# FortiGate-VM NGFW vs Palo Alto Networks Next-Generation Firewalls Comparison - What are their main differences? 

At a Glance

Star Rating

**FortiGate-VM NGFW** [

4.6/5(249)

](https://www.g2.com/products/fortigate-vm-ngfw/reviews#reviews)

**Palo Alto Networks Next-Generation Firewalls** [

4.5/5(170)

](https://www.g2.com/products/palo-alto-networks-next-generation-firewalls/reviews#reviews)

Market Segments

**FortiGate-VM NGFW**
Mid-Market (57.0% of reviews)

**Palo Alto Networks Next-Generation Firewalls**
Mid-Market (47.0% of reviews)

Pros & Cons

**FortiGate-VM NGFW**
[
Ease of Use (12)
](https://www.g2.com/products/fortigate-vm-ngfw/reviews?filters%5Bsentiment_snippet%5D=1089927&qs=pros-and-cons#reviews)[
Features (10)
](https://www.g2.com/products/fortigate-vm-ngfw/reviews?filters%5Bsentiment_snippet%5D=1090198&qs=pros-and-cons#reviews)[
Difficult Learning Curve (4)
](https://www.g2.com/products/fortigate-vm-ngfw/reviews?filters%5Bsentiment_snippet%5D=2123206&qs=pros-and-cons#reviews)[
Expensive (4)
](https://www.g2.com/products/fortigate-vm-ngfw/reviews?filters%5Bsentiment_snippet%5D=1091199&qs=pros-and-cons#reviews)

**Palo Alto Networks Next-Generation Firewalls**
[
Firewall Efficiency (14)
](https://www.g2.com/products/palo-alto-networks-next-generation-firewalls/reviews?filters%5Bsentiment_snippet%5D=1472541&qs=pros-and-cons#reviews)[
Ease of Use (13)
](https://www.g2.com/products/palo-alto-networks-next-generation-firewalls/reviews?filters%5Bsentiment_snippet%5D=1472283&qs=pros-and-cons#reviews)[
Expensive (23)
](https://www.g2.com/products/palo-alto-networks-next-generation-firewalls/reviews?filters%5Bsentiment_snippet%5D=1472974&qs=pros-and-cons#reviews)[
Difficult Learning Curve (12)
](https://www.g2.com/products/palo-alto-networks-next-generation-firewalls/reviews?filters%5Bsentiment_snippet%5D=1472691&qs=pros-and-cons#reviews)

Entry-Level Pricing

**FortiGate-VM NGFW**
No pricing available

**Palo Alto Networks Next-Generation Firewalls**
No pricing available

Summary

AI Generated Summary

AI-generated. Powered by real user reviews.

- **G2 reviewers report** that FortiGate-VM NGFW excels in **ease of setup** , with many users appreciating its straightforward configuration process and modern user interface. One user noted, "It’s easy to appreciate FortiGate‑VM NGFW for its straightforward setup, strong security features, and reliable performance."
- **Users say** that Palo Alto Networks Next-Generation Firewalls offer unmatched **visibility and control** over network activity. Reviewers highlighted the ability to see who is on the network and what applications they are using, allowing for precise rule creation without the hassle of managing IP addresses.
- **According to verified reviews** , FortiGate-VM NGFW is favored for its **lightweight management** capabilities, making it easier to handle multiple firewalls. A user mentioned, "I much prefer dealing with cluster FW management through them," indicating a preference for its streamlined approach compared to Palo Alto.
- **Reviewers mention** that Palo Alto Networks shines in its **security rule automation** , with users praising its advancements in creating security rules. One user stated, "The best about Palo Alto Networks Next Generation Firewalls is its advancements of security rule creation capabilities automation," showcasing its strength in this area.
- **G2 reviewers highlight** that FortiGate-VM NGFW provides a **robust performance** against complex threats without compromising speed. Users appreciate its ability to handle demanding tasks while maintaining efficiency, with one stating, "It feels lightweight to manage yet powerful enough to handle complex threats."
- **Users report** that while Palo Alto Networks offers strong features, it sometimes faces challenges in **user-friendliness** compared to FortiGate-VM. Reviewers have noted that managing multiple firewalls can be more cumbersome with Palo Alto, which may impact day-to-day usability for some users.

