Check Point NGFW vs Fortinet FortiGate comparison

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Check Point Software Technologies Logo
27,173 views|16,714 comparisons
96% willing to recommend
Fortinet Logo
120,425 views|88,209 comparisons
90% willing to recommend
Comparison Buyer's Guide
Executive Summary
Updated on Jan 2, 2023

We performed a comparison between Check Point NGFW and Fortinet Fortigate based on our users’ reviews in five categories. After reading all of the collected data, you can find our conclusion below.

  • Ease of Deployment: Users of both solutions agree that their initial setup is straightforward.
  • Features: Users of both products are happy with their stability and scalability.

    Check Point users like its interface and threat management feature, and say it has good virtualization and anti-spoofing abilities. Users also like the ability to deploy multiple firewalls instantly. Some users say that the VPN is difficult to integrate.

    Fortinet Fortigate users are happy with its VPN, web filtering, and intrusion protection system. Users note that they are missing the ability to create multiple virtual firewalls.
  • Pricing: Most users of both solutions say that they are fairly priced.

  • ROI: Users of both solutions report being satisfied with the ROI.
  • Service and Support: Some Check Point users feel that the support should be more responsive. Fortinet Fortigate users report being satisfied with the level of support they receive.

Comparison Results: Fortinet’s lack of an option to deploy firewalls on multiple endpoints is a definite downside. Although Fortinet received better feedback for its support, Check Point is the winner in this comparison.

To learn more, read our detailed Check Point NGFW vs. Fortinet FortiGate Report (Updated: May 2024).
770,292 professionals have used our research since 2012.
Q&A Highlights
Question: How does Check Point NGFW compare with Fortinet Fortigate?
Answer: I have worked for several years with the Check Point platform (NGFW) and it is by far more stable in hardware and software. It is a very friendly platform and easy to configure. It is true that it is a bit expensive according to the required blades but it is a platform that is worth having as security in a corporate.
Featured Review
Quotes From Members
We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use.
Here are some excerpts of what they said:
Pros
"The application authentication feature of Check Point is the most valuable as it helps us keep users secure.""The most valuable feature is the centralized management, which gives us control over all of the Check Point gateways.""It is easy to control from the central management system. For example, if we have 10 firewalls, and we want to push that same configuration among them, we can use this solution's central management system to do that simultaneously. So, there is time saving in that way. The time savings does depend on the situation. For example, if I am running half an hour of work on each firewall, that will take around 300 minutes. However, if I do this work from the central management system, then it will only take 30 minutes to push the same configuration to those same 10 devices.""One of the most advantageous features of Check Point firewall is its multi-interface capability.""The dashboard provides a quick overview of the security status, including key metrics, alerts, and recent events.""The most valuable features for us are identity awareness, IDS and IPS, and application control.""I love the redesigned interface starting with R80 as well as the ability for multiple engineers to work on the policy simultaneously.""The simplicity of the access control is the most valuable feature for us. It gives us the ability to easily identify traffic that is either being allowed or denied to our network."

More Check Point NGFW Pros →

"Allows for firewall rules to be programmed and named in a way that makes it “readable”""The most valuable feature of Fortinet FortiGate is load balancing. It can provide central management and VPNA. Additionally, it has enhanced our security environment.""The simplicity of the configuration and the stability of the product are most valuable. The VPN concentrator is very useful.""Customers want to load balance more than eight lines or six internet lines. FortiGate is the only solution that can accomplish this.""Its user interface is good, and it is always working fine.""I think that the UTM features are the most value, as it truly protects my infrastructure.""There is an easy process for configuring it, and it is straightforward to implement the device from scratch.""User-friendly and affordable security solution that's recommended for SMB customers. This solution has good technical support."

More Fortinet FortiGate Pros →

Cons
"Complex and not very easy to use.""There needs to be advanced troubleshooting.""Check Point could do better to include acceleration technologies like SD-WAN in an integrated or embedded way to provide these new features that Check Point never had and is of great importance in the market.""The tool’s architecture could be improved a bit.""The cost of add-on features is too high.""The policy installation length is still too long. It was promised that the time would be severely reduced in newer versions, but it is still too long.""The speed of technical support is very slow and is something that should be improved.""Integration with a third-party authentication mechanism is tricky and needs to be planned well."

