Fortinet FortiGate vs Stormshield Network Security comparison

Fortinet and Stormshield are both solutions in the Unified Threat Management (UTM) category. Fortinet is ranked #1 with an average rating of 8.5, while Stormshield is ranked #12 with an average rating of 8.0. Fortinet holds a 30.5% mindshare in UTMU, compared to Stormshield’s 4.0% mindshare. Additionally, 92% of Fortinet users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 85% of Stormshield users who would recommend it.

Fortinet FortiGate

Read 589 Fortinet FortiGate reviews

69,521 Views
13,209 Comparison Views

92% willing to recommend

Stormshield Network Security

Read 18 Stormshield Network Security reviews

2,826 Views
1,328 Comparison Views

85% willing to recommend

Fortinet FortiGate

Stormshield Network Security

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Mar 29, 2026

Fortinet FortiGate and Stormshield Network Security are top contenders in the cybersecurity solutions industry. Fortinet FortiGate often has an advantage due to its superior threat protection features, while Stormshield Network Security excels in comprehensive security policy management.

Features: Fortinet FortiGate is equipped with next-gen firewall capabilities, robust VPN support, and efficient SD-WAN features. Stormshield Network Security offers flexible network segmentation, multi-layer security measures, and seamless integration with existing systems.

Room for Improvement: Fortinet FortiGate could enhance user interface intuitiveness, offer more customizable reporting tools, and reduce the complexity of initial setup configurations. Stormshield Network Security might improve by expanding cloud integration capabilities, offering more comprehensive real-time threat analytics, and enhancing remote management features.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Fortinet FortiGate enables an easy deployment process with extensive support options, facilitating rapid business integration. Stormshield Network Security provides a straightforward deployment model, focusing on flexibility to support different network structures. Users report Fortinet FortiGate's customer service is more consistent compared to Stormshield's variable support quality.

Pricing and ROI: Fortinet FortiGate is viewed as a budget-friendly solution, offering a balanced initial investment with high returns from its advanced security capabilities. Stormshield Network Security generally has higher upfront costs but provides long-term cost savings through scalable architecture and integrated solutions, potentially offering better ROI for large deployments.

To learn more, read our detailed Fortinet FortiGate vs. Stormshield Network Security Report (Updated: April 2026).

Buyer's Guide

Fortinet FortiGate vs. Stormshield Network Security

April 2026

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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 Unified Threat Management (UTM)

1st

Average Rating

8.4

Reviews Sentiment

6.9

Number of Reviews

589

Ranking in other categories

Secure Web Gateways (SWG) (2nd), Firewalls (1st), Intrusion Detection and Prevention Software (IDPS) (1st), Software Defined WAN (SD-WAN) Solutions (1st), WAN Edge (1st), ZTNA (1st)

Stormshield Network Security

Ranking in Unified Threat Management (UTM)

12th

Average Rating

7.8

Reviews Sentiment

5.4

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of April 2026, in the Unified Threat Management (UTM) category, the mindshare of Fortinet FortiGate is 30.5%, down from 37.8% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Stormshield Network Security is 4.0%, up from 3.5% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Unified Threat Management (UTM) Mindshare Distribution
Product	Mindshare (%)
Fortinet FortiGate	30.5%
Stormshield Network Security	4.0%
Other	65.5%

Unified Threat Management (UTM)

Featured Reviews

Abhinandan Yadav

Network Security Engineer at Arrow PC Network Pvt Ltd

Unified security and sd-wan have improved uptime and cut wan costs for multi-site branches

Users report stability issues in certain versions, which requires regular updates. Real-world attacks have also highlighted the need for urgent patching of vulnerabilities.Fortinet FortiGate, while a powerful and feature-rich web firewall, could improve in areas like firmware stability, documentation, and ease of use. The learning curve can be steep for some users. For beginners, support quality can vary, and frequent updates with occasional vulnerabilities call for careful patch management. However, once Fortinet FortiGate is configured, it remains highly reliable and efficient. Customer support needs improvement, as I find it very slow, with reports from other users reflecting that customer support is inadequate.

