No more typing reviews! Try our Samantha, our new voice AI agent.

Fortinet FortiManager vs Zabbix comparison

Why PeerSpot?
 

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
4.9
Fortinet FortiManager offers cost-effectiveness with 24% reduced administration costs and high ROI through integrated security and centralized management.
Sentiment score
7.2
Large enterprises save over $1 million with Zabbix via reduced costs, improved service availability, and enhanced team efficiency.
Fortinet provides a strong ROI for organizations focused on comprehensive security.
Network Security Engineer/ Firewall Engineer at Charter Communications
The cost has been reduced for us by 24%.
Global Head of IT Infrastructure at EPL Americas
Through utilizing automated remediation scripts and catching crucial issues proactively, we have cut our manual troubleshooting and incident response time in half.
Developer at a financial services firm with 501-1,000 employees
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
7.0
Fortinet FortiManager is efficient and reliable, though improvements in wait times, technical depth, and local support are desired.
Sentiment score
6.9
Zabbix offers excellent paid support, while non-paying users utilize highly praised community forums and documentation for assistance.
The people are very good, and they are very attentive.
Engineer of Preventa Sir at InterNexa S.A
They are responsive and resolve issues quickly when I raise a ticket.
Senior Associate at City Union Bank Ltd
Fortinet support is responsive and helpful.
Global Head of IT Infrastructure at EPL Americas
It receives a perfect 10 for guaranteed, dedicated 24/7 technical support with strict SLA only when you purchase one of their premium commercial tiers.
Developer at a financial services firm with 501-1,000 employees
It is so straightforward that I have never had to use the support.
CTO at Oic
I changed the config file by adjusting the connector size and cache size.
Consultant at ministry of trade
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
7.2
Fortinet FortiManager is praised for scalability and centralized management, supporting various environments while requiring potential licensing upgrades.
Sentiment score
6.9
Zabbix is highly scalable and efficient for medium to enterprise needs, though requires careful resource management to avoid bottlenecks.
Whenever you are monitoring or managing more than 10 or 20 firewalls, it is evident that you need a single pane of glass, which Fortinet FortiManager is offering.
Global Head of IT Infrastructure at EPL Americas
The problem is cloud connectivity and roaming profiles are not working, as there is no option for them.
Network engineer at JOYALUKKAS
It is a bit complex to add some new devices and new users, or that function could be simplified.
Sr. System Administration (Grindmaster Machines Pvt Ltd) at a manufacturing company with 201-500 employees
Zabbix is very scalable and lightweight.
CTO at Oic
Zabbix has high scalability.
CTO at Four Nine Agency
Zabbix scales extremely well both vertically and horizontally.
Developer at a financial services firm with 501-1,000 employees
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
7.9
Fortinet FortiManager is stable and reliable with proper hardware, though performance slightly varies; maintenance and updates are crucial.
Sentiment score
7.5
Zabbix is generally stable and reliable with minimal issues, but improvements are needed for larger deployments and setup challenges.
It is an absolutely very stable product, and we have not encountered any kind of disruption as far as the product is concerned.
Global Head of IT Infrastructure at EPL Americas
Zabbix is very scalable and lightweight.
CTO at Oic
Zabbix is quite stable, and we haven't had any problems with Zabbix itself.
CTO at Four Nine Agency
I think the stability of Zabbix is around five to six on a scale of ten, where ten is the best and one is the worst.
Network Engineer at a computer software company with 11-50 employees
 

Room For Improvement

Fortinet FortiManager needs better documentation, UI, third-party integration, and improved performance amidst pricing, licensing, and support challenges.
Zabbix needs improvement in UI, documentation, integration, licensing, and features like monitoring, automation, and customization for modern use.
The graphical user interface could use improvement as it appears complex and not user-friendly.
Senior Network Engineer at SP SYSNET PTE. LTD.
Fortinet FortiManager could benefit from integrations with Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) solutions.
Senior Associate at City Union Bank Ltd
It requires improvement in vulnerability management and should integrate automated AI features to enhance its reliability.
Head of Presales at AcSys Networks Private Limited
The only issue I can note is that it's Linux-based, and Linux documentation is not the best.
CTO at Oic
Setting up the right templates, pre-shows, and scripts requires a lot of deep Linux and system knowledge compared to more plug-and-play tools.
Developer at a financial services firm with 501-1,000 employees
I installed Zabbix for the 300 devices.
Consultant at ministry of trade
 

