Fortinet vs. Palo Alto Networks: Which Is Better for Your Organization?

Fortinet and Palo Alto Networks hold a significant corner of the enterprise network security market, with extensive cybersecurity portfolios that cover more than just networks. 

Palo Alto particularly excels in cloud security and reliability, with some of the top test scores in the enterprise security market, while Fortinet FortiGate is one of the most acclaimed firewalls in the world. 

Also read: Cyberstorage: A Proactive Approach to Storage Security

To narrow your choice, this review looks closely at each vendor’s areas of focus. See below to learn all about Fortinet and Palo Alto in the cybersecurity market and how they help enterprises: 

Fortinet vs. Palo Alto Networks

• Portfolio
• Use Cases
• Ratings
• Industry Recognition
• Overall

Fortinet vs. Palo Alto: Portfolio

Highlights of Palo Alto’s enterprise offerings include Prisma Cloud, its cloud security platform, the Cortex series, which includes XDR, and secure access service edge (SASE), according to its website. Palo Alto also receives consistent high scores in security tests, such as those by MITRE. 

Fortinet offers an extensive platform, including cloud management and analytics, endpoint vulnerability scans, and software-defined wide-area network (SD-WAN), according to its website. Its main focus is network security, and it has products like edge local area network (LAN) security, phone and voice communication security, and surveillance for cameras and recorders. 

Also read: Best Next-Generation Firewall (NGFW) Solutions 

Fortinet vs. Palo Alto: Use Cases

For organizations focused on securing remote networks, Fortinet use cases include remote work; chat, fax, and videoconferencing; and hyperscale applications, according to its website. 

Palo Alto’s solutions span many use cases, but its most notable ones are in security operations (SecOps), according to its website.Teams that require a wide range of tools that extend security throughout their organization will benefit from working with Palo Alto.

Also read: Top Cybersecurity Companies Hiring

Palo Alto vs. Fortinet: Ratings

Palo Alto and Fortinet both score high ratings from users on multiple review sites. Fortinet’s next-generation firewall (NGFW) score is particularly notable: the provider scores 4.6 out of 5 in over 2,000 reviews at Gartner Peer Insights. Palo Alto receives a particularly high score, 4.9 out of 5, for its WAN edge infrastructure solution at Gartner Peer Insights. 

Fortinet vs. Palo Alto: Industry Recognition

Fortinet was recognized on four significant Gartner Magic” Quadrants for 2021, listed as a leader for both network firewalls and WAN edge infrastructure. Fortinet received recognition from the Cyber Security Excellence Awards and the Globee Cyber Security Global Excellence Awards in 2021, earning four awards for its cybersecurity training program. It also received Frost & Sullivan’s 2021 North America Product Leadership Award for health care. 

Palo Alto was also named a Gartner Magic Quadrant leader for the 2021 network firewalls and WAN edge infrastructure. Additionally, it’s been recognized multiple times on the Forrester New Wave report, named as a 2021 leader for zero-trust network access and endpoint security SaaS. 

Palo Alto vs. Fortinet: Overall

It’s hard to go wrong with either Palo Alto or Fortinet: both vendors have a large lineup of cybersecurity products, and user reviews indicate that their enterprise customers agree. 

For large enterprises that want to protect cloud workloads or focus on risk and compliance in their security approach, Palo Alto offers a wide variety of products and use cases.

Read next: Top Cloud Security Tools & Software

Methodology

This comparison of Fortinet and Palo Alto Networks is based on a comparative analysis of research collected from several sources: user review sites; market research firms; an industry nonprofit; and company web materials.