Cisco Secure Firewall Pricing

JT
Network Administration Lead at Forest County Potawatomi Community

Our subscription costs, just for the firewalls, is between $400,000 and $500,000 a year. In addition, there is Smart Net, but the subscription base is the most substantial. 

In an environment like ours where you're only looking at a little over 1,000 users, when you start figuring out it all, it's basically $400 a user per year to license our Cisco firewalls. Cisco is very good. From everything I've seen, I truly believe that they lead the industry in all of this, but you do pay for it.

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RV
Principal Network Engineer at a retailer with 10,001+ employees

The pricing of Cisco's boxes is pretty good.

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Daniel Going - PeerSpot reviewer
Managing architect at Capgemini

The pricing was fairly reasonable. It was competitive and was slightly more than Check Point was. However, when we looked at the usability and the features that we would get out of Firepower, it was certainly reasonable.

Licensing is complex, and I'd like it to be simplified.

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Buyer's Guide
Cisco Secure Firewall
March 2024
Learn what your peers think about Cisco Secure Firewall. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: March 2024.
765,234 professionals have used our research since 2012.
Josh Schmookler - PeerSpot reviewer
Network Engineer at Aton Computing

It's pretty competitive. If they could make it cheaper, it would be great. You always want cheaper, but relative to the performance capabilities of the firewall and relative to what you get, it's fair.

It's not the cheapest in the world, but you get an excellent product for that price. The onus is on us as a customer to look at what we're buying and establish not just the price but the value. You need to look at what you're getting for your dollars there. Cisco has a very good proposition there.

Its licensing is pretty good. It's not very complex. There are not a million different SKUs. I had a Palo Alto deployment where the customer had asked for a license for integration with their Cortex XDR, and they didn't include it. It was eight more SKUs and eighty thousand dollars more. It was a real disaster, and it can put a customer off from using Palo Alto. Cisco's licensing model is easy to understand whether it's apps or VPN. The way that they handle the subscriptions is very easy to understand. It's very fair.

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SB
Director & CIO of IT services at Connectivity IT Services Private Limited

I think Cisco's price is in the right space now. They have discounts for customers at various levels. I think they're in the right spot. However, Cisco can be expensive when you factor in these additional features. 

If you add SecureX, Cisco's cost will definitely jump. We started with the standard ASA, then we added segmentation and micro-segmentation, and now we're talking about automation and unified architecture. SecureX is an integrated security portfolio. It gives a vertical and 360-degree algorithm with an open, integrated platform that can scale.

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EV
IT Technical Manager at Adventist Health

Cisco's pricing is actually pretty good. We get a decent discount, but when you look across the board, if you're looking at a Cisco firewall, Firepower device, a Palo Alto device, or a Juniper device, they're going to be pretty comparable. A lot of people say, "Oh, Cisco is so expensive." But when you boil it down, when you look at the licensing structure for Firepower, you look at the actual device cost and how much that costs over time, they pretty much are right in line, if not less, depending on what you're buying for Firepower. So we've actually had a great run with that, and we feel confident that we're getting the best price. I haven't seen anything better than the supportability of that.

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James-Buchanan - PeerSpot reviewer
Infrastructure Architect at a healthcare company with 10,001+ employees

The enterprise agreement that we have has helped with the pricing because it allows us to consume licensing in more of a consumption model versus a per-user type model. That has helped us a lot.

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Robert LaCroix - PeerSpot reviewer
Network Engineer at Red River

We're a Cisco partner, so we get 80% off. That's a big discount and companies are always looking at ways to save money these days.

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DonaldFitzai - PeerSpot reviewer
Network Administrator at Cluj County Council

I'm not sure precisely how much ASA Firewall costs, but I know it's a little more expensive than other solutions. I rate it seven out of ten for affordability. 

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Anthony Smith - PeerSpot reviewer
Principal Security Consultant at Vohkus

The licensing is not as complicated as that for some other Cisco products. There are a couple of tiers of licensing, but the price point is a little too high for the market. There are other vendors that come in lower and offer more for fewer licensing options. They may offer URL filtering or malware filtering with a single license rather than requiring two or three licenses. I think Cisco could do a bit more in this area.

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PS
System Engineer at Telekom Deutschland GmbH

Licensing is not only for Secure Firewalls, and it's too complicated.

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JB
Enterprise Architect at People Driven Technology Inc

Cisco is known as a premier product and it comes with a premier price point sometimes. Sometimes that makes it challenging for some customers to bite off. They see the value when we get into a proof-of-value scenario. Price points can tend to be high, but the new line of the 3000 series Firepowers definitely solves that issue and it's very attractive.

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RH
Director of Information Technology at a government with 501-1,000 employees

For us, the pricing was more economical than other products we used. There were no extra costs.

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JS
Senior Network Engineer at Orvis

We used Check Point and the two are comparable. Cost was really what put us onto the ASAs. They both do what it is we need them to do. At Orvis, what we need to do is very basic. But the price tag for Check Point was exorbitantly more than what it is for the ASA solution.

We pay Cisco for maintenance on a yearly basis. There are no additional fees that I'm aware of.

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Ahmet Orkun Kenber - PeerSpot reviewer
Technical Network Expert at NXP Semiconductors Netherlands B.V. Internet EMEA

When it comes to pricing, quality is important to us. When looking at products, we prefer quality over speed. Cisco is on that quality side mostly.

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Joseph Lofaso - PeerSpot reviewer
Senior Network Engineer at Pinellas County Government

The pricing was pretty comparable to other solutions when we purchased it.

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KB
CTO at Intelcom

With the bundling mode with Duo licensing, it's now better. It's better to have one simplified global licensing mode, and this is what Cisco has done with bundling. The next-generation firewalls include a set of features such as filtering, emails, and IPS. This combination offers the best way for customers to manage their operating expenses.

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Fredrik Vikstrom - PeerSpot reviewer
IT Architect at Skellefteå Kommun

You get what you pay for. It's always priced based on what you get and what it can handle. It's acceptable.

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Mohamed Al Maawali - PeerSpot reviewer
Infrastructure Planner at Petroleum Development Oman

We bought a three-year license as a part of the enterprise agreement, which includes help with implementation and troubleshooting. We have a big data center with many applications, so implementation was not straightforward. We had to put effort into it. It wasn't an easy or straightforward implementation. The support that we got from Cisco engineers with the three-year premium license was helpful. The enterprise agreement helped to consume the licenses in a practical and faster way and streamline the implementation.

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Chuck Holley - PeerSpot reviewer
Director of Networking at Albemarle Corporation

The pricing structure for Cisco Secure Firewall can be challenging to manage. It involves separate line items that need to be carefully tracked, such as SmartNet, FCD licenses, and other license features. This complexity adds to the difficulty of dealing with the pricing.

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Ahmed Alsharafi - PeerSpot reviewer
Solution Architect at Dimension Data

Everything comes with a price. Security is something on which you cannot compromise because the loss could be massive. I see CTOs and CSOs spending a lot on that. Cisco is not really cheap, but there is great technology behind it.

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MR
Security Officer at a government

Pricing varies on the model and the features we are using. It could be anywhere from $600 to $1000 to up to $7,000 per year, depending on what model and what feature sets are available to us.

The only additional cost is Smart NET. That also depends on whether you're doing gold or silver, 24/7 or 8/5, etc.

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MW
Executive Vice President, Head of Global Internet Network (GIN) at a tech services company with 10,001+ employees

Cisco was never a cheap solution. Compared to other vendors, it's more or less at the same level, except maybe Fortinet which is fairly cheap.

In terms of licensing, we still have issues with the subscription model. Many of our customers are used to buying a solution and owning it. It takes time to convince people to go for the subscription model. That's still an issue for us.

