Fortinet FortiGate SWG vs Fortinet FortiProxy comparison

Fortinet FortiGate SWG and Fortinet FortiProxy are both solutions in the Secure Web Gateways (SWG) category. Fortinet FortiGate SWG is ranked #3 with an average rating of 8.7, while Fortinet FortiProxy is ranked #10 with an average rating of 7.9. Fortinet FortiGate SWG holds a 6.3% mindshare in WSG, compared to Fortinet FortiProxy’s 5.6% mindshare. Additionally, 100% of Fortinet FortiGate SWG users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 100% of Fortinet FortiProxy users who would recommend it.

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Apr 20, 2025

Fortinet FortiGate SWG and Fortinet FortiProxy are players in the secure web access market, each catering to distinct user needs. Based on user preferences, Fortinet FortiGate SWG seems to have the upper hand due to its integration capabilities and scalability, which appeal to those looking for comprehensive security management.

Features: Fortinet FortiGate SWG offers simplicity, ease of configuration, and scalability, making it a versatile option for broad security management. The stability and robustness of its security features are often highlighted, especially its integration capabilities in diverse setups. On the other hand, Fortinet FortiProxy is praised for its granular web access control, reporting features, and performance in monitoring detailed user activity. Its web filtering capability is particularly beneficial for environments needing precise user activity tracking.

Room for Improvement: Fortinet FortiGate SWG could improve its cloud-based transition, support response times, and pricing structure. Enhancements in reporting and monitoring to provide clear insights, alongside a more user-friendly GUI, are also suggested. Fortinet FortiProxy users express the need for better documentation, a refined pricing structure, and improved intrusion prevention capabilities. Incorporating AI/ML technologies and enhancing web filtering accuracy could further improve the FortiProxy experience.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Fortinet FortiGate SWG is typically deployed on-premises and in hybrid cloud environments, appreciated for its straightforward deployment. It often receives high marks for support effectiveness. Fortinet FortiProxy supports hybrid deployments as well and benefits from a knowledgeable back-end team, though further improvements in support speed and responsiveness are desired.

Pricing and ROI: Fortinet FortiGate SWG is viewed as cost-effective for larger enterprises, despite higher prices compared to competitors, delivering good ROI through cloud-based deployments. Its perceived high cost is justified by its features and long-term ROI. Fortinet FortiProxy is recognized for reasonable pricing, providing a balanced cost-benefit ratio. However, its pricing model could be improved to better serve organizational needs.

To learn more, read our detailed Fortinet FortiGate SWG vs. Fortinet FortiProxy Report (Updated: June 2025).

Buyer's Guide

Fortinet FortiGate SWG vs. Fortinet FortiProxy

June 2025

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Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:

Categories and Ranking

iboss

Mindshare comparison

As of June 2025, in the Secure Web Gateways (SWG) category, the mindshare of iboss is 2.1%, up from 1.6% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Fortinet FortiGate SWG is 6.3%, down from 7.1% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Fortinet FortiProxy is 5.6%, up from 4.8% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Secure Web Gateways (SWG)

Featured Reviews

Matt Crockford

Head of Cybersecurity at SES Water

It's easy to roll out, and their understanding of our business made it seamless

One aspect we value about iboss is its simplicity. Their customer service is brilliant, and they are super responsive and knowledgeable. It's easy to roll out, and their understanding of our business made it seamless. We were impressed by the solution's mental health function, which can detect if someone needs help. It scans what users are browsing and flags warning signs so we can check to see if they are okay. We've had to use it a couple of times. The user interface is highly intuitive. Our IT team picked it up with minimal training. It's arranged so that it's easy to find where things are. Another advantage is the single pane of glass console, which gives you visibility into what's happening. We're not fully there yet because we haven't implemented zero trust, but we're excited about the possibilities from the demos we've seen. We launched a POC of iboss' ChatGPT Risk Protection feature two weeks ago. AI is a great tool, but you need to be careful what you put into it. My biggest fear is employees inputting sensitive corporate information or customer PII data into one of these chatbots. I was impressed by our trial of the feature. It's exactly what we wanted. Now, when a user goes to ChatGPT, there's a banner warning them not to share information, and we can block conversations containing customer data like bank details and email addresses. I don't want to stop people from using it, but we need visibility. We've only tried it on a test group of 15 people. You can configure it to look for specific keywords or integrate it with your DLP policy if you have that configured

