FortiGate is a great solution, although initially, it faced challenges in the Brazilian market due to lower brand recognition than Cisco. However, explaining and demonstrating its product format and offerings has proven easy. The cost-effectiveness and better features of FortiGate have made some clients skeptical. We set up a trial period, and they eventually opted for it. Many clients were convinced it was great after experiencing the solution's capabilities firsthand.
Owner at VM7 TECHFABER
A solution with seamless integration and excellent security features
Pros and Cons
- "FortiGate is a great solution, although initially, it faced challenges in the Brazilian market due to lower brand recognition than Cisco. However, explaining and demonstrating its product format and offerings has proven easy. The cost-effectiveness and better features of FortiGate have made some clients skeptical. We set up a trial period, and they eventually opted for it. Many clients were convinced it was great after experiencing the solution's capabilities firsthand."
- "One area of improvement I've noticed is the lack of built-in monitoring capabilities in the firewall. Currently, we rely on third-party solutions for monitoring purposes. However, I believe the firewall itself has the potential to do a better job in this aspect. Another aspect of Fortinet that concerns me is related to redundancy. We have a setup with two firewalls working in parallel, which requires a highly adaptable configuration. However, it feels unfair that clients need to purchase two licenses, especially when one of the firewalls serves as a backup. We have noticed that other manufacturers have different policies on this matter."
How has it helped my organization?
What is most valuable?
I believe the package offered by FortiGate provides great value for the solution. It integrates well, allowing us to use Wi-Fi solutions, switches, and firewalls with a centralized management portal. The security it provides is great and one of the best in the market.
What needs improvement?
One area of improvement I've noticed is the lack of built-in monitoring capabilities in the firewall. Currently, we rely on third-party solutions for monitoring purposes. However, I believe the firewall itself has the potential to do a better job in this aspect.
Another aspect of Fortinet that concerns me is related to redundancy. We have a setup with two firewalls working in parallel, which requires a highly adaptable configuration. However, it feels unfair that clients need to purchase two licenses, especially when one of the firewalls serves as a backup. We have noticed that other manufacturers have different policies on this matter.
For how long have I used the solution?
We have been using the solution for the past 20 years.
Buyer's Guide
Fortinet FortiGate
March 2026
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What do I think about the stability of the solution?
I rate the stability of the solution as a nine out of ten.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
I rate the scalability of the solution as a seven out of ten.
How are customer service and support?
We have encountered some issues with the support. Although it is included in the solution, the support could be faster.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup was straightforward.
What was our ROI?
There has been a return on investment.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
When comparing this solution to others, I would rate it a ten out of ten in terms of pricing. However, the issue of requiring a separate license for redundancy is a drawback, and I would rate it a nine out of ten.
What other advice do I have?
The advice I can offer is to compare the entire solution with its competitors. While certain narrow aspects might show some glitches and areas for improvement, when viewed completely, it becomes evident that Fortinet is a great solution. Overall, I would rate the solution as 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.
Core Network Team Lead at Green Enterprise Solutions (Pty) Ltd
A user-friendly and easy-to-install product that has a seamless performance
Pros and Cons
- "The product is user-friendly and not complex."
- "The solution must improve the support provided for customers around the globe, considering the time differences in different places."
What is our primary use case?
Our clients use the solution to ensure their environment is secured on all the layers. The application layer all the way to the networking. That's one of the main reasons they use the product in their environment.
What is most valuable?
It's a seamless product, and it's not buggy. The updates we receive from FortiGate are one of the most important features. The product is user-friendly and not complex.
What needs improvement?
The solution must improve the support provided for customers around the globe, considering the time differences in different places. The product could add some functionalities and features provided by its competitors to stay ahead in the market.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using the solution for two years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
The product is stable. We haven't had issues so far. I rate the stability a nine out of ten.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
The solution is scalable in most cases. It all depends on the customer's requirements. We haven't yet come across a situation whereby scaling is not possible. Our clients are small, medium, and enterprise businesses. Currently, one of our customers is not able to reach the specific level of scalability that they require so far. I rate the scalability an eight out of ten.
How are customer service and support?
The support is great. However, support needs to improve constantly. Even though they are good, they should try to stay ahead of the competitors.
How would you rate customer service and support?
Positive
How was the initial setup?
