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FortiWeb Web Application Firewall (WAF) vs Symantec Web Application Firewall comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Jan 1, 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

FortiWeb Web Application Fi...
Ranking in Web Application Firewall (WAF)
16th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.3
Number of Reviews
24
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Symantec Web Application Fi...
Ranking in Web Application Firewall (WAF)
46th
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.3
Number of Reviews
3
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of June 2025, in the Web Application Firewall (WAF) category, the mindshare of FortiWeb Web Application Firewall (WAF) is 1.0%, up from 0.3% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Symantec Web Application Firewall is 0.2%, down from 0.2% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Web Application Firewall (WAF)
 

Featured Reviews

Martin Ellmann - PeerSpot reviewer
Provides users with ease of policy configuration and good integration capabilities
The solution helps protect our company's web applications against common threats up to 99 percent. We feel very safe with the tool. Speaking about how the tool has effectively mitigated web security threats for an application, I would say that it is an application behind the web portal, so there are about a hundred or thousand people who can access a website. If it is a sensitive application, and we have to watch every access to it to make it really safe, that is the reason why we need WAF on the application. My company doesn't use AI with the tool. I recommend the product to others. I would say that others need to have it if they have a shopping website or something similar. I know it is hard to sell because we find it quite hard whenever my company tries to do so. The solution offers 100 percent integration with other Fortinet security products. The ease of policy configuration in the tool is okay. I rate the tool a nine to ten out of ten.
reviewer1231533 - PeerSpot reviewer
An excellent up-to-date data repository handling external threats successfully
We have multiple applications that we wanted to ensure were protected and we chose Symantec for that. I'm the head of IT infrastructure and we are partners with Symantec.  Symantec has specifically helped connect external users to our internal network. It has also enabled us to ensure that those…

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The machine learning on FortiWeb WAF is valuable."
"The most valuable features of the solution are SD-WAN, filtration, web filter, application filter, and IPS."
"The platform's stability is good."
"The solution is transparent and smooth."
"The product is easy to configure."
"The most valuable feature is the tool's integration with load-balancing applications, similar to FortiADC. Its importance depends on customer requirements, such as whether they prioritize application load balancing or layer seven protection."
"It is good for web tracking applications."
"FortiWeb identified potential DDoS attacks and suspicious domain activity, showcasing the value of its machine-learning capabilities."
"The solution has an up-to-date data repository to deal with external threats."
"The setup was straightforward."
"The interface is user-friendly."
 

Cons

"FortiWeb Web Application Firewall's signature database updates could be improved."
"It would be good if the solution integrated with other solutions, like SAP."
"I don't see any issues with the tool apart from the pricing aspect of the product. The price of the product is an area where improvements are required."
"There is room for improvement in the support. The response time could be faster. Plus, they ask for a lot of information. It is not easy to get support."
"The product is complicated to set up."
"If some of my customers want to migrate from F5 to Fortinet Firewall, or the Fortinet WAF solution, there are some migration issues since I cannot migrate all the elements quickly using Fortinet Firewall."
"The improvement needed is in their response time. Now it takes longer, and they talk about SLA and 48-hour response times."
"There is room for improvement in pricing, and actually, the price is a bit higher because on the same terms I purchased, the support subscription is so high."
"I'm not convinced that it's necessary the best solution going forward in the future."
"It would be an improvement if the management dashboards were not reliant upon Java."
"Sometimes scanning slows down the endpoints."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"FortiWeb Web Application Firewall is not expensive."
"I would rate the pricing a four out of ten."
"This product offers two pricing options: a standard package and an advanced package."
"It is a cheap solution."
"I rate the tool's pricing an eight out of ten."
"FortiWeb Web Application Firewall's pricing is suited for small or medium organizations."
"The tool is really expensive."
"The licensing cost of the product is pretty high compared to other OEMs in the market."
Information not available
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
13%
Financial Services Firm
11%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Comms Service Provider
8%
No data available
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about FortiWeb Web Application Firewall (WAF)?
The most valuable features of the solution are SD-WAN, filtration, web filter, application filter, and IPS.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for FortiWeb Web Application Firewall (WAF)?
The pricing for FortiWeb Web Application Firewall (WAF) is reasonable. That said, it depends on how many websites we need to protect. The licensing is based on the number of websites or individuall...
What needs improvement with FortiWeb Web Application Firewall (WAF)?
Their AI technology is good. Overall, Fortinet is only good. The improvement needed is in their response time. In the past three to four years, whenever we called for support, they responded quickl...
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Earn 20 points
 

Also Known As

No data available
Symantec WAF, Blue Coat Protecting Web Applications
 

Overview

Find out what your peers are saying about FortiWeb Web Application Firewall (WAF) vs. Symantec Web Application Firewall and other solutions. Updated: June 2025.
859,129 professionals have used our research since 2012.