- 13 June, 2026
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One of the most common questions we get at P J Networks is: “Which FortiGate model do I need?” And the honest answer is: it depends — on your throughput requirements, user count, security features, and growth plans.
We’ve deployed thousands of FortiGates across Indian enterprises. Here’s our practical sizing guide, from branch office to data centre.
Start With Your Throughput, Not Your Budget
The single biggest mistake in firewall sizing is picking a model based on budget and then hoping it handles the traffic. Firewall throughput is not a suggestion — it’s the difference between a functional network and a bottleneck.
When sizing, consider these throughput metrics from Fortinet’s spec sheets:
- Firewall throughput — raw packet forwarding (easiest to meet)
- IPS throughput — with intrusion prevention enabled (2-3x lower than raw)
- Threat protection throughput — IPS + antivirus + application control (3-5x lower than raw)
- VPN throughput — IPsec and SSL, critical for branch connectivity
- SSL inspection throughput — decrypting and inspecting HTTPS traffic (heaviest workload)
Always size your firewall on the threat protection throughput number, not the raw firewall throughput. That’s the real-world performance you’ll actually use.
FortiGate Model Tiers (2026)
Entry Level: FG-30G / FG-40F / FG-50G
For: Small offices, retail branches, home offices, 5-25 users
- Firewall throughput: 1-3 Gbps
- Threat protection: 100-400 Mbps
- Key features: Desktop form factor, basic SD-WAN, essential security
- Approximate India pricing (incl. 1-year FortiGuard): ₹30,000-80,000
- Best for: Budget-conscious SMBs, single-site operations, low-bandwidth branches
Mid-Range: FG-70G / FG-80F / FG-90G
For: Medium businesses, larger branches, 25-100 users
- Firewall throughput: 4-10 Gbps
- Threat protection: 500 Mbps-2 Gbps
- Key features: Full SD-WAN, advanced routing, higher VPN capacity
- Approximate India pricing: ₹1-3 lakhs
- Best for: Multi-site SMBs, primary offices, locations with security subscriptions enabled
Enterprise: FG-100F / FG-120G / FG-200F / FG-200G
For: Large enterprises, campus deployments, 100-500 users
- Firewall throughput: 10-40 Gbps
- Threat protection: 2-8 Gbps
- Key features: High availability clustering, advanced SD-WAN, extensive logging
- Approximate India pricing: ₹3-12 lakhs
- Best for: Enterprise headquarters, large campuses, data centre edge
High-End: FG-400F / FG-400G / FG-600F / FG-700G+
For: Data centres, ISPs, large enterprises, 500+ users
- Firewall throughput: 40-200+ Gbps
- Threat protection: 8-40+ Gbps
- Key features: Full line-rate threat protection, massive VPN capacity, carrier-grade features
- Approximate India pricing: ₹15-50+ lakhs
- Best for: Data centre security, backbone deployments, high-throughput environments
Sizing Tips From Our Deployment Team
- Always add 30% headroom. Network traffic grows 25-35% year over year. A firewall sized for today’s throughput will be undersized in 18 months. Buy for your projected traffic 2 years out.
- Don’t forget the security subscriptions. FortiGuard (IPS, antivirus, web filtering, application control) is essential and adds 30-40% to the total cost over 3 years. Budget for it.
- Consider HA pairs. For critical deployments, budget for two units in active-passive HA. The hardware cost doubles but the downtime cost of a single failure is higher.
- Test with your actual traffic. Spec sheet throughput is measured under ideal conditions. Your real-world traffic mix — encrypted, with all security features enabled — will achieve 50-70% of advertised threat protection throughput.
Need a Sizing Consultation?
Choosing the wrong firewall model costs more than the upgrade — it costs performance, security, and team trust. We help Indian enterprises select, deploy, and manage FortiGate deployments of all sizes.
Contact P J Networks for a free sizing assessment tailored to your environment.
P J Networks is a Fortinet MSSP partner with over a decade of FortiGate deployment experience across India. We sell and manage every FortiGate model.
