Fortinet FortiGate vs Qualys: Complete Comparison (2026)
Choosing between Fortinet FortiGate and Qualys is a common decision for cybersecurity buyers in 2026. Both Fortinet FortiGate and Qualys are established players, founded in 2000 and 1999 respectively. Fortinet FortiGate serves 680K+ orgs users while Qualys has 10K+ orgs users globally. Fortinet FortiGate differentiates with next-gen firewall and sd-wan, while Qualys leads with vulnerability scanning and compliance monitoring. In this head-to-head comparison, Fortinet FortiGate earns a higher hiltonsoftware.co score of 90/100 — but the right choice depends on your specific needs, budget, and team size.
Quick Comparison
Feature-by-Feature Comparison
Pros & Cons at a Glance
After comparing Fortinet FortiGate and Qualys across features, pricing, and user satisfaction, Fortinet FortiGate takes the lead with a score of 90/100 versus Qualys's 86/100. Fortinet FortiGate's key advantages include "excellent price-to-performance ratio" and "comprehensive security fabric". That said, Qualys has its own strengths — particularly "comprehensive vulnerability management" — making it a viable alternative for specific use cases.
Neither Fortinet FortiGate nor Qualys offers a free plan. Fortinet FortiGate starts at Custom pricing and Qualys at Custom pricing. For the investment, Fortinet FortiGate delivers next-gen firewall and sd-wan, while Qualys provides vulnerability scanning and compliance monitoring.
Bottom line: Choose Fortinet FortiGate if you need enterprises needing comprehensive network security with firewall and sd-wan. Go with Qualys if your priority is enterprise security teams needing comprehensive vulnerability and compliance scanning. Both are strong cybersecurity tools — we recommend trying a trial of each before committing.
Enterprises needing comprehensive network security with firewall and SD-WAN.
Enterprise security teams needing comprehensive vulnerability and compliance scanning.