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Ayman Said

Infrastructure System's Manager at ICAPP (Americana Group)

Enables seamless traffic handling and effective network protection

We are using Fortinet FortiGate SWG for web filtering, application control, and IDPS. Additionally, we utilize it for VPN and the main features of a firewall Web filtering is very good, as well as IDPS. SD-WAN is a perfect feature. Additionally, the VPN is stable and very good. These features…

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Adnan Kallas

Sr. Network & Security Engineer at Data Consult

Superior threat protection with robust IPS and antivirus capabilities

The main use case is to protect internal enterprise users in an enterprise network. Users from different departments such as finance, IT, and sales who want to access the internet, search social media, or visit websites are protected from potential threats when using Fortinet FortiProxy. It allows…

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Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:

Pros

"Technical support is pretty sharp and very responsive."

"Its initial setup was straightforward."

"The solution has massively improved our security posture, giving us full visibility into what our staff does online."

"We chose iboss for both zero trust and proxy (SWG) because their SWG was superior."

"Granular setup, which was able to set different levels of filters using the OUs in the AD."

"The console is cloud-based, which is something I really appreciate."

"iboss is easy to use despite its complexity. Multiple engineers manage it, but it's significantly more straightforward to administer than traditional VPNs and web proxies."

"Iboss is a solution that prevents advanced persistent threats, and has a zero tolerance for attacks."

More iboss pros

"The overall features of Fortinet FortiGate SWG are good."

"It has the same functionalities throughout the range of products."

"The performance is very good and the solution is simple to manage."

"The product is stable and strong."

"Customers keep on improving their licenses. The solution remains scalable and flexible. On-premises deployments may have some limitations. However, cloud deployments offer a high degree of flexibility."

"The technical support is good."

"FortiGate is easy to configure. We configured one of the units and sent it to Indiana to be installed. We asked them to give us a call when they got it, so we could help them through the process, but they called us back to tell us it works great."

"The solution is easy to implement and easy to configure. The most valuable feature is FortiGate’s content filtering."

More Fortinet FortiGate SWG pros

"The solution's stability is good."

"The most valuable features of Fortinet FortiProxy are its simplicity and performance."

"It seamlessly integrates with various security products, enhancing threat intelligence and improving indicators of compromise."

"The tool's most valuable feature is traffic inspections."

"The most valuable feature is intrusion prevention (IPS) and antivirus profiles. These features help control user activity, ensuring that they access only permitted websites and protects from downloading viruses."

"It is a really stable solution."

"I liked the tool's ability to provide detailed access control. For example, we could allow users to watch YouTube videos but not post comments. This level of control wasn't available in FortiGate."

"The tool's most valuable feature is its granular access control. For example, users can browse the main site if you allow access to Amazon, but it stops them from visiting secondary Amazon websites without specific permission. This granular control is really helpful."

More Fortinet FortiProxy pros

Cons

"Regarding pricing, setup costs, and licensing, iboss is not cheap, and that's my only concern."

"Our biggest problem with their service was it did not recognize the device and filtering did not always work correctly."

"Sometimes, obviously, there are bugs."

"The reporting feature needs improvement."

"The reporting feature needs improvement. It doesn't give you the expected results. It is quite difficult to get the specific reports needed, and it is not as intuitive as the rest of the platform."

"To scale up, a new iboss Node Blade Chassis must be purchased."

"If they could implement an extra security layer preventing access to iboss from the open internet, it would be great."

"Fold that in with the risk intelligence they're getting from all of the different subscriptions they are a part of. Now, these security companies subscribe to things like emerging threats, databases, etc. You can fold all this intelligence to decide what's happening on an endpoint. I would love to see them start moving into that space. That would compete directly with Microsoft. Maybe that's why they haven't. Having that ability native within the solution would be great. The other area in which I would love to see improvement is more detailed descriptions of why they block websites."

