Fortinet FortiManager vs Plixer Scrutinizer comparison

The compared Fortinet and Plixer solutions aren't in the same category. Fortinet is ranked #4 in NMA , with an average rating of 8.2, and holds a 5.4% mindshare in the category. Plixer is ranked #11 in NTA , with an average rating of 8.0, and holds a 2.5% mindshare. Additionally, 94% of Fortinet users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 92% of Plixer users who would recommend it.

Fortinet FortiManager

Read 68 Fortinet FortiManager reviews

5,086 Views
814 Comparison Views

94% willing to recommend

Plixer Scrutinizer

Read 15 Plixer Scrutinizer reviews

1,401 Views
462 Comparison Views

92% willing to recommend

Fortinet FortiManager

Plixer Scrutinizer

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Executive Summary

We performed a comparison between Fortinet FortiManager and Plixer Scrutinizer based on real PeerSpot user reviews.

Find out what your peers are saying about Cisco, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, Fortinet and others in Network Management Applications.

To learn more, read our detailed Network Management Applications Report (Updated: June 2025).

Buyer's Guide

Network Management Applications

June 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 FortiManager

Average Rating

8.0

Reviews Sentiment

7.0

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Network Management Applications (4th)

Plixer Scrutinizer

Average Rating

8.6

Reviews Sentiment

6.9

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Network Monitoring Software (54th), Network Traffic Analysis (NTA) (11th)

Mindshare comparison

While both are Network Management solutions, they 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.
Plixer Scrutinizer, on the other hand, focuses on Network Traffic Analysis (NTA), holds 2.5% mindshare, up 2.0% since last year.

Network Management Applications

Network Traffic Analysis (NTA)

Featured Reviews

Damitha Anuradha

Head of Presales at AcSys Networks Private Limited

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…

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Ira Mulyanti

Sales Director at ARGA SOLUSI

An affordable product with great integration capabilities

Plixer Core Platform is a valuable feature and a good software. Plixer Scrutinizer uses NetFlow analysis to monitor whatever is there in a network. Price-wise, Plixer Scrutinizer is not an expensive product. Basically, Plixer Scrutinizer is an affordable product. Plixer Scrutinizer is a tool that allows for customization, especially in scenarios where customers need new product features. Plixer Scrutinizer is a tool that can integrate with any other brand or product in the market, so it is not an area of concern.

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

"Everybody is quite happy with the way that the graphical user interface works."

"The SD-WAN deployment environment, and the SD-WAN templates are particularly useful. Managing the solution is very intuitive. The initial setup of the solution was very straightforward."

"The central management feature is the most valuable to me."

"There is something called zero-touch provisioning, where you can add a new device without any configuration. You just add it to FortiManager and then forget about it."

"Technical support is great. When we have sent urgent tickets and they do reply back within fifteen minutes."

"The solution brings device management into one single pane of glass and is a pretty good product."

"The centralized management of policies and certificates, coupled with the capability to handle multi-site deployments effectively, provides streamlined operations."

"A fully integrated solution."

More Fortinet FortiManager pros

"The reporting and generating troubleshooting reports would be the best feature; our host-to-host conversation reporting."

"The most valuable features of the solution are the ability to track what a device is doing and to go back historically. It is also able to go down to, and identify, very low levels of traffic."

"It shows us the saturation of the network of devices. It gives us a clear view of the flows in the network to understand, for instance, planning upgrades in the network to get an idea of what's going on the network on traffic flows. It gives us insight, for instance, on what's going on on our VPN Client. There are a lot of things where it provides very helpful information. It also gives us our security reports with quite detailed information on what's going on in the network, and whether there are data exfiltrations and so on."

"Visualization of the network traffic is the most valuable feature. It allows you to drill into information quite quickly."

"It's agnostic as far as what your network gear is. As long as it supports an sFlow, JFlow, NetFlow, some kind of flow monitoring, Plixer will support it very well."

"As a network engineer, the ability to identify what traffic on the link is consuming all the bandwidth at any given time, and provide immediate feedback to the business, is the most valuable feature."

"We have had many requests to understand in the network which devices are connected to others. Most people don't have this information or are able to establish a map of data flow everywhere around the network. Scrutinizer can really help with this. We are using it to understand who is talking to what, how, and which protocols can help us to improve security and analyze flow."

