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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
2nd
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
13th
Average Rating
7.6
Reviews Sentiment
6.6
Number of Reviews
29
Ranking in other categories
SSL VPN (3rd)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of March 2026, in the Enterprise Infrastructure VPN category, the mindshare of Fortinet FortiClient is 6.8%, down from 14.4% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Ivanti Connect Secure is 5.2%, down from 6.3% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Enterprise Infrastructure VPN Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Fortinet FortiClient6.8%
Ivanti Connect Secure5.2%
Other88.0%
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

"Fortinet FortiClient is easy to use, and the single-access managed login is pretty good."
"FortiClient's most valuable features are that it's fast and safe."
"The integration of VPN services with endpoint security is valuable."
"The most valuable feature is that it's easy to deploy. Deployment, configuration, and troubleshooting are very easy."
"Remote users connect to the office using FortiClient, where they can access business URLs through a VPN tunnel configured on the FortiGate firewall."
"It’s easy to use."
"FortiClient's most valuable features are that it's easy to install and connect and has OTP on email IDs and two-factor authentication."
"The centralized management dashboard is also a good feature."
"It is customer-friendly. It is quite easy for our users to connect. There is also the flexibility of the features."
"The most valuable features of Pulse Connect Secure are multi-factor authentications, and VPNs and SSL VPNs we are using."
"The most valuable feature is being able to securely connect and use virtual desktops."
"The stability of the product is its most valuable feature."
"The best feature of Pulse Connect Secure is the good security it provides. It gives a secure connection to your network."
"The most robust and reliable feature of Ivanti Connect Secure is the VPN tunneling, using both the Pulse and the Ivanti client."
"The product is easy to use."
"I like the host checker, which thoroughly checks the security posture of the machine before allowing access. I also like application-based access and its seamless operations."
 

Cons

"With Fortinet, some clients have to wait two to four days for a response. That is the biggest complaint from end customer about Fortinet's technical support."
"I haven't found that that solution does anything amazing."
"It would be extremely useful to have an automatic updating feature."
"There should be more frequent releases or updates."
"An area of improvement could be better integration with the active directory. I did not find it easy to configure."
"The user interface could be more inviting."
"Improvements are needed in the compatibility between different versions, as sometimes the latest version does not work, requiring a downgrade."
"The connectivity could be improved."
"I don't have any downsides to report about the product at this time."
"Pulse Connect Secure could improve by having better integration with NAC solutions, such as Cisco ClearPass integration with Pulse Connect Secure. Additionally, they need better integration with Microsoft Azure AD and Azure Authenticator."
"From our side, there is an issue when Windows updates. The security mechanisms of Ivanti Connect Secure are very slow to update."
"We need to know how many live active users there are and we can't. We even updated the server, however, we still can't see the proper level of live connections. Right now, it's showing as 300 users and my customer does not have that many users in his organization."
"I would like the solution to be more secure and compatible. It also needs to improve integration with other systems."
"Connection-wise, Pulse Connect Secure could be faster, and this is its area for improvement."
"The security mechanisms of Ivanti Connect Secure are very slow to update."
"Ivanti needs improvement in its seamless upgrade and migration procedures, particularly with the browser components, which are fragile and sometimes cause issues depending on the Windows version, the browser version, and the different modules being used."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The product's licensing is yearly and expensive."
"As a technical team member, I am not responsible to look into the pricing matters. These aspects are typically handled by the management team, who have the authority to obtain the necessary licenses based on certain established principles."
"Pricing is an area that I would like to see improved, as it could be lower."
"The pricing is reasonable."
"FortiClient is costly."
"The price of the solution depends on the type of firewall you have from FortiGate. I am satisfied with the price of the solution."
"Its pricing is good. One thing that has always attracted us to the Fortinet range of products is that their pricing is very competitive. Our particular licensing is on a yearly basis. However, as part of this project, we did pre-purchase three years of maintenance and support at a fairly significant discount."
"If we pay for the yearly package that includes the FortiGate firewall, then the FortiClient VPN license is included with it."
"Pulse Connect Secure is relatively cost-effective."
"The price of Pulse Connect Secure is expensive."
"The cost of the product is high, but worth it because of the utility and great product support."
"The pricing is quite nominal. We pay on a yearly basis."
"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."
"A license is required for you to use Pulse Connect Secure, but I'm not aware of how much it costs."
"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."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Manufacturing Company
11%
Computer Software Company
10%
Comms Service Provider
7%
Financial Services Firm
6%
Computer Software Company
12%
Financial Services Firm
10%
Manufacturing Company
10%
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 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...
What is your primary use case for Pulse Connect Secure?
Ivanti Connect Secure is used for both applications and for the RDP of our server.
 

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: February 2026.
883,546 professionals have used our research since 2012.