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Fortinet FortiGate vs Netgate pfSense Plus Firewall/VPN/Router comparison

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Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Dec 28, 2025

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 FortiGate
Ranking in Firewalls
1st
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
595
Ranking in other categories
Secure Web Gateways (SWG) (2nd), Intrusion Detection and Prevention Software (IDPS) (1st), Software Defined WAN (SD-WAN) Solutions (2nd), WAN Edge (1st), ZTNA (1st), Unified Threat Management (UTM) (1st)
Netgate pfSense Plus Firewa...
Ranking in Firewalls
22nd
Average Rating
9.0
Reviews Sentiment
4.3
Number of Reviews
5
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of October 2026, in the Firewalls category, the mindshare of Fortinet FortiGate is 13.0%, down from 20.6% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Netgate pfSense Plus Firewall/VPN/Router is 0.3%. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Firewalls Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Fortinet FortiGate13.0%
Netgate pfSense Plus Firewall/VPN/Router0.3%
Other86.7%
Firewalls
 

Featured Reviews

Vishnu Jadhav - PeerSpot reviewer
Network engineer at Inniti Network Solutions
Unified security platform has simplified daily network protection and accelerated troubleshooting
Fortinet FortiGate is generally easy to manage, but there are a few areas where it could be improved. The interface can become complex when managing a large number of firewall policies, and better policy search organization and reporting would be helpful. Firmware upgrades can also require careful planning and testing, especially in production environments. Troubleshooting some advanced issues may require deeper CLI knowledge or assistance from Fortinet support, and more advanced automation and AI-assisted troubleshooting within the management interface would be beneficial, such as clear recommendations for policy optimization, configuration issues, and security events. These improvements could make day-to-day administration even more efficient. More AI-driven capabilities for day-to-day administration would be valuable, especially for troubleshooting, policy optimization, and identifying potential configuration issues. More intelligent recommendations based on traffic patterns and security events could help administrators respond faster. More advanced reporting and dashboards that can be easily customized for different teams and management requirements would also be helpful, while better automation for routine tasks, firmware planning, and configuration validation would further reduce manual effort.
Jim Voige - PeerSpot reviewer
Site Manager at a consultancy with 11-50 employees
High availability routing has secured our network and delivers reliable support every day
One downside of Netgate pfSense Plus Firewall_VPN_Router is the need for a better understanding of what hardware it would run on. Right now, we're using Netgate's hardware, but I'm interested in knowing if there are other hardware options available, particularly heavier duty hardware, because the Supermicro 1537 version we have only has a single power supply, which is a shortcoming in an IT environment where dual power supplies are ideal. The pricing for the hardware of Netgate pfSense Plus Firewall_VPN_Router is steep, which is one reason I'd explore other options. I'm familiar with the costs of Supermicro servers, and I believe Netgate charges a premium for their server hardware without enough upside to justify it. The pricing is not justified.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The most important feature is that it's easy to use, it is user-friendly and has all the features you need."
"The threat prevention is the solution's most valuable aspect."
"The VPN is the most valuable feature."
"By utilizing features such as dynamic path selection and application-aware routing, we've been able to reduce latency for critical applications such as VoIP and video by 20-30% during peak times."
"Application control and the web filter are the best features of Fortinet FortiGate."
"Regionally, we are well covered. Technical support is good in this area."
"The best feature of Fortinet FortiGate is value for money. It is very easy to deploy and scale. It saves us costs and increases bandwidth throughput."
"It's a firewall that secures our internal network. I have been using it since 2013, and I find that most of the features are advanced, and very user friendly."
"Overall, the entire Netgate pfSense Plus Firewall_VPN_Router product has been reliable, though some of their smaller gear aimed at remote offices hasn't been cost-effective."
"My experience with the product is that it is a stable and good product that is easy to use."
"I do not have complaints about Netgate pfSense Plus Firewall_VPN_Router with Firewall, VPN, and Router; it is really comfortable for use, and it does a pretty good job."
"They are more satisfied with Netgate pfSense Plus Firewall_VPN_Router in terms of its flexibility and customer support."
"We use pfSense and Netgate pfSense Plus Firewall/VPN/Router to establish a VPN tunnel between our client and our headquarters to transfer data between client and our equipment; it's very simple to use, efficient, up to date, and the hardware is very available; it's very safe."
"It's very simple to use, efficient, up to date, and the hardware is very available; it's very safe."
 

