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reviewer1193787 - PeerSpot reviewer
Network Manager at a transportation company with 5,001-10,000 employees
Real User
Dec 16, 2020
Installation is super easy, stable operations, and has prompt and responsive customer service
Pros and Cons
  • "The product is easy to use and is stable. The SV1 functionality is a benefit."
  • "Some of the software stability could improve."

What is our primary use case?

We use it as a firewall for securing our HQ and branch.

What is most valuable?

The product is easy to use and is stable. The SV1 functionality is a benefit. 

What needs improvement?

A feature for bandwidth monitoring and the ability to have more bandwidth testing would be useful to include in future releases.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using the solution for just about a year.

Buyer's Guide
Fortinet FortiGate
December 2025
Learn what your peers think about Fortinet FortiGate. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: December 2025.
879,310 professionals have used our research since 2012.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

We have approximately 40,000 employees and the product is very scalable. The different hardware units are quite good and are an appropriate size for enterprise-sized businesses.

How are customer service and support?

They're very prompt and responsive, and very helpful. In our experience, they responded on the same day and the next day for fixes.

How was the initial setup?

The installation was super easy, we were up and running in less than 50 minutes.

What about the implementation team?

We did it the implementation ourselves. We used an in house team of four to do the deployment. 

What was our ROI?

Some of the software stability could improve.

What other advice do I have?

I would recommend FortiGate to others.

I rate Fortinet FortiGate an eight out of ten

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

On-premises
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
PeerSpot user
IT Infrastructure Engineer at a tech services company with 51-200 employees
Real User
Dec 14, 2020
Scalable, Easy to implement, security fabric integration, wireless controller, low cost, stable
Pros and Cons
  • "Web filtering and two-factor authentication are great features."
  • "Vulnerability scanning could be improved."

What is our primary use case?

Our primary use case of this solution for our clients is for protecting internal networks with data center firewalls, internal segmentation and next generation firewalls. 

We are a gold partner of Fortinet.

What is most valuable?

SD-WAN, Security fabric integration, two-factor authentication, ADVPN, Dynamic routing, single pane of glas managements are great features. FortiGate is very easy to use, and to configure.

What needs improvement?

I think some improvements could be made in vulnerability scanning. I'd also like to see additional features in the authentication. They support RADIUS, LDAP  but the solution doesn't have API integration with other solutions. They have API in FortiAuthenticator, but not in the firewall and not all customers want to buy another solution. 

For how long have I used the solution?

I've been providing this solution to clients for seven years. 

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

This is a very stable solution. 

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

This solution is scalable. They have now built hyperscale firewalls and it's very easy. Also VMs, for example, is very easy to scale, you just need to adjust the licensing. 

How are customer service and technical support?

Technical support is very, very good. They respond quickly and provide the solution to the problem. 

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

I have previously used Check Point and Cisco ASA. In terms of cost and security features, Fortinet has the advantage and it's also easy to implement. Cisco and Check Point are a little bit more difficult in that aspect. 

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup is simple, as with all Fortinet technologies. Deployment time depends on the situation. For small customers it takes about one to two hours. For larger companies with different kinds of firewalls in their infrastructure, it may take a day or two, it depends on the complexity of the network, the infrastructure and the size of the business. The solution is suitable for any size company. Maintenance depends on the contract with our customers, but Fortinet includes support with every license. If a customer wants support from us, we provide it. 

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

Fortinet offers four types of licensing - Advanced Threat Protection, Unified Threat Protection and Enterprise Protection and 360 degree Protection.  Licensing costs are dependent on the VM  or Hardware model, not per features. For example if vm or Hardware model supports 200 IPsec tunnels you can setup 200 IPsec tunnels, it doesn't matter what kind of license you have. 

What other advice do I have?

I would definitely recommend this solution. 

I would rate this solution a 10 out of 10. 

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

On-premises
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer. Partner
PeerSpot user
Buyer's Guide
Fortinet FortiGate
December 2025
Learn what your peers think about Fortinet FortiGate. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: December 2025.
879,310 professionals have used our research since 2012.
Head Of IT Infrastructure at a financial services firm with 1,001-5,000 employees
Real User
Dec 11, 2020
Has a good payment function for applications but configuring and management is not easy
Pros and Cons
  • "The payment function for applications is good."
  • "Difficult to add or define, and not that easy to configure and manage."

What is our primary use case?

Our primary use case is for a data center firewall. I've been using Fortigate but I'm also currently evaluating Cisco and Check Point. We are customers of Fortinet and I'm in IT infrastructure. 

What is most valuable?

I like the payment function for applications.

What needs improvement?

It's difficult to add or define, and it's not that easy to configure and manage. We're looking for something more flexible for the long term. I also find that the performance is limited in comparison to other solutions. 

For how long have I used the solution?

I've been using this solution for three years. 

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

The product is stable. 

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

The solution is scalable but when you do scale, it limits the performance. We have over 1,000 users in our company and four people who deal with the maintenance of all our solutions. 

