We've used this solution for the guest portal for our client and we also use it to secure the network of our firm. I am the IT infrastructure manager and we are customers of Fortinet.
IT Infrastructure managerInformation an Communication Services Manager at a agriculture with 5,001-10,000 employees
Great load balancing feature, secure and stable
Pros and Cons
- "Good load balancing feature."
- "FortiGate is the most effective solution for us and it's a cheaper option to Check Point or Palo Alto which we looked at."
- "We have an issue with hotel guest vouchers."
- "We had some issues with the local support, particularly with regard to purchasing the subscription."
What is our primary use case?
What is most valuable?
I like the fact that we don't have to use our IP address and that it roams. I also like the load balancing feature which allows you to attach several internet connections and load balance.
What needs improvement?
We have an issue with the license when it expires because we're unable to use the computers. We are in the hotel industry and there's an issue with vouchers when guests come in wanting to use them.
For how long have I used the solution?
I've been using this solution for five years.
Buyer's Guide
Fortinet FortiGate
March 2026
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What do I think about the stability of the solution?
It's a stable solution. We had some issues after we upgraded but on the whole it's stable.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
We don't have scalability requirements so I can't comment.
How are customer service and support?
We had some issues with the local support, particularly with regard to purchasing the subscription. It took a very long time and at one point the license had expired and it took a while to sort out.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup is simple and doesn't take much time.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
This is an affordable solution.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
FortiGate is the most effective solution for us and it's a cheaper option to Check Point or Palo Alto which we looked at. They are both very expensive.
What other advice do I have?
I would rate this solution an eight out of 10.
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
IT Infrastructure Specialist at a government with 1,001-5,000 employees
A resilient, secure, and scalable solution that provides a secure connection for remote work.
Pros and Cons
- "The web filtering feature and the intrusion protection system are the most valuable. It is a resilient appliance. I never had an issue with it in terms of any security breaches."
- "I am pleased with this solution and the features it offers right now."
- "Its reporting capabilities can be improved. It should have some out-of-the-box reporting capabilities and some degree of customization. The basic reporting that it currently has is not sufficient to create more usable reports. It needs some sort of out-of-the-box reporting. They try to make customers purchase FortiAnalyzer for this kind of reporting, which is an additional cost. Other firewall vendors, such as SonicWall and Sophos, provide this sort of reporting without any additional cost."
- "Its reporting capabilities can be improved. It should have some out-of-the-box reporting capabilities and some degree of customization."
What is our primary use case?
We utilize the services to ensure the stability of our network and clients protection from external treats. With the recent pandemic mobile working have increased in demand and Fortinet have easily bridge that gap to continue to support employee needs.
How has it helped my organization?
It has provided us the ability to work remotely during the pandemic. It opens a secure connection to the office for an employee working remotely from home.
What is most valuable?
The web filtering feature and the intrusion protection system are the most valuable.
It is a resilient appliance.
What needs improvement?
Its reporting capabilities can be improved. Some out-of-the-box reports needs to be able to provide usable data for example for web monitoring and reporting or browsing patterns and details. Some customers does not require any forensic type reporting and may not want to invest in all the features offered by the FortiAnalyzer.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using this solution for the past seven 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. There are no issues. In terms of the number of users who use FortiGate, we have only about ten users for remote working. Only selected users utilize this remote capability.
How are customer service and technical support?
Technical support is good. If I have an inquiry or request, it is usually addressed within the same business day or within the 24 hours period as per the vendor's support agreement.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
I was on a Check Point platform, and then I migrated to FortiGate. Migrating from the Check Point environment to the FortiGate environment was new for me. We rely on a vendor for support. The vendor was kind of phasing out the support of the Check Point product. That's why we switched.
How was the initial setup?
We are currently on 80D, and it was a direct upgrade. The deployment didn't take that long because it was a direct replacement or upgrade from an older appliance 60D to 80D. It was easy for the vendor to deploy because they saved the policies and other things that were in use for the older appliance and had to be migrated over to the new appliance. It was done within maybe a day or two.
What about the implementation team?
We outsourced it to a local vendor, and it was deployed by the vendor. We do our own internal monitoring, and the vendor does the actual set up. So far, our experience with the vendor has been excellent in terms of response. Their technical staff is also very knowledgeable.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
We just pay an affordable flat monthly fee to the vendor for the monitoring and support.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
I learned about different options and their benefits and listened to vendors' proposals for migration. We evaluated pfSense, which is open source. We were trying to determine whether to go for open source as opposed to an industry-standard and proprietary product. I also engaged other vendors who offered Sophos technology and SonicWall. I trusted the vendor-supported product and considered the cost associated with the migration. The current vendor could upgrade it with no implementation cost, and we just had to pay a monthly service fee or rental.
