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System & Network Administrator at a tech services company with 11-50 employees
Real User
Scalable and stable tool for securing networks, with good SD-WAN, VPN, and URL filtering functions
Pros and Cons
  • "The stability and scalability of this solution are satisfactory. Its SD-WAN, VPN, and URL filtering features are very useful."
  • "Pricing for it is a bit high. It could be cheaper."

What is our primary use case?

I use Fortinet FortiGate to secure the network.

What is most valuable?

The features I found most valuable in Fortinet FortiGate include their SD-WAN features and their VPN. They are good and very useful. My remote user and I are using them all the time. The URL filter is also good.

For how long have I used the solution?

I started using Fortinet FortiGate five years ago.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

I'm satisfied about the stability of this solution.

Buyer's Guide
Fortinet FortiGate
October 2025
Learn what your peers think about Fortinet FortiGate. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: October 2025.
869,095 professionals have used our research since 2012.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

The scalability of Fortinet FortiGate is good.

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup of this solution wasn't complex at all.

What about the implementation team?

This solution was implemented in-house. I was the one who implemented it.

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

Licensing for Fortinet FortiGate is on a yearly basis. Pricing for it is a bit high. It could be cheaper.

What other advice do I have?

Deployment of Fortinet FortiGate took one to two days, because I needed time to put my existing environment and what we have, and what we intended to do with our network, to convert it into the Fortinet FortiGate system.

We were on another platform which was a concurrent platform and it wasn't a good one, and it was our first time to go on Fortinet FortiGate, so we had an issue and it took me a few days to deploy.

Maintenance of this solution requires two people. The number of users of Fortinet FortiGate in our organization depends on whether it's direct or indirect. If indirect, it will be all the users we have in the organization, but if it's direct, it could be just the administrator. If indirectly, it'll be a hundred users on our actual site, and 2000 to 3000 users on the other site, all done remotely.

I didn't have to contact Fortinet's technical support, so I can't evaluate their level of responsiveness. I was able to make all the configurations I wanted, without needing to contact support. This solution is good for me.

I'm rating Fortinet FortiGate an eight out of ten.

I'm recommending this solution to be deployed for a new user. I'm really happy 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.
PeerSpot user
reviewer1136826 - PeerSpot reviewer
Manager at a financial services firm with 11-50 employees
Real User
Great performance and management features
Pros and Cons
  • "Good performance, stability, and virtual domain ability."
  • "The support system could be improved."

What is our primary use case?

We use this solution as a firewall proxy. I'm the company manager. 

What is most valuable?

Valuable features include the performance, stability, and virtual domain ability as well as the management that it provides.

What needs improvement?

There are some limitations to the solution such as publishing multiple servers with a single IP. I'd also like to see some improvement in the support system. 

For how long have I used the solution?

I've been using this solution for two years. 

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

The solution is stable. 

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

I think the scalability could be improved.

How are customer service and support?

Technical support is a little slow and needs to be improved.

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup is reasonably straightforward. 

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

Compared to other vendors and other firewalls, the Fortinet pricing is reasonable.

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.
PeerSpot user
Buyer's Guide
Fortinet FortiGate
October 2025
Learn what your peers think about Fortinet FortiGate. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: October 2025.
869,095 professionals have used our research since 2012.
reviewer1174008 - PeerSpot reviewer
Security Analyst at a computer software company with 10,001+ employees
Real User
We like the solution's website change feature
Pros and Cons
  • "We like FortiGate's website change feature."
  • "Right now, it's not really scalable, but it's okay for us. However, looking ahead to three years from now, we might have a problem with scalability. We foresee a little risk down the road. The stability is okay for now."

What is our primary use case?

We primarily use FortiGate IPS for security tasks like forwarding, firewalling, attack detection, etc. All of our internet and portal connections are routed through FortiGate IPS. For example, we use it in our entire wireless setup, including the guest wireless and our internal LAN for wireless distribution. All public internet traffic is filtered through Fortinet. 

What is most valuable?

We like FortiGate's website change feature.

For how long have I used the solution?

I've been using FortiGate for about five or six years. 

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

I think it's stable now. Yeah, exactly.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

Right now, it's not really scalable, but it's okay for us. However, looking ahead to three years from now, we might have a problem with scalability. We foresee a little risk down the road. The stability is okay for now. 

