Try our new research platform with insights from 80,000+ expert users

AWS Direct Connect vs Fortinet FortiClient comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Aug 6, 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

AWS Direct Connect
Ranking in Enterprise Infrastructure VPN
12th
Average Rating
8.8
Reviews Sentiment
6.2
Number of Reviews
12
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Fortinet FortiClient
Ranking in Enterprise Infrastructure VPN
2nd
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.7
Number of Reviews
102
Ranking in other categories
Endpoint Protection Platform (EPP) (12th), Endpoint Compliance (1st)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of March 2026, in the Enterprise Infrastructure VPN category, the mindshare of AWS Direct Connect is 1.8%, down from 1.9% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Fortinet FortiClient is 6.8%, down from 14.4% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Enterprise Infrastructure VPN Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Fortinet FortiClient6.8%
AWS Direct Connect1.8%
Other91.4%
Enterprise Infrastructure VPN
 

Featured Reviews

reviewer2231871 - PeerSpot reviewer
Product Manager at a comms service provider with 201-500 employees
Offers secure high-bandwidth connectivity without internet-related risks
Regarding the benefits from the multiple virtual interfaces in the product, there is no interface for the product; it is just a connection that we have. It is an ethernet connection we offer. The customer, from the customer side to AWS, receives an ethernet point-to-point connection, and that is it. The interface and everything along with the communication with AWS, the customer has to do by themselves to build the routes and everything. The connection speed that our clients are using ranges from 100 megabits up to 10 gigabits. The main concern is the port costs. Clients do not report technical problems, so it is mainly always an issue of money. The solution is nice, but sometimes they avoid it because the port costs are high. This is not a problem AWS has exclusively; Azure has the same costs, and these port costs are quite expensive. I would rate this review as an 8 out of 10.
KL
Senior Technical Manager at Flexaccel
Remote access has become seamless and secure while deployment remains simple for our users
Performance could be improved today. People are now moving toward SASE, which stands for Secure Access, Secure Edge Solution. Fortinet also has that offering, which would be easier since it operates through the cloud, acting as a first line of defense. When the user connects to the internet, they connect to the cloud first for posture assessment and monitoring before connecting to the outside world. The impact is significant because nowadays people are adopting SASE. During COVID time, many users were trying to connect back to their office, causing the performance or CPU utilization of the firewall to increase tremendously, which slowed down performance. I have not worked with endpoint telemetry in Fortinet FortiClient that could have been helpful for threat mitigation.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Overall, I rate the solution ten out of ten."
"AWS VPN is cost-effective and affordable; it has the security regulation with 3DES protocol, and they have the security protocol required to encrypt the information in the link."
"The platform's most valuable feature for us is its robust network performance."
"The most valuable feature of Direct Connect is its low latency to the users."
"It is a highly scalable solution."
"Direct Connect provides an improved connection quality and a diversified link, which contributes to high availability and failover capabilities."
"The most valuable feature of Direct Connect is its low latency to the users."
"AWS Direct Connect offers higher security options by avoiding internet-related problems such as DDoS attacks and provides stable bandwidth."
"The most valuable feature of FortiClient is its high security level."
"I would recommend this solution to others because it is very good."
"The most valuable features of FortiClient are its VPN capabilities and its use as an anti-malware and anti-spam solution."
"This solution has improved the way our organization functions."
"Fortinet FortiClient is not disruptive, and its interface is great; it has an in-built VPN, which is very useful."
"The product works fine and I have never had any problems with it."
"The ability to reroute traffic from the user, connecting you to the internet rather than passing through our network area, is very useful."
"From an application perspective, this solution is stable."
 