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DavidMayer - PeerSpot reviewer
Solution Architect at a energy/utilities company with 1,001-5,000 employees

The licensing models that are available for Cisco Secure Firewall are okay. You have nearly every option that you need. You can pick filtering, advanced malware protection, or all the available features. It's sufficient.

In terms of pricing, there are, for sure, some cheaper vendors, but overall, it's nearly the same. It has a fair price.

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FH
Product Owner at a manufacturing company with 10,001+ employees

Licensing is quite difficult to get your head around. My biggest challenge is to understand the details, the inner relations. Luckily, to some extent, we have enterprise agreements, but licensing for me is a real black box.

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Paul Nduati - PeerSpot reviewer
Assistant Ict Manager at a transportation company with 51-200 employees

Cost-wise, it's in the same range as its competitors. It's likely cheaper than Palo Alto. Cisco is affordable for a large organization of 500 to 1,000 users and above.

You need a Cisco sales partner or engineer to explain to you the licensing aspects. Out-of-the-box, Firepower is the module that you use to handle your network access policy for the end-user. It's a separate module that you need to include, it's not bundled. You need to ensure you have that subscription.

A Cisco presales agent is key for you to know what you need. Once they understand your use cases, they'll be able to advise you about all the licenses you need. You need guidance. I wouldn't call it straightforward.

With any Cisco product, you need a service level agreement and an active contract to maximize the support and the features. We have not had an active service contract. We just had the initial, post-implementation support.

As a result, we've wasted a bit of time in terms of figuring out how best to troubleshoot things here and there. It would be best to ensure you are running an active contract with SLAs, at least with a Cisco partner. 

Also, we were not able to use its remote VPN capabilities, Cisco AnyConnect, because of a licensing limitation.

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Augustus Herriot - PeerSpot reviewer
Senior Infrastructure Engineer at a insurance company with 10,001+ employees

The licensing has definitely improved and got a lot easier. It is customizable depending on what the customer needs, which is a good benefit, instead of just a broad license that everybody has to pay.

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reviewer1448693099 - PeerSpot reviewer
Senior Network Engineer at a comms service provider with 1-10 employees

The pricing and licensing structure of the firewall is fair and reasonable.

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NH
Network Engineer at a healthcare company with 10,001+ employees

Pricing is more for my leadership, but I give them the quotes, and if they approve, they're happy. They've never wavered, so I wouldn't say it's out of the realm where they're considering another product. It must be in the direct price range for our leadership to not blink an eye when we give it to them.

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Orla Larsen - PeerSpot reviewer
Network specialist at a retailer with 10,001+ employees

Acquiring licensing for Cisco Secure Firewall can be a bit cumbersome, therefore a more straightforward licensing process would be preferable. 

The licensing process can be frustrating, as it requires selecting between on-box or per-client options and other related considerations. Simplifying this process would be beneficial.

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FC
Global Network Architect at a agriculture with 10,001+ employees

We've gone to all smart licensing, so that works well. 

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CN
Infrastructure Architect - Network at a manufacturing company with 1,001-5,000 employees

The cost of the firewalls versus the ROI is okay.

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Isaiah Etuk - PeerSpot reviewer
Chief Digital & Technical Officer at Capital Express Assurance Limited

It is more expensive than the other solutions. 

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FM
Practice Lead at IPConsul

When we are fighting against other competitors for customers, whether it is a small or big business, we feel very comfortable with the price that Firepower has today.

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Ramish Ali - PeerSpot reviewer
Assistant Director IT at Punjab Education Foundation

The solution is quite expensive. Fortinet and other competitors are about half the price. Cisco is very expensive in comparison. They need to work to be more competitive.

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ZK
Sr. NetOps Engineer at Smart Cities

In the past, I encountered several difficulties and misunderstandings with Cisco licensing, but now the situation has improved. The Cisco Smart Software portal is an excellent resource for keeping track of, upgrading, and researching information related to Smart Licensing and other relevant topics. It is extremely helpful. Unfortunately, since it is not my money and there is only one vendor, I am unable to provide any comments on the prices. Nevertheless, the system, along with its provision through the Cisco Smart Software portal, as well as the traditional license and subscription models, are excellent and highly beneficial.

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FC
Global Network Architect at a agriculture with 10,001+ employees

We have all smart licensing and that works well. 

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SV
Critical Infrastructure at Wintek Corporation

The pricing is fair compared to competitors. Cisco is the Cadillac in its field. You get what you pay for. 

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Achilleas Katsaros - PeerSpot reviewer
Head of IT Network Fixed & Mobile at OTE Group

Price is a big selling point for Cisco Secure Firewall. They are quite affordable and many clients chose them precisely for this reason. 

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Samson Belete - PeerSpot reviewer
Network Engineer at a financial services firm with 5,001-10,000 employees

Pricing for Cisco is expensive. There are additional costs for the licensing part, support, and even the hardware part. The device cost is very high. I would be very happy with an improvement on the price.

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DC
Senior Network Security Engineer at a tech services company with 11-50 employees

Pricing is the same as other competitors. It is comparable. The licensing has gotten better. It has been easier with Smart Licensing.

There are additional costs, but that depends on the feature sets that you get. However, that is the same with any firewall vendor at this point.

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MB
Cyber Security Practice Lead at Eazi Security

I like the Smart Licensing, because it is more dynamic and easier to keep track of where you are at. If we have a high availability firewall pair and they are deployed in active/standby rather than active/active, I would expect that we would only pay for one set of licenses because you are using only one firewall at any one time. The other is there just for resiliency. The licensing, from a Firepower perspective, still requires you to have two licenses, even if the firewalls are in active/standby, which means that you pay for the two licenses, even though you might only be using one firewall any one time. This is probably not the best way to do it and doesn't represent the best value for money. This could be looked at to see if it could be done in a fairer way. For example, you can only deploy MX firewalls in active/standby. There are no other options. You only need one license for those firewalls because you can only use one at a time. This seems quite fair. They may need to look again at this from a Firepower perspective.

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MK
IT Administrator / Security Analyst at a healthcare company with 11-50 employees

Cisco is not for a small mom-and-pop shop because of the cost, but if you're in a regulated industry where a breach could cost you a million dollars, it's a bargain. That's the way I look at it.

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AI
Head of Technology at Computer Services Ltd.

The license in my country is available to subscribe for three years or one year. We wanted to go with the solutions for embedding a two-year subscription, but this was not possible.

The Cisco licensing agreement in Bangladesh is different than the one in India and in Dubai. It is not a problem, but if you want to subscribe to the yearly subscription, the original cost is really high. Also, if you go for an anti-virus, you pay for an additional yearly subscription. 

When we push customers to implement Cisco solutions, they can manage the subscription cost of Cisco internally to access these important solutions long term. Our clients have been able to secure surprisingly efficient service with the Cisco Firepower NGFW firewall solution.

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JATINNAGPAL - PeerSpot reviewer
Manager/Security Operations Center Manager at RailTel Corporation of India Ltd

The solution offers mid-range pricing. We can get a cheaper product like Fortinet, and we can get a costlier product like Palo Alto, and these are all in the same category.

There's only one license based on the support. Cisco Firepower is priced on the support of the product that we require: with SSL and without SSL. Currently, we are not doing any SSL inspection. We have an ATP report firewall.

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Nagendra Nekkala - PeerSpot reviewer
Senior Manager ICT & Innovations at Bangalore International Airport Limited

Cisco Secure Firewall is a moderately priced solution. We have to pay a yearly licensing fee for the solution.

