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Fortinet FortiAuthenticator vs Symantec Siteminder comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Sep 18, 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 FortiAuthenticator
Ranking in Single Sign-On (SSO)
10th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
64
Ranking in other categories
Authentication Systems (4th), Identity Management (IM) (14th), Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) (2nd)
Symantec Siteminder
Ranking in Single Sign-On (SSO)
13th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
7.1
Number of Reviews
75
Ranking in other categories
Web Access Management (1st), Access Management (12th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of June 2026, in the Single Sign-On (SSO) category, the mindshare of Fortinet FortiAuthenticator is 3.7%, down from 7.3% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Symantec Siteminder is 3.0%, up from 2.6% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Single Sign-On (SSO) Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Fortinet FortiAuthenticator3.7%
Symantec Siteminder3.0%
Other93.3%
Single Sign-On (SSO)
 

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.
Muzi Lubisi - PeerSpot reviewer
Senior technical Consultant at CA Africa
Improved user experience with seamless integration and easy installation
The feature that I mostly valued is the ease of installation on different systems, especially on Windows. Additionally, it is very beneficial for deploying single sign-on sessions between different windows on a web browser, provided I am connected to the right identity provider. That seamless integration significantly improves user experience and efficiency.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The logs have great detail that make it easier to evaluate and control the security environment."
"The initial setup of Fortinet FortiAuthenticator is easy."
"The initial setup of Fortinet FortiAuthenticator was straightforward, working effectively out of the box."
"The solution is easy to learn and makes it easy for our users to add FortiToken, and it's very easy to integrate if you have other Fortinet devices."
"In terms of benefits, the tool provides both cost savings and efficiency, but efficiency is more important for our customers."
"It integrates very tightly with the rest of the Fortinet ecosystem."
"FortiAuthenticator is a very good solution. It is all jury-based. FortiAuthenticator is very easy for anyone to understand how it works and be able to take action."
"I appreciate its ability to provide multi-factor authentication, but it's primarily focused on this function."
"It will definitely help any company achieve their single sign on goal."
"The Directory is secure. It's our user store, and it's important to keep our members safe. The product does well with that."
"It is one of the most stable products in the banking organization that I am in."
"It’s a secure product; we can make use of two factor authentication with the product and so from a security perspective, it gives us strong authentication."
"It provides end users with SSO to our applications – they log in once and they can access all of our applications."
"Extraordinary product; extraordinary flexibility to explore and meet the requirements of the customer."
"Siteminder allows us to manage identity and portability control efficiently."
"The solution is easy to use for our managers."
 

Cons

"I would like to see more integration and inclusion of features for ransomware protection directly within the FortiAuthenticator without requiring additional devices."
"There are multiple areas that are in need of improvement. It is not a mature product."
"The stability of Fortinet FortiAuthenticator is rated as six out of ten, indicating some instability issues."
"Their technical staff needs improvement because they take too much time to resolve issues."
"I would like to see more security features in reference to identity login or identity identification."
"If you can't authenticate to protect transactions, and the security is weak, it's a problem."
"For improvement, Fortinet needs to ensure that they provide quick support to users...Fortinet sometimes needs to respond to users facing issues within an hour."
"No SMS gateway from the ISP"
"Better documentation. I went through some sessions on single sign-on for version 12.7."
"It's a hit and miss thing, like all support organizations. For the most part, for simple problems they can get to a resolution fairly quickly, but if the problem is a little more complicated, they really struggle with getting us a solution."
"I think that one drawback to this product is that it's too big."
"The initial setup of Symantec SiteMinder was a bit tricky. I would rate it a seven on a scale of one to ten, where ten indicates an easy setup."
"We go by agents for authentication; anything relating to agent configuration could be improved, or even agentless security."
"There are certain integration points that can be leveraged and made more easy to deploy, like the REST APIs and things like that."
"I would say it is a relatively complex setup. We have a relatively complex environment so with all of the availability requirements we have, it is quite complex but having said that, it is no more complex than any other enterprise systems that has to be highly available."
"We're currently unable to find information about if the solution can do a full implementation with SQL. Some better and more accessible documentation for new users or those curious about the product would be helpful."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"FAC is an affordable solution for Middle Range (200E/400E) and also needs a package of mobility agents (2,000) perpetual."
"The customers need to pay for licenses, and some pay on a yearly basis while others pay on a three-yearly or five-yearly basis. Also, it is not an expensive solution."
"The cost of the license could be less expensive. The license is paid on a yearly basis."
"It costs more to license the high-availability option."
"I rate its pricing a three to five out of ten."
"On a scale of one to ten, where one is a high price and ten is a low price, I rate the pricing a seven."
"The pricing is fair."
"I price of the solution is expensive."
"The price is quite comparable to the other enterprise-level solutions in that market."
"The solution's pricing is competitive."
"Siteminder is a little costly. You pay for licensing, and they offer packages, so if you have less users, then you have to buy different products at different prices. If you have more of a user base, then the package is different. They also include other features—for example, if you have a database and you're using Siteminder, then it's good to use a Semantic-specific database, but if you are using less, then you have to purchase the database separately. Whereas if you are going for a bigger license, then it comes within the package. It depends on which plan you are using."
"I recommend conducting a PoC on every available product before choose one."
"CA solutions are generally expensive but for the customer the ROI is big."
"The licensing is fair for this solution."
"Symantec Siteminder is expensive; they could definitely do better on the price."
"The pricing is reasonable."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Manufacturing Company
11%
Comms Service Provider
9%
Computer Software Company
9%
Construction Company
8%
Financial Services Firm
21%
Construction Company
12%
Marketing Services Firm
7%
Outsourcing Company
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business38
Midsize Enterprise18
Large Enterprise11
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business8
Midsize Enterprise3
Large Enterprise69
 

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...
What needs improvement with Symantec Siteminder?
Symantec Siteminder needs to have adaptive authentication and multi-factor authentication as integrated features. Currently, multi-factor authentication is available as a separate solution, and it ...
What is your primary use case for Symantec Siteminder?
I deploy and support Symantec Siteminder ( /products/symantec-siteminder-reviews ). I have been a partner and reseller.
 

Also Known As

FortiAuthenticator
SiteMinder, CA SSO, Layer7 SiteMinder
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Black Gold Regional Schools, Amadeus Hospitality, Jefferson County, Chunghwa Telecom, City of Boroondara, Dimension Data
British Telecom, CoreBlox, DBS, HMS, Itera ASA and Simeo
Find out what your peers are saying about Fortinet FortiAuthenticator vs. Symantec Siteminder and other solutions. Updated: June 2026.
902,495 professionals have used our research since 2012.