Fortinet FortiMail vs Kiteworks comparison

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Fortinet FortiMail

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Dec 3, 2024

Kiteworks and Fortinet FortiMail compete in secure communication solutions. Fortinet FortiMail has an upper hand because of its robust security features and performance.

Features: Kiteworks offers secure collaboration, data management, and an intuitive interface. Fortinet FortiMail provides advanced threat protection, multi-layered security, and comprehensive email protection.

Room for Improvement: Kiteworks could enhance its security features, scalability, and reporting capabilities. Fortinet FortiMail could improve interface usability, deployment complexity, and multi-language support.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Kiteworks provides straightforward deployment with integrated support, making it suitable for quick implementation. Fortinet FortiMail requires more complex deployment but benefits from a structured support framework, suitable for organizations with dedicated IT resources.

Pricing and ROI: Kiteworks offers lower initial setup costs with a focus on rapid ROI, appealing to budget-conscious buyers. Fortinet FortiMail, despite higher upfront costs, provides long-term value due to its comprehensive protection, appealing to those prioritizing security.

To learn more, read our detailed Fortinet FortiMail vs. Kiteworks Report (Updated: September 2026).

Fortinet FortiMail vs. Kiteworks

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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 FortiMail

Ranking in Email Security

6th

Average Rating

8.6

Reviews Sentiment

6.8

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Kiteworks

Ranking in Email Security

27th

Average Rating

8.6

Reviews Sentiment

6.9

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Enterprise Content Management (16th), Managed File Transfer (MFT) (7th), Content Collaboration Platforms (14th), Secure Email Gateway (SEG) (9th)

Mindshare comparison

As of October 2026, in the Email Security category, the mindshare of Fortinet FortiMail is 2.7%, down from 3.7% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Kiteworks is 0.8%, up from 0.5% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Email Security Mindshare Distribution
Product	Mindshare (%)
Fortinet FortiMail	2.7%
Kiteworks	0.8%
Other	96.5%

Email Security

Featured Reviews

Abhimanyu Das

Senior Cybersecurity Engineer at Kyndryl

Targeted email filtering has reduced spam and phishing and now saves significant investigation time

The best features of Fortinet FortiMail include its techniques and tactics, which are highly effective compared to other solutions such as Microsoft 365. Although Fortinet FortiMail may not be as advanced in some aspects, it is well recognized for its strong performance in handling spam and phishing. It performs thorough mail scanning and also offers a sandboxing feature that enhances protection. Fortinet FortiMail has had a positive impact on my organization by significantly reducing unwanted email activities such as spam and phishing. It provides accurate detection and generates results that often exceed what can be achieved through manual analysis. Since deploying Fortinet FortiMail, I have observed a reduction in investigation time by at least 20 to 30 percent.

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KishoreT-Review

Associate Consultant at a tech consulting company with 10,001+ employees

Streamlined global file sharing with user-friendly interface and self-service capabilities

I'm not a network expert, however, there must be some room for improvement. Perhaps there could be a notification to users about their bandwidth or network packet loss. If users receive such notifications, they can understand any disruptions are due to issues with their network or bandwidth rather than the site or Kiteworks. Additionally, I work from offshore India, and I told my client manager to communicate with the Kiteworks forum salesman regarding one feature. I noticed the Kiteworks login UI is very basic, lacking customization. Allowing more HTML tags to add hyperlinks or user-friendly information on the home page would be very useful.

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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

"The most valuable features of Fortinet FortiMail are its virus outbreak prevention and FortiSandbox integration."

"Fortinet FortiMail is rated an eight for the protection and features it provides in the on-premises setup."

"Fortinet FortiMail is a complete product addressing mail security concerns. It helps to know spam subscriptions and create restriction policies."

"We compared it to Sophos, but it is more for users that aren't IT experts."

"FortiMail has a low cost and high support."

"I would rate Fortinet FortiMail ten out of ten overall."

"It is a scalable solution."

"The stability and performance of the solution have been great, and we have not had any problems since we have been using it."

More Fortinet FortiMail pros

"Kiteworks is easy to manage and maintain with a user-friendly interface and I recommend it to anyone that requires a file-sharing system that supports SFTP."

"The most valuable feature is the ability to allow end-users to manage their own information and data with minimal administration. That's the best feature from my perspective."

"The most useful feature of this solution is to share files with external parties and we can use this functionality to share files internally too."

"As a file-sharing application, it's an absolute 10 out of 10."

"The solution removes the limitations with file attachment size that is found with regular email."

"I can identify from which region our users are uploading or downloading files."

"Scalability is impressive."

"The benefits that Kiteworks has provided to its customers in terms of data sovereignty."

More Kiteworks pros

Cons

"The tool needs to improve its pricing policy. Also, it needs to be more user-friendly. I would want it to improve email security as well."

