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Fortinet FortiGate-VM vs Palo Alto Networks K2-Series comparison

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Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Sep 16, 2024

Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Categories and Ranking

Fortinet FortiGate
Sponsored
Ranking in Firewalls
2nd
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.1
Number of Reviews
373
Ranking in other categories
Software Defined WAN (SD-WAN) Solutions (1st), WAN Edge (1st)
Fortinet FortiGate-VM
Ranking in Firewalls
9th
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.4
Number of Reviews
121
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Palo Alto Networks K2-Series
Ranking in Firewalls
34th
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.7
Number of Reviews
34
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of July 2025, in the Firewalls category, the mindshare of Fortinet FortiGate is 21.2%, up from 17.7% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Fortinet FortiGate-VM is 1.9%, up from 1.6% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Palo Alto Networks K2-Series is 0.1%, up from 0.0% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Firewalls
 

Q&A Highlights

DL
Mar 23, 2021
 

Featured Reviews

Vasu Gala - PeerSpot reviewer
A stable solution with an intuitive interface and quick customer service
I have been working with Fortinet FortiGate, WatchGuard, Sophos, and SonicWall. I'm not as comfortable with SonicWall because of their UI and limitations. I prefer Fortinet above all other options. When it comes to configuration, I am confident in my ability to handle various tasks, including creating policies such as firewall rules, web policies, and application policies. Additionally, I can configure VPNs and implement load balancing, among other tasks. Overall, I feel much more comfortable working with Fortinet. Fortinet has made significant improvements by integrating AI with firewalls for threat analysis and prevention. In the past 2-3 years, they have launched FortiSASE and SIEM, and they also provide SOC services. Both Palo Alto and Fortinet FortiGate are excellent. While Fortinet FortiGate comes at higher prices, the functionality and support justify the cost. They promptly resolve firmware issues and inform all support providers about configuration changes.
Sitti Ridzma Salahuddin - PeerSpot reviewer
Integrates seamlessly and helps with real-time threat response
Since the solution we offered was a complete suite with Fortinet FortiGate-VM, it was easier for them to manage because they have FortiManager as well. The main reason they wanted to position FortiGate in the cloud was so that they could easily deploy through FortiManager. That was the selling point we had for them. Especially for their multiple branches, where they had approximately 60 sites, and some assets were in AWS, it was really a good deployment opportunity. FortiManager and FortiAnalyzer were also part of that solution.
Krishnakumar M - PeerSpot reviewer
One of the best tools for the prevention of evasive threats
There is a feature called granular application controls, which I liked. Instead of relying on ports and IP addresses, they use AMP ID. This kind of solution is very good. Another valuable feature is the prevention of evasive threats, which is one of the best tools I've encountered. SSL decryption and app ID-based SSL decryption are also impressive, along with the integration with user ID. Identity-based policies ensuring only authorized users can access specific resources are excellent features. Normally, there is something called SIM or SCIM in IDA IDM, but this feature is provided on the box, which is exemplary.

Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Pros

"The web tutor and automatic rules by schedule are good features."
"The ease of setting the solution up is a valuable aspect for us."
"The most important features with FortiGate are the web filter and application controls. We can control our internet usage and use the web filter for application purposes."
"The customization potential is quite impressive."
"The primary feature I appreciate about Fortinet FortiGate is the ease of setup."
"Whenever we raise a complaint with FortiGate, their response and resolution times are minimal."
"The reliability of Fortinet FortiGate is through the roof, we're experiencing 99.999% availability consistently."
"What's most important is the ease of use."
"One top feature is the ability to use the appliance as a WLAN controller for up to 10 access points with the new 5.6 firmware."
"A top feature is the really good web interface and the classic Fortinet features, such as IPS, IDS, AV scanner, and spam filter."
"The performance overall is very good."
"It is easy to set up the solution."
"FortiGate-VM has many valuable features: it's easy to use, it's intuitive, it's got very good traffic inspection features, it's got comprehensive filtering categories, and it has an extensive threat database, using FortiGuard."
"The most valuable feature is the WAN optimization."
"The most valuable feature of the solution is that it is easy to operate."
"In terms of specific features, I like FortiGate's load balancing, interface, and priority on the network."
"I have found that Palo Alto Networks K2-Series has the best security. They are more user-friendly, older firewalls used to have to be configured using the command-line interface, but in this solution, it can be done in the GUI."
"Palo Alto has an approach that makes the configuration easier not only for the customers but also for the IT help for the customers."
"This firewall is very good for our customers because they don't have to write their own rules for adding an application."
"As long as the solution is kept updated, it's pretty stable."
"The most valuable feature is availability."
"Overall product rating: Nine out of ten."
"The company is inventive and always adds a lot of great features."
"I like the tool's WildFire feature."
 

