Juniper vSRX vs Palo Alto Networks K2-Series comparison

Juniper and Palo Alto Networks are both solutions in the Firewalls category. Juniper is ranked #25 with an average rating of 8.2, while Palo Alto Networks is ranked #31 with an average rating of 8.7. Juniper holds a 0.4% mindshare in Firewalls, compared to Palo Alto Networks’s 0.1% mindshare. Additionally, 86% of Juniper users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 96% of Palo Alto Networks users who would recommend it.

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Sep 16, 2024

Juniper vSRX and Palo Alto Networks K2-Series are both prominent solutions in the network security appliance space. Juniper vSRX is noted for its affordability and support, but many find Palo Alto Networks K2-Series's advanced features justify its higher price.

Features: Juniper vSRX provides comprehensive threat detection, high throughput, and robust support. Palo Alto Networks K2-Series offers advanced threat prevention, automation capabilities, and excels in dealing with complex security scenarios.

Room For Improvement: Users of Juniper vSRX suggest enhancements in integration, reporting functions, and compatibility. Palo Alto Networks K2-Series could improve its documentation, interface, and user engagement.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Juniper vSRX is praised for its straightforward setup and excellent support, while Palo Alto Networks K2-Series, although having a steeper learning curve, receives substantial support post-deployment. Deployment of vSRX is easier, whereas K2-Series provides robust assistance.

Pricing and ROI: Juniper vSRX is cost-effective and offers a quicker ROI. Palo Alto Networks K2-Series has higher setup costs but is considered a valuable long-term investment. vSRX appeals to budget-conscious buyers, while K2-Series targets those prioritizing long-term security enhancements.

To learn more, read our detailed Juniper vSRX vs. Palo Alto Networks K2-Series Report (Updated: July 2025).

Buyer's Guide

Juniper vSRX vs. Palo Alto Networks K2-Series

July 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 August 2025, in the Firewalls category, the mindshare of Fortinet FortiGate is 20.8%, up from 17.8% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Juniper vSRX is 0.4%, up from 0.2% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Palo Alto Networks K2-Series is 0.1%, up from 0.0% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Firewalls

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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Stratos-Margaritis

Solutions Architect at Navarino SA

The ease of installation and licensing are also significant advantages

We use the application filtering, content filtering, and intrusion prevention system (IPS) features. These features are crucial for our network security. The ease of installation and licensing are also significant advantages, as it allows us to have one license for all products, which simplifies upgrading and maintenance. Additionally, the ease of deployment is critical for us.

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Krishnakumar M

enterprise architect at a tech services company with 1-10 employees

One of the best tools for the prevention of evasive threats

There is a feature called granular application controls, which I liked. Instead of relying on ports and IP addresses, they use AMP ID. This kind of solution is very good. Another valuable feature is the prevention of evasive threats, which is one of the best tools I've encountered. SSL decryption and app ID-based SSL decryption are also impressive, along with the integration with user ID. Identity-based policies ensuring only authorized users can access specific resources are excellent features. Normally, there is something called SIM or SCIM in IDA IDM, but this feature is provided on the box, which is exemplary.

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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 a very stable solution."

"The ability to set up remote systems is the most valuable feature."

"The best features of Fortinet FortiGate include the simple user interface."

"I've never had a problem with Fortinet FortiGate support, so I'd rate it ten out of ten."

"The most valuable features are SD-WAN, application control, IPS control, and FortiSandbox."

"The ease of setting the solution up is a valuable aspect for us."

"Fortinet FortiGate has positively impacted my organization, offering ease of management with no network disruptions; it works seamlessly."

"By utilizing features such as dynamic path selection and application-aware routing, we've been able to reduce latency for critical applications such as VoIP and video by 20-30% during peak times."

More Fortinet FortiGate pros

"The dashboard, customization, API, and pricing are good."

"We like the solution’s protocol and its dashboard system."

"It's basic functionality is probably the most valuable feature."

"The technical support has been good."

"The hardware is stable."

"I'm told the solution is the fastest, and, so far, I do find that to be the case."

"There are a few valuable features that offer very good quality on the solution. Especially NetScreen. We used to use NetScreen for the the product line. It was a very mature solution, very robust, easy to configure, easy to manage, etc. It made it easy to do everything."

