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Juniper Contrail SD-WAN vs VMware VeloCloud SD-WAN comparison

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Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Sep 16, 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 FortiGate
Sponsored
Ranking in Software Defined WAN (SD-WAN) Solutions
1st
Ranking in WAN Edge
1st
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.1
Number of Reviews
373
Ranking in other categories
Firewalls (2nd)
Juniper Contrail SD-WAN
Ranking in Software Defined WAN (SD-WAN) Solutions
15th
Ranking in WAN Edge
8th
Average Rating
7.4
Reviews Sentiment
6.6
Number of Reviews
6
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
VMware VeloCloud SD-WAN
Ranking in Software Defined WAN (SD-WAN) Solutions
5th
Ranking in WAN Edge
6th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
54
Ranking in other categories
Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) (13th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of July 2025, in the Software Defined WAN (SD-WAN) Solutions category, the mindshare of Fortinet FortiGate is 20.6%, down from 21.1% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Juniper Contrail SD-WAN is 1.0%, up from 0.9% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of VMware VeloCloud SD-WAN is 10.0%, up from 9.2% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Software Defined WAN (SD-WAN) Solutions
 

Featured Reviews

Vasu Gala - PeerSpot reviewer
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.
Luis Corrochano - PeerSpot reviewer
A stable and scalable solution that helps to cut cost by reducing MPLs
My customers use the solution to have better control and knowledge about the applications inside ONE Access. It also helps them cut costs by reducing MPLs and using better internet access from FTTH.  The solution is expensive. Its support can be better.  The tool is stable.  The solution is more…
Aneesh K - PeerSpot reviewer
Even a small group of people can manage a large environment and easy to manage
I would rate my experience with the initial setup a ten out of ten with ten being easy. Our hardware is ready, ISP is ready. I can bring up the site in just five to ten minutes. We use it for both on-prem and cloud, but they may have to make some improvements for the cloud. Currently, the cloud gateway has some bandwidth limitations. It cannot support more than 1.5 gigabytes. That's a challenge because, with the cloud, we expect more traffic. So, the capacity of each gateway could be a challenge. We use it for the cloud, but on-prem, it's perfect. Maybe for the cloud, they need to make some improvements.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"We use the filtering feature the most. It has filtering and inbuilt securities. We can create customized rules to define which users can access a particular type of site. We can create policies inside the firewall."
"The FortiGate controls the user's activities and maximizes my bandwidth use overall."
"ROI is exceptionally good."
"The simplicity of the configuration and the stability of the product are most valuable. The VPN concentrator is very useful."
"The most valuable features are the policies, filtering, and configuration."
"I like several features that this product has, such as antivirus and internet navigation inspection. It is also simple to use."
"FortiGate SD-WAN facilitated a smooth transition for our customers between their two internet service providers, ensuring uninterrupted connectivity without any downtime."
"It performs very well."
"My customers use the solution to have better control and knowledge about the applications inside ONE Access. It also helps them cut costs by reducing MPLs and using better internet access from FTTH."
"It gives you that level of visibility to understand what's going on between layer four and layer seven."
"The support is very good from Juniper and from the local distributors."
"I've worked with several SD-WAN solutions over the past few years, and the product felt more like an automated provisioning tool. Unlike solutions from Palo Alto or other SD-WANs orchestrated by a SaaS solution, Juniper Contrail SD-WAN already had the files and built their SaaS to orchestrate the configuration. Initially, you didn't do much, but then it started adding some routing capabilities."
"The solution is more specific about what's happening since it explains where the problem may lie and points out areas where there is a problem. So, we like that it provides more visibility."
"It supports desktop management, network management, and SD-WAN policies."
"The service they provide is very stable and is the main influencer of why customers purchase this solution."
"The most valuable features are the orchestration layer, plug and play capabilities, and also the fact that you can either configure it as a full mesh or hard install."
"The initial configuration and deployment are quite easy."
"They make use of a combination of different internet lines, which improves quality."
"I love the solution because of its many features like cluster and cloud VPN."
"VMware VeloCloud SD-WAN has truly transformed our environment, providing significantly more bandwidth at lower costs, which is essential for tasks like Teams calls."
"The most valuable feature of VMware SD-WAN is flexibility. It is more flexible than other vendors."
"I find the application-aware routing feature to be the most valuable."
 