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ArunSingh7 - PeerSpot reviewer
Computer Operator at a retailer with 5,001-10,000 employees

I rate the product's price a seven on a scale of one to ten, where one is expensive, and ten is cheap. If we compare Cisco with other OEMs available in the market, Cisco needs to work on price improvement. Nowadays, there is a lot of competition in the market with newer solutions, like Fortinet, gaining popularity, amongst a few other names like Cyberoam, a product from a local Indian vendor. Palo Alto has also gained a lot of market share in recent years.

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Catalin Enea - PeerSpot reviewer
System Engineer at a computer software company with 5,001-10,000 employees

Cisco's prices are more or less comparable to those of other products.

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HP
Senior Solutions Consultant at a comms service provider with 10,001+ employees

You do need to pay for the software license. In general, it's a moderately expensive solution. It's not the cheapest on the market.

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PC
Security Architect

Cisco changed its price model with the new FTD line, where the appliances are a bit cheaper but the licensing is a bit more expensive. But that's not only Cisco, a lot of suppliers are doing that. I don't remember a lot of the licensing for Fortinet and Check Point, but Cisco's pricing is high, at times, for what they provide.

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Ibrahim Elmetwaly - PeerSpot reviewer
Presales Manager at IT Valley

It is extremely expensive compared to its competitors and I would rate it 2 out of 10. 

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FS
Security engineer at a energy/utilities company with 10,001+ employees

Pretty much everything is included in the price for what we are using.

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PR
Senior Network Engineer at a manufacturing company with 1,001-5,000 employees

The pricing seems fair. It is above average.

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it_user68991 - PeerSpot reviewer
Manager of Engineering with 1,001-5,000 employees

Work very closely with your channel partners to verify you have all the licensing you need (VPN, Firepower, etc.). Pricing is always a challenge. Buy closer to Cisco's EOY and you might save a few bucks.

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TO
Solutions Architect at Acacia Group Company

Cisco smart licensing is a hassle for a disconnected environment. However, I haven't licensed anything in a while. There have been many changes, making it easier to license disconnected devices connected to the internet.

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KH
Systems Engineer at a engineering company with 5,001-10,000 employees

The licensing is not so bad. The solution’s pricing could be lower. It's not horrible, though.

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FS
Networking Project Management Specialist at Bran for Programming and Information Technology

The prices of Cisco Secure Firewall are competitive, especially for us as Cisco partners. We purchase the products directly from Cisco as a gold partner, which allows us to obtain better pricing than we would get from normal distributors or the local market.

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MK
Security admin at a wholesaler/distributor with 10,001+ employees

This solution offers smart licensing that is comparable to other solutions on the market. 

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GU
Senior Network Engineer at BCD Travel

This solution is expensive and other solutions, such as FortiGate, are cheaper.

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MB
Director IT Security at a wellness & fitness company with 5,001-10,000 employees

I know that licensing for some of the advanced solutions, like Intrusion Prevention and Secure Malware Analytics, are nominal costs. 

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MS
VSO at Navitas Life Sciences

Cisco pricing is premium. However, they gave us a 50 to 60 percent discount.

There are additional implementation and validation costs.

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Akshit Chhokar - PeerSpot reviewer
Technical Solutions Specialist - Networking at Google

The product is expensive.

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KB
Data center design at a comms service provider with 10,001+ employees

The licensing is straightforward and simple, so we don't have to keep relicensing every year as we do with other applications.

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Md Mahbubul Alam - PeerSpot reviewer
Head of Information Security Division at Prime Bank Ltd.

The price is good.

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CT
Analytical Engineer at a pharma/biotech company with 10,001+ employees

It was pretty good and not expensive on the subscription side. Cisco is doing a good job on this.

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SN
IT Manager, Infrastructure, Solution Architecture at ADCI Group

The pricing for Cisco products is higher than others, but Cisco is a very good, strong, and stable technology. If we compare Huawei or FortiGate or others then the prices are lower, but the higher Cisco price is acceptable because of the stability, trust, and reliability.

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BG
System Administrator at ISET

We paid about $7,000 for the Cisco firewall, plus another small Cisco router and the lead switch. It was under the combined license. It's a final agreement.

The Cisco license was not yearly. It was a yearly license for the firewall. For the router and switch, it was a lifetime license.

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RW
System Administrator at a healthcare company with 501-1,000 employees

I am not aware of the pricing. 

It's an all-in-one contract.

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PC
Senior Engineer at Teracai Corporation

We've compared it to other solutions, like WatchGuard and other types of firewalls in that same realm. Cisco ASAs are fairly priced and very competitive with them.

Some of the solutions we looked at had different GUI interfaces that might be a little bit easier to get around in, but they might not have had as many features. Cisco had the feature edge.

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AE
Technical Consultant at Zak Solutions for Computer Systems

The pricing is neither cheap nor expensive. It's somewhere in the middle. If you compare it to Fortinet or Palo Alto, Fortinet is low and Palo Alto is very high. Cisco falls in the middle between the two.

As far as deployment options go, they often have more wiggle-room with discounts, especially for larger deployments. Therefore, in general, it ranges closer to Fortinet's pricing.

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Tim Maina - PeerSpot reviewer
Network Engineer at a tech vendor with 5,001-10,000 employees

I don't look at the pricing side of things, but from what I hear from people, it's a little pricey.

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AlexEng - PeerSpot reviewer
Systems Engineer at a healthcare company with 201-500 employees

It's hard to talk about pricing when you compare firewalls because firewall functionality is almost the same, regardless of whether it's a small box or a large box. The difference is just the throughput. Leaving aside things like clustering, what you have to look at are the throughput and the price.

Cisco's pricing is more or less okay. In other areas where we work with Cisco solutions, like other security solutions and networking, Cisco is usually much more expensive than others. But when it comes to firewalls, Cisco is cheaper than Check Point although it is not as cheap as Fortigate. But with the latest improvements in hardware and speed, the pricing is okay.

To me, as a partner, the licensing is quite simple. I'm responsible for providing estimates to my sales guys and, sometimes, as an architect, I create solutions for my customers and give them estimates. There are other Cisco solutions that have much more complicated licensing models than Firepower. In short, the licensing is quite okay.

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RG
Network & Security Engineer at Oman LNG L.L.C.

When we purchased the firewall, we had to take the security license for IPS, malware protection, and VPN. If we are using high availability, we have to take a license for that. We also have to pay for hardware support and technical support. Its licensing is on a yearly basis.

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MB
Voice and data infrastructure specialist at a tech services company with 1,001-5,000 employees

Cisco is not cheap, however, it is worth investing in these technologies.

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MB
Head of Network Administration Section at Zemen Bank S.C.

It is expensive. There is a cost for everything. There is per year license cost and support cost. There is also a cost for any training, any application, and any resource. Things are very costly to do with Cisco.

Other brands are cheaper. They are also more flexible in terms of training, subscription, and licensing. They give lots and lots of years free. They provide more than Cisco.

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RF
Data Analyst at a hospitality company with 201-500 employees

I'm just handling the implementation and therefore don't have any insights on the pricing aspect of the solution. I wouldn't be able to say how much the company pays or if the pricing is high or low.

That said, the pricing isn't an issue. It's more about what's best for the customer or the client. We want to give the client the best service, and very good protection. If a client begins to worry about pricing, we can't exactly guarantee the same level of safety.

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Vinay-Singh - PeerSpot reviewer
Manager IT & Security at mCarbon Tech Innovations Pvt., Ltd.

There are licensing costs.

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CM
IT Manager at Citizens Bank

The cost of keeping the licensing up on the ASA is very expensive. It has a lot of positives, but the cost of going with it is really starting to be a major negative right now.

