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Fortinet FortiGate vs HashiCorp Vault

Fortinet FortiGate logo

Fortinet FortiGate

Software

Next-generation firewall with AI-powered threat protection

From
$500/year
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
HashiCorp Vault logo

HashiCorp Vault

Software

Manage secrets and protect sensitive data

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only HashiCorp Vault 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; HashiCorp Vault policies are written in HCL with no graphical user interface for policy management or editing
  • They diverge on capability: Fortinet FortiGate covers Next-generation firewall, HashiCorp Vault covers Secret storage.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Fortinet FortiGate and HashiCorp Vault actually diverge.

Attributes where Fortinet FortiGate and HashiCorp Vault differ
AttributeFortinet FortiGateHashiCorp Vault
Starting price$500/yearFree
Pricing modelsubscriptionopen-source
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsHardware, Virtual, CloudLinux, Windows, Mac, Api
Founded20002014

Identical on both: user rating (Not yet rated), category (Unknown).

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 HashiCorp Vault

  • Secret storage
  • Dynamic secrets
  • Encryption as a service
  • Identity-based access
  • Audit logging
  • Leasing and renewal
  • Secret engines
  • Auth methods

Both cover

  • AWS
  • Azure
  • On-premise deployment
  • Cloud deployment

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 HashiCorp Vault
  • Secure SD-WAN across distributed sitesnot HashiCorp Vault
  • Zero trust network access to internal applicationsnot HashiCorp Vault
  • Virtual firewalls in AWS, Azure, Google Cloud and Oraclenot HashiCorp Vault
  • Ruggedised deployments in industrial environmentsnot HashiCorp Vault

HashiCorp Vault

  • Secrets managementnot Fortinet FortiGate
  • Database credentialsnot Fortinet FortiGate
  • API keysnot Fortinet FortiGate
  • SSH accessnot Fortinet FortiGate
  • PKI and certificatesnot 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

HashiCorp Vault

  • Policies are written in HCL with no graphical user interface for policy management or editing
  • Unsealing requires managing multiple key shares and coordinating a quorum of operators
  • Community Edition lacks enterprise features like namespaces and disaster recovery replication
  • Requires additional monitoring solutions for alerting and observability

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

HashiCorp Vault

Free
  • Open SourceFree
    • Secrets management
    • Encryption
    • Community support
  • Vault Enterprise$6000/year
    • Replication
    • HSM support
    • Advanced audit

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 HashiCorp Vault if

  • You need secret storage.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Linux, Windows, Mac, Api.
  • You also want dynamic secrets.
HashiCorp Vault review

Questions people ask

Is Fortinet FortiGate or HashiCorp Vault better?
Neither clearly leads. Fortinet FortiGate starts at $500/year and HashiCorp Vault at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Fortinet FortiGate or HashiCorp Vault?
HashiCorp Vault has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at $500/year for Fortinet FortiGate and Free for HashiCorp Vault.
Does Fortinet FortiGate or HashiCorp Vault run on more platforms?
Fortinet FortiGate runs on Hardware, Virtual, Cloud. HashiCorp Vault runs on Linux, Windows, Mac, Api.
Can I use HashiCorp Vault for free?
Yes. HashiCorp Vault 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 HashiCorp Vault is typically brought in for.
What can Fortinet FortiGate do that HashiCorp Vault cannot?
Fortinet FortiGate covers Next-generation firewall, Intrusion prevention, SSL/TLS inspection, Application control. HashiCorp Vault covers Secret storage, Dynamic secrets, Encryption as a service, Identity-based access. Both handle AWS, Azure, On-premise deployment, Cloud deployment.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

HashiCorp Vault: Does HashiCorp Vault have a free version?

Yes. The open-source Community Edition is completely free and includes core secrets management, dynamic secrets, and encryption as a service. It is self-hosted with no licensing fees or secret count limits, but lacks enterprise features like namespaces, disaster recovery replication, and Sentinel policies.

Source
HashiCorp Vault: Can I use HashiCorp Vault in production?

The Community Edition is suitable for non-production environments and small teams. For production deployments, organizations typically use HCP Vault Dedicated (managed cloud service starting at approximately 22 USD per month) or Vault Enterprise with custom pricing that includes disaster recovery, performance replication, and 24/7 support.

Source
HashiCorp Vault: What are the main integrations available?

Vault integrates with AWS, Azure, Google Cloud, Active Directory, Okta, and 80+ other platforms. It supports dynamic credential generation for cloud providers, database systems, and identity services, enabling centralized secret management across multi-cloud infrastructure.

Source
HashiCorp Vault: Does Vault work offline?

Vault requires network connectivity to function as it is a centralized secrets management server. However, it can be deployed on-premises for air-gapped environments, and clients can cache short-lived tokens for temporary offline access once authenticated.

Source
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