Cons

"The biggest "gotcha" is that if the client purchases what they call the UTM shared bundle, which has unified threat management on both, it's not as easy to manage if you have more than one firewall."
"One of the most important areas for improvement for Fortinet FortiGate is the limited resources for tests."
"A couple of things I've seen that need improvement, especially in terms of a hard coding. The driver-level active moment really is out-of-the-box and we have to have contact the customer support and sometimes it is difficult to resolve."
"Fortinet FortiGate could improve by having a frequent ask questions(FAQ) area for people to receive quick answers to popular questions. Additionally, it would be beneficial to have an SMS notification feature. For example, if you cannot access your email you could receive an SMS message."
"We faced difficulties with the configuration because there are many features we could optimize using Fortinet FortiGate, but our reseller didn't have a good understanding of it. So, we just use it on a basic level, not with the best practice for using FortiGate."
"At the moment, the main concern is the pricing and the type of licensing."
"It does not have key authentication for admin access."
"We called them for a geolocation issue and we didn't get any proper assistance."
"The user interface could be improved."
"Price-wise, it could be slightly better, however, if you compared it to other makes and models of equal category, it is generally cheaper."
"They could provide more integration options with different platforms."
"The users must buy FortiSIEM to get advanced analytics."
"The price model is not transparent by any means and should be made more clear. What's included in the packages is often not very obvious."
"FortiGate's application load balancing has to be improved. They need to improve a lot on the load balancing and RAF side. They are far behind Citrix in that regard."
"The biggest area for improvement is storage configuration. It could be smoother."
"Technical support could be improved."
"It would be nice if it could easily be integrated with Elasticsearch or Nagios."
"I would like to see the threat intelligence capability integrated with other vendors such as Cisco and Forcepoint."
"The licensing cost is a typical complaint with many clients. The solution is expensive."
"The URL Filtering module needs to have more categories added to it."
"We had some issues with upgrading in the past. They could make the process easier."
"They could improve by providing more features in the solution."
"Higher levels of support are excellent but new users may need additional options."
"If we have issues, they take anywhere from two days to a week to respond. I even wrote to their CEO because there was no response. When it comes to support, this is the worst company."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The pricing depends on the FortiGate model we are using, ranging from $3,000 to $20,000 US dollars."
"It is cheaper and more competitive compared to other options. For example, when comparing Palo Alto products to others, Palo Alto tends to be more expensive. If you compare Cisco's platform, including Cisco Meraki, with Fortinet products, you'll notice that Cisco's offerings are generally higher priced than Fortinet's firewall solutions."
"I had to pay for the license for the firewall, but it is guaranteed to have updates. I expect a good service for it. It was about €1000 for a year, and there was no additional cost."
"Fortinet is the least expensive solution."
"Its pricing is good. It's average or normal as compared to Palo Alto and Check Point firewalls."
"It is too expensive for us. My organization is very small, and we have a total of ten users. We have three internal users and seven external users. The FortiGate 100D series is too expensive for renewing the licenses."
"We purchased a five-year bundle package, which worked out cheaper than competing solutions."
"I would say that all things considered, the pricing is pretty good."
"I rate Fortinet FortiGate-VM's pricing a six out of ten."
"I would rate the product's pricing as four out of five."
"There should be a reduction in the setup price and licensing costs."
"Licensing is pretty standard. It's approximately 15% of the total cost per year as a subscription cost."
"Fortinet FortiGate-VM is a very expensive solution."
"There is a benefit in terms of the cost of using this solution because the price is very good."
"We are on an annual license for this solution and it could be cheaper."
"The cost of this product is too high."
"Products by the leader in the field are justifiably a bit more expensive compared to other vendors."
"If you compare K2-Series' quality with its price, I think it is reasonable."
"This product is designed for large companies. The price would not be suitable for a small or medium size company."
"It is an expensive solution."
"The overall price of Palo Alto Networks K2-Series could be reduced."
"The price of the solution is expensive."
"The price of this solution is too high."
"Palo Alto firewalls are very expensive."
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Answers from the Community

