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Fortinet FortiManager vs Fortinet FortiPortal 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:
 

Categories and Ranking

Fortinet FortiManager
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
7.0
Number of Reviews
68
Ranking in other categories
Network Management Applications (4th)
Fortinet FortiPortal
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
12
Ranking in other categories
Firewall Security Management (10th)
 

Mindshare comparison

Fortinet FortiManager and Fortinet FortiPortal aren’t in the same category and serve different purposes. Fortinet FortiManager is designed for Network Management Applications and holds a mindshare of 5.4%, up 4.7% compared to last year.
Fortinet FortiPortal, on the other hand, focuses on Firewall Security Management, holds 1.0% mindshare, up 0.9% since last year.
Network Management Applications
Firewall Security Management
 

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…
Andriejus Artamonovas - PeerSpot reviewer
Offers reliable log retention and monitoring with prompt customer support
Fortinet FortiPortal ( /products/fortinet-fortiportal-reviews )'s most valuable feature as a free service is the log retention for at least seven days. It is useful for our service-providing company as I manage many clients and need reminders for UTM license expiries. The service comes bundled when buying licenses, providing these features for free. Fortinet cloud also allows for basic management such as monitoring expiries and storing logs from devices for a week if configured correctly.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"I appreciate the ability to connect via SSH through Fortinet FortiManager to the FortiGates I manage. This feature allows me to gather information about the interfaces without having to physically connect to the device. This is a convenient aspect that I find valuable."
"The solution is very stable."
"FortiManager's most valuable feature is central management."
"The integration is quite good."
"It's a scalable product."
"It makes management very easy."
"The most valuable feature is the central configuration for firewall policies."
"The reports feature is excellent."
"The firewall and site-blocking features are valuable."
"The documentation has been satisfactory."
"From a scalability perspective, I found the solution to be completely fine...The solution's technical support is absolutely fine."
"I like the tool's controller facility."
"I recommend Fortinet FortiPortal without any reservations, backed by my experience with its potent features and reporting capabilities."
"The most valuable feature of this solution is application control."
"Everything works perfectly, and stability has not been an issue."
"It does a little bit better than some of the other products health-wise and updates-wise. It is really clear that a firewall is getting the signature updates in this timeframe. In some of the other products, usually, you have to go a couple of screens in to see that, but not so much in this product."
 

Cons

"The presence of Fortinet in our region (Nigeria) needs to be stronger."
"The SD-WAN solution is difficult to manage on FortiManager because you need to share some configurations on the firewall side. Sometimes you lose all connectivity with the firewall, so it is challenging to apply the default configuration to the SD-WAN solution."
"There may be a communication issue. However, other items may be the culprit, such as network connectivity. It depends on the customer's network."
"The product is not very stable."
"The fabric for integrations or connections could be improved."
"FortiManager needs to handle different firewall versions more efficiently."
"The dashboard could use some improvement."
"Wizards could be improved in pushing policies."
"The product must have in-built SD-WAN connectivity."
"Fingerprint access security would improve this solution."
"It's useful for us but if it had more educational reporting, it would good. It's not necessarily lacking but it's an area that could get better."
"There can be defects in Fortinet FortiPortal when functioning at high temperatures."
"The solution is more expensive than other products."
"I find their logging a little bit trickier to manage. The logging of events is broken up into a lot of different categories. Instead of breaking up my logs into several different places, I personally like to have all the events in one spot and then filter them down. In particular, I find that troubleshooting on Fortinet takes a little bit longer just because of those functional breakups in the logs."
"If you are a very small company or a person on your own, it's harder to get any response from technical support."
"The tool should provide a 10-15 days extension for customers when their license expires."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The solution requires you to have a license for every device, as well as for any advanced features being used, which makes it costly for high-volume users. However, for a large-scale environment with a lot of customers we have found it to be a worthwhile investment."
"The licensing costs depend on how many devices you want to use."
"The pricing is based on a licensing model by feature."
"If you compare Fortinet and Palo Alto, Fortinet is cheaper, but if you compare Cisco and Fortinet, sometimes Cisco is cheaper because Cisco gives us more discounts because of the size. Cisco isn't cheap, but sometimes, we get a big discount from them."
"FortiManager isn't expensive, but its cost is dependent on which services are required."
"Fortinet FortiManager can be expensive."
"Fortinet FortiManager operates on a licensing system that is dependent on the number of devices being managed. Yearly subscription renewal is necessary to continue using the service. Although there is a cost associated with Fortinet FortiManager, its price is undoubtedly justified by the value it provides in terms of the purpose it serves."
"For us, it is a little bit expensive."
"I am satisfied with the pricing for this solution."
"The solution is quite expensive."
"On average, it tends to be cheaper than other enterprise solutions."
"Fortinet FortiPortal is expensive in Pakistan."
"The licensing costs attached to the solution make it an expensive product."
"The price of the solution is reasonable."
"Fortinet FortiPortal is not expensive."
"Fortinet FortiPortal is relatively expensive, but being an industry-leading firewall, it does come with a cost."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
15%
Financial Services Firm
10%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Comms Service Provider
8%
Computer Software Company
15%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Media Company
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

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?
Regarding the price of Fortinet FortiManager, I need to get that information from my management, as they handle purchasing.
What needs improvement with Fortinet FortiManager?
There is room for improvement in Fortinet FortiManager because there is no option for roaming profiles, and the cloud console is not available, which is different compared to Cisco Meraki, and the ...
What do you like most about Fortinet FortiPortal?
The firewall and site-blocking features are valuable.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Fortinet FortiPortal?
The cost of Fortinet FortiPortal is affordable, particularly for our subscription. Compared to other solutions like Cisco, it's significantly cheaper. I would rate the price as a six out of ten.
What needs improvement with Fortinet FortiPortal?
The only complaint about Fortinet FortiPortal is the need for frequent firmware upgrades, as it requires constant updating due to potential security vulnerabilities. With a proper license, the abil...
 

Also Known As

No data available
FortiPortal
 

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: June 2025.
859,579 professionals have used our research since 2012.