Fortinet FortiGate vs Zscaler Cloud IPS comparison

Fortinet and Zscaler are both solutions in the Intrusion Detection and Prevention Software (IDPS) category. Fortinet is ranked #1 with an average rating of 8.5, while Zscaler is ranked #22. Fortinet holds a 16.4% mindshare in ID, compared to Zscaler’s 1.2% mindshare. Additionally, 92% of Fortinet users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 100% of Zscaler users who would recommend it.

Fortinet FortiGate

Read 574 Fortinet FortiGate reviews

70,231 Views
6,321 Comparison Views

92% willing to recommend

Zscaler Cloud IPS

Read 5 Zscaler Cloud IPS reviews

530 Views
398 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

Fortinet FortiGate

Zscaler Cloud IPS

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Sep 16, 2025

Fortinet FortiGate and Zscaler Cloud IPS compete in the network security category. Fortinet FortiGate shows advantages in pricing and support, while Zscaler Cloud IPS leads in advanced features and cloud-centric focus.

Features: Fortinet FortiGate integrates firewall, VPN, and intrusion prevention, offering enterprise-grade security with on-premise hardware and versatile deployment. Zscaler Cloud IPS provides scalable cloud-based security solutions, emphasizes integration with cloud services, and offers real-time threat detection.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Zscaler Cloud IPS features straightforward cloud deployment with reduced hardware dependency and rapid scalability. It supports seamless integration into existing cloud architectures. Fortinet FortiGate requires a more complex setup due to hardware components, with strong support for implementation and optimization.

Pricing and ROI: Fortinet FortiGate offers predictable pricing with a significant initial hardware investment but potentially higher ROI through long-term stability and support. Zscaler Cloud IPS uses a subscription model with lower upfront costs, justified by its cloud capabilities and scalability.

To learn more, read our detailed Fortinet FortiGate vs. Zscaler Cloud IPS Report (Updated: October 2025).

Buyer's Guide

Fortinet FortiGate vs. Zscaler Cloud IPS

October 2025

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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 Intrusion Detection and Prevention Software (IDPS)

1st

Average Rating

8.4

Reviews Sentiment

6.9

Number of Reviews

574

Ranking in other categories

Secure Web Gateways (SWG) (2nd), Firewalls (1st), Software Defined WAN (SD-WAN) Solutions (1st), WAN Edge (1st), ZTNA (2nd), Unified Threat Management (UTM) (1st)

Zscaler Cloud IPS

Ranking in Intrusion Detection and Prevention Software (IDPS)

22nd

Average Rating

9.0

Reviews Sentiment

6.8

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of November 2025, in the Intrusion Detection and Prevention Software (IDPS) category, the mindshare of Fortinet FortiGate is 16.4%, down from 19.8% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Zscaler Cloud IPS is 1.2%, up from 0.8% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Intrusion Detection and Prevention Software (IDPS) Market Share Distribution
Product	Market Share (%)
Fortinet FortiGate	16.4%
Zscaler Cloud IPS	1.2%
Other	82.4%

Intrusion Detection and Prevention Software (IDPS)

Featured Reviews

Vasu Gala

Manager, Information Technology Operation/Presales at TechMonarch

A stable solution with an intuitive interface and quick customer service

I have been working with Fortinet FortiGate, WatchGuard, Sophos, and SonicWall. I'm not as comfortable with SonicWall because of their UI and limitations. I prefer Fortinet above all other options. When it comes to configuration, I am confident in my ability to handle various tasks, including creating policies such as firewall rules, web policies, and application policies. Additionally, I can configure VPNs and implement load balancing, among other tasks. Overall, I feel much more comfortable working with Fortinet. Fortinet has made significant improvements by integrating AI with firewalls for threat analysis and prevention. In the past 2-3 years, they have launched FortiSASE and SIEM, and they also provide SOC services. Both Palo Alto and Fortinet FortiGate are excellent. While Fortinet FortiGate comes at higher prices, the functionality and support justify the cost. They promptly resolve firmware issues and inform all support providers about configuration changes.

