Fortinet FortiGate vs Juniper SRX Series Firewall comparison

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Comparison Buyer's Guide
Executive Summary
Updated on Mar 16, 2022

We performed a comparison between Fortinet Fortigate and Juniper SRX based on our users’ reviews in four categories. After reading all of the collected data, you can find our conclusion below.

  • Ease of Deployment: For the most part, users of Fortinet Fortigate feel that deploying it is relatively easy and straightforward. One reviewer noted that Fortinet Fortigate is so easy to set up that it could be deployed in just a couple of clicks. Juniper SRX is viewed similarly. However, one reviewer feels that Fortinet Fortigate is much easier for new users to deploy than Juniper SRX.
  • Features: Fortinet Fortigate users find it to be reliable and point out that it has many valuable features, including its ability to be deployed either on the cloud or on-premises and its user interface. However, reviewers say that its monitoring and reporting features have room for improvement.

    Users of Juniper SRX note that it is a highly scalable solution. Furthermore, they note that Juniper’s firewall features are highly valuable. However, some users feel that its UI could be improved upon.
  • Pricing: Users of Fortinet Fortigate feel that it is pretty affordable. Reviewers of Juniper SRX feel that it is an expensive solution to use.
  • Service and Support: Users of both solutions note that, for the most part, they are supported by excellent technological support teams.

Comparison of Results: Based on the parameters we compared, Fortinet Fortigate seems to be a superior solution. All other things being more or less equal, our reviewers felt that Juniper SRX’s user interface as well as its pricing could be improved.

To learn more, read our detailed Fortinet FortiGate vs. Juniper SRX Series Firewall Report (Updated: September 2023).
734,678 professionals have used our research since 2012.
Featured Review
Quotes From Members
We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use.
Here are some excerpts of what they said:
Pros
"The SD-WAN is the most valuable feature.""The most valuable feature of Fortinet FortiGate is load balancing. It can provide central management and VPNA. Additionally, it has enhanced our security environment.""Fortinet has a very good solution for Secure SD-WAN. One very good feature is that they have robust and simple FortiOS through which they provide all solutions. That's their strength. There's not much complexity involved with the Secure SD-WAN solution of Fortinet as compared to Cisco's solution, which has a lot of flexibility but complexity also comes with that flexibility.""Fortigate's most valuable feature is that it doesn't need a push policy when writing rules.""It works very well. It has a lot of different functionalities. Its cost is also fine for our customers.""The stability and scalability of this solution are satisfactory. Its SD-WAN, VPN, and URL filtering features are very useful.""User-friendly and affordable security solution that's recommended for SMB customers. This solution has good technical support.""The simplicity of the configuration and the stability of the product are most valuable. The VPN concentrator is very useful."

More Fortinet FortiGate Pros →

"If we need to define our user system from an anti-spam perspective, we can constantly update the antivirus.""The most valuable feature of Juniper SRX is that it is plug-and-play. Additionally, it has a lot of capabilities in one device.""One of Juniper SRX's most valuable features is the site-to-site VPN.""The features that I have found valuable are the ones for the main purpose we are using Juniper - its firewall to protect our network for our internet access.""It is a part of the infrastructure when we're selling Juniper. That's what clients are familiar with and that's what they rely on.""The technical support is quite good.""The solution is stable, inexpensive, and works well for medium size companies.""The setup is pretty straightforward."

More Juniper SRX Series Firewall Pros →

Cons
"The support we receive when we need to upgrade is not satisfactory and has room for improvement.""The support from Fortinet FortiGate could improve. They are not easily accessible when we need them. They could improve their response time.""The renewal price and the availability could be improved.""Fortinet FortiGate is a firewall solution and once it's deployed, you can rest assured that your system is secure.""It is very expensive, and their support is not very good. I hope that their technical support will be better in the future.""With the reports, you can see it, and you can get good feelings so upper management can go, "Oh, wow. That looks pretty." However, it's very basic.""The solution could be more secure and stable.""There can be more security in hybrid implementations. When a customer has a hybrid environment where some parts are in the cloud, we need a consistent security solution for such scenarios."

