Next-generation firewalls · September 2026 Edition
Fortinet FortiGate vs Fortinet
Eleven of twelve models named Fortinet FortiGate first on the direct prompt; zero named Fortinet. Fortinet FortiGate was named by twelve of the twelve models and Fortinet by eleven and Fortinet FortiGate carries 38 labels and Fortinet 19, so the shares are not directly comparable.
Named in two categories this edition.
Named in five categories this edition.
First-choice share61%9%Of first choices across the direct, paraphrase, budget and scale prompts, 0 to 100.
Negative rate8%26%Negative labels as a share of the product's labels, 0 to 100.
Rank in category#1#2A position in a field of 10; printed, not drawn.
Labels3819A count; the two differ.
The two percentage rows are drawn on one 0 to 100 track, Fortinet FortiGate reading right to left. Rank and label count are printed, not drawn.Fortinet FortiGate vs Palo Alto Networks · Fortinet vs Palo Alto Networks
Share is the count of first choices across the direct, paraphrase, budget and scale prompts over all twelve models, for a mid-market B2B company; rank is within the category; every quote names the model and the prompt it came from. Both figures come from the next-generation firewalls page.
By framing
How many of the twelve models made each the first choice, per way of asking, and how many argued against it.
Fortinet FortiGateFirst choices, of twelve modelsFortinet
Direct110
Paraphrase82
Comparative12
Budget-constrained61
Scale-constrained31
Negative003 against Fortinet FortiGate · 5 against Fortinet
Bars are first choices, 0 to 12 each sideModels that argued againstA model can name both, so the two sides of a row do not sum to twelve.
The direct prompt
The plain question, one answer per model, grouped by where Fortinet FortiGate and Fortinet stood in it.
Fortinet FortiGate first, Fortinet not the choice
11 of 12 modelsFortinet was named in the answer but not as the choice, or not at all.Claude Haiku 4.5Fortinet FortiGate alternatives: Palo Alto Networks PA-Series
Gemini 3.5 FlashFortinet FortiGate alternatives: Palo Alto Networks, Sophos Firewall
Perplexity SonarFortinet FortiGate alternatives: Check Point Quantum, Palo Alto Networks PA-Series, Sophos Firewall XGS
Grok 4.1 FastFortinet FortiGate alternatives: Cisco Secure Firewall, Palo Alto PA-Series, Sophos Firewall, WatchGuard Firebox
Mistral SmallFortinet FortiGate alternatives: Palo Alto Networks, Sophos
DeepSeek V4 FlashFortinet FortiGate alternatives: Check Point, Cisco Secure Firewall, Palo Alto Networks, Sophos XGS, WatchGuard Firebox
Llama 4 MaverickFortinet FortiGate alternatives: Palo Alto Networks PA-Series, Sophos Firewall
Qwen 3.7 FlashFortinet FortiGate alternatives: Cisco Security Firewall, Palo Alto Networks
Kimi K2Fortinet FortiGate alternatives: Palo Alto Networks PA-Series, SonicWall NSa Series, WatchGuard Firebox
GLM 4.7 FlashXFortinet FortiGate alternatives: Cisco Secure Firewall, Palo Alto Networks PA-Series, Sophos XGS
MiniMax M2.5Fortinet FortiGate alternatives: Palo Alto Networks PA-Series, Sophos Firewall
Neither was the first choice, one was named
1 of 12 modelsThe answer put something else first and named one of the two as an alternative.GPT-5.4 miniPalo Alto Networks alternatives: Check Point, Fortinet
Bold names in an answer are the products the judge labeled a first choice; a model naming several gives each of them that label. The full answer text for every row is in the record.
By buyer segment
The same question asked on behalf of a different buyer. Each standing is computed within its segment and they are never added together. The figures above are the mid-market standing, which is the one the category orders by.
Small business
Fortinet FortiGate leads by thirty-three points.
Fortinet FortiGate35%#1 of 8Fortinet2%#– of 8Mid-marketThe figures above
Fortinet FortiGate leads by fifty-two points.
Fortinet FortiGate61%#1 of 10Fortinet9%#2 of 10Enterprise
Fortinet FortiGate leads by seventeen points.
Fortinet FortiGate28%#2 of 7Fortinet11%#3 of 7What the models said about Fortinet FortiGate
Every negative label with a quote, up to three, then the highest-weighted positives, up to three. Six of seven in this category shown.
“Older models of Fortigate, Palo Alto, and other NGFW devices can become security liabilities if not regularly updated.” Mistral Small · negative prompt · soft negative
“"Caution" in NSS Labs 2025 (79.24% effectiveness). Massive CVE volume (100+ tracked)” Grok 4.1 Fast · negative prompt · soft negative
“Verdict: Caution (High Maintenance)” GLM 4.7 FlashX · negative prompt · soft negative
“The Overall Best Value & Price-Performance: Fortinet FortiGate ... go with the Fortinet FortiGate. It offers the most future-proof scalability” Gemini 3.5 Flash · direct prompt · first choice
“The Best All-Rounder: Fortinet FortiGate (Series 600) ... market leader for mid-sized businesses because it offers the best price-to-performance ratio” Qwen 3.7 Flash · paraphrase prompt · first choice
“For a 500-person company, Fortinet FortiGate is frequently recommended as the sweet spot—enterprise-grade features at mid-market pricing.” Kimi K2 · scale prompt · first choice
What the models said about Fortinet
Every negative label with a quote, up to three, then the highest-weighted positives, up to three. Five of six in this category shown.
“20+ CVEs on CISA's Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog — among the highest for any firewall vendor ... Fortinet and SonicWall currently require the most aggressive hardening” Kimi K2 · negative prompt · hard negative
“Be cautious with Palo Alto and Fortinet; they are top-tier platforms, but you must be prepared to patch them constantly” Gemini 3.5 Flash · negative prompt · soft negative
“Fortinet is currently the most deployed NGFW globally, holding a significant market share (~50%). It is widely recognized for its price-performance ratio.” GLM 4.7 FlashX · comparative prompt · first choice
“Fortinet is widely considered the best choice for mid-sized businesses that want high performance and robust security without paying premium-tier pricing.” Gemini 3.5 Flash · paraphrase prompt · first choice
“Fortinet FortiGate (appliance or virtual) is the best all-around choice due to its balance of performance, features, and cost.” Mistral Small · paraphrase prompt · first choice
Also compared
Comparisons are drawn for the top three products in each category. The output is the models' output; nothing here is a recommendation by the index.