"I'll rate it higher when it can be easier to configure or connect to the cloud to report on the attachments."

"The solution could be improved by providing a virtual machine facility with a complete set of options in the VM setup and by enhancing the clarity of the information supplied for content filtering."

"A room for improvement in Fortinet FortiMail is that it only has a hardware version. I also didn't find the solution scalable, so that's another area for improvement."

"Such kinds of things, raised from the point from the objective actually, we are using Fortinet FortiMail. We don't find any kinds of challenge or difficulties, but Fortinet FortiMail is more efficient and more effective for us. I don't know for other client, but for us, Fortinet FortiMail is very effective Like, for instance, if it is possible, let's say some kind of high threat is actually encountered if it could be possible to SMBs in our smartphone, or mobile apps, kinds of thing, if Fortinet FortiMail is available to monitor the thing using from our mobile phone from our smartphone. If such kinds of things are truly included, it will be more or good for us."

"The product's cybersecurity features could be better."

"What's missing in Fortinet FortiMail is some sandbox information for some of the emails. It's probably configuration-based, where it could be configured on some emails. For example, there was malware in some emails that weren't detected in some of the Fortinet FortiMail sessions, but it should have been configured from my company's end to better catch scam emails, but overall, the solution is okay. At the moment, my company is okay with the current Fortinet FortiMail offerings, but in the past, because of a lack of understanding, my team wasn't able to quickly implement the geographical IP blocking feature. It was time-consuming to implement that feature, but that wasn't a fault of Fortinet FortiMail. The issue was from my team's end, but just by emailing the support team, that issue was resolved, so right now, there isn't any additional feature I'd like added to Fortinet FortiMail."

"It is not easy to install."

More Fortinet FortiMail cons

"We have experienced a few hiccups and bugs when using the admin console and from a user perspective."

"We have experienced some issues with stability due to bugs."

"There is no offboarding process for end-users in Kiteworks. It's a manual process. There is no automated syncing with LDAP and checking to see if the account is still active. It's a manual process to get people out of here, which isn't the best way."

"It would be nice if Kiteworks could provide a free version of the platform so that it could be used for a certain number of file transfers. We could be charged a fee if we exceeded the number of allotted file transfers."

"In my experience, their technical support can be a little slow."

"Kiteworks could benefit from enhancing the proposal knowledge base section, specifically regarding the type of work involved. Currently, the knowledge base seems insufficiently dedicated to this topic, making it challenging for new users to access the relevant administrative law. Improving the visual aids and providing clearer explanations could alleviate this issue."

"It could be more stable. In the next release, it would be better if it was more stable with improved performance."

"I noticed the Kiteworks login UI is very basic, lacking customization. Allowing more HTML tags to add hyperlinks or user-friendly information on the home page would be very useful."

More Kiteworks cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"This is a good solution and value for the money."

"There is either an annual or six-month charge to use this solution. Fortinet FortiMail is cheaper than Proofpoint or Cisco Security, or other email security appliances."

"I have no information on pricing for the competition because right now, my company is working only with Fortinet, but I can say that in general, the price for Fortinet FortiMail was accepted by the customers easily. The POC is also important when a customer is buying a solution. The customer wants to see how the product runs, and as Fortinet FortiMail is a stable product that runs without big issues, it has a bigger chance of getting chosen by customers over its competitors, even if its price may be a little higher. Pricing for the solution is competitive. Sometimes it's less, sometimes it's a little bit higher, but it isn't far from what other solutions charge."

"Compared to its competitors, Fortinet's products are available at a higher price range."

"In the future I would like it if there's a possibility to lower the price of the bandwidth and UTM. It is quite expensive."

"The annual cost is $55,000."

"Pricing is based on initial license purchase and use volume."

"The pricing is on the higher side."

More Fortinet FortiMail pricing and cost advice

"It is not really expensive. I mean, to me it's obviously expensive, but it's worth it."

"The solution is very expensive because we are buying with Malaysian Ringgit and it's sold in US dollars."

"The license management is changing and confusing. If I could make one change to it, it would be better license management through the API."

"I believe it's a little costly, but given the faith that we put into it from a security perspective to maintain the integrity of our patient information that is being transferred through this system, that's a small price to pay. So, on the surface, it might look like a lot of money, but depending on the need for security, which is where we feel it shines, it's okay price-wise."

"They changed it midstream. We were being charged a certain flat rate for SFTP traffic. For whatever reason, at the beginning of the year, our pricing changed, and we are now being charged more for using a feature of the product than we were when we first bought it. That has been our experience with billing. It turned out to be more expensive than when we started with it."

"The price of Kiteworks is reasonable."