Cons

"Fortinet FortiGate can improve the integration with Active Directory. Additionally, I would like to have a Cloud Controller, such as they do in the Cisco Meraki solution."
"I would like to see more AI features included in future updates, as that would add significant value."
"Fortinet FortiGate is a stable solution. However, my issue is the performance only. When I use all the profiles, this affects the performance. From the beginning, I should have had a better sizing of the box."
"Fortinet FortiGate could improve by having more storage in the hardware for log data."
"FortiGate Next Generation Firewall's performance and threat intelligence could be improved."
"The logs need to be better. They need to be more visible and easier to access."
"Technical support is not helpful."
"They should make the rule sets more understandable for the end user. When you're trying to explain to somebody how a computer network is secured, sometimes it's difficult for an end user or customer to understand. If there was a way to make the terminology more accessible to the end user, the set up could be easier. They should translate the technical jargon to an easily relatable and understandable conversation for the end user, the customer, that would be brilliant. Particularly in an environment where the IT structure is audited regularly, there's always pressure from the auditor to up the standards and up the security and you get your USCERT's that come out and there's a warning about this and the customer will want to lock out so much and when you apply it they run into issue where they can't search the internet or print to their remote office. Of course they can't print to your remote office, they just locked it up. They should make the language more understandable for the customer. If there's a product out there that made the jargon understandable to John Q. Public, I would buy that."
"The effectiveness of Netgate pfSense Plus Firewall_VPN_Router traffic shaping is quite good, but I am not very satisfied with the interface for control."
"The most significant drawback in recent years has been the cessation of firmware release downloads."
"They have to learn something more from FortiGate."
"The pricing for the hardware of Netgate pfSense Plus Firewall_VPN_Router is steep, which is one reason I'd explore other options."
"I would assess the effectiveness of Netgate pfSense Plus Firewall_VPN_Router's traffic shaping as good, but I would give a six marks only for that compared to others because in the past few years, there has been a stop of improvement or lack of improvement showing in Netgate pfSense Plus Firewall_VPN_Router."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The tool is a bit pricey for small businesses, but it is still bearable in terms of cost."
"I rate the product's pricing a seven out of ten. Its one-year license cost is competitive with three and five-year licenses offered by other products."
"Its pricing is good. It's average or normal as compared to Palo Alto and Check Point firewalls."
"The value is the capability of having multiple services with one unique license, not having the limitation per user licensing schema, like other vendors."
"Its price is normal. If I compare it with other vendors, such as Palo Alto, it's normal. Palo Alto is expensive."
"Its price could be better."
"Our licensing costs are on a yearly basis."
"The price of Fortinet FortiGate is reasonable for an SME."
Information not available
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Comparison Review

it_user216600 - PeerSpot reviewer
Senior Technical Consultant with 51-200 employees
Jan 3, 2016
Sophos UTM vs. Fortinet FortiGate
I have used both Sophos and Fortinet products in production and I have found the Sophos UTM appliances (hardware and virtual) to be a better fit most of the time -- with a few caveats which I will touch on below. In both instances, the transition from TMG will be mostly straightforward. The main…
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Comms Service Provider
10%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Computer Software Company
8%
Financial Services Firm
7%
Construction Company
34%
Comms Service Provider
12%
Healthcare Company
8%
Manufacturing Company
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business373
Midsize Enterprise138
Large Enterprise195
No data available
 

Questions from the Community

Which is the better NGFW: Fortinet Fortigate or Cisco Firepower?
When you compare these firewalls you can identify them with different features, advantages, practices and usage at large. In my opinion, Fortinet would be the best option and l use Fortinet too...
What is the biggest difference between Sophos XG and FortiGate?
From my experience regarding both the Sophos and FortiGate firewalls, I personally would rather use FortiGate. I know the firewalls change every 5 to 7 years as stated but you really do need to upg...
What are the biggest technical differences between Sophos UTM and Fortinet FortiGate?
As a solution, Sophos UTM offers a lot of functionality, it scales well, and the stability and performance are quite good. The most valuable features for me are their web and email filtering. I wou...
What needs improvement with Netgate pfSense Plus Firewall/VPN/Router?
Netgate pfSense Plus Firewall/VPN/Router regularly provides updates. One aspect they can improve is that most people ask whether an antivirus scanning system is available in pfSense. Other companie...
What is your primary use case for Netgate pfSense Plus Firewall/VPN/Router?
We work with Netgate products. We are a reseller and consultant. We have been working with Netgate and Fortinet for around two years.
What advice do you have for others considering Netgate pfSense Plus Firewall/VPN/Router?
For metrics to measure its impact, we do not measure in a formal way. We use bandwidth monitoring to check how effective the solution is. I have not encountered customers asking for additional feat...
 

Also Known As

Fortinet FortiGate Next-Generation Firewall
No data available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Amazon Web Services, Microsoft, IBM, Cisco, Dell, HP, Oracle, Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile, Sprint, Vodafone, Orange, BT Group, Telstra, Deutsche Telekom, Comcast, Time Warner Cable, CenturyLink, NTT Communications, Tata Communications, SoftBank, China Mobile, Singtel, Telus, Rogers Communications, Bell Canada, Telkom Indonesia, Telkom South Africa, Telmex, Telia Company, Telkom Kenya
Information Not Available
Find out what your peers are saying about Fortinet FortiGate vs. Netgate pfSense Plus Firewall/VPN/Router and other solutions. Updated: September 2026.
915,341 professionals have used our research since 2012.