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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
13th
Average Rating
9.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.2
Number of Reviews
11
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Fortinet FortiClient
Ranking in Enterprise Infrastructure VPN
1st
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.7
Number of Reviews
101
Ranking in other categories
Endpoint Protection Platform (EPP) (15th), Endpoint Compliance (1st)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of September 2025, in the Enterprise Infrastructure VPN category, the mindshare of AWS Direct Connect is 1.9%, down from 2.3% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Fortinet FortiClient is 10.5%, down from 13.7% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Enterprise Infrastructure VPN Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Fortinet FortiClient10.5%
AWS Direct Connect1.9%
Other87.6%
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 allows me to connect our on-premise infrastructure directly with AWS infrastructure."
"Direct Connect provides an improved connection quality and a diversified link, which contributes to high availability and failover capabilities."
"It is a stable solution."
"The platform's most valuable feature for us is its robust network performance."
"AWS Direct Connect is highly secure and much faster compared to normal network infrastructure."
"The most valuable feature of Direct Connect is its low latency to the users."
"Overall, I rate the solution ten out of ten."
"AWS Direct Connect provides a secure and encrypted connection over the internet."
"The most valuable feature of Fortinet FortiClient is its performance."
"It is very easy and useful. A normal user with basic information can easily connect to any environment."
"We find the VPN features valuable."
"The first thing I really appreciate about Fortinet FortiClient is their preventive protection; even if a new virus is released, they have a preventive mechanism built into their client, which works along with the firewall, so it automatically gets stopped."
"The integration capabilities are good."
"The initial setup of this solution is easy."
"Implementing this solution has streamlined time management in our organization."
"The solution's TNA feature blocks devices from entering the network that do not meet compliance protocols."
 

Cons

"AWS Direct Connect is straightforward and performs well for me."
"There is no room for improvement in Direct Connect right now."
"It can be difficult to configure compared to cloud-based GUIs."
"Having more locations could improve the convenience of using the service."
"It would be good if we could connect AWS Direct Connect from different networks."
"It is complicated to do additional BGP configuration for the product."
"AWS Direct Connect should support cross-cloud connections, such as migrations between Azure and AWS, for disaster recovery purposes on different cloud platforms."
"The platform's stability needs improvement."
"The user interface could be more inviting."
"The solution should have faster turnaround when it comes to new technology."
"I would like to see improvements in the dashboard for better reporting."
"The pricing could use improvement."
"Everybody else is doing AI, machine learning, self-healing, next-generation features. It needs more next-generation features. Everybody else is doing AI, machine learning, self-healing, next-generation features. It needs more next-generation features."
"The cost of FortiClient could be better."
"The setup process could be more simplified."
"The tool becomes slow occasionally, and this should be improved."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"It is an expensive solution."
"It has reasonable pricing in terms of the features offered."
"The solution's scalability is inexpensive."
"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."
"The cost per port is very less as compared to the other technologies."
"The pricing is a six out of ten."
"Fortinet requires you to buy a lot of product in order for you to have proper protection."
"Pricing is an area that I would like to see improved, as it could be lower."
"The price is okay and competitive."
"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."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
13%
Comms Service Provider
11%
Financial Services Firm
10%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Computer Software Company
14%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Comms Service Provider
7%
Government
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business3
Midsize Enterprise6
Large Enterprise3
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business58
Midsize Enterprise23
Large Enterprise24
 

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?
We encountered issues with the connection. The VPN was not connecting on multiple occasions.
What is your primary use case for AWS Direct Connect?
I'm not an end user of any of those SAP products. I wanted to have a comparison between different solutions for process mining and process modeling, but I'm not an end user of any. I have Microsoft...
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: July 2025.
867,370 professionals have used our research since 2012.