"There are other tools out there that will do what Scrutinizer does. But what I have found with Scrutinizer is that it does it very quickly. I've taken 25 million individual data fragments from the different sensors, and it has graphed that and mapped it and presented a picture within 30 seconds. It has a very efficient database algorithm that I am really impressed with."

More Plixer Scrutinizer pros

Cons

"Fortinet FortiManager could improve them by adding more portfolio components."

"The presence of Fortinet in our region (Nigeria) needs to be stronger."

"Wizards could be improved in pushing policies."

"It requires a lot of resources. This is the main challenge."

"The scalability has room for improvement."

"When we have a specific configuration pushed it does take some time to be deployed on the actual firewall."

"It's a difficult process to transfer one interface from one virtual domain to another."

"The price is a bit too high."

More Fortinet FortiManager cons

"There was a price lift because previously the product was privately owned, and now there is some external capital in the organization, so pricing could be lower, though, for Plixer Scrutinizer, there is almost no competition at this price point."

"In Plixer Scrutinizer, scalability is an area with minor concerns where improvements are required."

"Though Plixer Scrutinizer has network detection and response, it's an area that needs just a little more rounding out. Another room for improvement in the solution is its lack of SaaS offering which some customers were looking for. My company deals in small to medium businesses, mid-market, and some customers wanted the SaaS feature which Plixer Scrutinizer doesn't offer. What I'd like to see in the next release of the solution is for it to have a SaaS offering because my company also deals with educational spaces and smaller businesses that just don't have the staff that can implement this. If there's either a managed service or SaaS-based offering to just make it a little easier for those types of customers, it would be a great addition to Plixer Scrutinizer."

"It would be useful if there was a way to back up the configuration information. E.g., if you wanted to deploy a new instance or disaster recovery, you could quite easily deploy and restore the config, as opposed to having to restore all the NetFlow data. If there was just a button that said "backup config information", that would be good."

"The reporting structure, the front-end GUI, also needs some work. It needs some getting used to. It works fairly well, but it's a technical tool rather than a user tool. You have to understand the structure of the databases before you can really use it."

"For updating the Scrutinizer platform, when we have the actual data, it never happens in one day. Every time we have the data, we are obliged to install a new server in order to integrate the old data, and every time it has a problem. Most of the time, we were obliged to scrap all the data because we couldn't transfer it to the new server. So, it would be very good if they could improve this part."

"We couldn't get it set up properly."

"From what I understand it is that the solution is not very scalable in a high volume traffic environment with a large number of flows."

More Plixer Scrutinizer cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The license model they use depends on the size and is not limited to the users."

"For the licensing fee, we paid around 10,000 to 15,000 euros."

"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 is reasonably priced - I pay around US$40,0000 per year, which covers fifty locations."

"The pricing model is affordable."

"Compared to Check Point or Cisco, Fortinet FortiManager is more affordable but it is still on the higher end."

"In comparison with other products, the price of FortiManager is reasonable."

"Fortinet FortiManager is not expensive at all if you compare it with other vendors like Check Point and Cisco. Fortinet products are the least expensive on the market in the category of firewalls."

More Fortinet FortiManager pricing and cost advice

"We pay our one-off cost for the licenses, per device, in blocks of 50. And then we pay an annual maintenance fee of about $15,000 Australian, which is, at this point in time, about $9,000 US, for those 250 devices. The upfront costs for the 250-license use, were about $50,000 Australian, which is about $32,000 US."

"Our entire solution, amortized over five years, is in the vicinity of $40,000 to $50,000 a year."

"We recently bought a license upgrade, so we will integrate more exporters. We upgraded from a 25 exporter license to a 50 exporter license. Therefore, there will be more flows, and this will be an extension. I don't know when we will purchase a faster server, because the server that we have is quite new."

"I rate Plixer Scrutinizer's price a three on a scale of one to ten, where one is low price or affordable, and ten is high price or expensive."

"Compared to some of the other tools we have, it's incredibly reasonably priced."

"There are no extra costs. It's about $8,000 a year. The bang for the buck (cost) is definitely a plus."

"There is a recurring maintenance fee after the initial purchase or if we want the license upgrade."

"We just renewed. The pricing is 5,000 euro per year. This is the final price. All tax (20 percent) is included."

More Plixer Scrutinizer pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

14%

Financial Services Firm

10%

Manufacturing Company

Comms Service Provider

Computer Software Company

11%

Manufacturing Company

Financial Services Firm

Government

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.