Cons

"The search tool needs improvement. It's very difficult to search for policies right now."
"The reports are very basic."
"Areas that have room for improvement in Fortinet FortiGate include support and GUI enhancement."
"Fortinet currently has many products bundled with FortiGate including the basic firewall and load balancer, and I think that that they need to have separate product portfolios for each of these specialized services."
"They need to improve their technical support."
"There are some license issues. Not every feature must have a separate license. There must be some of kind synergy between the license so we don't have to pay for every individual license that we would like to have."
"There are SD-WAN network monitoring, SD-WAN features, Industrial Databases, Internet of Things, Detection, etc., however, we do have not licenses for those features. We thought that if you bought a product, you should have all of the features it offers. Why should you need to make so many extra purchases to enable features? They should have one price for the entire offering."
"Fortinet FortiGate could improve by having more storage in the hardware for log data."
"The solution installs similarly to competitors. It is not more difficult or easier. However, it could be easier and take less time for the installation."
"Areas for improvement in the Juniper Contrail SD-WAN solution include the on-premises deployment process."
"The solution is expensive. Its support can be better."
"The training could be better. When it comes to the demo dashboard capability, I feel like it could be much easier for our customers to use. Our last customer complained about this."
"The only issue was the switch we got, which was a little problematic because it was PoC equipment, and we had a little problem with that."
"Implementing new branches or changing existing ones in Juniper Contrail SD-WAN wasn't as straightforward as with other solutions like Meraki SD-WAN, which is almost plug-and-play with its zero-touch provisioning. In Juniper Contrail SD-WAN, it was more challenging."
"VeloCloud could improve its integration capabilities with other solutions."
"The prep time and understanding what you want to do and how much bandwidth you'll need and how you're going to configure it on the network, that's more of an issue than anything else."
"They should provide us with the flexibility to scale up."
"Better price model would be appreciated."
"There might be potential enhancements in better integration with other platforms, increased stability, and heightened security."
"The dashboards could be improved."
"There is one feature that would set VMware SD-WAN apart from others solutions, and that is what I call inter-cloud connectivity. All the solutions regarding VMware are good because for example, If I go from my workplace to a retail office and I want to use my applications in the Cloud, that is possible. Perhaps we have customers who have their IT partial environments hosted in different cloud locations, such as Amazon and Azure, and the interconnection between the clouds, this is not possible. If it was possible it would be a market game-changer. Having the SD-WAN solution that is good at optimizing and facilitating traffic between different cloud providers would be great."
"The security of the firewall should be improved. It would be a good idea to have a standalone product with better security."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Fortinet costs are 25% lower than the high-cost provider. There is an equipment cost and a recurring monthly cost for licenses and technical support."
"The price is okay."
"It is a good product from a price perspective versus functionality."
"Compared to other firewall products, it's a little cheaper in terms of pricing."
"It's very affordable."
"Fortinet Secure SD-WAN delivered the lowest total cost of ownership (TCO) per Mbps among all other vendors."
"The setup cost was good. The Egyptian pound is declining, and upgrading Fortinet FortiGate yearly costs about $2000 USD, which equals one hundred Egyptian pounds. I maintain a business relationship with the vendor and receive support from them."
"It is not the cheapest one, but its price is very competitive."
"The cost of the solution is a little expensive. The hardware is a one-time purchase fee and the software is purchased on an annual basis. There are additional costs for other software features that are available which are on an annual basis, such as extra capacity."
"The licensing structure is very flexible."
"They are neither very expensive nor cheap. So, we can consider its pricing somewhere in the middle."
"We pay about $500 USD, or 700,000 Korean won."
"Price would be a challenge for customers, because it is expensive."
"The licensing model of VMware SD-WAN could be improved, it is not always that competitive. The biggest concern is to be competitive against other solutions. However, the way that the licensing model is designed is not corresponding to the real use cases of my customers."
"The price of VMware SD-WAN is less expensive than some solutions, such as Cisco."
"I would rate the product’s pricing a six out of ten since the license is costly."
"The price is reasonable for this solution, but the only challenge for us is that the Rand currency fluctuates to the dollar and provides some complexities. The price might go up just because the Rand has actually lost value."
"Overall pricing could be lower. It is much more expensive than traditional hardware vendor pricing."
"We make monthly payments toward the licensing costs of the solution."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
15%
Educational Organization
10%
Comms Service Provider
8%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Computer Software Company
19%
Financial Services Firm
14%
Real Estate/Law Firm
11%
Government
7%
Computer Software Company
16%
Financial Services Firm
9%
Construction Company
7%
Manufacturing Company
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

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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...
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 ...
What do you like most about Juniper Contrail SD-WAN?
I've worked with several SD-WAN solutions over the past few years, and the product felt more like an automated provis...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Juniper Contrail SD-WAN?
My advice regarding setup costs, pricing, and licensing for Juniper Contrail SD-WAN would be to carefully evaluate an...
What needs improvement with Juniper Contrail SD-WAN?
Implementing new branches or changing existing ones in Juniper Contrail SD-WAN wasn't as straightforward as with othe...
What are the biggest differences between Fortinet Fortigate and VMware SD-WAN?
One of our favorite things about Fortinet Fortigate is that you can deploy on the cloud or on premises. It is a very ...
What do you like most about VMware SD-WAN?
One of the key use cases for VMware SD-WAN was assisting a customer in the industrial zone. They required virtualized...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for VMware SD-WAN?
The pricing involves licensing for the VeloCloud gateway based on the bandwidth used. The license is required to use ...
 

Also Known As

FortiGate 60b, FortiGate 60c, FortiGate 80c, FortiGate 50b, FortiGate 200b, FortiGate 110c, FortiGate, Fortinet Firewall
Contrail SD-WAN
VMware SD-WAN, VeloCloud
 

Overview

 

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
Allied Pinnacle
Redmond, Coca Cola, Roka Bioscience, MetTel, Deutsche Telekom, Rockford Construction,  The Bay Club, tru Independence, Triton Management Services, DevCon, AXPM
Find out what your peers are saying about Juniper Contrail SD-WAN vs. VMware VeloCloud SD-WAN and other solutions. Updated: May 2025.
860,825 professionals have used our research since 2012.