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Fortinet FortiClient vs Ivanti Connect Secure comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Aug 6, 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 FortiClient
Ranking in Enterprise Infrastructure VPN
1st
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.7
Number of Reviews
102
Ranking in other categories
Endpoint Protection Platform (EPP) (12th), Endpoint Compliance (1st)
Ivanti Connect Secure
Ranking in Enterprise Infrastructure VPN
8th
Average Rating
7.6
Reviews Sentiment
6.6
Number of Reviews
29
Ranking in other categories
SSL VPN (1st)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of February 2026, in the Enterprise Infrastructure VPN category, the mindshare of Fortinet FortiClient is 7.2%, down from 14.3% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Ivanti Connect Secure is 5.4%, down from 6.5% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Enterprise Infrastructure VPN Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Fortinet FortiClient7.2%
Ivanti Connect Secure5.4%
Other87.4%
Enterprise Infrastructure VPN
 

Featured Reviews

KL
Senior Technical Manager at Flexaccel
Remote access has become seamless and secure while deployment remains simple for our users
Performance could be improved today. People are now moving toward SASE, which stands for Secure Access, Secure Edge Solution. Fortinet also has that offering, which would be easier since it operates through the cloud, acting as a first line of defense. When the user connects to the internet, they connect to the cloud first for posture assessment and monitoring before connecting to the outside world. The impact is significant because nowadays people are adopting SASE. During COVID time, many users were trying to connect back to their office, causing the performance or CPU utilization of the firewall to increase tremendously, which slowed down performance. I have not worked with endpoint telemetry in Fortinet FortiClient that could have been helpful for threat mitigation.
Kaushlendra Singh - PeerSpot reviewer
Manager - IT Infrastructure and Network at a manufacturing company with 1,001-5,000 employees
Provides secure and simple remote access but needs improved reporting capabilities
Ivanti Connect Secure is simple and secure, making it valuable for our organization. Ivanti Connect Secure's access control feature provides global protect, which allows country-wise blocking. There are many access controls available, and policies can be created on a host basis and on the MAC address of assets that will connect. Firewall versions and OS versions can be defined, and only devices meeting these criteria can connect to the VPN. These features are effective, along with MFA. Ivanti Connect Secure is a client-based, agent-based solution, so if the agent is installed, users are able to connect to the network. Ivanti Connect Secure utilizes identity-based LDAP authentication. Ivanti Connect Secure is very effective for remote access for remote workers.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The integration capabilities are good."
"The first thing I really appreciate about Fortinet FortiClient is their preventive protection; even if a new virus is released, they have a preventive mechanism built into their client, which works along with the firewall, so it automatically gets stopped."
"I use the tool to connect server to an ISP Data Center."
"The return on investment was very reasonable. It was low cost and it functioned, so the return on investment was excellent."
"It's simple, downloadable, and there's usually no problem."
"From an application perspective, this solution is stable."
"It's got a very friendly user interface."
"We use real-time threat detection for scanning files and antivirus. It's integrated with Fortinet FortiAnalyzer. When an endpoint is compromised, Fortinet FortiClient and FortiGate trigger to block and isolate the user on the network."
"It's a very convenient and user-friendly application."
"The most valuable feature of Pulse Connect Secure is its ease of use."
"The most robust and reliable feature of Ivanti Connect Secure is the VPN tunneling, using both the Pulse and the Ivanti client."
"Ivanti secures access to the corporate network from various devices and locations."
"The best feature of Pulse Connect Secure is the good security it provides. It gives a secure connection to your network."
"Ivanti Connect Secure is simple and secure, making it valuable for our organization."
"The new UI that they are providing right now is very good."
"The most valuable features of the solution are reliability and uptime."
 

