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Fortinet FortiWeb vs NetScaler comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Nov 30, 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
6.5
Fortinet FortiWeb offers cost-effective security, reducing expenses by up to 80%, enhancing reliability, and mitigating cyber threats.
Sentiment score
8.1
NetScaler ensures data security and operational efficiency, providing significant cost savings and stability for medium enterprises.
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
6.6
Fortinet FortiWeb's support is responsive and competent, though users note room for improvement in expertise and response times.
Sentiment score
6.1
Citrix support is responsive and knowledgeable, though some users report delays and prefer direct access to experienced engineers.
The back-end development team is available, and if any issue arises, they will help us immediately by providing solutions when contacted.
Technical Support Engineer at Intimesolutions
Their support is truly exceptional when I compare it with similar large-sized companies.
Global Channel Alliances Lead at a tech vendor with 10,001+ employees
The expertise of engineers varies across different time zones, affecting the effectiveness of the support provided, especially during our daytime.
Chief Technology Officer at Future Point Technologies
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
7.1
Fortinet FortiWeb is scalable but limited in hardware upgrades; virtual machines offer more adaptability for various needs.
Sentiment score
7.8
NetScaler is praised for high scalability and flexibility, despite some challenges with licensing complexity and multi-tenancy support.
You can add additional boxes that combine together to achieve a bigger throughput for investigation and research.
Security Team Lead at a outsourcing company with 1,001-5,000 employees
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
7.9
Fortinet FortiWeb is generally reliable, with minimal stability issues, although some users face occasional configuration or version challenges.
Sentiment score
7.6
NetScaler is highly rated for stability and performance, with some recommending regular maintenance for optimal reliability.
We have not faced any significant issues during deployments.
Chief Technology Officer at Future Point Technologies
 

Room For Improvement

Fortinet FortiWeb needs improvements in upgrades, support, threat intelligence, user interface, cloud integration, reporting, stability, and load balancing.
NetScaler needs improvements in usability, stability, security integration, and support while enhancing documentation, pricing transparency, and deployment processes.
After the customer submits a specific question and requests troubleshooting help from Fortinet support, it takes at least three to five days to provide a proper answer.
Security Team Lead at a outsourcing company with 1,001-5,000 employees
If the GUI includes notifications and improved logging capabilities that allow us to see traffic and store logs for six months, that would be very helpful.
Technical Support Engineer at Intimesolutions
Fine-tuning is a room for improvement in Fortinet FortiWeb.
Joint Director at PAA
 

Setup Cost

Fortinet FortiWeb provides flexible pricing and licensing, appealing to enterprises for cost-effectiveness despite some users noting variable costs.
NetScaler pricing is high but offers strong features; cost-saving options include alternatives or negotiating multi-year subscriptions.
For VM machines, the price increases based on CPU configurations of 2, 4, or 8 CPUs.
Presales Engineer at SAUDI PARAMOUNT COMPUTER SYSTEMS
Most security products charge less at the time of purchase because of competition, but when we go to renewals, the prices become very high.
Joint Director at PAA
If the customer has multiple websites, the price reduces automatically because it depends on the number only.
Technical Support Engineer at Intimesolutions
 

Valuable Features

Fortinet FortiWeb provides advanced security features and seamless integration, offering cost-effective, robust protection and easy deployment for enterprises.
NetScaler provides flexible deployment, security enhancements, and integration with Citrix for efficient application delivery and robust traffic management.
Fortinet FortiWeb has positively impacted my organization because most of our servers and applications are secure from hackers and other security threats.
Joint Director at PAA
The features of FortiWeb Web Application Firewall (WAF) that have proven most effective in protecting web applications include web filtering, DDoS protection, geo-location blocking, and blocking SQL injection attacks.
Technical Support Engineer at Intimesolutions
There is one technical support team and a single point of contact from the vendor side when they need technical expertise.
Security Team Lead at a outsourcing company with 1,001-5,000 employees
 

