We have a Cisco ASA firewall. We have it at the border of the network in front of the internet. With FortiGate, we put it in the middle, then it works behind our server farm to protect our server farm from attacks, from viruses.
Network Engineer at PTC (Public Telecomuncation Corporation)
A string firewall that is easy to learn and simple to set up
Pros and Cons
- "The initial setup is very easy."
- "There has been no attack on our servers after we configured the FortiGate IPS."
- "While the security is good, we'd always prefer if it was even better to ensure protection."
- "While the security is good, we'd always prefer if it was even better to ensure protection."
What is our primary use case?
What is most valuable?
It is a strong firewall.
The product offers many features.
There has been no attack on our servers after we configured the FortiGate IPS. No more attacks are coming. We are very secure.
The initial setup is very easy.
I have found the solution to be stable.
It's possible to scale the solution.
What needs improvement?
So far, everything has been good for us. We haven't had any issues.
While the security is good, we'd always prefer if it was even better to ensure protection.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have three years of experience with the solution.
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Fortinet FortiGate
May 2026
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What do I think about the stability of the solution?
It is a very stable product. There are no bugs or glitches. It doesn't crash or freeze. It's reliable.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
The solution can scale well.
We have five engineers using the solution.
A lot of medium and even small companies use the solution in our country.
I'd rate the solution eight out of ten.
How are customer service and support?
If we run into issues, we can contact support. They are helpful and responsive.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
We used Cisco ASA IPS as our old IPS. It was old, and we needed a newer product. We also liked the FortiGate support of the UTM feature. It allows for the inspection of Layer 7 in a more effective way than Cisco ASA. It is advanced. FortiGate is very, very advanced.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup is very simple and straightforward. It is not a complex process.
The deployment is quick. It only takes a couple of minutes.
We have two people that can handle any maintenance tasks.
What about the implementation team?
We search for details and watch videos and are able to handle the process by ourselves. It's a solution that's easy to learn.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
We bought the solution three years ago, and it came with five days of training from the local company. It cost us around $73,000 for three years.
It's expensive, however, compared to Cisco, it's not too expensive.
What other advice do I have?
I'm an end-user.
We are using the latest version of the solution.
I'd recommend the product to others.
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 Analyst at a healthcare company with 10,001+ employees
An effective checkpoint for intercepting and blocking unwanted traffic
Pros and Cons
- "The solution effectively blocks unwanted traffic."
- "Our company uses the solution to prevent traffic that is not supposed to be traveling through our firewalls, and when we find log issues, we easily fine tune the IPS to block that traffic so it cannot penetrate our environment."
- "It would be helpful to have a better tool for migrating all policy rules using an automatic script."
- "It would be helpful to have a better tool for migrating all policy rules using an automatic script."
What is our primary use case?
Our company uses the solution to prevent traffic that is not supposed to be traveling through our firewalls. When we find log issues, we easily fine tune the IPS to block that traffic so it cannot penetrate our environment.
We have 300 users in a hospital-to-hospital environment where traffic is transmitted through the firewall and intercepted by the IPS for monitoring.
What is most valuable?
The solution effectively blocks unwanted traffic.
What needs improvement?
It would be helpful to have a better tool for migrating all policy rules using an automatic script. The current tool does not place entire configurations in their desired locations. It takes time to manually configure for compatibility across different platforms or vendors.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using the solution for five years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
The solution is very stable.
How are customer service and support?
I have not needed technical support.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
We migrated from Cisco to the solution.
How was the initial setup?
The setup is simple and straightforward. Knowledge-based documents are available and useful for setups.
What about the implementation team?
We implemented the solution in-house. We migrated from Cisco to the solution so it was more of a deployment situation.
We had some deployment challenges but managed to overcome them. It took an entire day to get the environment running because we could not use the scripting tool for naturals so had to do them manually.
There is no ongoing maintenance because the solution is not a device, but rather a software blade provided as a checkpoint within FortiGate.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
The pricing is based on a licensing model for each IPS in your environment. The solution is included as part of the IPS license and automatically updates to the latest version when firewalls are updated. We are currently on a three-year licensing model.
What other advice do I have?
The solution is a good tool to have in place. Most vendors provide a software blade with their firewalls but it is disabled because it uses too much CP or memory. It is important to enable the tool every time to prevent environments from being intruded by attackers or threats.
