can be configured, such as VPN and routing protocols. You need additional effort to do it using Palo Alto. Palo Alto has a more detailed required configuration and this is why extra effort is needed.
I would rate the implementation of Fortinet FortiGate a five out of five.
The process of implementation is easy.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
The price of Fortinet FortiGate can be better than others solutions because Fortinet sometimes helps you with the prices. They help the customers buy the solution by providing them a discounted price for good technology to protect their environment from multiple exploitations and network attacks.
Fortinet FortiGate as a less expensive solution than Palo Alto.
I would rate the price of Fortinet FortiGate a four out of five.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
I have evaluated other firewall solutions.
What other advice do I have?
Fortinet firewalls are a great new generation firewall. Since we are in these pandemic times with the increasing number of remote workers, you need one solution to protect against the additional breaches on a day-to-day basis. This means you need a great SD-WAN solution. Fortinet FortiGate helps by preventing these attacks because it is a secure solution and you have full visibility of the scalability of the traffic. The solution takes the appropriate actions paths based on the FLAs
Fortinet FortiGate is an excellent choice for you to implement as an SD-WAN solution.
I rate Fortinet FortiGate a nine out of ten.
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
IT director at a wholesaler/distributor with 10,001+ employees
Works very well as a perimeter firewall, comes with many useful features, and is easy to manage
Pros and Cons
- "It is easy to manage, and it doesn't need much knowledge from the team. It is a stable device, and there are many features that are included out of the box."
- "There are some tiny bugs that sometimes affect the operations. In the past revision of it, there was a bug. Because of the bug, we had to downgrade the version. It happened only with the last revision."
- "There are some tiny bugs that sometimes affect the operations."
What is our primary use case?
We are using FortiGate as a perimeter firewall.
What is most valuable?
It is our perimeter firewall. URL filtering, IPS, and antivirus features are most valuable.
It is easy to manage, and it doesn't need much knowledge from the team. It is a stable device, and there are many features that are included out of the box.
What needs improvement?
Their support can be improved in terms of the response time and the quality of support.
There are some tiny bugs that sometimes affect the operations. In the past revision of it, there was a bug. Because of the bug, we had to downgrade the version. It happened only with the last revision.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using this solution for two years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
It has been very stable over the past two years.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
I have no problem with scalability. When I need to add any device, I just find and add it to the network. I have no issue with the count of devices. I can buy a license and add whatever devices I need to add. Currently, I have no issue with the scalability of this firewall, but if I reach the maximum limit, I need to exchange the box or just add licenses. We currently have about 1,000 users.
How are customer service and support?
I have contacted them many times. My experience with them was good, but their support can be improved overall. I would rate them a three out of five.
How was the initial setup?
It was very simple.
What about the implementation team?
There was a partner supporting us. Our experience with them was very good. I would rate its setup experience a four out of five.
For maintenance, we currently have a team of two people, but it may be extended to three or four.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
It has been two years. I don't remember the actual price, but it was affordable.
We buy the boxes and then use the license for three years.
What other advice do I have?
I would recommend this product. It is a very good product to be used as a perimeter firewall.
I would rate it an eight out of 10.
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
Represents a really scalable way of delivering perimeter network security and is a solid proposition for the mid-market
Pros and Cons
- "Fortigate represents a really scalable way of delivering perimeter network security, some level of layer 7 security, WAF, and also a way to create a meshed ADVPN solution."
- "Usually, we sell the bundle with the UTM or threat management piece with IPS, IDS. Other providers, such as Palo Alto, are ahead in terms of safe functionality. So, for me, delivering truly safe service is probably something that still needs to be improved."
What is our primary use case?
We use Fortigate, and we have a relationship with Fortinet. We are working with the Fortigate 100F firewall. It is mainly for firewalling, but we would also use them for network demarcation as a DHCP or NAT router. We're also working with our Fortinet account manager to try and push further forward using an SD-WAN controller.
In terms of deployment, it comes through to the build lab. We configure it and then ship it to our customers. We are reviewing how to obviously do zero hands with FortiCloud, but what we've done so far has been conventional configuration and shipping.
What is most valuable?
Fortigate represents a really scalable way of delivering perimeter network security, some level of layer 7 security, WAF, and also a way to create a meshed ADVPN solution.
What needs improvement?
Usually, we sell the bundle with the UTM or threat management piece with IPS, IDS. Other providers, such as Palo Alto, are ahead in terms of safe functionality. So, for me, delivering truly safe service is probably something that still needs to be improved.
Anything they can bring around safe service would be brilliant. At the end of the day, when we talk to customers about deploying, split tunneling, and looking at endpoint security, remote access or safe type of features would be useful.
For how long have I used the solution?
