We use it to secure our environment, ensuring no vulnerabilities or potential risks in our network configuration. Our goal is to enhance cybersecurity measures, safeguard our network, and ensure the integrity of our systems against potential threats and intrusions.
Head of IT Department at Tengri Partners Investment Banking
A comprehensive and user-friendly solution for securing networks against web-based threats
Pros and Cons
- "I am content with its user interface and functionalities."
- "It is essential to leverage its capabilities more professionally to achieve an even higher level of security."
What is our primary use case?
What is most valuable?
I am content with its user interface and functionalities.
What needs improvement?
There is a potential for enhanced protection. It is essential to leverage its capabilities more professionally to achieve an even higher level of security. I believe that if the cost were lower, it would be highly beneficial. While the gateway serves as a primary solution for the entire network, attention should also be given to endpoint devices.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using it for approximately five years.
Buyer's Guide
Fortinet FortiGate SWG
June 2025

Learn what your peers think about Fortinet FortiGate SWG. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: June 2025.
856,873 professionals have used our research since 2012.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
It is incredibly reliable. I would rate it eight out of ten.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
It provides excellent scalability abilities and I would rate it eight out of ten. There are around fifty individuals actively using it.
How are customer service and support?
They provide exceptional support. I would rate it eight out of ten.
How would you rate customer service and support?
Positive
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
When comparing Fortinet to Cisco, Fortinet stands out as a more user-friendly and practical solution. It seems especially well-suited for smaller network environments, making it the preferred choice for our small work network. The switch was prompted by the wealth of features Fortinet offers, coupled with its ease of management and deployment. The diverse interfaces and comprehensive reporting, including statistics and other relevant information, further contribute to its appeal.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup was straightforward.
What about the implementation team?
The deployment duration is variable and relies on the development level and installation complexity. Initially, it may take only a few hours. However, to enhance security and stability, the process might extend to a few days or even a week. For a simple network, a single individual should be sufficient to manage it effectively.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
While slightly more affordable than competitors, it remains relatively expensive due to its inclusive subscription. It operates on a subscription basis. You pay solely for this subscription, without any additional custom costs for support or other services. The subscription encompasses support, updates, and all associated features.
What other advice do I have?
Overall, I would rate it nine out of ten.
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

Head of IT at ArcelorMittal
Robust and secure product with a valuable SD-WAN feature
Pros and Cons
- "It has a valuable SD-WAN feature and provides good performance."
- "They should make the product user-friendly and enhance the security features."
What is most valuable?
Fortinet FortiGate SWG is a robust and secure product compared to Sophos. It has a valuable SD-WAN feature and provides good performance. Along with that, it has efficient bandwidth and policy management features as well.
What needs improvement?
They could provide bandwidth concentrators and traffic filtering features. They should make the product user-friendly and enhance the security features.
For how long have I used the solution?
We have been using Fortinet FortiGate SWG for ten years. At present, we use the latest version.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
I rate the product's stability an eight out of ten.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
I rate the product's scalability an eight out of ten. It is suitable for small to large enterprises.
How was the initial setup?
I rate the product's initial setup process a seven out of ten. It takes a few hours or a few days to complete.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
I rate the product's pricing a seven out of ten. Its one-year license cost is competitive with three and five-year licenses offered by other products.
What other advice do I have?
I recommend the product to others and rate it a nine out of ten.
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: Implementer
Buyer's Guide
Fortinet FortiGate SWG
June 2025

Learn what your peers think about Fortinet FortiGate SWG. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: June 2025.
856,873 professionals have used our research since 2012.
Network & Security Engineer at Viroka Technology Private Limited
An easy-to-install product offering web filtering, application control, and SSL inspection to its users
Pros and Cons
- "The product is easy to install since we only need to follow the user manual, documents, and articles provided by Fortinet to install the product."
- "Fortinet's support team consists of a huge networking team, because of which there is a delay in response at times."
What is our primary use case?
In my company, we use the product for the help it provides us in terms of SD-WAN, site-to-site VPN, RADIUS authentication, web filtering, application control, SSL inspection, and remote access.
What is most valuable?
The most valuable features of the solution are SD-WAN and site-to-site VPN.
What needs improvement?
In version 7.2.0, the product offers built-in automation to its users. Earlier, there was no automation offered for the product. Nowadays, the product sends automatic emails to users as a part of its offering to let the users know whenever there is a need for automatic backup when the ISP goes down and the interface status. The automation can be further improved.
Fortinet's support team consists of a huge networking team, because of which there is a delay in response at times. Fortinet's support team needs to improve their time management skills.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using Fortinet FortiGate SWG for five years and six months. My company has a partnership with Fortinet.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
It is a scalable solution since the product offers a FortiGuard server that detects vulnerabilities and ensures such detection of vulnerabilities also involves FortiGate.
My company currently works with basic and mid-level sized businesses.
How are customer service and support?
