Try our new research platform with insights from 80,000+ expert users

FortiCNAPP vs NGINX App Protect comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Nov 18, 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
6.1
FortiCNAPP enhances security, saves time and costs by automating alerts and reducing manual efforts, justifying its investment.
Sentiment score
6.9
Organizations saw positive ROI with NGINX App Protect during COVID-19, improving security and integration, anticipating future benefits.
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
7.9
FortiCNAPP’s customer service is praised for responsiveness, proactive communication, and efficient issue resolution via Slack and email.
Sentiment score
6.3
NGINX App Protect support is praised for promptness and helpfulness but inconsistencies and costs affect user satisfaction.
Technical support from Fortinet is good; I get feedback and responses quickly.
Software Engineer at a university with 5,001-10,000 employees
They were quick and efficient when we had issues.
Project Manager at a comms service provider with 10,001+ employees
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
7.5
FortiCNAPP is praised for scalability and adaptability, with positive integration across environments, but challenges include high-traffic scenarios.
Sentiment score
6.5
NGINX App Protect is scalable with diverse options but faces deployment, traffic, and configuration centralization challenges noted by users.
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
7.4
FortiCNAPP is stable, with occasional minor detection issues and lags, yet frequent updates maintain steady performance.
Sentiment score
8.4
NGINX App Protect is praised for stability and integration, outperforming competitors, though minor improvements in HTML5 are needed.
It is a quality solution, and I would rate its stability as eight out of ten.
IT Architect at a financial services firm with 10,001+ employees
 

Room For Improvement

FortiCNAPP requires improvements in integration, security features, user interface, alert management, and data visibility for enhanced user experience.
NGINX App Protect requires improved flexibility, UI, API, automation, network support, pricing, integration, and feature enhancements like security and documentation.
The vulnerability part is not systematically organized; it is all clumsy in the web UI, and it is not user-friendly.
Software Engineer at a university with 5,001-10,000 employees
There was more information from F5 regarding hardware requirements and specifications to deploy the service.
IT Architect at a financial services firm with 10,001+ employees
 

Setup Cost

FortiCNAPP pricing is flexible and stable, with costs ranging from $80,000 to $200,000 annually, not seen as prohibitive.
NGINX App Protect costs $3,000-$400,000 annually, considered expensive but competitive, with no hidden fees and strategic cost management possible.
 

Valuable Features

FortiCNAPP excels in compliance, threat detection, integration, and automation, enhancing security and efficiency in multi-cloud environments.
NGINX App Protect provides comprehensive security features including automation, containerization, and flexible API connectivity for robust application protection.
The machine learning capability in Lacework FortiCNAPP is used for threat detection.
Software Engineer at a university with 5,001-10,000 employees
The most valuable feature is the ability to operate in a DevOps environment and to be configured through API and pipeline by the developers themselves.
IT Architect at a financial services firm with 10,001+ employees
Detecting bots and blocking IPs have proven effective for securing applications.
Project Manager at a comms service provider with 10,001+ employees
 

Categories and Ranking

FortiCNAPP
Ranking in Container Security
32nd
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
11
Ranking in other categories
Vulnerability Management (42nd), Cloud Workload Protection Platforms (CWPP) (19th), Cloud Security Posture Management (CSPM) (28th), Cloud-Native Application Protection Platforms (CNAPP) (17th), Compliance Management (11th)
NGINX App Protect
Ranking in Container Security
27th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.0
Number of Reviews
24
Ranking in other categories
Web Application Firewall (WAF) (15th), API Security (7th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of January 2026, in the Container Security category, the mindshare of FortiCNAPP is 2.3%, up from 1.7% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of NGINX App Protect is 0.4%, up from 0.2% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Container Security Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
NGINX App Protect0.4%
FortiCNAPP2.3%
Other97.3%
Container Security
 

Featured Reviews

SK
Software Engineer at a university with 5,001-10,000 employees
Improving security insights has been helpful but inconsistent vulnerability tracking needs attention
The vulnerability part is not systematically organized; it is all clumsy in the web UI, and it is not user-friendly. Regarding improvements, the vulnerability part, recent changes with user management, and Fortinet IM coming into place, which is not helpful at all because it cuts out the automation part, are the most important things. Lacework FortiCNAPP should have a new clean UI and ease of access for the users as that should be the main concern. There are limitations regarding the scalability of Lacework FortiCNAPP. There are also more limitations with integrations like GitHub or any other pipeline, CI/CD, or ISD. It is glitchy and works well only sometimes, and most of the time, the reports or other things are not properly calculated or circulated with the teams.
JP
Project Manager at a comms service provider with 10,001+ employees
Blocking IPs and detecting bots enhances security for medical websites
I was researching products like NGINX App Protect and F5 Advanced WAF for long-term options. I have some use for such a solution, but probably not before next year Detecting bots and blocking IPs have proven effective for securing applications. We were able to block groups of IP addresses that…
report
Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Container Security solutions are best for your needs.
881,114 professionals have used our research since 2012.
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
14%
Computer Software Company
12%
Manufacturing Company
7%
University
6%
Computer Software Company
14%
Financial Services Firm
13%
Comms Service Provider
10%
Manufacturing Company
9%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business4
Midsize Enterprise4
Large Enterprise4
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business8
Midsize Enterprise5
Large Enterprise11
 

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Lacework?
My smaller deployments cost around 200,000 a year, which is probably not as expensive as Wiz.
What needs improvement with Lacework?
The vulnerability part is not systematically organized; it is all clumsy in the web UI, and it is not user-friendly. Regarding improvements, the vulnerability part, recent changes with user managem...
What is your primary use case for Lacework?
The major use case for Lacework FortiCNAPP is for security. I'm using it for security internally for my company.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for NGINX App Protect?
I don't know the pricing yet because in my other project, I was not part of the buying side and I was just starting to look at options.
What needs improvement with NGINX App Protect?
It would be better if it were easier to implement and if there was more information from F5 regarding hardware requirements and specifications to deploy the service, to avoid disruptions after impl...
 

Also Known As

Polygraph, FortiCNP, Lacework
NGINX WAF, NGINX Web Application Firewall
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

J.Crew, AdRoll, Snowflake, VMWare, Iterable, Pure Storage, TrueCar, NerdWallet, and more.
Information Not Available
Find out what your peers are saying about FortiCNAPP vs. NGINX App Protect and other solutions. Updated: December 2025.
881,114 professionals have used our research since 2012.