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  3. FortiGate: Next Generation Firewall (NGFW)
Logo of FortiGate: Next Generation Firewall (NGFW)

FortiGate: Next Generation Firewall (NGFW)

byFortinet
in Network Firewalls (Transitioning to Hybrid Mesh Firewall and Cloud Firewalls)
4.6

Overview

Product Information on FortiGate: Next Generation Firewall (NGFW)

Updated 13th October 2025

What is FortiGate: Next Generation Firewall (NGFW)?

FortiGate: Next Generation Firewall is a software that provides network security by integrating firewall capabilities with intrusion prevention, application control, advanced threat protection, and secure virtual private network (VPN) support. The software is designed to inspect and filter network traffic, helping organizations protect their systems against malware, exploits, and unauthorized access. It offers real-time threat intelligence, connectivity management, and customizable security policies, supporting deployment across physical, virtual, and cloud environments. FortiGate software addresses business challenges related to securing digital assets, maintaining regulatory compliance, and ensuring reliable application performance within enterprise networks.

FortiGate: Next Generation Firewall (NGFW) Pricing

FortiGate: Next Generation Firewall is a software that offers a pricing model based on hardware appliance selection, virtual appliance options, and cloud deployment with additional subscription fees for advanced security features, support, and services, structured according to capacity, performance requirements, and term length.

Overall experience with FortiGate: Next Generation Firewall (NGFW)

It Associate
50M - 250M USD, Banking
FAVORABLE

“FortiGate NGFW Provides Reliable Performance and Usability Across Multiple Environments”

5.0
Jan 15, 2026
I have an overall good experience with the Fortigate NGFW. I like FortiOS because the CLI commands are universal to the entire ecosystem. Fortigates are so easy to use I configured one for my home network/lab. CBTNuggets and other online learning platforms have a lot of good videos on how to build a network of physical and virtual appliances. We've upgraded from 200Ds, to 201e's and now we're looking at the 200g. Converting or migrating to a new firewall typically means getting a forticonverter license. The performance of the SD-WAN has remained reliable across multiple retail locations, campuses, and datacenters. We use SSL deep inspection, advanced threat protection, and application control functions, and the hardware acceleration via Fortinet's Security Processing Units (SPUs) without many conflicting issues with streaming services like VOIP or Teams Meeting calls. Fortinet's TAC support has been useful when troubleshooting our NGFWs. In our experience, TAC provides knowledgeable, responsive assistance, especially when dealing with tough cases or firmware-specific stuff. The fortigate documentation and community resources are available through Fortinet. If you're not sure how to setup something they have 4-hour fast track courses. Overall, FortiGate continues to impress with usability, depth, performance, and ecosystem support. Whether you're deploying a single device or managing a few dozen across branch locations, the platform scales well and provides robust, feature-rich network security.
IT Associate
<50M USD, Manufacturing
CRITICAL

“Searchability, Sales Practices and Support Pose Obstacles for Fortinet Adoption”

3.0
Oct 20, 2025
It's expensive, not very straightforward to learn, and the knowledgebase is not kept up to date or easy to locate tutorials and guides for common issues. We were also told over 5 years into using that we were sold demo equipment by a Fortinet partner and subsequently told we had to buy new hardware because ours was blacklisted by Fortinet. They have a very questionable sales process which did not sit well with us, and it was hard to even find an alternate vendor who was open to a working business relationship versus looking to make a quick commission and move on.

About Company

Company Description

Founded more than 20 years ago in Sunnyvale, California, Fortinet continues to be a driving force in the evolution of cybersecurity and the convergence of networking and security. Securing people, devices, and data everywhere is our mission. To that end, our portfolio of over 50 enterprise-grade products is the largest integrated offering available, delivering proven cybersecurity everywhere you need it. More than 680,000 customers trust Fortinet solutions, which are among the most deployed, most patented, and most validated in the industry.

Company Details

Updated 1st November 2023
Company type
Public
Year Founded
2000
Head office location
Sunnyvale, United States
Number of employees
10001+
Website
https://www.fortinet.com

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Key Insights

A Snapshot of What Matters - Based on Validated User Reviews

User Sentiment About FortiGate: Next Generation Firewall (NGFW)
Reviewer Insights for: FortiGate: Next Generation Firewall (NGFW)
Performance of FortiGate: Next Generation Firewall (NGFW) Across Market Features

FortiGate: Next Generation Firewall (NGFW) Likes & Dislikes

Like

I really like the Fortigate's clean GUI, powerful CLI, and real-time visibility that makes administration and troubleshooting straightforward. The hardware-accelerated security features - especially SSL inspection, IPS, and advanced threat protection - deliver strong performance even under heavy load (ex., Teams Townhalls), giving organizations robust protection without sacrificing throughput.

Like

We liked that it is highly regarded by the industry and that the SD-WAN/multi-link SLA and failover is highly customizable. Many features are highly customizable, but it can be hard to learn and determine where to go to make edits. It also frequently is updated and changed and varies heavily by model. Overall, it seems better suited to a larger organization that can afford to maintain a more expensive appliance that requires a high level of expertise to implement and customize.

Like

- No limitation on number of users connecting to VPN (ssl/ipsec) makes it unique and highly worthy product. - User friendly GUI that provides clear cut options on where anything needs to be configured interms of interface, firewall policies, services, restricting users from accessing malicious sites. -IP based policy is one of the good thing happened in the Fortigate firewall. -Deep inspection where even the encrypted packets get decrypted and inspected and encrypted back in fortigate security profiles is highly reliable to block the unwanted domain usage in an organization. -detailed view of logs & reports of all the security, system events is highly appreciated.

