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Fortinet FortiAuthenticator vs Gemalto Protiva [EOL] comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Jun 3, 2026

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 FortiAuthenticator
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
64
Ranking in other categories
Single Sign-On (SSO) (10th), Authentication Systems (4th), Identity Management (IM) (14th), Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) (2nd)
Gemalto Protiva [EOL]
Average Rating
7.6
Number of Reviews
2
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Featured Reviews

Sachin Vinay - PeerSpot reviewer
Assistant Manager-Networks at a university with 1,001-5,000 employees
Supports secure remote authentication and provides comprehensive user activity tracking
The most important feature is the security capability because it provides a substantial amount of security for admin-related activities. Fortinet FortiAuthenticator can be used from anywhere in the world, and the authenticator services function globally. This global accessibility is one of the critical advantages, particularly since admin features are critical and security is a real concern. With Fortinet FortiAuthenticator, secure usage of firewall services and related functions is achieved. A complete log of all users who access the authenticator setup is maintained. Monthly logs are reviewed to check for any unnoticed activities. Each authenticated user's complete activity history is recorded. This logging capability allows for providing access to more admin users while ensuring security is not compromised and all users can be monitored.
PC
RAS Team Lead at Produban USA
A cost-effective solution, but the user interface lacks the ability to customize
In the UK, I think that we are one of the biggest utilizers of the service. With the restrictions that it has, I don't think it's got massive upscalability. For general users it is fine, but the scalability could be better. We started with approximately eight and a half thousand users, and we currently have about twelve-thousand people using it. This is used widely across a number of user groups, including administrators, end users, general users, and specific privileged users for two-factor authentication. We do plan to increase the usage of this solution. Our current capacity is fourteen thousand but we will probably grow beyond that.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Fortinet FortiAuthenticator has improved our organization because we are able to can create identity-based policies, for example, who are you and where are you, and we are shifting from the IP-based to the identity-based."
"The most valuable feature is the flexibility in using the SMS messages."
"The product's on-premise version doesn't have recurring costs."
"The implementation has significantly improved access management within our organization."
"FortiAuthenticator is easy to use."
"We have a perpetual license for 2FA."
"It is very stable. We have never had any issues with this solution."
"In terms of benefits, the tool provides both cost savings and efficiency, but efficiency is more important for our customers."
"The most valuable feature for us is the ability to use Active Directory groups as virtual containers instead of domains because it means that we can control our access groups better."
"The Gemalto Protiva suite is really complete as it has smart card managed software, Secure Digital Key, drivers, smart card reader, smart card, OTP readers etc."
 

Cons

"No SMS gateway from the ISP"
"The solution's command line interface could be improved to provide better support for low-level debugging and advanced configurations."
"Up to now, I would not recommend FortiAuthenticator to others yet as I have ongoing transitions and evaluations."
"The product must provide full support for third-party FIDO security keys."
"Initially, we deployed Fortinet FortiAuthenticator on VMware and faced challenges when migrating to an OpenStack environment, which required reconfiguration. I recommend Fortinet make its images migratable between environments."
"There is room for improvement in stability and support."
"If you can't authenticate to protect transactions, and the security is weak, it's a problem."
"One of our clients has faced a lot of issues with FortiAuthenticator. For example, one of the devices restarted by itself, and the database was corrupted."
"The user interface needs improvement. It is not obvious where things are; while the cosmetics are ok, the way it's laid out on the screen could be better."
"The user interface needs improvement."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"When we buy the Fortinet FortiAuthenticator device there is a comparison between price and security."
"The platform provides a user-based pricing model rather than a subscription pricing model."
"The solution is not very expensive."
"It costs more to license the high-availability option."
"It is usually cheap. Without a license, you can use some basic features. You can buy a 20-year license and implement the solution once."
"The product could be more competitively priced."
"I would start off with a VM including the base license and scale according to the number of users you need to authenticate."
"Between paying them to help with the configuration, the box itself, and the support, it came to like $12,500, including a three-year service agreement."
"This is a cost-effective solution compared to some other products out there."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Manufacturing Company
11%
Comms Service Provider
9%
Computer Software Company
9%
Construction Company
8%
No data available
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business38
Midsize Enterprise18
Large Enterprise11
No data available
 

Questions from the Community

What needs improvement with Fortinet FortiAuthenticator?
Fortinet can make Fortinet FortiAuthenticator better by having a cloud version of it. Currently, Fortinet FortiAuthenticator is only available for on-premises, and it is an on-premises solution. It...
What is your primary use case for Fortinet FortiAuthenticator?
Fortinet FortiAuthenticator is primarily used for authenticating admin users, including remote admin use cases. Remote admin use cases utilize Fortinet FortiAuthenticator to securely authenticate a...
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Also Known As

FortiAuthenticator
Protiva
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Black Gold Regional Schools, Amadeus Hospitality, Jefferson County, Chunghwa Telecom, City of Boroondara, Dimension Data
Exostar, Sunrise Health Region, Baker Tilly, Seattle Children's, SEW-Eurodrive
Find out what your peers are saying about Microsoft, Cisco, Okta and others in Authentication Systems. Updated: June 2026.
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