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MC
System programmer 2 at a government with 10,001+ employees

The licensing scheme is completely confusing, and they need to streamline it. They have classic licensing and a new type of licensing now. Also, the licensing for the actual firewall is separate from the one for TAC support.

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RS
Senior network security, engineer and architect at a computer software company with 5,001-10,000 employees

The pricing of the products isn't terrible. They're not too expensive. They're a little more expensive than other products, but you are getting the name, the company, and the support.

It's also nice that you can buy different avenues of licensing, depending on how you want to go about using them.

We buy a support license to get support if we have any issues or problems or need help on how we want to implement things.

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AS
Senior Network Architect at a tech services company with 10,001+ employees

Cisco is always expensive, but you get what you pay for. It is expensive for a reason. It is a good solution, and good solutions cost money.

AnyConnect is an extra license. If you want the IDS/IPS things, those are usually extra too.

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AR
Lead Network Engineer at a government with 1,001-5,000 employees

I don't have any knowledge as to what the product costs. It's not part of the business I deal with.

Palo Alto, it's my understanding, is a little more expensive, however, it depends on the users and on the design. It always depends on the contract

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ZK
Lead Network Security Engineer at TechnoCore LTD

Cisco, as we all know, is expensive, but for the money you are paying, you know that you are also getting top-notch documentation as well as support if needed. In some cases, this may save you a lot of money or stress, which is why everyone who uses Cisco solutions loves them.

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KUMAR SAIN - PeerSpot reviewer
Sr. Network and Security Engineer at Shopper Local, LLC

In terms of costs, other solutions are more expensive than Cisco. Palo Alto is more expensive than Cisco.

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NM
Supervisor of Computer Operations at Neil McFadyen

ASA pricing seems high compared to other firewalls, such as the Sophos XG models. 

The licensing features are getting more complicated. These should be simplified. 

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CD
Senior Solution Architect at Teras Solutions Limited

The solution’s pricing is competitive.

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BL
Network Engineer at a construction company with 1,001-5,000 employees

Although I am not directly involved in dealing with the pricing aspect of the Cisco Secure Firewall, I know that the licensing has improved over the years.

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TM
Solutions Consultant at a comms service provider with 10,001+ employees

Licensing, recently, has been getting more complicated. In particular, the Smart Licensing that came out is quite complicated. I don't know what's going on. Our sales team asks us questions about Smart accounts, but I don't know what it is and Cisco is making it so complicated. They call it Smart, but it's complicated. I prefer the traditional license where you buy it once.

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AM
Network Engineer at LEPL Smart Logic

Its price is in the middle range. Both Firepower and FortiGate are not cheap. Palo Alto and Check Point are the cheapest ones.

I don't remember any costs in addition to the standard licensing fees.

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LF
Security Governance at a comms service provider with 1,001-5,000 employees

Nothing to highlight at this level. 

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MS
VSO at Navitas Life Sciences

I don't manage licensing. I can't speak to the actual cost of the product. 

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Sergiy Ovsyannyk - PeerSpot reviewer
VP Network Engineering at a computer software company with 501-1,000 employees

The pricing of Cisco firewalls, in the security market, is fair. Their pricing of other products is questionable, but for firewalls, it's fine.

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VW
Network Engineer at a computer software company with 201-500 employees

The pricing is pretty standard. 

I wish there was an easier way to license the product in closed environments. I have worked in a number of closed environments, then it is a lot of head scratching. I know that we could put servers in these networks and that would help with the licensing. I have never been in a situation where we connected multiple networks, i.e., having an external network as well as an internal network, as those kinds of solutions are not always the best. I think licensing is always a headache for everyone, and I don't know if there is a simple solution.

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MC
Engineering Services Manager at a tech services company with 201-500 employees

With any vendor, prices are often a little bit negotiable. There are things like discounted rates. There's a list price and then, as a partner, we get a discounted rate based on how much product we're purchasing and our relationship with the vendor. 

But on the list-price side of things, there are three big licenses on an FTD [Firepower Threat Defense] box. There are the malware license, the threat license, and the URL filtering license. You can license them in one-year, three-year, and five-year increments. Each license will enable different features on the box. The malware license will enable AMP filtering or AMP detection. The threat detection enables use of the IPS solution, which is really Snort's bread and butter. And the URL filtering enables filtering based on URL categories.

Sometimes we use URL filtering and sometimes we don't. It depends on the customer and on whether they have a different URL filtering strategy, like Umbrella. The two big ones that we sell are malware and threat detection, with threat detection probably being the license we sell the most.

SMARTnet, the technical support component, covers the box. When you purchase the hardware, you buy it with SMARTnet. Licenses cover features, SMARTnet covers support.

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AM
Network Engineer at LEPL Smart Logic

I like its licensing because you buy the license once, and it is yours. We don't have to go for a subscription. So, I liked how they licensed Cisco ASA Firewall. Our clients are also very satisfied with its licensing model.

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VG
Co-Founder at Multitechservers

The pricing is pretty reasonable. it's standard and comparable to other solutions. The maximum difference between products might be $20 to $40. It's not much of a difference. 

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Heritier Daya - PeerSpot reviewer
Network Administrator at a financial services firm with 1,001-5,000 employees

We are in the process of renewing our three-year license, which costs approximately $24,000 USD for the thirty-six months. In terms of licensing, this product costs a lot, but this cost can save my assets that could be millions for my company. There is no choice.

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FL
Team leader at J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc.

The cost of this solution is high.

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MD
Network & Security Administrator at Diamond Bank Plc

The licensing for Cisco ASA is on a yearly basis. We have to renew the Firepower module license. We are in the process of renewing this one. 

I just made the demand. They have the management who is charge asking about the price and payment terms on different offers. 

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Karthik Venkataraman - PeerSpot reviewer
Senior Consultant at Velocis Systems

Pricing is high.

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MF
Network Engineer at a financial services firm with 10,001+ employees

It's affordable.

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SG
Network Automation Engineer at a financial services firm with 1,001-5,000 employees

The pricing is fair.

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BB
Network Engineer at a university with 1,001-5,000 employees

I am not a huge fan of Cisco licensing in general. However, I wasn't really involved with the pricing. That decision was made a little higher than me.

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AS
CSD Manager at BTC

The value of the pricing needs to be enhanced from Cisco because there are a lot of competitors in the market. There is room for improvement in the pricing when compared to the market. Although, when you compare the benefits of support from Cisco, you can adjust the value and it becomes comparable, because you usually need very good support. So you gain value there with this device.

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JM
Head of Information Communication Technology at National Building Society

It's a brilliant firewall, and the fact that it comes with a perpetual license really does go far in terms of helping the organization in not having to deal with those costs on an annual basis. That is a pain point when it comes to services like the ones we have on FortiGate. That's where we really give Cisco firewalls the thumbs up.

From the point of view of total cost of ownership, the perpetual licensing works well in countries like ours, where we are facing challenges with foreign exchange. Trying to set up foreign payments has been a challenge in Zimbabwe, so the fact that we don't have to be subscribed and pay licenses on an annual basis works well. If you look at FortiGate, it's a good product, but we are always under pressure when renewal time comes.

Where Cisco falls a bit short is because of the fact that, if I want IPS, I have to buy another license. That's why I have my reservations with it. If I want Cisco AnyConnect, I have to buy another license. That's where we have challenges. That's unlike our next-gen FortiGate where everything comes out-of-the-box.

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NJ
CTO at a tech vendor with 1-10 employees

The price is not too high, but the subscription is a little bit high. We compared the activation of Cisco and Fortinet, and when we activated the whole portfolio of the UTM of Fortinet, the speed was reduced. We tested the same situation with the Cisco 2140 series, and there was no reduction in speed.

