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

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Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Jun 15, 2025

Review summaries and opinions

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

ROI

Sentiment score
5.7
Users find Fortinet FortiGate cost-effective, enhancing security and productivity while reducing operational costs and manpower needs.
Sentiment score
6.3
Check Point Harmony SASE boosts security, productivity, and efficiency while reducing costs, enhancing remote work and incident management.
Sentiment score
8.0
Fortinet FortiOS offers competitive pricing, easy scalability, and reliable security, resulting in solid ROI and reduced upgrade costs.
Clients are now comfortable and not wasting productive hours on IT support.
The automation part is giving us a cost benefit and speed; we can react faster.
It's a very useful tool to mitigate and protect your enterprise.
Check Point Harmony SASE (formerly Perimeter 81) blocked access to those URLs at the network level before users could click through.
We are saving 40% of our time, which is good.
Once it is deployed, I do not have to revisit or replace the hardware.
The pricing of FortiOS is competitive and reasonable compared to other leading products such as Palo Alto and Check Point.
Fortinet is strong in terms of cost and compatibility with other vendors.
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
6.4
Fortinet FortiGate's customer support is generally positive but varies in responsiveness and expertise, influenced by region and support tier.
Sentiment score
7.0
Check Point Harmony SASE receives mixed feedback, with users praising support responsiveness but noting occasional delays and escalation needs.
Sentiment score
7.8
Fortinet FortiOS support is helpful but inconsistent, with quick basic solutions, delays on complex issues, and documentation needing improvement.
They offer very accurate solutions.
The quick resolution of issues with Fortinet FortiGate is due to the support of the company and the fact that the equipment is easy to work with.
I would rate the technical support for Fortinet FortiGate a ten out of ten.
I would rate support 10 out of 10.
After updating firmware, data utilization was visible for a few days before collapsing again.
I would rate them nine or ten out of ten.
Fortinet technical support is very responsive and helpful.
Support engineers sometimes lack eagerness to assist with issues such as the memory problem.
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
6.9
Fortinet FortiGate effectively supports scalable deployments, offering adaptability despite potential hardware limits and integration and licensing concerns.
Sentiment score
8.1
Check Point Harmony SASE offers scalable, cloud-native network security ideal for dynamic workforces, with easy expansion and implementation.
Sentiment score
8.6
Fortinet FortiOS offers scalable solutions for varying business sizes, though some hardware upgrades may be needed for expansion.
They scale up really well from smaller models like the FortiGate 40 and 50 to bigger sites with the FortiGate 100 for more throughput - up to enterprise datacenters.
The variation comes in terms of the interfaces and throughputs, but from a security perspective, you get the same benefit, irrespective of whether you have an entry-level unit or an enterprise.
We determine sizing based on multiple factors: number of users, available links, traffic types, server count, services in use, and whether services will be published.
The cloud-native model ensures we are not tied to any specific location or hardware, which has been a great game changer in terms of agility.
The scalability of Check Point Harmony SASE (formerly Perimeter 81) is good, and I can add more users and devices easily as my organization grows.
I would rate it nine out of ten for scalability.
When customers' networks grow and needs expand, we can easily switch between models to trade up devices.
It allows for the expansion of users and devices without additional licensing costs.
Fortinet FortiOS is scalable, allowing the addition of users and firewalls as required.
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
7.4
FortiGate is praised for stability and performance, with minor challenges managed by updates, proper sizing, and support.
Sentiment score
7.8
Check Point Harmony SASE is praised for reliability and security, though some experience occasional connectivity issues and suggest optimizations.
Sentiment score
7.5
Fortinet FortiOS is stable and reliable, outperforming alternatives, with any issues mainly due to configuration challenges.
We're experiencing 99.999% availability consistently.
I would rate the stability of Fortinet FortiGate a ten out of ten.
Currently, we are experiencing a general outage of one of the main internet service providers of the Dominican Republic, and we have not been impacted in our operations because with SD-WAN, we have another internet service provider and we are working with the second WAN connection without any disruption.
Even the support team does not have a proper solution for this issue.
There are some lags and glitches with connectivity, so I would rate the stability as between seven or eight out of ten.
After the last improvement, I can say it is much more stable now.
While the product is largely stable, it sometimes faces memory issues in specific versions like 11 OE, which can be disruptive.
Stability is a seven out of ten because during version migrations, and sometimes with new versions, Fortinet is not as good.
I would rate the stability of FortiOS as an eight out of ten.
 

Room For Improvement

Fortinet FortiGate struggles with integration, user complexity, support inefficiencies, high costs, and feature performance, needing improved documentation and security.
Check Point Harmony SASE needs enhanced customization, integration, user interface, performance, and advanced features to improve overall efficiency.
Fortinet FortiOS users want improved usability, better management, enhanced security features, and more efficient support, especially for 60D models.
Investing in a solution that can accommodate such growth would be more cost-effective than repeatedly purchasing new hardware.
The constant daily revisions necessitate meticulous identification of the relevant documents to prevent the use of outdated information that could jeopardize our environment.
While Fortinet claims to offer a comprehensive network solution, it falls short in addressing computer application issues, particularly server security.
An example of when the support cycle took longer than expected was when I had a ticket open for nearly six to seven months regarding a simple issue.
A local data center in Turkey would enhance the product, as currently, our Internet traffic goes to another country, which is problematic for us.
One area for improvement is integration with third-party identity providers.
Fortinet FortiOS faces memory issues, which can lead to unexpected downtimes.
There should be more documentation on how to use the CLI or how to perform CLI versions of tasks that can be done through the GUI.
Compared to other market leaders like Palo Alto and Check Point, FortiOS has many bugs in its initial releases.
 

