Check Point Harmony SASE (formerly Perimeter 81) vs Fortinet FortiGate SWG comparison

Check Point Software Technologies and Fortinet are both solutions in the Secure Web Gateways (SWG) category. Check Point Software Technologies is ranked #6 with an average rating of 8.5, while Fortinet is ranked #4 with an average rating of 8.7. Check Point Software Technologies holds a 2.1% mindshare in WSG, compared to Fortinet’s 6.4% mindshare. Additionally, 97% of Check Point Software Technologies users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 100% of Fortinet users who would recommend it.

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Mar 9, 2025

Check Point Harmony SASE and Fortinet FortiGate SWG compete in the network security space. Check Point Harmony SASE has an edge with user-centric features and ease of use, while Fortinet FortiGate SWG holds the upper hand in scalability and simplified configuration.

Features: Check Point Harmony SASE stands out with Zero Trust Network Access and seamless VPN connectivity. Split tunneling enhances user experience, and SAML integration is a plus. Fortinet FortiGate SWG offers IPS and SD-WAN integration, both crucial for robust network protection. Its application control and scalability make it ideal for extensive networks.

Room for Improvement: Check Point Harmony SASE needs enhancements in SD-WAN capabilities and advanced alert options. There are issues with compatibility and slow management portal access. Fortinet FortiGate SWG could improve third-party integration and needs advanced reporting features. Cost is a concern for smaller businesses, and better redundancy handling is necessary.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Check Point Harmony SASE provides flexible deployment across cloud environments, suitable for varied business requirements. The technical team is competent, though support responsiveness can be slow. Fortinet FortiGate SWG offers reliable on-premises deployment with straightforward initial setup, but support response times could be improved.

Pricing and ROI: Check Point Harmony SASE is competitively priced within the SaaS market, despite being seen as slightly expensive by some. Its comprehensive security features justify the cost, often yielding positive ROI. Fortinet FortiGate SWG's pricing is high for smaller businesses, yet it's a solid investment for enterprises. The comprehensive feature set benefits larger installations, leading to a balanced ROI.

To learn more, read our detailed Check Point Harmony SASE (formerly Perimeter 81) vs. Fortinet FortiGate SWG Report (Updated: April 2025).

Buyer's Guide

Check Point Harmony SASE (formerly Perimeter 81) vs. Fortinet FortiGate SWG

April 2025

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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

iboss

Mindshare comparison

As of May 2025, in the Secure Web Gateways (SWG) category, the mindshare of iboss is 2.1%, up from 1.7% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Check Point Harmony SASE (formerly Perimeter 81) is 2.1%, up from 2.1% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Fortinet FortiGate SWG is 6.4%, down from 7.0% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Secure Web Gateways (SWG)

Featured Reviews

Matt Crockford

Head of Cybersecurity at SES Water

It's easy to roll out, and their understanding of our business made it seamless

One aspect we value about iboss is its simplicity. Their customer service is brilliant, and they are super responsive and knowledgeable. It's easy to roll out, and their understanding of our business made it seamless. We were impressed by the solution's mental health function, which can detect if someone needs help. It scans what users are browsing and flags warning signs so we can check to see if they are okay. We've had to use it a couple of times. The user interface is highly intuitive. Our IT team picked it up with minimal training. It's arranged so that it's easy to find where things are. Another advantage is the single pane of glass console, which gives you visibility into what's happening. We're not fully there yet because we haven't implemented zero trust, but we're excited about the possibilities from the demos we've seen. We launched a POC of iboss' ChatGPT Risk Protection feature two weeks ago. AI is a great tool, but you need to be careful what you put into it. My biggest fear is employees inputting sensitive corporate information or customer PII data into one of these chatbots. I was impressed by our trial of the feature. It's exactly what we wanted. Now, when a user goes to ChatGPT, there's a banner warning them not to share information, and we can block conversations containing customer data like bank details and email addresses. I don't want to stop people from using it, but we need visibility. We've only tried it on a test group of 15 people. You can configure it to look for specific keywords or integrate it with your DLP policy if you have that configured

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reviewer8099174

IT Help Support - Coop at DistillerSR

Secure access with an intuitive design and straightforward controls

In terms of improvement, Perimeter 81 could enhance its reporting and analytics capabilities to provide more detailed insights into network activity. Additionally, expanding integration options with a broader range of third-party tools would be beneficial for seamless compatibility with various existing systems. As for additional features in the next release, it would be great to see advanced threat detection and response capabilities integrated into the platform. This would further enhance security by proactively identifying and mitigating potential threats. Additionally, improved mobile device management features and more comprehensive user behavior analytics would be valuable additions to meet evolving cybersecurity needs.