How are customer service and technical support?

Technical support is acceptable, and they're good in terms of local support and global support. If they cannot resolve the issue they will pass us to another level of support. 

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

I previously had experience with CheckPoint, Cisco, and Palo Alto. I would rate Palo Alto as the best firewall in the world. 

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup is relatively straightforward. 

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

This product could be a little cheaper although compared to other similar solutions, it's more reasonably priced. 

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

On-premises
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
PeerSpot user
reviewer1425057 - PeerSpot reviewer
Documentation Manager at a computer software company with 10,001+ employees
MSP
Dec 10, 2020
User-friendly, stable, and the functionality is logically designed
Pros and Cons
  • "The interface is very user-friendly and I like it very much."
  • "The price of FortiGate should be reduced because there are some other leading products that are cheaper."

What is our primary use case?

I used FortiGate only for the firewall.

What is most valuable?

The interface is very user-friendly and I like it very much.

The functions are designed very logically.

What needs improvement?

The price of FortiGate should be reduced because there are some other leading products that are cheaper.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using Fortinet FortiGate for about one month.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

I have not experienced any bugs or glitches.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

Scalability-wise, I haven't had any problems. Because of the price, I would say that this product is better for large enterprises.

What about the implementation team?

My colleague set up FortiGate.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

Fortinet bundles FortiGate with other products and because of this, the price is a little expensive to some SMB enterprises. 

What other advice do I have?

FortiGate is the number one solution, both in the global market and the Chinese market. Most of the Chinese market follows FortiGate's news and its roadmap is very popular. I would recommend people buy it.

I would rate this solution a nine out of ten.

Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
PeerSpot user
reviewer1238928 - PeerSpot reviewer
Sales Engineer - Sênior at a tech services company with 201-500 employees
Real User
Dec 9, 2020
Good web filtering, nice GUI, and an easy initial setup
Pros and Cons
  • "The initial setup is straightforward."
  • "Technical support could be better. You don't always get the level of help you need right away."

What is our primary use case?

We primarily use the solution just for internal segmentation and connection of some ranges using IPSec.

How has it helped my organization?

Currently, the solution is saving costs for us and blocks applications effectively using layer seven.

What is most valuable?

The solution's most valuable aspect is the IPS for potential mitigation from the cloud inside our network. 

The VPN SSL is important for us. 

The web filter is very good. 

The GUI is okay.

The initial setup is straightforward.

The documentation provided is okay, I find that sometimes, with other startups, it's hard to find a good amount of documentation in order to assist you with the product. In this case, the solution offers a good amount of detail.

The solution offers good analyzing capabilities.

What needs improvement?

I'm not sure if the solution is really lacking anything major. For us, it works okay.

They seem to have made a lot of improvements since the last release.

Technical support could be better. You don't always get the level of help you need right away.

For how long have I used the solution?

We've been using the solution for about ten years at this point. As it's been about a decade, I'd say we have quite a bit of experience with it.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

For the most part, the memory and the CPU are good. It's generally stable. We don't face any issues with this aspect of the solution.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

The scalability is fine. If a company needs to expand it, they should be able to do so without any issues.

We only have about 40 users on the product currently. It's not a big company.

For now, the product is good as it is and we don't have plans to increase usage in the future.

How are customer service and technical support?

By and large, technical support is good. It's okay. It's not bad. It could be better, however, they do answer our questions when we have them. We're mostly satisfied with the level of service they provide. Of course, it could always be a bit better.

Sometimes the first contact is useful, and sometimes you don't get the kind of help you need right away. It would be nice if it was more consistent.

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

We also use Sophos. We use both solutions at the same time.

How was the initial setup?

We didn't face any complexity when handling the initial implementation. The process is quite straightforward.

The implementation itself can sometimes take less than a week. On average, you should expect it to be about a week in total.

What about the implementation team?

I didn't need the assistance of a reseller or integrator. I handled the implementation myself.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

We're charged a licensing fee on a yearly basis. I'm unsure of the exact cost to the company, however. I'm not sure if there are other costs over and above the standard licensing fee.

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

We also looked at Juniper when we evaluated FortiGate. FortiGate is much easier to use in comparison which is why we chose it. The documentation was also better. That, and there was no integration for SSL in Juniper.

What other advice do I have?

We're just a customer. We don't have a business relationship with the company.

Overall, I would recommend the product. It comes with a very good set of features.

I would rate the solution ten out of ten. We've been quite happy with it.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

On-premises
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
PeerSpot user
IT Director at a university with 51-200 employees
Real User
Dec 9, 2020
Includes an antivirus, IPS, and even SD-WAN
Pros and Cons
  • "The notable features that I have found most valuable are that it includes the antivirus, and also IPS, and even SD-WAN."
  • "FortiGate support could do some improvements on their IPv6 configuration. Right now it's still in the very early stage for utilizing in an enterprise level network environment."

What is our primary use case?