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Utpal Sinha

Sr Network Engineer at Momentive

Stable product with valuable SSL inspection features

We use Zscaler Cloud IPS for threat protection, full SSL inspection, and data center scalability. It integrates with multiple products, including cloud firewalls, cloud sandboxing, Cloud Security Broker (CSB), and Data Loss Prevention (DLP). It helps us allow or block specific TCP or UDP ports…

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Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"It's very good and very stable for businesses. It works very well."

"The ease of use, concise reports, and threat identification are very user-friendly and valuable."

"FortiGate is a great solution, although initially, it faced challenges in the Brazilian market due to lower brand recognition than Cisco. However, explaining and demonstrating its product format and offerings has proven easy. The cost-effectiveness and better features of FortiGate have made some clients skeptical. We set up a trial period, and they eventually opted for it. Many clients were convinced it was great after experiencing the solution's capabilities firsthand."

"The dashboard I have found the most valuable in Fortinet FortiGate."

"There are lots of features and most of them are deployed for internet security. Users are protected if they accidentally go to some malicious sites."

"FortiGate is flexible and easy to use."

"I like how we can achieve total integration."

"I like its ability to prevent external intrusion into our database. It's so fun."

More Fortinet FortiGate pros

"Cloud IPS integration is seamless, and it uses a Zero Trust model. It also simplifies overall user access management."

"The product's most valuable feature is complete SSL inspection."

"The initial setup is straightforward and easy in comparison with other solutions."

"The best feature is that Zscaler allows for a separation between cloud applications and URL filtering. For example, under the cloud application segment, I can bypass Microsoft Office 365 without the need to add URLs manually. It's one click, so that's handy."

"The initial setup process is easy."

Cons

"There are SD-WAN network monitoring, SD-WAN features, Industrial Databases, Internet of Things, Detection, etc., however, we do have not licenses for those features. We thought that if you bought a product, you should have all of the features it offers. Why should you need to make so many extra purchases to enable features? They should have one price for the entire offering."

"It is quite new for us, and we need to go more in-depth into the monitoring tools. It provides different features that we need to do what we want. So far, it is okay for us. In terms of improvement, in the future, they can provide a faster implementation of features. Some of the features are first available in other solutions. Fortinet sometimes takes a little bit longer than other solutions, such as Check Point, to implement new features."

"The solution needs to improve its support."

"It can be a little bit more user-friendly in terms of policy definition and implementation. It seems a little bit complicated, and it could be simplified."

"The solution could be improved by addressing limited local reporting. It requires obtaining the FortiAnalyzer for proper visibility because you can't do much from a reporting perspective with just the firewall alone."

"Technical support is good but the response time could be faster."

"Support could be improved."

"Fortinet FortiGate needs to improve the protection, it did not prevent us from being attacked. Additionally, Fortinet FortiGate could provide more features for WAF devices. I should not have to purchase two solutions, it would be a benefit to combine these features into one solution."

More Fortinet FortiGate cons

"We recently had a significant issue with Zscaler. I think they have too many customers and some of their connection edge nodes went down because there were too many requests. I think they aren't scaling enough to keep up with the demand in some areas. That's one thing they should improve."

"They have given limited free access for a year. Instead, they should increase the file size and give limited free access for around two months. It will allow engineers to evaluate the product."

"We encounter issues sharing IP addresses with other companies using the software."

"There is always room for improvement."

"When it comes to scalability, the IPsec could be improved."

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Compared to Palo Alto, which we have used in the past, pricing and licensing are okay."

"It is an expensive solution."

"It cost us around $73,000 for three years."

"FortiGate Next-Generation Firewall is cheaper than Cisco or CheckPoint."

"Setup costs and pricing depends on many variables, but it's mostly affordable."

