Juniper Session Smart Router vs Prisma SD-WAN comparison

Juniper and Palo Alto Networks are both solutions in the Software Defined WAN (SD-WAN) Solutions category. Juniper is ranked #13 with an average rating of 8.0, while Palo Alto Networks is ranked #5 with an average rating of 8.6. Juniper holds a 2.7% mindshare in SDW, compared to Palo Alto Networks’s 6.0% mindshare. Additionally, 100% of Juniper users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 95% of Palo Alto Networks users who would recommend it.

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Jan 1, 2025

Prisma SD-WAN and Juniper Session Smart Router are competing solutions in the SD-WAN market. Prisma SD-WAN has an upper hand in cost-effectiveness and user support, while Juniper Session Smart Router is preferred for its comprehensive feature set.

Features: Prisma SD-WAN includes intuitive management, simplified IT operations, and ease of integration, making network management accessible. Juniper Session Smart Router offers session-based policy control, dynamic routing, and real-time intelligence focusing on advanced security and performance features.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Prisma SD-WAN is recognized for its straightforward deployment and responsive support, suitable for teams with limited technical resources. Juniper Session Smart Router, although more complex in setup, provides detailed deployment resources and robust customer service, appealing to organizations needing customizable solutions.

Pricing and ROI: Prisma SD-WAN has an attractive pricing model, offering strong ROI due to lower initial costs and efficient management. Juniper Session Smart Router, with higher initial costs, provides long-term benefits through its advanced performance and scalability, ensuring satisfactory ROI for security-focused businesses.

To learn more, read our detailed Juniper Session Smart Router vs. Prisma SD-WAN Report (Updated: June 2025).

Buyer's Guide

Juniper Session Smart Router vs. Prisma SD-WAN

June 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

Mindshare comparison

As of June 2025, in the Software Defined WAN (SD-WAN) Solutions category, the mindshare of Fortinet FortiGate is 20.9%, up from 20.9% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Juniper Session Smart Router is 2.7%, down from 3.7% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Prisma SD-WAN is 6.0%, up from 3.8% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Software Defined WAN (SD-WAN) Solutions

Featured Reviews

Jorge Martínez

Presales Engineer at Sencinet

Offers good SD-WAN capabilities and integrates easily with Fortinet devices

I am not part of the initial setup or deployment process since I work in presales. The setup or deployment is quite easy, as you can do a one-touch deployment that automatically connects to the FortiManager cloud when you connect it to a broadband or dynamic IP, allowing you to start the configuration from that point. We usually sell it for on-premises setups. It's on the cloud only when the client has virtual machines or their own service. Sometimes they have a service on the cloud like AWS, but it's more difficult to sell now because AWS has an e-commerce option where you can buy FortiGate directly. The only thing you need is someone to manage and configure.

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SRI GANESH PHANIYAPPA

Sub Divisional Engineer NOC Bangalore at Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited

Delivered tailored features and meets requirements effectively

We are using it as a DNG. This means all subscriber PPPoE sessions or ILS Smart VPN connections are terminated through the access network to this BNG, Uniphore BNG. From there, they are managed Everything has been fine. Although we did not explore much about the solution, they provided us with a…

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Engineerinfosec67

Presale Engineer at Westcon-Comstor

Centralized management streamlines global network traffic control

Prisma SD-WAN requires a more seamless integration with other Palo Alto solutions, like Prisma Access. Although there has been improvement, further steps can be taken. Additionally, it would be beneficial if the solution integrated the SD-WAN features of Prisma SD-WAN with the security features of Palo Alto's next-generation firewalls, as they currently do not align.

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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

"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."

"A strong point of FortiGate is the graphical interface is complete and easy to use."

"The response is very quick and they can visually resolve our problems in a short period."

"The initial setup is straightforward."

"Fortinet FortiGate has a threat detection capacity compared to other vendors."

"This version is stable. I don't have any issues with this solution, in our environment, it works well."

"Fortinet FortiGate is scalable for our users. Right now, we have almost 70 users. We do not have any plan to increase our usage of FortiGate. For maintaining the firewall solution, one staff member is enough."

"The SD-WAN feature is the most valuable. This feature evolved from link load balancing. It has helped us in terms of our uptime and privatizing applications whenever we experience an outage. The SD-WAN feature has been a plus for us. Two-factor authentication has allowed us to add more users in terms of remote working. We have two-factor authentication for remote workers to authenticate them before they get on the network."

