We performed a comparison between Fortinet FortiGate and OPNsense based on our users’ reviews in five categories. After reading all of the collected data, you can find our conclusion below.
Features: Fortinet FortiGate is highly regarded for its all-inclusive package, intuitive interface, strong security features, expandability, and centralized administration. OPNsense is appreciated for its scalability, user-friendly nature, adaptability, reliability, and availability of a free version.
Fortinet FortiGate could be enhanced in areas such as SSL VPN capabilities, multi-factor authentication, filtering accuracy, support system, reporting capabilities, antivirus and IPS functionality, delivery reliability, logging information, security features, scalability, navigation, container security, and WAF functionality. OPNsense could improve its interface, bandwidth management, protection across multiple internet providers, high availability, logging, management of different groups, integration, reporting, SSL inspection, and learning curve.
Service and Support: Fortinet FortiGate and OPNsense products have varied reviews. Certain customers have expressed satisfaction with Fortinet, while some have criticized the support provided by OPNsense.
Ease of Deployment: The setup process for Fortinet FortiGate is generally straightforward and can take anywhere from a few hours to a couple of days or even up to two months. OPNsense's initial setup is described as easy and not too difficult, typically taking a few hours for installation and configuration. However, certain environments like Azure may require additional setup and adaptation, which can extend the implementation process.
Pricing: Fortinet FortiGate offers different packages and pricing options for setup, which are considered reasonable and competitive. However, the renewal prices might be higher. OPNsense is an open-source solution with affordable pricing, mainly determined by hardware expenses. Although a paid version is available, the free version is widely utilized.
ROI: Fortinet FortiGate is a worthwhile investment that delivers positive outcomes by reducing costs in data communications. It offers efficient protection against threats and allows for centralized management. OPNsense has experienced notable progress, achieving a return on investment in under three months and eliminating the need for recurring fees.
Comparison Results: Fortinet FortiGate is highly recommended by users due to its extensive package solution, user-friendly interface, stable performance, strong security capabilities, and ease of use. It offers additional features such as SSL VPN, load balancing, and multi-tenancy. Fortinet FortiGate also excels in customer service and support, with users appreciating their quick response times and helpful assistance.
"It has improved our organization with control data."
"A strong point of FortiGate is the graphical interface is complete and easy to use."
"It is user friendly, and has all the features you need."
"In terms of security, we have not experienced any security flaws or loopholes, and it has proven to be quite stable."
"It's very fast and easy to configure."
"Consolidated our network environment at all locations, but mainly at our datacenter."
"This solution has helped our organization by having strong functions and a reliable firewall."
"The solution is easy to configure and maintain remotely."
"The most valuable features in OPNsense are reporting and visibility."
"The interface and the dashboard are the most valuable features of this solution."
"OPNsense is highly stable."
"The technical support is very good."
"The initial implementation process is simple."
"URL blocking, Wireguard, Tail Scale, Engine Blocker, and VPN are the most valuable features for me."
"What I like the most about OPNsense is that it offers an easy-to-use dashboard for device management and control."
"It's more secure and more reliable."
"There are some tiny bugs that sometimes affect the operations. In the past revision of it, there was a bug. Because of the bug, we had to downgrade the version. It happened only with the last revision."
"Bandwidth usage in reporting could be improved for Fortinet FortiGate."
"The solution's framework needs to be frequently updated in order to have a stable solution."
"I use the FortiGate 60D model and realized the 300Mbps bandwidth limitation. Because it is a product that offers many services, I think it could have greater bandwidth capacity."
"They should make the rule sets more understandable for the end user. When you're trying to explain to somebody how a computer network is secured, sometimes it's difficult for an end user or customer to understand. If there was a way to make the terminology more accessible to the end user, the set up could be easier. They should translate the technical jargon to an easily relatable and understandable conversation for the end user, the customer, that would be brilliant. Particularly in an environment where the IT structure is audited regularly, there's always pressure from the auditor to up the standards and up the security and you get your USCERT's that come out and there's a warning about this and the customer will want to lock out so much and when you apply it they run into issue where they can't search the internet or print to their remote office. Of course they can't print to your remote office, they just locked it up. They should make the language more understandable for the customer. If there's a product out there that made the jargon understandable to John Q. Public, I would buy that."
"We would like to see an upgrade to the VPN feature, we are using the VPN from outside of our office and there is a limitation to 10 connections, more connections would be suitable."
"Fortinet FortiGate is a firewall solution and once it's deployed, you can rest assured that your system is secure."
"Fortinet needs to overhaul its documentation."
"When using the solution at the beginning was difficult. There was a steep learning curve."
"The ability to set the VPN IP address would be a welcome addition."
"There should be more technical documentation."
"Given that OPNsense plays a pivotal role as a firewall, safeguarding against various threats, having a reliable backup ensures uninterrupted protection even if unforeseen events impact the primary virtual machine."
"The IPS solution could be more reliable."
"There is room for improvement in SSL inspection."
"There are issues with stability and reliability."
"While they do have paid options that actually gives better features, for most of the clients, if they tend to take a paid option will instead opt for Fortinet."
Fortinet FortiGate is ranked 2nd in Firewalls with 306 reviews while OPNsense is ranked 3rd in Firewalls with 36 reviews. Fortinet FortiGate is rated 8.4, while OPNsense is rated 8.4. The top reviewer of Fortinet FortiGate writes "It's a reliable solution that's easy to install and cheaper than competitors ". On the other hand, the top reviewer of OPNsense writes "Robust network security and management offering a user-friendly interface, open-source flexibility, and cost-effectiveness, with challenges regarding initial setup and the absence of official support". Fortinet FortiGate is most compared with Sophos XG, Cisco Secure Firewall, Netgate pfSense, Meraki MX and Juniper SRX Series Firewall, whereas OPNsense is most compared with Netgate pfSense, Sophos XG, Untangle NG Firewall, Sophos UTM and IPFire. See our Fortinet FortiGate vs. OPNsense 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.