More Fortinet FortiGate Cons →

"I think improvement can be done to the security part, particularly the UDM, and the product should have a user-friendly interface similar to FortiGate. It should have the Azure RBAC in the next release.""It would be ideal if the solution could use cloud services to help update signatures or threat prevention systems.""It does have its nuances in terms of deployment. There are always areas to make something easier or more intuitive or make the system auto-negotiate more with existing hardware.""The centralized management platform could be improved.""Juniper SRX is stable, but it could improve. FortiGate has better stability than Juniper SRX.""We'd like to improve the stability and the kill rate.""I would like to have a better web UI for administration. Juniper could simplify the web UI and make it more compatible with mobile devices.""In comparison to other enterprise-level firewalls, such as Cisco FTD, Cisco has improved significantly. In the past, I believed that Juniper SRX was superior, but after seeing the advancements in the FTD platform, Cisco has better functionality. I have not recently explored Juniper SRX's next-generation firewall capabilities as we only use basic firewall filtering in our enterprise network."

More Juniper SRX Series Firewall Cons →

Pricing and Cost Advice
  • "I had to pay for the license for the firewall, but it is guaranteed to have updates. I expect a good service for it. It was about €1000 for a year, and there was no additional cost."
  • "It is more expensive than Sophos. Fortinet is overall more expensive than Sophos. The small range of Fortinet, such as 60F and 80F, is more expensive than the small range of Sophos. Sophos is cheaper. In addition, if you jump from 80F Series to 100F Series, the price doubles."
  • "The license is yearly. We pay for the top end. It's called 360."
  • "Here in Brazil, we're going through difficult economic times and the tax on the dollar is high. All the solutions from minor competitors are growing in the market. The prices have come more competitive."
  • "Licensing for Fortinet FortiGate is on a yearly basis. Pricing for it is a bit high. It could be cheaper."
  • "The licensing scheme of Fortinet is better than Cisco. It is more logical."
  • "The solution requires a license annually, it is not a user license, you can have as many users as your want. I must renew the license regularly per device."
  • "It was probably about $2,500 per firewall. It was all included. It included support, services, threat management software, and 24/7 FortiCare on it. Cisco products are more expensive."
  • More Fortinet FortiGate Pricing and Cost Advice →

  • "When you consider performance, price, and features, maybe Juniper is not so cost-effective compared to other solutions like MikroTik."
  • "This is a cost-effective solution because the price is very reasonable, and some of the features are available at no extra cost."
  • "Its price is comparable to the competition."
  • "Juniper SRX is reasonably priced."
  • "For a medium-sized organization, the cost for the licensing and implementation of Juniper SRX for 10 users would be about $300-400."
  • "The pricing is very inexpensive which is the main reason I bought the solution. One device costs around 50 EUR through the University's vendor who is modernizing our network."
  • "When we are in the deployment phase, we contact Juniper and they provide a budget-free code for our budgetary work."
  • "I find the price to be reasonable for an enterprise-level solution."
  • More Juniper SRX Series Firewall Pricing and Cost Advice →

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    Answers from the Community
    Fahrorozi Fahrorozi
    Lukas Harkabus - PeerSpot reviewerLukas Harkabus
    Consultant

    Hello Fahrorozi,

    From my point of view, I would rather choose SRX4200 solution over FortiGate1800. 


    Why? 
    1. SRX4200 is a compact 1U device equipped with ports you actually need for full firewall usage and not for datasheet specifications.
    2. Juniper Networks started as a Network company so alongside with full NGFW functions of the SRX firewall you are also getting full L3 routing functionalities same ones that are working on Juniper routers with complete granular configuration.
    3. All products from Juniper Networks are equipped with their JunOS Operating System which is built on FreeBSD with data and control plane separation. Main configuration and really fast troubleshooting power are provided with structured CLI where you can do everything you can imagine even get into FreeBDS for troubleshooting if needed. Also, a tool like MTR (My Traceroute) for troubleshooting is available. JunOS configuration is the same for every Juniper Networks device so when you will get used to it you can configure every platform the same way (except for stateful firewall functions dedicated only to the SRX platform).
    4. Web management is also included on a device that simplifies day-to-day configuration. Web management historically was not quite great, but starting JunOS 21.x it was really improved and provided all you need for device configuration and troubleshooting, also Juniper is still working on quality-of-life improvements.
    5. SSL VPN / Client VPN is fully integrated with Juniper SRX and also with a client application.
    6. Regarding performance, FortiGate was and maybe is still not providing full packet sanity checks (IP protocol, SEQ number, etc.) in the default configuration. When you enable these features, FortiGate loses some performance because HW acceleration is not possible with these features.
    7. Also when you are using NFS with source NAT then you will find a useful feature where you can set to NAT traffic with port number <1024.
    8. Regarding C&C, antimalware, IPS, and centralized management it's all similar to all other vendors.