More Fortinet FortiGate pros

"They provided us with a customized product according to our requirements."

"The most valuable feature of Juniper Session Smart Router is its unique SDR channel."

"Customer service is very prompt."

"As compared to the other major vendors in the SD-WAN market, such as VeloCloud, Cisco, and others, the tunnel-free and secure vector routing technology is its major USP, which gives plenty of room to discuss with the customer why IPSec from 1998 is a bit outdated."

"The solution is especially Session's smart, application-aware, AI-based."

"The solution's most valuable feature is the visibility of the logs."

"When it comes to supporting large, complex, network architectures, it's a very simple architecture. The main component is the fabric. It's very easy to troubleshoot if there is an issue happening in the underlying network."

"It is flexible to use the internet connection via local breakouts without going to data centers."

"Prisma supports all of the applications we're currently using."

"If the MPLS goes down, there is a really smooth transition for a branch site to take traffic over the Internet. It will advertise the routes of that site in a jiffy."

"I like that the integration with Palo Alto is easy."

"The gateway is available on the cloud which allows you access from anywhere and still connects to your home gateway."

"Prisma SD-WAN is an absolutely stable solution."

More Prisma SD-WAN pros

Cons

"The command line is complicated, and the interface could be better."

"Fortinet FortiGate needs to improve the protection, it did not prevent us from being attacked. Additionally, Fortinet FortiGate could provide more features for WAF devices. I should not have to purchase two solutions, it would be a benefit to combine these features into one solution."

"Fortinet should focus on enhancing the capabilities of FortiGate by consolidating its various products, such as FortiGate Cloud, FortiManager, and FortiAnalyzer."

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

"Lacks sufficient security options."

"The Web-filter in this solution is not very good."

"Fortinet could improve the windows opener or the virtual IP solutions for opening windows. The virtual IP settings need improvement as firewalls are trending in new development directions."

"I would prefer to have more detailed logs within the FortiGate products themselves rather than relying on a separate tool."

More Fortinet FortiGate cons

"Regarding improvement, we still need to see what it can do."

"The UI of the SSR conductor is the main part where improvements can be done. Today, for every configuration step, you have to do a series of clicks. What we are missing there are wizards. For example, I have two applications, and I want one application to be prioritized against the other. In such a case, a wizard for assigning policies to a service without configuring each step by hand would be very helpful. There should be an overhaul of the GUI of the conductor. The functionality they have got in the Mist portal should be baked into the conductor itself. It would be really great, but as we all know, that won't happen."

"Juniper Session Smart Router can improve the integration for Wi-Fi devices and add additional Sassy deployments."

"Juniper Session Smart Router could be better in terms of software performance."

"The product could be a bit cheaper for the services it provides."

"Prisma SD-WAN's technical support should be improved."

"Prisma SD-WAN should provide more flexibility and scalability on the hardware."

"I would also like to see improvement in the product training for customers. Palo Alto has not initiated very much training but they have to do so because this is a new product. If you have experience in a legacy environment, and you are moving to Prisma SD-WAN, you don't have a training framework. That is one of the disadvantages."

"The pricing for Prisma SD-WAN needs improvement."

"We initially had challenges with AIOps, which was overwhelming, and could benefit from simplification or improved training."

"Customer support is our biggest pain point. The quality of support has gone down a little since we initially deployed this product. I don't know if this is due to turnover at Palo Alto or a lack of training. It is now taking one or two days to get an initial response that says, "Hey, we've looked into this, can you pull this data for us?" In the past, we'd immediately get a response."

"Prisma SD-WAN requires a more seamless integration with other Palo Alto solutions, like Prisma Access."

More Prisma SD-WAN cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The license is yearly. We pay for the top end. It's called 360."

"The price, in comparison to other products is very cheap."

"Licensing is usually on a three-year period."

"As far as I'm aware, in our case, it's just a yearly pricing arrangement with no additional licensing costs."

"It was probably about $2,500 per firewall. It was all included. It included support, services, threat management software, and 24/7 FortiCare on it. Cisco products are more expensive."

"Fortigate's pricing is competitive."

"Each feature costs money, so it is important to study your needs."

"The product pricing is reasonable."