Our usage is measured by the number of sessions in FortiGate, and it's divided by zones. In the French market zone, we have around 10,000 users.

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

We also use Juniper in some cases. In some ways, Juniper is more useful because we use this in our switch core for the internal LAN, so it's maybe more critical. Our sector depends more on Juniper than FortiGate. Three years from now, we might completely replace Juniper with FortiGate.

How was the initial setup?

It is not difficult to set up FortiGate, but we have support helping us detect and troubleshoot difficult situations. FortiGate is easier to deploy than Juniper. 
We need a few people for maintenance, but we have some support working with us, and we need that. 

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

We have a FortiGate license for UTM, routing, firewalling, HTTPS, and some web features.

What other advice do I have?

I rate FortiGate IPS eight out of 10. I would rate it higher if it had more features, stability, scalability, etc. For our requirements, I can rate it eight out of 10, but not more than that.

Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
PeerSpot user
reviewer1740486 - PeerSpot reviewer
Senior Security Engineer at a computer software company with 1,001-5,000 employees
Real User
Low maintenance, simple implementation, and useful deep inspection
Pros and Cons
  • "I have found the decryption of Fortinet FortiGate IPS very good. It's called SSL deep inspection, it's working very well. This is how you decrypt access and traffic, and it is through the IPS antivirus center. Additionally, the UI is user-friendly."
  • "I have used technical support and they could improve."

What is our primary use case?

I use Fortinet FortiGate IPS as an internet firewall. We are using IPS, application control, and access control.

What is most valuable?

I have found the decryption of Fortinet FortiGate IPS very good. It's called SSL deep inspection, it's working very well. This is how you decrypt access and traffic, and it is through the IPS antivirus center. Additionally, the UI is user-friendly. 

We already have the firewalls, and when I compare Fortinet FortiGate IPS to all the other firewalls, Fortinet is really useful and works very well.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using Fortinet FortiGate IPS for approximately six years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

Fortinet FortiGate IPS are very stable. However, the older versions were not stable.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

The solution is scalable.

We have approximately 300 users that use the solution.

How are customer service and support?

I have used technical support and they could improve. 

I would rate the technical support from Fortinet FortiGate IPS a seven out of ten.

When comparing their support with Cisco which is a lot better.

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

We use many Fortinet products, not only firewalls. We have Fortisand-S, FortiSandbox, Fortinet wireless controllers which are part of the Fortigate, FortiAnalyzer, and FortiMate. 

We have approximately 40 devices of Fortinet firewalls.

How was the initial setup?

The installation is straightforward.

What about the implementation team?

We did the implementation ourselves.

The solution does not require a lot of maintenance.

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

There is an annual license to use this solution. The prices have been increasing over the years.

What other advice do I have?

I would recommend Fortinet if they have a medium budget and if they don't have much experience with the firewalls because it's easy to use and the administrative management is simple. Additionally, Fortinet has a good wireless solution that is very good for medium-sized enterprise organizations.

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.
PeerSpot user
System Administrator at a financial services firm with 51-200 employees
Real User
Provides good data on client usage patterns with great VPN capabilities
Pros and Cons
  • "Provides good VPN capabilities."
  • "Security level could be increased."

What is our primary use case?

This solution is the gateway for protecting our network. We are customers of Fortinet and I'm a system administrator. 

How has it helped my organization?

The solution has allowed us to get more data than we were previously able to and we also employ the FortiGate analyzer to provide more data on the usage patterns of our clients which provides us with security metrics. FortiGate gives us a better picture of what's going on in the network and how best we can approach improving the service or addressing any security issues.

What is most valuable?

We're currently relying heavily on the VPN capabilities, given that a lot of users are working remotely and that's been particularly useful for us. FortiGate has an extensive library for support so you rarely need to reach out to them, it's all easily accessible. 

What needs improvement?

The solution is quite expensive and I'd like to see the cost reduced. I think Fortinet could raise their level of security. Their VPN service for users gives them the ability to direct remote users to exactly where they're supposed to go. It's good but some other solutions don't give access for remote users to come on to the network. Rather the cloud platform relays or reflects the application that the remote user would've wanted to get access to on the network. It means that remote users don't get to the physical network of the company and that's good for security. 

