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Fortinet FortiGate vs. Palo Alto Networks Virtualized Next-Generation Firewalls - VM Series

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    Overview
    ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price

    FortiGate

    Score8.2 out of 10
    N/AFortiNet FortiGate is a firewall option with high integrability. It offers a variety of deployment options and next-gen firewall capabilities, including integration with IaaS cloud platforms and public cloud environments.N/A

    Palo Alto Networks Virtualized Next-Generation Firewalls - VM Series

    Score10 out of 10
    N/AThe VM-Series is a virtualized form of Palo Alto next-generation firewall that can be deployed in a range of cloud environments. The VM-Series natively analyzes all traffic in a single pass to determine the application identity, the content within, and the user identity.N/A
    Pricing
    FortiGatePalo Alto Networks Virtualized Next-Generation Firewalls - VM Series
    Editions & Modules
    No answers on this topic
    No answers on this topic
    Offerings
    Pricing Offerings
    FortiGatePalo Alto Networks Virtualized Next-Generation Firewalls - VM Series
    Free Trial
    YesNo
    Free/Freemium Version
    NoNo
    Premium Consulting/Integration Services
    NoNo
    Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
    Additional DetailsFortiGate pricing starts at $250 for home office use, up to $300,000 for large enterprise appliances. Must contact sales team for pricing.—
    More Pricing Information
    Community Pulse
    FortiGatePalo Alto Networks Virtualized Next-Generation Firewalls - VM Series
    Considered Both Products
    Fortinet
    Chose FortiGate
    Fortinet was well placed on the Gartner report which lead to my initial investigation into the company. I quickly narrowed my selections down to Palo Alto and Fortinet, due to feature set, reputation and ease of use. Fortinet won out simply because Palo Alto did not offer a …
    Incentivized
    Chose FortiGate
    Fortigate is cheaper than other vendors and includes basically the same features. The performance is very good and the configuration is really very easy, you don´t need a lot of training to understand the configuration. The VPN connection works very well and the application …
    Incentivized
    Chose FortiGate
    FortiGate has a strong offering at a very competitive price point. I like that with your subscription you get access to all of the pieces, and that features aren't arbitrarily turned off unless you buy a specific license or bundle. For what you get for the price, it's really …
    Incentivized
    Chose FortiGate
    Fortigate is a lot easier to configure and manage than a Cisco ASA Firewall. Fortinet feels a lot more intuitive and easier to configure than Cisco. Fortinet is a lot more innovative and have easier to use products.
    Incentivized
    Palo Alto Networks
    Chose Palo Alto Networks Virtualized Next-Generation Firewalls - VM Series
    The virtualised option is good for many use cases where our physical alternative doesn't fit well. It allows upgrades without hardware end-of-life, and the subscription model makes managing costs much like most software now. Some features are lacking, though. For example, NTP …
    Incentivized
    Chose Palo Alto Networks Virtualized Next-Generation Firewalls - VM Series
    palo alto firewalls are application-oriented systems. They can beat other product which are based on layer 3/4 inspection. Vm series are also quickly available and could be useful in urgent deployment needs . other vendors like Fortinet and cisco could take much more time to …
    Incentivized
    Chose Palo Alto Networks Virtualized Next-Generation Firewalls - VM Series
    The above firewalls are great but the Palo Alto is the king. The Palo Alto does everything from layer 3 to layer 7. It gives visibility to the network, unlike other firewalls. When configured properly it will monitor and report on each and every packet that enters and leaves …
    Incentivized
    Chose Palo Alto Networks Virtualized Next-Generation Firewalls - VM Series
    Palo Alto VM series firewalls were the only product available on public cloud. As of today, Fortinet has also hosted its VM series firewalls on the public cloud. Palo Alto's seamless integration with our existing environment gave us the edge.
    Incentivized
    Chose Palo Alto Networks Virtualized Next-Generation Firewalls - VM Series
    We did a shootout between the SonicWall / Fortinet / Barracuda / Cisco ASA + Firepower / Palo Alto, both hardware and (when applicable) VM appliances.