Setup Cost

Fortinet FortiManager's pricing is competitive, with varying opinions, cost-effective for larger deployments, and negotiable for existing customers.
Zabbix provides a free, open-source monitoring solution with optional support services for enterprises, praised for affordability and no licensing fees.
I find Fortinet FortiManager to be a bit more expensive, especially when considering the environment.
Head of Presales at AcSys Networks Private Limited
I am satisfied with the licensing cost, and I would rate it an 8.5.
Global Head of IT Infrastructure at EPL Americas
Zabbix is providing everything free of cost.
Network Engineer at a computer software company with 11-50 employees
It is literally free.
CTO at Oic
 

Valuable Features

Fortinet FortiManager offers centralized management, automation, scalability, and integration, enhancing security and efficiency across complex network environments.
Zabbix offers ease of use, scalability, robust monitoring, integration, and flexibility, making it ideal for diverse environments.
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.
Network Security Engineer/ Firewall Engineer at Charter Communications
I centrally log in to one portal, which is Fortinet FortiManager, and after that, I can access any FortiGate devices and manage them.
Technical Manager at a real estate/law firm with 1,001-5,000 employees
FortiManager captures all devices and provides reports for security analysis.
Senior Network Engineer at SP SYSNET PTE. LTD.
If disk usage surpasses a threshold, say 70%, I receive alerts and can take proactive action.
CTO at Oic
Zabbix natively supports monitoring everything from Linux servers and Windows servers to network devices and cloud infrastructure.
Developer at a financial services firm with 501-1,000 employees
Zabbix has a lot of features, including monitoring, status updates, and collecting information telemetry from storages and servers as well.
CTO at Four Nine Agency
 

Categories and Ranking

Fortinet FortiManager
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
74
Ranking in other categories
Network Management Applications (3rd)
Zabbix
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.0
Number of Reviews
110
Ranking in other categories
Application Performance Monitoring (APM) and Observability (11th), Network Monitoring Software (1st), Server Monitoring (1st), IT Infrastructure Monitoring (1st), Cloud Monitoring Software (4th)
 

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 4.1%, down 4.7% compared to last year.
Zabbix, on the other hand, focuses on Network Monitoring Software, holds 3.7% mindshare, down 10.1% since last year.
Network Management Applications Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Fortinet FortiManager4.1%
Cisco DNA Center7.2%
DX Spectrum5.5%
Other83.2%
Network Management Applications
Network Monitoring Software Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Zabbix3.7%
NETSCOUT Network & Application Observability3.8%
SolarWinds NPM3.6%
Other88.9%
Network Monitoring Software
 

