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Fortinet FortiProxy vs Symantec Secure Web Gateway comparison

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Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Dec 4, 2024

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

iboss
Sponsored
Ranking in Secure Web Gateways (SWG)
7th
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.1
Number of Reviews
19
Ranking in other categories
Internet Security (3rd), Web Content Filtering (1st), Cloud Access Security Brokers (CASB) (7th), ZTNA as a Service (11th), Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) (10th)
Fortinet FortiProxy
Ranking in Secure Web Gateways (SWG)
10th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
7.1
Number of Reviews
10
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Symantec Secure Web Gateway
Ranking in Secure Web Gateways (SWG)
30th
Average Rating
6.6
Reviews Sentiment
5.8
Number of Reviews
11
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of June 2025, in the Secure Web Gateways (SWG) category, the mindshare of iboss is 2.1%, up from 1.6% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Fortinet FortiProxy is 5.6%, up from 4.8% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Symantec Secure Web Gateway is 1.0%, up from 0.9% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Secure Web Gateways (SWG)
 

Featured Reviews

Matt Crockford - PeerSpot reviewer
It's easy to roll out, and their understanding of our business made it seamless
One aspect we value about iboss is its simplicity. Their customer service is brilliant, and they are super responsive and knowledgeable. It's easy to roll out, and their understanding of our business made it seamless. We were impressed by the solution's mental health function, which can detect if someone needs help. It scans what users are browsing and flags warning signs so we can check to see if they are okay. We've had to use it a couple of times. The user interface is highly intuitive. Our IT team picked it up with minimal training. It's arranged so that it's easy to find where things are. Another advantage is the single pane of glass console, which gives you visibility into what's happening. We're not fully there yet because we haven't implemented zero trust, but we're excited about the possibilities from the demos we've seen. We launched a POC of iboss' ChatGPT Risk Protection feature two weeks ago. AI is a great tool, but you need to be careful what you put into it. My biggest fear is employees inputting sensitive corporate information or customer PII data into one of these chatbots. I was impressed by our trial of the feature. It's exactly what we wanted. Now, when a user goes to ChatGPT, there's a banner warning them not to share information, and we can block conversations containing customer data like bank details and email addresses. I don't want to stop people from using it, but we need visibility. We've only tried it on a test group of 15 people. You can configure it to look for specific keywords or integrate it with your DLP policy if you have that configured
Adnan Kallas - PeerSpot reviewer
Superior threat protection with robust IPS and antivirus capabilities
The main use case is to protect internal enterprise users in an enterprise network. Users from different departments such as finance, IT, and sales who want to access the internet, search social media, or visit websites are protected from potential threats when using Fortinet FortiProxy. It allows…
Malik Khan - PeerSpot reviewer
Has an easy deployment process, but the data center's capability to manage the traffic could be better
We use Symantec Secure Web Gateway to apply URL policies for cloud security, data protection, and SSL The product is easy to deploy. It has a faster implementation process compared to other products. The platform’s data center is not capable of managing most of the traffic. We have been using…

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"iboss has significantly lowered the number of security incidents. It is crazy how much it blocks and how much it is aware of the outside danger."
"Valuable features: Within the filter: Controls (Web categories, applications, and Allow/Block list) and Network (local Subnets). Within the reporter: Logs (Event Log) and Reports."
"Iboss is a solution that prevents advanced persistent threats, and has a zero tolerance for attacks."
"I would rate the technical support of iboss a solid 10 without a shadow of a doubt."
"We chose iboss for both zero trust and proxy (SWG) because their SWG was superior."
"Its initial setup was straightforward."
"iboss is easy to use despite its complexity. Multiple engineers manage it, but it's significantly more straightforward to administer than traditional VPNs and web proxies."
"We were impressed by the solution's mental health function, which can detect if someone needs help. It scans what users are browsing and flags warning signs so we can check to see if they are okay. We've had to use it a couple of times."
"The tool's most valuable feature is its granular access control. For example, users can browse the main site if you allow access to Amazon, but it stops them from visiting secondary Amazon websites without specific permission. This granular control is really helpful."
"It helps to secure the networks at the DNA level and ensure proper identification and filtering of DNS traffic."
"It is a really stable solution."
"We can use Fortinet FortiProxy configuration for your network."
"The most valuable features of Fortinet FortiProxy are its simplicity and performance."
"I liked the tool's ability to provide detailed access control. For example, we could allow users to watch YouTube videos but not post comments. This level of control wasn't available in FortiGate."
"The most valuable feature is intrusion prevention (IPS) and antivirus profiles. These features help control user activity, ensuring that they access only permitted websites and protects from downloading viruses."
"The solution's stability is good."
"It's nice to have it in the cloud where we can pull the reporting together for it so we can see what's happening in machines at different locations."
"It offers an easy initial setup."
"In terms of most valuable features, I like the ICAP capability and URL filtering the most."
"It has a faster implementation process compared to other products."
"I find the product to be very straightforward."
"It is a stable solution."
"It is quite scalable. If a user needs to do more deployments, they can just add them."
"The most valuable features are the website blocking capability and SSL interception."
 

