Fortinet
Depends
Confidence: Medium
Fortinet is a strong choice for mid-size and large organizations with dedicated security staff who can patch fast and manage subscriptions.
Comparison
Fortinet vs Check Point Software
Fortinet and Check Point Software both land on Depends.
Check Point Software
Depends
Confidence: Medium
Check Point fits large enterprises and governments with dedicated security staff and partner-led procurement budgets.
| Compare | Fortinet | Check Point Software |
|---|---|---|
| Verdict | Depends | Depends |
| Best for | Mid-size and large enterprises | Enterprises and governments |
| Who it's not for | Small teams wanting a simple firewall . serious overkill | Small businesses with no IT/security staff |
| Privacy | Active problems: June 2026 FortiBleed credential leak plus repeated critical CVEs triggered CISA hardening guidance.⁵ | Vendor with active advisory program and strong research arm; Check Point itself confirmed a 2025 security incident and responded to a BreachForum post about its data. |
| Support quality | MSPs report positive support experiences | No direct support-quality evidence found |
| Public sentiment | Practitioners praise the hardware and support but complain about immature new firmware releases and hard-to-parse renewal pricing.¹ | Reviews span Gartner, G2, and active Reddit debates where sysadmins compare Check Point against Fortinet and Palo Alto.15 |
| Biggest gotcha | Active FortiBleed campaign spans 194 countries; CISA says harden devices and rotate credentials now⁶ | Company confirmed its own security incident; demand details during due diligence |
Pick Fortinet when
- Mid-size and large enterprises
- Multi-site networks needing one security stack
- Teams with dedicated security staff
- Regulated sectors . finance, government
When Fortinet is not a fit
- Small teams wanting a simple firewall . serious overkill
- Anyone without staff to patch FortiGate within days
- Cloud-first startups that do not want hardware
- Buyers needing transparent, published pricing
Pick Check Point Software when
- Enterprises and governments
- Orgs with dedicated security teams
- Multi-site perimeter defense
- Regulated industries needing deep audit trails
When Check Point Software is not a fit
- Small businesses with no IT/security staff
- Startups wanting transparent self-serve pricing
- Home offices or single-site networks
- Teams without budget for partner implementation
Sources
review
- Your Pros/Cons with Fortinetreddit.comreview
- Thoughts on Fortinet?reddit.comreview
- Fortinet Review: Pros, Cons, Features and Pricingthectoclub.comreview
security
security
- FortiBleed leak exposes Fortinet VPN credentials for 73,000 devicescommunity.spiceworks.comsecurity
official
- Fortinet Global Customers and Case Studiesfortinet.comofficial
official
news
news
- Is Fortinet That Bad?forums.lawrencesystems.comreview
review
review