We use it our network, not in the cloud.
Director of Business Development
Ensures our network is properly protected from viruses and malware
Pros and Cons
- "We use it to ensure that our network is properly protected from viruses and malware."
- "The initial setup was quite straightforward."
- "The management tools should be more user-friendly."
What is our primary use case?
How has it helped my organization?
It is a firewall. We use it to ensure that our network is properly protected from viruses and malware.
What is most valuable?
The best part of Fortinet is the license is bundled together, so it is easy to use and apply.
What needs improvement?
The management tools should be more user-friendly.
Buyer's Guide
Fortinet FortiGate-VM
August 2025

Learn what your peers think about Fortinet FortiGate-VM. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: August 2025.
866,744 professionals have used our research since 2012.
For how long have I used the solution?
Less than one year.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
No issues.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
No issues.
How are customer service and support?
I would rate technical support as a seven out of 10.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
We previously used Fortinet 620B.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup was quite straightforward.
You The initial setup was quite straightforward.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
The price is expensive compared with other vendors, like Cisco and Huawei. However, the performance is good.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
We evaluated Cisco, Huawei, and Palo Alto.
What other advice do I have?
If you have enough budget and care about performance, Fortinet is a good choice.
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.

Technology Management - Specialist with 501-1,000 employees
The pricing and licensing are not as expensive as its competitors
Pros and Cons
- "We encountered scalability issues in IPSec Module. The tunnels freeze sometimes."
How has it helped my organization?
There have been no improvements. We would just use another device if this one did not exist.
What is most valuable?
None of them. It is a classic firewall, but better than the free versions.
For how long have I used the solution?
Less than one year.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
Yes, we encountered stability issues in IPSec Module. The tunnels freeze sometimes.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
Yes, we encountered scalability issues in IPSec Module. The tunnels freeze sometimes.
How are customer service and technical support?
I would give technical support a rating of a nine out of 10.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
I used SonicWall, before they were sold to Dell. After Dell bought them, some issues came out.
I used Check Point, which was terrible for me. You can do almost nothing without software. The web interface does nothing. I do not like solutions with many components. In Check Point, you need to use over three interface to dig up anything.
I used Palo Alto 3020. It is a marvellous solution, but a bit expensive against its competitors. You can do everything in the web interface. There is no need for any installation (does not exist) and to manage it. It works quickly changing configuration and applying configuration. (Comparatively, FortiGate is fast in applying configuration.) You can easily rollback the previous configuration and backup configuration in Palo Alto. The firmware upgrade is like a baby's toy in Palo Alto.
İt is not fast to rollback config in SonicWall.
I used Untangle, pfSense, etc. However, there is no need to talk about them.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
The pricing and licensing are not as expensive as its competitors. This applies to SonicWall, too.
Check Point and Palo Alto are very expensive solutions, because of the ownership and renewal costs.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
I evaluated different options before choosing FortiGate. It has four separate modules which give fast reactions when it is analysing. It has an app ID and user ID option, which are the most important.
What other advice do I have?
Be aware of your own requirements.
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
Buyer's Guide
Fortinet FortiGate-VM
August 2025