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Manufacturing Company

Construction Company

Financial Services Firm

Computer Software Company

Financial Services Firm

13%

Comms Service Provider

11%

Government

10%

Manufacturing Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	33
Midsize Enterprise	23
Large Enterprise	14

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	3
Large Enterprise	11

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Fortinet FortiMail?

The setup cost is a little bit costly.

What needs improvement with Fortinet FortiMail?

I think they should improve Fortinet FortiMail on-premises by enhancing its user interface. Additional features they could have in the future would include advanced analytics capabilities. I do thi...

What is your primary use case for Fortinet FortiMail?

I do have a partnership with Fortinet. I have been both a partner and reseller.

What is Kiteworks?

Kiteworks is a secured file sharing platform that enables users to collaborate with different parties across a robust offering of secured protected channels. Users have the option of virtual privat...

What needs improvement with Kiteworks?

What advice do you have for others considering Kiteworks?

Scalability is impressive. It can be highly available, resilient, and scalable infrastructure. I can confidently give it a nine. It suits any level of organization, whether a small setup with two a...

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Product Reports

Fortinet FortiMail

Download Fortinet FortiMail product report

Download Kiteworks product report

Also Known As

FortiMail

Accellion

Overview

Fortinet FortiMail is a robust email security platform offering anti-spam, antivirus, and anti-phishing capabilities. It integrates with Fortinet products to ensure seamless protection against email threats in on-premises, cloud, and hybrid environments, enhancing secure communication for businesses.

Fortinet FortiMail is designed to protect against a range of email threats including spam, phishing, and malware, ensuring email safety for organizations. It operates as both a gateway and server, allowing for secure filtering of incoming and outgoing emails. The integration with Fortinet’s suite of security tools provides a comprehensive approach to managing threats effectively, while user-friendly interfaces and detailed reporting systems aid in threat monitoring and management. Frequent updates are implemented, though scalability and web console enhancements are necessary for improved performance.

What are the key features of Fortinet FortiMail?

Anti-Spam: Provides reliable filtering to block unwanted emails.
Antivirus: Ensures protection against harmful viruses.
Anti-Phishing: Prevents phishing attempts through advanced detection.
Sandboxing: Enhances threat detection to manage email security efficiently.
Integration: Seamlessly works with other Fortinet products for unified security.

What benefits should users expect from Fortinet FortiMail?

Comprehensive Security: Offers robust protection against multiple email threats.
Ease of Use: Features a user-friendly interface for better accessibility.
Detailed Reporting: Provides insights into threat management activities.
Reliable Performance: Delivers consistent updates for maintaining email protection.

Fortinet FortiMail is implemented by companies across industries seeking to secure their email communications. In healthcare, it protects sensitive patient information, while in finance, it safeguards transactional data against phishing attacks. Retailers utilize FortiMail to prevent data breaches from fraudulent emails, demonstrating its versatility in diverse sectors.

Fortinet

Kiteworks provides secure enterprise file sharing with mobile access and collaboration tools, supporting up to 100 GB transfers. It ensures data safety with encryption and offers a smooth interface for independent data management.

Kiteworks is tailored for effective large-scale data transfers using SFTP, email, and web. It supports two-factor authentication, antivirus scanning, and seamless integration with SSO to minimize administrative tasks. Users benefit from a centralized platform that offers visibility and control over data exchanges, receiving activity notifications and managing encryption keys independently. Despite its strengths, technical support and interface stability need improvement, along with the introduction of automated LDAP syncing and expanded knowledge resources.

What features make Kiteworks stand out?

Mobile Access: Facilitates secure data handling on-the-go.
Enterprise File Sharing: Enables large file transfers with up to 100 GB limit.
Collaboration Tools: Streamlines team efforts and file sharing.
Enhanced Security: Includes two-factor authentication and antivirus scanning.
SSO Integration: Reduces administrative tasks for efficient user management.

What ROI benefits should users seek in reviews?

Data Security: High level of encryption ensures sensitive data protection.
Efficient Management: Independent data handling and activity alerts improve workflow.
Administrative Ease: SSO and centralized logs simplify oversight and reduce complexity.

Organizations in sectors like healthcare and finance utilize Kiteworks to securely share and transfer sensitive data, from medical records to credit card information, ensuring compliance and data integrity. Industries benefit from its automated data transfer and secure communication capabilities, critical for operations ranging from air quality monitoring to banking transactions.

Sample Customers

Magromer Cueros y Pieles S.A.

United States Securities and Exchange Commission, National Health Service, Husch Blackwell LLP, NYC Health + Hospitals, Viatris, MITRE Corporation, Chubb, Kraft Heinz, KPMG, Kohler, National Institute of Standards and Technology, Purdue Pharma, AVL

Fortinet FortiMail vs. Kiteworks