Corelight Open NDR vs Fortinet FortiGate comparison

Why PeerSpot?

Corelight and Fortinet are both solutions in the Intrusion Detection and Prevention Software (IDPS) category. Corelight is ranked #19 with an average rating of 8.5, while Fortinet is ranked #1 with an average rating of 8.5. Corelight holds a 1.3% mindshare in ID, compared to Fortinet’s 7.4% mindshare. Additionally, 100% of Corelight users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 92% of Fortinet users who would recommend it.

Corelight Open NDR

Read 7 Corelight Open NDR reviews

3,797 Views
1,367 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

Fortinet FortiGate

Read 595 Fortinet FortiGate reviews

94,366 Views
7,549 Comparison Views

92% willing to recommend

Corelight Open NDR

Fortinet FortiGate

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive Summary

We performed a comparison between Corelight Open NDR and Fortinet FortiGate based on real PeerSpot user reviews.

Find out in this report how the two Intrusion Detection and Prevention Software (IDPS) solutions compare in terms of features, pricing, service and support, easy of deployment, and ROI.

To learn more, read our detailed Corelight Open NDR vs. Fortinet FortiGate Report (Updated: September 2026).

Buyer's Guide

Corelight Open NDR vs. Fortinet FortiGate

September 2026

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Helped 915,341 peers since 2012

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

Corelight Open NDR

Ranking in Intrusion Detection and Prevention Software (IDPS)

19th

Average Rating

8.8

Reviews Sentiment

7.6

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Network Traffic Analysis (NTA) (4th), Network Detection and Response (NDR) (7th), AI-Powered Cybersecurity Platforms (12th)

Fortinet FortiGate

Ranking in Intrusion Detection and Prevention Software (IDPS)

1st

Average Rating

8.4

Reviews Sentiment

6.8

Number of Reviews

595

Ranking in other categories

Secure Web Gateways (SWG) (2nd), Firewalls (1st), Software Defined WAN (SD-WAN) Solutions (2nd), WAN Edge (1st), ZTNA (1st), Unified Threat Management (UTM) (1st)

Mindshare comparison

As of October 2026, in the Intrusion Detection and Prevention Software (IDPS) category, the mindshare of Corelight Open NDR is 1.3%, down from 2.7% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Fortinet FortiGate is 7.4%, down from 15.7% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Intrusion Detection and Prevention Software (IDPS) Mindshare Distribution
Product	Mindshare (%)
Fortinet FortiGate	7.4%
Corelight Open NDR	1.3%
Other	91.3%

Intrusion Detection and Prevention Software (IDPS)

Featured Reviews

reviewer2834367

Growth And Strategy Lead at a computer software company with 51-200 employees

Network visibility has transformed how we detect nation state threats and protect critical industry

Before Corelight recently started pushing some of the agentic features, querying at times could be a little difficult, depending on your mastery of log scale. However, I think with a lot of the artificial intelligence that they are building in, it is getting a lot easier to query in the platform. I would definitely encourage them to continue down that path where anybody can hop into the platform and start running queries, whether it is a simple instruction like I want this, and an artificial intelligence process can actually build the query and do it. I think that would be super powerful. Cyber skill sets are in high demand, and there is a huge backlog in cyber talent. We cannot fill all the positions we need. The easier we can make these cyber systems for people to pick up and be effective on, I think is really key. Explainability of data is hyper important. In the past few artificial intelligence related updates we have gotten from Corelight, that has been one of the first questions our team has asked every time or that I have asked: show me what the model is doing, show me how it came to this analysis. Within Investigator platform, they are able to walk through and see exactly what data the artificial intelligence pulled from where and why it did what it did as far as making its suggestions. They have definitely built their system with artificial intelligence in mind up front, and having that openness as one of the key features of any of their artificial intelligence and machine learning processes in the platform is important. The issue with black boxes is obviously hallucinations from artificial intelligence and just not being able to trace to ground truth. When we are talking about these cyber incidents and being able to do forensics, you need to be able to pinpoint and tie everything together, and black boxes really obscure that and prevent you from doing so. Corelight has done a really good job of making sure that everything is explainable and everything is mapped when it comes to leveraging any of their artificial intelligence features.

Read full review

Vishnu Jadhav

Network engineer at Inniti Network Solutions

Unified security platform has simplified daily network protection and accelerated troubleshooting

Fortinet FortiGate is generally easy to manage, but there are a few areas where it could be improved. The interface can become complex when managing a large number of firewall policies, and better policy search organization and reporting would be helpful. Firmware upgrades can also require careful planning and testing, especially in production environments. Troubleshooting some advanced issues may require deeper CLI knowledge or assistance from Fortinet support, and more advanced automation and AI-assisted troubleshooting within the management interface would be beneficial, such as clear recommendations for policy optimization, configuration issues, and security events. These improvements could make day-to-day administration even more efficient. More AI-driven capabilities for day-to-day administration would be valuable, especially for troubleshooting, policy optimization, and identifying potential configuration issues. More intelligent recommendations based on traffic patterns and security events could help administrators respond faster. More advanced reporting and dashboards that can be easily customized for different teams and management requirements would also be helpful, while better automation for routine tasks, firmware planning, and configuration validation would further reduce manual effort.