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YP
Principal Network Security Manager at a tech vendor with 10,001+ employees

Firepower is a little bit expensive, although there are no additional costs beyond the standard ones.

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AN
Network Engineer at LIAQUAT NATIONAL HOSPITAL & MEDIACAL COLLEGE

If you pay for the hardware, you get the Firepower and if you don't, then you get the Cisco Firewall. 

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DC
Network Engineer at CoVantage Credit Union

We're going to get to a point, not this year and not the coming year, probably going into 2021, where we're going to want to replace the ASA appliances with either virtuals or actual physicals. But the Firepower series of appliances is not cheap.

I just got a quote recently for six firewalls that was in the range of over half-a-million dollars. That's what could push us to look to other vendors, if the price tag is just so up there. I'm using these words "fictitiously," but if it's going to be outlandish, as a customer, we would have to do our due diligence and look at other solutions at that point.

In addition to that cost, there are licensing fees for some of the individual things like AMP, the IPS/IDS piece. It depends on what you want to use, such as the SSL piece and the VPN piece, which we don't use.

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it_user212682 - PeerSpot reviewer
Network Consultant at a tech consulting company with 51-200 employees

The original setup cost of the SA520W was approx. US$500. The setup for the 5512-x was approx. US$3000. For the 5512-x, additional costs were endured for the IPS and Botnet licenses approx. an additional US$1000/year. As for day-to-day costs, the 5512-x self-updates the security modules, so there is little interaction that I need to perform.

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JC
Engineer at a tech services company with 501-1,000 employees

The licensing is not good, it's confusing. I'm an engineer so I don't care about the actual price that much but the licensing part is confusing.

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SV
Network Support Engineer at a manufacturing company with 51-200 employees

Firepower has a very high cost and you have to pay for the standby as well, meaning that the cost is doubled. When you compare Fortinet, it is a single cost only, so Fortinet is cheaper.

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HR
Director of network ops at a non-profit with 51-200 employees

The pricing is too high and the licensing is too confusing.

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BL
Enterprise Architect at a tech services company with 51-200 employees

Once you know what the product is, it is not that bad. Yes, it is expensive. When you try to get a license, it is like, "Well, I don't know which one of these I need. And, if I don't buy it now, then I will probably be back later. Now, I have to justify the money." Typically, you end up just buying everything that you don't use most of the time. It is one of those solutions where you get what you pay for. If you don't know what you need, just buy everything. We have additional licenses that we don't use.

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AliTadir - PeerSpot reviewer
Owner at Nexgen IT Solutions

The licensing package is good, but the licensing fee should be decreased.

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WS
IT Consultant at Hostlink IT Solutions

Its price is moderate. It is not too expensive.

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WM
Head of ICT Infrastructure and Security at City of Harare

We pay annually and there are no costs in addition to the standard fees.

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CS
Sr Technical Consultant at a tech services company with 51-200 employees

Their pricing is very aggressive and good. Even a small company can afford it. I am happy with its pricing. Its licensing is on a yearly basis.

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EL
Technical Specialist, consultant at a computer software company with 10,001+ employees

They seem to be at the top end in terms of pricing, but they are worth the price. They are probably a little bit lower than Palo Alto. If the customers are relying on Cisco products and they are thinking more in terms of scaling to another layer in a year, it is pretty much in a good price range.

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ME
Director of network engineering

The pricing and licensing are getting more complicated, and I'd like that to be simpler.

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DJ
Network Systems Manager at a computer software company with 5,001-10,000 employees

The pricing could always be cheaper.

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MS
Senior Systems Engineer at a tech services company with 201-500 employees

Its pricing is good and competitive. There is a maintenance cost.

It includes SecureX that makes it cost-effective as compared to the other solutions where you have to pay for XDR and SOAR capabilities.

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HP
Technical Consulting Manager at a consultancy with 10,001+ employees
MH
Security architect at a computer software company with 51-200 employees

The pricing for this solution is pretty fair. 

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PS
Network security engineer at a tech services company with 1,001-5,000 employees

We are happy with its price. Licensing is on a yearly basis for technical support. There is one license for technical support. There is another license for IP Version 2 VPN and IPS.

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CB
Networking Specialist at a healthcare company with 1,001-5,000 employees

The price for Firepower is more expensive than FortiGate. The licensing is very complex. We usually ask for help from Solutel because of its complexity. I have a Cisco account where I can download the VPN client, then connect. Instead, I create an issue with Solutel, then Solutel solves the case.

Our license for Firepower is their best license.

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NC
Technology Associate at a financial services firm with 1-10 employees

We pay a lot of money for it.

For big organizations who are used to throwing around a lot of money for absolutely surety, this would probably be a good fit for them. For the average SME, this particular firewall system, as well as Cisco in general, this product would not be a good fit for them.

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it_user221862 - PeerSpot reviewer
Cloud Engineer at a tech services company with 1,001-5,000 employees

The original setup cost was very high, not sure of the exact numbers because this product was purchased prior to me joining, but it was expensive Tack on the recurring charge and this really racks up, but luckily the day to day operational costs aren't bad at all, unless you break out the recurring charge daily!

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FV
Admin Network Engineer at Grupo xcaret

The pricing is fine. It is not too bad.

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Javed Hashmi - PeerSpot reviewer
Chief Technology Officer at Future Point Technologies

Cisco falls somewhere in the middle in terms of pricing, it's not very expensive and it's not very cheap. There is an additional accessory fee associated with Cisco but normally they have a separate subscription cost for different types of security to protect the firewall. There are separate bundles available inside the pricing and that's probably true for all of the firewalls. 

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SA
Senior Network Engineer at a consultancy with 1,001-5,000 employees

The one-time cost is affordable, but the maintenance cost and the Smart Net costs need to be reduced. They're too high. A company like ours, that has about 80 firewalls, has to multiple the maintenance cost per device by 80. Cisco should find a way to provide some kind of enterprise support. We don't want to buy support per unit of equipment. It would be easier for everybody.

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Ahmed Nagm - PeerSpot reviewer
IT Solution Consultant at PCS

My advice, since I have to pay for licensing each feature that I need to enable, like URL filtering, is to look at a pfSense. That is what we are doing because you have to pay for greater protection, a total solution can be very costly. We are looking at a pfSense, to bring down the total cost. The correct price point, in comparison to other platforms, is the main factor here.

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RP
Systems Administrator at Universal Audio

We purchased the product through the AWS Marketplace. While I wasn't part of the buying process for Cisco ASA, I have used it to purchase AMIs.

The AWS Marketplace been great, but it could be a bit more user-friendly from an aesthetic perspective. It is fully functional and easy to figure out once you are in it. However, the layout of the AMIs has a lot missing, e.g., you have to side click to find the area for community AMIs. It would be awesome if AWS Marketplace would put up a wider range of AMIs.

With the Cisco ASA, you do get what you pay for. What would really be awesome is to see Cisco blow out a real cheap version where you can use the sandbox, but leave it step-wise and go to another product relatively easily, like getting you hooked on candy. The problem is that we already paid for the ASAs, and we grew quickly. Now, we have found ourselves in a situation where we have to wait for next year's budget and everyone is using it. We've gone from a sandbox model to full production. If Cisco was a bit more on the ball with this type of thing, such as pay a smaller lump sum, then scale as a pay by use or have an option to switch models. This would be good because then we could actually leverage this type of model.

Right now, we want to go to the rocket stuff, and our people who make the decisions financially will just have a heart attack. They will choke on it. However, if we can roll it into our AWS bill, and slowly creep it in, it is usually more palatable. As crazy as that sounds, even if its more expensive to do it this way.

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RM
Network Engineer at a tech services company with 51-200 employees

When we bought it, it was really expensive. I'm not aware of the current pricing.