See all answers

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.

See all answers

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 ...

See all answers

What do you like most about Plixer Scrutinizer?

Plixer Scrutinizer is an affordable product. Plixer Scrutinizer is a tool that allows for customization, especially in scenarios where customers need new product features.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Plixer Scrutinizer?

I rate Plixer Scrutinizer's price a three on a scale of one to ten, where one is low price or affordable, and ten is high price or expensive.

See all answers

What needs improvement with Plixer Scrutinizer?

I don't have deep enough knowledge to comment on what requires improvements in Plixer Scrutinizer. In Plixer Scrutinizer, scalability is an area with minor concerns where improvements are required.

See all answers

Comparisons

Fortinet FortiGate Cloud vs Fortinet FortiManager

Compared 69% of the time

Fortinet FortiOS vs Fortinet FortiManager

Compared 9% of the time

Cisco DNA Center vs Fortinet FortiManager

Compared 7% of the time

AlgoSec vs Fortinet FortiManager

Compared 4% of the time

Zabbix vs Fortinet FortiManager

Compared 3% of the time

More Fortinet FortiManager Competitors

Cisco Secure Network Analytics vs Plixer Scrutinizer

Compared 23% of the time

SolarWinds NetFlow Traffic Analyzer vs Plixer Scrutinizer

Compared 22% of the time

PRTG Network Monitor vs Plixer Scrutinizer

Compared 17% of the time

Kentik vs Plixer Scrutinizer

Compared 16% of the time

LogicMonitor vs Plixer Scrutinizer

Compared 12% of the time

More Plixer Scrutinizer Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Fortinet FortiManager

July 2025

Download Fortinet FortiManager product report

Buyer's Guide

Plixer Scrutinizer

June 2025

Download Plixer Scrutinizer product report

Overview

Fortinet FortiManager is used for centralized management of FortiGate firewalls, utilizing zero-touch deployment techniques to optimize configuration and deployment, reducing installation time and errors while improving network security and efficiency.

By centralizing policy management and monitoring across devices and locations, Fortinet FortiManager enhances security and operational efficiency. Automation tools simplify management, control, and consistent configuration across environments. It offers scalability for managing large numbers of devices, beneficial for organizations seeking unified threat protection and streamlined administration from one console. The platform integrates effortlessly with Fortinet products, supporting zero-touch provisioning, SD-WAN, and traffic analysis. Although intuitive, the graphical interface and overall performance require refinement, alongside enhanced support and documentation for troubleshooting and configuration.

What are the key features of Fortinet FortiManager?

Centralized Management: Streamlines device configuration across multiple systems.
Automation Tools: Simplifies implementation and maintenance of configurations.
Zero-Touch Provisioning: Reduces setup time and minimizes errors.
SD-WAN Support: Enhances wide-area network efficiency and effectiveness.
Traffic Analysis: Monitors network traffic for improved security insights.
Policy Pushing: Facilitates efficient deployment of security rules.

What benefits and ROI should users look for in reviews?

Operational Efficiency: Reduces installation time and configuration errors.
Scalability: Supports management of numerous devices.
Improved Security: Centralized management enhances threat protection.
Time Savings: Automation reduces manual intervention needs.
Cost-Effectiveness: Simplified administration can lower management costs.

Fortinet FortiManager is implemented across diverse industries like telecommunications, finance, and healthcare, where centralized management and enhanced security are crucial. Its ability to streamline processes and integrate with existing Fortinet products makes it ideal for organizations looking to maintain robust network security standards.

Fortinet

The Scrutinizer incident response system leverages network traffic analytics to provide active monitoring, visualization, and reporting of network and security incidents. The system quickly delivers the rich forensic data needed by IT professionals to support fast and efficient incident response.

Plixer

Sample Customers

Black Gold Regional Schools, Amadeus Hospitality, Jefferson County, Chunghwa Telecom, City of Boroondara, Dimension Data

Oxford Networks, Squaw Valley Ski Holdings, UltiSat, Wipro, West Aurora School District 129, SUNY Geneseo College, Bloomington Public Schools, First National Bank of Pennsylvania, Kitsap Credit Union, Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris County Houston Texas, Carilion Clinic, Banner Health, IDEXX Laboratories, Phibro Animal Health Corporation, Goodwill Industries, Parmalat, Armstrong Coal Company, Flybe, James Walker

Buyer's Guide

Network Management Applications

June 2025

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