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Fortinet FortiManager vs SolarWinds Network Topology Mapper 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
Ranking in Network Management Applications
3rd
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
74
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
SolarWinds Network Topology...
Ranking in Network Management Applications
12th
Average Rating
9.6
Reviews Sentiment
2.7
Number of Reviews
2
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of August 2026, in the Network Management Applications category, the mindshare of Fortinet FortiManager is 4.2%, down from 5.3% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of SolarWinds Network Topology Mapper is 2.6%, up from 2.1% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Network Management Applications Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Fortinet FortiManager4.2%
SolarWinds Network Topology Mapper2.6%
Other93.2%
Network Management Applications
 

Featured Reviews

SudeepMaydeo - PeerSpot reviewer
Global Head of IT Infrastructure at EPL Americas
Ensures seamless integration and centralized visibility for network security operations
The version upgrade from a single dashboard for all the firewalls in one click is the beauty of Fortinet FortiManager as the most impactful feature in managing our network security. Fortinet FortiManager's policy management enhances our security protocols by enabling us and giving integrated centralized visibility, which has proven to be very healthy. Because of this, we have identified some of the vulnerabilities in our systems, and we mitigated them through Fortinet FortiManager. The central dashboards and the visibility are what appealed to us to go with Fortinet FortiManager. Fortinet FortiManager has adapted to changes in our network scale and complexity as we have geographically 18 international locations, all equipped with firewalls and some cybersecurity initiatives and IT infrastructure initiatives.
reviewer2687874 - PeerSpot reviewer
Design Engineer at a wholesaler/distributor with 501-1,000 employees
Effective tools simplify network mapping and analysis
I can't really articulate any areas that could be improved with the product right offhand. Just as long as they keep it around, since I know things are going into subscription models. One thing we do appreciate about the tool is that it's essentially a perpetual tool. Once you purchase it and the Engineer's ToolBox, it's been beneficial, serving as another utility tool on the network. I can't think of anything specific offhand for how SolarWinds Network Topology Mapper could improve, because I treat it as a simple utility tool that serves those needs. It scans the network for SNMP and ICMP echoes to map the topologies of the existing network. It's a small utility tool that's very helpful and beneficial, another option for us to utilize, and while there's always room for more features, that typically comes with a cost that we have to weigh.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"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 functionality is good; it has good features and it works well for us, with multiple features in one box, which helps to avoid needing a lot of equipment and makes it unique."
"The most valuable features are the centralized management of the firewalls."
"Fortinet FortiManager allows you to manage multiple FortiGate devices from a single console, and this is a valuable product feature."
"The templates are great, they are very helpful, you make a template and push it to the FortiGate, and it's been working fine."
"It can scale well."
"Without FortiManager, you cannot manage a complex environment across several sites with multiple firewalls."
"FortiManager is a benefit to our clients who have several Fortinet products in their ecosystem."
"One of the best features of SolarWinds Network Topology Mapper is that it has over 60 utility tools to utilize, so it offers a lot of different features, more than I have time to discuss at this moment, making it a good extra set of utility tools that we can incorporate onto our network."
"It's user-friendly."
 

Cons

"This solution needs more experienced technical support staff. There's nothing special about it compared to other vendors."
"The solution has to be enhanced to manage new switches."
"The price always has room for improvement."
"When I installed it, I found it somewhat difficult to set up."
"Performance issues should be improved. We have problems when we have more mobile connections than local devices. Most of us have two to three devices."
"I think the initial setup is too complicated because there are several versions of the operating systems, so you don't have directly connections between two devices."
"The GUI could be updated. It's not as good as it could be and is something the solution should improve in an upcoming release."
"FortiManager could be more user-friendly."
"This is a relatively expensive product."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"I hope that the prices will become more competitive in subsequent releases, as the current pricing is perceived as somewhat elevated."
"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 license model they use depends on the size and is not limited to the users."
"FortiManager is reasonably priced - I pay around US$40,0000 per year, which covers fifty locations."
"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."
"In comparison with other products, the price of FortiManager is reasonable."
"The pricing model is affordable."
"The licensing costs depend on how many devices you want to use."
Information not available
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
10%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Computer Software Company
8%
Construction Company
8%
Manufacturing Company
12%
Educational Organization
12%
Government
11%
Comms Service Provider
9%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business34
Midsize Enterprise17
Large Enterprise21
No data available
 

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Fortinet FortiManager?
I am satisfied with the licensing cost, and I would rate it an 8.5.
What needs improvement with Fortinet FortiManager?
I think Fortinet FortiManager can be improved as the web page loading is slightly slow.
What is your primary use case for Fortinet FortiManager?
My main use case for Fortinet FortiManager is to manage multiple FortiGate devices. I can confirm that I use Fortinet FortiManager perfectly in my main use case.
What needs improvement with SolarWinds Network Topology Mapper?
I can't really articulate any areas that could be improved with the product right offhand. Just as long as they keep it around, since I know things are going into subscription models. One thing we ...
What is your primary use case for SolarWinds Network Topology Mapper?
In general, I use it for scanning IT and OT devices for networks and laying out their topology mapping. The industry I use it for is manufacturing. We specifically don't use it as our network manag...
What advice do you have for others considering SolarWinds Network Topology Mapper?
The Engineer's Toolset is something I use hand-in-hand with the Topology Mapper, and it complements it well. Regarding pricing and licensing with SolarWinds Network Topology Mapper, I haven't faced...
 

Also Known As

No data available
SolarWinds NTM
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Black Gold Regional Schools, Amadeus Hospitality, Jefferson County, Chunghwa Telecom, City of Boroondara, Dimension Data
Information Not Available
Find out what your peers are saying about Fortinet FortiManager vs. SolarWinds Network Topology Mapper and other solutions. Updated: August 2026.
909,099 professionals have used our research since 2012.