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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
9th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.3
Number of Reviews
108
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
syslog-ng
Ranking in Log Management
16th
Average Rating
9.0
Reviews Sentiment
3.2
Number of Reviews
7
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of May 2026, in the Log Management category, the mindshare of Fortinet FortiAnalyzer is 1.5%, down from 2.0% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of syslog-ng is 1.5%, down from 2.5% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Log Management Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Fortinet FortiAnalyzer1.5%
syslog-ng1.5%
Other97.0%
Log Management
 

Featured Reviews

AP
Engineer at Kahramaa
Management becomes centralized with effective logging
The features that are most effective for me in Fortinet FortiAnalyzer are easy to manage. Fortinet FortiManager is also a great product to manage multi-site management options and other tools. The capability of logging in Fortinet FortiAnalyzer is great because there is no need to go to each individual box to check the traffic details. We can collect everything in Analyzer and check from a single console.
OC
IT Infrastructure & Cloud Security Manager at Thux
Has ensured compliance by centralizing log data and supporting secure connections
We currently do not use that feature. We currently have just an open-source release, not a premium release. My boss has indicated that he wants to buy a premium syslog-ng version next month. I think we can use other features of this tool in the future. In syslog-ng, I think a GUI would be beneficial. I am unsure if the premium module has a GUI to administer it.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The solution has good availability and provides good information."
"The interface is simple and easy to navigate."
"We have the most data visibility."
"I recommend Fortinet FortiAnalyzer."
"The ability to track the activities of our users and some topics about security risks are the most valuable aspects."
"The solution is quite easy to deploy."
"The most valuable feature of Fortinet FortiAnalyzer is its performance."
"The installation process for Fortinet FortiAnalyzer was very smooth, taking around two to three hours to deploy."
"Syslog-ng has a separate config file in addition to the core configuration."
"We chose syslog-ng because it is easy to install, easy to maintain, easy to update, and due to the fact that all data arrive in raw format, we can manipulate it as we want."
"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."
"What I appreciate most about syslog-ng is its configuration; its C-style config is much easier to understand, read, and write than other popular solutions such as syslog or rsyslog."
"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."
"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."
 

Cons

"There are a lot of solutions on the market and Fortinet FortiAnalyzer is limited. It cannot be used across multiple vendors. They can improve by advancing their technology."
"I think technical support should be better. Sometimes support from Fortinet does not help with creating policies or configuration issues and directly routes to the service integrator."
"The fact that it only works with FortiGate devices is quite unfair."
"The solution could improve by allowing the ability to search logs in integrated solutions."
"FortiAnalyzer only integrates with Fortinet solutions. That is a limitation because many organizations use multiple vendors. It's often a mixture of Cisco network hardware and equipment from other vendors, such as switches, access points, etc."
"The technical support takes at least two days to reply on any ticket post raised on their website."
"FortiAnalyzer only works with other Fortinet products. If you need to analyze the data from other devices, other vendors, this solution is not the best one to use."
"The deployment of Fortinet FortiAnalyzer is not complex, but integrating it with firewalls can take some time, depending on the number of firewalls."
"In syslog-ng, I think a GUI would be beneficial. I am unsure if the premium module has a GUI to administer it."
"The filtering has room for improvement."
"There is room for improvement in terms of observability."
"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 always the potential for additional integration and protocol extensions."
"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

"It is acceptable for on-premises, but it is expensive for the cloud."
"The pricing is reasonable."
"In the local market sometimes people are being charged more than other solutions. Although the market is competitive, legitimate suppliers do not receive a large enough discount to pass onto the customers."
"The hardware cost and services contract are fair."
"FortiAnalyzer was in the product itself, but two years ago they split it from Fortinet. We paid the license two years ago."
"I rate the product's price a six on a scale of one to ten, where one is cheap, and ten is expensive."
"I believe that Fortinet is a cost-effective brand, making it a competitive option in terms of pricing."
"We have around 12 devices and yearly we spend approximately $14,000."
"Syslog-ng is a free open-source solution."
"Syslog-ng is open-source."
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893,244 professionals have used our research since 2012.
 

Top Industries

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

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business57
Midsize Enterprise22
Large Enterprise31
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business3
Midsize Enterprise2
Large Enterprise3
 

Questions from the Community

What needs improvement with Fortinet FortiAnalyzer?
I think technical support should be better. Sometimes support from Fortinet does not help with creating policies or configuration issues and directly routes to the service integrator. A little more...
What is your primary use case for Fortinet FortiAnalyzer?
I am using Fortinet FortiAnalyzer along with the analyzer for traffic monitoring and event checking. It is effective for analyzing traffic purposes.I use Fortinet FortiAnalyzer for event monitoring...
What needs improvement with syslog-ng?
We currently do not use that feature. We currently have just an open-source release, not a premium release. My boss has indicated that he wants to buy a premium syslog-ng version next month. I thin...
What is your primary use case for syslog-ng?
In Italy, we have to be compliant with the Garante for privacy. We have to log every login, logout, or login failure made by a system administrator. We store all syslog data of the infrastructure. ...
What advice do you have for others considering syslog-ng?
When it comes to parsing, I can parse both structured and unstructured data, though our data are only structured. Currently, we collect all data we receive as raw data. Each file is stored for each...
 

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: April 2026.
893,244 professionals have used our research since 2012.