SASE platforms · October 2026 Edition
Cloudflare One vs Fortinet FortiSASE
Zero of fourteen models named Cloudflare One first on the direct prompt; one named Fortinet FortiSASE. Both were named by all fourteen models and Cloudflare One carries 62 labels and Fortinet FortiSASE 58, so the shares are not directly comparable.
Named in six categories this edition.
Named in two categories this edition.
First-choice share33%6%Of first choices across the direct, paraphrase, budget and scale prompts, 0 to 100.
Negative rate13%10%Negative labels as a share of the product's labels, 0 to 100.
Rank in category#2#4A position in a field of 11; printed, not drawn.
Labels6258A count; the two differ.
The two percentage rows are drawn on one 0 to 100 track, Cloudflare One reading right to left. Rank and label count are printed, not drawn.Cato Networks was named alongside these two in twelve of the fourteen direct answers. Cato Networks vs Cloudflare One · Cato Networks vs Fortinet FortiSASE · Cloudflare One vs Cato SASE Cloud
Share is the count of first choices across the direct, paraphrase, budget and scale prompts over all fourteen 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 SASE platforms page.
By framing
How many of the fourteen models made each the first choice, per way of asking, and how many argued against it.
Cloudflare OneFirst choices, of fourteen modelsFortinet FortiSASE
Direct011 against Fortinet FortiSASE
Paraphrase12
Comparative001 against Cloudflare One
Budget-constrained1301 against Fortinet FortiSASE
Scale-constrained20
Negative007 against Cloudflare One · 4 against Fortinet FortiSASE
Bars are first choices, 0 to 14 each sideModels that argued againstA model can name both, so the two sides of a row do not sum to fourteen.
Across every category in the October 2026 Edition, Cloudflare One and Fortinet FortiSASE were named in the same answer 126 times, of the 397 answers naming Cloudflare One and the 163 naming Fortinet FortiSASE. In those answers Fortinet FortiSASE took the first choice seven times and Cloudflare One fifty-two.
Every model, every framing
The eighty-four answers behind the chart above, one cell each: where Cloudflare One and Fortinet FortiSASE stood in it.
| Model | Direct | Paraphrase | Comparative | Budget-constrained | Scale-constrained | Negative |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Claude Haiku 4.5 | | | | |||
| GPT-5.4 mini | | | ||||
| Gemini 3.5 Flash | | | | | | |
| Perplexity Sonar | | | | |||
| Grok 4.1 Fast | | | | | | |
| Mistral Small | | | | | ||
| DeepSeek V4 Flash | | | | | | |
| Llama 4 Maverick | | | ||||
| Qwen 3.7 Flash | | | | | | |
| Kimi K2 | | | | | | |
| GLM 4.7 FlashX | | | | | ||
| MiniMax M2.5 | | | | | ||
| GPT-6 Luna | | | | | | |
| Muse Glimmer 30B | | | | | |
Cloudflare One Fortinet FortiSASE first choice named as an alternative argued againstblank: not namedEach cell is one answer, Cloudflare One on the left and Fortinet FortiSASE on the right.The direct prompt
The plain question, one answer per model, grouped by where Cloudflare One and Fortinet FortiSASE stood in it.