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David Carlson

CIO at Camco Mfg.

Non-IT people could plug it in, connect it to the fiber, and get it running without IT help.

FortiGate is easy to configure. We configured one of the units and sent it to Indiana to be installed. We asked them to give us a call when they got it, so we could help them through the process, but they called us back to tell us it works great. Non-IT people could plug it in, connect it to the fiber, and get it running without IT help. That was fantastic. Fortinet also offers a single pane of glass that we can use to manage our routers with gateways, so that's convenient. We're running a VPN to our remote location, and the performance is good. We're changing all our VPN connectors on our laptops from Cisco's Anywhere to Fortinet's VPN because the performance is just so much better.

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Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"iboss is among the few products providing inline filtering where no application is needed on the device."

"Its initial setup was straightforward."

"iboss is easy to use despite its complexity. Multiple engineers manage it, but it's significantly more straightforward to administer than traditional VPNs and web proxies."

"I would definitely recommend iboss for web filtering purposes to other organizations or individuals."

"Iboss is a solution that prevents advanced persistent threats, and has a zero tolerance for attacks."

"The security aspect of the solution, particularly the malware behind it, is excellent. That's something that really helped us out. It's not just a simple proxy that just blocks the insights of potential threats that come on behind it. They do malware detection and that helps us a lot."

"From a use-case scenario, what I like the most is the plug-in. I like the fact that we can do the filtering of these devices offsite independent of the network they are connected to, and we do not have to have traffic coming back inside our network."

"The solution has massively improved our security posture, giving us full visibility into what our staff does online."

More iboss pros

"The solution provides high performance along with ATP prevention, policy management, remote activity, and IoT support."

"Providing access and security allows our company employees to work from home and remotely."

"Distributing the agent was very simple, allowing us to enforce security posture on our devices (i.e. S1, Disk-encryption, etc.)."

"The solution offers ATP features and management features."

"HTTPS decryption is a valuable service and not always found in cloud-based secure web gateways."

"The feature that I have found to be most valuable is the reputation that the company has regarding privacy. Nowadays, this is critical, especially when you do all of your work online."

"Even after restarting, it tries to quickly reestablish connection which is very helpful."

"Perimeter 81 has increased my security and privacy while maintaining solid internet performance."

More Check Point Harmony SASE (formerly Perimeter 81) pros

"The user interface is intuitive. Anyone can configure the firewall with little knowledge of the product. The back-end is robust with good security."

"We have found the product to be scalable."

"I am content with its user interface and functionalities."

"The security for endpoints is the most valuable. It is very secure for our workers. It allows us to secure a transaction and enable security for a specific segment in the workflow."

"It has the same functionalities throughout the range of products."

"The most useful features are application control, web filtering, and SD-WAN."

"Customers keep on improving their licenses. The solution remains scalable and flexible. On-premises deployments may have some limitations. However, cloud deployments offer a high degree of flexibility."

"The interface and other reports are all user-friendly."

More Fortinet FortiGate SWG pros

Cons

"Sometimes the agent stops working in iboss, and we have to reinstall the agent."

"The solution could be stronger on the integration side and offer more cloud applications like G Suite or Oracle."

"The dashboards for local use could be better."

"I'd like to see them accelerate development on the security side, particularly around data loss prevention."

"File integrity monitoring would be very advantageous as an additional feature."

"Iboss is growing so fast that it is often hard for them to keep up with the challenges."

"Sometimes when you call in support, you get someone who is just following a sheet. It feels like a runaround. You feel that you are running into that support wall."

"Our biggest problem with their service was it did not recognize the device and filtering did not always work correctly."

More iboss cons

"My customers want more remote functionality. They need another routing option after they connect to the enterprise intranet. For example, let's say a user tries to connect to a remote branch office and headquarters through Harmony Connect. They need a local breakout after connecting to the headquarters, especially in China. They need to put local breakout in the Chinese internet. The current version cannot do something like this."

"The solution's speed of upload and download is an area where it lacks"

"In order to be able to invite users, send the agent and implement it, the user input must be generated manually."

"When it comes to Check Point Quantum SASE, though the OEM provides security, it is not 100 percent full-fledged to meet the requirements from the customers' end."

