Fortra's Digital Guardian vs WatchGuard Firebox comparison

Fortra and WatchGuard are both solutions in the Data Loss Prevention (DLP) category. Fortra is ranked #19 with an average rating of 10.0, while WatchGuard is ranked #11 with an average rating of 8.0. Additionally, 100% of Fortra users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 94% of WatchGuard users who would recommend it.

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Nov 9, 2025

WatchGuard Firebox and Fortra's Digital Guardian are competing in cybersecurity, focusing on network and endpoint protection. WatchGuard Firebox appears to have the upper hand in pricing and support, while Fortra's Digital Guardian is noted for its advanced features.

Features: WatchGuard Firebox provides robust firewall capabilities, comprehensive network security, and effective threat detection tools. Fortra's Digital Guardian offers data loss prevention, advanced endpoint protection, and sensitive information safeguarding.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Fortra's Digital Guardian accommodates cloud and on-premises environments and is supported by responsive customer service. WatchGuard Firebox is geared towards network appliances and offers solid support.

Pricing and ROI: WatchGuard Firebox offers a more cost-effective setup and favorable ROI with an affordable pricing structure. Fortra's Digital Guardian has a higher initial cost but delivers substantial ROI through advanced data protection and long-term security benefits.

To learn more, read our detailed Fortra's Digital Guardian vs. WatchGuard Firebox Report (Updated: December 2025).

Buyer's Guide

Fortra's Digital Guardian vs. WatchGuard Firebox

December 2025

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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.

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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.

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Pedro Soteras

CEO at ajuntament del Prat

Network protection has improved with stronger VPN connectivity but administration remains complex

Deploying WatchGuard Firebox was quite easy, but we have had some problems regarding the VPN and the administration of the tool and the two firewalls that we have. When comparing WatchGuard Firebox with our previous solution, Palo Alto, we have had some problems in administration because of the tools. I think that they have some aspects in their system that are cloud-provided, but they also have an on-premise solution, which makes this combination good. Although I should say that when compared to Palo Alto, we have taken a step backwards. In general, I would rate WatchGuard Firebox around 6-7; it is a good firewall, but they lack good administration tools. We experience many problems with the performance and administration tools on the web, including several issues with VPNs.

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Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Mainly the FortiGate reporting system is very good. It guides us through all the expectations of security. Fortinet provides us all that we need for security. Also, Fortinet FortiGate is a next-generation firewall. It is much more advanced than others."

"UTM/NGFW features and FortiCloud for logs and backups are awesome."

"The impact of SD-WAN on the network performance has been significant."

"The integration of SD-WAN capabilities with Fortinet FortiGate has positively impacted application performance."

"Fortinet FortiGate serves as the first line of defense, it is robust and easy to configure, and I haven't seen any breaches happening when configured properly based on best practices."

"The most valuable feature of FortiGate is FortiView which provides proactive monitoring."

"Fortinet FortiGate is pretty robust. The updates and firmware releases are pretty timely. They have a good product revision and review system, so they are constantly reviewing their configuration and the different mechanisms that are used on Fortinet FortiGate."

"One of the most valuable features of FortiGate Next Generation Firewall (NGFW) is the ease of usability it offers."

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 pricing of the solution is okay. It's not the most expensive option."

"I like the High Availability features of the newest ones I'm using because they allow a firewall to fail and still be up and running."

"It is the most effective on non-encrypted traffic and it is able to determine some threats through deep packet inspection."

"It's pretty simple to use. It's pretty simple to understand, and there's plenty of documentation. It does a pretty good job of what it is meant to do."

"I found several features valuable in WatchGuard Application Control such as the HTTP Proxy, DNSWatch, VPN, and HTTPS Content Inspection."

"I like intrusion detection the most."

"The policy monitoring and allowing different traffic flows are the most useful features for us; regulating which traffic comes in and out."

"Cloud integration is one of the best features."

More WatchGuard Firebox pros

Cons

"Being a great product, some changes in the pricing would make it a great choice for even more organizations."

"Areas that have room for improvement in Fortinet FortiGate include support and GUI enhancement."

"In my case, the 101F is not scalable. I faced problems with scalability related to memory. When we hit 100% memory usage, it stops the internet connection, so we need to control the traffic. We cannot increase the memory."

"For Fortinet FortiGate, their code development would definitely be something they need to improve on to reduce vulnerabilities that need to be patched."

"We have experienced a number of failures when trying to upgrade firmware and the process takes a long time. We only experienced this when doing major upgrades between versions."

"We were not able to build a full-mesh VPN; however, I am not sure if this was the fault of Fortinet FortiGate."

"The firmware needs improvement because there are bugs when a new release comes through. Sometimes, the configuration changes, and it's a bit harder to see where the fail is. The first time that you have the firmware, it tends to have some issues, and it's better to wait a bit to update the equipment."

"IPs are not handled well and the process is unnecessarily complicated."

More Fortinet FortiGate cons

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

"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."

"This product needs to be fully integrated with the firewall. Currently, it only sends logs to the cloud and asks the firewall to correlate them."

"The pricing could be improved. It is definitely one of the more expensive products."

"The UI and web view aren't nice."

"The only downside is that it is missing an API, that you can use to easily collect information from it."

"The solution's pricing could be improved."

"The website must provide more information on the product."

"There should be more reports available on different subjects."

"I would like to see faster automatation."

More WatchGuard Firebox cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The price could be lower."

"It is a good product from a price perspective versus functionality."

