Cisco Secure Firewall vs Juniper SRX Series Firewall comparison

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Comparison Buyer's Guide
Executive Summary
Updated on Nov 23, 2022

We performed a comparison between Cisco Secure Firewall vs Juniper SRX based on our users’ reviews in five categories. After reading all of the collected data, you can find our conclusion below.

  • Ease of Deployment: Users of both solutions share mixed reviews on deployment. Some find it easy while others say the setup is not straightforward.
  • Features: Users of both solutions are happy with the products’ stability, scalability, and robustness.

    Cisco Secure Firewall users like that the solution has good security and filtering and good application visibility and control. Users say they would like to see an improved interface, would like better logging functionality, and say it would be good if the solution had a policy-based routing feature.

    Users of Juniper SRX like that the solution is user friendly, easy to maintain, has good logging, that it has site-to-site VPN. Users say the reliability needs to be improved and that there needs to be an easier way to create reports.
  • Pricing: Users of both solutions have mixed opinions on the pricing. Some consider it to be expensive. Others say it is comparable to other solutions.
  • Service and Support: Users of both solutions are very happy with the technical support they receive.
  • ROI: Users of both Cisco Secure Firewall and Juniper SRX have noted an ROI.

Comparison Results: The two solutions are very comparable. Each of them have a good set of features, and the solution you choose will ultimately be dependent on your company’s specific preferences and requirements.

To learn more, read our detailed Cisco Secure Firewall vs. Juniper SRX Series Firewall Report (Updated: March 2024).
765,386 professionals have used our research since 2012.
Featured Review
Quotes From Members
We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use.
Here are some excerpts of what they said:
Pros
"FortiGate is flexible and easy to use.""The secure web gateway module and the application control module are valuable. HA operations are very easy.""Fortigate represents a really scalable way of delivering perimeter network security, some level of layer 7 security, WAF, and also a way to create a meshed ADVPN solution.""There is an easy process for configuring it, and it is straightforward to implement the device from scratch.""We are using the FortiGate 100D series. VPN, firewall, anti-malware, OTM, and intrusion prevention are useful features.""The reporting and monitoring are very good.""The Intrusion Prevention System and the web filtering are both working well.""Anti-Spam web content filterinG."

More Fortinet FortiGate Pros →

"The most valuable feature would be ASDM. The ability to go in, visualize and see the world base in a clear and consistent manner is very powerful.""Filtering is the best feature.""The most valuable feature for the customers is that they can control what communication is allowed and what is not allowed. That is, they can allow or deny client traffic.""Cisco ASA Firewall is a well known product. They're always updating it, and you know what they're doing and that it works.""The configuration capabilities and the integration with other tools are the most valuable features. I really like this product. Cisco is one of my favorite brands, and I always think Cisco solutions are very reliable, easy to configure, and very secure.""Collaboration with other Cisco products such as ISE and others is the most valuable feature.""I like all of the features.""I like that Cisco Firepower NGFW Firewall is reliable. Support is also good."

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"Juniper supports their products very well.""Most of our clients use it as a traditional firewall, blocking Layer 3 and Layer 4, blocking by transport.""The CLI works perfectly.""What I like the most about Juniper is that they have the same CLI on all routers, switches, and firewalls. If you have worked with any Juniper device, such as a Juniper router, you will be able to work with an SRX, which is really cool. It is a nice experience to work with every device of Juniper, not only firewalls.""We did not have problems with scaling, as we have less than 500 users in our organization.""The solution is stable, inexpensive, and works well for medium size companies.""The ports are really versatile for their application and don't always have to be used for the purpose for which they were made.""We're primarily using Juniper's EPA feature, but not the other things. We use it to manage different points of firewalling of routing."

More Juniper SRX Series Firewall Pros →

Cons
"With the addition of some features, it is possible that FortiGate can be used in all verticals.""One area for improvement is the performance on bandwidth demands for smaller devices, as well as better web filtering.""Fortinet FortiGate should improve the VPN tokens.""The graphical user interface of Fortinet's FortiGate product does not function well with text-based interfaces.""We sometimes have issues with FortiGate's routing table in the latest firmware update. We had to downgrade the device because our customers complained about bugs.""One of the features that I would like to have is to do with endpoint production, it should be integrated. For example, the firewall gets notified of any kind of forensic event that needs to be done, such as if there is a ransomware attack and how it originated, all those records have to be available from the firewall, which is not.""The biggest "gotcha" is that if the client purchases what they call the UTM shared bundle, which has unified threat management on both, it's not as easy to manage if you have more than one firewall.""The routing capability on the FortiGate devices has room for improvement."