More Check Point NGFW Cons →

"It would be good if they had fewer updates.""FortiGate support could do some improvements on their IPv6 configuration. Right now it's still in the very early stage for utilizing in an enterprise level network environment.""They have to just improve its performance when we enable all UTM features. When you enable all the features, the performance of FortiGate, as well as of Sophos and SonicWall, goes down.""The customization could be improved. Cisco, for example, is much better at this. They need to work to be at least as good as they are.""The support from Fortinet FortiGate could improve. They are not easily accessible when we need them. They could improve their response time.""Fortinet could improve the windows opener or the virtual IP solutions for opening windows. The virtual IP settings need improvement as firewalls are trending in new development directions.""It should come integrated or have its own type of network monitor tool in a module. There should just be one package, and you are good to go.""The command line is complicated, and the interface could be better."

More Fortinet FortiGate Cons →

Pricing and Cost Advice
  • "I don't think the product's pricing is a good value. I feel it's very overpriced. I feel a lot of the features for a next gen firewall are there. But I feel it's overpriced, because of the stability issues. As far as support goes, I really can't speak to direct Check Point support, but the third-party was pretty terrible... As far as the licensing goes, it's pretty complex. If anybody was to purchase the Check Point product, definitely make sure they have an account rep come on site, and explain it line by line, what each thing is. It's not straightforward. It's very convoluted. There's no way you could just figure it out by looking at it."
  • "Check Point solutions are very expensive here. They're good, but they're expensive... Check Point is only useful for customers that have a big IT budget."
  • "The price is high in comparison to other solutions."
  • "We pay $5,000-$6,000 a year."
  • "Maybe the pricing is a bit high but you get the durability and the duration."
  • "Licensing issues may be confusing at times."
  • "It is quite an expensive product, although security is a top priority."
  • "This product is not cheap and there are additional costs that depend on what model or package that you buy."
  • More Check Point NGFW Pricing and Cost Advice →

  • "Fortinet has one or two license types, and the VPN numbers are only limited by the hardware chassis make."
  • "These boxes are not that expensive compared to what they can do, their functionality, and the reporting you receive. Fortinet licensing is straightforward and less confusing compared to Cisco."
  • "Go for long term pricing negotiated at the time of purchase."
  • "Work through partners for the best pricing."
  • "The value is the capability of having multiple services with one unique license, not having the limitation per user licensing schema, like other vendors."
  • "Easy to understand licensing requirements."
  • "​We saved a bundle by not needing all the past appliances from an NGFW.​"
  • "The cost is too high... They have to focus on more features with less cost for the customer. If you see the market, where it's going, there are a lot of players offering more features for less cost."
  • More Fortinet FortiGate Pricing and Cost Advice →

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    Comparison Review
    Anonymous User
    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 hang-ups will be with the VIP/load balancing and SSL. For some reason that completely escapes me, both of these vendors make getting valid certificates onto their boxes unnecessarily difficult -- the Fortinet appliances more so than the Sophos UTM appliances. At one point a Fortinet engineer had to write an entire manual on how to get an SSL certificate uploaded successfully on the 4.x firmware Sophos: The one feature that is missing (and this makes some amount of sense) from the Sophos appliance is BITS caching for updates. Other than that, Sophos offers a full replacement for TMG on UTM9. The XG platform also offers a replacement for the TMG; however, some of the rumblings about upcoming releases suggests that Sophos is going to give XG the Apple iOS treatment and "streamline" the interface...potentially cutting out/hiding some functionality. On the effectiveness of the NGFW, Sophos is mostly good but has a few issues blocking all pieces of an application. For instance, we had to build custom blocking rules for OpenVPN (the vpn was being used to bypass the content filter) because the default Application Control wasn't effectively blocking the application. Fortinet: If it… Read more →
    Answers from the Community
    Netanya Carmi
    reviewer1854093 - PeerSpot reviewerreviewer1854093 (Works)
    User

    First of all, Check Point checks the rules to be configured before installing them in the firewall and this prevents the user from making mistakes and putting the company at risk.