Based on the research, FortiGate seemed like a reasonable firewall, and it is also more or less recognized and trusted all over, so I trusted FortiGate. Overall, I was happy with the performance of the FortiGate, so I kind of stuck with that one.
What other advice do I have?
I would definitely recommend this product, but there are other products in the market, such as Sophos and SonicWall, that are just as effective.
We will be using this solution for at least the next three years. We renewed the license for three years in August of this year. We are thinking of upgrading to a newer appliance before that.
I would rate Fortinet FortiGate an eight out of ten. I am pleased with this solution and the features it offers right now. It just needs minor adjustments in terms of reporting and staying up to date with industry standards.
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
March 2026
Learn what your peers think about Fortinet FortiGate. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: March 2026.
884,933 professionals have used our research since 2012.
Network Manager at a transportation company with 5,001-10,000 employees
Installation is super easy, stable operations, and has prompt and responsive customer service
Pros and Cons
- "The product is easy to use and is stable. The SV1 functionality is a benefit."
- "The installation was super easy, we were up and running in less than 50 minutes."
- "Some of the software stability could improve."
- "Some of the software stability could improve."
What is our primary use case?
We use it as a firewall for securing our HQ and branch.
What is most valuable?
The product is easy to use and is stable. The SV1 functionality is a benefit.
What needs improvement?
A feature for bandwidth monitoring and the ability to have more bandwidth testing would be useful to include in future releases.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using the solution for just about a year.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
We have approximately 40,000 employees and the product is very scalable. The different hardware units are quite good and are an appropriate size for enterprise-sized businesses.
How are customer service and technical support?
They're very prompt and responsive, and very helpful. In our experience, they responded on the same day and the next day for fixes.
How was the initial setup?
The installation was super easy, we were up and running in less than 50 minutes.
What about the implementation team?
We did it the implementation ourselves. We used an in house team of four to do the deployment.
What was our ROI?
Some of the software stability could improve.
What other advice do I have?
I would recommend FortiGate to others.
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.
Group Leader – FM Operations Team at a tech services company with 51-200 employees
Straightforward and quick to deploy, user-friendly, and the UTM features well protect our infrastructure
Pros and Cons
- "I think that the UTM features are the most value, as it truly protects my infrastructure."
- "I think that the UTM features are the most value, as it truly protects my infrastructure."
- "The support structure needs to be improved because every time we contact them, there is a delay in the response."
- "The support structure needs to be improved because every time we contact them, there is a delay in the response."
What is our primary use case?
We're using both firewall and UTM features, as well as the inbound and outbound traffic load-balancing functionality. We are also using the VPN.
What is most valuable?
I think that the UTM features are the most value, as it truly protects my infrastructure.
The interface is user-friendly.
What needs improvement?
The support structure needs to be improved because every time we contact them, there is a delay in the response.
For how long have I used the solution?
We have been using Fortinet FortiGate for almost eight years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
This is a stable and reliable product.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
We have had no trouble scaling the solutions.
How are customer service and technical support?
Technical Team response time is slow comparatively other competition , However once the Engineer is allocated then incidents are managed properly
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup is straightforward and it is very quick to deploy.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
We purchased a five-year bundle package, which worked out cheaper than competing solutions.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
We evaluated other products including those from Palo Alto and Cisco. However, compare the features and price for all of them, Fortinet was the best choice.
What other advice do I have?
This is a good product and I can recommend it to others.
I would rate this solution 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
IT Infrastructure Engineer at Communication Progress
Scalable, Easy to implement, security fabric integration, wireless controller, low cost, stable
Pros and Cons
- "Web filtering and two-factor authentication are great features."
- "FortiGate is very easy to use, and to configure."
- "Vulnerability scanning could be improved."
- "I think some improvements could be made in vulnerability scanning."
What is our primary use case?
Our primary use case of this solution for our clients is for protecting internal networks with data center firewalls, internal segmentation and next generation firewalls.
We are a gold partner of Fortinet.
What is most valuable?
SD-WAN, Security fabric integration, two-factor authentication, ADVPN, Dynamic routing, single pane of glas managements are great features. FortiGate is very easy to use, and to configure.
What needs improvement?
I think some improvements could be made in vulnerability scanning. I'd also like to see additional features in the authentication. They support RADIUS, LDAP but the solution doesn't have API integration with other solutions. They have API in FortiAuthenticator, but not in the firewall and not all customers want to buy another solution.
For how long have I used the solution?
