# Fortinet: how AI models rank it, September 2026

IT AI Recommendation Index, September 2026 Edition. Named in 35 judge labels across 5 categories by 11 of 12 models. Page: https://it-ai-index.com/vendors/fortinet/

## Standing by category

| Category | Share | Rank | Negative rate | Labels |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Next-generation firewalls | 9% | 2 | 26% | 19 |
| Zero trust network access | 0% | 68 | 43% | 7 |
| Extended detection and response | 0% | 49 | 33% | 6 |
| Endpoint protection | 0% | 42 | 0% | 2 |
| Managed detection and response | 0% | 36 | 0% | 1 |

## What the models said for it

- "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, Firewalls)
- "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, Firewalls)
- "Fortinet FortiGate (appliance or virtual) is the best all-around choice due to its balance of performance, features, and cost." (Mistral Small, Firewalls)
- "Best overall value, high-performance, distributed offices | Industry-leading price-to-performance." (Gemini 3.5 Flash, Firewalls)

## And against it

- "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, Firewalls)
- "CVE-2026-84393 - Certificate validation flaw in Agentless ZTNA | MITM attacks possible" (Kimi K2, ZTNA)
- "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, Firewalls)
- "describe moving from traditional VPNs to Fortinet’s ZTNA implementation as an "administrative nightmare,"" (Qwen 3.7 Flash, ZTNA)

## Record

- Method: https://it-ai-index.com/methodology/
- Raw judge labels and full responses: https://it-ai-index.com/data/
- License: CC BY 4.0. Cite as IT AI Recommendation Index, September 2026 Edition, it-ai-index.com.