Featured Reviews

Tushar Joshi - PeerSpot reviewer
Sr. System Administration (Grindmaster Machines Pvt Ltd) at a manufacturing company with 201-500 employees
Centralized policies have simplified firewall management and support consistent role-based control
I do not use Fortinet FortiManager automation features. I can provide my feedback about it. It is good, in my opinion. What I think about the reporting part is that it is good. As far as the user is concerned, I think Fortinet FortiManager is optimal now. I do not think any requirement is there. I do not see anything additional to add to Fortinet FortiManager. I purchased the license for Fortinet FortiManager through the partner. I gave this review a rating of eight.
PJ
Developer at a financial services firm with 501-1,000 employees
Unified monitoring has reduced outages and enables proactive fixes with automated remediation
My favorite best feature is the ability to manage complex hybrid environments from a single dashboard. Zabbix natively supports monitoring everything from Linux servers and Windows servers to network devices and cloud infrastructure. The view I rely on the most on a day-to-day basis is a custom dashboard combining the problem widget and graph widget. The problem widget gives me an immediate filtered snapshot of the active alerts across all our servers. I pair that with the graph widget, which allows me to track performance metrics and compare values over time, such as monitoring storage and capacity trends on our Synology appliance. Having all of this in a single pane of glass saves me from constantly digging through logs. I also rely heavily on custom dashboards that combine the problem widget and the top host widget. The problem widget gives me an immediate filtered list of any active alerts across the entire environment. I pair that with the top host widget, which instantly shows me which servers are consuming the highest resources. Having all of these related metrics side-by-side in a single view allows me to spot the issue and identify the exact server causing it without having to dig through separate tools. Zabbix has built-in machine learning for continuous anomaly detection and proactive trend prediction. It establishes a baseline by analyzing historical data, allowing it to forecast impending issues, such as predicting exactly when a system will run out of resources before critical thresholds are breached. From a governance and security perspective, it delivers enterprise-grade security by supporting full data encryption and integration with external secret vaults to protect sensitive credentials. From a governance perspective, it features detailed configuration change tracking and role-based user permissions, which allows administrators to secure different teams or tenants within a single environment. Regarding accuracy, Zabbix's proactive alerts are highly accurate and trustworthy, provided they are fed enough historical data to establish a solid baseline. Regarding reliability and output, the prediction outputs are extremely reliable because Zabbix relies on transparent statistical mathematics, such as standard deviation and weighted moving averages, rather than a closed black box AI model. The straightforward statistical approach allows administrators to forecast value reliability and predict exactly how much time they have before a system reaches a critical problem threshold.
report
Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Network Management Applications solutions are best for your needs.
920,223 professionals have used our research since 2012.
 

Comparison Review

it_user174738 - PeerSpot reviewer
IT Developer at a tech services company with 51-200 employees
May 31, 2015
Nagios vs. Zabbix vs. PRTG vs. Spiceworks vs. Solarwinds Network Performance Monitor
I have researched a quite a few network monitoring tools which can be used for various monitoring purposes of not only the servers, but the intermediate routers as well. There are majorly three types of these softwares. Ones which are completely open-source, you can do almost anything you want…
 

Top Industries

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

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business34
Midsize Enterprise17
Large Enterprise21
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business57
Midsize Enterprise24
Large Enterprise35
 

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 is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Zabbix?
I think Zabbix is economical, whereas SolarWinds is expensive. SolarWinds has a lot of secure features, but Zabbix is providing everything free of cost. Zabbix is economical, and you can install it...
What needs improvement with Zabbix?
The initial configuration has a steep learning curve because Zabbix is so flexible and customizable. Setting up the right templates, pre-shows, and scripts requires a lot of deep Linux and system k...
What is your primary use case for Zabbix?
On a day-to-day basis, I use Zabbix to monitor our entire infrastructure stack, including our Linux servers, Active Directory, domain controller, and Synology NAS storage array. A specific problem ...
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Black Gold Regional Schools, Amadeus Hospitality, Jefferson County, Chunghwa Telecom, City of Boroondara, Dimension Data
1. IBM 2. Dell 3. Cisco 4. HP 5. Oracle 6. Microsoft 7. Amazon 8. Google 9. Facebook 10. Twitter 11. LinkedIn 12. Netflix 13. Adobe 14. VMware 15. Salesforce 16. SAP 17. Intel 18. AT&T 19. Verizon 20. T-Mobile 21. Vodafone 22. Ericsson 23. Nokia 24. Siemens 25. General Electric 26. Honeywell 27. Philips 28. Sony 29. Samsung 30. LG 31. Panasonic 32. Toshiba
Find out what your peers are saying about Cisco, Fortinet, Skyline Communications and others in Network Management Applications. Updated: October 2026.
920,223 professionals have used our research since 2012.