Fortinet FortiGate vs Trend Micro Web Security [EOL] comparison

Why PeerSpot?

Fortinet and TrendAI are both solutions in the Secure Web Gateways (SWG) category. Additionally, 92% of Fortinet users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 83% of TrendAI users who would recommend it.

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Download the report

Executive SummaryUpdated on Feb 26, 2026

Trend Micro Web Security [EOL] and Fortinet FortiGate are products in the network security category. Fortinet FortiGate has the upper hand due to its advanced security features that justify its higher price point, offering more comprehensive protection.

Features: Trend Micro Web Security [EOL] provides effective URL filtering and malware protection, famous for its ease and effectiveness in threat detection. Fortinet FortiGate offers a comprehensive security suite, including deep packet inspection, firewall capabilities, and VPN support, giving it an edge in extensive security provision.

Room for Improvement: Trend Micro can enhance its range of features and improve its competitive pricing to match feature-rich competitors. Its real-time monitoring and threat response might also benefit from advancement. Customer service accessibility needs expansion. Fortinet FortiGate could simplify deployment to cater better to less experienced teams. Enhancements to pricing flexibility would make it more accessible to budget-conscious users. Lastly, refining documentation to reduce complexity would ease implementation.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Trend Micro Web Security [EOL] is easy to deploy and offers quick customer support, making it ideal for quick setups. Fortinet FortiGate, while requiring a more complex installation, provides extensive documentation and resources, which aid smoother deployment for experienced teams.

Pricing and ROI: Trend Micro Web Security [EOL] is cost-effective for initial setups and appealing to budget-conscious operations. Fortinet FortiGate, though more costly, delivers long-term value through a comprehensive feature set and enhanced security, offering a potential for a higher ROI for businesses prioritizing long-term security investments.

To learn more, read our detailed Secure Web Gateways (SWG) Report (Updated: September 2026).

Buyer's Guide

Secure Web Gateways (SWG)

September 2026

Download the complete report

Helped 916,956 peers since 2012

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

iboss

Featured Reviews

Ashok Ananthula

Senior Consultant Proxy Engineering at a financial services firm with 10,001+ employees

Cloud gateway has strengthened remote web security and now needs better Mac and ISP support

The problem our organization had is that iboss failed for the Mac devices. It is not able to give a successful agent for the Mac agents. That is where in 2025, we had to migrate to the Palo Alto-based platform. If your use case is for just Windows laptops,you can consider this platform as an option One issue is the data center resiliency part. In India especially, they are not tied up with the Tier 1 ISPs like Tata or Airtel; they were having Tier 2 ISPs and encountered many issues reaching few major sites that my organization depends on, and they were having problems that they could not fix quickly. They also lack a mechanism to route that traffic within their data center; rather, they ask customers to make a pac file change to route it to Singapore explicitly. It would be better if they route from their backend , i mean even if I send it to India DC, they should be able to route it internally to make that work; however, they fail to do that and ask the customer to route it in the pac file. Another suggestion is that in China, they do not have the proper setup; they used to have numerous problems with slowness and lack of premium circuits in China as well. That leads to multiple sites working slowly with latency-related issues. So the main issue is the ISP-related problems that need to be solved.

Read full review

reviewer2859012

Network engineer at a tech services company with 11-50 employees

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.

Read full review

Vladimir Alexandrov

CEO at Chorus

Consistent web protection has prevented incidents and supports flexible hybrid security models

I would rate Trend Micro Web Security a nine, but not because I have some issues in mind. I have only seen a bit better product. I was also a McAfee partner some time ago, when there was still McAfee. Some features definitely in McAfee were better than what I see in Trend Micro. I cannot tell what Trend Micro could learn from web security products of their competitors because this product has not existed for at least eight years now for McAfee, and I have no experience with other competitors. But relative to my experience and expertise, I should rate it a ten, but still I am a bit cautious because other products also have great features and these features are not covered 100% by Trend Micro. I cannot tell what additional features I would like to see in the next release, but when I see such a feature, it is very compelling. When you get into a new car and this car has something new and great, adaptive suspension, whatever, you just feel a nice feeling and you want this car. That is how I feel. I have not complained that something is missing from Trend Micro product, but I have seen in specific examples some great ideas in competition.