"The ease of installation and licensing are also significant advantages, as it allows us to have one license for all products, which simplifies upgrading and maintenance."

More Juniper vSRX pros

"The IPS system is the best in the field."

"Mainly, it is very easy to understand, and the logs are very good."

"I have found that Palo Alto Networks K2-Series has the best security. They are more user-friendly, older firewalls used to have to be configured using the command-line interface, but in this solution, it can be done in the GUI."

"One of the most valuable features is Palo Alto's firewall management. We find it easier to manage the firewall centrally."

"The customer service and support are really good."

"K2-Series' best features include its scalability, which is the best on the market."

"I like the tool's WildFire feature."

"We've found the solution offers us good stability."

More Palo Alto Networks K2-Series pros

Cons

"The AI with Fortinet FortiGate is not very well integrated on their devices, and their cloud infrastructure is not as good as Cisco's."

"The reports are very basic."

"Technical support is good but the response time could be faster."

"It's one of the more expensive brands."

"A couple of things I've seen that need improvement, especially in terms of a hard coding. The driver-level active moment really is out-of-the-box and we have to have contact the customer support and sometimes it is difficult to resolve."

"In some cases, its initial setup could be hard for customers."

"They could improve the response time and quality of support."

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

More Fortinet FortiGate cons

"In the next release, I would like to see improvements made to the GUI because it isn't very good."

"They could provide support for cloud deployments."

"It should also support modern data technologies like zero-day protection and zero-trust network access."

"It is pretty complex to manage and could be easier."

"The user interface could always be better. They could make it simpler and more intuitive."

"We worked with Cisco's support and Juniper's support and there are some differences, to be honest, Cisco is more available and is more competent at addressing our cases."

"I would suggest improving the pricing, particularly the licensing model."

"We have some weird errors and some weird behavior on the solution occasionally. The device gets buggy without anyone touching it. It would work and then suddenly stop. Sometimes you need to just move the cards out and restart it again, and it will work. The solution itself, the hardware and the software, there must be some bugs that need to be dealt with."

More Juniper vSRX cons

"Palo Alto doesn't have extended visibility to the end point in their firewalls."

"The reporting functionality in GlobalProtect needs to be improved."

"The solution's commitment time could be reduced as it often takes a lot of time to execute."

"The technical support, and how they provide it to the client, needs to be improved."

"The ease of management and configuration should be improved."

"They should implement the features that the other firewalls have."

"Palo Alto releases a lot of bug fixes for their firewalls, which means it's necessary to do frequent upgrades. They should work on decreasing their bugs so that upgrades aren't needed so often."

"The graphical user interface is a little complex and difficult to manage. L1 engineers cannot work on the Palo Alto Networks K2-Series because it's too complex, which requires L2 and above level of engineers."

More Palo Alto Networks K2-Series cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Licensing for Fortinet FortiGate is on a yearly basis. Pricing for it is a bit high. It could be cheaper."

"Its price is affordable and lesser than Cisco. Cisco is expensive. In terms of licensing, there is only one issue. If a customer's license has expired a month ago and they do the renewal after one month, Fortinet renews the license from the start of the previous month. The activation of the product is done from the previous month, not from the date of renewal. The customers usually shout and complain that because they are paying today, the renewal should start from today. The support contract renewals or licensing should be renewed from the date of renewal, but Fortinet starts from the day it had expired. It is a loss for customers. They might have had some problems because of which they did not take the license one month before. Fortinet should work on this. Cisco doesn't do this. Cisco always starts from the day they apply for the license."

"The pricing is perfect."

"The pricing depends on the FortiGate model we are using, ranging from $3,000 to $20,000 US dollars."

"It is too expensive for us. My organization is very small, and we have a total of ten users. We have three internal users and seven external users. The FortiGate 100D series is too expensive for renewing the licenses."

"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."

"Pricing is good. They offer a lot of things, the most important is the support. Every time you upgrade your license, you also get insurance for the equipment. If you have any problem with equipment, they send in new equipment."

"Here in Brazil, we're going through difficult economic times and the tax on the dollar is high. All the solutions from minor competitors are growing in the market. The prices have come more competitive."

