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Fortinet FortiGate vs NetBird comparison

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Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Mar 29, 2026

Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Categories and Ranking

Fortinet FortiGate
Ranking in ZTNA
1st
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
595
Ranking in other categories
Secure Web Gateways (SWG) (2nd), Firewalls (1st), Intrusion Detection and Prevention Software (IDPS) (1st), Software Defined WAN (SD-WAN) Solutions (2nd), WAN Edge (1st), Unified Threat Management (UTM) (1st)
NetBird
Ranking in ZTNA
32nd
Average Rating
9.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.4
Number of Reviews
1
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Featured Reviews

reviewer2859012 - PeerSpot reviewer
Network engineer at a tech services company with 11-50 employees
Unified security platform has simplified daily network protection and accelerated troubleshooting
Fortinet FortiGate is generally easy to manage, but there are a few areas where it could be improved. The interface can become complex when managing a large number of firewall policies, and better policy search organization and reporting would be helpful. Firmware upgrades can also require careful planning and testing, especially in production environments. Troubleshooting some advanced issues may require deeper CLI knowledge or assistance from Fortinet support, and more advanced automation and AI-assisted troubleshooting within the management interface would be beneficial, such as clear recommendations for policy optimization, configuration issues, and security events. These improvements could make day-to-day administration even more efficient. More AI-driven capabilities for day-to-day administration would be valuable, especially for troubleshooting, policy optimization, and identifying potential configuration issues. More intelligent recommendations based on traffic patterns and security events could help administrators respond faster. More advanced reporting and dashboards that can be easily customized for different teams and management requirements would also be helpful, while better automation for routine tasks, firmware planning, and configuration validation would further reduce manual effort.
BS
System Administrator at a tech vendor with 201-500 employees
Secure Remote Access and Zero-Trust Connectivity Simplify Global IT Management
Azure/Entra ID Group-Based Access --------------------------------- One feature I would like to see is deeper integration with Microsoft Entra ID groups. Ideally, administrators should be able to map Entra ID groups directly to NetBird access policies so that users who are added to a specific corporate group automatically receive the appropriate NetBird access. This would make user onboarding and offboarding much easier because access could be managed centrally through existing identity-management processes rather than requiring additional manual configuration in NetBird. Direct EDR/XDR/MDR Integration ------------------------------ Another improvement would be more direct integration with security platforms such as CrowdStrike, Microsoft security solutions, XDR, or MDR platforms for self-hosted deployments. Currently, for our self-hosted environment, we can collect NetBird logs through a separate logging or syslog server and then forward them to our security-monitoring platforms. This works, but having a more direct integration with EDR/XDR/MDR platforms would simplify the architecture and reduce the additional infrastructure required for log collection and forwarding. Just-in-Time Access ------------------- I would also like to see a just-in-time (JIT) access capability. For example, we could integrate NetBird with a ticketing or ITSM platform such as Jira or ServiceNow and create a temporary access policy for a specific machine. An administrator could request access to a particular server, receive approval, and then automatically receive access for a defined period—for example, 10 minutes. Once the period expires, the access would automatically be revoked. This would strengthen our zero-trust approach by ensuring that privileged access is provided only when required and for the minimum necessary duration. Self-Hosted High Availability and Backup ---------------------------------------- For organizations running NetBird in a self-hosted environment, enhanced database backup, high availability (HA), and disaster-recovery capabilities would also be valuable. These features would provide additional resilience for organizations that depend heavily on NetBird for production connectivity. Overall ------- There is no major issue with the current product from my perspective. The self-hosted version already provides a strong and flexible foundation. My recommendations are mainly focused on making enterprise integrations and security workflows more seamless. The features I would prioritize are Entra ID group-based access, direct EDR/XDR/MDR integrations, just-in-time access with automatic expiration, and improved HA/backup capabilities for self-hosted deployments. These enhancements would make NetBird even stronger for organizations that are building a mature zero-trust and infrastructure-access strategy.

Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Pros

"We are a visual effects company, and there have been a number of high profile security issues in our industry, and this has brought us to a higher standard of security, which our clients are very keen on these days."
"Overall, it's a great solution; the detection is great, the possibility to detect any anomaly under our match work is great, and we have a quick response."
"The most valuable features of Fortinet FortiGate IPS are the dashboard and reporting which give us very good visibility."
"The best feature of Fortinet FortiGate is its SD-WAN capability, which is included and differs from other products that require an additional license."
"If you use this solution, within three years, you will get your investment back."
"Fortinet FortiGate's most valuable features are the UTM package which provides internet blocking restrictions and load balancing, additionally, the solution is easy to use and the security reporting is good, and the security fabric which they have launched Fortinet FortiGate IPS is very good in terms of giving details."
"Overall, I am satisfied with the product."
"FortiGate firewalls are easy to manage through a user-friendly web interface. They also have advanced features like DDoS and DLP. However, I wouldn't recommend enabling all of these features on one device because it can cause performance issues."
"Since we started using NetBird in our testing environment, it has become integral to our day-to-day lives."
 

Cons

"I cannot think of many improvements needed for Fortinet FortiGate. However, the pricing compared to competitors is quite high, though you get value for what you pay with Fortinet FortiGate."
"There could be more modifications."
"I'd like to see an improvement in the Bandwidth Management and Traffic limit control. Also, the licenses are expensive, turning off some users."
"The customer support is expensive. We have had difficulties with technical support from Fortinet."
"They should consider making some improvements regarding the pricing."
"​It needs to improve its ISP load balancing.​"
"The main issue we have dealt with in the last few months is the number of vulnerabilities, which has caused concerns for both customers and integrators regarding whether Fortinet is a secure product; this has affected my rating, as it is why I do not give a ten, instead rating it an eight."
"This product needs to have an analysis feature, rather than having the analysis done through the integration of a different product."
"I rate it nine out of ten because in the self-hosted network, I do not have any option to integrate EDR or XDR directly from the CrowdStrike console."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Its price is reasonable. They have a clear pricing policy. It is not complicated by the number of VPN users at a time. We know what the price is. The yearly subscription for the security license is rather high, but it is all included for whatever number of users you have and the kind of functions you need."
"The price of Fortinet FortiGate is reasonable."
"The pricing for the product is alright."
"I rate the pricing an eight and a half on a scale of one to ten, where one is low, and ten is high."
"Fortinet FortiGate's price can be reduced."
"FortiGate Next-Generation Firewall is cheaper than Cisco or CheckPoint."
"The price is highly competitive when compared to other brands that offer similar functionality."
"If the customer is looking for SD-WAN, it comes free with FortiGate."
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Comparison Review

it_user216600 - PeerSpot reviewer
Senior Technical Consultant with 51-200 employees
Jan 3, 2016
Sophos UTM vs. Fortinet FortiGate
I have used both Sophos and Fortinet products in production and I have found the Sophos UTM appliances (hardware and virtual) to be a better fit most of the time -- with a few caveats which I will touch on below. In both instances, the transition from TMG will be mostly straightforward. The main…
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Comms Service Provider
10%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Computer Software Company
8%
Outsourcing Company
7%
No data available
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business374
Midsize Enterprise138
Large Enterprise195
No data available
 

Questions from the Community

Which is the better NGFW: Fortinet Fortigate or Cisco Firepower?
When you compare these firewalls you can identify them with different features, advantages, practices and usage at large. In my opinion, Fortinet would be the best option and l use Fortinet too...
What is the biggest difference between Sophos XG and FortiGate?
From my experience regarding both the Sophos and FortiGate firewalls, I personally would rather use FortiGate. I know the firewalls change every 5 to 7 years as stated but you really do need to upg...
What are the biggest technical differences between Sophos UTM and Fortinet FortiGate?
As a solution, Sophos UTM offers a lot of functionality, it scales well, and the stability and performance are quite good. The most valuable features for me are their web and email filtering. I wou...
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Also Known As

Fortinet FortiGate Next-Generation Firewall
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Overview

 

Sample Customers

Amazon Web Services, Microsoft, IBM, Cisco, Dell, HP, Oracle, Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile, Sprint, Vodafone, Orange, BT Group, Telstra, Deutsche Telekom, Comcast, Time Warner Cable, CenturyLink, NTT Communications, Tata Communications, SoftBank, China Mobile, Singtel, Telus, Rogers Communications, Bell Canada, Telkom Indonesia, Telkom South Africa, Telmex, Telia Company, Telkom Kenya
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