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

"We were impressed by the solution's mental health function, which can detect if someone needs help. It scans what users are browsing and flags warning signs so we can check to see if they are okay. We've had to use it a couple of times."

"The iboss solution gives me the ability to scan the traffic through all the ports, through all the 131,000 PCP and UDP ports, and with this ability, we have the granularity also for consults over social media and applications on mobile, and this is an advantage that the customers are looking for right now."

"Because of iboss, I did not have to assign web filtering tasks to my techs on a daily basis."

"iboss is easy to use despite its complexity. Multiple engineers manage it, but it's significantly more straightforward to administer than traditional VPNs and web proxies."

"I would rate the technical support of iboss a solid 10 without a shadow of a doubt."

"I would definitely recommend iboss for web filtering purposes to other organizations or individuals."

"First of all, the security policies are essential. I do not have to rely solely on Active Directory for our users."

"I recommend iboss for organizations looking for strong cloud-based web security and centralized access control."

More iboss pros

"Two aspects I'm happy with regarding Fortinet FortiGate firewall are the easy user interface and its resilience during power interruptions."

"The most valuable feature of FortiGate is FortiView which provides proactive monitoring."

"Fortinet FortiGate has a threat detection capacity compared to other vendors."

"Better visibility into traffic patterns Lightening fast troubleshooting and reduced management complexity overall."

"Overall it is user-friendly, easy to configure, easy to manage, the support is pretty good, they are priced low, and they do the job that you require."

"For application filtration, I really appreciate many features of Fortinet FortiGate because it is more reliable, easy to use, and the reports are easy to read and understand."

"Advanced routing (RIP, OSPF, BGP, PBR). It gives you a seamless and simple integration into a large network."

"I'm looking forward to FortiGate's dashboard features, insights, application oversight, and monitoring, which could help us significantly."

More Fortinet FortiGate pros

"It's secure and useful from an administrative point of view, with controllable login monitoring and so on."

"It prevents phishing attacks, ransomware attacks, and other threats that can compromise data."

"Trend Micro Web Security is used to protect the organizations from shoulder surfing and it also does certain classifications to provide protection not only from a security point of view, but also from a GRC (governance, risk, and compliance) point of view."

"Trend Micro Web Security is a great product; it is compatible with anything on the market in my opinion, very competitive and very flexible, and for at least 20 years it has always been top of the line."

"Trend Micro effectively supports our remote workforce by securing our web servers from external threats, particularly browser security."

"Trend Micro has a centralized mechanism where we can control and monitor all system protections. It includes detecting any wireless problems, which will be displayed on our portal. We plan to investigate the issues with those systems internally."

"The real-time threat detection capability of Trend Micro Web Security has had a positive impact on our security."

"It's a very stable solution."

More Trend Micro Web Security [EOL] pros

Cons

"SSL decryption: We had issues with learners using apps instead of using web browsers. This type of encryption is tough for any appliance in a BYOD environment."

"It is stable, but due to growth, it can sometimes be less stable than wanted."

"Iboss is growing so fast that it is often hard for them to keep up with the challenges."

"Our iboss subscription access should be more secure with an OTP or VPN etc. It is easy to gain access if, for example, hackers obtain my username and password."

"I am currently doing a PoC of the zero trust aspect of it. Compared to other similar solutions, it is hard to get around each feature. It takes a while to get used to it."

"The problem our organization had is that iboss failed for the Mac devices; it is not able to give a successful agent for the Mac agents, and that is where in 2025 we had to migrate to the Palo Alto-based platform."