Cons

"The reporting feature needs improvement."
"Our iboss subscription access should be more secure with an OTP or VPN etc. It is easy to gain access if, for example, hackers obtain my username and password."
"Sometimes the agent stops working in iboss, and we have to reinstall the agent."
"The solution could be stronger on the integration side and offer more cloud applications like G Suite or Oracle."
"I'd like to see them accelerate development on the security side, particularly around data loss prevention."
"File integrity monitoring would be very advantageous as an additional feature."
"I am currently doing a PoC of the zero trust aspect of it. Compared to other similar solutions, it is hard to get around each feature. It takes a while to get used to it."
"Its pricing could be better."
"Fortinet FortiProxy should improve by adding more documentation and guides."
"Its web filtering capabilities could be improved."
"Its power supply process for some of the proxies needs improvement."
"I see that the solution's interface is not in French...It would be good for our company if we could have the tool interface in French."
"Fortinet FortiProxy should integrate AI/ML technologies. Its pricing needs to be more flexible."
"The tool's most valuable feature is its granular access control. For example, users can browse the main site if you allow access to Amazon, but it stops them from visiting secondary Amazon websites without specific permission. This granular control is really helpful."
"For IT administrators and managers, the reporting features are the main issues that should be addressed in order to improve the performance, security, and effective utilization of the product."
"Integration with existing infrastructure was generally easy, especially if you had tools like LDAP. However, I had to go through a lot of documentation as it was my first time working with a proxy server. We did experience some issues with certain web applications not working properly after implementing Fortinet FortiProxy."
"The reports could be better."
"Depending on the severity of the issue, I think they can be a bit slow - a few days for the low severity cases, but for the severe cases normally they contact you back in a couple of hours."
"There's a need for increased firewall functionality and capabilities. I'm not seeing a competitive Symantec cloud product. Specifically, functionalities with security as filtering from the cloud. I am aware that there is a product, a proxy in the cloud but I have compared it with other vendors and I don't find it that powerful. I think the worst thing that we're experiencing is very poor and inadequate technical support. It seems to me that tech support engineers aren't qualified to fulfill their job duties."
"The interface could be made more user-friendly."
"Difficult and time-consuming to deploy and update."
"It's not user-friendly, and we end up making too many phone calls to get things fixed."
"It needs to be easier to set up rules for what sites it should allow or not allow us in certain areas of our computer for programs. It would also be nice really nice to have it give you better information about what it's finding. A lot of the alerts we get are very difficult to understand what it's actually telling you. It's too generic."
"AI-driven security could be helpful, yet how effective it will be remains unclear."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"It is not expensive, and it is also not cheap. iboss is priced right in the sweet spot for the number of features it offers."
"We had the cost of purchasing a new appliance along with the implementation and licensing costs. However, the following year, the cost of just licensing was similar to what was paid the previous year for a new appliance along with the implementation and licensing costs."
"It is expensive compared to one of its competitors."
"The overall pricing for iboss is very competitive and transparent."
"It is probably in line with other solutions, but I do not deal with the financial side."
"We have not priced the solution recently, but they were competitive with other vendors in the past."
"It offers a more cost-effective solution than alternatives like FortiMail, FortiGate, and various Barracuda devices."
"The solution is neither too expensive nor very cheap."
"It can be considered expensive, with a limited lifespan and support that eventually requires updating to newer solutions."
"Price-wise, Fortinet FortiProxy is moderate - not the highest among competitors, but not cheap either."
"It is a cost-effective solution."
"The tool's pricing is in the middle."
"Symantec Secure Web Gateway is less expensive than one of its competitors."
"Pricing and licensing is stunted and licensing is expensive. We have many customers who are now thinking about other solutions due to the cost."
"There is an additional charge for advanced security features."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
12%
Financial Services Firm
11%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Government
6%
Computer Software Company
14%
Financial Services Firm
14%
Government
8%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Financial Services Firm
16%
Computer Software Company
10%
Real Estate/Law Firm
9%
Comms Service Provider
9%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about iboss?
Content filtering is the most useful feature of iboss.
What needs improvement with iboss?
For zero trust implementation, we encountered complexity issues, especially with a large infrastructure company Exxon...
What is your primary use case for iboss?
Previously when I used iboss, we did the POC for iboss for ExxonMobil. Four or five people wanted to move from our ol...
What do you like most about Fortinet FortiProxy?
The tool's most valuable feature is traffic inspections.
What needs improvement with Fortinet FortiProxy?
One issue is the limitation in using Fortinet FortiProxy for remote users, as it requires users to be members of the ...
What advice do you have for others considering Fortinet FortiProxy?
Before implementing Fortinet FortiProxy, study your enterprise architecture and know your needs. Consider using the h...
What do you like most about Symantec Secure Web Gateway?
It has a faster implementation process compared to other products.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Symantec Secure Web Gateway?
I believe that pricing is on par with peers. Symantec and other vendors offer discounts when cutting a deal with a cu...
What needs improvement with Symantec Secure Web Gateway?
AI-driven security could be helpful, yet how effective it will be remains unclear. I plan to evaluate whatever new fe...
 

Also Known As

iBoss Cloud Platform
FortiProxy
Symantec Complete Website Security
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

More than 4,000 global enterprises trust the iboss Cloud Platform to support their modern workforces, including a large number of Fortune 50 companies.
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Find out what your peers are saying about Fortinet FortiProxy vs. Symantec Secure Web Gateway and other solutions. Updated: June 2025.
859,129 professionals have used our research since 2012.