Fortra's Digital Guardian vs WatchGuard Firebox comparison

Fortra and WatchGuard are both solutions in the Data Loss Prevention (DLP) category. Fortra is ranked #20 with an average rating of 9.5, while WatchGuard is ranked #11 with an average rating of 7.6. Additionally, 100% of Fortra users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 95% of WatchGuard users who would recommend it.

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Download the report

Executive SummaryUpdated on Aug 5, 2025

WatchGuard Firebox and Fortra's Digital Guardian compete in the cybersecurity sector with distinct approaches. WatchGuard is favored for pricing and support, while Digital Guardian offers advanced features that many find worth the investment.

Features: WatchGuard Firebox provides comprehensive network security featuring next-gen firewall capabilities, strong VPN support, and effective threat detection, alongside centralized management for multiple devices. Fortra's Digital Guardian is focused on data-centric security offering advanced data loss prevention and robust endpoint security features designed for safeguarding sensitive information.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: WatchGuard Firebox is regarded for its straightforward deployment process with detailed guides and strong technical support. In contrast, Digital Guardian may require more initial setup time but provides dedicated customer service to aid integration.

Pricing and ROI: WatchGuard Firebox is cost-effective, offering clear ROI with diverse security features and consolidated packages, transparent pricing, and scalable options. Fortra's Digital Guardian involves a higher initial investment but promises substantial ROI through meticulous data protection capabilities that lower data breach risks.

To learn more, read our detailed Data Loss Prevention (DLP) Report (Updated: July 2025).

Buyer's Guide

Data Loss Prevention (DLP)

July 2025

Download the complete report

Helped 865,384 peers since 2012

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

Featured Reviews

Vasu Gala

Manager, Information Technology Operation/Presales at TechMonarch

A stable solution with an intuitive interface and quick customer service

I have been working with Fortinet FortiGate, WatchGuard, Sophos, and SonicWall. I'm not as comfortable with SonicWall because of their UI and limitations. I prefer Fortinet above all other options. When it comes to configuration, I am confident in my ability to handle various tasks, including creating policies such as firewall rules, web policies, and application policies. Additionally, I can configure VPNs and implement load balancing, among other tasks. Overall, I feel much more comfortable working with Fortinet. Fortinet has made significant improvements by integrating AI with firewalls for threat analysis and prevention. In the past 2-3 years, they have launched FortiSASE and SIEM, and they also provide SOC services. Both Palo Alto and Fortinet FortiGate are excellent. While Fortinet FortiGate comes at higher prices, the functionality and support justify the cost. They promptly resolve firmware issues and inform all support providers about configuration changes.

Read full review

Christian Dagal

Security Architect Manager at Aboitiz Equity Ventures, Inc.

Ease of sensitive information detection and provides flexibility to customize and redefine policies and user analytics that detect data channels

In my opinion, there's a need for an extensive skill set or knowledge of creating policies. There's room for improvement to make it more user-friendly in creating custom rules and policies. In future releases, I would like to see a quick glance at detected data without downloading the actual file for both Windows and MacOS.

Read full review

Rajesh Makwana

Regional Pre-Sales Engineer at Roundrobin Tech

Efficient bandwidth management and secure network access with a strong firewall

The primary use case of the Firebox mainly revolves around bandwidth management, unnecessary web blocking, application control, and protection against brute force attacks. It is also implemented for load balancing, SD-WAN, and branch-to-branch connectivity from one location to another. We also use…

Read full review

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"I haven't configured or experienced any stability issues."

"The most valuable features of Fortinet FortiGate are the different types of profiling. It has been the most effective for me. The WAF and the antivirus profile are the most effective in network protection."

"The most important features with FortiGate are the web filter and application controls. We can control our internet usage and use the web filter for application purposes."

"The best features of Fortinet FortiGate are UTM, web filtering, and IPS."

"The base firewall features are quite valuable to us."

"Fortinet FortiGate has positively impacted our organization by preventing hackers from accessing our network."

"Customers want to load balance more than eight lines or six internet lines. FortiGate is the only solution that can accomplish this."

