Small business▲+7Since September 2026: 48% → 55%, +7 points. Inside the 11-point floor: within noise. Read over the models both editions asked.
55%from 48% in September 2026
Inside the floor by 4 pointsRank 1 of 87, unchanged
Fortinet · 4 categories · RankedFortinet FortiGate
203Judge labels
90First choices
17Negative labels
14 / 14Models named it
4Categories
October 2026 Edition. Every number here is derived from the raw labels under vendor table v2026-10.8, every buyer segment counted.
Best standing
73% in Firewalls for mid-market buyers
Rank 1 of 83 in the mid-market standingendorsed leader
14 of 14 models made it the first choice on the direct prompt; 10% of its 68 labels there were negative.
What the models named instead of Fortinet FortiGate →By buyer segmentStrongest at mid-market.
Small business1 of 99
51%63 labels
endorsed leader
Mid-market1 of 83
73%68 labels
endorsed leader
Enterprise1 of 88
37%66 labels
endorsed leader
In firewalls · each standing computed within its segment · bars are 0 to 100 · the accent bar is the product's own best reading
Standing by category
Every category where a model named Fortinet FortiGate for a mid-market B2B company. Share is first choices across the direct, paraphrase, budget and scale prompts; rank is within every product named in that category.
| Category | Function | Share | Rank | Negative rate | Labels | Quadrant | Since September 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Next-generation firewalls | Network and edge | 73% | 1 of 83 | 10% | 68 | endorsed leader | ▲+1Since September 2026: 74% → 74%, +1 point. Inside the 11-point floor: within noise. Read over the models both editions asked. |
| Microsegmentation | Network and edge | 0% | 37 of 94 | 0% | 2 | under 10 labels · led by ColorTokens Xshield at 25% | |
| Network access control | Network and edge | 0% | 48 of 111 | 0% | 1 | under 10 labels · led by Portnox Cloud at 35% | |
| Zero trust network access | Network and edge | 0% | 46 of 66 | 0% | 1 | under 10 labels · led by Twingate at 39% | =heldSince September 2026: 0% → 0%, ±0 points. Inside the 11-point floor: within noise. Read over the models both editions asked. |
Movement
Since September 2026, Fortinet FortiGate held within the floor in all four categories: no change cleared 11 points.
Best category · Firewalls · by segment
Mid-market▲+1Since September 2026: 74% → 74%, +1 point. Inside the 11-point floor: within noise. Read over the models both editions asked.
74%from 74% in September 2026
Inside the floor by 10 pointsRank 1 of 73, unchanged
Enterprise▼−4Since September 2026: 42% → 38%, −4 points. Inside the 11-point floor: within noise. Read over the models both editions asked.
38%from 42% in September 2026
Inside the floor by 7 pointsRank 1 of 70, unchanged
All categories · Mid-market
| Category | September 2026 | Now | Change | Reading | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Firewalls | 74% | 74% | ▲+1Since September 2026: 74% → 74%, +1 point. Inside the 11-point floor: within noise. Read over the models both editions asked. | Within noise | Rank 1 of 83, unchanged |
| Microsegmentation | 0% | 0% | newNew since September 2026: not ranked then, 0% now. | New this edition | Rank 37 of 94, unchanged |
| NAC | 0% | 0% | newNew since September 2026: not ranked then, 0% now. | New this edition | Rank 48 of 111, unchanged |
| ZTNA | 0% | 0% | =heldSince September 2026: 0% → 0%, ±0 points. Inside the 11-point floor: within noise. Read over the models both editions asked. | Within noise | Rank 46 of 66, unchanged |
Shares here are read over the models both editions asked, so they can differ by a point or two from the standing above, which counts every model in this edition.
The floor is 11 points of share, measured: how far the models move a leader on their own when the same questions are asked twice with nothing changed. A larger change is movement; a smaller one is noise, and both are shown. Movement is read over the twelve models both editions asked; GPT-6 Luna, Muse Glimmer 30B joined this edition and are in the standing but not yet in the comparison. How the floor is measured · The editions
By model
How each model treated Fortinet FortiGate across every prompt where it was named for a mid-market B2B company. Fourteen models, six prompts per category.ShowHide
By model
How each model treated Fortinet FortiGate across every prompt where it was named for a mid-market B2B company. Fourteen models, six prompts per category.