Pricing

Entry-Level Pricing

**FortiGate-VM NGFW**

FortiGate-VM NGFW
No pricing available

**Palo Alto Networks Next-Generation Firewalls**

Palo Alto Networks Next-Generation Firewalls
No pricing available

Free Trial

**FortiGate-VM NGFW**

FortiGate-VM NGFW

Free Trial is available

**Palo Alto Networks Next-Generation Firewalls**

Palo Alto Networks Next-Generation Firewalls
No trial information available

Ratings

Meets Requirements

9.1

194

8.9

153

Ease of Use

8.9

197

8.3

154

Ease of Setup

8.8

163

8.2

138

Ease of Admin

9.1

148

8.4

107

Quality of Support

8.6

192

8.2

145

Has the product been a good partner in doing business?

9.0

144

8.8

105

Product Direction (% positive)

9.5

193

9.2

149

Features by Category

Network Security[Hide 40 FeaturesShow 40 Features](javascript:void(0);)

Not enough data

Not enough data

Additional Functionality

Penetration Testing

Not enough data

Not enough data

Alerts/Notifications

Not enough data

Not enough data

Audit Trail

Not enough data

Not enough data

Anti Virus

Not enough data

Not enough data

Vulnerability Scanning

Not enough data

Not enough data

Remote Monitoring & Management

Not enough data

Not enough data

VPN

Not enough data

Not enough data

Behavior Analytics

Not enough data

Not enough data

Reporting/Analytics

Not enough data

Not enough data

Real-Time Notifications

Not enough data

Not enough data

Access Controls/Permissions

Not enough data

Not enough data

SSL Security

Not enough data

Not enough data

Patch Management

Not enough data

Not enough data

Event Logs

Not enough data

Not enough data

Anomaly/Malware Detection

Not enough data

Not enough data

DNS Leak Protection

Not enough data

Not enough data

Third-Party Integrations

Not enough data

Not enough data

Server Monitoring

Not enough data

Not enough data

Real-Time Monitoring

Not enough data

Not enough data

Compliance Management

Not enough data

Not enough data

Network Provisioning

Not enough data

Not enough data

API

Not enough data

Not enough data

Email Alerts

Not enough data

Not enough data

Security Auditing

Not enough data

Not enough data

Intrusion Detection System

Not enough data

Not enough data

Data Visualization

Not enough data

Not enough data

Two-Factor Authentication

Not enough data

Not enough data

Generative AI

Not enough data

Not enough data

Firewalls

Not enough data

Not enough data

AI Copilot

Not enough data

Not enough data

Anti Spam

Not enough data

Not enough data

Threat Response

Not enough data

Not enough data

Activity Monitoring

Not enough data

Not enough data

Risk Alerts

Not enough data

Not enough data

Data Loss Prevention

Not enough data

Not enough data

Single Sign On

Not enough data

Not enough data

Intrusion Prevention System

Not enough data

Not enough data

Secure Login

Not enough data

Not enough data

Policy Management

Not enough data

Not enough data

Activity Dashboard

Not enough data

Not enough data

Unified Threat Management (UTM)[Hide 8 FeaturesShow 8 Features](javascript:void(0);)

9.3

124

Not enough data

Security - Unified Threat Management

Antivirus

9.3(won by default)

96

Not enough data

Whitelists

9.4(won by default)

99

Not enough data

Antispam Filtering

9.0(won by default)

90

Not enough data

Content Filtering

9.2(won by default)

96

Not enough data

Web Filtering

9.7(won by default)

97

Not enough data

Firewall

9.7(won by default)

103

Not enough data

Administration

Reports & Analytics

8.7(won by default)

97

Not enough data

Dashboard

9.4(won by default)

99

Not enough data

Data Center Security Solutions[Hide 11 FeaturesShow 11 Features](javascript:void(0);)

9.4

78

Not enough data

Prevention

Intrusion Prevention

9.6(won by default)

59

Not enough data

Firewall

9.5(won by default)

63

Not enough data

Encryption

9.2(won by default)

57

Not enough data

Security hardening

9.4(won by default)

56

Not enough data

Cloud Data Protection

Feature Not Available

Not enough data

Detection

Intrusion Detection

9.4(won by default)

59

Not enough data

Security Monitoring

9.4(won by default)

54

Not enough data

Anti-Malware / Malware Detection

9.3(won by default)

