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Cybersecurity · head to head

Fortinet FortiGate vs Socket

Fortinet FortiGate logo

Fortinet FortiGate

Cybersecurity

Next-generation firewall with AI-powered threat protection

From
$500/year
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Socket logo

Socket

Cybersecurity

Supply chain security platform detecting and blocking malicious dependencies

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Socket 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; Socket team plan requires minimum 5-developer commitment, expensive for small teams
  • They diverge on capability: Fortinet FortiGate covers Next-generation firewall, Socket covers Malware detection.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.

Where they differ

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

Attributes where Fortinet FortiGate and Socket differ
AttributeFortinet FortiGateSocket
Starting price$500/yearFree
Pricing modelsubscriptionPer-developer monthly subscription with tiered access
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsHardware, Virtual, CloudWeb, CLI, GitHub
Founded20002021

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

  • Malware detection
  • Automatic blocking
  • AI behavior analysis
  • Reachability analysis
  • Slack integration
  • SBOM support
  • SAML SSO
  • GitHub Actions scanning

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

Socket

  • Blocking zero-day malware attacks in JavaScript dependenciesnot Fortinet FortiGate
  • Managing CVE false positives with precomputed reachability analysisnot Fortinet FortiGate
  • Securing Python and Go supply chains at scalenot Fortinet FortiGate
  • Automating compliance requirements for regulated industriesnot Fortinet FortiGate
  • Real-time threat notifications via Slack integrationnot 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

Socket

  • Team plan requires minimum 5-developer commitment, expensive for small teams
  • Business plan $50/dev/month becomes costly for teams exceeding 20 members
  • Enterprise pricing requires custom consultation with no transparent pricing
  • Free plan limited to individual developers without team collaboration
  • Reachability analysis improvement (90% false positive reduction) only on Enterprise

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

Socket

Free
  • FreeFree
    • For individual developers
    • Detects 70+ risk types
    • Blocks malicious dependencies automatically
  • Team$25/month
    • Per developer on minimum 5 developers
    • Precomputed reachability analysis cuts 60% false positives
    • Slack alerts for threats
  • Business$50/month
    • Per developer on minimum 20 developers
    • All Team features
    • Compliance integrations with Vanta
  • Enterprise$undefined/custom
    • Function-level reachability eliminates up to 90% irrelevant CVEs
    • Multi-repository system support
    • Named account manager

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 Socket if

  • You need malware detection.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, CLI, GitHub.
  • You also want automatic blocking.
Socket review

Questions people ask

Is Fortinet FortiGate or Socket better?
Neither clearly leads. Fortinet FortiGate starts at $500/year and Socket at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Fortinet FortiGate or Socket?
Socket has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at $500/year for Fortinet FortiGate and Free for Socket.
Does Fortinet FortiGate or Socket run on more platforms?
Fortinet FortiGate runs on Hardware, Virtual, Cloud. Socket runs on Web, CLI, GitHub.
Can I use Socket for free?
Yes. Socket 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 Socket is typically brought in for.
What can Fortinet FortiGate do that Socket cannot?
Fortinet FortiGate covers Next-generation firewall, Intrusion prevention, SSL/TLS inspection, Application control. Socket covers Malware detection, Automatic blocking, AI behavior analysis, Reachability analysis.

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
Socket: How many zero-day attacks does Socket detect?

Socket detects over 100 zero-day attacks weekly across JavaScript, Python, and Go ecosystems.

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
Socket: What is precomputed reachability analysis?

Socket's precomputed reachability analysis cuts CVE false positives by 60% automatically on Team plans, and up to 90% on Enterprise plans through function-level analysis.

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
Socket: Is there a discount for annual billing?

Yes. Socket offers a 20% discount for annual commitments across all subscription tiers.

Source
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