I use FortiGate-VM for testing.
Network Enginner at a comms service provider with 10,001+ employees
Has a good interface, stability, and scalability but its competitors are better
Pros and Cons
- "The user interface, stability, and scalability are the most valuable features."
- "Not a ten because I think that Cisco is better."
What is our primary use case?
What is most valuable?
The user interface, stability, and scalability are the most valuable features. It's also simple to deploy.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using this solution for one year.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
Stability and scalability are okay.
Buyer's Guide
Fortinet FortiGate-VM
June 2025

Learn what your peers think about Fortinet FortiGate-VM. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: June 2025.
857,028 professionals have used our research since 2012.
How are customer service and support?
I haven't used technical support.
What other advice do I have?
I like FortiGate-VM for constructing VPNs. It's easy to deploy. I would recommend it. It's quite easy.
I would rate FortiGate-VM a seven out of ten. Not a ten because I think that Cisco is better.
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

IT Manager at Zipper
Easy to set up, quick to deploy, and very secure
Pros and Cons
- "The solution is very easy to set up. It doesn't take a lot of time and offers a quick deployment, so you can start using it almost right away."
- "The price model is not transparent by any means and should be made more clear. What's included in the packages is often not very obvious."
What is our primary use case?
We primarily provide the solution to our clients. We typically use it in the financial services industry.
What is most valuable?
The solution is very easy to set up. It doesn't take a lot of time and offers a quick deployment, so you can start using it almost right away.
It's a very secure product. The security provided is excellent and an organization can feel very safe while using it.
What needs improvement?
The scalability of the solution needs to be improved.
The price model is not transparent by any means and should be made more clear. What's included in the packages is often not very obvious.
For how long have I used the solution?
I've been using the solution for two years at this point.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
The stability of the solution is pretty good. We don't have any blocks and we don't have problems with the solution in terms of bugs or crashes. We have a monitor. We have an aux for many services. It really is problem-free.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
The solution has some issues with scalability. I wouldn't say it's easy to scale at all.
Also, with the pricing model being so confusing, companies can't really wrap their arms around what the final pricing would be when they scale up, which makes it difficult for budgeting purposes.
How are customer service and technical support?
We don't use technical support from Fortinet. Rather, we get it from a local company. They are okay. They aren't terrible, however, they could be better. Their service is average at best.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup is straightforward. We didn't find it to be complex at all.
Deployment is quick and easy. It takes a maximum of two hours to handle everything.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
The pricing of the solution is strange. We don't understand exactly how it's calculated or how it works.
What other advice do I have?
We recommend this firewall often and we've actually used many solutions previously. Since we chose this one, we've been overall quite happy with the results. We recommend it largely due to the fact that we use the solution ourselves.
I'd rate the solution eight out of ten. If it wasn't for the pricing model and the scalability issues, I would rate it higher.
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: Reseller
Buyer's Guide
Fortinet FortiGate-VM
June 2025

Learn what your peers think about Fortinet FortiGate-VM. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: June 2025.
857,028 professionals have used our research since 2012.
Lead Cybersecurity Analyst at a consultancy with 5,001-10,000 employees
Very stable, great user interface, and can scale well
Pros and Cons
- "The user interface is the most valuable aspect of the solution."
- "The solution is fairly complex."
What is our primary use case?
The client wants to use the solution for a mix of things, however, I can't recall exactly what they are at this time.
What is most valuable?
The user interface is the most valuable aspect of the solution.
What needs improvement?
It's important that, over time, the solution just keeps up with additional features. There's nothing specific that comes to mind, however, it's important for Fortinet to stay as much on the edge as possible, as far as keeping up with what's out there.
The solution is fairly complex.
For how long have I used the solution?
I've probably been using the solution for three or four years at this point, although I'm not exactly sure.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
We don't really need to worry about stability. Most of the time, what we were running into is just trying of get the client familiar enough with the solution, so that way they can deal with it going forward on their own. There's a little bit of training going on at the outset.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
That's primarily why we steer clients in the direction of Fortinet. With this solution, clients have the potential to grow in the near future. It's just one of those items that we wanted to make sure they had. It's something that is robust enough to be able to handle growing. It's somewhat robust without breaking the bank, initially.
Our organization doesn't use the solution ourselves, so we don't have a large number of users on the solution. Out of 160 people, maybe a third use it here. It's different, of course, with clients, who use it more extensively.
How are customer service and technical support?
We've never had any technical issues on the solution and have never had to reach out to technical support. However, I've heard that they are quite helpful. I just can't personally speak to the quality or responsiveness of their services.