55

Not enough data

Administration

Compliance

9.4(won by default)

55

Not enough data

Administration Console -

9.4(won by default)

59

Not enough data

API / integrations

9.0(won by default)

52

Not enough data

Intrusion Detection and Prevention Systems (IDPS)[Hide 14 FeaturesShow 14 Features](javascript:void(0);)

Not enough data

8.8

68

Prevention

Intrusion Prevention

Not enough data

9.1(won by default)

65

Firewall

Not enough data

9.3(won by default)

64

Encryption

Not enough data

8.9(won by default)

64

Security hardening

Not enough data

9.0(won by default)

64

Cloud Data Protection

Not enough data

8.3(won by default)

60

Detection

Intrusion Detection

Not enough data

9.0(won by default)

65

Security Monitoring

Not enough data

8.9(won by default)

64

Anti-Malware / Malware Detection

Not enough data

8.9(won by default)

64

Administration

Compliance

Not enough data

8.8(won by default)

62

Administration Console -

Not enough data

8.8(won by default)

64

API / integrations

Not enough data

8.6(won by default)

59

Generative AI

AI Text Summarization

Not enough data

8.2(won by default)

20

Agentic AI - Intrusion Detection and Prevention Systems (IDPS)

Autonomous Task Execution

Not enough data

8.9(won by default)

6

Proactive Assistance

Not enough data

8.6(won by default)

6

Firewall Software[Hide 62 FeaturesShow 62 Features](javascript:void(0);)

9.0

133

8.3

113

Administration

Policy Management

9.2(won by 0.5)

106

8.7

105

Logging and Reporting

8.9(won by 0.3)

103

8.6

105

Application Gateway

9.2(won by 0.9)

93

8.3

97

Concurrent Sessions

9.3(won by 0.9)

98

8.4

97

Uptime Reporting

Not enough data

Not enough data

Web Traffic Reporting

Not enough data

Not enough data

Compliance Management

Not enough data

Not enough data

Access Management

Not enough data

Not enough data

Incident Management

Not enough data

Not enough data

Audit Management

Not enough data

Not enough data

Remote Monitoring & Management

Not enough data

Not enough data

Agentic AI - Firewall Software

Autonomous Task Execution

Not enough data

8.0(won by default)

10

Adaptive Learning

Not enough data

7.5(won by default)

10

AI/Machine Learning

Not enough data

Not enough data

Functionality

Virtual Private Network (VPN)

9.4(won by 0.7)

106

8.7

102

Antivirus

9.1(won by 0.7)

97

8.4

97

URL Filtering

9.4(won by 0.6)

102

8.8

99

Availability

9.5(won by 0.7)

99

8.8

98

IP Filtering

Not enough data

Not enough data

Content Filtering

Not enough data

Not enough data

Monitoring

Load Balancing

9.2(won by 0.8)

92

8.4

96

Continuous Analysis

9.0(won by 0.4)

94

8.6

97

Intrusion Prevention

9.2(won by 0.4)

111

8.8

101

Intrusion Detection

9.3(won by 0.6)

99

8.7

98

Intrusion Detection System

Not enough data

Not enough data

Intrusion Prevention System

Not enough data

Not enough data

Generative AI

AI Text Summarization

8.2(won by 1.1)

20

7.1

29

Generative AI

Not enough data

Not enough data

Artificial Intelligence - Firewall

AI Firewall

7.7(won by 0.3)