Read full review

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Corelight is easy to use."

"The most valuable feature is the embedded IDS from Suricata."

"It's an easy way for us to get visibility in a client's environment."

"Corelight Open NDR has had a positive impact on my company, providing visibility as the Suricata engine can scan huge volumes of traffic, including north-south and east-west, revealing signatures and exposures I was not expecting and enabling me to catch them with Suricata alerts."

"Our company has seen massive improvements in cybersecurity position for our clients."

"Technical support seems to be good."

"It's easy to create additional dashboards specific to supporting specific tasks."

"It is easy to deploy and easy to handle."

More Corelight Open NDR pros

"Fortinet provides us all that we need for security."

"I really like the captive portal feature for our guest network. It has nice VLAN features in terms of separating our network. The anti-virus is also good."

"The license management is very valuable. You can get a new license each year, or you can enroll every two to four years. You can get the logs, and you will get the information on the risk in your network and the entire organization. With this information, you can take action on your actives, computers, or devices. You can bring your own device as an SSE."

"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."

"It is simple to manage, and there are a lot of functionalities in the same box."

"The price of Fortinet FortiGate is reasonable for an SME."

"The most valuable feature of FortiGate is FortiView which provides proactive monitoring."

"The most significant aspect of IPS is self-explanatory as it primarily focuses on intrusion prevention, which is crucial for Fortinet's internal outbreak prevention efforts and ensuring compliance on endpoint devices."

More Fortinet FortiGate pros

Cons

"It's an expensive solution and the price could be reduced."

"In the next release, building a graphical user interface would be helpful."

"Corelight hasn’t added features in a long time."

"Machine learning could be a good improvement, but it's very costly."

"Before Corelight recently started pushing some of the agentic features, querying at times could be a little difficult, depending on your mastery of log scale."

"The solution’s architecture is complex and difficult to understand. There are multiple machines and VMs."

"They can enhance the interface of the product. They can make it more interactive and also easier to use for feature access."

"One issue that I have had is that sometimes I need to monitor the traffic, so I need to filter it according to the user and which user is using it the most. I experience a bottleneck most of the time, particularly at the peak time when the number of contracts and users are at maximum."

"One area for improvement is the performance on the bandwidth demands for smaller devices, as well as better web filtering."

"In the balance between links feature normally you can just choose one option to balance. It would be better for the solution to have more than one option, preferably three."

"They can probably improve the reporting feature. Reporting and report alerting are the main key features of this solution. They can always find ways to improve these."

"Scalability for Fortinet FortiGate needs to be improved. SD-WAN security for this solution also needs some improvement."

"The solution’s stability could be improved because we sometimes faced some drops."

"Fortinet could improve the windows opener or the virtual IP solutions for opening windows. The virtual IP settings need improvement as firewalls are trending in new development directions."

"There could be more modifications."

More Fortinet FortiGate cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"It's a yearly fee and depends on what you are looking for."

"The price is okay."

"Pricing is lower than Cisco."

"Here in Brazil, we're going through difficult economic times and the tax on the dollar is high. All the solutions from minor competitors are growing in the market. The prices have come more competitive."

"Pricing for this product is comparatively lower than other products. It's an affordable solution, but when expanding the number of users, they'll ask you to replace the model, so that's an added cost."

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

"The product pricing is reasonable."

"Its price is normal. If I compare it with other vendors, such as Palo Alto, it's normal. Palo Alto is expensive."

"The product is expensive. I rate its pricing a six out of ten."

More Fortinet FortiGate pricing and cost advice

See which vendors are best for you

Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Intrusion Detection and Prevention Software (IDPS) solutions are best for your needs.

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Comparison Review

it_user216600

Senior Technical Consultant with 51-200 employees

Jan 3, 2016

Sophos UTM vs. Fortinet FortiGate

I have used both Sophos and Fortinet products in production and I have found the Sophos UTM appliances (hardware and virtual) to be a better fit most of the time -- with a few caveats which I will touch on below. In both instances, the transition from TMG will be mostly straightforward. The main…

Read full review

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Financial Services Firm

12%

Government

Real Estate/Law Firm

Computer Software Company

Comms Service Provider

10%

Manufacturing Company

Computer Software Company

Financial Services Firm

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	4
Midsize Enterprise	2
Large Enterprise	1

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	373
Midsize Enterprise	138
Large Enterprise	195

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Corelight?

I have a fortunate experience with pricing, setup costs, and licensing of Corelight Open NDR, as being a principal architect, I get to sit outside of that conversation and just choose the best prod...

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What needs improvement with Corelight?

Corelight Open NDR does not need any improvements or additional features in the next releases. The product is excellent at what it does, and I believe what they have done with it, taking an open-so...

See all answers

What is your primary use case for Corelight?

