SD-WAN · September 2026 Edition
Fortinet Secure SD-WAN vs Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN
Six of twelve models named Fortinet Secure SD-WAN first on the direct prompt; zero named Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN. Both were named by all twelve models and Fortinet Secure SD-WAN carries 58 labels and Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN 32, so the shares are not directly comparable.
Named in two categories this edition.
Named in two categories this edition.
First-choice share41%9%Of first choices across the direct, paraphrase, budget and scale prompts, 0 to 100.
Negative rate7%47%Negative labels as a share of the product's labels, 0 to 100.
Rank in category#1#3A position in a field of 11; printed, not drawn.
Labels5832A count; the two differ.
The two percentage rows are drawn on one 0 to 100 track, Fortinet Secure SD-WAN reading right to left. Rank and label count are printed, not drawn.Cisco Meraki SD-WAN was named alongside these two in ten of the twelve direct answers. Fortinet Secure SD-WAN vs Cisco Meraki SD-WAN · Cisco Meraki SD-WAN vs Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN
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 SD-WAN 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 Secure SD-WANFirst choices, of twelve modelsCisco Catalyst SD-WAN
Direct60
Paraphrase402 against Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN
Comparative11
Budget-constrained742 against Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN
Scale-constrained10
Negative004 against Fortinet Secure SD-WAN · 10 against Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN
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 Secure SD-WAN and Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN stood in it.
Fortinet Secure SD-WAN first, Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN an alternative
6 of 12 modelsCisco Catalyst SD-WAN was named in the answer but not as the choice, or not at all.GPT-5.4 miniFortinet Secure SD-WAN alternatives: Cisco Meraki SD-WAN, Palo Alto Networks Prisma SD-WAN
Gemini 3.5 FlashCisco Meraki SD-WAN, Fortinet Secure SD-WAN alternatives: Cato Networks, VMware VeloCloud SD-WAN
Perplexity SonarFortinet Secure SD-WAN alternatives: Cato Networks, Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN, Cisco Meraki SD-WAN, Versa Secure SD-WAN
Kimi K2Fortinet Secure SD-WAN alternatives: Cato Networks, Cisco Meraki SD-WAN, HPE Aruba EdgeConnect, Versa Secure SD-WAN
GLM 4.7 FlashXFortinet Secure SD-WAN alternatives: Cato Networks, Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN, Cisco Meraki SD-WAN, VMware VeloCloud SD-WAN
MiniMax M2.5Cisco Meraki SD-WAN, Fortinet Secure SD-WAN alternatives: Cato Networks, HPE Aruba EdgeConnect, VMware VeloCloud SD-WAN, Versa Secure SD-WAN
Neither was the first choice, one was named
2 of 12 modelsThe answer put something else first and named one of the two as an alternative.Grok 4.1 FastCisco Meraki SD-WAN alternatives: FatPipe SD-WAN, Fortinet Secure SD-WAN
DeepSeek V4 FlashCisco Meraki SD-WAN alternatives: Cato Networks, Fortinet Secure SD-WAN
Neither was named
4 of 12 modelsThe answer made no first choice from these two in this category.Claude Haiku 4.5no first choice
Mistral SmallHPE Aruba EdgeConnect, VMware VeloCloud SD-WAN alternatives: Cisco Meraki SD-WAN
Llama 4 Maverickno first choice
Qwen 3.7 FlashCisco Meraki SD-WAN alternatives: FatPipe SD-WAN, HPE Aruba EdgeConnect, MetTel, VMware VeloCloud SD-WAN
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 Secure SD-WAN leads by twenty-one points.
Fortinet Secure SD-WAN31%#2 of 10Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN10%#4 of 10Mid-marketThe figures above
Fortinet Secure SD-WAN leads by thirty-two points.
Fortinet Secure SD-WAN41%#1 of 11Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN9%#3 of 11Enterprise
The order flips: Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN leads at enterprise.
Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN45%#1 of 10Fortinet Secure SD-WAN27%#2 of 10What the models said about Fortinet Secure SD-WAN
Every negative label with a quote, up to three, then the highest-weighted positives, up to three. Six of eight in this category shown.
“Fortinet Secure SD-WAN if standalone ... rely on third-party underlays ... Top-Rated Leaders: Fortinet Secure SD-WAN (highest Peer Insights: 4.9/5)” Grok 4.1 Fast · negative prompt · soft negative
“provide excellent software but: No control over underlying transport - No SLA for internet/MPLS circuits you provide” Kimi K2 · negative prompt · soft negative
“Examples: Cisco Viptela, VMware VeloCloud (now Broadcom), Fortinet Secure SD-WAN ... Why be cautious?” Mistral Small · negative prompt · soft negative
“For most mid-market B2B companies, Fortinet Secure SD-WAN offers the best balance of features, integrated security, and cost.” Kimi K2 · direct prompt · first choice
“For most mid-market B2B companies, Cisco Meraki or Fortinet Secure SD-WAN are often recommended as starting points” MiniMax M2.5 · direct prompt · first choice
“I'd lean Fortinet Secure SD-WAN because it often gives the best balance of cost, security, and operational simplicity.” GPT-5.4 mini · paraphrase prompt · first choice
What the models said about Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN
Every negative label with a quote, up to three, then the highest-weighted positives, up to three. Six of seven in this category shown.
“Cisco SD-WAN systems have been actively targeted by malicious cyber actors globally, with attackers exploiting an authentication bypass vulnerability” Claude Haiku 4.5 · negative prompt · hard negative
“Some networking professionals actively advise avoiding Viptela in favor of alternative Cisco platforms (like Meraki) or competing vendors.” Qwen 3.7 Flash · negative prompt · hard negative
“If a partner tries to sell you traditional Viptela hardware, avoid it.” DeepSeek V4 Flash · negative prompt · hard negative
“Cisco is often the default choice. - Best for complex routing, large WAN hierarchies, and Cisco-centric environments.” GPT-5.4 mini · comparative prompt · first choice
“For the tightest budget with good features, Cisco SD-WAN (Viptela) or Fortinet SD-WAN would be your best choices” MiniMax M2.5 · budget prompt · first choice
“The best SD-WAN platform for a company with a limited budget is Cisco SD-WAN (Viptela) at $20-$100 per site per month” Llama 4 Maverick · budget 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.