More iboss cons

"What could be improved in Fortinet FortiGate SWG is its pricing because it's a bit higher. If it's cheaper, my company could pitch it to customers and engage with customers better about it. What I'd like to see in the next release of Fortinet FortiGate SWG is an improvement in its dashboard or GUI. I'd like it to be more user-friendly."

"Fortinet's support team consists of a huge networking team, because of which there is a delay in response at times."

"The initial setup is medium complex and takes between five days and a week."

"They should consider making some improvements regarding the pricing."

"The product’s price is high."

"They have not yet extended to the cloud."

"Integrating OpenVPN with FortiGate would provide a powerful combination of secure remote access and comprehensive network security."

"Fortinet FortiGate SWG should be localised to specific regions to comply with local data privacy regulations because of the data privacy rules in the countries. In the Middle East, data organisation and KFA requirements are stringent."

More Fortinet FortiGate SWG cons

"Integration with existing infrastructure was generally easy, especially if you had tools like LDAP. However, I had to go through a lot of documentation as it was my first time working with a proxy server. We did experience some issues with certain web applications not working properly after implementing Fortinet FortiProxy."

"Its power supply process for some of the proxies needs improvement."

"For IT administrators and managers, the reporting features are the main issues that should be addressed in order to improve the performance, security, and effective utilization of the product."

"Its web filtering capabilities could be improved."

"Fortinet FortiProxy should integrate AI/ML technologies. Its pricing needs to be more flexible."

"Fortinet FortiProxy should improve by adding more documentation and guides."

"I see that the solution's interface is not in French...It would be good for our company if we could have the tool interface in French."

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The overall pricing for iboss is very competitive and transparent."

"We had the cost of purchasing a new appliance along with the implementation and licensing costs. However, the following year, the cost of just licensing was similar to what was paid the previous year for a new appliance along with the implementation and licensing costs."

"It is expensive compared to one of its competitors."

"It is probably in line with other solutions, but I do not deal with the financial side."

"We have not priced the solution recently, but they were competitive with other vendors in the past."

"It is not expensive, and it is also not cheap. iboss is priced right in the sweet spot for the number of features it offers."

"I rate the product's pricing a seven out of ten. Its one-year license cost is competitive with three and five-year licenses offered by other products."

"We pay about $4,000 for a yearly license, and there aren't any additional fees."

"FortiGate SWG is a cost-effective solution well-suited for organisations of all sizes."

"It is around $50,000 per month."

"I rate the price of Fortinet FortiGate SWG a seven and a half out of ten since it is not a cheap solution, though I feel it is a good product for the money one pays."

"Pricing for Fortinet FortiGate SWG is more suitable for enterprise or large-sized organizations because they are the ones who can afford it versus small and medium-sized organizations."

"It is less expensive than a Cisco solution."

"I would rate the pricing a six out of ten, where one is cheap and ten is expensive."

More Fortinet FortiGate SWG pricing and cost advice

"It offers a more cost-effective solution than alternatives like FortiMail, FortiGate, and various Barracuda devices."

"The solution is neither too expensive nor very cheap."

"The tool's pricing is in the middle."

"It can be considered expensive, with a limited lifespan and support that eventually requires updating to newer solutions."

"It is a cost-effective solution."

"Price-wise, Fortinet FortiProxy is moderate - not the highest among competitors, but not cheap either."

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

12%

Financial Services Firm

11%

Manufacturing Company

Government

Computer Software Company

14%

Comms Service Provider

Government

Financial Services Firm

Computer Software Company

14%

Financial Services Firm

14%

Government

Manufacturing Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about iboss?

Content filtering is the most useful feature of iboss.

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What needs improvement with iboss?

For zero trust implementation, we encountered complexity issues, especially with a large infrastructure company Exxon...

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What is your primary use case for iboss?

