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Fortinet FortiOS vs Sangfor NGAF comparison

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Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Apr 6, 2025

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 FortiGate
Sponsored
Ranking in Firewalls
2nd
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.2
Number of Reviews
330
Ranking in other categories
Software Defined WAN (SD-WAN) Solutions (1st), WAN Edge (1st)
Fortinet FortiOS
Ranking in Firewalls
17th
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.9
Number of Reviews
80
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Sangfor NGAF
Ranking in Firewalls
19th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.5
Number of Reviews
36
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of May 2025, in the Firewalls category, the mindshare of Fortinet FortiGate is 21.4%, up from 17.7% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Fortinet FortiOS is 1.1%, up from 1.0% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Sangfor NGAF is 1.3%, up from 0.9% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Firewalls
 

Featured Reviews

EhabAli - PeerSpot reviewer
Efficient, user-friendly, and affordable
In the past, NSS Labs was utilized to test files and verify the numbers and datasheets. It would be beneficial to have an organization or testing lab that can verify the numbers in our datasheets since changes are frequently made, which can be inconvenient for review. For instance, when comparing different competitors such as Forcepoint, Palo Alto, and Check Point, the throughput or numbers in the datasheet may be lower than the actual numbers. Conversely, Fortinet typically reports very high numbers, but they cannot be replicated in the real world. Therefore, it would be advantageous for them to partner with a neutral testing organization such as NSS Labs to validate these numbers, thus providing more credibility and comfort to everyone regarding the accuracy of the datasheets. For the migration, everyone has a firewall in use and I am selling Fortinet. Typically, I am replacing another firewall. Previously, there was a tool available to convert configurations from one firewall, such as Palo Alto, to Fortinet, but this tool is no longer free. If it could be made free again, it would be very beneficial. This tool shows a lot of promise and is very good. Making it free would help many companies deliver their products in a more efficient and integrated way. It would also be more valuable to include the tool with the firewall package or license instead of having to pay extra for it. Paying extra puts more pressure on small companies to deliver the firewall and complete the configuration, especially if they have hundreds or thousands of policies. It's very painful to move through these policies line by line. The stability has room for improvement. When it comes to Secure SD-WAN, everything is fine. They are going the right way. SD-WAN is very promising. They can provide the SD-WAN solution separately, but they will not take this approach because even the smallest firewall can support the features, so there is no need to have a separate service or appliance. They are following the right steps, and there is nothing to be improved. Feature-wise, I'm really satisfied with the new release, and the features they have added. For now, it's fine.
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.
Zaid Farooqui - PeerSpot reviewer
Enhanced threat detection with integrated security features and good support
We are using application firewalling, WAF, and SD-WAN. The capabilities are mostly within the box. For example, you will get web application firewall WAF as part and parcel of this. SD-WAN is also bundled. It integrates with their SIEM and SOAR solutions very nicely. Lastly, the pricing point is very cost-efficient as well.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"It is a safe product."
"I'm pretty happy with its reliability. It is also very scalable."
"Whenever we raise a complaint with FortiGate, their response and resolution times are minimal."
"One of the valuable features is a standardized OS."
"The application control features, such as Facebook blocking and Spotify blocking, are the most valuable."
"Using this product makes the VPN seamless and almost invisible to me in the sense that I don't have to think about it."
"Fortinet FortiGate is scalable for our users. Right now, we have almost 70 users. We do not have any plan to increase our usage of FortiGate. For maintaining the firewall solution, one staff member is enough."
"Fortigate's most valuable feature is that it doesn't need a push policy when writing rules."
"All networks are security-driven, we get throughputs and security. We feel that the people at Fortinet are easy to deal with from a support standpoint. If they need to jump in and help us, they're very willing to do that. Their email filtering, their data loss prevention, their intrusion prevention, type of products in the newest OSs has been outstanding."
"Firewall and overall management are valuable features."
"Fortinet FortiOS's valuable features include intuitive policy creation and deployment, precise parameter settings to determine thresholds, and security profiles such as web filtering and remote application filtering, among others."
"FortiOS allows us to set up alarms for blocked websites and SSL verifications. When someone tries to access a blocked site, the solution sends a notification to the IT manager's mailbox."
"I am satisfied with Fortinet FortiOS. It's a cool product and has a lot of UTM features. It has application control, web filtering, antivirus, IPS/IDS, DNS filtering, and many things in that firewall. It also has a web application firewall WAF feature. On the feature side, it's a good firewall."
"The product is scalable and easily expands."
"It is more robust than SonicWall, particularly on the VPN from site to site."
"The initial setup is easy. It's the easiest firewall installation process on the market. I work with three or four other products and this one is the easiest."
"It is a stable solution."
"We can utilize our own network rather than paying for a private one."
"It enables us to not only detect but also prevent various types of incoming threats, allowing us to take appropriate corrective actions and exercise control over the network."
"The built-in features function as intended, providing exceptional value."
"The price versus value is good because the solution is less expensive than Sophos, Fortinet, or SonicWall."
"In four steps one can configure the entire firewall."
"The top functionality is the reporting feature."
"I think Sangfor NGAF is more valuable than Cisco products because of its simplicity and ease of management. If I compare it with Palo Alto and Cisco, both are quite complex products. And if I compare it with FortiGate firewalls from Fortinet, I have also used all these products. Fortinet and Sangfor NGAF are similar products because the applications behind the application and policy layers are almost identical."
 

