Fortinet is used for security. FortiOS is the operating system. FortiAnalyzer, for example, can be used on it and it is used for log management, et cetera.
Infrastructure and Services Manager at Universidad Arturo Prat
Easy to use with a powerful CLI and a nice graphical user interface
Pros and Cons
- "The technical support on offer has always been quite good."
- "The solution is very easy to use, has a powerful CLI and a very powerful graphical user interface, scales well, is reliable in terms of stability, is not too hard to implement, and technical support is helpful and responsive."
- "The pricing of the product is too high. They should work to lower it."
What is our primary use case?
What is most valuable?
The solution is very easy to use. It's a solution that has a powerful CLI and a very powerful graphical user interface.
The solution scales well.
In terms of stability, the solution is reliable.
It's not too hard to implement the solution.
Technical support is helpful and responsive.
What needs improvement?
The pricing of the product is too high. They should work to lower it.
For how long have I used the solution?
I've been using this solution for three years. It's been a while.
Buyer's Guide
Fortinet FortiOS
November 2026
Learn what your peers think about Fortinet FortiOS. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: November 2026.
921,148 professionals have used our research since 2012.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
The solution is stable. There are no bugs or glitches. It doesn't crash or freeze. The performance is reliable
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
We have found the product to be scalable. It's not a problem if you want to expand it.
There are 1,000 users on the solution at this time.
While there may be plans to increase usage in the future, I'm not sure if that's the case just yet.
How are customer service and support?
The technical support on offer has always been quite good. We are satisfied with the level of service they provide.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
Previously, we were mainly using Cisco firewalls and products.
How was the initial setup?
We enlisted some assistance with the implementation process. The setup was pretty easy. It wasn't overly difficult.
We have three people who are able to maintain the solution. They include me and two team members who are both engineers.
What about the implementation team?
We used an integrator to help us deploy the solution.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
The solution is fairly expensive. The cost is around $40,000.
It would be ideal if they offered more licensing options.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
We were presented with some other solutions such as Palo Alto and Check Point. We prefer Fortinet due to the features on offer.
What other advice do I have?
I'm an end-user and customer.
We are using a few versions of the solution, some with 6.2, which is not the most updated version, and some others with almost legacy versions such as 5.6.
I would advise users to not stick with the last version if a new release comes out.
I would rate the solution at a nine out of ten. We have been largely pleased with its capabilities.
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.
Has intuitive policy creation and deployment and precise parameter settings to determine thresholds
Pros and Cons
- "Fortinet FortiOS's valuable features include intuitive policy creation and deployment, precise parameter settings to determine thresholds, and security profiles such as web filtering and remote application filtering, among others."
- "Fortinet FortiOS's integration could be improved."
What is our primary use case?
We use the solution for automated solutions.
What is most valuable?
Fortinet FortiOS's valuable features include intuitive policy creation and deployment, precise parameter settings to determine thresholds, and security profiles such as web filtering and remote application filtering, among others. These features greatly enhance the platform. It includes every available application in terms of features. For example, in RDP, we must control the application. It’s already there whenever we want to apply their role or policy to that application.
What needs improvement?
Fortinet FortiOS's integration could be improved. It has extensive integration features, such as collectors for other services and third-party intelligence feeds.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using Fortinet FortiOS for six months. We are using the latest version of the solution.
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. We have around 300 users using this solution.
How are customer service and support?
We initiated support from our servers because the other part of the company was not working. They helped us adjust the tuning, and it is working now.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup is not complex. It will take around two or three days to deploy. Product cleaning, readjustment, and screening are continuous tasks, as the nature of the work requires tuning and adjustments. To connect the PC to the console, we assign the networking settings, including data capabilities, and then reconfigure them on the web interface (UI). Some settings are also presented in a web-based format in the CLI because they are easier to navigate.
What other advice do I have?
The reserve utilization is very low. Based on my learning, my expectation is for every product to have a good intelligence system and frequently updated threat intelligence. Overall, I rate the solution a nine out of ten.