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Zsolt Jónás

System Administrator at NaxoNet

Advanced GUI and layered security have supported compliance and simplified intrusion prevention

I haven't had a task that I couldn't solve with Stormshield Network Security. The active-active high availability solution would be beneficial because currently, if you build a high availability solution with Stormshield Network Security, you have a main device and another one is a backup device. The HA can switch between them, but it would be good to have a master-master solution, not just a master-slave one. I could set a URL that I can call to update the DNS record. Currently, Stormshield Network Security devices support DynDNS, which is not a usual feature request from a server environment. I have my own solution instead of DynDNS because I don't prefer it, so I have my own service for that. However, the GUI does not support using a custom service instead of DynDNS. I had to solve it in the console on Stormshield Network Security device, but it would be much better if it was reachable on the GUI. I had to figure out a trick for the IPsec configuration. In the IPsec config, we have to provide the remote side's IP address, but it's always changing. This means that an office, for example a company that has an office but without a fixed IP address, cannot be used with IPsec VPN.

Read full review

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Fortinet FortiGate protects against internet-based threats, both internal and external, and is scalable, stable, easy to use, and easy to install."

"This firewall is an antivirus, protects against spam, and is an IPS."

"What I like the most is the configuration and that it's simple, and straightforward to maintain."

"The most valuable feature is the bundled subscription, which is IPS, TV and web filtering."

"I like how we can achieve total integration."

"The threat prevention is the solution's most valuable aspect."

"The value is the capability of having multiple services with one unique license, not having the limitation per user licensing schema, like other vendors."

"This product is scalable and as a service provider, we extend our usage to external customers."

More Fortinet FortiGate pros

"Stormshield is pretty robust, compared to other products like Fortinet, as you get more security with Stormshield and spend less money."

"It's an easy, straightforward management platform to use."

"Fortinet, Dell SonicWall and Check Point because these products offer a wide range of features that are not available with Netasq."

"The solution has improved my organization because I can see what traffic is happening and I can use it to block and prevent attacks."

"I like that it works fine. Stormshield is a very good solution."

"This product has improved the way our organization functions."

"I can see what traffic is going on. I can easily block any programs from attacks."

"The multi-layered security approach of Stormshield Network Security is a good one and has helped with compliance."

More Stormshield Network Security pros

Cons

"While the security is good, we'd always prefer if it was even better to ensure protection."

"It needs to improve its ISP load balancing."

"The learning curve is a bit higher."

"The product keeps hanging."

"One issue that I have had is that sometimes I need to monitor the traffic, so I need to filter it according to the user and which user is using it the most. I experience a bottleneck most of the time, particularly at the peak time when the number of contracts and users are at maximum."

"At the moment, the main concern is the pricing and the type of licensing."

"I would like to see improvements made to the dashboard and UI, as well as to the reporting."

"We have to worry about debugging, and it would be ideal if they had some sort of GUI interface for troubleshooting and diagnostics, as FortiGate has only CLI-based diagnostic capabilities and sometimes it becomes very difficult to do all this troubleshooting."

More Fortinet FortiGate cons

"The filtering configuration could be better. We have some difficulties with the filtering configuration and the filter extension."

"It could be better if it were more user-friendly for us as we dont use it very often even if we never had problems to modify setup when needed."

"It could be better if it were more user-friendly. It's too complicated for us to use it. The price could be better as well."

"The pricing of this solution needs to be decreased."

"With Stormshield, there are difficulties joining things, and it can be complex depending on the architecture."

"Being more cost effective. I went with a pair of Watchguard M300 recently when buying a new firewall cluster for our own use because it was way cheaper than NetASQ/Stormshield N700 while being faster, and it offers true multi-master firewall clustering if needed."

"The biggest issue was their support department was not able to help us, then everything stops. This is a no-go area for me."

"Support is always an issue because they're constantly busy."

More Stormshield Network Security cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Fortinet prices are around $600 for the small 40F model, and for licenses, the simplest option is about $300 for a year. They sell licenses that can last for 1, 2, 3, or 5 years."

"It's a year based license."

"The initial setup is super straight forward and as far as the licensing goes for the small product that we have, the pricing was pretty competitive. It wasn't as simple and as cheap as a SonicWall but for the service we would get it was a good price."

"The price of FortiGate is reasonable as I plan to buy new switches. The initial gadgets are already booted, and the pricing seems normal on the market. As for additional costs, I haven't subscribed to many extra features, so I'm only using what I need. Last year, I renewed the support for three years, which can sometimes be expensive but depends on the security benefits and how it helps us."

"When I look around at other products, such as Sophos, Fortinet FortiGate is 20% to 30% more expensive with our current cost."

"The tool is a bit pricey for small businesses, but it is still bearable in terms of cost."

"I think that the pricing is fair."

"The main reason we chose Fortinet FortiGate was that the price was better than the competition."

