Compare Cisco Sourcefire Firewalls vs. pfSense
Cisco Sourcefire Firewalls is ranked 10th in Firewalls with 12 reviews while pfSense is ranked 3rd in Firewalls with 19 reviews. Cisco Sourcefire Firewalls is rated 8.8, while pfSense is rated 8.8. The top reviewer of Cisco Sourcefire Firewalls writes "Valuable firewall solution for enterprise organizations who need reliable flexible security". On the other hand, the top reviewer of pfSense writes "The terminal gets access to our own server inside the network and if one internet fails, then the other one is still up". Cisco Sourcefire Firewalls is most compared with Palo Alto Networks WildFire, FireEye Network Security and Cisco Firepower NGFW, whereas pfSense is most compared with Sophos UTM, OPNsense and Fortinet FortiGate. See our Cisco Sourcefire Firewalls vs. pfSense report.
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 Find out what your peers are saying about Cisco Sourcefire Firewalls vs. pfSense and other solutions. Updated: September 2019. 366,239 professionals have used our research since 2012. | ||||||
Quotes From Members
We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
Pros | ||
The most important point is the detection engine which is now part of the next-generation firewalls and which is supported by Cisco Talos. The most valuable features are the flexibility and level of security that this solution provides. Integration with all the other Cisco tools is valuable. We moved from a legacy firewall to the ASA with FirePOWER, increasing our Internet Edge defense dramatically. Cisco ASA NGFW significantly improves our bank. It protects any high-value products that we use from hackers, viruses, malware, and script-bots. It gives us metrics on network traffic as well as what kind of attacks we are getting from the outside. Right now, Cisco ASA NGFW has given us a lot of improvement. We are planning to move to a new facility and will be a much larger organization. The feature that I found most valuable is the overall stability of the product. The stability of Cisco ASA is excellent compared to other products on the market. Because of our customer experience as an integrator company, our clients never report any performance problems. We have a good performance reputation with Cisco ASA. | The most valuable feature of this solution is AMP (Advanced Malware Protection), as this is really needed to protect against cyber threats. I like the Cisco ASDM (Adaptive Security Device Manager), which is the configuration interface for the Cisco firewall. The technical team is always available when we have problems. The stability of the solution is very good. We can see that it gets even better with every release. The most valuable feature is that it has the ability to divide the network into three parts; internal, external, and DMZ. A powerful enterprise security solution that is dependible. The most valuable feature of this solution is its ability to integrate vertically. An efficient, easy to deploy and dependable firewall solution. | This solution has increased the level of security, given us more control, provided a deep insight into network traffic, and is a great VPN solution. This solution has helped our organization by protecting our network from attacks. I had some outages in the network and we provide services for our company. We sell mobile credits. The terminal gets access to our own server inside the network and if one internet fails, then the other one is still up and we have a back-up link on the devices. My company mainly works in the health and educational domain, schools and universities. I prevent the improper use of content from schools and universities. I defend the medical records for the patients in our hospitals. That is the main use case for me for the firewall. We generally use it because it's cheap. When we need something more robust we use Barracuda and Sony Wireless Routers. For certain clients, we use pfSense because it's compatible with the VoIP platform. Super easy to manage. Anyone who has been working with firewalls can handle it. There is good documentation with a fantastic community and enterprise support. The ability to perform packet captures on the command line and via the GUI is useful for diagnosing problems. |
Cons | ||
Most users do not have awareness of this product's functionality and features. Cisco should do something to make them aware of them. That would be quite excellent and useful to organizations that are still using legacy data-center-security products. There was an error in the configuration, related to our uplink switches, that caused us to contact technical support, and it took a very long time to resolve the issue. With regards to stability, we had a critical bug come out during our evaluation... not good. The product would be improved if the GUI could be brought into the 21st Century. Cisco should improve its user interface design. There is a deep learning curve to the product if you are a newcomer. There is no support here in Georgia. If something goes wrong, support is not always very helpful with the other firewalls or other products. One of my main concerns, an area that could use improvement is in adjusting the need to buy a license to enable features. Usually, the customers are satisfied, but I am going to recommend that all clients upgrade to FirePOWER management. I want Cisco to improve the feature called anti-spam. We use a Cisco only email solution, that's why we need the anti-spam on email facility. | I have found that Cisco reporting capabilities are not as rich as other products, so the reporting could be improved. The Sandbox and the Web Censoring in this solution need to be improved. It will be nice if they had what you traditionally would use a web application scanner for. If the solution could take a deeper look into HTTP and HTTPS traffic, that would be nice. I would like for the user interface to be easier for the admin and network admin. I would also like to be able to access everything from the GUI interface. The way it is now, it needs somebody experience in iOS to be able to operate it. I would like to have a GUI interface. The GUI interface could be improved when compared to other solutions. There used to be information displayed about the packets in a module called Packet Flow, but it is no longer there. The interface for monitoring could be improved to allow better views to make troubleshooting easier. The inclusion of an autofill feature would improve the ease of commands. | We would like to see ready-made profiles to cover most users' needs. This product needs improvements with respect to reporting and auditing. Adjustment in the interfaces: I had to adjust those interfaces manually and of course that is a great feature that you can restore it but it is immediately also one point for improvement. If you don't have to adjust, if it's just stamped and it works, that's great. pfSense is not user-friendly. I hope to have something to make the interfaces more user-friendly. I would like to see SD1 integration into the software. That would be fantastic. It needs better parsing of logs. At the moment, you have to use an external server for this if you want a deeper analysis. I would like to see multiple DNS servers running on individual interfaces. They need to take care of a few issues with the GUI. Occasionally, they don't update the configurations properly. I would also like them to firm up the VPN aspect of the software a bit and provide better monitoring software. |