    The Barracuda / Sonicwall / Fortinet technology is interesting, but nowhere near as robust as the PA technology. Using the …
    Incentivized
    Chose Palo Alto Networks Virtualized Next-Generation Firewalls - VM Series
    for better reliability and stability of the product, we have so many on-premise instances of PAN firewall so to have a seamless experience and seamless protection across security domain chosen PAN VM series for the locations like cloud and some remote locations where we were …
    Incentivized
    Key User Insights
    Would buy again
    100%
    Would buy again
    48 Answers
    100%
    Would buy again
    7 Answers
    Delivers good value for the price
    100%
    Delivers good value for the price
    47 Answers
    100%
    Delivers good value for the price
    7 Answers
    Happy with the feature set
    100%
    Happy with the feature set
    48 Answers
    100%
    Happy with the feature set
    7 Answers
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    100%
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    43 Answers
    100%
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    7 Answers
    Implementation went as expected
    98%
    Implementation went as expected
    46 Answers
    86%
    Implementation went as expected
    6 Answers
    Features
    FortiGatePalo Alto Networks Virtualized Next-Generation Firewalls - VM Series
    Firewall
    Comparison of Firewall features of Fortinet FortiGate and Palo Alto Networks Virtualized Next-Generation Firewalls - VM Series
    Feature
    Fortinet FortiGate
    8.9
    40 Ratings
    3% above category average
    Palo Alto Networks Virtualized Next-Generation Firewalls - VM Series
    9.5
    6 Ratings
    10% above category average
    Identification Technologies8.638 Ratings9.76 Ratings
    Visualization Tools8.538 Ratings9.56 Ratings
    Content Inspection9.439 Ratings10.06 Ratings
    Policy-based Controls9.040 Ratings9.56 Ratings
    Active Directory and LDAP9.039 Ratings9.56 Ratings
    Firewall Management Console8.640 Ratings9.46 Ratings
    Reporting and Logging7.440 Ratings9.36 Ratings
    VPN8.640 Ratings9.26 Ratings
    High Availability9.535 Ratings8.85 Ratings
    Stateful Inspection9.538 Ratings10.06 Ratings
    Proxy Server10.028 Ratings9.44 Ratings
    Best Alternatives
    FortiGatePalo Alto Networks Virtualized Next-Generation Firewalls - VM Series
    Small Businesses
    SonicWall NSA Series
    Score8.4 out of 10
    SonicWall NSA Series
    Score8.4 out of 10
    Medium-sized Companies
    Barracuda CloudGen Firewall
    Score9.4 out of 10
    Barracuda CloudGen Firewall
    Score9.4 out of 10
    Enterprises
    Cisco Adaptive Security Appliance (ASA) Software
    Score9 out of 10
    Cisco Adaptive Security Appliance (ASA) Software
    Score9 out of 10
    All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
    User Ratings
    FortiGatePalo Alto Networks Virtualized Next-Generation Firewalls - VM Series
    Likelihood to Recommend
    9.0
    (67 ratings)
    9.5
    (8 ratings)
    Likelihood to Renew
    9.9
    (4 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Usability
    9.0
    (8 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Availability
    10.0
    (2 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Performance
    10.0
    (1 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Support Rating
    8.6
    (26 ratings)
    10.0
    (1 ratings)
    In-Person Training
    10.0
    (1 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Implementation Rating
    8.0
    (4 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Configurability
    9.0
    (1 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Ease of integration
    7.0
    (1 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Product Scalability
    9.8
    (2 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Vendor post-sale
    10.0
    (1 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Vendor pre-sale
    9.0
    (1 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    User Testimonials
    FortiGatePalo Alto Networks Virtualized Next-Generation Firewalls - VM Series
    Likelihood to Recommend
    Fortinet
    Fortinet FortiGate addressed an immediate security issue we had a few years ago. The device gave us a much clearer picture of the activities on our network and also more importantly, increased our awareness of threats from the internet as a whole. Fortinet FortiGate helps us to mitigate these threats with regular signature updates from Fortiguard labs, identifying certain characteristics which, once recognised by Fortinet FortiGate, can be harnessed to deploy powerful 'playbooks'.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Palo Alto Networks
    PaloAlto VM-200 is a virtualized firewall with high processing power and network edge protection. The great advantage is being able to implement in a VMware environment without worrying about hardware, rack space, physical network connections and others. It can be easily managed via the web and remotely to create protection, access and reporting rules. The VM-200 firewall can be used by any company, small or large because it has several models available according to the real needs of each one.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Pros
    Fortinet
    • SD-WAN - Load balancing of Internet traffic is a USP of Fortigate and makes it stand tall in the competition. Be it 3 or more Internet Links, multiple Subnets/segments of users to distribute and bandwidth load balancing for links and users. SLA based monitoring of Internet Links / MPLS links, makes it even better to choose the links on the basis of performance (Latency, packet loss, Jitter etc).
    • SSL VPN configuration - As we all have WFH force (to some extend or all employee) during Covid-19, it is impossible to plan BCP without having a SSL VPN. In Fortigate, the SSL VPN configuration is very easy with the help of wizard. The deep CLI-level debugging is also very helpful in troubleshooting. Type of tunnel can be easily configured - Full Tunnel or Split Tunnel for SSL.
    • Explicit Proxy - This is also a great feature to shape and re-route the traffic, configuring the Proxy on the Firewall itself. We are using this feature in Pilot for now, and planned to rollout in few weeks looking at the success rate of the POC.
    Read full review
    Palo Alto Networks
    • Decrypt internet traffic
    • daily reporting of top internet users
    • classify internet traffic in real-time to allow us to understand the organization needs.
    • Strong AI capabilities
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Cons