I've been selling Fortinet technologies for over 10 years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
It is stable.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
It is scalable. It is quite straightforward. Moving from, for instance, legacy 200D to 100F has proved not to be an issue. It is quite straightforward.
How are customer service and support?
I am not a hundred percent sure. Our third-line guys deal with them quite a lot. In terms of escalation, for example, when one of my customers had a query about secure authentication on the portal, it has taken some time to get feedback from the vendor or the manufacturer. So, I am unsure. I've not had a great experience, but I can't really answer that one properly.
How was the initial setup?
It is reasonably straightforward if you've got the management portal in terms of FortiCloud. With that, migrating from one firewall, as it reaches the end of support, to an upgraded firewall is fairly intuitive. You should be able to easily reverse out a script and configuration and apply that to the new firewall, following proper governance as a managed service.
We're a managed service provider, so we would probably put two to three PS engineer days to follow the appropriate protocol. From a lead time perspective, a new high availability firewall deployment should not take more than 10 working days from the config test, deployment, and failover test perspective.
What other advice do I have?
If you are a mid-market business, Fortigate presents a solid proposition for the mid-market. If you are getting to enterprise-level, for me, Palo Alto is still a more viable product when you get up to what I call financial services, enterprise-level service customers.
I would rate it an eight out of 10 for its ease of deployment and its ubiquitous approach to network security.
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
Founder at Digivalue
Fits the customer requirements very well, comes with good support, and is very stable
Pros and Cons
- "It is useful for protecting and segregating the internal networks from the internet. Most of our customers also use the FortiGate client to connect to their offices by using the VPN client, and of course, they usually activate the antivirus, deep inspection, and intrusion prevention services. They are also using it for web filtering and implementing various policies dealing with forwardings, NAT, etc."
- "It is a fantastic product, it fits the customer requirements very well, and the vendor is great."
- "A sandbox would be good in order to be able to inspect the emails containing spam and be able to validate the emails that contain malware, prior to delivering to the customer."
What is our primary use case?
We manage FortiGate firewalls for our customers. We are working with 100F, 100D, and 60D.
All our FortiGates are installed on-premises, but we can manage our customers' firewalls remotely.
What is most valuable?
It is useful for protecting and segregating the internal networks from the internet. Most of our customers also use the FortiGate client to connect to their offices by using the VPN client, and of course, they usually activate the antivirus, deep inspection, and intrusion prevention services. They are also using it for web filtering and implementing various policies dealing with forwardings, NAT, etc.
What needs improvement?
A sandbox would be good in order to be able to inspect the emails containing spam and be able to validate the emails that contain malware, prior to delivering to the customer.
Its initial setup could be simpler.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using this solution for about five years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
Its stability is great.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
We have not had the necessary size to experience extendability.
How are customer service and support?
They supported us in many of our projects when we needed the expertise to configure the devices properly according to the customer's specifications.
How was the initial setup?
It could be simpler. Sometimes, it is very difficult. Policies tend to mix up sometimes, and it can be difficult to have clear policies for one particular thing.
What other advice do I have?
We recommend this product to customers with up to 200 or 250 people. This size is considered large by Greek standards. If a customer is located in one single building or two or three buildings, and they do not have a complicated architectural infrastructure, this product is ideal for them. It is not recommended for customers with a complex infrastructure and a lot of buildings.
I would rate it a nine out of 10. It is a fantastic product. It fits the customer requirements very well, and the vendor is great. We are very pleased with it.
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.
Assistant Manager - Network & Security at a financial services firm with 5,001-10,000 employees
Simple initial setup, mature features, and responsive support
Pros and Cons
- "The most valuable features of Fortinet FortiGate are it is one of the most mature firewalls in the UTM bundle."
- "Fortinet FortiGate could improve by adding enhancements to FortiMail, FortiSOAR, and FortiDeceptor."
- "Overall it is not scalable."
What is our primary use case?
Fortinet FortiGate is used to secure internet gateways.
What is most valuable?
The most valuable features of Fortinet FortiGate are it is one of the most mature firewalls in the UTM bundle.
What needs improvement?
Fortinet FortiGate could improve by adding enhancements to FortiMail, FortiSOAR, and FortiDeceptor.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using Fortinet FortiGate for approximately seven years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
Fortinet FortiGate is a stable solutions. Other solutions, such as Palo Alto, Cisco, and Forcepoint are less stable.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
For scalability, you must define your needs before implementing Fortinet FortiGate. You must know specifications, such as throughput, the number of sessions, and the SSL. Overall it is not scalable.
How are customer service and support?
We had some simple questions for the support and they were able to respond within a few hours. I was satisfied.
I rate the support from Fortinet FortiGate a four out of five.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup is extremely simple. Customers that have never used it can manage it with ease after a few days.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
Fortinet FortiGate gives you most of the features in one license.