More Fortinet FortiGate Cons →

"I would like to see the inclusion of more advanced antivirus features in the next release of this solution.""I was just trying to learn how this product actually operates and one thing that I see from internal processing is it does fire-walling and then sends it to the IPS model and any other model that needs to be performed. For example, content checking or filtering will be done in a field processing manner. That is something that causes delays in the network, from a security perspective. That is something that can be improved upon. Palo Alto already has implemented this as a pilot passed processing. So they put the same stream of data across multiple modules at the same time and see if it is giving a positive result by using an XR function. So, something similar can be done in the Cisco Firepower. Instead of single processing or in a sequential manner, they can do something similar to pile processing. Internal function that is something that they can improve upon.""We have more than one Cisco firewall and it is difficult for me to integrate both on the single UI.""We cannot have virtual domains, which we can create with FortiGate. This is something they should add in the future. Additionally, there is a connection limit and the FMC could improve.""The interface for monitoring could be improved to allow better views to make troubleshooting easier.""Other products are becoming easier to access and configure. They are providing UI interfaces to configure, take backup, synchronize redundant machines, and so on. It is very easy to take backup and upgrade the images in those products. Cisco ASA should have such features. If one redundant machine is getting upgraded, the technology and support should be there to upgrade other redundant machines. In a single window, we should be able to do more in terms of backups, restores, and upgrades.""With regards to stability, we had a critical bug come out during our evaluation... not good.""The service could use a little more web filtering. If I compare it to Cyberoam, Cyberoam has more the web filtering, so if you want to block a website, it's easier in other solutions than in Cisco."

More Cisco Secure Firewall Cons →

"The solution could cost less. It's a bit expensive right now.""The training videos that are available need to be improved, and made more educative.""We tried configuring the IDS for more than four months, but it did not work properly.""I've noticed that the management interface could use some updates and upgrades.""Juniper SRX's UI is very bad.""IPS is one that I would definitely want to be improved. I would also like SSL VPN to be integrated.""The CPU switch could be improved for a better overall performance of traffic flow.""I would like them to add a dashboard because it's difficult to operate."

More Juniper SRX Series Firewall Cons →

Pricing and Cost Advice
  • "Fortinet has one or two license types, and the VPN numbers are only limited by the hardware chassis make."
  • "These boxes are not that expensive compared to what they can do, their functionality, and the reporting you receive. Fortinet licensing is straightforward and less confusing compared to Cisco."
  • "Go for long term pricing negotiated at the time of purchase."
  • "Work through partners for the best pricing."
  • "The value is the capability of having multiple services with one unique license, not having the limitation per user licensing schema, like other vendors."
  • "Easy to understand licensing requirements."
  • "​We saved a bundle by not needing all the past appliances from an NGFW.​"
  • "The cost is too high... They have to focus on more features with less cost for the customer. If you see the market, where it's going, there are a lot of players offering more features for less cost."
  • More Fortinet FortiGate Pricing and Cost Advice →

  • "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."
  • "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."
  • "It has a great performance-to-price value, compared to competitive solutions."
  • "Spec the right hardware model and choose the right license for your needs."
  • "Everything with Cisco is expensive. My advice is that there are a lot better options out in the market now."
  • "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."
  • "Cisco devices are for sure costly and budget could be an important constrain on selecting them as our security solution."
  • "​Price point is too high for features and throughput available.​"
  • More Cisco Secure Firewall Pricing and Cost Advice →

  • "The prices are very good as compared to other vendors."
  • "Pricing is very good, not expensive."
  • "I would say about $20,000 for a SRX650 with IDP licence."
  • "Small enterprises or telco have variant licenses, and this licensing should be improved."
  • "We were able to lower our overall operating costs over a three year period by 25%, mostly recovered from maintenance/support costs."
  • "Pricing is good. Most of the costs are in the UTM (IDS/IPS, virus scanning, etc) subscription."
  • "Palo Alto was nice, but much more expensive."
  • "It is not that expensive."
  • More Juniper SRX Series Firewall Pricing and Cost Advice →