Cons

"It is stable, but its stability can be improved."
"The visibility of the network can be better. The GUI can be improved for better visibility of the network flow. Other solutions have better GUI in terms of network visibility."
"It's my understanding that more of the current generation features could be brought in. There could be more integration with EDRs, for example."
"A couple of things I've seen that need improvement, especially in terms of a hard coding. The driver-level active moment really is out-of-the-box and we have to have contact the customer support and sometimes it is difficult to resolve."
"The improvement is related to logs. Instead of the CLI, we should be able to have more insights into the logs of the firewall in the GUI."
"The configuration part was challenging, especially converting configurations from another OEM to FortiGate."
"A sandbox would be good in order to be able to inspect the emails containing spam and be able to validate the emails that contain malware, prior to delivering to the customer."
"We faced difficulties with the configuration because there are many features we could optimize using Fortinet FortiGate, but our reseller didn't have a good understanding of it. So, we just use it on a basic level, not with the best practice for using FortiGate."
"There is some room for improvement in the support."
"The main challenge with Fortinet FortiOS is integration with third-party solutions. I don't see any other areas for improvement. Nowadays, all products work well for 50-60 percent of needs. We must only fulfill 60-70 percent of client requirements because they don't use 100 percent of product features. Banks and financial sectors might need more security features. I don't work much in banking, but they often use multiple products for different security layers, not just firewalls. They might use various products or APIs for different purposes. In the end, clients use the products that suit their needs."
"Right now, all the features meet my requirements."
"Fortinet needs to make this solution even more robust. Sometimes when we get a DDoS attack, the cannot withstand it. We can run out of sessions very easily. That said, I suppose if you want more a robust system, then you could purchase higher-end solutions, which are more expensive. Still, I would like to see more protection from even in the low-end version."
"Fortinet FortiOS can improve the GUI and remove the command line interface. All the functionality should be available from the GUI. Day-to-day management can be tough for IT administrators. Additionally, the reporting is not very good."
"Compared to other market leaders like Palo Alto and Check Point, FortiOS has many bugs in its initial releases."
"Right now, we have to contend with CLI. We'd like it to be easier. We need the features to be in a UI."
"They need to integrate more with the SD-WAN."
"Sangfor NGAF could improve by refining its application control policies, especially in addressing challenges with certain types of applications."
"It does not offer any recommendations on how to mitigate or control attacks."
"The GUI needs to be improved, lacks logic in some areas."
"I would be happy if Sangfor developed a firewall designed specifically for home use, as well as for small businesses such as clinics and so on. A household version of the Sangfor firewall for your personal computer or laptop would be ideal, in my opinion."
"The tool is expensive."
"The reporting and log management could be improved."
"There is room for improvement in dependency on certain infrastructure, like the DNS dependency on the current DNS server that the company has. It should be standalone. It should not depend on any other DNS server."
"Lacks consistency in terms of filtering certain websites and applications."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The price of Fortinet FortiGate when compared to other solutions is high. However, my knowledge of the price is from third parties and I am not sure how accurate it is. I typically work in the technical area of my organization."
"The value is the capability of having multiple services with one unique license, not having the limitation per user licensing schema, like other vendors."
"We are on an annual license to use Fortinet FortiGate."
"It is an inexpensive solution."
"The price is high compared to some of the other solutions."
"The license is too expensive to renew. The license renewal process is also complex."
"The licensing costs are very low."
"The pricing is very reasonable."
"The price of Fortinet FortiOS has been reasonable."
"A medium 100 or 200 Series box costs around $3000, and the software cost is around 55% of the hardware cost."
"Be sure to choose a licensing plan that leaves a little headroom so performance is not an issue."
"The price of Fortinet FortiOS is less than $10,000 annually. The price of the support is reasonable compared to competitors."
"It is not cheap."
"Pricing depends on implementation and licensing choices and is usually not a practical budget choice for small businesses."
"The software costs roughly half what the hardware costs. Overall, the product is expensive."
"The price of Fortinet FortiOS is reasonable and it is paid annually. You are able to select the features that you want."
"The price could be more competitive."
"The pricing is reasonable."
"It costs about 8 to 10 thousand dollars per year for 500 users, standard licensing fees included."
"The solution has a TCO that is 32% to 50% less than Sophos, Fortinet, and SonicWall."
"If you know you have around 200+ computer users on your network, then the Sangfor NGAF 5200-F-I model would be the minimum recommended model for that amount of users. This model includes modules for packet filtering, deep packet inspection, malware scanning, DSCP filtration, and many other features."
"The price falls in the mid-range, neither exceptionally low nor high."
"-"
"We purchased one year technical support and return to factory support, and we also purchased one-year technical support services. So those were additional."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Educational Organization
20%
Computer Software Company
14%
Comms Service Provider
7%
Manufacturing Company
6%
Computer Software Company
16%
Financial Services Firm
9%
Government
9%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Computer Software Company
13%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Financial Services Firm
9%
Educational Organization
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