"It would be nice to have a notification sound when Perimeter81 disconnects, as I sometimes don't notice when the icon shows that it's disconnected, and I end up wasting time waiting for my browser to load a page that shows an error, usually error 404."

"In order to have to bypass the login using the website, a good feature for Perimeter 81 to have is a login instance in the Perimeter 81 application. I'm using a Mac and we don't have that functionality."

"I don't know if it is technically feasible, however, if the Desktop App could be used as a Web App or a Chrome Extension it would be very nice."

"More report and alert options would be useful."

More Check Point Harmony SASE (formerly Perimeter 81) cons

"The solution could improve by having some additional features, such as IBS and better cloud administration."

"We have experienced a number of failures when trying to upgrade firmware and the process takes a long time. We only experienced this when doing major upgrades between versions."

"What could be improved in Fortinet FortiGate SWG is its pricing because it's a bit higher. If it's cheaper, my company could pitch it to customers and engage with customers better about it. What I'd like to see in the next release of Fortinet FortiGate SWG is an improvement in its dashboard or GUI. I'd like it to be more user-friendly."

"We are providing VoIP and the IP licensing could improve in Fortinet FortiGate SWG."

"The software is a bit expensive to renew."

"We can't identify which users are causing challenges when we have issues."

"The graphical user interface of Fortinet FortiGate SWG is an area of concern where improvements are required."

"The initial setup is medium complex and takes between five days and a week."

More Fortinet FortiGate SWG cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"It is expensive compared to one of its competitors."

"The overall pricing for iboss is very competitive and transparent."

"It is not expensive, and it is also not cheap. iboss is priced right in the sweet spot for the number of features it offers."

"We had the cost of purchasing a new appliance along with the implementation and licensing costs. However, the following year, the cost of just licensing was similar to what was paid the previous year for a new appliance along with the implementation and licensing costs."

"We have not priced the solution recently, but they were competitive with other vendors in the past."

"It is probably in line with other solutions, but I do not deal with the financial side."

"Annual licenses cost $30 to $40 each."

"The product is neither cheap nor expensive."

"The solution is priced appropriately considering its uses. For an essential license, a user pays only 30 USD per month. For an enterprise version, the prices can be negotiated with the company."

"I consider the product to be a medium-priced solution. There are no additional costs attached to the tool."

"The pricing of Check Point is relatively high when compared to other competitors like Palo Alto and Fortinet. While Palo Alto may be on the higher side in terms of cost, Check Point's pricing is similar to that of Fortinet. In some cases, Check Point offers better value for the features it provides. We initially considered other options but ultimately decided to purchase hardware that came with three years of iOS. This approach eliminated the need for any additional costs associated with Check Point. I would rate it 10 out of 10."

"The cost of the solution's licenses depends on the particular use cases."

"Perimeter 81 charges separately for gateways and VPN connectivity, but compared to Azure, it seemed more reasonable."

"The solution's pricing model may not be suitable for smaller companies, as they might find it expensive. Larger companies tend to receive more value due to many users."

More Check Point Harmony SASE (formerly Perimeter 81) pricing and cost advice

"The product is expensive."

"Fortinet FortiGate SWG is an affordable solution."

"It could be more competitive and cost-effective."

"FortiGate SWG is a cost-effective solution well-suited for organisations of all sizes."

"There is a need to pay for a license for the product."

"It is less expensive than a Cisco solution."

"I rate the product's pricing a seven out of ten. Its one-year license cost is competitive with three and five-year licenses offered by other products."

"The price is relatively expensive compared to other solutions which are providing similar features."

More Fortinet FortiGate SWG pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

13%

Financial Services Firm

11%

Manufacturing Company

Government

Computer Software Company

20%

Financial Services Firm

Manufacturing Company

Comms Service Provider

Computer Software Company

15%

Comms Service Provider

Government

Financial Services Firm

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about iboss?

Content filtering is the most useful feature of iboss.

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What needs improvement with iboss?

Our biggest problem with their service was it did not recognize the device and filtering did not always work correctl...

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What is your primary use case for iboss?

We used it for student and faculty filtering on campus.

See all answers

What do you like most about Perimeter 81?

Even after restarting, it tries to quickly reestablish connection which is very helpful.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Perimeter 81?

It's essential to consider the organization's specific requirements and budget. Here are some general recommendations...