"It is not a very costly product if you compare it with other products. The return on investment is also good. If you compare the return of investment and money that you are spending on this product with Palo Alto, Cisco, Check Point, and other solutions, the investment is very less. We are happy with this solution. The optional licenses are there, and you can choose which one you want and which one to avoid."

"The license for Fortinet FortiGate is affordable in my country."

"The product is not very expensive."

"The Indian market is different than the European and American markets. When you compare they need to be a bit more aggressive on pricing."

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

"They need to be competitive with other solutions."

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 pricing is competitive."

"WatchGuard had a very competitive price. It was only 10 to 20 percent more than a single instance device but with that extra cost it provided a second load balancing device... unlike other brands whose method of hardware and software licensing would have doubled our cost."

"We had a trade-in offer at the end of our first three-year term. As a result, we pretty much got a free device by buying the three-year subscription. It was around $3,000 for the three-years."

"I haven't seen the pricing since 2017, but it was competitive. SonicWall, Barracuda, and WatchGuard were all about the same price when we did our last pricing."

"They license it. When we buy it, we buy it with a three-year license. That's the most cost-effective way to do it. So, if you're going to buy it, then buy it with the three-year licensing."

"Despite the fact that there is always room for improvement, the current pricing of the solution is still lower compared to its competitors."

"Its cost is okay. It is not too expensive, not too low. I would rate it a nine out of ten in terms of pricing."

"The cost three years ago was about $800."

More WatchGuard Firebox pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

12%

Comms Service Provider

Manufacturing Company

Financial Services Firm

No data available

Computer Software Company

11%

Comms Service Provider

11%

Manufacturing Company

Retailer

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	357
Midsize Enterprise	133
Large Enterprise	188

No data available

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	92
Midsize Enterprise	27
Large Enterprise	15

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...

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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...

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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 ...

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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...

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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...

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What is your primary use case for Fortra's Digital Guardian?

I have been handling the clients who use the product. My current company is the reseller connected with the tool from...

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What is your primary use case for WatchGuard Firebox?

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

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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...

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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 Firewall vs Fortinet FortiGate

Compared 20% of the time

Cisco Secure Firewall vs Fortinet FortiGate

Compared 13% of the time

Netgate pfSense vs Fortinet FortiGate

Compared 6% of the time

OPNsense vs Fortinet FortiGate

Compared 3% of the time

Palo Alto Networks WildFire vs Fortinet FortiGate

Compared 2% of the time

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Microsoft Purview Data Loss Prevention vs Fortra's Digital Guardian

Compared 28% of the time

Varonis Platform vs Fortra's Digital Guardian

Compared 18% of the time

Trellix DLP vs Fortra's Digital Guardian

Compared 14% of the time

Next DLP vs Fortra's Digital Guardian

Compared 8% of the time

Netwrix Endpoint Protector vs Fortra's Digital Guardian

Compared 7% of the time

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Sophos Firewall vs WatchGuard Firebox

Compared 7% of the time

OPNsense vs WatchGuard Firebox

Compared 7% of the time

Sophos UTM vs WatchGuard Firebox

Compared 4% of the time

SonicWall TZ vs WatchGuard Firebox

Compared 4% of the time

SonicWall NSa vs WatchGuard Firebox

Compared 4% of the time

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Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Fortinet FortiGate

January 2026

Download Fortinet FortiGate product report

Buyer's Guide

Data Loss Prevention (DLP)

January 2026

Download Fortra's Digital Guardian product report

Buyer's Guide

WatchGuard Firebox

January 2026

Download WatchGuard Firebox product report

Also Known As

Fortinet FortiGate Next-Generation 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 is a versatile network security tool offering features like VPN, firewall, web filtering, intrusion prevention, and scalability. It is known for its performance and integration with other Fortinet products, making it a preferred choice for robust cybersecurity.

Fortinet FortiGate stands out as a comprehensive cybersecurity solution with strong performance and ease of configuration. It delivers unified threat management, integrating features such as dynamic routing, SD-WAN support, and centralized management. Despite its strengths, improvements in the web interface's stability, pricing structures, and reporting capabilities are needed. Users seek better integration with third-party tools and automation advancements to enhance the experience further. These enhancements, alongside improvements in bandwidth management and the reduction of licensing costs, are points of interest for users looking to capitalize on FortiGate's extensive capabilities.

What are Fortinet FortiGate's key features?

VPN: Ensures secure remote connections.
Firewall: Protects against unauthorized access.
Web Filtering: Blocks malicious sites and content.
Application Control: Manages and controls applications.
Intrusion Prevention: Detects and prevents vulnerabilities.
SSL Inspection: Enhances security by inspecting encrypted traffic.

What benefits should be considered when evaluating Fortinet FortiGate?

Affordability: Offers cost-effective security solutions.
Reliability: Known for consistent and stable performance.
Integration: Seamlessly integrates with other Fortinet products.
Comprehensive Protection: Provides broad threat protection capabilities.

Fortinet FortiGate is widely implemented across industries as a primary firewall system for securing internet gateways and safeguarding data centers. It supports businesses in achieving SD-WAN integration and enhances cybersecurity by providing essential features like antivirus, web filtering, and application control. Enterprises utilize FortiGate for securing remote connections and ensuring compliance with security standards, making it adaptable for different network sizes and industries.

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

Fortra's Digital Guardian vs. WatchGuard Firebox

December 2025

Free Report: Fortra's Digital Guardian vs. WatchGuard Firebox

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