Juniper SRX Series Firewall vs Palo Alto Networks WildFire comparison

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123,063 views|89,961 comparisons
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14,764 views|8,901 comparisons
85% willing to recommend
Palo Alto Networks Logo
3,787 views|2,591 comparisons
90% willing to recommend
Comparison Buyer's Guide
Executive Summary
Updated on Jan 4, 2023

We performed a comparison between Juniper SRX and Palo Alto Networks WildFire based on our users’ reviews in four categories. After reading the collected data, you can find our conclusion below.

  • Ease of Deployment: For the most part, users of both solutions say they are easy and straightforward to deploy.
  • Features: Juniper SRX users are very satisfied with the site-to-site VPN feature the solution provides. Users tell us the solution works very well as a powerful firewall and can also be used as a router. The CLI is also very powerful. Some users feel the solution’s syntax and configurations are very specific and more complicated than other platforms and tell us the solution could be more intuitive.

    Palo Alto Networks WildFire users say the solution provides comprehensive threat prevention and analysis processes using an intuitive machine learning feature. Some users mention that the solution is a bit slow in keeping up to date with current malware incidences.
  • Pricing: Juniper SRX users feel the pricing is reasonable; Palo Alto Networks WildFire users feel the solution is expensive.
  • Service and Support: Users of both solutions are satisfied with the service and support they have received.

Comparison Results: Juniper SRX finishes slightly ahead of Palo Alto Networks WildFire in this comparison. Juniper SRX provides robust enterprise network protection and connectivity and comprehensive performance, is stable, and scales easily. Palo Alto Network WildFire can be challenging for some users to learn. The overall configuration is a bit complex to use.

To learn more, read our detailed Firewalls Report (Updated: March 2024).
768,246 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
"The solution is very user-friendly.""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.""The most valuable features are the policies, filtering, and configuration.""Allows for firewall rules to be programmed and named in a way that makes it “readable”""Security management tool that's easy to integrate and easy to work with. No issues found with its stability and scalability.""The solution is extremely reliable.""The simplicity of the configuration and the stability of the product are most valuable. The VPN concentrator is very useful.""It's very fast and easy to configure."

More Fortinet FortiGate Pros →

"We mostly use the Layer 4 firewall functions: Access rules, NAT, and site-to-site IPsec VPN.""The rollback option and Commit Confirmed are great features. They give us the security to change configurations without downtime.""It helped us with its routing capabilities which eased the cost, because otherwise I would have had to take a router and firewall, and then integrate it. With this, however, it was an integration of firewall and routing services all together in a single product. That was one thing that I loved about it.""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.""Commit: You can update the whole configuration without affecting the production. The new configuration will be loaded once the command "Commit" is submitted. You can also do a Commit confirmed to automatically roll back to the previous config after X minutes.""The IPS functionality of Juniper SRX is useful in the telecom industry.""The most valuable feature is the virtualization because it can be used for customers who are using the mobile data network to request a private connection to a remote site.""The most valuable feature is robustness."

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"The technical support is good.""Detailed reporting on analysis of content. The inspections are easily applied to security policy profiles and profile groups, and may be assigned on a per-rule basis.""It helps us when segmenting and securing the network and all sort of technologies, all sort of next generation needs. It's next generation phases of firewall like anti-virus, sandboxing, wifi, and VPN.""The most valuable features are all of the security features in terms of protection and SSL and VPN.""What I like about Palo Alto is that it is a complete product, with everything in it.""Their technical support is outstanding and top-notch.""The most valuable feature for us is the VPN.""Being an application-based firewall, this is one of the critical focus factors along with the threat prevention services it provides."

More Palo Alto Networks WildFire Pros →

Cons
"Some configuration elements cannot be easily altered once created.""We were not able to build a full-mesh VPN; however, I am not sure if this was the fault of Fortinet FortiGate.""I would like to see improvements made to the dashboard and UI, as well as to the reporting.""The ease of use could be improved.""The process of configuring firewall rules appears excessively complex.""As far as wanting more scalability or things in the network diagram, it's going to cost you.""The monitor and the visibility, in this proxy, is very weak.""The graphical user interface of Fortinet's FortiGate product does not function well with text-based interfaces."