    9. Juniper SRX also provides VRF-light routing table separation, and also Full separation with Logical systems that have separate processes for each LSYS. You can also allocate CPU resources for each LSYS.


    10. Regarding HA Clustering you can use an active/active data plane (data traversing -> one node in a cluster is entrance and destination is on another node) in a special use case. You can also have free hands regarding failovers using separate interfaces/interfaces groups based on BFD, interface status, and IP reachability. You can also deploy a full L3 cluster.


    This is only a subjective short summary, always depends on other factors (interfaces, budget, preferences, etc.). I would suggest you find the nearest partner (Forti or Juniper) to you, schedule a PoC and receive the solution you would prefer.

    Instead of FortiGate, I would definitely choose SRX. 
    A different case is the native L7 firewall when I want to check all applications, then I would maybe consider Palo Alto vs SRX in some cases.

    Sandi Tehendi - PeerSpot reviewerSandi Tehendi
    Real User

    Hi Fahrorozi,

    If I have to choose between these two, I will choose FG 1800.


    Reasons:
    1. More flexible ports to use from 1G to 40G
    2. Includes SSL VPN / client VPN for users
    3. Has better web management than SRX
    4. From the datasheet, some of the throughputs are also larger (IPv4 FW throughput, Max Session, Max Policies, etc).

    But you need to know what you need for your company.
    - Maybe you only need a 10G interface instead of a 1G
    - Maybe you don't need the SSL VPN / Client VPN
    - You also don't need a large throughput.

    Hope this helps.

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    Top Answer:I would rate the overall solution a ten out of ten.
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    Also Known As
    FortiGate 60b, FortiGate 60c, FortiGate 80c, FortiGate 50b, FortiGate 200b, FortiGate 110c, FortiGate
    Juniper SRX
    Learn More
    Overview

    Fortinet FortiGate is an innovative line of firewalls that aim to protect organizations from all types of web-based network threats. They come in a wide variety of product types. Fortinet FortiGate’s solutions are available in a large range of sizes and form factors and are key components of the Fortinet Security Fabric, which enables immediate, intelligent defense against known and new threats throughout the entire network.

    Fortinet FortiGate provides users with next-generation firewall solutions that provide proven protection with unmatched performance across the network, from internal segments to data centers to cloud environments. You can protect every part of your network without exception. Additionally, your protections can be managed from a single central location. This ensures that the task of protecting your network is infinitely easier to accomplish.

    Benefits of Fortinet FortiGate

    Some of the benefits of using Fortinet FortiGate include:

    • The ability to manage your firewalls from a centralized automated control console. Fortinet FortiGate’s FortiManager enables administrators to exercise control of their firewalls in a streamlined manner. Administrators have full visibility and control over their system from a single location. It utilizes automation that collects information in real time, which greatly simplifies and reduces the cost of running various types of workflows. Administrators can free up resources by automating the most basic tasks.
    • The ability to produce uniform, appropriate, and coordinated responses to threats across networks. Fortinet FortiGate’s FortiGuard feature generates system protections in near real time. This allows administrators to address threats to the system with custom-made solutions that can be uniformly enforced.
    • The ability to scale up your security to fit your changing security needs. Fortinet FortiGate’s design allows users to accelerate the transfer of data between users and escalate the number of users that are covered without compromising security of performance. This means that users can grow their networks and continue to collaborate without worrying about the system slowing down or coming under attack.

