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Cisco Secure Firewall vs Huawei NGFW comparison

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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:
 

Categories and Ranking

Fortinet FortiGate
Sponsored
Ranking in Firewalls
2nd
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.2
Number of Reviews
327
Ranking in other categories
Software Defined WAN (SD-WAN) Solutions (1st), WAN Edge (1st)
Cisco Secure Firewall
Ranking in Firewalls
7th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.1
Number of Reviews
410
Ranking in other categories
Cisco Security Portfolio (4th)
Huawei NGFW
Ranking in Firewalls
31st
Average Rating
7.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.2
Number of Reviews
22
Ranking in other categories
Unified Threat Management (UTM) (13th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of April 2025, in the Firewalls category, the mindshare of Fortinet FortiGate is 21.1%, up from 17.7% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Cisco Secure Firewall is 5.8%, up from 5.5% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Huawei NGFW is 0.9%, up from 0.4% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Firewalls
 

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.
Maharajan S - PeerSpot reviewer
Enhances security with precise access control but has integration challenges
Overall, I would rate the product six out of ten. Because of the support and cost, I moved away from Cisco, but otherwise, it is a good product. Recommendation depends on the requirement. If lacking a proper team and being dependent on the OEM and partner, Cisco is not suitable. However, if the team is qualified with Cisco-certified people and the requirement is a big network, it can be considered. In today's hybrid work world, having an expanded gateway is more typical than having a single one. Thus, Cisco is unlikely to be recommended for a hybrid requirement unless in-house skills align. Otherwise, depending on partners and Cisco, it can be a risk. I rate the overall solution six out of ten.
Muhammad-Nadeem - PeerSpot reviewer
A scalable and easy-to-setup product that can be used to configure different policies for specific users
In other next-generation firewalls, if you are creating virtual systems, they will create separate hardware resources for different virtual systems. Other products will create a different routing table when we create a routing protocol. In Huawei, the routing table, control plan, and data plan will share the resources. Every virtual system should have separate resources, routing tables, and hardware resources. We have created multiple segments and virtual systems, and we don't want one segment to communicate with another. The product must divide the virtual firewalls with different utilization systems. The hardware, routing switch, and security bundle should be separate and different. The solution does not have sandboxing features. It should provide a sandboxing solution. It should also work on zero-day attacks. The solution should be comparable with the products provided by Palo Alto, Check Point, and Cisco.

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 features with FortiGate are the web filter and application controls. We can control our internet usage and use the web filter for application purposes."
"We are a visual effects company, and there have been a number of high profile security issues in our industry. This has brought us to a higher standard of security, which our clients are very keen on these days."
"Fortinet offers the latest versions to cater to the needs of enterprises."
"I like several features that this product has, such as antivirus and internet navigation inspection. It is also simple to use."
"Some of the key features of the solution is that it has good reporting, you can receive many details from the connection, for example, clients and website information."
"It has very easy management and an amazing ETM configuration."
"We were looking for the VPN feature and controlling the inflow and outflow of all the traffic within the site and across the sites. We are also using it for the VPN and VLANs."
"The security features are about the best that I've seen anywhere."
"AnyConnect has been very helpful, along with the ability to use LDAP for authentication."
"The most valuable feature of Cisco Secure Firewall is its ease of configuration and that it's scalable for firewalls and VPNs."
"This solution made our organization more secure and gave us better control."
"The stability is very good; there's no vagueness. Either it works or it doesn't, and it's also very easy to find out why."
"I like that it is easy to change the settings."
"Valuable features include AnyConnect, double translations, and an independent IPS module."
"We can easily track unauthorized users and see where traffic is going."
"The IP filter configuration for specific political and Static NAT has been most valuable."
"Huawei was able to assist us in the installation of their product. The installation was very fast."
"It enables us to configure different policies and restrictions for specific users within the same subnet."
"The user interface is very, very good."
"The solution's performance is good with IPSec."
"The setup is quite easy."
"The solution's implementation is pretty easy."
"The operational management dashboard is easy to use for the customers."
"The most useful feature is the performance of the firewalls and networking operations."
 