"The most valuable feature is the web filter."

More Fortinet FortiGate pros

"As long as you know the flow and how the setup phase works, the process can be totally straightforward."

"We have accurate detection on data protection and more visibility on different data channels compared to other DLP solutions. So, basically, more on the principle, there is ROI."

"The firewall aspect and the branch office VPNs are the most valuable features... We don't have any issues with it. We don't have to spend a lot of time maintaining it."

"Simple to move settings between WatchGuard boxes."

"The main features of the solution are the control of the site-to-site network access and the overall features."

"I like WatchGuard's network segmentation features. It's easy to configure user policies."

"The interface is very good."

"Easy to change the model if you need more performance, with good cohesion in the whole lineup of devices."

"The VPN and the filtering features are the most valuable. Its VPN is very strong, and its services are very nice. The main problem in India is the service. There are not enough Check Point and Fortinet Firewall services, but for this product, the service is very good."

"The Dimension control, the one-spot reporting and control, has been nice. It's been easy to go in and make sure people are doing what they're supposed to be doing and that only the right stuff is getting in."

More WatchGuard Firebox pros

Cons

"The solution could have licensing fees reduced in the future."

"I would like to see improvements made to the dashboard and UI, as well as to the reporting."

"There are too many updates coming for VPN, and the VPN keeps disconnecting frequently, which I find problematic."

"They should improve high CPU and memory usage that occurs."

"The security of Fortinet FortiGate could improve."

"The process of configuring firewall rules appears excessively complex."

"I would like to see a more intuitive dashboard."

"The user interface of the Fortinet FortiGate management console could be more intuitive and user-friendly, and the log analysis and reporting features could be enhanced to provide more flexibility and customizable insights."

More Fortinet FortiGate cons

"In my opinion, there's a need for an extensive skill set or knowledge of creating policies. There's room for improvement to make it more user-friendly in creating custom rules and policies."

"The trouble with the tool is its ability to integrate with a third-party application."

"We would like to see granular notification settings and more advanced filtering in traffic monitoring."

"There could also be better reporting. For example, there should be more out-of-the-box management reports."

"When implementing a rule using a group of IPs, it is not possible to do that directly."

"The user interface for WatchGuard Firebox has room for improvement. Right now, it's a bit complex to work with and could be easier."

"I'm not really impressed with the reporting side of it. It may be something I just haven't figured out very well, but it's hard to filter down on reporting of the actual valuable information that you would want. There is a lot of information out there so you have to have some kind of tool capture it and then filter through. So far, I haven't found the reporting side of the WatchGuard to be that user-friendly."

"Particularly in India, the cost for renewal after three years is 75% of the hardware cost, which is a significant problem."

"I think one area for improvement in this solution would be enhancing communication with tools like Active Directory. This would make the tool easier to integrate and effective for users."

"What could be improved in WatchGuard Application Control is its price. It could be cheaper. You always want the best price for any solution, but for security products, pricing is usually on the higher side."

More WatchGuard Firebox cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"For the performance that we get, the price is reasonable. There are cheaper options, but they may not deliver the same kind of performance that we want. For the performance they provide, the price is acceptable."

"It is more expensive than Sophos. Fortinet is overall more expensive than Sophos. The small range of Fortinet, such as 60F and 80F, is more expensive than the small range of Sophos. Sophos is cheaper. In addition, if you jump from 80F Series to 100F Series, the price doubles."

"The licensing cost is at the intermediate level."

"Easy to understand licensing requirements."

"The pricing of Fortinet FortiGate is average, not cheap or overly expensive compared to other firewall solutions in the market. It's effective and affordable for customers."

"The support subscription for the solution is annual. You are paying for support and there are two levels of support, professional and advanced."

"There is a license to use Fortinet FortiGate."

"The product pricing is reasonable."

More Fortinet FortiGate pricing and cost advice

"As long as your needs are fulfilled, even if the price is high, you will buy the tool."

"The price of the solution is not expensive, it is less than FortiGate."

"As per my knowledge, the product is more affordable than alternatives."