Pricing and Cost Advice | ||
Watch out for hidden licensing and incredibly high annual maintenance costs. 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 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. Licensing is expensive compared to other solutions. Pricing is high, but it is essentially a corporate decision. The cost is a bit high compared to other solutions in the market. Cisco recently has become very expensive. The cost is a bit higher than other competitive solutions on the market. | We are in the process of renewing our three-year license, which costs approximately $24,000 USD for the thirty-six months. The pricing for Cisco products is higher than others, but Cisco is a very good, strong, and stable technology. The program is very expensive. The cost of this solution is high. 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. | All costs are low compared to other solutions. The hardware is stable and cheap. There is no licensing fee except for the enterprise support, if you want it. This solution was about $150,000 cheaper than the closest competitor over a three year period. In comparison to a lot of other solutions, it's very inexpensive. It is a great solution that is economical. It scales so the cost per protected MB is almost free. It is a free solution. It is economical (i.e., free). From Sonic Wall, their price is much higher, because for every feature that you want to add, you have to pay. I can do the same things with pfSense, but everything is included in one price. |
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Top Comparisons | ||
 Compared 38% of the time.  Compared 11% of the time. Compared 9% of the time. |  Compared 41% of the time.  Compared 17% of the time. Compared 14% of the time. |  Compared 22% of the time.  Compared 19% of the time. Compared 14% of the time. |
Also Known As | ||
| Cisco ASA, Adaptive Security Appliance, ASA | Sourcefire Firewalls | |
Learn | ||
| Cisco | Cisco | pfSense Video Not Available |
Overview  | ||
Adaptive Security Appliance (ASA) is Cisco's end-to-end software solution and core operating system that powers the Cisco ASA product series. This software solution provides enterprise-level firewall capabilities for all types of ASA products, including blades, standalone appliances and virtual devices. Adaptive Security Appliance provides protection to organizations of all sizes, and allows end-users to access information securely anywhere, at any time, and through any device. Adaptive Security Appliance is also fully compatible with other key security technologies, and so provides organizations with an all-encompassing security solution. Block more threats and quickly mitigate those that do breach your defenses with the industry’s first threat-focused NGFW. | Sourcefire Firewalls help ensure your network's availability and the security of your company's resources by protecting the network infrastructure against network- and application-layer attacks, viruses, and worms. | Providing comprehensive network security solutions for the enterprise, large business and SOHO, pfSense solutions bring together the most advanced technology available to make protecting your network easier than ever before. Our products are built on the most reliable platforms and are engineered to provide the highest levels of performance, stability and confidence. |
Offer | ||
Learn more about Cisco ASA NGFW | Learn more about Cisco Sourcefire Firewalls | Learn more about pfSense |
Sample Customers | ||
| 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. | Aegean Motorway, EllisDon Corporation, Linz AG, | Nerds On Site Inc., RKC Development Inc., Expertech, Fisher's Technology, Ncisive, Consulting, CPURX, Vaughn's Computer House Calls, Imeretech LLC, Digital Crisis, Carolina Digital Phone, Technigogo Technology Services, The Simple Solution, SwiftecITInc, Rocky Mountain Tech Team, Free Range Geeks, Alaska Computer Geeks, Lark Information Technology, Renaissance Systems Inc., Cutting Edge Computers, Caretech LLC, GoVanguard, Network Touch Ltd, P.C. Solutions.Net, Vision Voice and Data Systems LLC, Montgomery Technologies, Techforce, Concero Networks, ASONInc, CPS Electronics and Consulting, Darkwire.net LLC, IT Specialists, MBS-Net Inc., VOICE1 LLC, Advantage Networking Inc., Powerhouse Systems, Doxa Multimedia Inc., Pro Computer Service, Virtual IT Services, A&J Computers Inc., Envision IT LLC, CommunicaONE Inc., Bone Computer Inc., Amax Engineering Corporation, QPG Ltd. Co., IT 101 Inc., Perfect Cloud Solutions, Applied Technology Group Inc., The Digital Sun Group LLC, Firespring |
Top Industries | ||
Financial Services Firm18% Manufacturing Company12% Comms Service Provider12% University7% Software R&D Company22% Comms Service Provider14% Manufacturing Company8% Media Company8% | Financial Services Firm40% K 12 Educational Company Or School10% Healthcare Company10% Aerospace/Defense Firm10% | University19% Comms Service Provider14% Energy/Utilities Company10% Construction Company10% Comms Service Provider15% Software R&D Company14% Manufacturing Company11% Financial Services Firm7% |
Company Size | ||
Small Business37% Midsize Enterprise26% Large Enterprise37% Small Business40% Midsize Enterprise24% Large Enterprise35% | Small Business18% Midsize Enterprise24% Large Enterprise59% | Small Business67% Midsize Enterprise21% Large Enterprise12% Small Business48% Midsize Enterprise40% Large Enterprise11% |
Find out what your peers are saying about Cisco Sourcefire Firewalls vs. pfSense and other solutions. Updated: September 2019.
366,239 professionals have used our research since 2012.
See also Cisco Sourcefire Firewalls Reviews, pfSense Reviews, and our list of Best Firewalls Companies.
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