The activation of the license and support could improve. When I order Fortinet products, I have one year to activate my license and support. If this year passed without activating this license and support, I will lose it. If I ordered three years, I will lose all of the years. I must reorder them again, which is not reasonable. For example, if I have to activate my license in six months but didn't activate it during the six months, they should activate automatically. They should not remove the license. They should activate automatically after the grace period.
What other advice do I have?
I rate Fortinet FortiGate an eight out of ten.
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
Information Technology Solutions Manager at UBG
Beneficial user interface, provides multiple engines, and high availability
Pros and Cons
- "The most useful functionality of Fortinet FortiGate is the user interface, multiple engines, and their cloud with the latest integrations, and additionally, the Security Fabric tool is very good."
- "Fortinet FortiGate can improve by integrating the web application firewall and the DDoS protection part of the solution. Having a WAF feature, web application firewall, and proxy together would be a good benefit."
What is our primary use case?
Fortinet FortiGate can be deployed on the cloud, hybrid, and on-premise. We use a combination of private and hybrid for the deployment.
We are using Fortinet FortiGate for parameter security, network isolation, and web filtering.
What is most valuable?
The most useful functionality of Fortinet FortiGate is the user interface, multiple engines, and their cloud with the latest integrations. Additionally, the Security Fabric tool is very good.
What needs improvement?
Fortinet FortiGate can improve by integrating the web application firewall and the DDoS protection part of the solution. Having a WAF feature, web application firewall, and proxy together would be a good benefit.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using Fortinet FortiGate for approximately five years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
Fortinet FortiGate is highly stable. It has high availability.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
The scalability of Fortinet FortiGate is very good.
We have customers with 1,000 users using this solution and others with 100.
Engineers use this solution and all the end-users are connected to it. The whole organization is using the solution.
How are customer service and support?
The technical support is very helpful. We had a very good experience with them.
How was the initial setup?
The initial installation is straightforward, and the full process takes one to two days.
What about the implementation team?
We have our own team that does the implementation of the solution.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
The support subscription for the solution is annual. You are paying for support and there are two levels of support, professional and advanced.
What other advice do I have?
I rate Fortinet FortiGate a nine out of ten.
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
Senior Manager (Engineering Department) at a comms service provider with 10,001+ employees
Has UTM capabilities, integrates well with other Fortinet solutions, and is quite easy to deploy
Pros and Cons
- "The UTM feature is quite good. FortiAP is easy to deploy because both Fortigate and FortiAP are under the same brand. Otherwise, you need to do more work on the configuration."
- "The price-performance ratio is quite high for FortiGate."
- "Price, of course, can always be more competitive or better."
What is our primary use case?
We have been using it for our internal infrastructure, but mainly, we are providing it as a service to our customers.
In one of the use cases, a customer is using FortiGate, and they also use FortiAP. To collect the usage and monitor the traffic, they use FortiAnalyzer. So, they have FortiGate, FortiAP, and FortiAnalyzer. It is not a very big deployment. It is a midsized company with less than 50 people.
What is most valuable?
The UTM feature is quite good. FortiAP is easy to deploy because both Fortigate and FortiAP are under the same brand. Otherwise, you need to do more work on the configuration.
What needs improvement?
Price, of course, can always be more competitive or better.
If a customer has a requirement for firewall, security, WiFi, and analytics, it is good if we can propose a solution from the same vendor, but we have found that no distributor in Hong Kong has sufficient knowledge to deploy Network Access Control (NAC) solutions. They have a wide range of products, but apart from the popular ones, such as a firewall or an AP, there is not sufficient support here in Hong Kong for NAC solutions.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using this solution for more than 10 years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
It is reasonably stable.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
Our customers are mainly small to medium businesses. I really didn't have a chance to scale it up. We have a customer with two subsidiaries on the same floor. They are changing from traditional features to SD-WAN features. Based on what I heard from my colleagues, migration work is quite smooth, and there are no big issues.
How are customer service and support?
I'm not doing hands-on work for the projects, but from my colleagues, I haven't heard of any delay or incompetency in support.
How was the initial setup?
It is quite easy. The duration depends on the complexity. If you are using a firewall from one brand and WiFi from another brand, then you probably would need more time to do the setup. Overall, the saving is around 25% in terms of labor hours.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
Their licensing costs are annual. The UTM feature license along with their support is called FortiCare. We include that as a part of the annual maintenance cost. Palo Alto or Juniper also have an annual subscription charge for UTM.
Price, of course, can always be more competitive, but it is not the most expensive product. The price-performance ratio is quite high for FortiGate.
What other advice do I have?
I would recommend this solution to others as well as to our existing customers who are not using FortiGate. I would rate it an eight out of 10.
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
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Updated: August 2026
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