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
Buyer's Guide
Fortinet FortiOS
November 2026
Learn what your peers think about Fortinet FortiOS. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: November 2026.
921,148 professionals have used our research since 2012.
Manager, Information Technology at a consumer goods company with 11-50 employees
A seamless endpoint gateway solution with constant updates and a zero choice engine
Pros and Cons
- "The most valuable features of Fortinet FortiOS are its constant updates and definitions."
- "I want to see a better integration or a better integration with the endpoint protection or with EDR with the security life cycle."
What is our primary use case?
We use it for end-point gateway protection and also use the FortiOS for external user connection and server VPN. We love that clear synchronization as it's almost invisible with the fabric for the guests, externally to connect. The zero-choice engine that they use is pretty good. It is perfect for setting up one-to-one channels for different services that have to pass through the firewall. So it does that seamlessly.
What is most valuable?
The most valuable features of Fortinet FortiOS are its constant updates and definitions. The new definitions and the content information coming out to the threat labs keeps you updated on your signatures so that you know what's happening out there. And also doing well, for my system, we have, like, what is called, active scans.
It's constantly accessing Sophos into your gateway, even Sophos that you authorized.
What needs improvement?
I want to see a better integration or a better integration with the endpoint protection or with EDR with the security life cycle. I want to see if that enhances a bit more so I have granular datasets and the user level through to the gateway because that's where most of our threats come from. It's from user activities on the Internet and passes into your files over that gateway. That's where most of our threats would appear and where our exposure to vulnerabilities lies.
So if we can tighten that up, we can harden our infrastructure much better.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using the solution for quite some time.
How are customer service and support?
The customer support team is good and responsive.
How was the initial setup?
We did the initial setup ourselves, so it was easy. The learning curve was that great once you have any experience with any firewall or any experience with any security appliance, you can pull around it. We did get some help from our providers. But that was basic.
What about the implementation team?
The EMS setup was all in-house. Our service provider assisted with the firewall setup. The implementations were very smooth. And the transition of our current from our current security device to that when we did it a couple of years ago, it's seamless.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
The pricing is competitive for the medium and high markets but for the small markets it can be expensive.
What other advice do I have?
You have to see what works best for your environment. Each environment is different depending on the applications and different services you are running in that environment. Suppose it's a full Windows environment versus a mixture if you have a hybrid environment. It all depends on the type of environment you're running and finding the right tools that meet your domain.
But for the regular Windows environment, it's perfect.
I rate it eight out of ten.
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
User-friendly with a good interface and dashboard
Pros and Cons
- "We've been happy with the pricing."
- "Feature-wise, the solution is strong, with SD-WAN, site-to-site VPN, load balancing, and application-based load balancing, and it is very user-friendly."
- "For monitoring purposes, we don't have any option to monitor the ISP link."
What is our primary use case?
We are using the solution as a firewall. It provides portal access.
What is most valuable?
Feature-wise, the solution is strong. It has SD-WAN, site-to-site VPN, load balancing, and application-based load balancing.
It's very user-friendly.
Compared to other OEMs, due to the SD-WAN and the IPsec VPN, there is no need for the licensing for SD-WAN and the IPsec site-to-site on the remote access VPN.
Chipset wise they're using an ACS chipset dedicated to FortiOS.
The interface and dashboard are good.
We've been happy with the pricing.
The initial setup is easy.
What needs improvement?
There aren't any features missing at this time.
For monitoring purposes, we don't have any option to monitor the ISP link. If the ISP link goes down, then there is no monitoring tool or in-built monitoring tool. We can use a third-party application, like Zoho or PRTG. However, we would like something in-built.
They need to improve the solution at the application level.
For how long have I used the solution?
I've been using the solution for five years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
Sometimes it is unstable. However, they'll easily fix the issue. We get upgrades and updates. If there is even any vulnerability or malware, we'll get it fixed immediately. They give good responses to the customers.
While there are bugs, sometimes the development team is on top of it and fixes everything fast. They'll send a patch in the next update.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
We work with more than 100 customers.
How are customer service and support?
Technical support is helpful and responsive.