"One thing I would like to see differently with their Zero Trust platform is that some of the AI aspects related to high-risk activities have more false positives."

"Regarding pricing, setup costs, and licensing, iboss is not cheap, and that's my only concern."

More iboss cons

"I feel they need to work on the alert and event logs."

"The solution could be more evenly structured and I'd like to see orchestration in the calls included."

"The price could be improved."

"I cannot think of many improvements needed for Fortinet FortiGate. However, the pricing compared to competitors is quite high, though you get value for what you pay with Fortinet FortiGate."

"For Fortinet FortiGate, their code development would definitely be something they need to improve on to reduce vulnerabilities that need to be patched."

"The sniffing packets or packet captures, can be simplified and improved because it's a little confusing."

"The solution could be more user friendly."

"Pricing for it is a bit high. It could be cheaper."

More Fortinet FortiGate cons

"The product's scalability is an area of concern where improvements are required."

"The costs are a bit high in terms of licensing."

"Trend Micro products are quite expensive compared to Kaspersky, Sophos, and McAfee."

"his legacy version currently lacks WFA, which is a useful tool for managing bandwidth and applying data control limits to specific users. It's especially beneficial for organizations using Android and Azure."

"There is room for improvement in the anti-malware capabilities."

"The stability of the product is an area of concern where improvements are required."

"The licensing is paid annually. It is a little bit expensive when you compare it to the competition."

"The interface could be improved; we need it to be more user-friendly."

More Trend Micro Web Security [EOL] cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The overall pricing for iboss is very competitive and transparent."

"It is expensive compared to one of its competitors."

"We had the cost of purchasing a new appliance along with the implementation and licensing costs. However, the following year, the cost of just licensing was similar to what was paid the previous year for a new appliance along with the implementation and licensing costs."

"It is probably in line with other solutions, but I do not deal with the financial side."

"We have not priced the solution recently, but they were competitive with other vendors in the past."

"It is not expensive, and it is also not cheap. iboss is priced right in the sweet spot for the number of features it offers."

"It is a good product from a price perspective versus functionality."

"It is more affordable than Check Point and Palo Alto. Another thing is that all the features and the OS remain the same irrespective of the size of the device. Pricing-wise, Fortinet typically provides one-year support with the firewall appliance. There is also an option for three years which is how their licensing works."

"Fortinet is reasonable in pricing and licensing. Overall, FortiGate is affordable. The licensing fee can be a little high, depending on the budget for your project."

"The price of Fortinet FortiGate is the lowest in the market."

"These boxes are not that expensive compared to what they can do, their functionality, and the reporting you receive. Fortinet licensing is straightforward and less confusing compared to Cisco."

"The pricing of Fortinet FortiGate is average, not cheap or overly expensive compared to other firewall solutions in the market. It's effective and affordable for customers."

"It is an inexpensive solution."

"The price is highly competitive when compared to other brands that offer similar functionality."

More Fortinet FortiGate pricing and cost advice

"I rate the product price a three on a scale of one to ten, where one is cheap, and ten is expensive."

"It is pricey. Trend Micro has been in the field for 30 years, so you have to pay a premium amount for that."

"We have found this product to be very cost effective. The endpoint product costs roughly $20, and when purchasing the endpoint product, there are multiple other features included."

"We pay for the license on an annual basis."

"The solution is expensive in terms of deployment."

"There's annual and monthly options for the license. When you're on the managed services option, it's monthly. They're also setting up an option via AWS where there will be a monthly option via the AWS shopfront."

"I rate the product's price a five on a scale of one to ten, where one is low price and ten is high price."

"I don't remember the exact pricing, but I think that it is approximately $10.00 per user."

More Trend Micro Web Security [EOL] pricing and cost advice

See which vendors are best for you

Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Secure Web Gateways (SWG) solutions are best for your needs.

See recommendations

916,956 professionals have used our research since 2012.