I have been using Corelight Open NDR solution for approximately three years. I leverage the Suricata engine heavily for alerting on indicators of compromise as my main use case for this solution.

See all answers

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 at large. In my opinion, Fortinet would be the best option and l use Fortinet too...

See all answers

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 the firewalls change every 5 to 7 years as stated but you really do need to upg...

See all answers

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 good. The most valuable features for me are their web and email filtering. I wou...

See all answers

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Compared 15% of the time

Sophos Firewall vs Fortinet FortiGate

Compared 13% of the time

Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls vs Fortinet FortiGate

Compared 6% of the time

Netgate pfSense vs Fortinet FortiGate

Compared 3% of the time

OPNsense vs Fortinet FortiGate

Compared 2% of the time

More Fortinet FortiGate Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Corelight Open NDR

October 2026

Download Corelight Open NDR product report

Buyer's Guide

Fortinet FortiGate

October 2026

Download Fortinet FortiGate product report

Also Known As

Corelight Open NDR

Fortinet FortiGate Next-Generation Firewall

Overview

Corelight Open NDR delivers rapid deployment, essential insight, and data for cybersecurity. Known for ease of use, cost-effectiveness, and open-source Zeek code, it enhances security by streamlining traffic monitoring and integrating with threat feeds.

Corelight Open NDR offers organizations enhanced network security and visibility, utilizing physical sensors in addition to cloud, virtual, and software variants. It supports incident response with packet capture sampling, monitoring internet, data center, and LAN traffic while facilitating east-west traffic identification. Despite its complexity, users suggest architectural simplifications and a graphical interface to boost usability and reduce costs. Features like Smart PCAP and service catalogs contribute positively, but an interactive interface with more seamless feature access is desired.

What Are Corelight Open NDR's Key Features?

Quick Deployment: Allows rapid implementation in varied environments.
Comprehensive Insight: Offers in-depth data and visibility for effective cybersecurity.
Ease of Handling: Designed for simplicity and cost-efficiency in complex networks.
Open-Source Zeek Code: Provides transparency and flexibility in operations.
Integrated Threat Feeds: Streamlines threat detection and analysis.
Suricata IDS: Enhances existing security frameworks effectively.
Custom Dashboards: Enables tailored task-specific visualizations.

What Benefits Should Users Consider?

Cost-Effectiveness: Delivers impressive cybersecurity capabilities at a competitive price.
Scalability: Offers solutions from physical to cloud-based implementations.
Enhanced Security: Strengthens incident response and threat detection efforts.
Ease of Use: Simplifies complex security processes for improved efficiency.

Primarily utilized by organizations to bolster network security, Corelight Open NDR is deployed in various sectors to increase visibility and streamline incident response. Its deployment spans physical, cloud, virtual, and software models, focusing on comprehensive packet capture sampling for effective traffic monitoring. Across industries, it serves managed services by identifying lateral network traffic, optimizing internet, data center, and LAN performance.

Corelight

Fortinet FortiGate is a versatile network security tool offering features like VPN, firewall, web filtering, intrusion prevention, and scalability. It is known for its performance and integration with other Fortinet products, making it a preferred choice for robust cybersecurity.

Fortinet FortiGate stands out as a comprehensive cybersecurity solution with strong performance and ease of configuration. It delivers unified threat management, integrating features such as dynamic routing, SD-WAN support, and centralized management. Despite its strengths, improvements in the web interface's stability, pricing structures, and reporting capabilities are needed. Users seek better integration with third-party tools and automation advancements to enhance the experience further. These enhancements, alongside improvements in bandwidth management and the reduction of licensing costs, are points of interest for users looking to capitalize on FortiGate's extensive capabilities.

What are Fortinet FortiGate's key features?

VPN: Ensures secure remote connections.
Firewall: Protects against unauthorized access.
Web Filtering: Blocks malicious sites and content.
Application Control: Manages and controls applications.
Intrusion Prevention: Detects and prevents vulnerabilities.
SSL Inspection: Enhances security by inspecting encrypted traffic.

What benefits should be considered when evaluating Fortinet FortiGate?

Affordability: Offers cost-effective security solutions.
Reliability: Known for consistent and stable performance.
Integration: Seamlessly integrates with other Fortinet products.
Comprehensive Protection: Provides broad threat protection capabilities.

Fortinet FortiGate is widely implemented across industries as a primary firewall system for securing internet gateways and safeguarding data centers. It supports businesses in achieving SD-WAN integration and enhances cybersecurity by providing essential features like antivirus, web filtering, and application control. Enterprises utilize FortiGate for securing remote connections and ensuring compliance with security standards, making it adaptable for different network sizes and industries.

Fortinet

Sample Customers

CarrefourEdnonGrand Canyon EducationSektorCERTTietoevryVolkswagen Financial Services

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

Buyer's Guide

Corelight Open NDR vs. Fortinet FortiGate

September 2026

Free Report: Corelight Open NDR vs. Fortinet FortiGate

Find out what your peers are saying about Corelight Open NDR vs. Fortinet FortiGate and other solutions. Updated: September 2026.

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