Whenever our company's customers face any issue with the product, we offer our own support team. Fortinet also has its own support team. If required, our company lodges complaints and the issues faced by our customers with Fortinet. Fortinet's support team initiates the replacement if there is a hardware issue with the product. The solution's technical support is good. I rate the technical support an eight out of ten.
How would you rate customer service and support?
Positive
How was the initial setup?
The product is easy to install since we only need to follow the user manual, documents, and articles provided by Fortinet to install the product.
The solution is deployed on-premises.
Just getting the product up and running can take up to forty-five minutes to an hour. The full setup process is carried out based on the requirements of our company's customers, and it can be done in half an hour to forty-five minutes if it is only for basic internet.
In our company, we need around ten engineers for the maintenance and deployment of the solution. The maintenance of the solution is easy since we keep getting constant updates which we can easily use to update the product.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
I am unaware of pricing since I am a part of the networking team. My company's sales team manages pricing.
What other advice do I have?
My company basically provides Fortinet FortiGate SWG to our customers. If our company's customers are looking at Palo Alto products, we have another team in our company to provide them with the same. I am an engineer for Fortinet products and can provide support only for Fortinet. There are different sets of engineers managing Palo Alto products.
In Fortinet, you only need one license for all the products. In Palo Alto, for Palo Alto Secure Remote Access, you need to buy a separate license, while there is a need to buy a separate license for Palo Alto SD-WAN. I feel Fortinet products are better since they come in a bundle. With Fortinet, customers don't need to buy different licenses. One can get all the features by installing a single bundled license offered by Fortinet, allowing one to use SD-WAN, site-to-site VPN, remote access web filtering, SSL inspection, and application control.
I rate the overall solution a nine out of ten.
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
Technical Director at Infosyte Sdn Bhd
A security solution with VPN and SSL supported
Pros and Cons
- "The interface and other reports are all user-friendly."
- "The software is a bit expensive to renew."
What is our primary use case?
We use the solution for desk security.
How has it helped my organization?
The integration primarily occurs within the ONDAP server. We focus on integration with the log server, mainly the logs. There's integration with third-party software for log collection. Integration with FortiManager and FortiAnalyzer within the FortiGate family shouldn't pose any issues.
Many protocols are not proprietary, except for H.A. It's easy to integrate.
What is most valuable?
Fortinet also supports different types of VPNs, with SSL VPN being one of the most commonly utilized options.
What needs improvement?
The solution's pricing could be improved.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using Fortinet FortiGate SWG for 5 years.
How are customer service and support?
You'll likely get the correct answer if you reach out to the right person or ask the right question. Sometimes, the engineer doesn't articulate their question correctly, and the answer received may not be relevant.
How would you rate customer service and support?
Positive
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup is easy. It depends on the project. Complex projects are typically based on the implementation, which takes less than a week. The high-level and the low-level are correctly designed, and the stakeholders agree upon the features. FortiGate is a security and VPN device, so the implementation is pretty straightforward. The SD-WAN is pretty easy, and the routing features are solid because the firewall that we are using also acts as a router facing the Internet. You also use an IP site for that. If it's appropriately configured, the customer is pretty happy there.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
The renewable is lower because the market doesn’t accept it publicly.
What other advice do I have?
It's easy to use. The interface and other reports are all user-friendly. The software is a bit expensive to renew.
The FortiGate product range is diverse and suitable for different types of enterprises. It is more geared towards meeting the needs of larger enterprises. In the financial services industry in Malaysia, it's often paired with Palo Alto. Most of the projects follow a similar pattern. It's all in one box. You can use it for switching, routing, firewall, VPN - everything you need can be integrated into the FortiGate. Essentially, it's only one device for smaller setups. FortiGate has a very good range, from small businesses to even larger ones.
Overall, I rate the solution an eight out of ten.
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: Reseller
Vice President, Head of B2B Marketing Department at DTAC
Is highly stable and provides a good user experience
Pros and Cons
- "The product is highly stable."
- "Fortinet FortiGate SWG's costs need improvement."
What is most valuable?
The product provides a good user experience.
What needs improvement?
Fortinet FortiGate SWG's costs need improvement. Also, there could be an efficient feature for solution consulting to answer queries related to architecture design.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
The product is highly stable.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
The product is suitable for enterprise customers. The solution architecture takes a bit of time to scale as it is a new product in the market. The customers need more experience working with it. I rate its scalability a five out of ten.
How are customer service and support?
FortiGate provides the technical support services. However, customers have an SLA agreement with us, and we have an SLA agreement with FortiGate. Thus, it takes longer to establish efficient communication between them.
How would you rate customer service and support?
Neutral
How was the initial setup?
The platform requires a few months to design the architecture.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
The product is expensive compared to Cisco.
What other advice do I have?
I recommend Fortinet FortiGate SWG and rate it an eight out of ten.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
Hybrid Cloud
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: Reseller
Associate Director at NVIT
A highly scalable security solution that is easy to deploy and provides good technical support
Pros and Cons
- "The technical support is good."