ShowHide| Model | First choice | Alternative | Mention | Negative | Labels |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Claude Haiku 4.5 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 8 |
| GPT-5.4 mini | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 5 |
| Gemini 3.5 Flash | 5 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 6 |
| Perplexity Sonar | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| Grok 4.20 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 6 |
| Mistral Small | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 5 |
| DeepSeek V4 Flash | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 |
| Llama 4 Maverick | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 4 |
| Qwen 3.7 Flash | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 6 |
| Kimi K2 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 6 |
| GLM 4.7 FlashX | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 |
| MiniMax M2.5 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 4 |
| GPT-6 Luna | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| Muse Glimmer 30B | 5 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 6 |
By framing
Which of the six questions produced the naming. By model says how often; this says asked what. The first-choice count on the right carries the marks of the models that produced it.
FramingLabels by classFirst choices
Direct41 labels26
Paraphrase34 labels24
Comparative43 labels18not counted in share
Budget-constrained31 labels28
Scale-constrained27 labels12
Negative27 labels3not counted in share
First choiceAlternativeMentionNegative203 labels in all, every segment counted; 90 of the 111 first choices count toward share, since the comparative and negative framings do not. The bar is one segment per label class, to scale within the framing.
What the models said for it
Verbatim evidence the judge attached to positive labels.
“Fortinet FortiGate: Top-rated for value, performance, scalability (Gartner Customers' Choice 5x). Great for mid-market; integrated Fabric ecosystem.” Grok 4.20 · Firewalls · scale prompt · first choice
“For most enterprises the shortlist starts with Fortinet FortiGate (best price-performance) and Palo Alto Networks (deepest application control).” Muse Glimmer 30B · Firewalls · comparative prompt · first choice
“Most mid-market B2B companies will find Fortinet FortiGate or Sophos Firewall to be the best fit, with Fortinet offering the best value” GLM 4.7 FlashX · Firewalls · direct prompt · first choice
“Fortinet FortiGate (entry-level models like the 40F or 60F series) stands out as one of the top next-generation firewall (NGFW) recommendations” Grok 4.20 · Firewalls · budget prompt · first choice
And against it
Verbatim evidence attached to negative labels. A warning on a product with few labels is a warning; on a product with many, it is one voice among them.
“"20+ CVEs on CISA's Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog — among the highest for any firewall vendor"; Caution rating” Muse Glimmer 30B · Firewalls · negative prompt · hard negative
“Avoid: SonicWall ..., Fortinet (due to high CVE count)” GLM 4.7 FlashX · Firewalls · negative prompt · hard negative
“Fortinet FortiGate/FortiOS deployments where SSL-VPN or other exposed services remain enabled without tight patching and monitoring” GPT-5.4 mini · Firewalls · negative prompt · soft negative
“has a history of exploited flaws... Users report patch urgency needs; great if you maintain strict update discipline.” Grok 4.20 · Firewalls · negative prompt · soft negative
Named alongside
The products named in the same answers as Fortinet FortiGate, over the 203 answers that named it. Took the first choice instead counts the answers where the other product was the first choice and Fortinet FortiGate was named but was not.ShowHide
Named alongside
The products named in the same answers as Fortinet FortiGate, over the 203 answers that named it. Took the first choice instead counts the answers where the other product was the first choice and Fortinet FortiGate was named but was not.
ShowHideProductSame answerTook the first choice insteadHead to head
A head-to-head page exists where both products are among a category's top eight. The other rows are the same fact without a page behind them, so they link to the product instead.
What carried it into the answer
The sites and pages cited by the answers that named Fortinet FortiGate. A fact about retrieval, not a lever on the model.
Citations exist only for the models that return a source list, five of the fourteen in this edition, so these counts come from 184 of the 203 answers that named Fortinet FortiGate and are not a share of its labels.
Domains cited
fortinet.comYour site104
comparitech.com92
checkpoint.com85
cybersecuritynews.com76
learn.g2.com76
cyberpress.org73
paloaltonetworks.com59
gbhackers.com47
cisco.com44
sangfor.com41
593 of the 697 domain citations in answers naming Fortinet FortiGate came from somebody else's page.
Pages cited
Pages are listed as the models cited them.
Search and answers
Where Fortinet FortiGate stands in Google search beside where it stands in the models' answers.ShowHide
Search and answers
Where Fortinet FortiGate stands in Google search beside where it stands in the models' answers.