We had problems with licensing. After our IPS subscription ended, we couldn't renew it because Cisco was moving to the next-generation firewall platform. So, they didn't provide us with the new license.

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PW
Senior Network And Security Engineer at a pharma/biotech company with 201-500 employees

With any solution from anybody, I always think that licensing is a little high — but it's comparable to other companies. It definitely competes with the other vendors in the market.

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SZ
General Manager at MS Solutions Ltd.

They have a lot of different models but most of them are really expensive. This is the main thing because, for us, the price is important.

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TH
President at a tech vendor with 11-50 employees

I would guess that the market value of Cisco is going to be towards the higher-end. I don't know that it's the highest, but feature for feature, I'd say it's probably well-priced.

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it_user861456 - PeerSpot reviewer
Senior Information Security Engineer at a financial services firm with 501-1,000 employees

My company is moving away from the solution because it is quite expensive.

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MT
Information Security Administrator at Bank of Namibia

Our licensing costs for this solution is on a yearly basis. Just for the firewall, it's about $1.5 million USD.

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HJ
Senior Executive Technical Support at AITSL

The cost is a big factor for us. This is why we are using it only in our restricted area. They are very much higher than their competitors in the market.

I would rate the cost as a six or seven out of ten.

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NP
CEO at Synergy IT

Licensing is expensive compared to other solutions. Especially in other regions because people are very careful when it comes to spending on IT infrastructure. My suggestion is, first test it, once you see how good it is you will definitely want to renew it. 

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it_user244500 - PeerSpot reviewer
Constructor of the computer systems at a security firm with 51-200 employees

Cisco ASA 5512-X was bought for $3,000, and a further $1,000 was needed for installation and pre-configuration.

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GS
Information Security and Compliance Manager at RSwitch

The pricing is high.

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Johan Derycke - PeerSpot reviewer
Network Security Engineer at Smals vzw

It is affordable. The hardware is not that expensive anymore. It is a matter of licensing these days. 

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FB
Sr Network Administrator at Orient Petroleum Inc

There's an annual subscription. It's not cheap. It's quite pricey if you compare it to other competitors in Pakistan. There aren't any extra costs beyond the yearly licensing.

We pay about $200 yearly and we have two firewalls.

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JF
Cisco Security Specialist at a tech services company with 10,001+ employees

When it comes to security, pricing should not be an issue, but we know, of course, that it is. Why is an Aston Martin or a Rolls Royce very expensive? It's expensive because the support is there at all times. Replacement parts are available at all times. They offer a lot of opportunities and customer services that others don't come close to offering. 

Cisco is expensive but it's a highly rated company. It's one of the top-three security companies worldwide.

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NA
IT Infrastructure Manager at Beltone Securities Brokerage S.A.E.

We pay an annual fee.

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AA
Technical Manager at a comms service provider with 1,001-5,000 employees

It's more expensive than Fortinet and Juniper. The price is high compared to other vendors. In general, for the license, it's not that expensive.

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MG
Partner - Consulting & Advisory at Wipro Technologies

We are partners with Cisco. They are always one call away, which is good. They know how to keep their customers happy.

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FT
IT Adviser/Manager with 51-200 employees

If you look for user internet access, many new products can help with filtering and rules or procedures, like Meraki. This replaces the purpose of proxy servers.

If you have to secure web servers from the internet, you need a decent firewall with web features to process the requests and redirect traffic to web servers.

Cisco is no longer the only vendor offering these features. With Microsoft TMG out of the race, others have to push in. But firewalls are also no longer the first frontier of security. Cloud services are in there as well.

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it_user398799 - PeerSpot reviewer
Sr. Security Analyst with 1,001-5,000 employees

Read everything and track all your licenses. Research all options and maybe pick a few to PoC. It doesn’t hurt to trial others. Maybe they are a better fit for your environment.

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ON
Managing Director at Fasp

The price of this solution is not good or bad. It is ok.

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FF
Cloud Services Operation Engineer at Informatic Services Company (ISC)

The pricing for Cisco ASAv depends on your license. With AnyConnect, it depends on your license. It depends on the number of concurrent users you want to connect.

Our license is for one year only, renewable at variable pricing.

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DF
LAN admin at Cluj County Council

I bought a license for three years and it was really affordable. 

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it_user560229 - PeerSpot reviewer
Security Engineer at a healthcare company with 1,001-5,000 employees

We purchased licenses for our High Availability (HA) devices as well but they were not really needed.

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PS
Network security engineer at a tech services company with 1,001-5,000 employees

I am happy with the product in general, including the pricing.

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SA
Senior Solution Architect at a tech services company with 51-200 employees

In my country, deployment may be charged from USD 1K to USD 10K depending on setup cost. There are different types of licenses:

  • Threat
  • URL
  • Anti-malware

I would suggest going with an all-in-one bundle. You will end up saving money. Also, Cisco has a better discount on a 3YR subscription plan. Discuss this with your Cisco AM.

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RO
CEO at a security firm with 1-10 employees

It is expensive. 

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GK
IT Manager

This solution might be expensive, but it is economical in the long run.

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RM
Technical Specialist with 5,001-10,000 employees

Expensive when compared to other products.

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it_user700158 - PeerSpot reviewer
Senior Network Security Engineer at a university

Hardware and licensing can be expensive, and licensing can be a complicated affair. I would strongly recommend you speak with your distributor to ensure you choose the right license for your needs, and read the hardware comparison guide to make sure you spec the correct hardware for your specific needs.

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it_user579180 - PeerSpot reviewer
Networking Specialist at a insurance company with 1,001-5,000 employees

You have to negotiate well.

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KB
Senior Network Designer at ODI

The base license is delivered with the device. This license includes IPS and user authentication. You should buy a license for an IPS update. You should also buy another license for AMP and URL filtering.

These are the important licenses: BASE, IPS, AMP, and URL filtering. Apart from the base license, the other licenses are subscription based for one, three, or five years.

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GF
Security Consultant at IKUSI

The cost of the solution is quite high. It's very expensive compared to other options. For example, Fortinet is much more reasonably priced.

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SG
Senior IT Analyst at a insurance company with 51-200 employees

The price is comparable.

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it_user1436289 - PeerSpot reviewer
ICT Systems Engineer at a insurance company with 11-50 employees

This is an expensive product. We pay about €2,000 ($2,400 USD) per year for licensing. 

Technical support is in addition to the standard licensing fees.

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CS
Information Security Manager at a financial services firm with 501-1,000 employees

Watch out for hidden licensing and incredibly high annual maintenance costs. We bought much beefier Palo Altos for a less expensive one-time and annual cost.

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IY
Assistant Manager (Infrastructure) at SISTIC

Base hardware cost are average. Additional hardware modules are priced higher than the base module. They also offer very clear licensing and pricing.

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SC
ICT Manager at a aerospace/defense firm

The initial investment on the Cisco ASAs was around one million South African Rand and there's a R200,000 annual maintenance cost with Cisco's partners.

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ON
Network & Systems Administrator Individual Contributor at T-Systems

I don't really handle the billing, so I'm unsure of the pricing. I work more on the technical side. 

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AA
Sr. Network Engineer at a construction company with 10,001+ employees

Cisco is considered to be an expensive solution.

When comparing to other vendors, it's quite expensive.

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IA
Group IT Manager at a manufacturing company with 1,001-5,000 employees

Always look for the history of the products and their evolution, as this will reflect their prices. As for the licenses, be smart and choose the ones you are going to use AS PER YOUR NEED.

More features=More Licenses=More work time=Increase in Cost.