Previously when I used iboss, we did the POC for iboss for ExxonMobil. Four or five people wanted to move from our ol...

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What do you like most about Fortinet FortiGate SWG?

The interface and other reports are all user-friendly.

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What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Fortinet FortiGate SWG?

Fortinet products are very expensive compared to competitors like Sophos and SonicWall. From a pricing perspective, I...

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What needs improvement with Fortinet FortiGate SWG?

More improvement in AI would be a good edge. We would like the VPN to act as a web filtering solution because users o...

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What do you like most about Fortinet FortiProxy?

The tool's most valuable feature is traffic inspections.

See all answers

What needs improvement with Fortinet FortiProxy?

One issue is the limitation in using Fortinet FortiProxy for remote users, as it requires users to be members of the ...

See all answers

What advice do you have for others considering Fortinet FortiProxy?

Before implementing Fortinet FortiProxy, study your enterprise architecture and know your needs. Consider using the h...

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Comparisons

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Compared 17% of the time

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Compared 14% of the time

Prisma Access by Palo Alto Networks vs iboss

Compared 9% of the time

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Cisco Umbrella vs Fortinet FortiGate SWG

Compared 20% of the time

Sangfor Internet Access Gateway (IAG) vs Fortinet FortiGate SWG

Compared 6% of the time

Prisma Access by Palo Alto Networks vs Fortinet FortiGate SWG

Compared 5% of the time

Netskope Next Gen Secure Web Gateway vs Fortinet FortiGate SWG

Compared 4% of the time

TitanHQ WebTitan vs Fortinet FortiGate SWG

Compared 1% of the time

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Forcepoint Secure Web Gateway vs Fortinet FortiProxy

Compared 9% of the time

Zscaler Internet Access vs Fortinet FortiProxy

Compared 6% of the time

Cisco Umbrella vs Fortinet FortiProxy

Compared 6% of the time

Cisco Web Security Appliance vs Fortinet FortiProxy

Compared 6% of the time

F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager (APM) vs Fortinet FortiProxy

Compared 5% of the time

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Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

iboss

May 2025

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Buyer's Guide

Fortinet FortiGate SWG

June 2025

Download Fortinet FortiGate SWG product report

Buyer's Guide

Fortinet FortiProxy

June 2025

Download Fortinet FortiProxy product report

Also Known As

iBoss Cloud Platform

FortiGate SWG, FortiGate Secure Web Gateway

FortiProxy

Overview

iboss offers a comprehensive security platform designed for diverse use cases such as web filtering, data loss protection, corporate proxy services, and URL filtering.

iboss integrates advanced features to address dynamic security needs, leveraging its strength in SASE, ZTNA, AI initiatives, and cloud integration, while ensuring seamless operations for remote work. It excels in historical forensics, malware protection, and flexible cloud deployments. Users benefit from comprehensive traffic scanning, robust malware detection, and PaaS capabilities that reduce hardware management. An intuitive admin console ensures efficient management with content filtering and low false positives. SSL decryption enhances security, while DLP protects data in AI conversations. Deployment is rapid and scalable, allowing effortless integration with emerging technologies.

What features does iboss offer?

Granular Web Filtering: Provides precise control over web content access.
Traffic Scanning: Monitors data through multiple ports for security breaches.
Malware Detection: Ensures superior protection against malware threats.
PaaS Capabilities: Eliminates need for hardware management.
SSL Decryption: Enhances data protection by decrypting secure connections.
DLP Capabilities: Safeguards data during AI interactions.

What benefits and ROI should users consider?

Scalability: Adapts quickly to growing demands and emerging tech integration.
Rapid Deployment: Reduces time to implement security measures.
User-Friendly Admin Console: Facilitates efficient operations management.
Low False Positives: Increases accuracy of threat detection systems.

iboss finds significant application in sectors such as education, where web filtering for K-12 is crucial, and in corporate environments requiring robust proxy services and URL filtering for network security. Its adaptability is essential in scenarios demanding flexible, decentralized security frameworks, particularly for remote work setups.

iboss

Fortinet FortiGate SWG is a comprehensive web security solution provided by Fortinet. FortiGate SWG combines web filtering, malware protection, data loss prevention (DLP), and application control capabilities into a single integrated platform. It is designed to protect organizations from web-based threats, enforce compliance policies, and provide secure access to web resources.