More Fortinet FortiGate pricing and cost advice

"We are currently renegotiating the offer for the licenses and the license bundle model. The license for an ISP has to be different from the license for an end customer. This is something we are currently renegotiating with Juniper, but, of course, the pricing for the licensing is always an issue when you want to get more customers."

"It is a simple bandwidth-based license and the orchestration comes bundled with the solution by default."

"Prisma SD-WAN is a pretty expensive solution."

"On a scale from one to ten, where one is cheap and ten is expensive, I rate the solution's pricing an eight out of ten."

"If you're already invested in a Palo Alto product, it would be logical to use this solution. If not, there might be some other solutions that are more viable in terms of pricing."

"This solution stood out because it cost considerably less than the other SD-WAN solutions out there from Cisco."

"It is more expensive than Fortinet."

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Educational Organization

15%

Computer Software Company

15%

Comms Service Provider

Manufacturing Company

Computer Software Company

15%

Manufacturing Company

14%

Financial Services Firm

10%

Comms Service Provider

Educational Organization

16%

Computer Software Company

13%

Financial Services Firm

11%

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...

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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 do you like most about Juniper Session Smart Router?

The most valuable feature of Juniper Session Smart Router is its unique SDR channel.

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What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Juniper Session Smart Router?

Juniper Session Smart Router is not significantly cheaper than, for example, Cisco.

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What needs improvement with Juniper Session Smart Router?

I did not find any problem with Juniper. Regarding improvement, we still need to see what it can do.

See all answers

What do you like most about Prisma SD-WAN?

The product's initial setup phase is straightforward.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Prisma SD-WAN?

The pricing through AT&T is not a pain point, though direct pricing from Palo Alto appeared more expensive. Compa...

See all answers

What needs improvement with Prisma SD-WAN?

We initially had challenges with AIOps ( /categories/aiops ), which was overwhelming, and could benefit from simplifi...

See all answers

Comparisons

Sophos XG vs Fortinet FortiGate

Compared 21% of the time

Netgate pfSense vs Fortinet FortiGate

Compared 12% of the time

Cisco Secure Firewall vs Fortinet FortiGate

Compared 11% of the time

SonicWall TZ vs Fortinet FortiGate

Compared 5% of the time

WatchGuard Firebox vs Fortinet FortiGate

Compared 5% of the time

More Fortinet FortiGate Competitors

Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN vs Juniper Session Smart Router

Compared 30% of the time

Aruba EdgeConnect SD-WAN Platform vs Juniper Session Smart Router

Compared 16% of the time

NFX Series Network Services Platform vs Juniper Session Smart Router

Compared 14% of the time

Versa Unified Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) Platform vs Juniper Session Smart Router

Compared 12% of the time

VMware VeloCloud SD-WAN vs Juniper Session Smart Router

Compared 7% of the time

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Prisma Access by Palo Alto Networks vs Prisma SD-WAN

Compared 21% of the time

Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN vs Prisma SD-WAN

Compared 21% of the time

Meraki SD-WAN vs Prisma SD-WAN

Compared 14% of the time

Aruba EdgeConnect SD-WAN Platform vs Prisma SD-WAN

Compared 9% of the time

Versa Unified Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) Platform vs Prisma SD-WAN

Compared 2% of the time

More Prisma SD-WAN Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Fortinet FortiGate

June 2025

Download Fortinet FortiGate product report

Buyer's Guide

Routers

June 2025

Download Juniper Session Smart Router product report

Buyer's Guide

Prisma SD-WAN

May 2025

Download Prisma SD-WAN product report

Also Known As

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

128T Networking Platform, 128 Technology SD-WAN, Juniper SSR Series

CloudGenix

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

The 128T Networking Platform (128T) natively provides network-based security, control, and insight across data centers, wide-area networks (WAN), and edge locations for enterprises, service providers, and cloud companies alike. 128T is reshaping the way organizations design, deploy, and operate real-world networks by making them dramatically simpler, smarter, and more secure — it’s going to fix the router — and ultimately the network — as we know it.

Juniper

Simplify management, enable app-defined SD-WAN policies and deliver a secure, cloud-delivered branch today with the Industry’s first next-generation SD-WAN.

Palo Alto Networks

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

Revation Systems

Open Networking User Group, Columbia Sportswear Company, Coca Cola

Buyer's Guide

Juniper Session Smart Router vs. Prisma SD-WAN

June 2025

Free Report: Juniper Session Smart Router vs. Prisma SD-WAN

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