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Fortinet FortiManager vs Fortinet FortiOS comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary

Review summaries and opinions

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

ROI

Sentiment score
6.3
Fortinet FortiManager offers competitive pricing, comprehensive security, and high returns, despite not showing immediate ROI during deployment stages.
Sentiment score
8.0
Fortinet FortiOS offers competitive pricing, easy scalability, and reliable security, resulting in solid ROI and reduced upgrade costs.
Fortinet provides a strong ROI for organizations focused on comprehensive security.
Once it is deployed, I do not have to revisit or replace the hardware.
The pricing of FortiOS is competitive and reasonable compared to other leading products such as Palo Alto and Check Point.
Fortinet is strong in terms of cost and compatibility with other vendors.
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
6.8
Fortinet FortiManager support is praised for efficiency, but some users report delays and complex case response time issues.
Sentiment score
7.8
Fortinet FortiOS support is helpful but inconsistent, with quick basic solutions, delays on complex issues, and documentation needing improvement.
Fortinet's support has proven to be reliable, particularly as we've been engaged with them since the project's initiation.
They are responsive and resolve issues quickly when I raise a ticket.
The level of support for P2 and P1 is wonderful.
I would rate them nine or ten out of ten.
Fortinet technical support is very responsive and helpful.
Support engineers sometimes lack eagerness to assist with issues such as the memory problem.
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
7.3
Fortinet FortiManager offers scalable, centralized management, ideal for expanding Fortinet environments, favoring virtual machines over hardware.
Sentiment score
8.6
Fortinet FortiOS offers scalable solutions for varying business sizes, though some hardware upgrades may be needed for expansion.
You can raise the capacity as you go, and there is no limit for hardware.
If you are working with a private or public cloud, it is very scalable.
The problem is cloud connectivity and roaming profiles are not working, as there is no option for them.
When customers' networks grow and needs expand, we can easily switch between models to trade up devices.
It allows for the expansion of users and devices without additional licensing costs.
Fortinet FortiOS is scalable, allowing the addition of users and firewalls as required.
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
7.9
Fortinet FortiManager is stable and reliable, with minor glitches that require reboots and depend on proper resource allocation.
Sentiment score
7.5
Fortinet FortiOS is stable and reliable, outperforming alternatives, with any issues mainly due to configuration challenges.
I rate the solution's stability ten out of ten.
95% of the time, there are no problems interacting with other devices.
While the product is largely stable, it sometimes faces memory issues in specific versions like 11 OE, which can be disruptive.
Stability is a seven out of ten because during version migrations, and sometimes with new versions, Fortinet is not as good.
I would rate the stability of FortiOS as an eight out of ten.
 

Room For Improvement

Fortinet FortiManager needs better documentation, simplified UI, enhanced integration, and clearer pricing to improve user experience.
Fortinet FortiOS users want improved usability, better management, enhanced security features, and more efficient support, especially for 60D models.
FortiManager is a good tool, but there is a lack of really advanced documentation.
If you have a couple thousand policies for FortiGate firewalls, it can take a few minutes to receive a response from the remote devices.
In such cases, their CPE or other devices on-site may become unreliable, leading to occasional configuration discrepancies.
Fortinet FortiOS faces memory issues, which can lead to unexpected downtimes.
There should be more documentation on how to use the CLI or how to perform CLI versions of tasks that can be done through the GUI.
Compared to other market leaders like Palo Alto and Check Point, FortiOS has many bugs in its initial releases.
 

Setup Cost

Fortinet FortiManager is considered reasonably priced, with potential negotiation, though costs vary with device volume and features.
Fortinet FortiOS pricing is moderate and scalable, with renewal costs potentially high despite competitive initial bundling offers.
Fortinet has the best pricing currently on the market.
It isn't the most expensive solution.
It's neither cheap nor expensive.
It is an affordable solution for us.
Fortinet products are somewhat pricey, similar to Cisco equivalents, however, they have justified their price point.
I am satisfied with the pricing, licensing, and setup costs of FortiOS, rating it nine out of ten compared to other familiar leading firewalls.
 