    Check Point is no longer expensive. It has many models and competes in performance and price vs. Fortinet.

    Now web interfaces, like Fortinet, may have more bugs per top 10 OWASP.

    reviewer1853481 - PeerSpot reviewerreviewer1853481 (Works at Experis US, Inc.)
    Real User

    We are using both but the GUI and clustering on the FortiGate side look better/easier/more comfortable.


    And I do agree with others - Check Point is expensive and Fortinet FortiGate has many models offering less expensive implementation.

    Greg Plante - PeerSpot reviewerGreg Plante
    Real User

    We had this same discussion recently with my organization. It came down to the security of the platform. 


    Fortinet has had a number of breaches over the last 2 years and this was a key factor in our decision. 


    The challenge with Check Point will be the transition from our existing firewall and taking advantage of the various features across our organization. 

    Questions from the Community
    Top Answer:I have experience on both from Disti and channel experience. Please find below my comments (nothing new as such) -Check Point GUI is a bit complicated,  -Application and Web filtering are better… more »
    Top Answer:Azure Firewall is easy to use and provides excellent support. Valuable features include integration into the overall cloud platform, autoscaling, and the ability for users to create virtual IP… more »
    Top Answer:Check Point NGFW provides essential security, featuring no-obligation access for secure connections, strong intrusion prevention, and comprehensive antivirus protection.
    Top Answer: 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.… more »
    Top Answer: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… more »
    Top Answer: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 would… more »
    Ranking
    5th
    out of 59 in Firewalls
    Views
    27,173
    Comparisons
    16,714
    Reviews
    84
    Average Words per Review
    561
    Rating
    8.8
    2nd
    out of 59 in Firewalls
    Views
    120,425
    Comparisons
    88,209
    Reviews
    42
    Average Words per Review
    690
    Rating
    8.4
    Comparisons
    Also Known As
    Check Point NG Firewall, Check Point Next Generation Firewall
    FortiGate 60b, FortiGate 60c, FortiGate 80c, FortiGate 50b, FortiGate 200b, FortiGate 110c, FortiGate
    Learn More
    Overview

    Check Point NGFW is a next generation firewall that enables safe usage of internet applications by blocking malicious applications and unblocking safe applications. Check Point NGFW, which uses deep packet inspection to identify and control applications, has features such as application and user control and integrated intrusion prevention (IPS), as well as more advanced malware prevention capabilities like sandboxing.

    Check Point NGFW includes 23 firewall models optimized for running all threat prevention technologies simultaneously, including full SSL traffic inspection, without compromising on security or performance.

    Benefits of Check Point's Next Generation Firewall

    • Robust security: Check Point NGFW delivers the best possible threat prevention with SandBlast Zero Day protection. The SandBlast protection agent constantly inspects passing network traffic for exploits and vulnerabilities. Suspicious files are then emulated in a virtual sandbox in order to detect and report malicious behavior.

    • Security at hyperscale: On-demand hyperscale threat prevention performance provides cloud level expansion and resiliency on premises.

    • Unified management: Check Point's SmartConsole makes it easy to manage and configure network security environments and policies. With the SmartConsole, users can manage all the firewall gateways and access logs and install databases from one location. Unified management control across the network increases the efficiency of security operations and reduces IT costs.
    • Continuous logging: Check Point NGFW’s Threat Management feature detects vulnerabilities and logs them. Using the logged data, users can easily create and implement efficient security policies.

    • Remote access: The remote access VPN provides a seamless connection for remote users.

    Check Point NGFW is suitable for organizations of all sizes, from small businesses to larger enterprises.