Cons

"The user interface could be more inviting."
"We would like Fortinet to add the function or the possibility to use all FortiClient features for free."
"Technical support is awful. Their online response time is not prompt. They should not respond after four or five days. Their support guys are not competent enough. Small issues are taking time."
"The solution should have faster turnaround when it comes to new technology."
"The only thing that is lacking in this product is the support. Their support can be improved."
"The user interface is a bit sluggish and needs improvement."
"Fortinet frequently releases updates without thorough testing. We encounter issues due to multiple vulnerabilities, which leads to problems."
"The filtering process could be improved."
"The security mechanisms of Ivanti Connect Secure are very slow to update."
"The product could use additional dashboards."
"Connection-wise, Pulse Connect Secure could be faster, and this is its area for improvement."
"User experience and after-sales support could be better. For example, over the last couple of years, when this COVID scenario was going on, there were multiple attacks on these types of solutions. SQL has been attacked numerous times, and there were a lot of vulnerabilities, and our customers had to update and upgrade the devices every two weeks or every month. This was a headache. It could also be more scalable."
"Setup is complex. A few users had some issues with it."
"There is room for improvement. I'm concerned about the frequent vulnerabilities identified. As a security product, the number of vulnerabilities is concerning."
"The most valuable features of Pulse Connect Secure are the user-friendly connection and interconnecting."
"Ivanti Connect Secure needs to have faster connections. It also needs to improve the stability."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"I don't have the licensing schema for the VPN solution because we just purchased the VPN gateway."
"If we pay for the yearly package that includes the FortiGate firewall, then the FortiClient VPN license is included with it."
"The pricing is good because you get and end-to-end security solution in one package price."
"It is not that expensive. It was within the range. A dollar per user per month is nothing."
"FortiClient is costly."
"Fortinet requires you to buy a lot of product in order for you to have proper protection."
"Pricing is an area that I would like to see improved, as it could be lower."
"Anyone can download this product for free, but you have to have a FortiGate gateway that you are connecting to."
"The price of Pulse Connect Secure is expensive."
"Pulse Connect Secure is relatively cost-effective."
"The cost of the product is high, but worth it because of the utility and great product support."
"I rate the product price a six to seven on a scale of one to ten, where one is a low price, and ten is a high price."
"A license is required for you to use Pulse Connect Secure, but I'm not aware of how much it costs."
"The pricing for Pulse Connect Secure is not low and not high, so it's good. It's a six out of ten for me, price-wise."
"The pricing is quite nominal. We pay on a yearly basis."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Manufacturing Company
11%
Computer Software Company
10%
Comms Service Provider
8%
Financial Services Firm
6%
Computer Software Company
11%
Financial Services Firm
11%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Comms Service Provider
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business59
Midsize Enterprise23
Large Enterprise25
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business6
Midsize Enterprise5
Large Enterprise19
 

Questions from the Community

How does Fortinet FortiClient compare with Open VPN Access Server?
Fortinet FortiClient is a feature-rich solution that is easy to use and deploy without sacrificing safety and security. It has a very fast connection rate and has a built-in VPN. With this solution...
What's the difference between Fortinet's FortiEDR and FortiClient?
I suggest Fortinet’s FortiEDR over FortiClient for several reasons. For starters, FortiEDR guarantees solid protection because it continually scans servers for emerging vulnerabilities, which gives...
What do you like most about Pulse Connect Secure?
From an end-user perspective, the setup phase is easy.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Pulse Connect Secure?
Ivanti has always been known to be pricey, making it a rather high-cost solution.
What needs improvement with Pulse Connect Secure?
The reporting capabilities of Ivanti Connect Secure are not strong; the format is simple, and obtaining a detailed report is difficult and requires manual work. Regarding points for improvement, th...
 

Also Known As

FortiClient
Pulse Connect Secure
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Black Gold Regional Schools, Amadeus Hospitality, Jefferson County, Chunghwa Telecom, City of Boroondara, Dimension Data
Axcient, Baloise Group, Cygate, Catholic University of America, Datec Inc, Revlon, Santa Monica Networks, 7-Eleven
Find out what your peers are saying about Fortinet FortiClient vs. Ivanti Connect Secure and other solutions. Updated: December 2025.
882,103 professionals have used our research since 2012.