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    Comparison Review
    Anonymous User
    Cisco ASA vs. Palo Alto: Management Goodies You often have comparisons of both firewalls concerning security components. Of course, a firewall must block attacks, scan for viruses, build VPNs, etc. However, in this post I am discussing the advantages and disadvantages from both vendors concerning the management options: How to add and rename objects. How to update a device. How to find log entries. Etc. Cisco ASA Fast Management Suite: The ASDM GUI is really fast. You do not have to wait for the next window if you click on a certain button. It simply appears directly. On the Palo, each entry to add, e.g., an application inside a security rule, takes a few seconds. Better “Preview CLI Commands”: I am always checking the CLI commands before I send them to the firewall. On the Cisco ASA, they are quite easy to understand. I know, Palo Alto also offers the “Preview Changes”, but it takes a bit more time to recognize all XML paths. Better CLI Commands at all: For Cisco admins it is very easy to parse a “show run” and to paste some commands into another device. This is not that easy on a Palo Alto firewall. First, you must change the config-output format, and second, you cannot simply paste many lines into another device, since the ordering of these lines is NOT correct by default. That is, it simply doesn’t work. ACL Hit Count: I like the hit counts per access list entry in the GUI. It quickly reveals which entries are used very often and which ones are never used. On the… Read more →
    Questions from the Community
    Top Answer: When you compare these firewalls you can identify them with different features, advantages, practices and usage at… more »
    Top Answer:From my experience regarding both the Sophos and FortiGate firewalls, I personally would rather use FortiGate. I know… more »
    Top Answer:As a solution, Sophos UTM offers a lot of functionality, it scales well, and the stability and performance are quite… more »
    Top Answer:One of our favorite things about Fortinet Fortigate is that you can deploy on the cloud or on premises. Fortinet… more »
    Top Answer:It is easy to integrate Cisco ASA with other Cisco products and also other NAC solutions. When you understand the Cisco… more »
    Top Answer: Cisco Adaptive Security Appliance (ASA) software is the operating software for the Cisco ASA suite. It supports… more »
    Top Answer:Juniper SRX Series Firewall is a stable solution.
    Top Answer:In my opinion, the Juniper SRX Series Firewall is cheaper than other products. We have a five-year license for the… more »
    Top Answer:Currently, we are using the solution as a data center firewall, but we previously used Juniper on all my segments. Since… more »
    Comparisons
    Also Known As
    FortiGate 60b, FortiGate 60c, FortiGate 80c, FortiGate 50b, FortiGate 200b, FortiGate 110c, FortiGate
    Cisco ASA Firewall, Cisco Adaptive Security Appliance (ASA) Firewall, Cisco ASA NGFW, Cisco ASA, Adaptive Security Appliance, ASA, Cisco Sourcefire Firewalls, Cisco ASAv, Cisco Firepower NGFW Firewall
    Juniper SRX
    Learn More
    Overview

    Fortinet FortiGate enhances network security, prevents unauthorized access, and offers robust firewall protection. Valued features include advanced threat protection, reliable performance, and a user-friendly interface. It improves efficiency, streamlines processes, and boosts collaboration, providing valuable insights for informed decision-making and growth.

    Cisco Secure Firewall stands as a robust and adaptable security solution, catering to organizations of all sizes. It's designed to shield networks from a diverse array of cyber threats, such as ransomware, malware, and phishing attacks. Beyond mere protection, it also offers secure access to corporate resources, beneficial for employees, partners, and customers alike. One of its key functions includes network segmentation, which serves to isolate critical assets and minimize the risk of lateral movement within the network.

    The core features of Cisco Secure Firewall are multifaceted:

    • Advanced threat protection is achieved through a combination of intrusion prevention, malware detection, and URL filtering technologies.
    • For secure access, the firewall presents multiple options, including VPN, remote access, and single sign-on.
    • Its network segmentation capability is vital in creating barriers within the network to safeguard critical assets.
    • The firewall is scalable, effectively serving small businesses to large enterprises.
    • Management is streamlined through Cisco DNA Center, a central management system.

    The benefits of deploying Cisco Secure Firewall are substantial. It significantly reduces the risk of cyberattacks, thereby enhancing the security posture of an organization. This security also translates into increased productivity, as secure access means uninterrupted work. Compliance with industry regulations is another advantage, as secure access and network segmentation align with many regulatory standards. Additionally, it helps in reducing IT costs by automating security tasks and simplifying management processes.

    In practical scenarios, Cisco Secure Firewall finds diverse applications. It's instrumental in protecting branch offices from cyberattacks, securing remote access for various stakeholders, safeguarding cloud workloads, and segmenting networks to isolate sensitive areas.

    User reviews from PeerSpot reflect an overall positive experience with the Cisco Secure Firewall. Users appreciate its ease of configuration, good management capabilities, robust protection, user-friendly interface, and scalability. However, some areas for improvement include better integration capabilities with other vendors, maturity, control over bandwidth for end-users, and addressing software bugs.

    In summary, Cisco Secure Firewall is a comprehensive, versatile, and reliable security solution that effectively meets the security needs of various organizations. It offers a balance of advanced protection, user-friendly management, and scalability, making it a valuable asset in the realm of network security.

    Juniper SRX is a next-generation security solution that enables users to expand and secure their networks without incurring heavy costs or sacrificing performance.

    Benefits of Juniper SRX

    Some of the benefits of using Juniper SRX include:

    • Easily manage and view every aspect of your system’s security. Juniper SRX enables users to manage their security from a centralized location. The central control center can control and view every Juniper connected device in a user’s network. Once a device meets the desired security requirements, an administrator can configure the device’s policy to match the other machines in their network. This both simplifies the way that the network operations run and decreases the number of resources that are needed to ensure that operations run smoothly.
    • Secure your system with a flexible and comprehensive security suite. Juniper SRX’s firewalls are flexible enough that they always match the type of applications that they are supposed to be protecting. Its security features uniformly protect your applications. This is true regardless of how your application is deployed. It can integrate with everything from cloud-based applications to those stored on physical servers in a data center. This makes it easy for administrators to maintain consistency across their systems.
    • Protect yourself from advanced threats. Juniper SRX is equipped with powerful security automation features. They can detect a wide range of known and unknown threats as soon as they appear. Once malware is detected, Juniper SRX begins to analyze it and determines what response fits the situation. Additionally, the threats are prioritized according to their severity. Administrators are then given a selection of response options from which they can choose. This enables users to prevent the spread of these threats.
    • Increase your ability to scale your security. Juniper SRX makes it easy for users to scale up their security to meet their specific needs. Its service processing cards (SPC) are designed to enable a user to meet all of their needs. Administrators do not need to buy specific hardware every time that they need to get something done. Their SPCs can be quickly and easily customized. The addition of SPCs enables users to scale up according to the particular project that they are working on at that time.
    • Reduce the number of resources that you need to expend. Juniper SRX enables users to add expansion modules to their network without expanding the cost to run their network. They accommodate growth without adding to the overall cost. Administrators will not need to spend money on more space, cooling power, or maintenance. Additionally, they will not have to dedicate more time to maintaining the network. Your network may grow, but the cost of running your system will not.

    Reviews from Real Users

    Juniper SRX stands out among their competitors for a number of reasons. Two major ones are their central management capabilities and the robustness of their suite of security features. Juniper SRX is designed to make it easy for users to take control of their network’s security. From one location, administrators can manage all aspects of their infrastructure’s security. The many features that it offers allows users to tailor their security to meet their specific needs.

    Shashidhara N., director of technology solutions & services at Connectivity IT Services Private Limited, writes, “On the SRX box, it has what I call a one model concept for security. I work especially with hybrid environments. With an SRX we have a single management dashboard. We can manage the internal framework easily with the centralized management component. You can work with threat prevention, you can work with integration, you can work with traffic management. Another good part about SRX is that you have opportunities for automation. Another thing that is very good is that all the operating systems for all Juniper boxes are the same. You do not work on different operating systems using different boxes.”

    Pradip J., the owner of Shree Atharva Sales Corporation, writes, “It is a complete security bundle. The cloud-based Sky Advanced Threat Prevention feature is very valuable. I am 100% satisfied with the performance of the Juniper firewall. It has a very good throughput. It works very fine. We use our firewall as a site-to-site VPN or Software-Defined Wide Area Network (SD-WAN). In both cases, it has a very good and optimum performance.Their service support is very good in India. I get really good support from the Juniper team."