Dislike

Fortigates aren't perfect, while upgrading the firmware is straightforward, you're not entirely sure what will change. We only upgrade if necessary. Additionally, sometimes its tricky to setup vlans for the first time when deploying new Fortigates. We're sure there's a better method, but when deploying fortiswitches on fortigates we sometimes had to manually set the vlans on the switch port groups.

Dislike

The logs are very vague and don't link to helpful information or related policies and settings within the config. As mentioned in the comments above, we had tons of issues with the sales and post-sales experience for renewals. It also seems like Fortinet forces MFA to only use FortiToken and the hardware only comes with 3-5 FortiTokens. It was also unclear how to enable vendors to connect with this, so we ended up disabling this security measure.

Dislike

-too tough to get in touch in the fortinet TAC team especially when needed the help of the fortinet team at the earliest/emergency situations. - bugs in 7.2.x firmware verison and 7.4.x no ssl vpn options found. -rma process involves too much of questions and too much of remote sessions until it gets approved despite the box is totally done. That can be fixed.

Top FortiGate: Next Generation Firewall (NGFW) Alternatives

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Peer Discussions

FortiGate: Next Generation Firewall (NGFW) Reviews and Ratings

4.6

(2787 Ratings)

Rating Distribution

5 Star
59%
4 Star
37%
3 Star
3%
2 Star
1%
1 Star
0%
Why ratings and reviews count differ?

Customer Experience

Evaluation & Contracting

4.5

Integration & Deployment

4.6

Service & Support

4.5

Product Capabilities

4.6

Filter Reviews
Sort By:
Most helpful
Last 12 Months
Star Rating
Reviewer Type
Reviewer's Company Size
Reviewer's Industry
Reviewer's Region
Reviewer's Job Function
  • It Associate
    50M-1B USD
    Banking
    Review Source

    FortiGate NGFW Provides Reliable Performance and Usability Across Multiple Environments

    5.0
    Jan 15, 2026
    I have an overall good experience with the Fortigate NGFW. I like FortiOS because the CLI commands are universal to the entire ecosystem. Fortigates are so easy to use I configured one for my home network/lab. CBTNuggets and other online learning platforms have a lot of good videos on how to build a network of physical and virtual appliances. We've upgraded from 200Ds, to 201e's and now we're looking at the 200g. Converting or migrating to a new firewall typically means getting a forticonverter license. The performance of the SD-WAN has remained reliable across multiple retail locations, campuses, and datacenters. We use SSL deep inspection, advanced threat protection, and application control functions, and the hardware acceleration via Fortinet's Security Processing Units (SPUs) without many conflicting issues with streaming services like VOIP or Teams Meeting calls. Fortinet's TAC support has been useful when troubleshooting our NGFWs. In our experience, TAC provides knowledgeable, responsive assistance, especially when dealing with tough cases or firmware-specific stuff. The fortigate documentation and community resources are available through Fortinet. If you're not sure how to setup something they have 4-hour fast track courses. Overall, FortiGate continues to impress with usability, depth, performance, and ecosystem support. Whether you're deploying a single device or managing a few dozen across branch locations, the platform scales well and provides robust, feature-rich network security.
  • IT Associate
    <50M USD
    Manufacturing
    Review Source

    Searchability, Sales Practices and Support Pose Obstacles for Fortinet Adoption

    3.0
    Oct 20, 2025
    It's expensive, not very straightforward to learn, and the knowledgebase is not kept up to date or easy to locate tutorials and guides for common issues. We were also told over 5 years into using that we were sold demo equipment by a Fortinet partner and subsequently told we had to buy new hardware because ours was blacklisted by Fortinet. They have a very questionable sales process which did not sit well with us, and it was hard to even find an alternate vendor who was open to a working business relationship versus looking to make a quick commission and move on.
  • IT SECURITY & RISK MANAGEMENT
    <50M USD
    IT Services
    Review Source

    Deep Packet Inspection and Flexible VPN Highlighted in Fortigate Firewall Experience

    5.0
    Nov 3, 2025
    Forigate firewall is one of the great cybersecurity solution for gateway security and one can rely on Fortigate for entire network security in terms of threats and other mitigation steps that has to be taken from the firewall including the ssl & deep packet inspection stands out interms of security. Especially the user friendly GUI which even a beginner can understand the GUI in few days makes the product unique compared to other products in the market. IDS/IPS security profiles are highly reliable in FGT NGFW.
  • NETWORK SECURITY ENGINEER L2
    50M-1B USD
    Software
    Review Source

    Fortinet Firewall Interface Simplifies Policy Management and VPN Deployment Processes

    4.0
    Jan 14, 2026
    Fortinet firewall is one of the best NGFW firewall I find in compared to other Next generation firewall out there in market industry reason being the GUI interface which helps in managing easily while creating or deploying policies. Mostly I create site to site VPNs on firewalls which is very straight forward in comparison to others. Also, the logs visibility is too good for traffic flow. This helps to figure out where packets are dropping. Overall satisfactory.
  • CYBERSECURITY ENGINEER
    50M-1B USD
    Retail
    Review Source

    Appreciating the Product Quality: Organisation Network Security

    5.0
    Sep 30, 2025
    FortiGate NGFW has delivered solid performance and dependable security across our network. The appliance is built for serious workloads; it handles high traffic without flagging and offers deep control over threat prevention, application filtering and VPN management. Setup requires technical precision, but once configured it runs like a machine built for resilience. Overall, FortiGate NGFW is now a robust solution for organizations that demand reliability, scalability and control
...
Showing Result 1-5 of 2879

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