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Security & Cybersecurity · head to head

Fortinet FortiGate vs IBM QRadar

Fortinet FortiGate logo

Fortinet FortiGate

Security & Cybersecurity

Next-generation firewall with AI-powered threat protection

From
$500/year
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
IBM QRadar logo

IBM QRadar

Security & Cybersecurity

Intelligent security analytics for real-time visibility

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • 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; IBM QRadar listed on UK G-Cloud at £639 per unit, submitted directly by IBM United Kingdom Limited for IBM Security QRadar on Cloud SIEM (unit basis not further defined in the listing)
  • They diverge on capability: Fortinet FortiGate covers Next-generation firewall, IBM QRadar covers AI-powered detection.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Fortinet FortiGate and IBM QRadar actually diverge.

Attributes where Fortinet FortiGate and IBM QRadar differ
AttributeFortinet FortiGateIBM QRadar
Starting price$500/yearOn request
PlatformsHardware, Virtual, CloudWeb, Api
Founded20001911

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

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 IBM QRadar

  • AI-powered detection
  • User behavior analytics
  • Network insights
  • Offense management
  • IBM X-Force threat intelligence
  • Federated search
  • Case management
  • Compliance templates

Both cover

  • AWS
  • Azure

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

IBM QRadar

  • Siemnot Fortinet FortiGate
  • Security Analyticsnot Fortinet FortiGate
  • Threat Intelligencenot 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

IBM QRadar

  • Listed on UK G-Cloud at £639 per unit, submitted directly by IBM United Kingdom Limited for IBM Security QRadar on Cloud SIEM (unit basis not further defined in the listing)

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

IBM QRadar

On request
  • QRadar SIEMFree
    • Event and flow processing
    • Offense management
    • Threat intelligence
  • QRadar CloudFree
    • Cloud-native deployment
    • Elastic scaling
    • Managed infrastructure
  • QRadar SuiteFree
    • SIEM + SOAR + XDR
    • Unified analyst experience
    • Federated search

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 IBM QRadar if

  • You need ai-powered detection.
  • You work on Web, Api.
  • You also want user behavior analytics.
IBM QRadar review

Questions people ask

Is Fortinet FortiGate or IBM QRadar better?
Neither clearly leads. Fortinet FortiGate starts at $500/year and IBM QRadar at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Fortinet FortiGate or IBM QRadar?
Fortinet FortiGate starts at $500/year and IBM QRadar at On request.
Does Fortinet FortiGate or IBM QRadar run on more platforms?
Fortinet FortiGate runs on Hardware, Virtual, Cloud. IBM QRadar runs on Web, Api.
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 IBM QRadar is typically brought in for.
What can Fortinet FortiGate do that IBM QRadar cannot?
Fortinet FortiGate covers Next-generation firewall, Intrusion prevention, SSL/TLS inspection, Application control. IBM QRadar covers AI-powered detection, User behavior analytics, Network insights, Offense management. Both handle AWS, Azure.
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