More Fortinet FortiGate pricing and cost advice

"For mid-sized companies, they sell their appliances for good prices."

"The pricing could be better."

"We chose Stormshield for its price, as the Azure firewall was too expensive."

"The SN200 series costs between $500 USD and $600 USD per year, whereas the SN700 series costs approximately $1,000 annually."

"I think the price is good."

"We bought a three-year license, and we renew it whenever it expires. The price could be better. It's always very expensive."

"The price of this solution and the price of support are ok."

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Comparison Review

it_user216600

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…

Read full review

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

11%

Comms Service Provider

10%

Manufacturing Company

Financial Services Firm

Comms Service Provider

15%

Computer Software Company

13%

Manufacturing Company

Financial Services Firm

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	364
Midsize Enterprise	135
Large Enterprise	191

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	10
Midsize Enterprise	5
Large Enterprise	2

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...

See all answers

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...

See all answers

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...

See all answers

What advice do you have for others considering Stormshield Network Security?

The tool is like a firewall and works well. I don't have any issue with it. I rate it an eight out of ten.

See all answers

Comparisons

Sophos Firewall vs Fortinet FortiGate

Compared 18% of the time

Cisco Secure Firewall vs Fortinet FortiGate

Compared 12% of the time

Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls vs Fortinet FortiGate

Compared 4% of the time

Netgate pfSense vs Fortinet FortiGate

Compared 4% of the time

Check Point Quantum Force (NGFW) vs Fortinet FortiGate

Compared 3% of the time

More Fortinet FortiGate Competitors

Netgate pfSense vs Stormshield Network Security

Compared 9% of the time

Sophos Firewall vs Stormshield Network Security

Compared 7% of the time

Sophos UTM vs Stormshield Network Security

Compared 6% of the time

OPNsense vs Stormshield Network Security

Compared 6% of the time

WatchGuard Firebox vs Stormshield Network Security

Compared 6% of the time

More Stormshield Network Security Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Fortinet FortiGate

April 2026

Download Fortinet FortiGate product report

Buyer's Guide

Stormshield Network Security

March 2026

Download Stormshield Network Security product report

Also Known As

Fortinet FortiGate Next-Generation Firewall

NETASQ Firewalls

Overview

Fortinet FortiGate is a versatile network security tool offering features like VPN, firewall, web filtering, intrusion prevention, and scalability. It is known for its performance and integration with other Fortinet products, making it a preferred choice for robust cybersecurity.

Fortinet FortiGate stands out as a comprehensive cybersecurity solution with strong performance and ease of configuration. It delivers unified threat management, integrating features such as dynamic routing, SD-WAN support, and centralized management. Despite its strengths, improvements in the web interface's stability, pricing structures, and reporting capabilities are needed. Users seek better integration with third-party tools and automation advancements to enhance the experience further. These enhancements, alongside improvements in bandwidth management and the reduction of licensing costs, are points of interest for users looking to capitalize on FortiGate's extensive capabilities.

What are Fortinet FortiGate's key features?

VPN: Ensures secure remote connections.
Firewall: Protects against unauthorized access.
Web Filtering: Blocks malicious sites and content.
Application Control: Manages and controls applications.
Intrusion Prevention: Detects and prevents vulnerabilities.
SSL Inspection: Enhances security by inspecting encrypted traffic.

What benefits should be considered when evaluating Fortinet FortiGate?

Affordability: Offers cost-effective security solutions.
Reliability: Known for consistent and stable performance.
Integration: Seamlessly integrates with other Fortinet products.
Comprehensive Protection: Provides broad threat protection capabilities.

Fortinet FortiGate is widely implemented across industries as a primary firewall system for securing internet gateways and safeguarding data centers. It supports businesses in achieving SD-WAN integration and enhances cybersecurity by providing essential features like antivirus, web filtering, and application control. Enterprises utilize FortiGate for securing remote connections and ensuring compliance with security standards, making it adaptable for different network sizes and industries.

Fortinet

NETASQ's integrated intrusion prevention engine uses protocol conformity analysis, application filtering and antivirus analysis to inspect authorized traffic flows and strengthen application security. NETASQ enables you to establish and configure user-based security policies, giving you greater control over which network resources each user is authorized to access.

Stormshield

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

ACESUR group, Ministry of Education Oman, Anios Laboratories, Zain, DLM Location

Buyer's Guide

Fortinet FortiGate vs. Stormshield Network Security

April 2026

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