For those trying to troubleshoot on their own, the solution doesn't really need or have tutorials, however, you can find so much information online, it's not necessary. It would be nice it newly released features had a bit more information. It doesn't happen often, so it's not too big of an issue.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
We previously worked with a lot of open source products.
How was the initial setup?
The solution's initial set up was pretty complex. There were a lot of on-site VPN connections to set up, so we went through a lot of additional setup for the clients.
The deployment was pretty quicksand was probably completed in just a couple of days.
What about the implementation team?
We didn't need a consultant or integrator. We handled the implementation ourselves.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
Since we don't primarily work with the solution, I'm not sure what the licensing costs are.
What other advice do I have?
We aren't really a customer or reseller, however, we do occasionally recommend the solution to clients from time to time.
The entity I was recently researching for was looking basically to replace some existing solutions. That was the reason why they were asking me to help them do some research. I, on a normal basis, don't do that much with it anymore. However, because I have access, I've been helping them.
I'm not using the latest version. I may be using the one before that, although I don't know the exact version number.
I would warn other organizations that there are some places where some people run into some roadblocks, and they're not sure what to do. My experience in the past has always been that, at least, the support is actually really good. Therefore, if they're running into a situation that they're not sure about, it's probably better to call and seek professional help, as opposed to trying to force it, because it can get confusing really quick.
I'd rate the solution 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.
Network Security Engineer at a government with 1,001-5,000 employees
Cost-effective, easy to set up, and the UTM distinguishes it from other firewalls
Pros and Cons
- "The most valuable feature is the UTM, which gives them an advantage over other firewalls."
- "The reporting is not as good as it is with other firewalls and it should be improved."
What is our primary use case?
We primarily use this solution for the firewall and IPS.
What is most valuable?
The most valuable feature is the UTM, which gives them an advantage over other firewalls.
What needs improvement?
The reporting is not as good as it is with other firewalls and it should be improved. There should be a customized report, for example.
The dashboard seems to change quickly from version to version, and they should follow the lead of vendors like Palo Alto, Juniper, and Cisco, and always keep it the same.
The bandwidth limitations should be increased.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using FortiGate-VM for approximately one year.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
FortiGate-VM is stable and I have not faced any problems with it.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
It is working fine and I have had no trouble with scalability.
How are customer service and technical support?
We have very rarely had to contact Fortinet about anything. When we have a problem then we have local support with our vendor. They will send their technical people if we need help on-site. We are very satisfied with our local experts.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
I have worked with McAfee for a long time. The only thing that is better with McAfee is reporting, which is very good. They offer customized reports. We have decided to keep McAfee as our endpoint solution and use FortiGate-VM as our firewall.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup is very easy. Somebody who has a little bit of experience in VMware or with firewalls will be able to do it in no time.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
There is a benefit in terms of the cost of using this solution because the price is very good. There are no costs in addition to the standard licensing fees.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
I tried SonicWall, Cisco ASA & Sophos but Fortinet is best among them in term of service and price.
What other advice do I have?
I will say that for low-end firewalls, Fortinet is good compared to the others. The pricing is good, and when you need a new feature, you don't have to buy a new device.
I would rate this solution a nine 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.
Cyber Security Engineer at a tech vendor with 1-10 employees
Useful web proxy and gateway functionality
Pros and Cons
- "The most valuable features are the web proxy for protection and web gateway for deployment."
- "In the next release, I would like to see integration capability with SIEM tools, such as QRadar, and LogRhythm."
What is our primary use case?
I am a design engineer and we are designing a security operation center for data censoring in Turkey.
We are using FortiGate to protect more than 3000 end users.
More than one gigabyte per second bandwidth is necessary. FortiGate was quite useful for this scenario, but we are just in the planning and analyzing phase. The tender should be in the near future.
What is most valuable?
The most valuable features are the web proxy for protection and web gateway for deployment.
What needs improvement?
Pricing should be more competitive, it's expensive.
In the next release, I would like to see integration capability with SIEM tools, such as QRadar, and LogRhythm.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using this solution for more than five years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
This solution is stable.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
From the datasheets that I have read, I can see from its specifications that it is scalable.
In this project, we have more than 3000 end users. Most of the users are security admins and security engineers.
How are customer service and technical support?
I have not contacted technical support.
How was the initial setup?
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
The price is similar to Symantec Endpoint, but it's more expensive than Forcepoint solutions. Fortinet is better than Forcepoint.
I don't see that it's a problem concerning the pricing, but it is expensive for Turkey.
We do not pay any additional costs for technical support or additional features.
What other advice do I have?
I would recommend using Fortinet, especially its web security proxy and web security gate because it is quite useful for them.
I would suggest this solution.
I would rate this solution a nine 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.