Which is the better NGFW: Fortinet Fortigate or Cisco Firepower?
When you compare these firewalls you can identify them with different features, advantages, practices and usage a...
What is the biggest difference between Sophos XG and FortiGate?
From my experience regarding both the Sophos and FortiGate firewalls, I personally would rather use FortiGate. I know...
What are the biggest technical differences between Sophos UTM and Fortinet FortiGate?
As a solution, Sophos UTM offers a lot of functionality, it scales well, and the stability and performance are quite ...
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...
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.
What do you like most about Sangfor NGAF?
I think Sangfor NGAF is more valuable than Cisco products because of its simplicity and ease of management. If I comp...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Sangfor NGAF?
The licensing cost is quite high compared to other available firewalls in the market.
What needs improvement with Sangfor NGAF?
The cost of licensing is very high compared to other firewalls available here. There should be improvements in hardwa...
 

Also Known As

FortiGate 60b, FortiGate 60c, FortiGate 80c, FortiGate 50b, FortiGate 200b, FortiGate 110c, FortiGate, Fortinet Firewall
No data available
Sangfor NGAF Firewall Platform
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Amazon Web Services, Microsoft, IBM, Cisco, Dell, HP, Oracle, Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile, Sprint, Vodafone, Orange, BT Group, Telstra, Deutsche Telekom, Comcast, Time Warner Cable, CenturyLink, NTT Communications, Tata Communications, SoftBank, China Mobile, Singtel, Telus, Rogers Communications, Bell Canada, Telkom Indonesia, Telkom South Africa, Telmex, Telia Company, Telkom Kenya
Black Gold Regional Schools, Amadeus Hospitality, Jefferson County, Chunghwa Telecom, City of Boroondara, Dimension Data
The Ministry of Science, Technology, and Innovation (Indonesia), Lawson, Inc. (Philippines), Universiti Sultan Zainal Abidin (Indonesia), TEK Automotive (Italy), etc.
Find out what your peers are saying about Fortinet FortiOS vs. Sangfor NGAF and other solutions. Updated: April 2025.
849,686 professionals have used our research since 2012.