See all answers

What needs improvement with Perimeter 81?

In terms of improvement, Perimeter 81 could enhance its reporting and analytics capabilities to provide more detailed...

See all answers

What do you like most about Fortinet FortiGate SWG?

The interface and other reports are all user-friendly.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Fortinet FortiGate SWG?

On a scale from one to ten, I would rate the pricing for FortiGate AWG as nine, which is perfect.

See all answers

What needs improvement with Fortinet FortiGate SWG?

I would rate the technical support of Fortinet a six or seven out of ten. It is not very helpful. I would like to see...

See all answers

Comparisons

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Compared 10% of the time

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Prisma Access by Palo Alto Networks vs Check Point Harmony SASE (formerly Perimeter 81)

Compared 12% of the time

Netskope vs Check Point Harmony SASE (formerly Perimeter 81)

Compared 9% of the time

Cato SASE Cloud Platform vs Check Point Harmony SASE (formerly Perimeter 81)

Compared 8% of the time

Fortinet FortiGate vs Check Point Harmony SASE (formerly Perimeter 81)

Compared 2% of the time

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Fortinet FortiProxy vs Fortinet FortiGate SWG

Compared 48% of the time

Cisco Umbrella vs Fortinet FortiGate SWG

Compared 20% of the time

Sangfor Internet Access Gateway (IAG) vs Fortinet FortiGate SWG

Compared 6% of the time

Prisma Access by Palo Alto Networks vs Fortinet FortiGate SWG

Compared 5% of the time

Trend Micro Web Security vs Fortinet FortiGate SWG

Compared 2% of the time

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Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

iboss

April 2025

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Buyer's Guide

Check Point Harmony SASE (formerly Perimeter 81)

May 2025

Check Point Harmony SASE (formerly Perimeter 81) report

Download Check Point Harmony SASE (formerly Perimeter 81) product report

Buyer's Guide

Fortinet FortiGate SWG

May 2025

Download Fortinet FortiGate SWG product report

Also Known As

iBoss Cloud Platform

Check Point Quantum SASE

FortiGate SWG, FortiGate Secure Web Gateway

Overview

iboss offers a comprehensive security platform designed for diverse use cases such as web filtering, data loss protection, corporate proxy services, and URL filtering.

iboss integrates advanced features to address dynamic security needs, leveraging its strength in SASE, ZTNA, AI initiatives, and cloud integration, while ensuring seamless operations for remote work. It excels in historical forensics, malware protection, and flexible cloud deployments. Users benefit from comprehensive traffic scanning, robust malware detection, and PaaS capabilities that reduce hardware management. An intuitive admin console ensures efficient management with content filtering and low false positives. SSL decryption enhances security, while DLP protects data in AI conversations. Deployment is rapid and scalable, allowing effortless integration with emerging technologies.

What features does iboss offer?

Granular Web Filtering: Provides precise control over web content access.
Traffic Scanning: Monitors data through multiple ports for security breaches.
Malware Detection: Ensures superior protection against malware threats.
PaaS Capabilities: Eliminates need for hardware management.
SSL Decryption: Enhances data protection by decrypting secure connections.
DLP Capabilities: Safeguards data during AI interactions.

What benefits and ROI should users consider?

Scalability: Adapts quickly to growing demands and emerging tech integration.
Rapid Deployment: Reduces time to implement security measures.
User-Friendly Admin Console: Facilitates efficient operations management.
Low False Positives: Increases accuracy of threat detection systems.

iboss finds significant application in sectors such as education, where web filtering for K-12 is crucial, and in corporate environments requiring robust proxy services and URL filtering for network security. Its adaptability is essential in scenarios demanding flexible, decentralized security frameworks, particularly for remote work setups.

iboss

Perimeter 81 is a cloud-based network security and software-defined perimeter (SDP) solution designed to provide secure access to resources in the cloud, data centers, and on-premises environments. It offers a unified platform for organizations to manage and secure their network infrastructure, regardless of the location or type of resources.