How would you rate customer service and support?
Positive
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
I worked on FortiGate and Palo Alto.
How was the initial setup?
The solution is very simple, very straightforward. It's not complex a all.
How long it takes to deploy depends on the client's requirements.
For a mid-level customer, we can deploy within an hour. We can complete everything and have it up and running, and the users get internet access. If they need more rules, they need more things, then it could take time, depending on the configuration.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
The cost of the solution has been fine.
You do have to pay for a license. I'm not sure of the exact cost. I'm more of a technical person.
What other advice do I have?
We're a customer and end-user.
We have the solution deployed on the cloud and on-premises.
I've deployed the 600F model a couple of times.
New users need to do some homework, and then we proceed with the configuration. Security-wise, they need to make the customized port.
I'd rate the solution eight out of ten.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
Public Cloud
If public cloud, private cloud, or hybrid cloud, which cloud provider do you use?
Amazon Web Services (AWS)
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
Assistant Manager at Sify Technologies
Good security and reliability with helpful support
Pros and Cons
- "We found the initial setup to be straightforward."
- "The solution has proven to be stable and reliable."
- "Right now, we have to contend with CLI. We'd like it to be easier. We need the features to be in a UI."
What is our primary use case?
We are using it for security purposes.
What is most valuable?
The security on offer is good.
It's quite stable.
The scalability has been great.
We found the initial setup to be straightforward.
Technical support has been good overall.
What needs improvement?
The UI could be a bit better. The coming generation will not be from the Sierra, and therefore they have a chance to make it much better and more user-friendly. Right now, we have to contend with CLI. We'd like it to be easier. We need the features to be in a UI.
For how long have I used the solution?
I've been using the solution for more than five years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
The solution has proven to be stable and reliable. The performance is good. There are no bugs or glitches. It doesn't crash or freeze.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
We find the solution to be quite scalable. If you need to expand it, you can do so.
We have more than 5,000 people on the solution right now.
How are customer service and support?
Technical support has been good in general. They are helpful and responsive. I have no complaints in regard to their level of service.
How would you rate customer service and support?
Positive
How was the initial setup?
It offers a pretty simple and straightforward setup. I'd rate it four out of five in terms of ease of implementation. It's not something that's too complex or difficult.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
I don't have many details surrounding the licensing. It's not an aspect I directly deal with. My understanding is the solution is moderately priced.
What other advice do I have?
We are Fortinet partners.
If a company is looking for a local security enhancement, we tend to recommend or select this kind of solution.
I'd rate the product nine out of ten overall.
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer. Partner
Security Operations Center Team Leader at PCCW
A feature-heavy solution that allows tweaks through the CLI
Pros and Cons
- "The solution constantly adds features that are useful and user-friendly such as the ability to tweak firewalls through the CLI."
- "Anytime I have thought of a possible feature I'd like added to the solution, it seems the developers are on the same page and it is available within a few months."
- "The solution's graphic interface could be a bit more responsive and include notations when changes are made."
- "Technical support has issues with knowledge base at the first tier. It sometimes takes hours of explanation before support fully understands and can troubleshoot or escalate problems."
What is our primary use case?
Our company is a partner and we install the solution for our customers as a firewall for remote VPN use.
We also use the solution to protect our own company that includes more than 1,000 users.
What is most valuable?
The solution constantly adds features that are useful and user-friendly such as the ability to tweak firewalls through the CLI.
What needs improvement?
The solution's graphic interface could be a bit more responsive and include notations when changes are made
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using the solution for seven years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
The solution is stable. In seven years of use, I've only encountered two or three occasions where a bug affected the firewall's behavior.
I rate stability an eight out of ten.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
The solution is very scalable and it is quite easy to add users.
I rate scalability a ten out of ten.
How are customer service and support?
Technical support has issues with knowledge base at the first tier. It sometimes takes hours of explanation before support fully understands and can troubleshoot or escalate problems.
Response time could also be improved.
I rate support a six out of ten.
How would you rate customer service and support?
Neutral
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
Our company has always used the solution and is not interested in other products.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup is easy, it only requires one engineer, and the main interface is self-explanatory.