I rate the solution 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.
Buyer's Guide
Fortinet FortiGate
May 2026
Learn what your peers think about Fortinet FortiGate. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: May 2026.
893,311 professionals have used our research since 2012.
Business Application Head at Alimtiaz Investment Group
Useful dashboard, centralized viability, and speedy support
Pros and Cons
- "The most valuable features of Fortinet FortiGate IPS are the dashboard and reporting which give us very good visibility."
- "The most valuable features of Fortinet FortiGate IPS are the dashboard and reporting which give us very good visibility."
- "Fortinet FortiGate IPS could improve the VPN. There are times it is slow."
- "Fortinet FortiGate IPS could improve the VPN. There are times it is slow."
What is our primary use case?
We own some real estate and we're renting apartments for another company, and we provide them with services. For example, we provide internet and security. We are managing the tenant through the firewall and they have been performing very well from our side.
How has it helped my organization?
This solution is a security gateway for our environment. URL filtering and other features have helped the way our organization functions.
What is most valuable?
The most valuable features of Fortinet FortiGate IPS are the dashboard and reporting which give us very good visibility.
What needs improvement?
Fortinet FortiGate IPS could improve the VPN. There are times it is slow.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using Fortinet FortiGate IPS for approximately three years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
Fortinet FortiGate IPS are highly stable.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
The scalability of Fortinet FortiGate IPS is good.
This solution is a firewall and anybody connected to the internet here, passes through the gateway. We have approximately 50 to 60 people in the building using the solution. We plan to increase the usage of the solution.
How are customer service and support?
The support from Fortinet FortiGate IPS is very responsive, and quick.
I rate the support from Fortinet FortiGate IPS a five out of five.
How would you rate customer service and support?
Positive
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
I have previously used Check Point and Sophos.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup of Fortinet FortiGate IPS is straightforward. The whole process took approximately one day.
What about the implementation team?
We use an implementor for the implementation of Fortinet FortiGate IPS.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
There is only a standard license cost to use the solution.
What other advice do I have?
We only need one administrator for the maintenance of the solution.
I rate Fortinet FortiGate IPS 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 Cyber Security Engineer at a tech services company with 11-50 employees
User-friendly setup, beneficial APIs, and reliable
Pros and Cons
- "The most valuable features of Fortinet FortiGate are the APIs. They are the most widely known."
- "The customers have seen an ROI from using Fortinet FortiGate and they are satisfied with the solution."
- "The support from Fortinet FortiGate could improve. They are not easily accessible when we need them. They could improve their response time."
- "The support from Fortinet FortiGate could improve. They are not easily accessible when we need them."
What is our primary use case?
Fortinet FortiGate is used as a firewall.
What is most valuable?
The most valuable features of Fortinet FortiGate are the APIs. They are the most widely known.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using Fortinet FortiGate for approximately four years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
I rate the stability of Fortinet FortiGate a five out of five.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
I rate the scalability of Fortinet FortiGate a five out of five.
All sizes of organizations can use this solution. All levels of a company are using this solution.
How are customer service and support?
The support from Fortinet FortiGate could improve. They are not easily accessible when we need them. They could improve their response time.
I rate the support from Fortinet FortiGate a three out of five.
How would you rate customer service and support?
Neutral
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup of Fortinet FortiGate is very simple and user-friendly. The configuration for the solution is easy. The time it takes for the deployment depends on the environment of the company. It can take a week, but typically it takes three to four days.
What about the implementation team?
We have more than six certified engineers in our company that can do the deployment of the solution.
What was our ROI?
The customers have seen an ROI from using Fortinet FortiGate. They are satisfied with the solution.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
The price of Fortinet FortiGate is affordable. Most of our customers are on a three-year license to use the solution. All the features and support are included in the price.
I rate the price of Fortinet FortiGate a five out of five.
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
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer. Partner
IT Security Manager at a tech services company with 10,001+ employees
Easy to use, beneficial security reports, and useful blocking
Pros and Cons
- "Fortinet FortiGate's most valuable features are the UTM package which provides internet blocking restrictions and load balancing. Additionally, the solution is easy to use and the security reporting is good. The security fabric which they have launched Fortinet FortiGate IPS, it's very good in terms of giving details."
