FortiMonitor vs SolarWinds Network Device Monitor comparison

Fortinet and SolarWinds are both solutions in the Network Monitoring Software category. Fortinet is ranked #22 with an average rating of 8.8, while SolarWinds is ranked #27 with an average rating of 7.9. Fortinet holds a 0.7% mindshare in NMS, compared to SolarWinds’s 0.8% mindshare. Additionally, 100% of Fortinet users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 95% of SolarWinds users who would recommend it.

FortiMonitor

Read 15 FortiMonitor reviews

1,869 Views
1,346 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

SolarWinds Network Device M...

Read 23 SolarWinds Network Device Monitor reviews

1,335 Views
1,295 Comparison Views

95% willing to recommend

FortiMonitor

SolarWinds Network Device M...

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Oct 10, 2024

SolarWinds Network Device Monitor and FortiMonitor are products in the network monitoring space. FortiMonitor appears to have the upper hand due to its superior features, providing deeper insights into network operations, despite its complex deployment.

Features: SolarWinds Network Device Monitor offers reliable performance, efficient monitoring capabilities, and straightforward pricing. FortiMonitor includes advanced analytics, integration capabilities, and a broader feature set, appealing to those seeking comprehensive monitoring solutions.

Room for Improvement: SolarWinds Network Device Monitor could enhance its advanced analytics capabilities, integration options, and broaden its feature set. FortiMonitor might improve by simplifying deployment, offering more budget-friendly pricing, and refining its user interface for easier navigation.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: SolarWinds Network Device Monitor is known for its easy deployment and effective customer support, attracting organizations seeking a quick setup. FortiMonitor has a more complex deployment model but provides comprehensive customer support, guiding users through its complexity.

Pricing and ROI: SolarWinds Network Device Monitor has competitive setup costs, offering a strong return on investment for basic monitoring needs. FortiMonitor requires a higher initial investment but delivers excellent returns for organizations needing detailed network insights, highlighting the value of its comprehensive capabilities against the economical value of SolarWinds for simpler requirements.

To learn more, read our detailed FortiMonitor vs. SolarWinds Network Device Monitor Report (Updated: December 2025).

Buyer's Guide

FortiMonitor vs. SolarWinds Network Device Monitor

December 2025

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Helped 879,986 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

FortiMonitor

Ranking in Network Monitoring Software

22nd

Average Rating

8.4

Reviews Sentiment

7.1

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

IT Infrastructure Monitoring (23rd), IT Alerting and Incident Management (10th), Digital Experience Monitoring (DEM) (7th)

SolarWinds Network Device M...

Ranking in Network Monitoring Software

27th

Average Rating

7.8

Reviews Sentiment

6.4

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of January 2026, in the Network Monitoring Software category, the mindshare of FortiMonitor is 0.7%, up from 0.7% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of SolarWinds Network Device Monitor is 0.8%, up from 0.5% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Network Monitoring Software Market Share Distribution
Product	Market Share (%)
FortiMonitor	0.7%
SolarWinds Network Device Monitor	0.8%
Other	98.5%

Network Monitoring Software

Featured Reviews

reviewer2677554

Network Engineer III at a energy/utilities company with 1,001-5,000 employees

Managing diverse networks with detailed alerts enhances device oversight

FortiManager is very helpful in managing our networks. We use it to manage 20 farms and various networks with hundreds of devices. The version we are using provides more detail than the older dashboard. We appreciate the alerting capabilities, which are integrated with SolarWinds to notify our team via SMS.

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Sorin Gogean

IT Infrastructure Senior Network Technician at Autoliv

Offers some features but needs better customization and analysis tools

There are solutions that can perform better, but due to pricing for our corporate implementation, we had to stay with this solution. It accomplishes the necessary tasks, but there is room for improvement. The features are not as customizable as we would prefer, but they are workable. If configured properly, you can perform a drill-down analysis. However, I have not used this feature much for our infrastructure on the network side.