    Fortinet
    • Documentation is missing a great deal of detail and assumes the customer and just guess and fill in the blanks themselves
    • Fortinet has lots and lots of video guides on topics that only a small percentage of customers would ever need
    • The documentation and video guides do not get updated so most is only relevant to older software versions
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Palo Alto Networks
    • High Availability can be improved to allow active-active deployment
    • All command line documentation to provide and support automation
    • It will be nice to have link aggregation just like in the hardware firewall models.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Likelihood to Renew
    Fortinet
    Fortinet's products have kept improving with new software releases and they continue to deliver great value. Their support is also very good. I believe that as a small enterprise, their products have given us competitive advantage delivering features and functionality that enable us to innovate and do things better. They also continue to be a leader in the markets they serve.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Palo Alto Networks
    No answers on this topic
    Usability
    Fortinet
    The firewall runs very well, firmware updates are fairly quick but you must follow the upgrade path. Neglecting this step will cause a lot of pain. If you decide to go with Fortinet FortiGate switches and/or access points, they can be managed within the firewall which is great. We're also using the FortiAnalyzer which easily plugs into the firewall for any reporting you may require.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Palo Alto Networks
    It is very easy to use, even for those with little experience in this particular firewall. Some of the advanced content filtering and content-based policies are difficult to pick up; however, almost all required decoders are built in. Built-in logging and rule testing make rule definition easy, and labels/tags allow filtering, grouping, and categorisation of rules. Updates are easy, and high availability is also reliable.
    Incentivized
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    Reliability and Availability
    Fortinet
    We had didn't any hardware failures at our two main office locations and upgraded our units last year after using them for about 5-6 years
    Incentivized
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    Palo Alto Networks
    No answers on this topic
    Performance
    Fortinet
    Good performance and really good integration. We have integration with Microsoft AD.
    Incentivized
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    Palo Alto Networks
    No answers on this topic
    Support Rating
    Fortinet
    The Support team at Fortinet is excellent. They can not only help you configure the device for what you are trying to do, they offer suggestions on improving rules, and troubleshooting issues. Their response time is fast, ensuring you are up and running immediately with no questions asked. We had a hard drive failure in one of our Fortinet Fortigate appliances. The tech answered immediately, and started rebuilding the drive after some preliminary investigations. After rebuilding, there were still errors and issues, so they dispatched a brand new Fortinet Fortigate appliance. The tech then backed up the configurations for when the new device came in, which showed up in a few hours. A restore of the configuration took less than a minute, and there were no more errors or issues.
    Incentivized
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    Palo Alto Networks
    Palo Alto VM series are best selling and industry's top-selling security product which customers prefer while securing their public cloud environment
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    In-Person Training
    Fortinet
    I received it a couple years afters use it and it was just to confirm my knowledge about the tool.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Palo Alto Networks
    No answers on this topic
    Implementation Rating
    Fortinet
    Make sure that you have the most current version of FortiOS. Make sure all Fortigates are on the same version
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Palo Alto Networks
    No answers on this topic
    Alternatives Considered
    Fortinet
    [Fortinet] FortiGate is not only cost effective but it gives the comprehensive security against the APT attacks and gives the complete traffic visibility and granular control. You can easily create the VDOMs (Virtual firewall) within a Fortigate firewall and customize the dashboard as per your requirement if you have multiple VDOMs within a single firewall.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Palo Alto Networks
    palo alto firewalls are application-oriented systems. They can beat other product which are based on layer 3/4 inspection. Vm series are also quickly available and could be useful in urgent deployment needs . other vendors like Fortinet and cisco could take much more time to provide the VM and in some cases installation and license validation are complicated
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Contract Terms and Pricing Model
    Fortinet
    No changes needed to terms and conditions.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Palo Alto Networks
    No answers on this topic
    Scalability
    Fortinet
    My environments are pretty small (less than 100 users per location) so no issues here.
    Incentivized
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    Palo Alto Networks
    No answers on this topic
    Return on Investment
    Fortinet
    • The pricing given to us for our firewall was well within what we were already spending for other vendors solutions and had the added value of eliminating a separate expense for a dedicated web filtering appliance.
    • We have also adopted Fortinet's security fabric approach and thus changed vendors for our switch and AP devices. These devices have come at reduced prices as compared to another previous vendor we were using, particularly in relation to ongoing annual maintenance costs.
    Incentivized
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    Palo Alto Networks
    • ROI has been achieved quickly through lack of security incidents.
    • Inline filtering happens at line rate, unline Sourcefire from Cisco.
    • Great incentives from PAN to switch made a difference in the choice to change.
    Incentivized
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