- "Fortinet FortiGate's most valuable features are the UTM package which provides internet blocking restrictions and load balancing, additionally, the solution is easy to use and the security reporting is good, and the security fabric which they have launched Fortinet FortiGate IPS is very good in terms of giving details."
- "Fortinet FortiGate can improve performance. There was a huge challenge in terms of CPU and memory where the IPS engine would keep triggering. There were random spikes of overutilization in the CPU and memory resources. They have to work on CPU and memory stability considering these IPS engines. A few versions were very unstable."
- "Fortinet FortiGate can improve performance. There was a huge challenge in terms of CPU and memory where the IPS engine would keep triggering."
What is our primary use case?
Fortinet FortiGate is used as an inline intrusion prevention tool to detect and scan ongoing connections and data. It will take action, either by blocking or intimating in real-time.
What is most valuable?
Fortinet FortiGate's most valuable features are the UTM package which provides internet blocking restrictions and load balancing. Additionally, the solution is easy to use and the security reporting is good. The security fabric which they have launched Fortinet FortiGate IPS, it's very good in terms of giving details.
What needs improvement?
Fortinet FortiGate can improve performance. There was a huge challenge in terms of CPU and memory where the IPS engine would keep triggering. There were random spikes of overutilization in the CPU and memory resources. They have to work on CPU and memory stability considering these IPS engines. A few versions were very unstable.
The current Fortinet FortiGate IPS package has only standard options. If they could work around optimizing those packages for different needs it would be better. There might be a media company, or banking organization, which needs a different set of signatures and different bundles on priority. If they could segregate that in terms of organization and needs, or at least institutional-wise segregation, that could be great.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have used Fortinet FortiGate within the past 12 months.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
Fortinet FortiGate could improve the stability, we used different versions and they were unstable over time which caused an overall device error.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
The scalability of Fortinet FortiGate is a challenge. However, the cloud version is easy.
How are customer service and support?
I have had to use the support a number of times when we had overutilization of resources.
I rate the support from Fortinet FortiGate a six out of ten.
How would you rate customer service and support?
Neutral
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup of Fortinet FortiGate was easy. This is a common feature across Fortinet devices.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
There is a license required to use Fortinet FortiGate with all the features. It has to be updated with the threats on an ongoing basis for the signatures to prevent threats and a license is needed to receive those security updates.
The price of the solution is worth it for the features.
What other advice do I have?
My advice to others would be to have Fortinet FortiGate optimized. It is a good tool to be switched on and used in a live production environment. It is important to optimize rather than directly use the pro package, the full IPS package provided by the vendor.
Fine-tuning the solution according to the organization's needs will help in optimizing the utilization of CPU and memory because the whole bundle has too many features which might not be needed for the organization. Enabling the solutions and running it on the first default mode and then optimizing it using the customized package, would help a lot in stabilizing the device.
I rate Fortinet FortiGate an eight 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
ICT Professional at a tech services company with 51-200 employees
Fully integrates with our infrastructure appliances, offering useful application control capabilities
Pros and Cons
- "The most useful feature of FortiGate IPS for me is Application Control."
- "The support is good because, although the response time for tickets may occasionally take some time, at the end of the day they have always solved the issue at hand."
- "FortGate's IPS reporting could be made better by giving more details regarding the source and destination of network traffic when it comes to the overview section. This would allow me to more easily follow the flow of traffic based on IP addresses, without having to integrate the IPS with other products that perform more sophisticated traffic analysis."
- "FortGate's IPS reporting could be made better by giving more details regarding the source and destination of network traffic when it comes to the overview section."
What is our primary use case?
Our infrastructure includes both FortiGate (81E series) and Cisco Meraki appliances, and we have fully integrated FortiGate IPS with these devices. Essentially, whenever I secure the WAN and LAN and enhance them with security profiles, I will use the IPS's Web Filtering and Application Control features.
What is most valuable?
The most useful feature of FortiGate IPS for me is Application Control.
What needs improvement?
FortGate's IPS reporting could be made better by giving more details regarding the source and destination of network traffic when it comes to the overview section. This would allow me to more easily follow the flow of traffic based on IP addresses, without having to integrate the IPS with other products that perform more sophisticated traffic analysis.