ShowHideIn search
Google, US estimates- Searches for its name, Google
- 720 a month (“fortinet fortigate”)
- AI search demand for its name, est.
- 121 a month
- Its own site
- It sits on Fortinet's site (fortinet.com), so there are no site figures for it alone
In answers
This editionShare of first choices
73%
rank 1 of 83 in firewalls
First choices
90
across its categories
- Named in
- 203 answers
- Its own site cited
- in 184 of the answers that named it
Search figures are US estimates from DataForSEO, read September 28, 2026; AI search demand is its modeled, directional estimate, not a count of queries to any assistant. The answers are this edition's. Two measurements side by side: neither is read as the cause of the other.
Names read as Fortinet FortiGate
What the judge wrote, as written, with how often. The vendor table decides that these count as Fortinet FortiGate; a claim can dispute any of them.
Fortinet 11Fortinet (FortiGate) 10Fortinet FortiGate NGFW 3Fortinet FortiGate (40F, 60F, or 70F Series) 1Fortinet FortiGate (G-Series) 1Fortinet FortiGate (entry-level models like the 40F) 1Fortinet FortiGate + Microsegmentation 1Fortinet FortiGate 40F / 60F 1Fortinet FortiGate series 1
Follow Fortinet FortiGate
An email the morning each edition publishes: where this product moved, where it held, and by how much against the noise floor. One address, confirmed by a click; a stop link in every email.
Already following? Everything you follow, with a stop for each.
The company
Fortinet is the company behind Fortinet FortiGate.ShowHide
The company
Fortinet is the company behind Fortinet FortiGate.
ShowHideOn record
Company recordsIn its own words
Stated by the vendor, not checked- Positioning
- FortiGate Next-Generation Firewall (hybrid mesh firewall)
- For
- enterprise
- Free plan or trial
- FREE PRODUCT DEMO fortinet.com/solutions/network-security
- Customers named
- Fortinet
- Not stated on the pages read
- Price, starting price, integrations, certifications, hosting
What Fortinet FortiGate's own pages state, read September 28, 2026: fortinet.com/solutions/network-security, fortinet.com/customers/fortinet-teleworker-security-solutions, community.fortinet.com/fortigate-3/solution-guide-fortinet-solutions-for-transparent-mode-layer-2-94108, community.fortinet.com/blogs-103/fortinet-announces-fortigate-6000f-series-industry-s-fastest-threat-protection-appliances-124835, fortinet.com/lat/solutions/network-security. A claimed page can correct any of them.
Is this your product?
Claim this page
Claiming is free and changes nothing in the data. A claimed page shows a verified contact who is told when each edition publishes and when Fortinet FortiGate's standing changes by more than the noise floor; the right to propose corrections to the vendor table, meaning names the judge wrote that should or should not read as Fortinet FortiGate, applied by version and listed in the change log; and a one-line description supplied by the vendor and marked as such.
What a new claim receivesHide what a new claim receives
A new claim receives the current edition's vendor brief for Fortinet FortiGate by email, built from the raw record of the edition. It shows:
- where Fortinet FortiGate is named, by buyer and by framing, and which cells hold its first choices;
- the claims the models make when they name it, ranked, with the strongest and the weakest quoted;
- its vocabulary against the segment leader's, and the pages the models cited;
- who was chosen in the answers that did not name Fortinet FortiGate, and every reason the record gives;
- a battlecard for each top rival: the head-to-head split, why they win, and the reservation quoted against them;
- one page of published figures cleared to show a buyer.
Badges
Wins only: a badge exists where Fortinet FortiGate is ranked in a category's top three this edition. Three sizes, one file each, light and dark; the code is under each.ShowHide
Badges
Wins only: a badge exists where Fortinet FortiGate is ranked in a category's top three this edition. Three sizes, one file each, light and dark; the code is under each.
ShowHideEvery AI model in the set recommends Fortinet FortiGate first in Next-generation firewalls this edition. Each badge says so in the buyer's words, names the edition, and links to the standing. The next edition issues a new badge; this one stays true as a record of October 2026.
Wide · 320 × 104 Website, beside other badges
Square · 240 × 240 LinkedIn, slides
Compact · 200 × 56 Email signature, footer
Badges read on light and dark pages. Alt text carries the claim, the category, the edition and the index, so it stays a citation where the image does not load.