Learn what your peers think about Fortinet FortiGate-VM. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: August 2025.
866,744 professionals have used our research since 2012.
BETHEL SCIENCE AND MATH CONTENT COACH with 51-200 employees
Technical support has been super responsive and dedicated to getting any challenges resolved
Pros and Cons
- "Use of this product does not require daily interactions."
- "Operations have been flawless."
- "Technical support has been super responsive and dedicated to getting any challenges resolved."
- "There were challenges during setup, and many of them were self-inflicted."
How has it helped my organization?
Use of this product does not require daily interactions, like our previous firewall service option.
What is most valuable?
Simplicity of daily operations would be my favorite facet of this gem.
For how long have I used the solution?
Less than one year.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
No issues. Operations have been flawless, so far.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
No issues noted.
How are customer service and technical support?
Technical support has been super responsive and dedicated to getting any challenges resolved.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
We had a previous solution and switched due to a corporate decision to eliminate some subscription fees.
How was the initial setup?
This product was nearly plug and play. There are some tables and rules to make custom decisions based on our daily workloads and philosophy as an educational setting.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
I was not involved in that aspect. Therefore, I cannot provide information along these lines.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
I was not involved in the corporate decision-making.
What other advice do I have?
Draw out a plan of what traffic to unconditionally allow (whitelist) and what traffic to restrict under what conditions, before you even unwrap the box.
It has taken me a little while to gain confidence in this product, but I am there now. There were challenges during setup, and many of them were self-inflicted.
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
System/Network Administrator with 11-50 employees
High network throughput while providing leading edge network security technology
Pros and Cons
- "High network throughput while providing leading edge network security technology for a competitive price."
- "The user interface (UI) and the performance of interface both need improvement."
How has it helped my organization?
High network throughput while providing leading edge network security technology for a competitive price.
What is most valuable?
Real-time sandboxing with the FortiGate UTM network.
What needs improvement?
The user interface (UI) and the performance of interface both need improvement.
For how long have I used the solution?
More than five years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
No issues.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
No issues.
How are customer service and technical support?
I would rate technical support with a 10 out of 10 (perfect score).
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
Our previous solution simply did not live up to expectations.
How was the initial setup?
Setup is straightforward. I am certified in the Fortinet line of solutions. Even without this knowledge, it is easy to adjust the product to your requirements.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
It is on par with what you receive. It can be expensive upfront.
It would be nice to have the ability to extend FortiGuard subscriptions at a reasonable yearly cost versus a bulk three year pricing.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
We evaluated Cisco, Meraki, SonicWall, and Juniper.
What other advice do I have?
Having support from your vendor is nice. Calling Fortinet directly with a support contract, they will help you take care of all your requirements.
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
Responsable de Ingenieria at a tech services company with 1-10 employees
It has allowed us to centralize every network service into one appliance
Pros and Cons
- "The IPS module is my favorite because of the security advantage reached with a few clicks and its automatic updates."
- "It has allowed us to centralize every network service into one appliance."
- "We have experience stability issues, when the product sizing is wrong or on configuration errors."
How has it helped my organization?
It has allowed us to centralize every network service into one appliance, administrating all traffic going in and out of my company. Its given us only one point of monitoring and auditing, getting us visibility of all network traffic in an easy way.
What is most valuable?
The UTM. In particular, the IPS module is my favorite because of the security advantage reached with a few clicks and its automatic updates.
For how long have I used the solution?
More than five years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
Yes, we have experience stability issues, when the product sizing is wrong or on configuration errors.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
Yes, we have experience scalability issues, but only when the product sizing is wrong.
How are customer service and technical support?
Technical support is good.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
We previously used mostly Cisco products. We changed because of support and feature costs.
How was the initial setup?
It is always complex when you migrate from a complex solution to another one.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
It is an expensive solution if you are migrating from an open source solution.
If you are in a licensed solution, like Cisco or Palo Alto, it is cheaper. I do recommend using it with a license, because it is a security solution and it needs updates.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
Cisco, Sophos, and SonicWall.
What other advice do I have?
I recommend it 100%. Go ahead and implement it.
We are implementers of Fortinet among other things (Cisco, Sophos, HPE Networking, VMware, EMC, Zimbra, etc.).
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
Network Admin at a healthcare company with 501-1,000 employees
Initial setup is very straightforward with a wizard, if needed
Pros and Cons
- "Initial setup is very straightforward with a wizard, if needed."
- "The web GUI is easy to use."
- "The tech support calls were not the best and could be improved. There have been times when we felt as if we knew more about the device than the support person on the phone."
How has it helped my organization?
From security changes to VPN setup to web filtering, changes happen now more quickly.
What is most valuable?
The web GUI is easy to use.
What needs improvement?
The tech support calls were not the best and could be improved. There have been times when we felt as if we knew more about the device than the support person on the phone.
For how long have I used the solution?
One to three years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
No issues.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
No issues.
How are customer service and technical support?
I would rate technical support as a seven out of 10. It is hit or miss. Most hits, but a few tech support calls were not the best.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
We used ASA (ASA 5510) before this. You had to have ASDM loaded and fight with different versions of Java just to administer the device.
We needed to do an upgrade, and for the cost of a new ASA, we got two FortiGates which have a web GUI that do not rely on Java.
How was the initial setup?
Initial setup is very straightforward with a wizard, if needed.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
Not applicable.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
No, we did not evaluate other options. It was the firewall rated numerically behind Palo Alto, and we could afford this one.
What other advice do I have?
It was no different than any other rollout. Do as much configuring before dropping it into your environment (especially if you are using content filtering with multiple groups) and make sure you are able to rollback to the old device, if necessary.
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
Cyber Security Engineer at a healthcare company with 1,001-5,000 employees
An affordable firewall solution with enhanced security
Pros and Cons
- "An enhanced security solution for any kind of alert that we have configured."
- "The price and licensing of the solution can be better."
What is our primary use case?
We can control application filtering and UTM with Fortinet FortiGate-VM. We rely on it for configuring IP address filters, VPN settings, and point-to-site connections. We haven't encountered any issues with its use cases as a firewall.
How has it helped my organization?
The tool ensures inbound traffic, specifically on a specific port. We have Fortinet FortiGate-VM as well as F5 for application support.
What is most valuable?
It gives us an enhanced security solution for any kind of alert that we have configured.
What needs improvement?
The price and licensing of the solution can be better.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using Fortinet FortiGate-VM for 3 to 4 years. We are using the V7.4 of the solution.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
I rate the solution’s stability a six out of ten.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
I rate the solution’s scalability an eight out of ten.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
We have used Sophos and Palo Alto before. Palo Alto is expensive. Fortinet’s UI is more user-friendly. You can easily understand the source and destination requests.
How was the initial setup?
We have not faced any difficulty. We recently migrated our data center from on-prem to the cloud and then established the firewall.
What was our ROI?
The solution is more reliable for firewalls.
What other advice do I have?
Overall, I rate the solution an eight out of ten.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
Public Cloud
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
Network Engineer at Click ITS
Provides ease of management and has a simple setup process
Pros and Cons
- "It provides an ease of management and configuration as well."
- "They could provide more integration options with different platforms."
What is our primary use case?
The primary use case for Fortinet FortiGate-VM involves formulating policies and services within the environment.
What needs improvement?
They could provide more integration options with different platforms.
For how long have I used the solution?
We have been using Fortinet FortiGate-VM for six months.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
I rate the platform's stability an eight out of ten.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
We have 200 Fortinet FortiGate-VM users in our organization. I rate the scalability a ten out of ten.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup process is simple. It involves defining the parameters for deployment, such as the number of sites, PCs, and Wi-Fi users.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
We don't have to pay for the licenses. But we might purchase licenses in the future.
What other advice do I have?
FortiGate improved security within our virtualized environment by providing robust first-line defense capabilities and optimized cost-effectiveness.
It provides an ease of management and configuration as well. I rate it 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.

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Updated: August 2025
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