More Fortinet FortiGate Cons →

"The solution could cost less. It's a bit expensive right now.""I've noticed that the management interface could use some updates and upgrades.""Third-party support for Juniper is a lot less than Cisco. This is no surprise, but a definite consideration if you are expecting to use a lot of third party support. In my guesstimate, for every 100 Cisco shops, you will find one Juniper shop.""It could be more secure.""We purchased three devices and all three have been replaced under RMA.""I would like them to add a dashboard because it's difficult to operate.""The GUI needs improvement.""The configuration is difficult and it should be easier."

More Juniper SRX Series Firewall Cons →

"The free version does not have real-time updates. It is slow.""I don't think it needs to improve anything, except maybe the speed to deploy the changes.""There are some formats that the solution cannot support .""The cost of this solution could still be improved, in particular, giving product discounts for charitable causes.""Palo Alto Networks WildFire could improve by adding support for manual submission of suspicious files and URLs. Additionally, it would be an advantage to add rule-based analysis. Currently, it uses only static and AI. We need to be able to analyze archive files.""The only complaint that we receive from our customers is in regards to the price.""Many years back an update caused an issue with the firewall. However, Palo Alto not only informed us of said issue, they also sent an update that fixed the issue before I even had time to log in to determine if the issue affected our services.""The GUI is better in 8.0, but I still feel it lacks the fast response most of us desire. Logs are much quicker."

More Palo Alto Networks WildFire 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 →

  • "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 →

  • "It IS a bit expensive, but I think you get what you pay for. Value is there."
  • "It's not particularly cheap, but it is absolutely worth it."
  • "The pricing and licensing option should be categorized for various countries such as for Bangladesh."
  • "It is expensive, a feature more accessible to enterprise class customers, but provides an enhanced possibility that Zero- or near-Zero-day threats may be identified and mitigated. The cost of the product weighed against the potential impact of even one successful crypto malware-type exploit may justify the expense."
  • "​More expensive than other firewalls.​"
  • "The pricing is OK, it is not too expensive."
  • "It is a reasonable price compared to other solutions on the market."
  • "It's pretty expensive but with respect to value for money, it's okay."
  • More Palo Alto Networks WildFire 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
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    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: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 »
    Top Answer: The Cisco Firepower NGFW Firewall is a very powerful and very complex piece of anti-viral software. When one considers… more »
    Top Answer:FortiGate has a lot going for it and I consider it to be the best, most user-friendly firewall out there. What I like… more »
    Top Answer:When looking to change our ASA Firewall, we looked into Palo Alto’s WildFire. It works especially in preventing advanced… more »
    Comparisons
    Also Known As
    FortiGate 60b, FortiGate 60c, FortiGate 80c, FortiGate 50b, FortiGate 200b, FortiGate 110c, FortiGate
    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.

    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."

    Palo Alto Networks WildFire is a highly effective cloud-based advanced threat protection (ATP) solution that organizations in a wide variety of fields trust to help them keep safe from digital threats. It is designed to enable businesses to confront even the most evasive threats and resolve them. It combines many techniques to maximize the level of threat protection available to users.

    Palo Alto Networks WildFire Benefits

    Some of the ways that organizations can benefit by choosing to deploy WildFire include:

    Proactive real-time threat prevention. Organizations that utilize WildFire can take a proactive approach to their network security. Wildfire’s security scanning software is supported by powerful automation that enables it to run 180 times faster than other similar solutions. It also leverages machine learning to spot and address two times more malware monthly than its competitors. Users can solve issues as they arise, which prevents them from suffering severe harm.

    A holistic approach to security. WildFire leverages many of the security features and characteristics that can be found in some of the most effective security solutions in a way that provides users with a powerful protective blanket. It combines such things as machine learning, dynamic and static analysis, and a custom-built analysis environment, and enables users to cover many different potential avenues of attack. In this way, organizations can easily detect and prevent even the most sophisticated threats from harming them.