Always consider what you might need to reduce your wasted time and invest it in other solutions (i.e. "If it takes you three hours to do an analysis report and the solution you are getting has this feature to reduce your time to five minutes then you can consider this license. But, if there is a feature where you can have access to the machine from the cloud and you are always connected to the company by VPN, there is no need to buy this license").

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AA
IT Consultant at MOD

There are no additional costs to the standard licensing fees. 

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EE
Senior Data Scientist & Analytics at a tech services company with 11-50 employees

Based on the services that you will get, especially the AMP license, the price is very reasonable. The license system is also good but it's not very impressive. It's a very regular licensing system. They call it a smart license which means that your device will connect to the internet. This is a little bit of a headache for some customers. It doesn't make the customer happy because most of the customers prefer not to connect their firewall or system to the internet.

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KS
Technical Services Manager at a comms service provider with 10,001+ employees

The cost is a bit high compared to other solutions in the market.

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JK
IT Manager at a manufacturing company with 51-200 employees

The cost is a bit higher than other competitive solutions on the market.

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BY
IT System Administrator at PFW HAVACILIK

Commercial leasing is the best option.         

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SC
IT SecOps Manager at a computer software company with 1,001-5,000 employees

Basic features and IPs can work without subscriptions. All next-generation features require per-year payments. Enterprise customers usually agree with price and license fees, so I don't see any painful issues with pricing and licensing.

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AK
Senior IT Networking and Security Manager at a tech services company with 10,001+ employees

This is definitely not a cheap solution, but I think it is worth the investment.

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GS
Security Consultant at a tech services company with 501-1,000 employees

It has a great performance-to-price value, compared to competitive solutions. Subscriptions are annual. The licensing fee and standard support are the only costs we pay for.

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it_user380502 - PeerSpot reviewer
Principal Network Engineer at a tech services company with 51-200 employees

Always plan ahead for three years. In other words, do not buy a firewall on what your needs are today, but try to predict where you will be three years from now in terms of bandwidth, security requirements, and changes in organizational design. This applies to any vendor, not just this product. I find that I always need to buy a higher level product than the specifications request in order to be safe.

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VM
Systems Administrator\Ag. IT Manager at a construction company with 201-500 employees

I just bought it off the shelf, and I'm using it with my previous one, so I have not spent that much.

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TR
Tier 2 Network Engineer at a comms service provider with 1,001-5,000 employees

The licensing is a bit off because the physical firewall is cheaper than the virtual one. We only have the physical ones as they are cheaper than the virtual ones. We only use the physical firewalls because of the price difference.

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LX
Network Specialist at a financial services firm with 501-1,000 employees

The pricing is quite fair for what you get. If you're comparing with other products, Cisco is expensive, but you do get benefits for the price.

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GV
Architect - Cloud Serviced at a comms service provider with 10,001+ employees

We normally license on a yearly basis.

The hardware procurement cost should be considered. If you're virtual maybe that cost is eradicated and just the licensing cost is applied. If you have hardware the cost must be covered by you. 

All the shipping charges will be paid by you also.

I don't think there are any other hidden charges though.

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BS
Information Security Officer at a non-tech company with 10,001+ employees

I would consider this solution on the "high end" of the pricing spectrum.

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it_user3483 - PeerSpot reviewer
Senior Consultant at Unify Square

Cisco devices are for sure costly and budget could be an important constrain on selecting them as our security solution. 

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AM
IT Operation Manager

The last years' experience showed that there is no full security, so why pay more. Any security vendor with a user-friendly interface, with good support, on-time updates for known vulnerabilities and reliable hardware, is acceptable for an organization.

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AL
Network Security Coordinator at a energy/utilities company with 1,001-5,000 employees

ASAs are expensive. The initial cost is high compared to other similar solutions, and chances are the personnel that will operate them will require some training. But if you're aiming for stability and reliability, this is the best solution you will find.

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SI
Network and System Administrator at a pharma/biotech company with 501-1,000 employees

The cost of the setup was only the product price, local vendor support for the implementation, and employee training. This product is set it and forget it, so we do not have day to day costs.

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ST
System Engineer at asa

The price of Firepower is not bad compared to other products.

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NJ
Administrator at a university with 1,001-5,000 employees

The product is very expensive. 

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NJ
Administrator at a university with 1,001-5,000 employees

For me, personally, as an individual, Cisco Firepower NGFW Firewall is expensive. But it should be affordable for enterprises and educational institutions.

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Othniel Atseh - PeerSpot reviewer
Network Security Consultant at a consultancy with 1-10 employees

When it comes to Cisco, the price of everything is higher.

Cisco firewalls are expensive, but we get support from Cisco, and that support is very active. When I hit an issue when I was configuring an FTD, as soon as I raised a ticket the guy called me and supported me. Cisco is very proactive.

I had the same kind of issue when I was configuring a FortiGate, but those guys took two or three days to call me. I fixed the issue before they even called me.

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YS
Senior Network Support & Presales Engineer at a computer software company with 51-200 employees

The pricing is overrated. Prices for Cisco equipment are always a little bit higher than other vendors. Customers are always complaining about the high prices of Cisco equipment, so it would be very good if these prices can be lowered down, but that's how it is. Cisco equipment usually has higher prices than its competitors.

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DA
Computer Networking Consultant and Contractor with 51-200 employees

To discuss with Cisco Systems or their partners to gain the optimal price and to not consider, without verifying, the false information that Cisco ASA is very expensive.

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SS
Network Engineer with 201-500 employees

Everything with Cisco is expensive. My advice is that there are a lot better options out in the market now.

Palo Alto is pretty decent for example, but support is the best with Cisco, hands down. All other TACs do not come close, except Arista, but they do not make firewalls.

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RS
Network Security Consultant at a tech services company with 51-200 employees

Price is bit high as compared to other vendors, but Cisco ASA has reputation and most reliable product. Always go with minimum security plus license.

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JL
Network Administrator at a manufacturing company with 10,001+ employees

We have a perpetual license for all of our firewalls. For some of the features, we purchase them on demand. The pricing is decent but it could always be cheaper, we would be happier.

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PC
Network Security/Network Management at a educational organization with 201-500 employees

The licensing is very expensive.

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VA
Cyber Security Software Engineer at FireEye

Purchasing from the AWS Marketplace was easy. It was just point and click.

It is pay-as-you-go, so it much cheaper than buying in the plants.

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WS
ICT Department Manager at ACC

People have said that Palo Alto is a less expensive solution than Cisco, but in my experience, at least from today, Cisco is cheaper than Palo Alto. 

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BD
Solutions Architect at a manufacturing company with 10,001+ employees

With respect to the routers and switches, or the core stacks that we get, they seem to be pretty comparable so I don't have any issues with the licensing.

Some of our customers would be more likely to standardize on Cisco equipment if the cost was lower because a lot of people install cheap equipment.

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it_user477366 - PeerSpot reviewer
Security Technical Architect at a tech services company with 10,001+ employees

Get a clear understanding of what the licensing entails before committing.

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JR
Enterprise Integration Architect at a insurance company with 10,001+ employees

The price is fair. It's not the cheapest, but it's not bad.

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PS
Executive Director at ict training and development center

In Laos, clients don't have much wiggle room when it comes to cost. The economy right now isn't very good. Most just choose the basic solution in order to avoid pricey licensing fees.

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it_user588258 - PeerSpot reviewer
Network Administrator at a healthcare company with 501-1,000 employees

Cisco has recently become very expensive. Other solutions on the market are cheaper than this solution.

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RS
Network Security Consultant at a tech services company with 51-200 employees

It is one time cost of about $10,000 and there is no day to day cost.