The solution is easy to install. The ease of setup depends upon the customer’s requirements. I rate the ease of setup a ten out of ten.
What about the implementation team?
The time to deploy the product depends on the clients’ requirements because we have to work hand in hand with the service provider. If we have to terminate a link on the firewall and everything from the networking perspective is all in place, it might just take a couple of minutes to deploy.
We need just need one to three engineers to deploy the solution. It depends on the magnitude of the client. The solution requires maintenance. More than three people are needed to maintain the product.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
The product is a little bit expensive. The certifications cost $400. Other vendors provide it for an average of $200 to $300. The product has an annual licensing fee. Additional costs depend on the user's requirements.
What other advice do I have?
People looking to use the product must ensure they have enough engineers who know how to work with it. Overall, I rate the solution a ten 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
Buyer's Guide
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.
884,976 professionals have used our research since 2012.
Network Security Executive at a media company with 1,001-5,000 employees
Competitively priced solution with excellent threat intelligence
Pros and Cons
- "Fortigate's most valuable feature is that it doesn't need a push policy when writing rules."
- "Fortigate's hardware capacities could be improved."
How has it helped my organization?
Fortigate's threat intelligence service has improved how our organization functions.
What is most valuable?
Fortigate's most valuable feature is that it doesn't need a push policy when writing rules.
What needs improvement?
Fortigate's hardware capacities could be improved. In the next release, Fortigate should include SSL decryption.
For how long have I used the solution?
I've been using FortiGate for almost seven years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
Fortigate's stability is good.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup was easy and took around half a day.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
Fortigate's pricing is competitive.
What other advice do I have?
I would give Fortigate a rating of eight out of ten.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
Hybrid Cloud
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.
Support Engineer at a manufacturing company with 51-200 employees
Good web interface, great functionality, and has helpful support
Pros and Cons
- "You have access to CLI in case you have no web access."
- "The learning curve is a bit higher."
What is our primary use case?
This is an appliance. It is hardware. It's for intrusion detection mainly. It can do routing and switching yet focuses mainly on detection and prevention.
What is most valuable?
The most valuable features are the fact that one device can do multiple tasks, such as both routing and firewalling.
It had a good web interface.
You have access to CLI in case you have no web access.
Technical support has been helpful overall, even though we haven't used them much.
What needs improvement?
It's a bit more complex to configure in comparison to Cisco.
The learning curve is a bit higher.
It's not the least expensive solution on the market.
How are customer service and support?
We've only had a few issues and everything was solved very fast. We are satisfied with the level of support on offer.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
I've also used Cisco. These solutions are not quite the same.
I've also used MicroTik, which is slightly less expensive.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
The pricing is okay. In comparison, MicroTik offers better pricing yet has the same functionality. Therefore, it is a bit more of an expensive option.
What other advice do I have?
I'm a customer. We have the drives in our server room.
I'd rate the product eight out of ten.
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
Senior Manager at ITX360 (Pvt) Ltd
Straightforward deployment, is stable, and scalable
Pros and Cons
- "The solution is user-friendly."
- "To stay ahead of the competition Fortinet FortiGate IPS needs to think about how to adjust pricing."
What is our primary use case?
We use FortiGate to restrict access from internal, external, and some applications from publishing to the internet. This solution helps us achieve our purpose.
What is most valuable?
The solution is user-friendly. Fortinet FortiGate IPS has a feature called SPVen. The solution is easy to configure, the activation is perfect, the tech support is good, and the back-end database is good.
What needs improvement?
Price is a major competitor in the market for solutions. When we compare solutions, it's important to consider the pricing. To stay ahead of the competition Fortinet FortiGate IPS needs to think about how to adjust pricing. Most people prefer to use Apollo setpoint.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using the solution for over eight years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
I give the stability a nine out of ten.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
I give the scalability a nine out of ten.
We have around 500 people including IT engineers and developers using the solution.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
I have previously used Check Point IPS and switched to Fortinet FortiGate IPS because of the cost and because Check Point IPS requires separate licensing.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup is straightforward. We can do the basic steps in as little as 30 minutes. If we need to do more detailed work and fine-tuning, it may take longer. But the basics can be done quickly.
What about the implementation team?
We completed the implementation in-house.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
I give the pricing of the solution a six out of ten.
What other advice do I have?