Categories and Ranking

Fortinet FortiWeb
Ranking in Web Application Firewall (WAF)
1st
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.7
Number of Reviews
122
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
NetScaler
Ranking in Web Application Firewall (WAF)
10th
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.0
Number of Reviews
107
Ranking in other categories
Application Delivery Controllers (ADC) (1st), Network Management Applications (4th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of January 2026, in the Web Application Firewall (WAF) category, the mindshare of Fortinet FortiWeb is 8.1%, up from 7.9% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of NetScaler is 4.2%, up from 4.1% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Web Application Firewall (WAF) Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Fortinet FortiWeb8.1%
NetScaler4.2%
Other87.7%
Web Application Firewall (WAF)
 

Featured Reviews

HameedAhmed - PeerSpot reviewer
Joint Director at PAA
Security threats have been reduced through seamless deployment and strong integration with other tools
I have used Fortinet FortiWeb's integration features. We have easily integrated all of the applications with the product. Most of the applications we are using are in-house built. My technical team is looking after the best features. I have not used it extensively for maybe two and a half years. I have been involved in the installation, but I am not actually using the product. I work with it from time to time but not extensively. I would assess Fortinet FortiWeb's adaptive machine learning and artificial intelligence as having new patches installed regarding artificial intelligence, but when we bought it, I think the learning feature was there. Now they have installed artificial intelligence features through patches. We have a complete portfolio of Fortinet in our organization, including FortiMail, Fortinet FortiWeb, and FortiGate, along with multi-factor authentication. All of the products are from Fortinet. Fortinet tools integrate with each other and work in conjunction. I think Fortinet FortiWeb has helped us meet regulatory compliance because we are not a regulatory organization, but our sister organization is regulatory. We have regulatory compliance with the International Civil Aviation Authority, whose audit teams have checked our data center and these security products, and they are satisfied with us. The question about leveraging Fortinet FortiWeb's automated policy management does not pertain to my domain because I am not so technical, but I am in a management role now. My engineer is more technical than me. I would rate this product an eight point five out of ten.
LD
Information Technology Division Director at Ethiopian Roads Administration
Offers better visibility into user sessions compared to other solutions
Improvements are needed to address the issue of machines becoming unregistered, ensuring stability for end users. Troubleshooting with Citrix support can be challenging, so clearer diagnostics would be beneficial. As for global server load balancing, it works well on-premises, depending on user volume and service stability. Overall, it's satisfactory for us.
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
10%
Computer Software Company
9%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Comms Service Provider
7%
Computer Software Company
13%
Government
9%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Manufacturing Company
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business60
Midsize Enterprise27
Large Enterprise36
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business45
Midsize Enterprise23
Large Enterprise57
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Fortinet FortiWeb?
The WAF profiles has been effective at mitigating web-based threats.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Fortinet FortiWeb?
The pricing for Fortinet FortiWeb varies with different models having different prices. It depends on the requirement. For VM machines, the price increases based on CPU configurations of 2, 4, or 8...
What needs improvement with Fortinet FortiWeb?
There is room for improvement in Fortinet FortiWeb. The team was only from FortiGate itself. They are making new firmware versions and releasing them before checking, which leads to many bugs in th...
What do you like most about Citrix ADC?
The most valuable feature for us is the application firewalling in Citrix NetScaler, ensuring only valid traffic enters our environment.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Citrix ADC?
After deployment, Citrix Netscaler shifted to a subscription-based license scheme for support, which is slightly more expensive.
What needs improvement with Citrix ADC?
Citrix NetScaler is a robust product, but mastering it requires significant learning and training due to its complexity. While it could be easier to manage, it is like transitioning from driving a ...
 

Also Known As

FortiWeb Web Application Firewall (WAF)
Citrix ADC, Citrix NetScaler VPX, NetScaler Console, NetScaler Web Application Firewall, NetScaler VPX - Customer Licensed
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Lush, Barnabas Health, Options, Riverside Healthcare, Hillsbourough County Schools, Columbia Public Schools, Schiller AG
ABB Schweiz, Aer Lingus, AIDS Healthcare Foundation, Amnet Technology Solutions, Aramex International, Ascenty, Atos, Autodesk
Find out what your peers are saying about Fortinet FortiWeb vs. NetScaler and other solutions. Updated: December 2025.
880,844 professionals have used our research since 2012.