"I think the larger firewall packages are much better because a normal firewall is not enough for these times. You need IPS, APT, and all the security features of a firewall that you can buy."

"It's in the medium range. Its price is pretty good considering the functions and add-ons that are used."

"The licensing contract we have is on a three-year basis. There aren't any costs in addition to the standard licensing fees—usually, every three years, we just purchase or renew the same license and we are okay. Every six years, we completely change the firewall, but that's the usual schema. So after three years, we just renew the licenses for another three years, and then after that particular period of time, we just purchase another firewall equivalent to the ones that we currently use."

"WatchGuard Data Loss Prevention's pricing is expensive. I rate it a seven out of ten."

"The two larger devices are about $1,000 each and the smaller ones are about $500 or $600 each... It's cheaper and you have more control because it's self-managed."

"WatchGuard Firebox is a cheap solution."

More WatchGuard Firebox pricing and cost advice

See which vendors are best for you

Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Data Loss Prevention (DLP) solutions are best for your needs.

See recommendations

865,384 professionals have used our research since 2012.

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

16%

Comms Service Provider

Manufacturing Company

Financial Services Firm

No data available

Computer Software Company

14%

Comms Service Provider

11%

Retailer

Manufacturing Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

No data available

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...

See all answers

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...

See all answers

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 ...

See all answers

What do you like most about Fortra's Digital Guardian?

We have accurate detection on data protection and more visibility on different data channels compared to other DLP so...

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Fortra's Digital Guardian?

As per my experience with both of my clients, I would say that the price is a bit high, but it didn't matter once the...

See all answers

What needs improvement with Fortra's Digital Guardian?

The trouble with the tool is its ability to integrate with a third-party application. For example, integrating an SIE...

See all answers

What is your primary use case for WatchGuard Firebox?

We are providing our services to all WatchGuard customers in the region.

See all answers

What is your primary use case for WatchGuard Firebox?

We just use it as a secondary WiFi device. We're a small office and we needed to set up a WiFi device for a few of ou...

See all answers

What is your primary use case for WatchGuard Firebox?

We're a hospital and we use it for developing our incoming and outgoing policies, and we also use it for VPN.

See all answers

Comparisons

Sophos XG vs Fortinet FortiGate

Compared 20% of the time

Cisco Secure Firewall vs Fortinet FortiGate

Compared 12% of the time

Netgate pfSense vs Fortinet FortiGate

Compared 11% of the time

Cisco Meraki MX vs Fortinet FortiGate

Compared 5% of the time

OPNsense vs Fortinet FortiGate

Compared 4% of the time

More Fortinet FortiGate Competitors

Microsoft Purview Data Loss Prevention vs Fortra's Digital Guardian

Compared 59% of the time

Trellix DLP vs Fortra's Digital Guardian

Compared 23% of the time

Varonis Platform vs Fortra's Digital Guardian

Compared 18% of the time

More Fortra's Digital Guardian Competitors

OPNsense vs WatchGuard Firebox

Compared 6% of the time

SonicWall TZ vs WatchGuard Firebox

Compared 5% of the time

Netgate pfSense vs WatchGuard Firebox

Compared 5% of the time

Sophos XG vs WatchGuard Firebox

Compared 5% of the time

Sophos UTM vs WatchGuard Firebox

Compared 4% of the time

More WatchGuard Firebox Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Fortinet FortiGate

August 2025

Download Fortinet FortiGate product report

Buyer's Guide

Data Loss Prevention (DLP)

July 2025

Download Fortra's Digital Guardian product report

Buyer's Guide

WatchGuard Firebox

July 2025

Download WatchGuard Firebox product report

Also Known As

FortiGate 60b, FortiGate 60c, FortiGate 80c, FortiGate 50b, FortiGate 200b, FortiGate 110c, FortiGate, Fortinet Firewall

No data available

WatchGuard Threat Detection and Response, WatchGuard Application Control, WatchGuard Data Loss Prevention, WatchGuard Gateway AntiVirus, WatchGuard Intrusion Prevention Service

Overview

Fortinet FortiGate offers comprehensive network security and firewall protection across multiple locations. It effectively manages data traffic and secures environments with features like VPN, intrusion prevention, and UTM controls.