    Reviews from Real Users

    Check Point NGFW stands out among its competitors for a number of reasons. Two major ones are its intrusion prevention feature as well as its centralized management, which makes it very easy to deploy firewall policies to many firewalls with one click.

    Shivani J., a network security administrator, writes, "Check Point has a lot of features. The ones I love are the antivirus, intrusion prevention, and data loss prevention."

    G., a network administrator at Secretaría de Finanzas de Aguascalientes, writes, “Within the organization, the inspection of packages has given us great help in detecting traffic that may be a threat to the institution. The configuration of policies has allowed us to maintain control of access and users for each institution that is incorporated into our headquarters.”

    Arun J., a senior network engineer, notes, “The nicest feature is the centralized management of multiple firewalls. With the centralized management, we can easily use and operate multiple firewalls as well as create a diagram of them.”

    Fortinet FortiGate enhances network security, prevents unauthorized access, and offers robust firewall protection. Valued features include advanced threat protection, reliable performance, and a user-friendly interface. It improves efficiency, streamlines processes, and boosts collaboration, providing valuable insights for informed decision-making and growth.

    Sample Customers
    Control Southern, Optimal Media
    1. Amazon Web Services 2. Microsoft 3. IBM 4. Cisco 5. Dell 6. HP 7. Oracle 8. Verizon 9. AT&T 10. T-Mobile 11. Sprint 12. Vodafone 13. Orange 14. BT Group 15. Telstra 16. Deutsche Telekom 17. Comcast 18. Time Warner Cable 19. CenturyLink 20. NTT Communications 21. Tata Communications 22. SoftBank 23. China Mobile 24. Singtel 25. Telus 26. Rogers Communications 27. Bell Canada 28. Telkom Indonesia 29. Telkom South Africa 30. Telmex 31. Telia Company 32. Telkom Kenya
    Top Industries
    REVIEWERS
    Financial Services Firm22%
    Computer Software Company15%
    Comms Service Provider7%
    Manufacturing Company6%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Educational Organization50%
    Computer Software Company8%
    Financial Services Firm5%
    Comms Service Provider4%
    REVIEWERS
    Comms Service Provider16%
    Computer Software Company9%
    Financial Services Firm8%
    Manufacturing Company7%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Educational Organization20%
    Computer Software Company15%
    Comms Service Provider8%
    Manufacturing Company6%
    Company Size
    REVIEWERS
    Small Business32%
    Midsize Enterprise19%
    Large Enterprise49%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Small Business14%
    Midsize Enterprise58%
    Large Enterprise28%
    REVIEWERS
    Small Business48%
    Midsize Enterprise23%
    Large Enterprise30%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Small Business27%
    Midsize Enterprise32%
    Large Enterprise41%
    Buyer's Guide
    Check Point NGFW vs. Fortinet FortiGate
    May 2024
    Find out what your peers are saying about Check Point NGFW vs. Fortinet FortiGate and other solutions. Updated: May 2024.
    770,292 professionals have used our research since 2012.

    Check Point NGFW is ranked 5th in Firewalls with 275 reviews while Fortinet FortiGate is ranked 2nd in Firewalls with 306 reviews. Check Point NGFW is rated 8.8, while Fortinet FortiGate is rated 8.4. The top reviewer of Check Point NGFW writes "Good antivirus protection and URL filtering with very good user identification capabilities". On the other hand, the top reviewer of Fortinet FortiGate writes "It's a reliable solution that's easy to install and cheaper than competitors ". Check Point NGFW is most compared with Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls, Sophos XG, Cisco Secure Firewall, Netgate pfSense and Azure Firewall, whereas Fortinet FortiGate is most compared with Sophos XG, Cisco Secure Firewall, Netgate pfSense, Meraki MX and SonicWall TZ. See our Check Point NGFW vs. Fortinet FortiGate report.

    See our list of best Firewalls vendors.

    We monitor all Firewalls reviews to prevent fraudulent reviews and keep review quality high. We do not post reviews by company employees or direct competitors. We validate each review for authenticity via cross-reference with LinkedIn, and personal follow-up with the reviewer when necessary.