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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

"In FortiMonitor, we're linked up with our Netgear, CactusServer, and NOC. It's really valuable because everything's migrating to one dashboard for us system engineers. We can keep an eye on traffic, blocked sites, and the health of our hardware. That last part, about knowing if something's going to fail soon, is super important. It gives us time to sort things out before any big problems happen. As a system engineer, I need to keep tabs on everything – temperature, monitoring systems, and network operations. This data is really handy because it helps me ensure our site runs smoothly, whether it's turning systems on or off. Just last night, there was a system failure, but thanks to real-time monitoring, I quickly identified the problem and got the necessary replacement parts."

"The solution helps to see client infrastructure. It has many boxes and blinks green or red when the station goes up or down. We have different domains for the device groups that we monitor."

"FortiMonitor has a very intuitive dashboard, which makes it particularly helpful for analyzing traffic, alerts, and other information."

"Fortinet's customer support is very good."

"FortiMonitor offers comprehensive monitoring capabilities, allowing me to track network traffic in and out effectively."

"The product's initial setup phase is easy."

"FortiMonitor has a very intuitive dashboard, which makes it particularly helpful for analyzing traffic, alerts, and other information."

"The tool continuously improves, adapting to support new vendors and technologies. Importantly, it automates the process, triggering alerts when devices require attention, and eliminating the need for manual intervention."

More FortiMonitor pros

"You can create an attractive dashboard and create a hierarchy."

"Since our devices are spread out across the world, we can see the status of these devices without having to send someone physically to a remote location, which saves money."

"The alerting functionality in SolarWinds Network Device Monitor helps us stay informed during off-hours by sending alerts if our main links or devices are impacted, allowing us to quickly address any issues."

"I like the mapping that you could do and the dashboards were very pretty."

"In terms of general network monitoring features, I find SolarWinds Network Device Monitor very flexible and comfortable to use. The software itself is extremely useful when it comes to monitoring how our data moves between different networks and environments."

"SolarWinds is flexible and works with multiple vendor devices."

"The most valuable feature of SolarWinds Network Device Monitor is it shows you the utilization of devices to allow you to take proactive action before something goes down or reaches the saturation point. You can take proactive action to fix the problem before it occurs."

"The deployment process is quick."

More SolarWinds Network Device Monitor pros

Cons

"There are no AI features in FortiMonitor, which might be an area for enhancement."

"There is room for improvement in the FortiMonitor report. It is not ideal for showcasing to tech customers or managers, especially when trying to display high CPU usage from logins within a specific range of months or the most recent month."

"FortiMonitor could improve by having compatibility with other operating systems, such as Linux."

"We use FortiToken, and it's a pain to use because you have to send things through your phone and then confirm by email. Only after this can you log in. It's dual-factor authentication. I wish that I could just log in or bring up a dashboard where I could log in from."

"The solution's initial setup process is time-consuming."

"I think the current features are really good for me, nothing else comes to mind right now. Maybe some small improvements could be made in the customization and configuration part of the UI to make it easier or more intuitive. Customizable UI options, like we saw in the demo, could be helpful for everyone. But in our operational environment, having clear health status and system details is crucial for us system engineers. One feature I'd really like to see is a credential management system. It would help us keep track of who's logged in and how many times, which is important due to user restrictions. Sometimes, we need to manage logins more efficiently, like logging off other users to free up credentials. So having a feature like that would be really helpful."

"FortiMonitor could be improved by making it more convenient for smaller workloads, such as when configuring a few branches."

"FortiMonitor needs to improve its alert system."

More FortiMonitor cons

"It should provide user-friendly page"

"The way they are presenting the map of our devices needs to be improved."

"The solution lacks in performance monitoring."

"When an organization's network grows, the complexity of the dashboard becomes an area of concern where improvements are required."

"The security needs improvement, which is why we are moving away from Solar Winds. We have security concerns."

"Integration with different tools, such as ServiceNow and Excel, can be improved."

"The reporting feature needs improvement because we are unable to configure reports that were included during initial implementation."

"The solution is not user-friendly."

More SolarWinds Network Device Monitor cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"We have a large customer base for Fortinet, and the additional buying power got us really great discounts."

"There are additional costs needed for certain functionality, such as scalability."

