Try our new research platform with insights from 80,000+ expert users

Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN vs Prisma SD-WAN comparison

Sponsored
 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Sep 16, 2024

Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

ROI

Sentiment score
7.4
Fortinet FortiGate offers cost-effective security and performance improvements, boosting user productivity and reducing operational costs.
Sentiment score
7.3
Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN reduces WAN costs, offering up to 80% savings, improved reliability, and 30% long-term cost reductions.
Sentiment score
8.5
Prisma SD-WAN reduces costs by 50%, enhances network stability, and simplifies management, providing ROI within two years.
Clients are now comfortable and not wasting productive hours on IT support.
We have experienced a positive return on investment by utilizing Fortinet's products.
There's definitely an ROI. Having a centralized way of managing and applying policies across the entire organization always helps.
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
7.0
Fortinet FortiGate's support varies; praised for responsiveness but criticized for delays, with location impacting experiences and documentation praised.
Sentiment score
7.4
Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN support is praised for expertise and responsiveness, though some desire faster escalation and more local expertise.
Sentiment score
7.1
Prisma SD-WAN support is knowledgeable but faces delays and slower resolution post-acquisition, despite a helpful portal.
He explained that it required a command line configuration, as it couldn't be done through the graphical user interface.
I would rate their support for FortiGate a nine out of ten.
They offer very accurate solutions.
The principal third-level support is very good.
Cisco's ongoing reorganizations have affected the quality of technical support, which varies depending on the engineer handling cases.
Since we are at a premium level, customer service is rated at eight or 8.9 out of ten.
The support service is responsive.
I rate the technical support from Palo Alto as nine out of ten.
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
7.3
Fortinet FortiGate is scalable and flexible, but may require hardware changes and face integration issues with other vendors.
Sentiment score
7.6
Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN is praised for scalable integration with existing Cisco products, efficiently supporting large enterprises despite licensing limits.
Sentiment score
7.8
Prisma SD-WAN offers seamless scalability for varied environments, managing vast traffic loads and supporting thousands of users effortlessly.
They scale up really well from smaller models like the FortiGate 40 and 50 to bigger sites with the FortiGate 100 for more throughput - up to enterprise datacenters.
The variation comes in terms of the interfaces and throughputs, but from a security perspective, you get the same benefit, irrespective of whether you have an entry-level unit or an enterprise.
You can choose a cheaper model if you only have 20-30 users, but you will need to spend more money for a FortiGate solution that covers 5,000.
Cisco SD-WAN is highly scalable and can be expanded to more than 10,000 sites.
The ease of configuration and features like zero-touch provisioning enhance the scalability of Cisco SD-WAN, especially in disaster recovery situations.
Everything is managed by the service provider, Palo Alto Networks, allowing me to manage my infrastructure without overheads or extra costs to adapt the management infrastructure to the actual needs of the field.
I rate it a ten out of ten since we can easily scale by just paying for additional licenses as needed.
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
7.9
Fortinet FortiGate is generally stable and reliable, though firmware updates and resource intensity may temporarily affect performance.
Sentiment score
7.6
Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN is stable, reliable, and robust, with minor bugs but improves with proper management and OS versions.
Sentiment score
8.3
Prisma SD-WAN has improved stability, now offering reliable performance with minimal issues, easy management, and effective downtime handling.
Improper handling of these can lead to a memory surge, a well-known bug that can cause the entire system to freeze.
It is less stable than Palo Alto Networks and Check Point firewalls because there are lots of bugs in the latest firmware.
We have not had any problems with the operating systems or maintenance of subscriptions.
While some software-related issues and bugs were encountered, they did not cause the whole environment to crash.
Stability is high, I rate it 9.8 out of ten.
Prisma SD-WAN is an absolutely stable solution.
 