Setup Cost

Fortinet FortiGate offers competitive, cost-effective pricing, appealing to small-medium businesses with flexible licensing and valued security solutions.
Check Point Harmony SASE offers flexible, clear pricing, starting at $30 per license, suitable for larger organizations with discounts available.
Fortinet FortiOS pricing is moderate and scalable, with renewal costs potentially high despite competitive initial bundling offers.
FortiGate is priced lower than Palo Alto.
Last year, I renewed the support for three years, which can sometimes be expensive but depends on the security benefits and how it helps us.
It is about 20% cheaper.
Cost efficiency is a consideration, as SASE products are not the cheapest security products.
It is a bit expensive.
My experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing for Check Point Harmony SASE (formerly Perimeter 81) is that it is a rental service, but I find it satisfactory.
It is an affordable solution for us.
Fortinet products are somewhat pricey, similar to Cisco equivalents, however, they have justified their price point.
I am satisfied with the pricing, licensing, and setup costs of FortiOS, rating it nine out of ten compared to other familiar leading firewalls.
 

Valuable Features

Fortinet FortiGate is user-friendly, cost-effective, and offers high-performance comprehensive security with advanced threat protection features.
Check Point Harmony SASE offers unified security with Zero Trust Network Access, centralized management, and user-centric design for enhanced productivity.
Fortinet FortiOS offers ease of use, robust security features, scalability, and cost-effectiveness, ideal for large-scale deployments.
In terms of security, we have not experienced any security flaws or loopholes, and it has proven to be quite stable.
FortiGate has helped reduce the risk of cyberattacks that might disrupt our client's production.
These features help reduce our downtime, manage the ISPs, and deploy SLAs for all the website traffic.
The firewall management is the most valuable feature for me.
The Zero Trust Network Access (ZTNA) feature is a major highlight as it gives users seamless and secure access to internal resources without requiring a full-blown VPN, which improves both security and user experience.
The best key features of Harmony are stabilization, private access, and Internet access.
It is user-friendly when it comes to turning on features, and it has been reliable and effective.
The threat intelligence in FortiOS is very high, and the system is scalable without additional licensing costs.
The solution offers good threat intelligence, which is crucial for our customers' security purposes.
 

Categories and Ranking

Fortinet FortiGate
Sponsored
Ranking in Firewalls
2nd
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
411
Ranking in other categories
Software Defined WAN (SD-WAN) Solutions (1st), WAN Edge (1st)
Check Point Harmony SASE (f...
Ranking in Firewalls
15th
Average Rating
8.8
Reviews Sentiment
7.1
Number of Reviews
61
Ranking in other categories
Secure Web Gateways (SWG) (6th), Anti-Malware Tools (6th), Enterprise Infrastructure VPN (7th), ZTNA as a Service (4th), ZTNA (2nd), Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) (5th)
Fortinet FortiOS
Ranking in Firewalls
21st
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
8.0
Number of Reviews
81
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of August 2025, in the Firewalls category, the mindshare of Fortinet FortiGate is 20.8%, up from 17.8% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Check Point Harmony SASE (formerly Perimeter 81) is 0.2%, up from 0.1% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Fortinet FortiOS is 1.2%, up from 0.9% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Firewalls
 

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.
Nasseer Qureshi - PeerSpot reviewer
Delivers seamless and secure remote access while enhancing security posture
Check Point Harmony SASE (formerly Perimeter 81) offers strong features, but there are areas that could be improved. One area for improvement is integration with third-party identity providers. It works with standard SAML and SSO, but we would prefer deeper integrations with solutions such as Ping for more advanced identity-based policies. Additionally, a mobile-specific client or lightweight agent would be helpful for securing access from smartphones, especially in BYOD environments. We would appreciate more granular reporting and analytics, including better drill-down capabilities to investigate specific users or app activity. The logs are comprehensive, but filtering them can sometimes feel messy. The user interface on the management portal could be more intuitive, especially when managing multiple sites or remote offices. Some of the policy configuration steps are nested and could be streamlined.
Harshama Silva - PeerSpot reviewer
We have improved network security with user-friendly controls and high threat intelligence
FortiOS is very user-friendly and easy to configure for L1, L2, and L3 personnel. Its web filtering, application control, and IPS features are very user-friendly, easy to manage, and deploy. The threat intelligence in FortiOS is very high, and the system is scalable without additional licensing costs. FortiOS allows us to expand the number of users and devices as our network needs grow.
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
16%
Comms Service Provider
9%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Financial Services Firm
6%
Computer Software Company
15%
Financial Services Firm
7%
Manufacturing Company
6%
Government
6%
Computer Software Company
13%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Government
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 ...
What do you like most about Perimeter 81?
Even after restarting, it tries to quickly reestablish connection which is very helpful.
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...
What needs improvement with Perimeter 81?
In terms of improvement, Perimeter 81 could enhance its reporting and analytics capabilities to provide more detailed...
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...
What do you like most about Fortinet FortiOS?
The SSL VPN is fee for use is most attractive.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Fortinet FortiOS?
I rate the pricing for FortiOS as eight or nine out of ten. It is an affordable solution for us.
 

Also Known As

FortiGate 60b, FortiGate 60c, FortiGate 80c, FortiGate 50b, FortiGate 200b, FortiGate 110c, FortiGate, Fortinet Firewall
Check Point Quantum SASE
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
Aqua Security, Cognito, Multipoint, Kustomer, Postman, Meredith
Black Gold Regional Schools, Amadeus Hospitality, Jefferson County, Chunghwa Telecom, City of Boroondara, Dimension Data
Find out what your peers are saying about Check Point Harmony SASE (formerly Perimeter 81) vs. Fortinet FortiOS and other solutions. Updated: July 2025.
865,295 professionals have used our research since 2012.