I give the solution a nine out of ten.
The solution's maintenance can be completed by one person.
I recommend the solution to other users.
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.
CEO at a computer software company with 1-10 employees
Helps us filter intrusions from the internet with good signature-based anomaly detection and zero-day protection features
Pros and Cons
- "We like signature-based anomaly detection and zero-day protection features."
- "Fortinet can add some Machine Learning and AI to improve its accuracy and give it an edge on IPS detection and protection."
What is our primary use case?
We use Fortinet FortiGate IPS to filter intrusions from the internet as the Edge firewall and to protect our server farm.
What is most valuable?
We like signature-based anomaly detection and zero-day protection features. For zero-day protection, we use Cloud Sandboxing, so whenever the zero-day threat occurs, it automatically sends it to its Cloud Sandbox. After getting information from Cloud Sandbox, then the intrusion is defined.
What needs improvement?
Fortinet can add some Machine Learning and AI to improve its accuracy and give it an edge on IPS detection and protection. They have some machine language learning but can still improve using AI.
For how long have I used the solution?
We have been using this solution for almost eight years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
It is stable, as it can be verified from Gartner's report and previously on NSS lab test reports. I rate the stability an eight out of ten.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
It is scalable, and I rate the scalability a seven out of ten.
How are customer service and support?
For level 1 and 2 support, our technical team can handle these cases in-house. But for higher-priority cases, we use Fortinet technical support. They have a technical assistance center in India and escalate to France for complex or higher-priority problems. I rate the technical support in India a six out of ten.
How was the initial setup?
There is a lot of documentation from the vendor side for the setup, which is good, and we have some hands-on experience with the product. So with help from their technical assistance center and their system engineer, the setup is good.
The setup can be done in-house, but we have partners and colleagues with eight years of experience using the product, so we are comfortable with it.
The setup depends on customer requirements and the scope of the work. We rate the setup as difficult because it depends on the variety of servers. The more platforms there are the more signatures or IPS rules that need to be customized. So based on the requirements, we see the full list of servers and full features they want to protect, calculate the expertise level required and what needs to be deployed on the system to set it up. A mid-level consultant can deploy it, which can be completed within two to three days if the customer is clear on their requirements.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
It has a competitive price. I rate the price an eight out of ten compared to other IPS solutions. Fortinet is a bit higher in terms of price.
What other advice do I have?
I rate the solution a seven out of ten.
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer. Partner / Integrator / Reseller
System Engineer at InnovAccer Inc.
Easy to manage with good UI and an easy setup
Pros and Cons
- "It is easy to set up."
- "Whitelisting could be better."
What is our primary use case?
At the moment, we are moving things around.
We were using the solution as a firewall, and for VPN access as well. We could do user creation on it and just allow users access.
What is most valuable?
It's very easy to manage things like the IPs or the URLs we need to whitelist.
In terms of the user, we need to create one or just provide access. We have separate groups, which is useful.
The UI is also very familiar. It makes the solution easy to access and we find it easy to do the things we need to do thanks to the user interface.
It is easy to set up.
What needs improvement?
Whitelisting could be better. We'd like to be able to automate more so we can whitelist in bulk. It would be ideal to have the ability in this tool or to have a tool that could plug in and allow us to do whitelisting in batches.
For how long have I used the solution?
I've been using the solution for more than a year.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
The solution is mature. It's been in the market for a long time. There are no bugs or glitches. The performance is good. It doesn't crash or freeze. It's quite reliable.
How are customer service and support?
I've only used technical support once or twice to deal with a few issues. They were helpful and responsive. Support typically answers very quickly, with results in minutes.
How would you rate customer service and support?
Positive
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
We're in the process of moving to Palo Alto.
How was the initial setup?
The solution is very straightforward to set up. The deployment took a maximum of one week. After that, we had everything up and running.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
I'm not aware of the exact cost involved in relation to licensing.
What other advice do I have?
I'm a customer and end-user.
I've used the solution across two or three companies.
Before choosing this solution, I'd advise users to ensure its capabilities match with the company's needs.
I'd rate the solution eight out of ten. The UI is good, the solution is easy to implement, and it fits in with various environments. It's a good product.
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 does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
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?
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.
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.
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.
How would you rate customer service and support?
Positive
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.
Buyer's Guide
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Updated: March 2026
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