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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
9.0
Reviews Sentiment
7.4
Number of Reviews
9
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Fortinet FortiClient
Ranking in Enterprise Infrastructure VPN
1st
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
99
Ranking in other categories
Endpoint Protection Platform (EPP) (13th), Endpoint Compliance (2nd)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of June 2025, in the Enterprise Infrastructure VPN category, the mindshare of AWS Direct Connect is 2.1%, down from 2.8% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Fortinet FortiClient is 13.4%, up from 13.3% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Enterprise Infrastructure VPN
 

Featured Reviews

Flavio Gomes Figueira Camacho Junior - PeerSpot reviewer
Establish secure and private connections between on-premise infrastructure and cloud environments
AWS Direct Connect allows me to connect our on-premise infrastructure directly with AWS infrastructure. This is particularly beneficial because it helps me use our infrastructure for databases and testing while leveraging AWS's computing power for production purposes. I also do not need to expose management of our machines to the public internet, enhancing security by using a private connection.
MuhammadJahangir - PeerSpot reviewer
Users only need to install the VPN and authenticate with their email address
I primarily use remote VPN solutions to connect securely. We have configured both site-to-site VPN and remote VPN, and it is connected to FortiClient Implementing this solution has streamlined time management in our organization. Without SSO, we would need manual configuration for each PC, but…

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"AWS Direct Connect is highly secure and much faster compared to normal network infrastructure."
"Overall, I rate the solution ten out of ten."
"It is a highly scalable solution."
"AWS Direct Connect allows me to connect our on-premise infrastructure directly with AWS infrastructure."
"The most valuable feature of Direct Connect is its low latency to the users."
"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."
"Direct Connect provides an improved connection quality and a diversified link, which contributes to high availability and failover capabilities."
"The solution's TNA feature blocks devices from entering the network that do not meet compliance protocols."
"Fortinet FortiClient is easy to use, and the single-access managed login is pretty good."
"It’s really easy to use."
"We find the VPN features valuable."
"The most valuable feature of Fortinet FortiClient is its performance."
"It is a scalable product."
"It is a fantastic product. Its overall security is valuable. We are very impressed with the web filtering and the application firewall it provides."
"The most valuable feature of FortiClient is its high security level."
 

Cons

"Its terminologies are challenging to interpret."
"It can be difficult to configure compared to cloud-based GUIs."
"It is complicated to do additional BGP configuration for the product."
"AWS Direct Connect is straightforward and performs well for me."
"It would be good if we could connect AWS Direct Connect from different networks."
"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."
"There is no room for improvement in Direct Connect right now."
"It would be extremely useful to have an automatic updating feature."
"The filtering process could be improved."
"There are compatibility issues, and sometimes, especially with macOS, it's difficult to set up properly."
"I would like for the next release to be more user-friendly for users to do not have as much of a technical background."
"The support can be improved. They have room to improve by deploying more support resources."
"The deployment status is not good in Mac devices and sometimes in Windows-based devices using GPO, like Active Directory, that are not on the local network."
"Occasionally, the solution may provide a slow connection. In addition, there may be initialization and authorization issues that one may need to take care of while using the solution."
"Working with Distribution sometimes comes at a cost due to a lack of knowledge of the current status of your licensing and products."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"It is an expensive solution."
"It has reasonable pricing in terms of the features offered."
"The cost per port is very less as compared to the other technologies."
"It is not that expensive. It was within the range. A dollar per user per month is nothing."
"As a technical team member, I am not responsible to look into the pricing matters. These aspects are typically handled by the management team, who have the authority to obtain the necessary licenses based on certain established principles."
"FortiClient is quite reasonably priced."
"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."
"The pricing is good because you get and end-to-end security solution in one package price."
"We are using the free version of this product."
"The licensing fee varies with what one is trying to accomplish. It can range from being free to costing several hundred thousand dollars per year."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
16%
Computer Software Company
15%
Manufacturing Company
9%
University
5%
Educational Organization
31%
Computer Software Company
12%
Manufacturing Company
6%
Comms Service Provider
5%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about AWS Direct Connect?
AWS Direct Connect provides a secure and encrypted connection over the internet.
What needs improvement with AWS Direct Connect?
AWS Direct Connect should support cross-cloud connections, such as migrations between Azure ( /products/microsoft-azure-reviews ) and AWS ( /products/amazon-aws-reviews ), for disaster recovery pur...
What is your primary use case for AWS Direct Connect?
I have used AWS Direct Connect ( /products/aws-direct-connect-reviews ) in projects to directly connect artifacts and for setting up a call center service in a customer service project. It is used ...
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: June 2025.
856,873 professionals have used our research since 2012.