Users who are familiar with the solution can always dig further in the CLI to change the properties.
What about the implementation team?
We deploy the solution for our company and our customers.
One engineer spends about two days configuring, testing, and deploying.
What other advice do I have?
The solution is easy to configure and has good performance.
Anytime I have thought of a possible feature I'd like added to the solution, it seems the developers are on the same page and it is available within a few months.
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. Partner
Assistant Manager - Cloud Planning and Development at a comms service provider with 1,001-5,000 employees
An industry leader in security that provides good firewall and antivirus protection
Pros and Cons
- "The solution provides good firewall and antivirus protection."
- "The solution is a leader in security according to the Gartner Report and I recommend its use."
- "The solution needs improvement with DDoS protection."
What is our primary use case?
Our company is a partner with Fortinet and uses the VDOM to deploy and service virtual firewalls for our customers.
What is most valuable?
The solution provides good firewall and antivirus protection via IPX and its security profile.
What needs improvement?
The solution needs improvement with DDoS protection.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using the solution for nine years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
The solution is stable and I rate it an eight out of ten.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
The solution is scalable and I rate it an eight out of ten.
How are customer service and support?
The technical support is excellent.
How would you rate customer service and support?
Positive
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup was not very easy but the solution does integrate without much complexity.
What about the implementation team?
Our internal team of two engineers deploys the solution in about three days.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
The licensing costs are paid by our customers on a monthly basis and include maintenance and technical support provided by three of our engineers.
The solution is quite affordable and I rate the cost a four out of ten.
What other advice do I have?
The solution is a leader in security according to the Gartner Report and I recommend its use.
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. Partner
Consultant at ZAM Food Industry Pvt Ltd
Great secure VPN encryption and bulk packet monitoring but should be controlled in the local environment as well
Pros and Cons
- "The product is scalable and easily expands."
- "The best aspects of the solution are the wire signature and VPN, secure VPN encryption, and bulk packet monitoring."
- "It should also manage the local DSCP network, so the policies, local LAN policies, and other stuff should be there."
What is most valuable?
The best aspects of the solution are the wire signature and VPN, secure VPN encryption, and bulk packet monitoring.
It is a stable product.
The product is scalable and easily expands.
Setting up the solution is easy.
We like the technical support on offer.
What needs improvement?
It should be controlled in the local environment as well. Its gateway security is more powerful. However, it should also manage the local DSCP network, so the policies, local LAN policies, and other stuff should be there.
For how long have I used the solution?
I've been using the solution for the last two years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
The stability is good.
It's running in many places and in different organizations. There's a huge market.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
I found the solution to be scalable.
We use it in more than one location. We have more than four or five people using it at each location.
How are customer service and support?
Technical support's good. When we register a ticket, they are always prompt in their response. There are two types of support. It's paid or unpaid support, depending on the service we are using.
How would you rate customer service and support?
Positive
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
We've also used SonicWall.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup is straightforward. It's not complex, You should know where it exists in the OS. Then you can work with it easily. Otherwise, the complexity is something you have to contend with for a new user.
What was our ROI?
We have witnessed an ROI.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
You need to repurchase a license every year or two. Costs are negotiable and sometimes they offer promotional prices. A yearly subscription might be around $20,000 to $30,000.
What other advice do I have?
We're a customer and end-user.
We would recommend the solution.
Fortinet is a good product. However, other products are good as well. It really depends on the customer experience.
I'd rate the solution seven out of ten due to the cost of quality of services, and due to the fact that we know other firewalls are more powerful than Fortinet. That said, Fortinet is very economical and gives us an appropriate solution based on what we require.
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer. Partner
Manager-IT Infrastructure at a wellness & fitness company with 5,001-10,000 employees
Simple to set up with excellent pricing but needs better support
Pros and Cons
- "The pricing is excellent."
- "The built-in SD-WAN is the most valuable aspect of the product."
- "SD-WAN configuration could be easier."
- "We are not very pleased with the support. It could be better."
What is our primary use case?