Valuable Features

Fortinet FortiManager centralizes management, automates tasks, and enhances network performance with scalability, visibility, and integration features.
Fortinet FortiOS offers ease of use, robust security features, scalability, and cost-effectiveness, ideal for large-scale deployments.
I can automate the installation of configurations using different programming languages like Python or HPE, and it's a GUI solution, so it's pretty easy to use, even for basic users.
Being able to push consistent firewall rules and configuration changes across multiple FortiGates saves a ton of time and reduces errors compared to managing each device individually.
Without FortiManager, you cannot manage a complex environment across several sites with multiple firewalls.
It is user-friendly when it comes to turning on features, and it has been reliable and effective.
The threat intelligence in FortiOS is very high, and the system is scalable without additional licensing costs.
The solution offers good threat intelligence, which is crucial for our customers' security purposes.
 

Categories and Ranking

Fortinet FortiManager
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
7.0
Number of Reviews
69
Ranking in other categories
Network Management Applications (4th)
Fortinet FortiOS
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
8.0
Number of Reviews
81
Ranking in other categories
Firewalls (21st)
 

Mindshare comparison

Fortinet FortiManager and Fortinet FortiOS aren’t in the same category and serve different purposes. Fortinet FortiManager is designed for Network Management Applications and holds a mindshare of 5.3%, up 4.7% compared to last year.
Fortinet FortiOS, on the other hand, focuses on Firewalls, holds 1.2% mindshare, up 0.9% since last year.
Network Management Applications Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Fortinet FortiManager5.3%
Cisco DNA Center23.5%
Cisco Catalyst Center8.9%
Other62.3%
Network Management Applications
Firewalls Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Fortinet FortiOS1.2%
Fortinet FortiGate20.8%
Netgate pfSense12.0%
Other66.0%
Firewalls
 

Featured Reviews

Damitha Anuradha - PeerSpot reviewer
Manage multiple devices with ease but experience complexity in deployment and limited AI features
I use Fortinet FortiManager to manage multiple devices in a single location. Although it does not provide a security posture itself, it depends on the firewall policies and settings in their respective firewalls. Fortinet FortiManager is primarily meant for the management of devices Fortinet…
Harshama Silva - PeerSpot reviewer
We have improved network security with user-friendly controls and high threat intelligence
FortiOS is very user-friendly and easy to configure for L1, L2, and L3 personnel. Its web filtering, application control, and IPS features are very user-friendly, easy to manage, and deploy. The threat intelligence in FortiOS is very high, and the system is scalable without additional licensing costs. FortiOS allows us to expand the number of users and devices as our network needs grow.
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
14%
Comms Service Provider
9%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Computer Software Company
13%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Government
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business33
Midsize Enterprise15
Large Enterprise19
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business42
Midsize Enterprise12
Large Enterprise23
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Fortinet FortiManager?
The most valuable feature is the centralized management console.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Fortinet FortiManager?
The pricing for Fortinet FortiManager is good and not expensive. It is competitively priced.
What needs improvement with Fortinet FortiManager?
There are some aspects that Fortinet FortiManager could improve upon. The user interface can feel clunky, especially for more complex tasks such as managing large-scale policy packages or custom sc...
Features comparison between Palo Alto and Fortinet firewalls
In the best tradition of these questions, Feature-wise both are quite similar, but each has things it's better at, it kind of depends what you value most. PA is good at app control, web filtering a...
What do you like most about Fortinet FortiOS?
The SSL VPN is fee for use is most attractive.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Fortinet FortiOS?
I rate the pricing for FortiOS as eight or nine out of ten. It is an affordable solution for us.
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Black Gold Regional Schools, Amadeus Hospitality, Jefferson County, Chunghwa Telecom, City of Boroondara, Dimension Data
Black Gold Regional Schools, Amadeus Hospitality, Jefferson County, Chunghwa Telecom, City of Boroondara, Dimension Data
Find out what your peers are saying about Cisco, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, Fortinet and others in Network Management Applications. Updated: July 2025.
866,218 professionals have used our research since 2012.