- "The solution is expensive."
What is our primary use case?
We use the product for our customers. We use it for security.
How has it helped my organization?
We can use the URL filtering and antivirus features. We can also configure rules and protocols from source to destination.
What is most valuable?
The technical support is good.
What needs improvement?
The solution is expensive.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have used the solution in the past twelve months.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
The stability is not the same as WatchGuard. If we have a power problem, we can lose configurations, VPN, SSL, and other things. Other products do not have these issues. The tool is stable when there are no power outages. I rate the stability a nine out of ten.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
I rate the tool’s scalability a nine out of ten. It has high scalability. We integrate the solution for our customers. Some customers have 15 to 50 users, while others have 300 to 1000 users. Our customers are small and medium enterprises.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup is easy. It was not complex.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
I rate the pricing an eight out of ten on a scale where one is cheap and ten is expensive. We need to pay for additional features.
What other advice do I have?
The product could provide SD-WAN and VPN features. People can use the tool. Overall, I rate the solution a nine out of ten.
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: Integrator
Chief Executive Officer at Spokes network
A cost-effective solution for security with application control, web filtering and SD-WAN
Pros and Cons
- "The most useful features are application control, web filtering, and SD-WAN."
- "Support could be improved."
What is our primary use case?
We use the solution at the Internet edge to provide a security boundary between the public network and the private network.
What is most valuable?
The most useful features are application control, web filtering, and SD-WAN.
What needs improvement?
Support could be improved like Sophos. Some clients don't have the expertise to manage their environment. If they have a problem with Fortinet, they should have easy access to support. Secondly, the process of evaluation as a partner with Cisco should give you the ability to deploy access as a partner. You can do team labs and a lot of things.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using Fortinet FortiGate SWG for five years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
We never had any problem with stability. I rate the solution’s stability a ten out of ten.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
The scalability depends on the client's size. We have clients with as few as 500 users, as many as 800 users, and clients with just 100 users. We cater to small and medium businesses. I rate the solution’s scalability a seven out of ten.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup is straightforward. Deployment time depends on the client's requirements. Some clients may agree to a monthly deployment, while others may require a different team. If you sell a new environment, the deployment time may increase. The basic setup takes one to two hours. Deployment is a continuous process, as you will need to refine the policies and settings to meet the client's specific business needs. I rate the initial setup a nine out of ten.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
The solution is cheap. Fortinet FortiGate SWG licenses are based on features, so you can choose the license that best meets your needs. This is especially beneficial for enterprise environments with different use cases. However, it can be costly for other segments, such as small businesses. I rate the solution’s pricing a seven out of ten, where one is cheap, and ten is expensive.
What other advice do I have?
Fortinet FortiGate SWG is a good solution that meets your security requirements and is an excellent alternative to more expensive security products like Cisco and Palo Alto. If budget is a concern, Fortinet FortiGate SWG is a good choice for a security product. Overall, I rate the solution an eight out of ten.
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: Reseller
Consultant at Zepto
A comprehensive and easy to use solution that needs to improve offerings for SMBs
Pros and Cons
- "FortiGate also makes GRE tunneling possible."
- "FortiGate needs to be elastic to the market's trends. It should be easy for SMBs to get the solution."
What is most valuable?
FortiGate has a lot of things that you can do. You have VPN, VRRP, and VDOM tools. FortiGate also makes GRE tunneling possible. Those are a few things that I like the most about FortiGate.
What needs improvement?
We are in an era of cloud-based things, so most need a simpler pay-as-you-go model. That might be effective for SMBs, where small organizations can afford features. FortiGate needs to be elastic to the market's trends. It should be easy for SMBs to get the solution. A cloud or SaaS model would be effective. FortiGate should bring a solution that allows smaller companies to use firewalls. Very small or medium companies do not focus on security, but it is the major concern of every organization. To tap that market, FortiGate must bring an innovative product everyone can adopt.
For how long have I used the solution?
I've used the solution for six to seven years and currently use the latest version.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
I rate the stability an eight out of ten.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
Scalability is not an issue, but it's difficult for small organizations. The devices that have FortiGate are the issue. I rate FortiGate a seven out of ten.
FortiGate is deployed in a centralized way. The way it is deployed in our organization, all the employees benefit from the security features.
How are customer service and support?
FortiGate's technical support depends on the region. FortiGate's support in my region is very helpful.
How would you rate customer service and support?
Positive
How was the initial setup?
I rate the initial setup a seven out of ten. Deployment takes a few months, but no more.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
I rate FortiGate's pricing a five out of ten.
What other advice do I have?
FortiGate, as per my usage, is good. It's a very nice, sophisticated, and realistic firewall. I don't have any issues with FortiGate. It's a good UTM and has very simple dashboards. I rate FortiGate a seven out of ten.
We use FortiGate on-prem, but now we are trying to adopt it on the cloud. I'm not sure how it is because I have not seen a cloud-based FortiGate.
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.

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Updated: June 2025
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