We performed a comparison between Cisco Secure Firewall and Fortinet Fortigate based on our users’ reviews in five categories. After reading all of the collected data, you can find our conclusion below.
Comparison Results: Based on the parameters we compared, Fortinet Fortigate comes out on top. Its ease of deployment combined with its solid set of features and excellent service and support ratings make it a more desirable solution than Cisco Secure Firewall.
"So far, it has been very stable."
"Stability is perfect. I haven't had any problems."
"The most valuable feature is that it has the ability to divide the network into three parts; internal, external, and DMZ."
"The content filtering is good."
"Once configured to suit your needs, these firewalls are rock solid appliances."
"Because of the deeper inspection it provides we have better security and sections that allow users broader access."
"It's pretty reliable and allows for isolation capabilities within the network."
"The configuration support is very good. You can find a lot of configuration samples and troubleshooting tips on the internet, which is very good."
"The pricing is excellent. It's much less expensive than Cisco."
"The usage in general is pretty good."
"Their proxy-based inspection is responsive and secure."
"The base firewall features are quite valuable to us."
"Reliability is the best feature. We faced some issues when we were setting it up, but the service, portal, and administration are good."
"The solution is very, very easy to use."
"FortiGate is on the cheaper end, and it offers good value."
"The most valuable features of the solution are SD-WAN, filtering testing applications, web filtering, and the new VPN."
"This product is managed using the Firepower Management Center (FMC), but it would be better if it also supported the command-line interface (CLI)."
"It is confusing to have two management interfaces, e.g., ASDM and Firepower Management Center."
"When we're looking at full-stack visibility, it can be difficult to get the right information out of Firepower."
"Managing various product integrations, such as Umbrella, is challenging."
"Also, they have a Firepower source file that I can work on the ASA device and on Firepower devices. A problem here lies in the way that you manage these devices. Some devices do not support the FMC, and some devices have to be managed through ASDM, and others have to be managed through FMC."
"The stability and the product features have to really be worked on."
"It doesn't have a proper GUI to do troubleshooting, so most people have to rely on the command line."
"The price and SD-WAN capabilities are the areas that need improvement."
"It needs more available central management."
"To some degree, it's almost a question as to why some of this stuff isn't simpler. For example, for an AP deployment, while it's integrated, the number of steps that you have to go through in order to get the AP up, seems like a lot."
"There are some tiny bugs that sometimes affect the operations. In the past revision of it, there was a bug. Because of the bug, we had to downgrade the version. It happened only with the last revision."
"The support structure needs to be improved because every time we contact them, there is a delay in the response."
"The license renewal process, annual renewal price, and the web application firewall features should be improved."
"Compared to some other products, the DLP is not at par for the moment."
"You do need some IT knowledge in order to effectively work with the solution."
"Scalability for Fortinet FortiGate needs to be improved. SD-WAN security for this solution also needs some improvement."
Cisco Secure Firewall is ranked 4th in Firewalls with 404 reviews while Fortinet FortiGate is ranked 2nd in Firewalls with 306 reviews. Cisco Secure Firewall is rated 8.2, while Fortinet FortiGate is rated 8.4. The top reviewer of Cisco Secure Firewall writes "Highlights and helps us catch Zero-day vulnerabilities traveling across our network". On the other hand, the top reviewer of Fortinet FortiGate writes "It's a reliable solution that's easy to install and cheaper than competitors ". Cisco Secure Firewall is most compared with Palo Alto Networks WildFire, Netgate pfSense, Meraki MX, Sophos XG and Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls, whereas Fortinet FortiGate is most compared with Sophos XG, Netgate pfSense, Meraki MX, Check Point NGFW and WatchGuard Firebox. See our Cisco Secure Firewall vs. Fortinet FortiGate report.
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