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

As long as you know what you're doing, it's a pretty stable solution - they push out firmware updates pretty regularly and I haven't noticed any update that breaks anything.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

The solution is scalable and adaptable depending on network activity or clients having a network. There's a solution for everything and it's pretty granular for each individual appliance. It gives you leeway and room to work. We have around 100 users in the company, everybody is connected; our staff are security administrators, systems administrators and database admins. We're planning to increase usage. I think FortiGate has a ZTNA service as well and we're in talks to determine the best solution.

How are customer service and support?

We haven't had much contact with support but they're pretty good. You do need to schedule a time for them to get back to you so the solution isn't immediate. The support is quite comprehensive. 

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

We used SonicWall before moving to Fortinet. It was a good product but it was pretty complex and complicated when it came to implementing certain things. We needed a solution where anyone could come in and get the job done without having to research deeply. 

How was the initial setup?

We used a Fortinet partner for implementation because we were busy with other projects at the time. They did a great job for us. Deployment took about a week but it could have been done in less time if we hadn't had some scheduling issues. We have three people involved with maintenance.

What was our ROI?

We used to have issues with data, internet usage, and controlling our users' access to the internet. It impacted other areas of the company. With Fortinet, we're able to control how users utilize resources and pull back on certain things while allowing more access in others. It would include things like online calls, IP calling or use of Teams for legitimate business. Having control over that means there are fewer break ups, and fewer dropped calls because we have more control.

People with BYOD's can hog the network but with that level of granular control, we can decide where the priority is. In terms of ROI, there are fewer expenses, less time wasted addressing issues related to reporting, whereas before it was quite chaotic. Fortinet provides the ability to create more order and the ability to better analyze exactly what it is that is going on in the network.

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

The solution is expensive although I'm not sure of the cost. It does include support and updates.

What other advice do I have?

This is a good solution, it provides an extensive library for any issues or for when you're building out a new solution. It has different appliances for different tiers. Planning is important, knowing what's in the environment, where you expect it to go, and then ensuring that you develop or acquire a solution necessary to address that situation.

I rate this solution 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.
PeerSpot user
reviewer981903 - PeerSpot reviewer
IT Management at a government with 201-500 employees
Real User
A good solution for a mid-sized company and not too expensive
Pros and Cons
  • "FortiGate is easy to use, and I also like its VPN."
  • "FortiGate's reporting features could provide a better picture of what is happening in the box."

What is our primary use case?

FortiGate SWG is primarily an antivirus but it also features application control and intrusion prevention.

How has it helped my organization?

FortiGate SWG has helped us control what employees do on the internet because people waste a lot of time using social networks, watching videos, etc. 

What is most valuable?

FortiGate is easy to use, and I also like its VPN.

What needs improvement?

FortiGate's reporting features could provide a better picture of what is happening in the box.

For how long have I used the solution?

I've been using FortiGate for a few years, and I think it's a good solution for a medium-sized company.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

FortiGate is highly stable.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

FortiGate is scalable. They have a new few solutions to solve some reports in the cloud and send the information. And I believe FortiGate can integrate with different products to make it stronger. The product has about a hundred end-users. However, we're considering switching to other options because we're looking for stronger routing capabilities to be more secure.

How are customer service and support?

I've never used technical support directly from Fortinet. The last time I needed support, I contacted our partner. He knows the configuration very well and resolved the problems.

How was the initial setup?

I'd say that setting up FortiGate is moderately complex. It isn't too easy and took about four days to deploy. We had to set up the box and start making the configurations. One engineer is enough to handle it. 

What about the implementation team?

We used a partner to deploy. The experience was good.

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

We pay about $4,000 for a yearly license, and there aren't any additional fees.

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

We evaluated something called Planet Solutions, but its administration wasn't strong like Fortinet's.

What other advice do I have?

I rate FortiGate SWG nine out of 10. It's a good solution and not too expensive. FortiGate is an all-in-one solution, unlike Cisco's, where you have to pay extra for web filtering. The traffic control is included, so it's a good solution for a medium-sized company.

Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
PeerSpot user
Information Security Principal at a venture capital & private equity firm with 1,001-5,000 employees
Real User
Top 5
Easy to manage, improves visibility, and lowered our TCO
Pros and Cons
  • "FortiGate Secure SD-WAN includes best-of-breed next-generation firewall (NGFW) security, SD-WAN, advanced routing, and WAN optimization capabilities, delivering a security-driven networking WAN edge transformation in a unified offering."
  • "There is a lot of improvement needed with SSL-VPN."

What is our primary use case?

We are using the FortiGate firewall for multiple purposes including network antivirus, Application Control, Web Filtering, IPSec Tunnels, and SSL-VPN using soft FortiTokens.

For the past year, we have also been using this technology for Secure SD-WAN. This added a lot of value in terms of technology, such as datacenter connectivity using IPSec tunnel-added security filters, with less cost by canceling MPLS.

How has it helped my organization?

We have implemented secure SD-WAN using FortiGate firewalls in 15 locations and it is working extremely well. 

Since implementing, the total cost of ownership (TCO) has been lowered and the day-to-day security operations have been simplified through our FortiOps services. These provide cloud-based management, visibility, and automation across your Fortinet Security Fabric. It also helps to realize the operational benefits of a Fortinet-enabled Secure SD-WAN.

At the same time, cybersecurity threats have become more sophisticated and fast-moving. Fortinet offers a full range of services and subscriptions to help us simplify and make the most of your SD-WAN deployment with the lowest TCO possible.

What is most valuable?

FortiGate Secure SD-WAN includes best-of-breed next-generation firewall (NGFW) security, SD-WAN, advanced routing, and WAN optimization capabilities, delivering a security-driven networking WAN edge transformation in a unified offering. 

Fortinet Secure SD-WAN delivered the lowest total cost of ownership (TCO) per Mbps among all other vendors.

Antivirus, Application Control, Web Filtering, IPSec, and SSL-VPN are great features with the next-generation Fortinet firewall. They are all very easy to manage.

What needs improvement?

We are managing FortiGate using a FortiManager and it needs improvement with respect to the ease of administration tasks.

There is a lot of improvement needed with SSL-VPN.

Technical support could be improved.

For how long have I used the solution?

We have been using FortiGate technology for more than five years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

FortiGate is a very stable firewall.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

With respect to scalability, it's an excellent product.

How are customer service and technical support?

The customer service is good, although there is room for improvement with technical support.

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

We did not use another solution prior to this one.

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup was straightforward.

What about the implementation team?

We implemented this solution with this assistance of a partner.

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

We did evaluate other products, including solutions by Cisco.

What other advice do I have?

There is always a need for improvement with any vendor.

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.
PeerSpot user
reviewer1392531 - PeerSpot reviewer
Dy General Manager at a real estate/law firm with 501-1,000 employees
Real User
Rich in features, good support, and setup and deployment straightforward
Pros and Cons
  • "Some of the valuable features are the firewall, IPS, web filter, and gateway capabilities. Additionally, it is easy to use and flexible."
  • "It would be a benefit if Fortinet would release a one-stop solution that is better integrated with other products and an automated emergency response system."

What is our primary use case?

We use the solution for network security protection.

What is most valuable?

Some of the valuable features are the firewall, IPS, web filter, and gateway capabilities. Additionally, it is easy to use and flexible.

What needs improvement?

It would be a benefit if Fortinet would release a one-stop solution that is better integrated with other products and has an automated emergency response system.

For how long have I used the solution?

We have been using the solution for 12 years.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

The solution's scalability is a problem because when you use a LAN, you use hardware and hardware wastes resources. However, it is more scalable than some of its competitors, such as Check Point. We have 620 users using the product.

How are customer service and technical support?

The solution is designed in a way to help you, the support is good. 

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

We have used many solutions previously such as Check Point and Stone software. We changed to this solution because we wanted something more stable.

How was the initial setup?

The setup was easy.

What about the implementation team?

You will need one or two integrators for the deployment and it was very easy. The maintenance is simple too.

What other advice do I have?

We are going to continue using this solution.

I 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.
PeerSpot user
Buyer's Guide
Download our free Fortinet FortiGate Report and get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions.
Updated: October 2025
Buyer's Guide
Download our free Fortinet FortiGate Report and get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions.