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Fortinet FortiGate vs Visual Studio Code

Fortinet FortiGate logo

Fortinet FortiGate

Cybersecurity

Next-generation firewall with AI-powered threat protection

From
$500/year
Free plan
No
Full reviewWebsite
Visual Studio Code logo

Visual Studio Code

Developer Tools

Code editing. Redefined.

From
Free
Free plan
Yes
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Visual Studio Code 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; Visual Studio Code requires extension installation for language-specific features and tooling
  • They diverge on capability: Fortinet FortiGate covers Next-generation firewall, Visual Studio Code covers IntelliSense.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Fortinet FortiGate and Visual Studio Code actually diverge.

Attributes where Fortinet FortiGate and Visual Studio Code differ
AttributeFortinet FortiGateVisual Studio Code
Starting price$500/yearFree
Pricing modelsubscriptionUnknown
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsHardware, Virtual, CloudWindows, macOS, Linux, Web (via GitHub Codespaces)
CategoryCybersecurityDeveloper Tools
Founded20002015

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 Visual Studio Code

  • IntelliSense
  • Debugging
  • Built-in Git
  • Extensions
  • Integrated terminal
  • Syntax highlighting
  • Code refactoring
  • Snippets

Both cover

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

Visual Studio Code

  • Code editingnot Fortinet FortiGate
  • Web developmentnot Fortinet FortiGate
  • Debuggingnot Fortinet FortiGate
  • Version controlnot Fortinet FortiGate
  • Remote developmentnot 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

Visual Studio Code

  • Requires extension installation for language-specific features and tooling
  • Performance can degrade with very large codebases (100,000+ files)
  • Git integration is basic; requires extensions for advanced version control workflows

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

Visual Studio Code

Free

No published plan breakdown. See the Visual Studio Code review.

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 Visual Studio Code if

  • You need intellisense.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Windows, macOS, Linux, Web (via GitHub Codespaces).
  • You also want debugging.
Visual Studio Code review

Questions people ask

Is Fortinet FortiGate or Visual Studio Code better?
Neither clearly leads. Fortinet FortiGate starts at $500/year and Visual Studio Code at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Fortinet FortiGate or Visual Studio Code?
Visual Studio Code has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at $500/year for Fortinet FortiGate and Free for Visual Studio Code.
Does Fortinet FortiGate or Visual Studio Code run on more platforms?
Fortinet FortiGate runs on Hardware, Virtual, Cloud. Visual Studio Code runs on Windows, macOS, Linux, Web (via GitHub Codespaces).
Can I use Visual Studio Code for free?
Yes. Visual Studio Code 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 Visual Studio Code is typically brought in for.
What can Fortinet FortiGate do that Visual Studio Code cannot?
Fortinet FortiGate covers Next-generation firewall, Intrusion prevention, SSL/TLS inspection, Application control. Visual Studio Code covers IntelliSense, Debugging, Built-in Git, Extensions. Both handle Azure.

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
Visual Studio Code: Is Visual Studio Code free?

Yes. Visual Studio Code is completely free to use under the MIT license. There are no subscription fees or paid tiers.

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
Visual Studio Code: Can I use VS Code for remote development?

Yes. The Remote Development extension pack allows development on remote machines via SSH, in containers, or in Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL) while using the full VS Code feature set.

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
Visual Studio Code: How many extensions are available?

The VS Code Marketplace contains thousands of extensions from Microsoft and the community for language support, debuggers, themes, formatters, and productivity tools.

Source
Visual Studio Code: Does VS Code support debugging?

Yes. VS Code includes built-in debugging for JavaScript, TypeScript, and Node.js, and supports debugging for Python, C++, C#, Java, Ruby, Go, PHP, and other languages via extensions.

Source
Visual Studio Code: What operating systems does VS Code support?

VS Code runs on Windows, macOS, and Linux with identical features and keybindings across all platforms.

Source
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