Room For Improvement

Fortinet FortiGate needs enhancements in stability, interface, pricing, VPN performance, third-party integration, and technical support.
Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN users seek better cost efficiency, integration, support, and security features to compete in the market.
Prisma SD-WAN struggles with integration, support, pricing, and features, requiring improved automation, management, and compatibility with other tools.
If I have put 10 GBPS of throughput on a firewall and I enable all of these features available, such as IPS or UTM functionalities, the throughput comes down to 1 GBPS.
By providing an integrated solution, users would have access to all features and functionalities within a single window, eliminating the need to navigate through multiple windows.
Investing in a solution that can accommodate such growth would be more cost-effective than repeatedly purchasing new hardware.
Now, they change frequently, making it difficult to obtain long-term support.
Including more features like integrating with Splunk for monitoring vulnerabilities would help eliminate the need for other SOC solutions.
If there were an option to extend management to other firewalls, users could perform staggered migrations.
It would be beneficial if the solution integrated the SD-WAN features of Prisma SD-WAN with the security features of Palo Alto's next-generation firewalls.
 

Setup Cost

Fortinet FortiGate is cost-effective, offers flexible licensing, and includes most features with straightforward pricing despite some high renewal costs.
Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN is considered expensive yet feature-rich, with subscription-based pricing and calls for simpler, flexible licensing.
Prisma SD-WAN is a premium, costlier service providing advanced network security, ideal for medium to large businesses.
Secure SD-WAN is free of charge.
The most expensive part is the renewal of the license subscription.
FortiGate is priced lower than Palo Alto.
Its pricing is justifiable due to the comprehensive solution it offers.
It is also relatively cost-effective for smaller businesses when using the Meraki version.
The pricing of Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN is rated between eight and nine out of ten, where ten is the most expensive.
The solution is not cost-effective for smaller environments and is more suitable for medium to large companies.
The price for Prisma is a bit high.
The product could be a bit cheaper for the services it provides.
 

Valuable Features

Fortinet FortiGate offers robust security and management features, valued for ease of use, cost-effectiveness, and consistent performance.
Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN offers easy deployment, centralized control, high reliability, scalability, security, and integrates well with cloud services.
Prisma SD-WAN enhances network efficiency and security with seamless VPNs, analytics, and integration with Palo Alto for large-scale operations.
The firewall, IPS, and VPN functions are the most valuable features.
FortiGate provides solid protection against viruses, malware, and other threats.
Within the same dashboard, you get to see the security profiles, the type of traffic that's passing through, the top applications that are being consumed, etc.
It also provides robust security features, including port security, analysis, mirroring, and multiple other security solutions.
Integration capabilities provide comprehensive security.
Security is standard compliant, eliminating config drift that was prevalent before manual configurations.
By reducing the need for expensive internet connections, Prisma SD-WAN allows customers to achieve cost savings.
Prisma is a mature platform in terms of security.
The most valuable feature is the single pane of glass, especially since we have Palo Alto firewalls.
 

Categories and Ranking

Fortinet FortiGate
Sponsored
Ranking in Software Defined WAN (SD-WAN) Solutions
1st
Ranking in WAN Edge
1st
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.2
Number of Reviews
328
Ranking in other categories
Firewalls (2nd)
Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN
Ranking in Software Defined WAN (SD-WAN) Solutions
2nd
Ranking in WAN Edge
2nd
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
7.0
Number of Reviews
93
Ranking in other categories
Network Management Applications (6th)
Prisma SD-WAN
Ranking in Software Defined WAN (SD-WAN) Solutions
5th
Ranking in WAN Edge
5th
Average Rating
8.8
Reviews Sentiment
7.4
Number of Reviews
21
Ranking in other categories
Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) (8th)
 