"The tool's pricing model in Vietnam is a bit high. I rate the product price as an eight out of ten."

"In terms of licensing, while it may not be the most expensive option on the market, it's relatively cost-effective. You can obtain licenses at a lower cost, with the calculation being straightforward. For example, if you onboard around 5,000 devices, you'll need approximately 5,000 licenses, as each device typically counts as one license."

"FortiMonitor's price is very high."

"On a scale from one to ten, I rate the pricing a nine since it is a good solution that is available at a cheap price."

"The price of FortiMonitor is approximately $200 annually for 225 users. The price is competitive."

"Compared to other solutions, FortiMonitor is a very expensive solution."

"The price of the SolarWinds Network Device Monitor is good."

"I rate the product's price as three to three and a half or on a scale of one to ten, where one means low price, and ten means high price."

"Well, we had a perpetual license and the renewal was $20 to $25,000."

"Thankfully, it doesn't take a lot of manpower to install and deploy."

"The enterprise license is good for the SolarWinds Network Device Monitor. However, it is expensive, they should reduce their price."

"I find the cost of SolarWinds Network Device Monitor reasonable for our company. Though, I'm not aware of the exact licensing cost."

"When compared with other solutions SolarWinds is more expensive."

"The product is expensive."

More SolarWinds Network Device Monitor pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

11%

Manufacturing Company

Healthcare Company

Financial Services Firm

Manufacturing Company

15%

Financial Services Firm

10%

Computer Software Company

10%

Government

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	8
Midsize Enterprise	2
Large Enterprise	6

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	6
Midsize Enterprise	4
Large Enterprise	14

Questions from the Community

What is the best network monitoring software for large enterprises?

I have a clear bias because I work for Panopta. We aren't a fit for everyone, but I can confirm that Panopta is a lot less work to stand up and maintain. It's also a lot easier to use and onboard n...

See all answers

What do you like most about FortiMonitor?

In FortiMonitor, we're linked up with our Netgear, CactusServer, and NOC. It's really valuable because everything's migrating to one dashboard for us system engineers. We can keep an eye on traffic...

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for FortiMonitor?

FortiMonitor does save time but not significantly on costs, as there are still expenses related to procurement, installation, and licensing.

See all answers

What do you like most about SolarWinds Network Device Monitor?

I rate the product's initial setup process a nine on a scale of one to ten, where one means it is a difficult phase and ten is an easy process.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for SolarWinds Network Device Monitor?

I am not a positive person regarding SolarWinds Network Device Monitor.

See all answers

What needs improvement with SolarWinds Network Device Monitor?

See all answers

Comparisons

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Compared 21% of the time

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Compared 10% of the time

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Compared 8% of the time

SolarWinds NPM vs FortiMonitor

Compared 6% of the time

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Compared 17% of the time

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Compared 11% of the time

IBM SevOne Network Performance Management (NPM) vs SolarWinds Network Device Monitor

Compared 10% of the time

Domotz Pro vs SolarWinds Network Device Monitor

Compared 8% of the time

Kentik vs SolarWinds Network Device Monitor

Compared 4% of the time

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Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Digital Experience Monitoring (DEM)

December 2025

Download FortiMonitor product report

Buyer's Guide

SolarWinds Network Device Monitor

December 2025

SolarWinds Network Device Monitor report

Download SolarWinds Network Device Monitor product report

Also Known As

Panopta

Network Device Monitor

Overview

FortiMonitor is a comprehensive, SaaS-based digital experience monitoring (DEM) platform that helps organizations modernize their performance-monitoring tools. It provides visibility into endpoint application performance and digital experience—no matter where the user resides or where the application is hosted.

Fortinet

Network Device Monitor is a free tool that makes it easy to monitor the real-time performance and health of a single device on your network with a desktop dashboard that alerts you when your device is in trouble.

SolarWinds

Sample Customers

SONY, GoDaddy, HCL, ING, ARMOR, billboard

Air Rarotonga

Buyer's Guide

FortiMonitor vs. SolarWinds Network Device Monitor

December 2025

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