Another improvement, that may only tangentially relate to the IPS, would be to include more functionality and details regarding SD-WAN (such as the ISDB), in order to make it more secure.
For how long have I used the solution?
I've been using Fortinet FortiGate IPS for about seven years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
The stability is fine, but it would be even better if we were to deploy another appliance for higher availability of access, such that there is no downtime at all.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
The scalability of the IPS fits my current needs well. If we were to take on more users, however, we would likely have to change both our appliance and the license.
How are customer service and support?
The support is good because, although the response time for tickets may occasionally take some time, at the end of the day they have always solved the issue at hand. What is also nice is that they can connect with you remotely and help support you at any point.
How would you rate customer service and support?
Positive
How was the initial setup?
The setup was easy for me because I deploy appliances off all kinds and sizes, large and small. I would give the setup a 4/5 in terms of ease.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
I pay €1,200 per year for the license along with Fortinet's 81E firewall appliance. I would rate this pricing as 3/5 stars, and I believe the price is reasonably similar to its competitors in the market, being somewhere in the middle.
What other advice do I have?
Given my experience and the fact that FortiGate are a leader in the market, I would rate FortiGate IPS a nine out of ten.
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
Reliable, great pricing, and capable of expanding
Pros and Cons
- "The pricing on offer is excellent."
- "The price is pretty reasonable; it's not like Cisco or Palo Alto, which are more expensive."
- "It could always be more secure."
- "It takes a long time to install the solution."
What is our primary use case?
This is a Secure Web Gateway that protects you against various web attacks. It's used mainly for security purposes.
What is most valuable?
The solution is stable. It's reliable.
It can scale.
The pricing on offer is excellent.
What needs improvement?
It takes a long time to install the solution.
It could always be more secure.
For how long have I used the solution?
I've been using the solution for three or four years. I've used it for a while at this point.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
The solution is stable. There are no bugs or glitches and it doesn't crash or freeze. Its performance has been good.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
The scalability is okay. It can expand well.
We have 200 people using the solution. We do have plans to continue to increase usage.
How are customer service and support?
I've never reached out to techncial support. I can't speak to their abilities.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
I also have experience with Cisco and Palo Alto. About five years ago, we were using Cisco. We changed due to the better pricing.
How was the initial setup?
I don't directly deal with the deployment. Someone else handles that process.
My understanding is the implementation takes a long time.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
The price is pretty reasonable. It's not like Cisco or Palo Alto, which are more expensive.
I'd rate the cost, in terms of affordability, a five out of five.
What other advice do I have?
I'm using the latest version of the solution.
I'd rate the solution seven out of ten. I'd likely recommend the solution to others.
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.
Technology Manager at Tech Mahindra Limited
Expandable and reliable with good local support
Pros and Cons
- "The solution can scale."
- "Overall, it’s a good solution, and I would recommend it to others."
- "The interface could be better."
- "The interface could be better."
What is our primary use case?
We use the solution for security reasons. It's our wall between the inside to outside. That's why we are using it. We use it for VPNs also. People who work outside of the office use the VPN through the firewall, for example.
What is most valuable?
The solution is quite stable.
The solution can scale.
We have good local support.
What needs improvement?
The interface could be better.
We would like the initial setup to be a bit easier.
It isn’t missing any features. We’re pretty happy with it.
For how long have I used the solution?
I’ve been using the solution for two years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
It’s very stable. There are no bugs or glitches. It doesn’t crash or freeze. It’s reliable.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
While the solution is scalable, we don’t need to scale it for our operations.
We have about 80 people on the solution right now.
How are customer service and support?
We have a local company that assists us with support when we need it. They are pretty good.
How was the initial setup?
The solution is pretty easy to set up. However, you do need some previous knowledge. It helps if you understand the environment. It’s not hard per se, however, it can be a bit tricky. We’d like it if it was a bit easier.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
I can’t speak of how much the cost of the license it. I don’t have any details in relation to the pricing.
What other advice do I have?
I am a customer and end-user.
I’m not sure which version of the solution we’re using.
It is a good solution. I’d recommend it to others.
Overall, it’s a good solution, and I would recommend it to others.
I would rate the solution 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
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Updated: May 2026
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