Cons

"AWS Direct Connect is straightforward and performs well for me."
"AWS Direct Connect should support cross-cloud connections, such as migrations between Azure and AWS, for disaster recovery purposes on different cloud platforms."
"It would be good if we could connect AWS Direct Connect from different networks."
"The platform's stability needs improvement."
"One area that needs improvement is the cost of the ports, which is a concern as these charges are quite high."
"There is no room for improvement in Direct Connect right now."
"Having more locations could improve the convenience of using the service."
"I would like to see better traffic visibility and higher throughput security, especially for organizations that require more than what the current limit allows."
"FortiClient's encryption key could be stronger so that it's not broken too easily."
"As far as I can tell, the solution only has one single function, so they could expand its functionality."
"An area of improvement could be better integration with the active directory. I did not find it easy to configure."
"We've got one client where it was blocking the smartphones, and there's a way to set it up on Fortigate that's supposed to do that. However, it didn't work with them since they had a 2FA multi-factor."
"Fortinet FortiClient could improve the compatibility with mobile applications that are allowed and sometimes they do not respond."
"I have yet to find the benefits of the latest upgraded version."
"One area for improvement in FortiClient is the speed of connectivity."
"FortiClient's encryption key could be stronger so that it's not broken too easily."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"It has reasonable pricing in terms of the features offered."
"It is an expensive solution."
"The solution's scalability is inexpensive."
"Its pricing is good. One thing that has always attracted us to the Fortinet range of products is that their pricing is very competitive. Our particular licensing is on a yearly basis. However, as part of this project, we did pre-purchase three years of maintenance and support at a fairly significant discount."
"It is not that expensive. It was within the range. A dollar per user per month is nothing."
"The pricing is a six out of ten."
"It is a yearly subscription license. I don't see a problem with the pricing. Resellers add their markup and then give it to us, but I don't see that as a major challenge. It is fine."
"The cost per port is very less as compared to the other technologies."
"Fortinet FortiClient comes free with the purchase of the FortiGate solution. There is a license required for this solution. You later can upgrade from the free version which will allow more endpoints. The cost of the license subscription is based on how many endpoints you require."
"FortiClient is costly."
report
Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Enterprise Infrastructure VPN solutions are best for your needs.
884,976 professionals have used our research since 2012.
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
14%
Comms Service Provider
12%
Healthcare Company
10%
University
7%
Manufacturing Company
11%
Computer Software Company
9%
Comms Service Provider
7%
Financial Services Firm
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business3
Midsize Enterprise7
Large Enterprise3
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business59
Midsize Enterprise23
Large Enterprise25
 

Questions from the Community

What needs improvement with AWS Direct Connect?
One area that needs improvement is the cost of the ports, which is a concern as these charges are quite high. It is primarily a budget issue because while the solution is effective, the port costs ...
What is your primary use case for AWS Direct Connect?
Our customers primarily use AWS Direct Connect for hybrid cloud solutions. They have parts of their equipment in their on-premise data center, while also using AWS infrastructure for backups, datab...
What advice do you have for others considering AWS Direct Connect?
Regarding the benefits from the multiple virtual interfaces in the product, there is no interface for the product; it is just a connection that we have. It is an ethernet connection we offer. The c...
How does Fortinet FortiClient compare with Open VPN Access Server?
Fortinet FortiClient is a feature-rich solution that is easy to use and deploy without sacrificing safety and security. It has a very fast connection rate and has a built-in VPN. With this solution...
What's the difference between Fortinet's FortiEDR and FortiClient?
I suggest Fortinet’s FortiEDR over FortiClient for several reasons. For starters, FortiEDR guarantees solid protection because it continually scans servers for emerging vulnerabilities, which gives...
 

Also Known As

No data available
FortiClient
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Expedia, Intuit, Royal Dutch Shell, Brooks Brothers
Black Gold Regional Schools, Amadeus Hospitality, Jefferson County, Chunghwa Telecom, City of Boroondara, Dimension Data
Find out what your peers are saying about AWS Direct Connect vs. Fortinet FortiClient and other solutions. Updated: March 2026.
884,976 professionals have used our research since 2012.