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Fortinet FortiAnalyzer vs syslog-ng comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Oct 9, 2024

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

Fortinet FortiAnalyzer
Ranking in Log Management
8th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
7.6
Number of Reviews
104
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
syslog-ng
Ranking in Log Management
18th
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
6.3
Number of Reviews
5
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of June 2025, in the Log Management category, the mindshare of Fortinet FortiAnalyzer is 1.9%, down from 2.8% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of syslog-ng is 2.5%, down from 2.8% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Log Management
 

Featured Reviews

Manikandan Kannan - PeerSpot reviewer
Simplifying log management by displaying detailed access information
The most valuable feature of Fortinet FortiAnalyzer is its ability to simplify and display logs clearly, providing details like which IPs are accessing the system, the destination, and the policies applied. This visualization and detail make managing logs more straightforward. In conjunction with our VMware setup, Fortinet FortiAnalyzer enhances organizational efficiency, meeting the standard log retention period for up to a year.
RyanVargas - PeerSpot reviewer
It's a user-friendly open-source solution that can replace or augment a commercial product in some cases
I rate syslog-ng 10 out of 10. It's free and easy to use. It has built-in tools that help us index the various logs sent to it. It's a solid log product. If you're looking for a SIEM solution, syslog-ng will work as a stopgap measure at beginning of the project. It can also work as an injector for a true SIEM solution. You can send all the logs to syslog-ng and forward all the data to the SIEM solution after you've cleaned up the data and got the pertinent information. It's a good front end for a commercial SIEM solution, which becomes more expensive as you load more data into it. I would highly recommend syslog-ng for that use case. However, if you lack the expertise, you might need to go with a cloud-based SIEM instead. You need some in-house expertise or an outside consultant to manage it and set it up.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The most valuable feature of FortiAnalyzer is its visibility, especially in network investigations."
"I recommend Fortinet FortiAnalyzer."
"The solution is quite easy to deploy."
"The analyzer is the most valuable feature."
"There are a lot of monitoring features available."
"The most valuable feature of Fortinet FortiAnalyzer is its ability to simplify and display logs clearly, providing details like which IPs are accessing the system, the destination, and the policies applied."
"The features that our customers have found most valuable are their different type of reports including the drill down report, as well as the flexibility to connect to any number of appliances which can be connected to it centrally."
"It supports SQL for logging and reporting. Log data is inserted into the SQL database for log view and report generation."
"The ability to extract and store the logs is the most valuable feature of syslog-ng."
"Syslog-ng has built-in features that we can use to create alerts for a SIEM solution. It isn't a true SIEM solution, but it's sufficient for the time being."
"For us, the most valuable feature is the use of compound search for searching logs at a specific time, by a specific user, or specific behavior."
"Syslog-ng provides easy access to all my logs. It helps me show managers and other clients precisely where an incident occurred. I also like it because you can integrate syslog-ng with multiple solutions to allow real-time monitoring."
"Syslog-ng has a separate config file in addition to the core configuration."
 

Cons

"Fortinet FortiAnalyzer is not in the cloud environment like some of the other products. There could be a possibility of extending its functionality to the cloud environment. If possible, they could have a deal with or integrate with other firewall manufacturers, like Palo Alto and Cisco, and mix the information. It is a difficult functionality. I don't know if any product in the market provides such functionality."
"Fortinet FortiAnalyzer needs to have more out-of-the-box connectors for integration with other solutions."
"It will be better if behavior or indicators of compromise were on the same licensing schema. Currently, it is an advanced feature that you have to purchase as an add-on. This is the reason we're trying to do the ELK so that we can integrate them and create those rules by using open-source software. It will also be better if it has some more integration with IT service management tools so that we can do endpoint protection and response based on those indicators of compromise or those behavior analysis rules that create events that can automatically flow. We can inject that data into a service incident ticket on our IT service management tool, and that way we can assign the ticket to the proper teams and respond right away. Currently, we only have integration with ServiceNow."
"The only issue is the cost of the licenses."
"Fortinet FortiAnalyzer should come bundled with other Fortinet solutions. Additionally, the performance and updates could improve. They need to test their updates better so there are not as many bugs."
"The cost of FortiAnalyzer could be cheaper, especially when you are installing to a VM. For 90 percent of customers, the VM solution is enough."
"The solution can improve the incident response function to provide more detailed information on where the incident is originating."
"In future releases, we'd like to see more granular reporting. The reports on offer right now are pretty short."
"There is always the potential for additional integration and protocol extensions."
"It's hard to find people who know how to use syslog-ng. I often find problems with configurations, and solutions aren't integrated correctly with syslog-ng. For example, there might be data with extra decimals, or the collector agents are incorrectly named. It isn't a problem with the solution; it's a lack of professionals."
"There is room for improvement in terms of observability."
"The filtering has room for improvement."
"Syslog-ng has built-in features that we can use to create alerts for a SIEM solution. It isn't a true SIEM solution, but it's sufficient for the time being."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The product’s price is much better than its competitors."
"Fortinet FortiAnalyzer is quite an expensive tool."
"We have around 12 devices and yearly we spend approximately $14,000."
"When comparing with other solutions such as Checkpoint and Cisco, Fortinet is priced well."
"I rate FortiAnalyzer six out of 10 for affordability. FortiAnalyzer pricing isn't steady. It changes each quarter or year. That's one of the main problems in West Abaco because most businesses here are small or medium-sized enterprises. It makes budgeting complicated. You always want to pay the same price on the subscription."
"The product's prices are a bit higher than the other solutions available in the market, but I would say that the tool's quality and support are areas that are good."
"Its worth spending on FortiAnalyzer if you have multiple firewalls in your network."
"We found the price of Fortinet FortiAnalyzer to be reasonable."
"Syslog-ng is a free open-source solution."
"Syslog-ng is open-source."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
16%
Government
8%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Financial Services Firm
7%
Government
13%
Computer Software Company
12%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Manufacturing Company
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Fortinet FortiAnalyzer?
The reporting features, which offer customization, real-time insights, and compliance support, are particularly noteworthy aspects.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Fortinet FortiAnalyzer?
There are no extra expenses included aside from the licensing fee for Fortinet FortiAnalyzer, which I am paying annually.
What needs improvement with Fortinet FortiAnalyzer?
There are some downsides and areas that require improvement in Fortinet FortiAnalyzer. Fortinet FortiAnalyzer needs to improve in its utilization of AI to enhance its security log analysis.
What do you like most about syslog-ng?
For us, the most valuable feature is the use of compound search for searching logs at a specific time, by a specific user, or specific behavior.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for syslog-ng?
The pricing is in the middle. I would rate the pricing a six out of ten, with one being expensive and ten being cheap.
What needs improvement with syslog-ng?
There is room for improvement in terms of observability. Additionally, a possible new feature could be Kafka integration.
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

General Directorate of Information Technology
Tecnocom, University of Victoria, University of Exeter, Datapath
Find out what your peers are saying about Fortinet FortiAnalyzer vs. syslog-ng and other solutions. Updated: June 2025.
856,873 professionals have used our research since 2012.