Softwr

Government · head to head

ClearGov vs Fortinet FortiGate

ClearGov logo

ClearGov

Government

Financial Transparency for Government

From
$200/month
Free plan
No
Full reviewWebsite
Fortinet FortiGate logo

Fortinet FortiGate

Cybersecurity

Next-generation firewall with AI-powered threat protection

From
$500/year
Free plan
No
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: ClearGov no pricing is published at any level, and the pricing page states no cost structure or model at all; Fortinet FortiGate security services are sold as separate FortiGuard subscription bundles, so ATP, UTP and ENT determine which protections are actually active
  • They diverge on capability: ClearGov covers Budget Visualization, Fortinet FortiGate covers Next-generation firewall.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which ClearGov and Fortinet FortiGate actually diverge.

Attributes where ClearGov and Fortinet FortiGate differ
AttributeClearGovFortinet FortiGate
Starting price$200/month$500/year
PlatformsWebHardware, Virtual, Cloud
CategoryGovernmentCybersecurity
Founded20142000

Identical on both: pricing model (subscription), free tier (No), user rating (Not yet rated).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in ClearGov

  • Budget Visualization
  • Financial Benchmarking
  • Capital Planning
  • Digital Budget Books
  • Public Dashboards
  • Tyler Munis
  • OpenGov
  • Excel

Only in Fortinet FortiGate

  • Next-generation firewall
  • Intrusion prevention
  • SSL/TLS inspection
  • Application control
  • Web filtering
  • SD-WAN
  • Zero-trust network access
  • AI-powered threat detection

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

ClearGov

  • municipal budget and financial transparencynot Fortinet FortiGate
  • government finance analytics and reportingnot Fortinet FortiGate
  • civic engagement and public recordsnot Fortinet FortiGate

Fortinet FortiGate

  • Next-generation firewalling at data centre, campus and branch scalenot ClearGov
  • Secure SD-WAN across distributed sitesnot ClearGov
  • Zero trust network access to internal applicationsnot ClearGov
  • Virtual firewalls in AWS, Azure, Google Cloud and Oraclenot ClearGov
  • Ruggedised deployments in industrial environmentsnot ClearGov

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

ClearGov

  • No pricing is published at any level, and the pricing page states no cost structure or model at all
  • No cost driver such as population, budget size or user count is named
  • The only routes to a figure are an email address and a demo booking

Fortinet FortiGate

  • Security services are sold as separate FortiGuard subscription bundles, so ATP, UTP and ENT determine which protections are actually active
  • Throughput is tied to the appliance model, from 500 Mbps on the FortiGate 30G to 520 Gbps on the 7121F, so capacity planning is a hardware purchase
  • Pricing is not published and goes through partners

Pricing, plan by plan

ClearGov

$200/month
  • Transparency$200/month
    • Budget Visualization
    • Benchmarking
    • Public Dashboards

Fortinet FortiGate

$500/year
  • FortiGate Entry$500/year
    • Basic firewall
    • VPN support
    • Threat protection
  • FortiGate Enterprise$2500/year
    • Advanced threat protection
    • SSL inspection
    • Application control
  • FortiGate Ultimate$10000/year
    • All Enterprise features
    • Zero-trust access
    • AI-powered analytics

Which should you pick?

Choose ClearGov if

  • You need budget visualization.
  • You also want financial benchmarking.
ClearGov review

Choose Fortinet FortiGate if

  • You need next-generation firewall.
  • You work on Hardware, Virtual, Cloud.
  • You also want intrusion prevention.
Fortinet FortiGate review

Questions people ask

Is ClearGov or Fortinet FortiGate better?
Neither clearly leads. ClearGov starts at $200/month and Fortinet FortiGate at $500/year, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, ClearGov or Fortinet FortiGate?
ClearGov starts at $200/month and Fortinet FortiGate at $500/year.
Does ClearGov or Fortinet FortiGate run on more platforms?
ClearGov runs on Web. Fortinet FortiGate runs on Hardware, Virtual, Cloud.
What is ClearGov best used for?
ClearGov is most often used for municipal budget and financial transparency, government finance analytics and reporting, civic engagement and public records. Of those, municipal budget and financial transparency and government finance analytics and reporting are not what Fortinet FortiGate is typically brought in for.
What can ClearGov do that Fortinet FortiGate cannot?
ClearGov covers Budget Visualization, Financial Benchmarking, Capital Planning, Digital Budget Books. Fortinet FortiGate covers Next-generation firewall, Intrusion prevention, SSL/TLS inspection, Application control.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

ClearGov: How much does ClearGov cost?

ClearGov pricing is not published; you must schedule a demo or contact [email protected] to request pricing information.

Source
Fortinet FortiGate: What are the FortiGate security bundle options?

Fortinet offers three FortiGuard AI-Powered Security Services bundles: ENT Bundle (ultimate security for networks, web, file, SaaS, data, and devices), UTP Bundle (advanced web and network protection), and ATP Bundle (protection against network intrusions and malware with IPS, antivirus, and application control).

Source
ClearGov: Does ClearGov offer a free trial?

ClearGov does not publish a free trial option; pricing inquiry and trial availability must be discussed through a demo request with their sales team.

Source
Fortinet FortiGate: How do I get pricing for FortiGate?

Pricing is not published on the product page. To obtain a quote, you can request a free product demo or connect with a security expert through the contact options on the site.

Source
ClearGov: What is ClearGov's pricing model?

ClearGov appears to operate on a custom, quote-based pricing model; costs are tailored to specific municipalities based on population size, features, and implementation requirements.

Source
Fortinet FortiGate: Is there a free trial for FortiGate?

The product page does not mention a free trial. However, Fortinet offers a free product demo that allows you to evaluate the solution before committing to a purchase.

Source
ClearGov: How do I get a ClearGov pricing quote?

Visit cleargov.com and click the demo scheduling button, or email [email protected]; provide details about your municipality size and required features for an accurate quote.

Source
Share

Related pages

More on ClearGov

More on Fortinet FortiGate

Keep looking

Other head to heads