    Reduce overhead costs. Using WildFire cuts the expenses that a business incurs. Its architecture is based in the cloud and, as a result, users do not have to purchase hardware to run it. Additionally, those users do not have to pay anything more than a product subscription fee. They can scale it up as they wish and incur no additional costs.

    Palo Alto Networks WildFire Features

    Some of the many features WildFire offers include:

    Third-party integrations. WildFire gives users access to integrations that can enable them to combine Wildfire’s security suite with outside tools. If an organization thinks that they are missing something, they can easily use Wildfire’s third-party integrations to bolster their capabilities. These integrations can connect to many different types of tools, like security information or event management systems.

    URL filtering. Organizations can use a URL filtering feature to safeguard themselves against known threats. When this feature is active, it will scan for traffic coming from specific URLs that are known to be malicious. This keeps them one step ahead of those threats that they know about.

    Deep analytics. Wildfire comes with the ability to provide users with a detailed analysis of any threat that it finds across all of their network environments. It gives users insight into everything from their natures to the actions that they have performed.

    Reviews from Real Users

    WildFire is a solution that stands out when compared to its primary competitors. Two major advantages that it offers are the high speeds at which it can analyze network traffic for threats and the accuracy with which it can pick out genuine threats from false positives.

    Ahmad Z., the principal consultant at Securelytics, writes, “The analysis is very fast. The intermittent is a millisecond and has a speedy response time.”

    Christopher B., the senior systems administrator at a government agency, says, “It gives a more accurate assessment of a virus in terms of whether it's truly a virus, malware, or a false positive. We have some legacy software that could pop up as being something that is malware. WildFire goes through and inspects it, and then it comes back and lets us know if it's a false positive. Usually, when it finds out that it's not a virus, it lets us know that it's benign, and it can exclude it from that scan, which means I don't even have to worry about that one popping up anymore.”

    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
    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
    Novamedia, Nexon Asia Pacific, Lenovo, Samsonite, IOOF, Sinogrid, SanDisk Corporation
    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
    Comms Service Provider35%
    Financial Services Firm16%
    Computer Software Company10%
    Manufacturing Company6%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Educational Organization41%
    Computer Software Company11%
    Comms Service Provider6%
    Government5%
    REVIEWERS
    Financial Services Firm18%
    Government12%
    Computer Software Company12%
    Comms Service Provider9%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Computer Software Company15%
    Government9%
    Financial Services Firm9%
    Manufacturing Company7%
    Company Size
    REVIEWERS
    Small Business48%
    Midsize Enterprise23%
    Large Enterprise30%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Small Business27%
    Midsize Enterprise32%
    Large Enterprise41%
    REVIEWERS
    Small Business43%
    Midsize Enterprise21%
    Large Enterprise36%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Small Business19%
    Midsize Enterprise47%
    Large Enterprise34%
    REVIEWERS
    Small Business42%
    Midsize Enterprise20%
    Large Enterprise38%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Small Business23%
    Midsize Enterprise15%
    Large Enterprise62%
    Buyer's Guide
    Firewalls
    March 2024
    Find out what your peers are saying about Netgate, Fortinet, OPNsense and others in Firewalls. Updated: March 2024.
    768,246 professionals have used our research since 2012.

    Juniper SRX Series Firewall is ranked 19th in Firewalls with 86 reviews while Palo Alto Networks WildFire is ranked 3rd in Advanced Threat Protection (ATP) with 58 reviews. Juniper SRX Series Firewall is rated 7.8, while Palo Alto Networks WildFire is rated 8.4. The top reviewer of Juniper SRX Series Firewall writes "Highly scalable, user-friendly UI, and easy to maintain". On the other hand, the top reviewer of Palo Alto Networks WildFire writes "Good technical support and provides automatic analysis that saves us time in filtering email". Juniper SRX Series Firewall is most compared with Cisco Secure Firewall, Netgate pfSense, Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls, Check Point NGFW and Meraki MX, whereas Palo Alto Networks WildFire is most compared with Cisco Secure Firewall, Proofpoint Email Protection, Fortinet FortiSandbox, Check Point SandBlast Network and Zscaler Internet Access.

    See our list of 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.