5

7.4

17

Additional Functionality

Spam Blocker

Not enough data

Not enough data

Alerts/Escalation

Not enough data

Not enough data

Role-Based Permissions

Not enough data

Not enough data

Network Monitoring

Not enough data

Not enough data

Visual Analytics

Not enough data

Not enough data

Customizable Reports

Not enough data

Not enough data

Real-Time Analytics

Not enough data

Not enough data

Reporting & Statistics

Not enough data

Not enough data

Anti Spam

Not enough data

Not enough data

Activity Dashboard

Not enough data

Not enough data

Real-Time Monitoring

Not enough data

Not enough data

Real-Time Notifications

Not enough data

Not enough data

Activity Tracking

Not enough data

Not enough data

Hardware Integration

Not enough data

Not enough data

Summary Reports

Not enough data

Not enough data

Alerts/Notifications

Not enough data

Not enough data

Access Controls/Permissions

Not enough data

Not enough data

Real-Time Data

Not enough data

Not enough data

Server Monitoring

Not enough data

Not enough data

Two-Factor Authentication

Not enough data

Not enough data

Log Access

Not enough data

Not enough data

Reporting/Analytics

Not enough data

Not enough data

Multi-Location

Not enough data

Not enough data

SSL Security

Not enough data

Not enough data

Behavior Tracking

Not enough data

Not enough data

AI Copilot

Not enough data

Not enough data

API

Not enough data

Not enough data

Event Logs

Not enough data

Not enough data

Vulnerability Scanning

Not enough data

Not enough data

Risk Alerts

Not enough data

Not enough data

Single Sign On

Not enough data

Not enough data

Dashboard Creation

Not enough data

Not enough data

Monitoring

Not enough data

Not enough data

Data Security[Hide 12 FeaturesShow 12 Features](javascript:void(0);)

Not enough data

Not enough data

Compliance

Access Management

Not enough data

Not enough data

At-Risk Analysis

Not enough data

Not enough data

DLP Configuration

Not enough data

Not enough data

Sensitive Data Compliance

Not enough data

Not enough data

Administration

Database Management

Not enough data

Not enough data

Deduplication 

Not enough data

Not enough data

Backup

Not enough data

Not enough data

API / integrations

Not enough data

Not enough data

Security 

Multi-Factor Authentication

Not enough data

Not enough data

Data Transport

Not enough data

Not enough data

Data Types

Not enough data

Not enough data

Security Tools

Not enough data

Not enough data

Reviews

Reviewers' Company Size

[![FortiGate-VM NGFW](https://images.g2crowd.com/uploads/product/hd_favicon/fa3376b61f91a50021359e71d1976187/fortigate-vm-ngfw.jpg "FortiGate-VM NGFW")](https://www.g2.com/products/fortigate-vm-ngfw/reviews)

FortiGate-VM NGFW

Small-Business(50 or fewer emp.)

20.2%

Mid-Market(51-1000 emp.)

57.0%

Enterprise(\> 1000 emp.)

22.8%

[![Palo Alto Networks Next-Generation Firewalls](https://images.g2crowd.com/uploads/product/hd_favicon/f6a3d45d41e697437b84a2340cfee124/palo-alto-networks-next-generation-firewalls.svg "Palo Alto Networks Next-Generation Firewalls")](https://www.g2.com/products/palo-alto-networks-next-generation-firewalls/reviews)

Palo Alto Networks Next-Generation Firewalls

Small-Business(50 or fewer emp.)

18.3%

Mid-Market(51-1000 emp.)

47.0%

Enterprise(\> 1000 emp.)

34.8%

Small-Business

(50 or fewer emp.)

20.2%

18.3%

Mid-Market

(51-1000 emp.)

57.0%

47.0%

Enterprise

(\> 1000 emp.)

22.8%

34.8%

Reviewers' Industry

[![FortiGate-VM NGFW](https://images.g2crowd.com/uploads/product/hd_favicon/fa3376b61f91a50021359e71d1976187/fortigate-vm-ngfw.jpg "FortiGate-VM NGFW")](https://www.g2.com/products/fortigate-vm-ngfw/reviews)
FortiGate-VM NGFW

Information Technology and Services

22.8%

Computer & Network Security

11.9%

Telecommunications

10.0%

Financial Services

7.3%

Computer Software

6.4%

Other

41.6%

[![Palo Alto Networks Next-Generation Firewalls](https://images.g2crowd.com/uploads/product/hd_favicon/f6a3d45d41e697437b84a2340cfee124/palo-alto-networks-next-generation-firewalls.svg "Palo Alto Networks Next-Generation Firewalls")](https://www.g2.com/products/palo-alto-networks-next-generation-firewalls/reviews)
Palo Alto Networks Next-Generation Firewalls

Information Technology and Services

20.2%

Computer & Network Security

13.5%

Banking

6.7%

Computer Software

6.1%

Financial Services

5.5%

Other

47.9%

Alternatives

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[
Check Point Next Generation...
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WatchGuard Network Security
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[
SonicWall Next Generation...
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[
Barracuda CloudGen Firewall
](/products/barracuda-cloudgen-firewall/reviews)

**Palo Alto Networks Next-Generation Firewalls Alternatives**

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[
Sophos Firewall
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[
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