Director of Information Technology at KOTTO A.Ş.
Easy to use and deploy with good performance and capacity
Pros and Cons
- "The most valuables features are the ease of use and deployment."
- "In the next release, we would like to see full integration with VMware NSX virtualized networks."
What is our primary use case?
We are a solution provider and this is one of the products that we implement for our clients.
What is most valuable?
The most valuables features are the ease of use and deployment.
It is easy to back up and easy to transport.
This is a flexible solution.
Our customers are happy with the performance and capacity.
The user interface is ok and we haven't had any problems with it.
What needs improvement?
The price of FortiGate-VM is high and should be more competitive.
In the next release, we would like to see full integration with VMware NSX virtualized networks.
For how long have I used the solution?
We began working with this appliance about five years ago.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
This is a reliable solution and we haven't had any issues with the virtual appliance.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
This is a largely scalable and flexible solution.
How are customer service and technical support?
We have not been in contact with technical support.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
I have personal experience with Palo Alto, Check Point, pfSense, and SonicWall.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
This solution is very expensive. There are no costs in addition to the standard licensing fees.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
I have tested virtual appliances from almost every vendor and the only ones that I can recommend are those from Fortinet. Many do not have the maturity or a proper licensing model, whereas others lack performance optimization for the virtual scenarios, and some vendors lack field engineering experience.
What other advice do I have?
Our customers for this virtual appliance are very happy with their deployments and I recommend it. This is not a perfect solution but we are not seeking one. Every product has room for improvement.
I would rate this solution an eight 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
Network Engineer at a maritime company with 201-500 employees
Good UTM to provide secure site-to-site connections, but new versions should be tested more thoroughly before release
Pros and Cons
- "The most valuable features are site-to-site connections and UTM."
- "When new versions are deployed they tend to be a little buggy, so they should be more fully tested before release."
What is our primary use case?
FortiGate-VM is installed in our data centers and is used for site-to-site connections between offices.
What is most valuable?
The most valuable features are site-to-site connections and UTM.
What needs improvement?
When new versions are deployed they tend to be a little buggy, so they should be more fully tested before release.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using this solution for about a year.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
We have had no issues with respect to stability, except that when new versions are released we do notice problems.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
Scalability has not been a problem.
How are customer service and technical support?
We have contacted technical support at times when the appliance was not working well and they were ok. We have no issues with support.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
I also use Cisco equipment and the main difference is that Cisco is more expensive.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup is not very complex and involved only a few settings.
The deployment took us a couple of days.
What about the implementation team?
We had assistance during our implementation and we were satisfied with the service.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
The price of this product is great compared to others.
What other advice do I have?
Overall, this is a good product with good features and priced well compared to others. It is GUI-based and I am happy with the interface. I would recommend it and cannot think of any changes that I would make. The only problem is that new releases tend to be a little buggy.
I would rate this solution a seven 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.
Manager-Information Technology at a tech services company with 1-10 employees
Simple to use with good standard features and a straightforward setup
Pros and Cons
- "The standard features, including the filtering, are quite good. All the basic features are pretty useful for us."
- "We haven't attempted to scale the solution just yet. If we want to scale this solution we may have to look at other models. With certain requirements, we probably wouldn't be able to scale it so well as it is right now."
What is our primary use case?
We are primarily using the solution on the VPN box as a perimeter firewall. We use it to secure internal networks and a few servers. Our network is solely on Fortigate.
What is most valuable?
The standard features, including the filtering, are quite good. All the basic features are pretty useful for us.
It's very simple for us to use.
It's very similar to SonicWall.
What needs improvement?
There isn't anything in terms of features that we find are lacking. We don't see any places on the solution that don't cater to our requirements.
I would like to see VNX security and WildFire. Those features I would like to see on the solution in the future in order to be able to evaluate it further.
For how long have I used the solution?
I've been using the solution for two years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
The solution is pretty stable.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
We haven't attempted to scale the solution just yet. If we want to scale this solution we may have to look at other models. With certain requirements, we probably wouldn't be able to scale it so well as it is right now.
We have about 2,000 people using the solution. Most of the people using it are software developers.
How are customer service and technical support?
The technical support has been very helpful. We've been satisfied with the level of the support we get.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
We didn't previously use a different solution.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup is straightforward. We didn't find it complex at all.
What about the implementation team?
We had partners that assisted with the implementation.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
I'm not aware of the specific costs involved in the licensing of the solution. I don't know that prices are competitive enough compared to other vendors.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
We did evaluate other options, including Cisco.
What other advice do I have?
We're using the latest version of the solution.
I'd recommend the solution. I'd rate it 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.

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Updated: June 2025
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