Perimeter 81 Benefits:

Easy to use
Flexible access policies
Strong encryption and authentication protocols
Scalable
Compatible with various devices and platforms

Perimeter 81 Features:

Secure Network Access: Perimeter 81 provides secure access to internal resources and cloud-based applications through its client applications and gateways.
Software-Defined Perimeter (SDP): SDP is a security framework that focuses on dynamically creating secure connections between users and resources on a need-to-know basis.
Zero Trust Network Access (ZTNA): Perimeter 81 follows the Zero Trust security model, which assumes that no user or device can be inherently trusted.
Multi-Cloud and Hybrid Cloud Support: Perimeter 81 is designed to secure access to resources across multi-cloud and hybrid cloud environments.
User and Device Management: The solution offers centralized user and device management capabilities, allowing administrators to define access policies, manage user roles, and enforce multi-factor authentication (MFA) for enhanced security.
Network Segmentation: Perimeter 81 enables organizations to segment their network resources, creating isolated environments based on logical groupings.
Centralized Management and Analytics: Perimeter 81 provides a centralized management console where administrators can configure and monitor their network security settings.

Reviews from Real Users

PeerSpot user, Frontend Developer at Limelight Networks, states that "We use some VPN solutions, and Perimeter 81 has the best user experience for desktop or mobile".

Daniel Goldfeld, Vice President of Customer Success at Mine - The All-in-One Privacy Suite, says that Perimeter 81 has "Great SAML and SCIM support with the ability to deploy site-2-site tunnels with specific IP restrictions".

Another PeerSpot user, Accounts Payable Specialist at Simera, writes that "The feature that I have found to be most valuable is the reputation that the company has regarding privacy. Nowadays, this is critical, especially when you do all of your work online."

Check Point Software Technologies

Fortinet FortiGate SWG is a comprehensive web security solution provided by Fortinet. FortiGate SWG combines web filtering, malware protection, data loss prevention (DLP), and application control capabilities into a single integrated platform. It is designed to protect organizations from web-based threats, enforce compliance policies, and provide secure access to web resources.

FortiGate SWG Benefits:

Comprehensive web filtering and security features
Ease of use and management
Integration with other Fortinet products
Strong threat detection capabilities
Scalability and flexibility
Granular control over user access and activity

FortiGate SWG Features:

Web Filtering: FortiGate SWG employs URL filtering and content categorization to control and enforce web access policies.
Malware Protection: The solution provides real-time protection against web-borne threats, such as malware, ransomware, and phishing attacks.
Data Loss Prevention (DLP): FortiGate SWG helps prevent sensitive data from being leaked or exfiltrated through web channels.
SSL Inspection: The solution supports SSL/TLS decryption and inspection, allowing organizations to examine encrypted web traffic for threats and enforce security policies.
Application Control: FortiGate SWG enables granular control over web applications and protocols.
Advanced Threat Intelligence: FortiGate SWG leverages Fortinet's threat intelligence services to provide up-to-date information about emerging threats and zero-day vulnerabilities.
User Authentication and Access Control: The solution supports various authentication methods, including single sign-on (SSO) and integration with identity providers, to ensure secure user authentication and access control for web resources.
Reporting and Analytics: FortiGate SWG provides comprehensive reporting and analytics capabilities.

FortiGate SWG is typically deployed as a hardware appliance or as a virtual appliance in on-premises environments, but it may also be available as a cloud-based service. It is part of Fortinet's broader security fabric ecosystem, allowing integration with other Fortinet products to provide a unified and coordinated security infrastructure.

Reviews from Real Users

Below are some reviews and helpful feedback written by FortiGate SWG users.

David Carlson, CIO at Camco Mfg., says that "Non-IT people could plug it in, connect it to the fiber, and get it running without IT help".

Suresh Vijayen, Product Manager at IX Telecom, writes that FortiGate SWG "Provides helpful technical support, but its dashboard needs to be more user-friendly".

Chandan Munshi, Chief Technical Officer at Provision Technologies LLP, states that "The user interface is intuitive. Anyone can configure the firewall with little knowledge of the product. The back-end is robust with good security."

Fortinet

Sample Customers

More than 4,000 global enterprises trust the iboss Cloud Platform to support their modern workforces, including a large number of Fortune 50 companies.

Aqua Security, Cognito, Multipoint, Kustomer, Postman, Meredith

Salt Lake County, Catholic College Bendigo, Azienda Unita Sanitaria

Buyer's Guide

Check Point Harmony SASE (formerly Perimeter 81) vs. Fortinet FortiGate SWG

April 2025

Free Report: Check Point Harmony SASE (formerly Perimeter 81) vs. Fortinet FortiGate SWG

Find out what your peers are saying about Check Point Harmony SASE (formerly Perimeter 81) vs. Fortinet FortiGate SWG and other solutions. Updated: April 2025.

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