Which NGFW is best for your team?

If you're looking for the best next-generation firewalls, both Palo Alto Networks' NGFW and Fortinet's FortiGate rank high in the space, and for good reason.

Palo Alto Networks is considered an industry leader in the category, delivering robust ML-based visibility and zero-delay signatures to quickly address threats. Fortinet, on the other hand, is a popular and cost-effective NGFW that provides high-quality SSL inspection and AI-based security services.

SEE: Ten cybersecurity myths you shouldn't believe (TechRepublic Premium)

As they are the market leader in NGFW, we are curious to see what sets one apart from the other.

In this article, we look at how Fortinet FortiGate compares to Palo Alto Networks NGFW and see which one is better for you and your organization.

Fortinet vs Palo Alto: comparison table

Fortinet and Palo Alto pricing

Given the variability of NGFW hardware and software products, I recommend contacting Fortinet and Palo Alto directly to obtain an appropriate price quote. This is the best and easiest way for companies to understand how each product is faring in terms of price. This is because the prices of firewall solutions are calculated based on the needs and requirements of a particular organization.

SEE: Check Point vs Palo Alto: Compare EDR software (TechRepublic)

That being said, we were able to gather pricing information to give you an estimate of what to expect.

Fortinet FortiGate Pricing

The Fortinet FortiGate firewall bases its price on the hardware necessary for each type of business. Here's a quick summary:

• Small businesses (1 to 20 users): $700 to $1000.
• Large companies (15 to 100 users): $1,500 to $4,000.

According to Fortinet, pricing also depends on other important factors, such as the device model chosen, the cost of any ongoing services or support, configuration, monitoring and integration subscriptions.

Fortinet has a 30-day free trial of its cloud NGFW for both AWS and Azure. Additionally, it offers a free demo of the product through its official product page.

Please note that you will have to hand over basic information and wait for Fortinet to contact you in order to access your demo.

Palo Alto Networks NGFW Pricing

Compared to Fortinet, Palo Alto's pricing is on the more premium end of the spectrum and also depends on the specific hardware you purchase.

SEE: SentinelOne vs Palo Alto: EDR Software Comparison (TechRepublic)

According to my research, the Palo Alto NGFW hardware will start around $1,400 and can reach as high as $4,100 for high-end appliances: a much higher base price than Fortinet.

Like Fortinet, Palo Alto offers a free trial of its NGFW in the cloud for AWS and Azure. Official product demonstrations of NGFW Palo Alto can also be requested through their official channels.

Fortinet vs. Palo Alto: Feature Comparison

Security features

Both NGFWs offer a variety of security features geared toward enterprise and organizational use cases. Fortinet boasts of FortiOS Operating system that simplifies management and improves visibility as a single operating system for all your network and security functions.

It also natively integrates zero trust network access o ZTNA policy enforcement points – a significant added value given the need to ensure hybrid workforces in this post-pandemic era. Finally, Fortinet also comes with SD-WAN functionalityhelping to provide optimal user experience and connectivity across an organization without sacrificing overall threat protection.

SEE: The 8 best advanced threat protection tools and software for 2024 (TechRepublic)

If, on the other hand, we look at Palo Alto, it has its Centralized management of Panorama A platform that unifies security tools, rules, and firewall policies. This provides IT administrators and supervisors with a bird’s-eye view of their NGFW configuration across their respective networks.

We also get application-aware security policies with Palo Alto, allowing administrators to set detailed security rules for different users in an organization. Lastly, Palo Alto has its fast malware signing delivery that is capable of quickly comparing and updating known threats to ensure maximum threat prevention.

Performance and independent test results

Looking at the independent safety test results, both NGFWs performed incredibly well. As for their cloud firewall offerings, both Palo Alto Networks' NGFW VM-Series and Fortinet's FortiGate-VM earned perfect scores. 100% security effectiveness based on CyberRatings 2024 findings.

This means that both NGFWs exhibited high-quality threat prevention, robust TLS/SSL functionality, and policy enforcement, while maintaining stability and reliability throughout CyberRatings testing.

SEE: The best secure access services edge platforms in 2024 (TechRepublic)

Users around the world also rate both NGFWs very highly in terms of performance. In this regard, Fortinet's more affordable prices shine for smaller businesses. This is because you can get comparable security performance at a lower price.

On the other hand, Palo Alto's broader set of security features may justify its higher price, especially if you need to protect a larger organization. Either way, you'll get solid security performance from both NGFW providers.

Easy to use

In Gartner Peer Insights, both NGFW providers received high marks for ease of use. In particular, Fortinet's FortiGate service received a 4.7 out of 5while Palo Alto was rated as 4.6 out of 5.

Similar to performance, these scores indicate that both Fortinet and Palo Alto deliver polished user experiences with their NGFW solutions.

While Palo Alto's Panorama central administration feature is well-equipped to handle large-scale organizational structures, its abundance of options can be overwhelming for smaller teams. If ease of use is your top priority, opting for the smaller-scale Fortinet may be better for you.

Consequently, enterprise organizations may find the integrated functionality of Fortinet FortiGate lacking compared to Palo Alto. In this case, having the scalability of Palo Alto can be more beneficial.

Pros and cons of Fortinet FortiGate

Advantages

• Affordable and good value for money.
• It offers the same performance as its more expensive counterparts.
• Bottom barrier for entry hardware.

Cons

• Customer service could be improved.

Pros and cons of Palo Alto Networks NGFW

Advantages

• Can accommodate large organizations.
• Feature-rich NGFW.
• Granular user-based rules and policies.

Cons

• On the expensive end.
• Requires extensive technical expertise to set up.

Should your organization use Fortinet or Palo Alto?

When it comes to NGFWs, both Fortinet FortiGate and Palo Alto are top-tier solutions. User consensus is clear that you will be well taken care of regardless of which option you choose. That said, the deciding factor between the two NGFW providers comes down to two things: price and company size.

If you have a small business, I recommend Fortinet FortiGate. Its more affordable hardware options, while offering the same quality performance and security effectiveness, make it a good choice for businesses that don't necessarily have the biggest budgets.

On the other hand, larger businesses and organizations should opt for Palo Alto Networks' NGFW. This is especially true for businesses where budget is not an issue, as its Panorama central management platform and user-based roles are well-suited to handling more complex security needs.

Regardless of which vendor you choose, I believe most organizations will find great value in NGFW solutions from Fortinet or Palo Alto.

Methodology

My comparison of Fortinet and Palo Alto NGFW solutions involved an in-depth analysis of their security features, pricing, and overall value to businesses.

This direct evaluation consisted of a thorough investigation of official documentation, product pages and supplier data sheets. Additionally, I took into account user testimonials and comments from reputable review sites to supplement my findings and include real-world usage in my final recommendations.