Featured Reviews

EhabAli - PeerSpot reviewer
Efficient, user-friendly, and affordable
In the past, NSS Labs was utilized to test files and verify the numbers and datasheets. It would be beneficial to have an organization or testing lab that can verify the numbers in our datasheets since changes are frequently made, which can be inconvenient for review. For instance, when comparing different competitors such as Forcepoint, Palo Alto, and Check Point, the throughput or numbers in the datasheet may be lower than the actual numbers. Conversely, Fortinet typically reports very high numbers, but they cannot be replicated in the real world. Therefore, it would be advantageous for them to partner with a neutral testing organization such as NSS Labs to validate these numbers, thus providing more credibility and comfort to everyone regarding the accuracy of the datasheets. For the migration, everyone has a firewall in use and I am selling Fortinet. Typically, I am replacing another firewall. Previously, there was a tool available to convert configurations from one firewall, such as Palo Alto, to Fortinet, but this tool is no longer free. If it could be made free again, it would be very beneficial. This tool shows a lot of promise and is very good. Making it free would help many companies deliver their products in a more efficient and integrated way. It would also be more valuable to include the tool with the firewall package or license instead of having to pay extra for it. Paying extra puts more pressure on small companies to deliver the firewall and complete the configuration, especially if they have hundreds or thousands of policies. It's very painful to move through these policies line by line. The stability has room for improvement. When it comes to Secure SD-WAN, everything is fine. They are going the right way. SD-WAN is very promising. They can provide the SD-WAN solution separately, but they will not take this approach because even the smallest firewall can support the features, so there is no need to have a separate service or appliance. They are following the right steps, and there is nothing to be improved. Feature-wise, I'm really satisfied with the new release, and the features they have added. For now, it's fine.
Igor Van Den Ouden - PeerSpot reviewer
Enables secure and flexible branch connectivity with application-aware routing
The valuable features of Cisco SD-WAN include its security policies and zone-based firewall that are applied to every site, as well as application-aware routing. Security is standard compliant, eliminating config drift that was prevalent before manual configurations. Application-aware routing offers flexibility in using different lines for traffic, depending on the policy implemented.
Engineerinfosec67 - PeerSpot reviewer
Centralized management streamlines global network traffic control
Prisma SD-WAN requires a more seamless integration with other Palo Alto solutions, like Prisma Access. Although there has been improvement, further steps can be taken. Additionally, it would be beneficial if the solution integrated the SD-WAN features of Prisma SD-WAN with the security features of Palo Alto's next-generation firewalls, as they currently do not align.
report
Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Software Defined WAN (SD-WAN) Solutions solutions are best for your needs.
848,716 professionals have used our research since 2012.
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Educational Organization
21%
Computer Software Company
14%
Comms Service Provider
7%
Manufacturing Company
6%
Educational Organization
43%
Computer Software Company
12%
Financial Services Firm
7%
Manufacturing Company
4%
Educational Organization
23%
Computer Software Company
12%
Financial Services Firm
9%
Manufacturing Company
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

Which is the better NGFW: Fortinet Fortigate or Cisco Firepower?
When you compare these firewalls you can identify them with different features, advantages, practices and usage a...
What is the biggest difference between Sophos XG and FortiGate?
From my experience regarding both the Sophos and FortiGate firewalls, I personally would rather use FortiGate. I know...
What are the biggest technical differences between Sophos UTM and Fortinet FortiGate?
As a solution, Sophos UTM offers a lot of functionality, it scales well, and the stability and performance are quite ...
What do you like most about Cisco SD-WAN?
When considering the most valuable features of Cisco SD-WAN, the decoupling of self-monitoring stands out significant...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Cisco SD-WAN?
The pricing for Cisco SD-WAN is rated eight out of ten, with some variability depending on the reseller discounts and...
What needs improvement with Cisco SD-WAN?
The main area for improvement in Cisco SD-WAN is the lack of documentation, which often lags behind the software rele...
What do you like most about Prisma SD-WAN?
The product's initial setup phase is straightforward.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Prisma SD-WAN?
The product could be a bit cheaper for the services it provides.
What needs improvement with Prisma SD-WAN?
I think the product could be a bit cheaper, but otherwise, I am satisfied with it.
 

Also Known As

FortiGate 60b, FortiGate 60c, FortiGate 80c, FortiGate 50b, FortiGate 200b, FortiGate 110c, FortiGate, Fortinet Firewall
Cisco SD-WAN
CloudGenix
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Amazon Web Services, Microsoft, IBM, Cisco, Dell, HP, Oracle, Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile, Sprint, Vodafone, Orange, BT Group, Telstra, Deutsche Telekom, Comcast, Time Warner Cable, CenturyLink, NTT Communications, Tata Communications, SoftBank, China Mobile, Singtel, Telus, Rogers Communications, Bell Canada, Telkom Indonesia, Telkom South Africa, Telmex, Telia Company, Telkom Kenya
Doyle Research, Ashton Metzler & Associates
Open Networking User Group, Columbia Sportswear Company, Coca Cola
Find out what your peers are saying about Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN vs. Prisma SD-WAN and other solutions. Updated: April 2025.
848,716 professionals have used our research since 2012.