This Fortinet product is a firewall system, acting as our perimeter firewall. Generally speaking we use this system as a security product to defend from any attacks and to protect our internal network. We are very happy with the security features afforded by this product.

What is most valuable?

The notable features that I have found most valuable are that it includes the antivirus, IPS, and even SD-WAN.

What needs improvement?

In terms of what could be improved, the FortiGate support could do some improvements on their IPv6 configuration. Right now it's still in the very early stage for utilizing in an enterprise level network environment

In terms of the FortiGate IPS, we haven't gotten additional tools because they are not free, and we have to purchase them to maximize this IPS feature. As long as they can perform some basic functions to meet our business needs, that is okay. I'm okay with this feature right now, so far.

In the next release of FortiGate the price could be better.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using Fortinet FortiGate since May of 2018.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

This product is very stable.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

Fortinet FortiGate is a very scalable product.

It is managed by the IT department, so only they use it.

How are customer service and technical support?

Their support is quite good.

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup is quite simple.

Not including the preparation, setup took about three days to just unpack them, connect it to the power, power it on, and do some initial configuration. That's just the three days, but we took about two weeks for the preparation and planning.

What about the implementation team?

We had an external partner to help us and to work together with us to do the initial setup.

What other advice do I have?

On a scale of one to ten I would give Fortinet FortiGate an eight.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

On-premises
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
PeerSpot user
reviewer1450398 - PeerSpot reviewer
Product Manager at a comms service provider with 1,001-5,000 employees
Reseller
Dec 8, 2020
Flexible and easy to use, with good support, but they should introduce security at the packet level
Pros and Cons
  • "FortiGate is flexible and easy to use."
  • "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."

What is our primary use case?

We use this product as a perimeter firewall and also in the role of a firewall as a service for our cloud.

What is most valuable?

FortiGate is flexible and easy to use.

What needs improvement?

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. When it comes to large deployments, I don't think it's a good plan to have all of these services in a single box.

I think that they should introduce in-line security at the packet level, where they can do filtering and other firewall functions. It should not comes down to the infrastructure level but rather, offer services at the ISP level.

For how long have I used the solution?

We have been using FortiGate for the past four to five years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

This is a stable product.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

This product is scalable and as a service provider, we extend our usage to external customers. There are many users on the platform.

How are customer service and technical support?

We have premium support from Fortinet and it is quite good.

What about the implementation team?

We used their Professional Services for the initial installation.

We have a large in-house team for maintenance, although I am not sure how many are dedicated to this particular product.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

The price of FortiGate is average and I would say that based on the top five products available on the market, it is in the affordable range.

What other advice do I have?

This is a product that I can recommend to others.

I would rate this solution a seven out of ten.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

Public Cloud
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer. Partner
PeerSpot user
reviewer1344861 - PeerSpot reviewer
Security Systems Analyst at a retailer with 5,001-10,000 employees
Real User
Dec 6, 2020
It works and does its job and has good stability and scalability
Pros and Cons
  • "I only deal with it from a security analyst's point of view. I don't really get into the features of the actual FortiGate. From the security point of view, it works, and it does its job."
  • "If I had any criticism that I would give FortiGate, it would be that they need to stop changing their logging format. Every time we do a firmware upgrade, it is a massive issue on the SIM. Parsers have to be rebuilt. Even the FortiGate guys came in and said that they don't play well in the sandbox."

What is our primary use case?

We have some that are doing IPS, and we have some that are for AV. That's basically their main role. We are using one version below the current release.

What is most valuable?

I only deal with it from a security analyst's point of view. I don't really get into the features of the actual FortiGate. From the security point of view, it works, and it does its job. 

What needs improvement?

If I had any criticism that I would give FortiGate, it would be that they need to stop changing their logging format. Every time we do a firmware upgrade, it is a massive issue on the SIM. Parsers have to be rebuilt. Even the FortiGate guys came in and said that they don't play well in the sandbox.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using this solution for probably 20 years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

They are pretty stable. We never had any real issues with them.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

Their scalability is pretty good. We have upgraded and changed them, and we have been running them for 20 years. They run for a long time. We are not replacing them every couple of years, and we have scaled up a lot. We have over 10,000 users behind it. We have three people for maintenance and deployment. 

How are customer service and technical support?

I never had to deal with technical support directly, but I've never heard the guys complain about it.

How was the initial setup?

I never set them up.

What other advice do I have?

We are using FortiGate, but we are switching to Palo Alto. We are just moving over to the new next-gen and do an extra layer or higher layer filtering. Being a government organization, it was RFP, and basically, Palo Alto won the RFP. I wasn't part of the RFP review, so I can't tell which features pushed Palo Alto over the edge or not. For all I know, it could just be price.

I would rate Fortinet FortiGate an eight out of ten. I would also rate Palo Alto the same.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

On-premises
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
PeerSpot user
Buyer's Guide
Download our free Fortinet FortiGate Report and get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions.
Updated: December 2025
Buyer's Guide
Download our free Fortinet FortiGate Report and get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions.