SASE platforms · November 2026 Edition
Fortinet FortiSASE vs Cisco Secure Access
One of fourteen models named Fortinet FortiSASE first on the direct prompt; one named Cisco Secure Access. Both were named by all fourteen models and Fortinet FortiSASE carries 61 labels and Cisco Secure Access 35, so the shares are not directly comparable.
Named in one category this edition.
Named in four categories this edition.
First-choice share2%2%Of first choices across the direct, paraphrase, budget and scale prompts, 0 to 100.
Negative rate11%26%Negative labels as a share of the product's labels, 0 to 100.
Rank in category#5#6A position in a field of 10; printed, not drawn.
Labels6135A count; the two differ.
The two percentage rows are drawn on one 0 to 100 track, Fortinet FortiSASE reading right to left. Rank and label count are printed, not drawn.Cato Networks was named alongside these two in ten of the fourteen direct answers. Cato Networks vs Fortinet FortiSASE · Cato Networks vs Cisco Secure Access · Cloudflare One vs Fortinet FortiSASE
Share is the count of first choices across the direct, paraphrase, budget and scale prompts over all fourteen models, for a mid-market B2B company; rank is within the category; every quote names the model and the prompt it came from. Both figures come from the SASE platforms page.
By framing
How many of the fourteen models made each the first choice, per way of asking, and how many argued against it.
Fortinet FortiSASEFirst choices, of fourteen modelsCisco Secure Access
Direct11
Paraphrase00
Comparative00
Budget-constrained002 against Cisco Secure Access
Scale-constrained001 against Cisco Secure Access
Negative007 against Fortinet FortiSASE · 6 against Cisco Secure Access
Bars are first choices, 0 to 14 each sideModels that argued againstA model can name both, so the two sides of a row do not sum to fourteen.
Across every category in the November 2026 Edition, Fortinet FortiSASE and Cisco Secure Access were named in the same answer eighty-six times, of the 165 answers naming Fortinet FortiSASE and the 143 naming Cisco Secure Access. In those answers Cisco Secure Access took the first choice three times and Fortinet FortiSASE five.
Every model, every framing
The eighty-four answers behind the chart above, one cell each: where Fortinet FortiSASE and Cisco Secure Access stood in it.
| Model | Direct | Paraphrase | Comparative | Budget-constrained | Scale-constrained | Negative |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Claude Haiku 4.5 | | | ||||
| GPT-5.4 mini | | | | |||
| Gemini 3.5 Flash | | | | | | |
| Perplexity Sonar | | | | | | |
| Grok 4.20 | | | | | | |
| Mistral Small | | | | | ||
| DeepSeek V4 Flash | | | | | | |
| Llama 4 Maverick | | |||||
| Qwen 3.7 Flash | | | ||||
| Kimi K2 | | | | | | |
| GLM 4.7 FlashX | | | | | ||
| MiniMax M2.5 | | | | | ||
| GPT-6 Luna | | | | | | |
| Muse Glimmer 30B | | | | | |
Fortinet FortiSASE Cisco Secure Access first choice named as an alternative argued againstblank: not namedEach cell is one answer, Fortinet FortiSASE on the left and Cisco Secure Access on the right.The direct prompt
The plain question, one answer per model, grouped by where Fortinet FortiSASE and Cisco Secure Access stood in it.
Fortinet FortiSASE first, Cisco Secure Access an alternative
1 of 14 modelsCisco Secure Access was named in the answer but not as the choice, or not at all.GPT-5.4 miniFortinet FortiSASE alternatives: Cato Networks, Cisco Secure Access, Netskope One, Zscaler Zero Trust Exchange
Cisco Secure Access first, Fortinet FortiSASE an alternative
1 of 14 modelsFortinet FortiSASE was named in the answer but not as the choice, or not at all.GLM 4.7 FlashXCisco Catalyst SD-WAN, Cisco Secure Access alternatives: Cato Networks, Fortinet FortiSASE, Palo Alto Networks Prisma SASE, Zscaler Zero Trust Exchange
Neither was the first choice, one was named
9 of 14 modelsThe answer put something else first and named one of the two as an alternative.Claude Haiku 4.5Cato SASE Cloud alternatives: Check Point Harmony SASE, Cisco Umbrella, Fortinet FortiSASE
Gemini 3.5 FlashCato Networks alternatives: Check Point Harmony SASE, Cloudflare One, Fortinet FortiSASE
Perplexity SonarCato SASE Cloud alternatives: Check Point Harmony SASE, Cloudflare One, Fortinet FortiSASE, Netskope One, Palo Alto Networks Prisma Access
Mistral SmallCato Networks alternatives: Cloudflare One, Fortinet FortiSASE, Netskope One, Zscaler Zero Trust Exchange
DeepSeek V4 FlashCato Networks alternatives: Cisco Secure Access, Fortinet FortiSASE, Netskope One
Kimi K2Cato Networks alternatives: Fortinet FortiSASE, Netskope One
MiniMax M2.5Cato Networks alternatives: Cisco Secure Access, Netskope One, Palo Alto Networks Prisma Access, Zscaler Zero Trust Exchange
GPT-6 LunaCato Networks alternatives: Fortinet FortiSASE, Netskope One, Zscaler Zero Trust Exchange
Muse Glimmer 30BCato Networks Cato SASE Cloud alternatives: Check Point Harmony SASE, Cisco Secure Access, Cisco Umbrella, Cloudflare One, Fortinet FortiSASE
Neither was named
3 of 14 modelsThe answer made no first choice from these two in this category.Grok 4.20Cato Networks' Cato SASE Cloud alternatives: Netskope One, Palo Alto Networks Prisma SASE
Llama 4 MaverickCato Networks alternatives: Cloudflare One
Qwen 3.7 FlashCato Networks alternatives: Cloudflare One, Prisma Access, Zscaler Zero Trust Exchange
Bold names in an answer are the products the judge labeled a first choice; a model naming several gives each of them that label. The full answer text for every row is in the record.
By buyer segment
The same question asked on behalf of a different buyer. Each standing is computed within its segment and they are never added together. The figures above are the mid-market standing, which is the one the category orders by.
Small business
Fortinet FortiSASE leads by five points.
Fortinet FortiSASE5%#3 of 12Cisco Secure Access0%#9 of 12Mid-marketThe figures above
Level: the same share of first choices.
Fortinet FortiSASE2%#5 of 10Cisco Secure Access2%#6 of 10Enterprise
Fortinet FortiSASE leads by two points.
Fortinet FortiSASE7%#5 of 9Cisco Secure Access6%#7 of 9What the models said about Fortinet FortiSASE
Every negative label with a quote, up to three, then the highest-weighted positives, up to three. Six of eight in this category shown.
“Users and analysts advise avoiding it due to significant architectural and usability concerns.” Mistral Small · negative prompt · hard negative
“mentioned as being "poorly thought out" and to "avoid at all costs" in a Reddit comment” Llama 4 Maverick · negative prompt · hard negative
“Gartner moved it from Leader to Challenger in 2026; coverage of the report cited delayed feature enhancements and below-average customer experience.” GPT-6 Luna · negative prompt · soft negative
“I'd pick FortiSASE for the most common mid-market B2B scenario” GPT-5.4 mini · direct prompt · first choice
“Known for being considerably cheaper than top-tier competitors, making it a strong value proposition for mid-market organizations.” Mistral Small · budget prompt · alternative
“if you're already invested in the Fortinet ecosystem, FortiSASE is arguably the most pragmatic and cost-efficient choice” DeepSeek V4 Flash · paraphrase prompt · alternative
What the models said about Cisco Secure Access
Every negative label with a quote, up to three, then the highest-weighted positives, up to three. Six of eight in this category shown.
“the combination of low independent test effectiveness scores and the elevated ransomware entry-vector risk is a common reason for caution” Muse Glimmer 30B · negative prompt · soft negative
“Rebadging concerns: Questions about whether it's truly integrated or just "re-badged Umbrella with extra steps"” Kimi K2 · negative prompt · soft negative
“Some practitioners consider Cisco Umbrella a "legacy option" rather than a true SASE platform” DeepSeek V4 Flash · negative prompt · soft negative
“1. Cisco Secure Access + Catalyst SD-WAN — Best Overall” GLM 4.7 FlashX · direct prompt · first choice
“if you have an existing Cisco environment or need strong enterprise integration, Cisco Secure Access would be more suitable” MiniMax M2.5 · direct prompt · alternative
“Small business needing the lowest per-seat cost: Cisco Umbrella from $2-4/user/month is the cheapest listed SASE/SSE” Muse Glimmer 30B · budget prompt · alternative
Also compared
Cato Networks vs Fortinet FortiSASECato Networks vs Cisco Secure AccessCloudflare One vs Fortinet FortiSASECloudflare One vs Cisco Secure AccessCato SASE Cloud vs Fortinet FortiSASECato SASE Cloud vs Cisco Secure AccessNetskope One vs Fortinet FortiSASENetskope One vs Cisco Secure AccessFortinet FortiSASE vs Zscaler Zero Trust ExchangeCisco Secure Access vs Zscaler Zero Trust ExchangeAll twenty-one head-to-head pages and the full SASE standing
Comparisons are drawn for the top eight products in each category, each against each. The output is the models' output; nothing here is a recommendation by the index.