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

Financial Services Firm

11%

Manufacturing Company

10%

Comms Service Provider

Construction Company

Comms Service Provider

10%

Manufacturing Company

Computer Software Company

Financial Services Firm

Performing Arts

12%

Outsourcing Company

11%

Financial Services Firm

10%

Manufacturing Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	14
Midsize Enterprise	8
Large Enterprise	13

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	374
Midsize Enterprise	138
Large Enterprise	195

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	12
Midsize Enterprise	6
Large Enterprise	4

Questions from the Community

What needs improvement with iboss?

I think iboss could be improved by emphasizing the modular function even more during sales presentations and demonstr...

See all answers

What is your primary use case for iboss?

iboss is primarily used for content filtering within school districts and public K-12 school districts, and it can al...

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for iboss?

My experience with iboss's pricing structure, setup cost, and licensing model has been positive, straightforward, and...

See all answers

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 a...

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...

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 ...

See all answers

Do you recommend Trend Micro Web Security?

I would recommend Trend Micro Web Security to organizations looking for an end-to-end security solution. Trend Micro ...

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Trend Micro Web Security?

It is pricey. Trend Micro has been in the field for 30 years, so you have to pay a premium amount for that. SentinelO...

See all answers

What needs improvement with Trend Micro Web Security?

I would rate Trend Micro Web Security a nine, but not because I have some issues in mind. I have only seen a bit bett...

See all answers

Comparisons

Prisma Access by Palo Alto Networks vs iboss

Compared 10% of the time

Netskope vs iboss

Compared 8% of the time

Cisco Umbrella vs iboss

Compared 6% of the time

FortiSASE vs iboss

Compared 6% of the time

Zscaler Internet Access vs iboss

Compared 4% of the time

More iboss Competitors

Cisco Secure Firewall vs Fortinet FortiGate

Compared 15% of the time

Sophos Firewall vs Fortinet FortiGate

Compared 13% of the time

Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls vs Fortinet FortiGate

Compared 6% of the time

Netgate pfSense vs Fortinet FortiGate

Compared 3% of the time

OPNsense vs Fortinet FortiGate

Compared 2% of the time

More Fortinet FortiGate Competitors

Cisco Web Security Appliance vs Trend Micro Web Security [EOL]

Compared 17% of the time

Netskope Next Gen Secure Web Gateway vs Trend Micro Web Security [EOL]

Compared 7% of the time

Zscaler Internet Access vs Trend Micro Web Security [EOL]

Compared 6% of the time

Skyhigh Security vs Trend Micro Web Security [EOL]

Compared 6% of the time

Quad9 vs Trend Micro Web Security [EOL]

Compared 5% of the time

More Trend Micro Web Security [EOL] Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

iboss

October 2026

Download iboss product report

Buyer's Guide

Fortinet FortiGate

October 2026

Download Fortinet FortiGate product report

Buyer's Guide

Trend Micro Web Security [EOL]

September 2026

Download Trend Micro Web Security [EOL] product report

Also Known As

iBoss Cloud Platform

Fortinet FortiGate Next-Generation Firewall

Virus Wall, VirusWall, Trend Micro VirusWall

Overview

iboss is the Zero Trust SASE platform that gives organizations complete visibility and governance over their AI, data, and applications through one unified platform, one console, one policy engine, and one data lake.

Your endpoints may already stop malware. Your data and application activity can still be invisible. iboss decrypts and understands every connection, then turns that signal into answers security leaders can act on.

The platform leads with three capabilities in this order: AI Security and Visibility, Data Security and Visibility, and App Visibility and Control. Zero Trust Network Access, VPN replacement, and SD-WAN sit underneath as the access fabric that carries those three. Trusted by global enterprises and government agencies.

What are the most important features of Iboss?

- AI Security and Visibility: conversation capture, shadow-AI discovery, AI DLP, and agent governance across Claude, Co-Work, ChatGPT, Gemini, and Grok, and emerging services.