More Fortinet FortiGate pricing and cost advice

"As a customer, the pricing is good for us."

"We like pricing through the AWS Marketplace."

"The solution could have been cheaper."

"After some research, I think that the cost of Juniper is more than Check Point, Palo Alto, and Fortinet."

"The pricing is reasonable."

"The ongoing licensing cost seems to be pretty standard. There are no additional costs."

"Our experience purchasing the solution through the AWS Marketplace was good."

"It is not that costly."

More Juniper vSRX pricing and cost advice

"The price of this solution is too high."

"Products by the leader in the field are justifiably a bit more expensive compared to other vendors."

"The overall price of Palo Alto Networks K2-Series could be reduced."

"The price of the solution is expensive."

"Palo Alto firewalls are very expensive."

"This is an expensive solution, although you will get value for the price."

"When comparing Palo Alto Networks K2-Series with other solutions it is on the higher end of the price scale."

"The pricing is expensive."

More Palo Alto Networks K2-Series pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

16%

Comms Service Provider

Manufacturing Company

Financial Services Firm

Computer Software Company

12%

Comms Service Provider

12%

Government

University

Performing Arts

23%

Computer Software Company

16%

Manufacturing Company

Comms Service Provider

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

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 vSRX?

One of Juniper vSRX's most valuable features is its integration with safety applications. It keeps the software secur...

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What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Juniper vSRX?

The pricing is competitive, being neither the most expensive nor the cheapest option. It falls within the medium to h...

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What needs improvement with Juniper vSRX?

I would suggest improving the pricing, particularly the licensing model. Although it is currently quite reasonable, m...

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Features comparison between Palo Alto and Fortinet firewalls

In the best tradition of these questions, Feature-wise both are quite similar, but each has things it's better at, it...

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What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Palo Alto Networks K2-Series?

The pricing for the Palo Alto Networks K2-Series solution is affordable and there are no complaints about the licensing.

See all answers

What needs improvement with Palo Alto Networks K2-Series?

The graphical user interface is a little complex and difficult to manage. L1 engineers cannot work on the Palo Alto N...

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

SonicWall TZ vs Fortinet FortiGate

Compared 4% of the time

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Azure Firewall vs Juniper vSRX

Compared 11% of the time

Juniper SRX Series Firewall vs Juniper vSRX

Compared 10% of the time

Cisco Meraki MX vs Juniper vSRX

Compared 9% of the time

Palo Alto Networks VM-Series vs Juniper vSRX

Compared 9% of the time

OPNsense vs Juniper vSRX

Compared 9% of the time

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Cisco Secure Firewall vs Palo Alto Networks K2-Series

Compared 61% of the time

Juniper SRX Series Firewall vs Palo Alto Networks K2-Series

Compared 39% of the time

More Palo Alto Networks K2-Series Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Fortinet FortiGate

August 2025

Download Fortinet FortiGate product report

Buyer's Guide

Juniper vSRX

August 2025

Download Juniper vSRX product report

Buyer's Guide

Palo Alto Networks K2-Series

August 2025

Download Palo Alto Networks K2-Series product report

Also Known As

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

No data available

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

Juniper vSRX is a virtualized security platform that provides advanced threat protection for virtualized and cloud environments. It offers a comprehensive set of security features, including firewall, VPN, intrusion prevention system (IPS), and unified threat management (UTM).

With its scalable architecture, the vSRX can be easily deployed and managed across multiple virtual machines, making it ideal for organizations with dynamic and distributed networks. It also supports high-performance data processing, ensuring minimal impact on network performance.

vSRX is designed to integrate seamlessly with Juniper's broader security ecosystem, enabling centralized management and visibility across the entire network.

Juniper

Designed to handle growing throughput needs due to increasing amounts of application-, user-, and device-generated data, the K2-Series offers amazing performance and threat prevention capabilities to stop advanced cyberattacks and secure mobile network infrastructure, subscribers, and services.

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

Expedient Data Centers

State of North Dakota, SEGA, Alameda County Office of Education, Temple University, VERGE, CAME

Buyer's Guide

Juniper vSRX vs. Palo Alto Networks K2-Series

July 2025

Free Report: Juniper vSRX vs. Palo Alto Networks K2-Series

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