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it_user222999 - PeerSpot reviewer
Network Security Engineer at a tech services company with 51-200 employees

It is £2,000 to set up, and the running costs, depend on the customers' issue(s) or tickets raised.

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it_user234789 - PeerSpot reviewer
Chief Technical Officer at a comms service provider with 501-1,000 employees

The initial cost was approximately $6,000.

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SK
Senior MIS Manager at a tech company with 201-500 employees

We do need to purchase licenses. Those come from headquarters in Japan. They handle the details in terms of pricing. I'm not sure of the overall costs.

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PK
Jr. Engineer at a computer software company with 5,001-10,000 employees

If we compare it with FortiGate and the co-existing ASA, FortiGate is better in terms of price.

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it_user637233 - PeerSpot reviewer
Presales Consultant at a tech services company with 51-200 employees

The licensing model has been simplified and is easy to understand. The price is higher compared to UTM solutions, such as Fortinet, but in the same range as Checkpoint and Palo Alto.

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AM
IT Operation Manager

Our experience last year showed us that there is no full security, so why should we pay more? Any security vendor with a user-friendly interface, with good support, on-time updates for known vulnerabilities, and reliable hardware, is acceptable for an organization.

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MR
Network Security Engineer at a tech services company with 201-500 employees

The licensing is quite expensive. I don't have the exact amount, however, it's my understanding that it's a very pricey solution. There's a lot of competition out there, including from Fortigate, which offers just as good, if not better products.

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it_user1307058 - PeerSpot reviewer
Network Consulting Engineer at a comms service provider with 201-500 employees

This is an expensive product, although when you buy this solution, you can do many things so it provides good value for the investment.

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SS
C.T.O at Sastra Network Solution Inc. Pvt. Ltd.

We work on a case-by-case basis and are have good offers by Cisco.

It's very competitive with other products.

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it_user654645 - PeerSpot reviewer
Senior Network Specialist

It is too pricey if you want to activate more features in a box, which necessitates you to purchase a license.

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it_user341043 - PeerSpot reviewer
System and Network Administrator at a hospitality company with 501-1,000 employees

Licenses and prices are pretty high. I understand the validity of the product, so I can't complain much.

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RW
Cyber Security Consultant at a tech services company with 51-200 employees

We sell Cisco ASA Firewall as a bundle — the price is very cheap. If a customer were to go for renewal direct from Cisco, then the price would be quite high.

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it_user511224 - PeerSpot reviewer
IT Support Engineer

As much as there is value for money, there is a need to make it affordable.

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ED
Founder, CEO, & President at Krystal Sekurity

Pricing: Negotiate

Licensing: Buy the advanced Malware Protection license subscription for one year. It is worth the investment.

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MM
Lead Network Engineer at a tech services company with 51-200 employees

We're using the smart license for this firewall. The models that we have require licensing for remote access.

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MM
Coordinator Network Support at a manufacturing company with 501-1,000 employees

The initial setup was complex. But, after that, to maintain and keep creating rules it was easy.

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PT
Support Engineer at a tech services company with 51-200 employees

It is a great solution for medium or big enterprises, not so much for small businesses, mainly due to the financial costs. Cisco Firepower is a great solution, but it is expensive compared to others that can provide similar benefits for much less.

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it_user850275 - PeerSpot reviewer
Pre-sales engineer with 51-200 employees

Cisco may be a little expensive but it has everything, and they support very well.

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it_user590484 - PeerSpot reviewer
Sr Network Engineer at a tech services company with 501-1,000 employees

Go for the complete bundle, it's a one time investment only. Otherwise, in the future you will have to buy other tools as licenses for some add-on services.

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it_user293883 - PeerSpot reviewer
System/Network administrator at a computer software company with 501-1,000 employees

Prices could be a little bit lower to make the product more accessible.

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ME
Solution Architect at a tech services company with 11-50 employees

This product requires licenses for advanced features including Snort, IPS, and malware detection.

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it_user793611 - PeerSpot reviewer
Account Manager

Price should be judged based on the above answers, among the most capable vendors.

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it_user242523 - PeerSpot reviewer
Network Security Administrator at a tech company with 5,001-10,000 employees

I have to admit that the price is high. But I think it's worth it if the stability of your solution counts for you.

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MR
Programming Analyst at a tech services company with 201-500 employees

The solution was chosen because of its price compared to other similar solutions.

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KS
CEO & Co-Founder at a tech services company with 51-200 employees

The product cost is a little high. It is a little bit on the high side, and it should be a little bit cost-friendly.

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GS
Center for Creative Leadership at a training & coaching company with 501-1,000 employees

Pricing is high, but it is corporate's decision.

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it_user682167 - PeerSpot reviewer
Network and System Engineer at a non-tech company with 201-500 employees

License and appliance costs are more expensive as compared to other vendors on the market.

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it_user470943 - PeerSpot reviewer
ICT Manager - Network Operations at a healthcare company

Pricing is competitive but licensing cost is on the higher side for non-profit organizations.

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it_user400626 - PeerSpot reviewer
Senior Network & Data Communication Engineer at a tech services company with 201-500 employees

Like with all vendors, know what options you require and request the proper license accordingly. Prices are on the same level as competitors.

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it_user349320 - PeerSpot reviewer
Corporate Information Security Officer

We bought the solution, so there were no real recurring costs at that time.

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HD
Network Engineer at a tech services company with 201-500 employees

While I don't have the exact pricing of the solution, it's my understanding that Cisco is rather costly. It's not the cheapest option on the market. It's expensive. It's more costly, for example than Palo Alto.

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it_user346116 - PeerSpot reviewer
I.T Security Consultant

Pricing is why we had to go for a UTM. For us to achieve what we needed, if we had gone with the ASA, the cost would have been high compared to getting one box (UTM).

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it_user614874 - PeerSpot reviewer
Gerente de Telecomunicaciones at a financial services firm with 1,001-5,000 employees

Sincerely, I prefer other products with no limit on licensing of VPNs, for example.

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MZ
Program director at a tech consulting company with 201-500 employees

Cisco ASA Firewall should be cheaper.

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it_user430797 - PeerSpot reviewer
Network Engineer at a mining and metals company with 1,001-5,000 employees

Obviously, Cisco products are not cheap.

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it_user200313 - PeerSpot reviewer
Security Consultant at Accenture

Never worked on pricing and licensing.

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it_user821520 - PeerSpot reviewer
Information Systems Manager at a manufacturing company with 201-500 employees

We looking for a possible new solution because of the licensing and VPN.

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it_user698436 - PeerSpot reviewer
ESS Security with 201-500 employees

Be sure of what features you are going to utilize to add/remove some from new bundles.

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it_user697185 - PeerSpot reviewer
Consultant

All our requirements which we need performed by the firewall (e.g. VPN, URL white-listing, or IP based white-listing, etc.) have separate licenses and costs.

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it_user789333 - PeerSpot reviewer
President and CTO with 51-200 employees

Price point is too high for features and throughput available.

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it_user456837 - PeerSpot reviewer
Project Manager with 11-50 employees

It is a bit more expensive than other solutions, but offers more customization and security than other solutions.

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MS
Network Security Presales Engineer at a tech services company with 51-200 employees

This product is expensive.

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it_user674844 - PeerSpot reviewer
Executive Manager with 11-50 employees

Negotiate the quote.

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it_user764139 - PeerSpot reviewer
Solutions Architect at a tech services company with 51-200 employees

Value for your money, but bit a costly.

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it_user570603 - PeerSpot reviewer
IT Manager at a manufacturing company

Cisco price-performance is very successful.

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Buyer's Guide
Cisco Secure Firewall
March 2024
Learn what your peers think about Cisco Secure Firewall. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: March 2024.
765,234 professionals have used our research since 2012.