"At the time we bought them, I was satisfied with their pricing; I don't know how the new pricing will be."

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

"The price of FortiGate is good."

More Fortinet FortiGate pricing and cost advice

"The software has become more expensive at present."

"The product is not affordable for small and medium enterprises."

"Zscaler has so far been solely responsible for all the sales we have done with it, so it would be more suited than us to address any issues concerning the pricing."

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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

14%

Comms Service Provider

Manufacturing Company

Financial Services Firm

Manufacturing Company

14%

Healthcare Company

13%

Government

Computer Software Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	350
Midsize Enterprise	130
Large Enterprise	187

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...

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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...

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Comparisons

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Compared 18% of the time

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Compared 11% of the time

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Compared 8% of the time

OPNsense vs Fortinet FortiGate

Compared 4% of the time

Cisco Meraki MX vs Fortinet FortiGate

Compared 4% of the time

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Compared 25% of the time

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Compared 19% of the time

Trend Micro Deep Discovery vs Zscaler Cloud IPS

Compared 18% of the time

Palo Alto Networks Advanced Threat Prevention vs Zscaler Cloud IPS

Compared 13% of the time

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Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Fortinet FortiGate

November 2025

Download Fortinet FortiGate product report

Buyer's Guide

Intrusion Detection and Prevention Software (IDPS)

October 2025

Download Zscaler Cloud IPS product report

Overview

Fortinet FortiGate excels in providing integrated VPN, firewalling, and Unified Threat Management (UTM) with centralized management and high availability. It supports remote access and comprehensive threat protection, making it a preferred choice for securing networks.

Fortinet FortiGate offers a robust security platform with features such as strong intrusion prevention, application control, and web filtering. Its integration with Active Directory and SD-WAN functionality provides scalable solutions for large networks. Users appreciate its ease of use through centralized management interfaces, ensuring robust security with flexible configurations. However, FortiGate could enhance its graphical interface and technical support responsiveness, address firmware bugs and costly licensing, improve logging, integrate better with third-party tools, and strengthen scalability and memory for log storage. Complexity in configuration and the need for intuitive features are noted challenges, and there's a demand for advanced security, zero-trust capabilities, and AI integration.

What are the key features of Fortinet FortiGate?

VPN: Secure remote access and connectivity.
Firewalling: Protects networks from unauthorized access and attacks.
UTM: Offers a comprehensive approach to threat management.
SD-WAN: Optimizes traffic routing for efficient network performance.
Web Filtering: Controls and monitors web access and ensures Internet security.

What benefits or ROI should be considered?

Centralized Management: Simplifies administration and monitoring.
High Availability: Ensures consistent security and network availability.
Scalability: Adapts to the needs of growing networks.
Comprehensive Threat Protection: Provides robust security measures.
Ease of Use: Minimizes the complexity of security management.

Fortinet FortiGate is widely implemented across industries like education, finance, and government. Companies use it for firewall protection, VPN, and SD-WAN capabilities, ensuring secure perimeter and data center security. It facilitates remote access management and traffic routing optimization, offering reliable security and connectivity solutions.

Fortinet

Zscaler Cloud IPS enables you to have all threat and alert data in one place. Full user, file and app context is available. Streaming to a SIEM allows further integration into the SOC ecosystem.

The Zscaler Threat Library allows administrators and SOC personnel to drill down on IPS alerts to perform in-depth analysis of threat data within their installation. Search by vulnerability, category or keyword

For more details: https://www.zscaler.com/produc...

Zscaler

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

Zenith Live, Azure, Carlsberg Group

Buyer's Guide

Fortinet FortiGate vs. Zscaler Cloud IPS

October 2025

Free Report: Fortinet FortiGate vs. Zscaler Cloud IPS

Find out what your peers are saying about Fortinet FortiGate vs. Zscaler Cloud IPS and other solutions. Updated: October 2025.

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