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Fortinet FortiToken vs Symantec Advanced Authentication comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Aug 11, 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

Fortinet FortiToken
Ranking in Authentication Systems
4th
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.2
Number of Reviews
30
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Symantec Advanced Authentic...
Ranking in Authentication Systems
19th
Average Rating
7.8
Reviews Sentiment
8.7
Number of Reviews
9
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of June 2025, in the Authentication Systems category, the mindshare of Fortinet FortiToken is 6.2%, down from 7.1% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Symantec Advanced Authentication is 0.5%, up from 0.4% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Authentication Systems
 

Featured Reviews

Sachin Vinay - PeerSpot reviewer
Facilitates secure 2FA for admins, facilitates OTP generation, and enhances security
One suggestion is to develop a more user-friendly solution that is cost-effective so that a hardware-based solution can be provided to all users using VPN services or any configuration service requiring confidentiality. This would allow for broader distribution among a larger number of system admins and software engineers, which is currently not feasible with the existing hardware-only approach.
Umair (Abu Mohaymin) Akhlaque - PeerSpot reviewer
Ensures robust security features and ease of deployment, although it may lack some of the more modern authentication options
There has been a need for aggressive development to modernize the product and align it with contemporary security requirements. While the rebranding has been a step forward, further enhancements are essential to meet the evolving demands of the market. It lacks features such as ActiveSync Exchange security, and it doesn't offer alternatives like password-less authentication via biometrics or patches. While Symantec mainly relies on traditional token-based or password-based methods, newer authentication methods are missing from its repertoire. Support services often lack promptness and depth of knowledge, leaving customers waiting for weeks to resolve issues. In the realm of multifactor authentication, swift resolution of problems is critical, as any slowdown or interruption can significantly impact operations. Urgent improvement is necessary to ensure that support responses are faster and more effective, aligning with the demands of MFA implementation.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The tool's support is the best."
"FortiToken is integrated with FortiClient solution for users working from home, providing an additional layer of security by sending OTPs for authentication."
"The solution is simple and similar to Google Authenticator. It follows time-based authentication. We use it for hardware and software in one environment. The tool offers simple and fast authentication for SSL."
"Overall, I give the product a nine out of ten."
"It provides me with the token so that I can do the Multi-Factor Authentication."
"FortiToken is available in a soft or hard token factor, so there's some flexibility in that. Beyond that, I would say it is a stable solution that has worked for us."
"Its ease of use is most valuable. It is simple to use and can be deployed out-of-the-box. It is quite a mature product with all the required features."
"Fortinet FortiToken provides security and authenticates that the right external people are working with a company's system."
"It tells us exactly what we want in terms of authentication to various applications and provides protection for users who access them."
"One of the most valuable features of this solution is that it's a strong authentication solution that's able to integrate with applications."
"Rules on Risk Authentication are very good."
"One of the most valuable aspects is its remarkable stability."
 

Cons

"You need your mobile just to enroll the tokens, and sometimes, it's difficult to use for someone who is not knowledgeable"
"The problem is that our customers create budgets annually based on the figures at the beginning of the fiscal year. Our customers get annoyed when the price is adjusted in the middle of the year. I understand that it's a difficult time, and price increases make sense for hardware devices. However, FortiToken is a software product, so it shouldn't be affected by factors like chip shortages or supply chain issues. Software solutions should have more transparent and predictable pricing."
"The solution comes with two firewalls as a bundle. In that bundle, most of the individual users can be assigned to mobile users. However, in cases of technical difficulties, users may accidentally remove the mobile application. In normal scenarios, we get back to the activation key and assign it again."
"The tool could be a little cheaper."
"Configuration can be confusing due to the lack of community and context-sensitive help. We've had to rely on technical support, which slows down the setup process."
"I'm not sure if it's already available, however, I wonder if there's an option to have it sent to my email address instead of having it on the mobile app."
"I would like to see the product improvements in dynamic VLAN pooling. Specifically, when users are assigned different VLANs based on their SSID, ensuring no unintended lateral traffic between users would enhance security and efficiency."
"The app could be improved so that you don't have to actually type in the code. It would be great if you can just do a prompt or push similar to the way Duo does."
"We have seen quite a few issues with bugginess. It is indeed pretty buggy and we have had to install some fixes."
"Advanced Authentication talks about the Device ID. But how the device ID is captured, I want to know more about that."
"Urgent improvement is necessary to ensure that support responses are faster and more effective, aligning with the demands of MFA implementation."
"This solution could be improved with risk-based authentication. I think that this product has everything that most customers are looking for, but modern technology has people looking for security tools with risk-based authentication, which they have a separate tool for. If they could integrate this, it would improve Symantec Advanced Authentication. They have to look at what's newly trending and how things are moving forward, and then adapt and adopt those features. Symantec's technical support should also be improved, in terms of response time."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"It is included as part of our firewall license."
"The solution’s price is good."
"Overall, it's cheaper than other solutions. Of course, we evaluated it five years back, and I haven't checked to see its current market position, but one reason we adopted FortiToken is its lower cost of ownership relative to other solutions we evaluated."
"I rate the tool's pricing a five out of ten."
"The solution’s pricing is moderate and reasonable."
"The pricing is not very high, so I'd rate it around six out of ten, where one is high and ten is low."
"The platform's licensing cost is reasonable for our organization."
"Although the platform is relatively expensive, it offers significant value. I rate the pricing a nine out of ten."
"The price is reasonable."
"There are eventually going to be implementation costs. Sometimes you're required to have custom code developments there, so that has to be part of the implementation price."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
17%
Government
7%
Financial Services Firm
7%
Comms Service Provider
6%
No data available
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Fortinet FortiToken?
The solution is simple and similar to Google Authenticator. It follows time-based authentication. We use it for hardware and software in one environment. The tool offers simple and fast authenticat...
What is your primary use case for Fortinet FortiToken?
I am using FortiToken for logging into the Fortinet hardware. I have four FortiGate hardware units. I am connected through a simulator on FortiToken.
What do you like most about Symantec Advanced Authentication?
One of the most valuable aspects is its remarkable stability.
What needs improvement with Symantec Advanced Authentication?
There has been a need for aggressive development to modernize the product and align it with contemporary security requirements. While the rebranding has been a step forward, further enhancements ar...
 

Also Known As

No data available
CA Advanced Authentication, CA Strong Authentication, CA Risk Authentication, Arcot WebFort, Arcot RiskFort
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Black Gold Regional Schools, Amadeus Hospitality, Jefferson County, Chunghwa Telecom, City of Boroondara, Dimension Data
Global bank, Large Filipino Bank and SK Infosec
Find out what your peers are saying about Fortinet FortiToken vs. Symantec Advanced Authentication and other solutions. Updated: June 2025.
859,129 professionals have used our research since 2012.