Softwr

Cybersecurity · head to head

Fortinet FortiGate vs GitLab CI/CD

Fortinet FortiGate logo

Fortinet FortiGate

Cybersecurity

Next-generation firewall with AI-powered threat protection

From
$500/year
Free plan
No
Full reviewWebsite
GitLab CI/CD logo

GitLab CI/CD

Developer Tools

Automatically build, test, deploy, and monitor your applications with GitLab CI/CD

From
Free
Free plan
Yes
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only GitLab CI/CD has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Fortinet FortiGate security services are sold as separate FortiGuard subscription bundles, so ATP, UTP and ENT determine which protections are actually active; GitLab CI/CD compute minute quotas for Premium and Ultimate tiers not disclosed in documentation
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Fortinet FortiGate and GitLab CI/CD actually diverge.

Attributes where Fortinet FortiGate and GitLab CI/CD differ
AttributeFortinet FortiGateGitLab CI/CD
Starting price$500/yearFree
Pricing modelsubscriptionfreemium
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsHardware, Virtual, CloudWeb
CategoryCybersecurityDeveloper Tools
Founded2000Unknown

Identical on both: 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 Fortinet FortiGate

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

Only in GitLab CI/CD

Nothing recorded that Fortinet FortiGate does not also cover.

What people use each for

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

Fortinet FortiGate

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

GitLab CI/CD

  • Reducing open source project infrastructure costs with public project discountsnot Fortinet FortiGate
  • Enforcing monthly CI/CD spending limits and quota notificationsnot Fortinet FortiGate
  • Allocating compute minutes to open source contributors affordablynot Fortinet FortiGate
  • Forecasting CI/CD spending patterns across multiple projectsnot Fortinet FortiGate
  • Providing private runners for cost control without owning infrastructurenot Fortinet FortiGate

Where each one falls short

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

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

GitLab CI/CD

  • Compute minute quotas for Premium and Ultimate tiers not disclosed in documentation
  • Additional compute minutes beyond quota incur charges; exact pricing not specified

Pricing, plan by plan

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

GitLab CI/CD

Free
  • FreeFree
    • 400 compute minutes per month for free tier namespaces
    • Linux x86-64 runners at 1x cost factor
  • Premium$null/tiered
    • Higher monthly compute minute quotas than free tier
    • Additional compute minutes available for purchase
  • Ultimate$null/tiered
    • Highest monthly compute minute allocations
    • Additional compute minutes available for purchase

Which should you pick?

Choose Fortinet FortiGate if

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

Choose GitLab CI/CD if

  • You want to start without paying.
GitLab CI/CD review

Questions people ask

Is Fortinet FortiGate or GitLab CI/CD better?
Neither clearly leads. Fortinet FortiGate starts at $500/year and GitLab CI/CD at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Fortinet FortiGate or GitLab CI/CD?
GitLab CI/CD has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at $500/year for Fortinet FortiGate and Free for GitLab CI/CD.
Does Fortinet FortiGate or GitLab CI/CD run on more platforms?
Fortinet FortiGate runs on Hardware, Virtual, Cloud. GitLab CI/CD runs on Web.
Can I use GitLab CI/CD for free?
Yes. GitLab CI/CD has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Fortinet FortiGate starts at $500/year.
What is Fortinet FortiGate best used for?
Fortinet FortiGate is most often used for next-generation firewalling at data centre, campus and branch scale, secure sd-wan across distributed sites, zero trust network access to internal applications, virtual firewalls in aws, azure, google cloud and oracle. Of those, next-generation firewalling at data centre, campus and branch scale and secure sd-wan across distributed sites are not what GitLab CI/CD is typically brought in for.
What can Fortinet FortiGate do that GitLab CI/CD cannot?
Fortinet FortiGate covers Next-generation firewall, Intrusion prevention, SSL/TLS inspection, Application control.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

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
GitLab CI/CD: How many GitLab CI compute minutes does the free tier include?

The free tier of GitLab CI includes 400 compute minutes per month for free tier namespaces on GitLab.com.

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
GitLab CI/CD: What is the cost factor for different GitLab CI runner types?

Linux x86-64 small runners cost 1x; medium runners cost 2x; large runners cost 3x. macOS and Windows runners have cost factors of 6-12x and are in beta status.

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
GitLab CI/CD: Do public open-source projects get discounts on GitLab CI compute minutes?

Public open-source projects receive a 0.5x discount on compute minutes. Public forks of GitLab open-source projects receive a 0.008x discount.

Source
Share

Related pages

More on Fortinet FortiGate

More on GitLab CI/CD

Keep looking

Other head to heads