    Sample Customers
    1. Amazon Web Services 2. Microsoft 3. IBM 4. Cisco 5. Dell 6. HP 7. Oracle 8. Verizon 9. AT&T 10. T-Mobile 11. Sprint 12. Vodafone 13. Orange 14. BT Group 15. Telstra 16. Deutsche Telekom 17. Comcast 18. Time Warner Cable 19. CenturyLink 20. NTT Communications 21. Tata Communications 22. SoftBank 23. China Mobile 24. Singtel 25. Telus 26. Rogers Communications 27. Bell Canada 28. Telkom Indonesia 29. Telkom South Africa 30. Telmex 31. Telia Company 32. Telkom Kenya
    There are more than one million Adaptive Security Appliances deployed globally. Top customers include First American Financial Corp., Genzyme, Frankfurt Airport, Hansgrohe SE, Rio Olympics, The French Laundry, Rackspace, and City of Tomorrow.
    7-Eleven, AARNet Pty Ltd, Allegro Networks, alltours GmbH, Apollo Hotel Papendrecht, Armstrong Atlantic State University, Atlantech Online, Availity, Bajaj Capital, Baloise Insurance, BancABC, BAS Group, Black Lotus, Blue Box, Borealis, Carilion Clinic, Catholic Health System, CATV, Champlain College, Chinas Ministry of Railways, China University of Mining and Technology (CUMT), Cloud Dynamics, CloudSeeds, Cloudwatt, CODONiS, Colt Technology Services, Cork Internet Exchange, CSS Versicherung AG, CyrusOne, Danish Crown, Deloitte Belgium, Department of Energy, Divona Telecom, DQE Communications, DreamHost, European Government Agency, Expedient, Financial Market Information Services Provider, Fluidata, Fonality, Fox Sports, Global Financial Institution, Global Investment Bank, Global Investment Company, Energy Sciences Network (ESnet), Goethe University, HEAnet, High Performance Networks Inc., Hillenbrand
    Top Industries
    REVIEWERS
    Comms Service Provider16%
    Computer Software Company9%
    Financial Services Firm8%
    Manufacturing Company7%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Educational Organization20%
    Computer Software Company15%
    Comms Service Provider8%
    Manufacturing Company6%
    REVIEWERS
    Financial Services Firm15%
    Comms Service Provider12%
    Computer Software Company12%
    Manufacturing Company8%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Educational Organization20%
    Computer Software Company16%
    Comms Service Provider9%
    Government6%
    REVIEWERS
    Comms Service Provider35%
    Financial Services Firm17%
    Computer Software Company10%
    Manufacturing Company6%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Educational Organization41%
    Computer Software Company11%
    Comms Service Provider7%
    Government5%
    Company Size
    REVIEWERS
    Small Business48%
    Midsize Enterprise23%
    Large Enterprise30%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Small Business27%
    Midsize Enterprise32%
    Large Enterprise41%
    REVIEWERS
    Small Business35%
    Midsize Enterprise24%
    Large Enterprise42%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Small Business24%
    Midsize Enterprise30%
    Large Enterprise46%
    REVIEWERS
    Small Business43%
    Midsize Enterprise21%
    Large Enterprise36%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Small Business19%
    Midsize Enterprise46%
    Large Enterprise34%
    Buyer's Guide
    Cisco Secure Firewall vs. Juniper SRX Series Firewall
    March 2024
    Find out what your peers are saying about Cisco Secure Firewall vs. Juniper SRX Series Firewall and other solutions. Updated: March 2024.
    765,386 professionals have used our research since 2012.

    Cisco Secure Firewall is ranked 4th in Firewalls with 404 reviews while Juniper SRX Series Firewall is ranked 19th in Firewalls with 86 reviews. Cisco Secure Firewall is rated 8.2, while Juniper SRX Series Firewall is rated 7.8. 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 Juniper SRX Series Firewall writes "Highly scalable, user-friendly UI, and easy to maintain". Cisco Secure Firewall is most compared with Palo Alto Networks WildFire, Netgate pfSense, Meraki MX, Sophos XG and Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls, whereas Juniper SRX Series Firewall is most compared with Palo Alto Networks WildFire, Netgate pfSense, Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls, Check Point NGFW and Meraki MX. See our Cisco Secure Firewall vs. Juniper SRX Series Firewall report.

    See our list of best Firewalls vendors and best Firewalls vendors.

    We monitor all Firewalls reviews to prevent fraudulent reviews and keep review quality high. We do not post reviews by company employees or direct competitors. We validate each review for authenticity via cross-reference with LinkedIn, and personal follow-up with the reviewer when necessary.