I've been providing this solution to clients for seven years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
This is a very stable solution.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
This solution is scalable. They have now built hyperscale firewalls and it's very easy. Also VMs, for example, is very easy to scale, you just need to adjust the licensing.
How are customer service and technical support?
Technical support is very, very good. They respond quickly and provide the solution to the problem.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
I have previously used Check Point and Cisco ASA. In terms of cost and security features, Fortinet has the advantage and it's also easy to implement. Cisco and Check Point are a little bit more difficult in that aspect.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup is simple, as with all Fortinet technologies. Deployment time depends on the situation. For small customers it takes about one to two hours. For larger companies with different kinds of firewalls in their infrastructure, it may take a day or two, it depends on the complexity of the network, the infrastructure and the size of the business. The solution is suitable for any size company. Maintenance depends on the contract with our customers, but Fortinet includes support with every license. If a customer wants support from us, we provide it.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
Fortinet offers four types of licensing - Advanced Threat Protection, Unified Threat Protection and Enterprise Protection and 360 degree Protection. Licensing costs are dependent on the VM or Hardware model, not per features. For example if vm or Hardware model supports 200 IPsec tunnels you can setup 200 IPsec tunnels, it doesn't matter what kind of license you have.
What other advice do I have?
I would definitely recommend this solution.
I would rate this solution a 10 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
Presales Engineer at a tech services company with 11-50 employees
Scales well, but the technical support needs to be improved
Pros and Cons
- "This product is definitely scalable."
- "This product is definitely scalable."
- "The support is the main thing that needs to be improved."
- "The support is the main thing that needs to be improved."
What is our primary use case?
We are a solution integrator and FortiGate is one of the security products that we implement for our clients.
What needs improvement?
The support is the main thing that needs to be improved.
For how long have I used the solution?
We have been using Fortinet FortiGate for five years.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
This product is definitely scalable. Our clients range from small to medium-sized businesses.
How are customer service and technical support?
The technical support needs to be improved, and I would rate them a six out of ten.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup is straightforward.
What other advice do I have?
This is a product that I would recommend.
I would rate this solution a seven out of ten.
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer. Integrator
Director/Owner at Miodesk
Easy to use, well-priced, and scales to our requirements
Pros and Cons
- "The most valuable feature is the ease of use."
- "My advice for anybody who is implementing FortiGate that it is a great product and easy to use, but be careful which firmware you use."
- "In the future, I would like to see improvements made to cloud-based management."
- "In the future, I would like to see improvements made to cloud-based management."
What is our primary use case?
We use this firewall as part of our security solution.
What is most valuable?
The most valuable feature is the ease of use. It's very simple and this is one of its advantages.
What needs improvement?
I would like to see the product updated more frequently.
In the future, I would like to see improvements made to cloud-based management. They already have some features for this, but it's very basic.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using Fortinet FortiGate for 15 years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
Stability-wise, this is a good solution.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
Scalability is good, we have about 5,000 users.
How are customer service and technical support?
I have never used technical support from the vendor.
What about the implementation team?
We have an internal team for deployment, maintenance, and support.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
The price of FortiGate is good.
What other advice do I have?
My advice for anybody who is implementing FortiGate that it is a great product and easy to use, but be careful which firmware you use.
I would rate this solution a nine out of ten.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
Hybrid Cloud
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer. Partner
Has a good payment function for applications but configuring and management is not easy
Pros and Cons
- "The payment function for applications is good."
- "Technical support is acceptable, and they're good in terms of local support and global support."
- "Difficult to add or define, and not that easy to configure and manage."
- "It's difficult to add or define, and it's not that easy to configure and manage."
What is our primary use case?
Our primary use case is for a data center firewall. I've been using Fortigate but I'm also currently evaluating Cisco and Check Point. We are customers of Fortinet and I'm in IT infrastructure.
What is most valuable?
I like the payment function for applications.
What needs improvement?
It's difficult to add or define, and it's not that easy to configure and manage. We're looking for something more flexible for the long term. I also find that the performance is limited in comparison to other solutions.
For how long have I used the solution?
I've been using this solution for three years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
The product is stable.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
The solution is scalable but when you do scale, it limits the performance. We have over 1,000 users in our company and four people who deal with the maintenance of all our solutions.
How are customer service and technical support?
Technical support is acceptable, and they're good in terms of local support and global support. If they cannot resolve the issue they will pass us to another level of support.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
I previously had experience with CheckPoint, Cisco, and Palo Alto. I would rate Palo Alto as the best firewall in the world.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup is relatively straightforward.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
This product could be a little cheaper although compared to other similar solutions, it's more reasonably priced.
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
Download our free Fortinet FortiGate Report and get advice and tips from experienced pros
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Updated: March 2026
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