FortiGate SWG Benefits:

Comprehensive web filtering and security features
Ease of use and management
Integration with other Fortinet products
Strong threat detection capabilities
Scalability and flexibility
Granular control over user access and activity

FortiGate SWG Features:

Web Filtering: FortiGate SWG employs URL filtering and content categorization to control and enforce web access policies.
Malware Protection: The solution provides real-time protection against web-borne threats, such as malware, ransomware, and phishing attacks.
Data Loss Prevention (DLP): FortiGate SWG helps prevent sensitive data from being leaked or exfiltrated through web channels.
SSL Inspection: The solution supports SSL/TLS decryption and inspection, allowing organizations to examine encrypted web traffic for threats and enforce security policies.
Application Control: FortiGate SWG enables granular control over web applications and protocols.
Advanced Threat Intelligence: FortiGate SWG leverages Fortinet's threat intelligence services to provide up-to-date information about emerging threats and zero-day vulnerabilities.
User Authentication and Access Control: The solution supports various authentication methods, including single sign-on (SSO) and integration with identity providers, to ensure secure user authentication and access control for web resources.
Reporting and Analytics: FortiGate SWG provides comprehensive reporting and analytics capabilities.

FortiGate SWG is typically deployed as a hardware appliance or as a virtual appliance in on-premises environments, but it may also be available as a cloud-based service. It is part of Fortinet's broader security fabric ecosystem, allowing integration with other Fortinet products to provide a unified and coordinated security infrastructure.

Reviews from Real Users

Below are some reviews and helpful feedback written by FortiGate SWG users.

David Carlson, CIO at Camco Mfg., says that "Non-IT people could plug it in, connect it to the fiber, and get it running without IT help".

Suresh Vijayen, Product Manager at IX Telecom, writes that FortiGate SWG "Provides helpful technical support, but its dashboard needs to be more user-friendly".

Chandan Munshi, Chief Technical Officer at Provision Technologies LLP, states that "The user interface is intuitive. Anyone can configure the firewall with little knowledge of the product. The back-end is robust with good security."

Fortinet

Fortinet FortiProxy is a secure web gateway that provides advanced web filtering, malware protection, and SSL inspection capabilities. It is designed to protect organizations from web-based threats and prevent data loss by enforcing granular policies for web access. FortiProxy is available as a physical or virtual appliance and can be deployed on-premises or in the cloud. FortiProxy uses a combination of signature-based and behavior-based detection techniques to identify and block known and unknown threats. It also includes advanced features such as sandboxing and machine learning to detect and prevent zero-day attacks. FortiProxy can inspect SSL traffic to detect and block threats hidden in encrypted traffic. FortiProxy provides granular control over web access by allowing administrators to create policies based on user identity, device type, time of day, and other factors. It also includes pre-defined categories for web filtering, such as social media, gambling, and adult content. FortiProxy can also enforce compliance with regulatory requirements such as GDPR and HIPAA. FortiProxy integrates with Fortinet's Security Fabric, allowing it to share threat intelligence with other Fortinet products and provide a coordinated response to threats. It also includes a web-based management console that provides real-time visibility into web traffic and allows administrators to quickly respond to security incidents.

Fortinet FortiProxy is a comprehensive web security solution that provides advanced protection against web-based threats and allows organizations to enforce granular policies for web access.

Fortinet

Sample Customers

More than 4,000 global enterprises trust the iboss Cloud Platform to support their modern workforces, including a large number of Fortune 50 companies.

Salt Lake County, Catholic College Bendigo, Azienda Unita Sanitaria

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Buyer's Guide

Fortinet FortiGate SWG vs. Fortinet FortiProxy

June 2025

Free Report: Fortinet FortiGate SWG vs. Fortinet FortiProxy

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