We primarily use the solution as a firewall operating system.
What is most valuable?
The built-in SD-WAN is the most valuable aspect of the product.
It is simple to set up.
The solution has been stable so far.
It's easy to scale.
The pricing is excellent.
What needs improvement?
SD-WAN configuration could be easier.
The support could be better.
We'd like to see bandwidth optimization and traffic prioritization capabilities. These are the two things that I'm looking for, especially in SD-WAN.
For how long have I used the solution?
I've been using the solution for three years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
It's stable as a product. However, SD-WAN has some issues. The route policies and how you prioritize traffic are the areas of concern for us.
I'd rate the solution seven out of ten in terms of how stable it is.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
The scalability is great.
We have 1,500 users using the solution.
How are customer service and support?
We are not very pleased with the support. It could be better.
How would you rate customer service and support?
Neutral
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
We are using Fortinet, however, we are exploring Palo Alto.
How was the initial setup?
While the initial setup is not an issue, the SD-WAN configuration is a little complex.
There are three people here who are maintaining the firewalls.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
The solution is the cheapest on the market. I'd rate it five out of five in terms of affordability.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
I've compared this solution to other vendors. Palo Alto is number one in the world. Then I would go with Check Point. Then my third preference would be Fortinet.
What other advice do I have?
We are end-users.
I'd rate the solution five 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 - IT Business Solutions at Kuwait Automotive Imports Company
Easy to set up, reliable, and good for traffic management
Pros and Cons
- "It's simple to use in terms of inbound and outbound traffic management, traffic shaping, and connectivities, as well as the VPN."
- "I would like to see more statistics in the monitoring part."
What is our primary use case?
We use the solution as a perimeter firewall.
What is most valuable?
It's simple to use in terms of inbound and outbound traffic management, traffic shaping, and connectivities, as well as the VPN. Everything is built into it, so it gives us quite a good well-rounded solution.
With assistance, the initial setup is easy.
The solution is stable and reliable.
What needs improvement?
I would like to see more statistics in the monitoring part. There is monitoring, there are DSCPs, and everything; however, I would like to have more active monitoring of the traffic.
Sometimes we would like to monitor some threats. For example, where are some bots, and how do we detect these kinds of things. That would be good for us.
For how long have I used the solution?
I've been using the solution for more than five years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
We've been happy with the stability. It's been good so far. There are no bugs or glitches. It doesn't crash.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
We are not scaling it right now. We bought it sometime back and we didn't need to scale it. We bought a higher end for our use case, which is still sufficient for another few years.
We have 200 or so users of different levels and positions on it.
We do not have plans to increase usage.
This firewall is quite a capable firewall - even up to 1000 users. Due to that, we didn't find any requirement to expand it or replace it somehow. It has helped us build our software-defined WAN, LAN, et cetera. It is sufficient for us. It gives us Gbps throughput, which is good enough. The firewall itself is 32Gbps capable, which is more than what we need.
How are customer service and support?
We have used support sometimes. That said, mostly we use it via the third party directly. They are helping us with support of any type that we need.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
There was something else that was used. However, I don't remember what was that previously.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup was easy for us as we had assistance.
For the deployment, one person was involved from the outside, and two people we assisting from our side. In total, three people were involved.
The deployment itself took a few days as we were rebuilding policies as well.
What about the implementation team?
The initial setup was done by the contractor. For that reason, we had no problem implementing this.
What was our ROI?
The ROI we have witnessed is good. I would rate it five out of five.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
We started with a three-year license and have since renewed it.
For three years, we paid about 2,800 KD, which is about $9,000.
The product is pretty affordable overall.
What other advice do I have?
We are just customers of the solution.
We're not using the most recent version. We updated it a few years ago and we are still using that version.
I'd rate the solution ten out of ten. We are really happy with it in general.
Potential users should plan what they want to do with it before buying something this big and this good. They should know what they want to do first and then act accordingly.
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.
Buyer's Guide
Download our free Fortinet FortiOS Report and get advice and tips from experienced pros
sharing their opinions.
Updated: November 2026
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