DL
Mar 23, 2021
Mar 23, 2021
In the best tradition of these questions, Feature-wise both are quite similar, but each has things it's better at, it kind of depends what you value most. PA is good at app control, web filtering and such like, they have always been top of the pile there. The GUI is very good, and their product is very user-focused. Fortinet is good for scalability and predictable high throughput (ASICs in the...
2 out of 4 answers
AT
Mar 20, 2021
Hi, Both FT and PA have compelling features for large Enterprises. I would like to add a few good points about Fortinetwhich might be helpful ( from my 13 years of engagement with them as Distributor and Partner) Fortinet:  Have higher throughput; which comes with competitive rates Wide range of models to select to meet your requirement, without spending heavliy Outstanding customer support and very active customer care team Easly available skilled resources from the channel for deployment and post-implementation support  Regards Abhilash
LD
Mar 22, 2021
Hi PaloAlto is better when working on app control feature and special virtual wire links. Execpt that specific point, Fortinet is above. Best Regards, Damien
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
15%
Educational Organization
11%
Comms Service Provider
8%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Computer Software Company
19%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Comms Service Provider
6%
Government
6%
Computer Software Company
19%
Performing Arts
14%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Comms Service Provider
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

Which is the better NGFW: Fortinet Fortigate or Cisco Firepower?
When you compare these firewalls you can identify them with different features, advantages, practices and usage a...
What is the biggest difference between Sophos XG and FortiGate?
From my experience regarding both the Sophos and FortiGate firewalls, I personally would rather use FortiGate. I know...
What are the biggest technical differences between Sophos UTM and Fortinet FortiGate?
As a solution, Sophos UTM offers a lot of functionality, it scales well, and the stability and performance are quite ...
Features comparison between Palo Alto and Fortinet firewalls
In the best tradition of these questions, Feature-wise both are quite similar, but each has things it's better at, it...
Which would you recommend - FortiGate VM or Azure Firewall?
Both of these solutions are excellent options that provide flexible scalability and solid security. Fortinet Fortigat...
What do you like most about Fortinet FortiGate-VM?
An enhanced security solution for any kind of alert that we have configured.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Palo Alto Networks K2-Series?
The pricing for the Palo Alto Networks K2-Series solution is affordable and there are no complaints about the licensing.
What needs improvement with Palo Alto Networks K2-Series?
The graphical user interface is a little complex and difficult to manage. L1 engineers cannot work on the Palo Alto N...
 

Also Known As

FortiGate 60b, FortiGate 60c, FortiGate 80c, FortiGate 50b, FortiGate 200b, FortiGate 110c, FortiGate, Fortinet Firewall
FortiGate Virtual Appliance, FortiGate-VM
No data available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Amazon Web Services, Microsoft, IBM, Cisco, Dell, HP, Oracle, Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile, Sprint, Vodafone, Orange, BT Group, Telstra, Deutsche Telekom, Comcast, Time Warner Cable, CenturyLink, NTT Communications, Tata Communications, SoftBank, China Mobile, Singtel, Telus, Rogers Communications, Bell Canada, Telkom Indonesia, Telkom South Africa, Telmex, Telia Company, Telkom Kenya
Security7 Networks, COOPENAE
State of North Dakota, SEGA, Alameda County Office of Education, Temple University, VERGE, CAME
Find out what your peers are saying about Fortinet FortiGate-VM vs. Palo Alto Networks K2-Series and other solutions. Updated: June 2025.
860,632 professionals have used our research since 2012.