    Reviews from Real Users

    Fortinet FortiGate’s firewall solutions are cutting edge. They stand out from competitors for a number of reasons. Two major ones are the robustness and power of their firewalls. Fortinet FortiGate’s firewall provides users with many valuable features that allow them to maximize what they can do with the solution. These firewalls enable users to use a single piece of software to accomplish tasks that often require the use of multiple pieces of software.

    PeerSpot user Eric S., a Solutions Engineer and Consultant at a tech-services company, notes the robustness of this solution when he writes, "One of the nice things about FortiGate is that it can be deployed on the cloud or on-premises. You can actually do both. That's the biggest reason why I stick with this solution as opposed to something like Cisco Meraki. Another nice thing is that I can log directly into a FortiGate or get to it through their FortiCloud access products. They're pretty reliable and consistent. One of the reasons why I started using the product was their single pane of management. I can deploy their line of firewalls in conjunction with their switching and access points, and I can manage the entire network from one interface.”

    PeerSpot user Jim M., a network admin at Penobscot Valley Hospital, notes the power of Fortinet FortiGate’s security software when he writes, "It does a lot for you for intrusion protection and as an antivirus. The threat management bundle is worth the money. You don't need another company to monitor your web traffic for you. You can do everything yourself on the firewall. You restrict your own black list for people on the firewall.”

    Juniper SRX is a next-generation security solution that enables users to expand and secure their networks without incurring heavy costs or sacrificing performance.

    Benefits of Juniper SRX

    Some of the benefits of using Juniper SRX include:

    • Easily manage and view every aspect of your system’s security. Juniper SRX enables users to manage their security from a centralized location. The central control center can control and view every Juniper connected device in a user’s network. Once a device meets the desired security requirements, an administrator can configure the device’s policy to match the other machines in their network. This both simplifies the way that the network operations run and decreases the number of resources that are needed to ensure that operations run smoothly.
    • Secure your system with a flexible and comprehensive security suite. Juniper SRX’s firewalls are flexible enough that they always match the type of applications that they are supposed to be protecting. Its security features uniformly protect your applications. This is true regardless of how your application is deployed. It can integrate with everything from cloud-based applications to those stored on physical servers in a data center. This makes it easy for administrators to maintain consistency across their systems.
    • Protect yourself from advanced threats. Juniper SRX is equipped with powerful security automation features. They can detect a wide range of known and unknown threats as soon as they appear. Once malware is detected, Juniper SRX begins to analyze it and determines what response fits the situation. Additionally, the threats are prioritized according to their severity. Administrators are then given a selection of response options from which they can choose. This enables users to prevent the spread of these threats.
    • Increase your ability to scale your security. Juniper SRX makes it easy for users to scale up their security to meet their specific needs. Its service processing cards (SPC) are designed to enable a user to meet all of their needs. Administrators do not need to buy specific hardware every time that they need to get something done. Their SPCs can be quickly and easily customized. The addition of SPCs enables users to scale up according to the particular project that they are working on at that time.
    • Reduce the number of resources that you need to expend. Juniper SRX enables users to add expansion modules to their network without expanding the cost to run their network. They accommodate growth without adding to the overall cost. Administrators will not need to spend money on more space, cooling power, or maintenance. Additionally, they will not have to dedicate more time to maintaining the network. Your network may grow, but the cost of running your system will not.

    Reviews from Real Users

    Juniper SRX stands out among their competitors for a number of reasons. Two major ones are their central management capabilities and the robustness of their suite of security features. Juniper SRX is designed to make it easy for users to take control of their network’s security. From one location, administrators can manage all aspects of their infrastructure’s security. The many features that it offers allows users to tailor their security to meet their specific needs.

    Shashidhara N., director of technology solutions & services at Connectivity IT Services Private Limited, writes, “On the SRX box, it has what I call a one model concept for security. I work especially with hybrid environments. With an SRX we have a single management dashboard. We can manage the internal framework easily with the centralized management component. You can work with threat prevention, you can work with integration, you can work with traffic management. Another good part about SRX is that you have opportunities for automation. Another thing that is very good is that all the operating systems for all Juniper boxes are the same. You do not work on different operating systems using different boxes.”