Fortinet FortiSASE first, Cloudflare One an alternative
1 of 14 modelsCloudflare One was named in the answer but not as the choice, or not at all.GLM 4.7 FlashXFortinet FortiSASE alternatives: Cato Networks, Cloudflare One
Neither was the first choice, one was named
12 of 14 modelsThe answer put something else first and named one of the two as an alternative.Claude Haiku 4.5Cato Networks alternatives: Check Point Harmony SASE, Cloudflare One, Fortinet FortiSASE
GPT-5.4 miniCato SASE Cloud alternatives: Fortinet FortiSASE, Netskope One, Zscaler Zero Trust Exchange
Gemini 3.5 FlashCato Networks alternatives: Cisco Secure Connect, Cloudflare One, Fortinet FortiSASE
Perplexity SonarCato Networks alternatives: Cloudflare One, Fortinet FortiSASE
Grok 4.1 FastCato Networks alternatives: Cloudflare One, Fortinet FortiSASE
DeepSeek V4 FlashCato Networks alternatives: Cloudflare One, Fortinet FortiSASE
Llama 4 MaverickCato SASE Cloud alternatives: COSGrid Z3 SASE, Fortinet FortiSASE, Zscaler Zero Trust Exchange
Qwen 3.7 FlashCato Networks alternatives: Cloudflare One
Kimi K2Cato Networks alternatives: Cloudflare One, Fortinet FortiSASE
MiniMax M2.5Cato Networks alternatives: Cloudflare One, Zscaler Zero Trust Exchange
GPT-6 LunaCato Networks alternatives: Fortinet FortiSASE, Netskope One, Zscaler Zero Trust Exchange
Muse Glimmer 30BCato Networks alternatives: Cloudflare One, Fortinet FortiSASE, Netskope One
Neither was named
1 of 14 modelsThe answer made no first choice from these two in this category.Mistral SmallCato Networks alternatives: Palo Alto Networks Prisma SASE
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
Cloudflare One leads by sixty-five points.
Cloudflare One69%#1 of 10Fortinet FortiSASE4%#3 of 10Mid-marketThe figures above
Cloudflare One leads by twenty-seven points.
Cloudflare One33%#2 of 11Fortinet FortiSASE6%#4 of 11Enterprise
Cloudflare One leads by eighteen points.
Cloudflare One18%#3 of 10Fortinet FortiSASE0%#7 of 10What the models said about Cloudflare One
Every negative label with a quote, up to three, then the highest-weighted positives, up to three. Five of five in this category shown.
“lacks mature security features ... Avoid if: You need comprehensive security features alongside connectivity” GLM 4.7 FlashX · negative prompt · hard negative
“recommends testing it rather than assuming it matches the traditional routing, local-services, and survivability depth” Perplexity Sonar · negative prompt · soft negative
“Complex onboarding, steep learning curve, limited features, opaque pricing (26% negative labels in AI review analysis)” Grok 4.1 Fast · negative prompt · soft negative
“My recommendation: Start with Cloudflare One's free tier... It's the lowest-risk, most transparent SASE option on the market right now” DeepSeek V4 Flash · budget prompt · first choice
“the strongest practical choice is usually Cloudflare One, because it has the clearest low-cost entry point and even a free tier” Perplexity Sonar · budget prompt · first choice
What the models said about Fortinet FortiSASE
Every negative label with a quote, up to three, then the highest-weighted positives, up to three. Six of eight in this category shown.
“Critical Compliance Failures: Fails FedRAMP authorization, HIPAA-BAA, and PCI-DSS” GLM 4.7 FlashX · negative prompt · hard negative
“Good if you are already heavily invested in Fortinet hardware at your branches, though it can sometimes be more complex to implement.” Qwen 3.7 Flash · direct prompt · soft negative
“The platform struggles with integration challenges, particularly integrating with legacy applications” Claude Haiku 4.5 · negative prompt · soft negative
“For most mid-market B2B companies, Fortinet FortiSASE offers the best balance of price, features, and reliability.” GLM 4.7 FlashX · direct prompt · first choice
“The Best All-Rounder: Fortinet (FortiGate)... Fortinet offers the highest "bang for your buck."” Qwen 3.7 Flash · paraphrase prompt · first choice
“Top Recommendation: FortiSASE” GLM 4.7 FlashX · paraphrase prompt · first choice
Also compared
Cato Networks vs Cloudflare OneCato Networks vs Fortinet FortiSASECloudflare One vs Cato SASE CloudCloudflare One vs Netskope OneCloudflare One vs Check Point Harmony SASECloudflare One vs Zscaler Zero Trust ExchangeCato SASE Cloud vs Fortinet FortiSASEFortinet FortiSASE vs Netskope OneFortinet FortiSASE vs Check Point Harmony SASEFortinet FortiSASE vs Zscaler Zero Trust ExchangeAll twenty-one head-to-head pages and the full SASE standing
Comparisons are drawn for the top eight products in each category, each against each. The output is the models' output; nothing here is a recommendation by the index.