Organizations rely on Fortinet FortiGate for its robust integration with advanced security policies, ensuring significant protection for enterprises, cloud environments, and educational sectors. It facilitates network segmentation, application-level security, and authentication management, securing communication within and between locations such as branches and data centers. Its efficient SD-WAN and UTM features enable streamlined data management and enhanced threat protection capabilities. Users appreciate its centralized management, facilitating seamless operations across diverse environments.

What are the key features of Fortinet FortiGate?

VPN Capabilities: Ensure secure remote access for users and seamless site-to-site connections.
Intrusion Prevention System (IPS): Detect and prevent security threats and vulnerabilities.
Advanced Firewall: Offers robust firewalling with application control and web filtering.
SD-WAN: Optimizes application performance and enhances bandwidth management.
SSL VPN: Provides reliable and secure access for remote workers.

What benefits should users expect from Fortinet FortiGate?

High-performance Security: Delivers effective threat mitigation with high availability.
Centralized Management: Simplifies network operations with cloud-based management tools.
Detailed Analytics: Provides comprehensive insights into network activity and security threats.
Load Balancing: Ensures optimal resource distribution and traffic management.

Fortinet FortiGate is crucial in sectors like education, offering robust networks for secure data flow between campuses and facilitating remote learning. In enterprise environments, it allows efficient management of application traffic and security across multiple branches, while in the cloud, it seamlessly integrates with diverse platforms to enhance security infrastructure.

Fortinet

Fortra's Digital Guardian is celebrated for its robust data protection, especially in data loss prevention across various endpoints. It enhances organizational efficiency, streamlines workflows, and provides deep insights via advanced analytics and real-time alerts, significantly improving data security and compliance management. Ideal for monitoring, customizing policies, and guarding against internal and external threats.

Fortra

WatchGuard Firebox is a high-performance firewall known for its ease of setup, offering robust security with layered protection and centralized management capabilities.

WatchGuard Firebox stands out for its intuitive management and high throughput, addressing security needs with features like VPN, web filtering, and threat detection. Its centralized control and reporting abilities, along with Active Directory integration, make it popular among varied organizations. Its user-friendly interface and ongoing updates enhance usability and reliability. However, there's a call for better cloud-based administration, scalability, and improved integration with third-party vendors.

What are the key features of WatchGuard Firebox?

Ease of Setup: Quick and straightforward installation process.
GUI: User-friendly graphical interface for simplified navigation.
VPN Features: Secure and efficient virtual private network management.
Web Filtering: Advanced filtering for safer browsing experiences.
Threat Detection: Proactive monitoring and detection of cyber threats.

What benefits or ROI should be evaluated?

Centralized Control: Streamlined management from a single point.
High Throughput: Efficient data handling and processing capacity.
Stable Performance: Consistent and reliable operational functionality.
Active Directory Integration: Seamless connection with user directories.
Customer Service: Strong support service for customer inquiries.

WatchGuard Firebox is implemented across industries to secure internet gateways and protect data in multi-site businesses. Its applications span from Unified Threat Management (UTM) and intrusion prevention to compliance support in business environments requiring secure connectivity through VPNs.

WatchGuard

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

Information Not Available

Ellips, Diecutstickers.com, Clarke Energy, NCR, Wrest Park, Homeslice Pizza, Fortessa Tableware Solutions, The Phoenix Residence

Buyer's Guide

Data Loss Prevention (DLP)

July 2025

Download Free Report

Find out what your peers are saying about Microsoft, Zscaler, Broadcom and others in Data Loss Prevention (DLP). Updated: July 2025.

DOWNLOAD NOW

865,384 professionals have used our research since 2012.

See our list of best Data Loss Prevention (DLP) vendors and best Firewalls vendors.

We monitor all Data Loss Prevention (DLP) reviews to prevent fraudulent reviews and keep review quality high. We do not post reviews by company employees or direct competitors. We validate each review for authenticity via cross-reference with LinkedIn, and personal follow-up with the reviewer when necessary.