    Pradip J., the owner of Shree Atharva Sales Corporation, writes, “It is a complete security bundle. The cloud-based Sky Advanced Threat Prevention feature is very valuable. I am 100% satisfied with the performance of the Juniper firewall. It has a very good throughput. It works very fine. We use our firewall as a site-to-site VPN or Software-Defined Wide Area Network (SD-WAN). In both cases, it has a very good and optimum performance.Their service support is very good in India. I get really good support from the Juniper team."

    Offer
    Learn more about Fortinet FortiGate
    Learn more about Juniper SRX Series Firewall
    Sample Customers
    Pittsburgh Steelers, LUSH Cosmetics, NASDAQ, Verizon, Arizona State University, Levi Strauss & Co. Whitepaper and case studies here
    7-Eleven, AARNet Pty Ltd, Allegro Networks, alltours GmbH, Apollo Hotel Papendrecht, Armstrong Atlantic State University, Atlantech Online, Availity, Bajaj Capital, Baloise Insurance, BancABC, BAS Group, Black Lotus, Blue Box, Borealis, Carilion Clinic, Catholic Health System, CATV, Champlain College, Chinas Ministry of Railways, China University of Mining and Technology (CUMT), Cloud Dynamics, CloudSeeds, Cloudwatt, CODONiS, Colt Technology Services, Cork Internet Exchange, CSS Versicherung AG, CyrusOne, Danish Crown, Deloitte Belgium, Department of Energy, Divona Telecom, DQE Communications, DreamHost, European Government Agency, Expedient, Financial Market Information Services Provider, Fluidata, Fonality, Fox Sports, Global Financial Institution, Global Investment Bank, Global Investment Company, Energy Sciences Network (ESnet), Goethe University, HEAnet, High Performance Networks Inc., Hillenbrand
    Top Industries
    REVIEWERS
    Comms Service Provider16%
    Computer Software Company10%
    Financial Services Firm9%
    Manufacturing Company7%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Educational Organization22%
    Computer Software Company15%
    Comms Service Provider9%
    Government5%
    REVIEWERS
    Comms Service Provider36%
    Financial Services Firm18%
    Computer Software Company11%
    Energy/Utilities Company4%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Educational Organization38%
    Computer Software Company13%
    Comms Service Provider6%
    Government6%
    Company Size
    REVIEWERS
    Small Business48%
    Midsize Enterprise23%
    Large Enterprise30%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Small Business26%
    Midsize Enterprise33%
    Large Enterprise41%
    REVIEWERS
    Small Business44%
    Midsize Enterprise21%
    Large Enterprise35%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Small Business19%
    Midsize Enterprise44%
    Large Enterprise37%
    Buyer's Guide
    Fortinet FortiGate vs. Juniper SRX Series Firewall
    September 2023
    Find out what your peers are saying about Fortinet FortiGate vs. Juniper SRX Series Firewall and other solutions. Updated: September 2023.
    734,678 professionals have used our research since 2012.

    Fortinet FortiGate is ranked 1st in Firewalls with 108 reviews while Juniper SRX Series Firewall is ranked 13th in Firewalls with 22 reviews. Fortinet FortiGate is rated 8.4, while Juniper SRX Series Firewall is rated 7.8. The top reviewer of Fortinet FortiGate writes "Efficient, user-friendly, and affordable". On the other hand, the top reviewer of Juniper SRX Series Firewall writes "Useful telecom industry functionality, simple deployment, but lacking features". Fortinet FortiGate is most compared with Sophos XG, Cisco Secure Firewall, Netgate pfSense, Meraki MX and Fortinet FortiGate-VM, whereas Juniper SRX Series Firewall is most compared with Cisco Secure Firewall, Palo Alto Networks WildFire, Netgate pfSense, Meraki MX and Check Point NGFW. See our Fortinet FortiGate vs. Juniper SRX Series Firewall report.

    See our list of best Firewalls vendors and best Firewalls vendors.

    We monitor all Firewalls reviews to prevent fraudulent reviews and keep review quality high. We do not post reviews by company employees or direct competitors. We validate each review for authenticity via cross-reference with LinkedIn, and personal follow-up with the reviewer when necessary.