- Data Security and Visibility: full SSL/TLS decryption, deep content inspection, MIP label compliance, and one-click compliance reporting.

- App Visibility and Control: signatureless CASB, dual risk scoring, in-app controls, and SSPM for major SaaS.

- Containerized Zero Trust SASE: dedicated containers, isolated SSL keys, one console, one policy engine, one data lake.

- Access fabric: ZTNA, VPN replacement, and SD-WAN under the same platform.

What benefits should users consider in reviews?

- Complete visibility over AI, data, and applications from one platform instead of separate point tools.

- Encrypted traffic is inspected by default so data decisions use content and context together.

- Shadow SaaS and new web tools appear as they are used, with enforceable controls in one console.

- Native data sovereignty through dedicated containers, in-region inspection, and per-customer SSL key custody.

- Scale proven in published materials: 10M+ users, 100+ countries, 150B+ transactions, 2.5B+ threats blocked.

Economic buyers are CISOs, CIOs, and VPs of Security. Champions include security architects, network and infrastructure leaders, SecOps, and GRC. Primary segments: enterprise and business, financial services, government (including FedRAMP Gov Cloud), healthcare, manufacturing, legal and professional services, retail and hospitality, and MSP/MSSP partners. Education, including K-12, is one vertical among these.

iboss

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

Trend Micro Web Security [EOL] integrates machine learning, endpoint security, and Zero Trust technology to offer comprehensive threat detection and protection. It supports cloud filtering, access control, and advanced DLP licensing for effective monitoring and security management across environments.

Trend Micro Web Security [EOL] is designed for robust protection against threats like hacking, malware, and ransomware. Combining features such as centralized management with OWASP Top 10 monitoring, it facilitates proactive web filtering, identity management, and cloud security. Enhanced with HTTP decryption rules and patch updates, users benefit from responsive support and reliable stability. Despite its comprehensive capabilities, improvements are needed in reporting, performance, anti-malware enhancement, and cost efficiency, especially for scalability and multi-tenant use. Companies capitalize on its sandboxing, URL filtering, and application control to secure on-premises and cloud infrastructures. Its potential is enriched yet requires enhancements in site blacklisting, SQL injection security, and DDoS protection.

What are the key features of Trend Micro Web Security [EOL]?

Machine Learning: Enhances threat detection accuracy.
Endpoint Security: Protects endpoints from security breaches.
Zero Trust Technology: Ensures strict identity verification.
Cloud Filtering: Monitors and secures cloud environments.
Advanced DLP Licensing: Safeguards sensitive data across networks.
Access Control: Manages user permissions and access.

What benefits or ROI should users expect from Trend Micro Web Security [EOL]?

Scalability: Adapts to growing enterprise requirements.
Stability: Provides consistent performance under heavy load.
Responsive Support: Offers timely help and resolution of issues.
Regular Logs: Delivers comprehensive logging for analysis.

Trend Micro Web Security [EOL] is prominently used in industries such as finance and delivery, where secure data handling is crucial. Organizations deploy it to protect endpoints, remote work environments, and manage identity securely. Essential for preventing unauthorized access and ensuring compliance, its features cater to complex network infrastructures.

TrendAI

Sample Customers

Trusted by global enterprises and government agencies.

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

Landwirtschaftskammer Nordrhein-Westfalen, Mosaic Medical, Okinawa Prefectural Education Center, RAK Investment Authority

Buyer's Guide

Secure Web Gateways (SWG)

September 2026

Download Free Report

Find out what your peers are saying about Cisco, Fortinet, Zscaler and others in Secure Web Gateways (SWG). Updated: September 2026.

DOWNLOAD NOW

916,956 professionals have used our research since 2012.

See our list of best Secure Web Gateways (SWG) vendors.

We monitor all Secure Web Gateways (SWG) 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.