Cons

"This product needs to have an analysis feature, rather than having the analysis done through the integration of a different product."
"I haven't had a single issue since using Fortinet."
"There are some license issues. Not every feature must have a separate license. There must be some of kind synergy between the license so we don't have to pay for every individual license that we would like to have."
"This product could be improved with Active directory integration and better handling in IPsec and GRE Tunnels."
"One area for improvement is the performance on the bandwidth demands for smaller devices, as well as better web filtering."
"FortiGate support could do some improvements on their IPv6 configuration. Right now it's still in the very early stage for utilizing in an enterprise level network environment."
"I would like reporting to be improved and should offer a lot more tools to monitor the products."
"Compared to some other products, the DLP is not at par for the moment."
"I would say that in inexperienced hands, the interface can be kind of overwhelming. There are just a lot of options. Too much, if you don't know what you are looking for or trying to do."
"The price and SD-WAN capabilities are the areas that need improvement."
"In the next release, I would like to see the VPN and UTM features included."
"They could improve by having more skilled, high-level engineers that are available around the clock. I know that's an easy thing to say and a hard thing to do."
"The Firepower FTD code is missing some old ASA firewalls codes. It's a small thing. But Firepower software isn't missing things that are essential, anymore."
"The performance should be improved."
"We wanted to integrate Firepower with our solution, but it didn't have the capability to accommodate our bandwidth since they only had two 10 gig interfaces on the box. We run way more than that through our network because we are a service provider, providing Internet to our customers."
"We have encountered problems when implementing new signatures and new versions on our firewall. Sometimes, there is a short outage of our services, and we have not been able to understand what's going on. This is an area for improvement, and it would be good to have a way to monitor and understand why there is an outage."
"The user interface could be more user-friendly."
"One issue we've encountered with Huawei NGFW is that after using a firewall for two or three years, we need to replace it. The new firewalls often have more features and better memory or throughput. However, sometimes, they lack some features that the old ones had."
"The IPS feature must be improved."
"The tool lacks features."
"With the Huawei firewall, none of the features comes at the top. We found out later that customer support is really not good. For this firewall, because of our customers' routine, for example, every six months they'll do a penetration test to find weaknesses. So whenever they came up with VAPT reports, they are looking to Huawei for help. I think that's basically because it's a different culture. Chinese culture and our culture is different. They have always tried to help find some excuses or say some other things that cannot help you solve the problem immediately."
"Huawei should improve their threat intelligence."
"There needs to be more security equipment for the solution."
"I would like to see an antivirus solution included with the product."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The Indian market is different than the European and American markets. When you compare they need to be a bit more aggressive on pricing."
"Licensing for Fortinet FortiGate is on a yearly basis. Pricing for it is a bit high. It could be cheaper."
"I do not have first-hand experience with the rice of Fortinet FortiGate, but I have heard the price was reasonable."
"The pricing is justified. It's a little pricey, but what you pay for is what you get."
"It is not a very costly product if you compare it with other products. The return on investment is also good. If you compare the return of investment and money that you are spending on this product with Palo Alto, Cisco, Check Point, and other solutions, the investment is very less. We are happy with this solution. The optional licenses are there, and you can choose which one you want and which one to avoid."
"Compared to other firewall products, it's a little cheaper in terms of pricing."
"It's very affordable."
"The pricing is flexible."
"Commercial leasing is the best option."
"I rate the product's price a seven on a scale of one to ten, where one is expensive, and ten is cheap."
"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."
"For me, personally, as an individual, Cisco Firepower NGFW Firewall is expensive."
"In terms of scalability, it is really expensive. It is scalable, but when it comes to pricing, the upgrading is a bit high."
"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."
"Always consider what you might need to reduce your wasted time and invest it in other solutions."
"The solution’s pricing is competitive."
"The price of the license of this solution is high."
"Huawei is priced lower than most competitors."
"When you compare the price with other products, it's quite cost-effective. But the problem is always after, let's say, two years or three years later because they are not able to provide updates or patches very quickly."
"The solution isn't cheap. It's market price."
"The solution is inexpensive."
"I believe that we are entitled to a one-year extension on our licensing."
"Huawei is 30% cheaper than Arista."
"Licensing fees are billed on an annual basis."
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Comparison Review

it_user206346 - PeerSpot reviewer
Mar 11, 2015
Cisco ASA vs. Palo Alto Networks
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…
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Educational Organization
21%
Computer Software Company
14%
Comms Service Provider
7%
Manufacturing Company
6%
Educational Organization
41%
Computer Software Company
13%
Manufacturing Company
4%
Government
4%
Computer Software Company
17%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Comms Service Provider
7%
 

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 ...
Which is better - Fortinet FortiGate or Cisco ASA Firewall?
One of our favorite things about Fortinet Fortigate is that you can deploy on the cloud or on premises. Fortinet Fort...
How does Cisco's ASA firewall compare with the Firepower NGFW?
It is easy to integrate Cisco ASA with other Cisco products and also other NAC solutions. When you understand the Cis...
Which is better - Meraki MX or Cisco ASA Firewall?
Cisco Adaptive Security Appliance (ASA) software is the operating software for the Cisco ASA suite. It supports netw...
What do you like most about Huawei NGFW?
The solution's implementation is pretty easy.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Huawei NGFW?
The pricing is quite cheap compared to other NGFWs like Palo Alto or Cisco.
What needs improvement with Huawei NGFW?
Huawei should improve their threat intelligence. They need to have a more diversified platform and continuously updat...
 

Also Known As

FortiGate 60b, FortiGate 60c, FortiGate 80c, FortiGate 50b, FortiGate 200b, FortiGate 110c, FortiGate, Fortinet Firewall
Cisco Adaptive Security Appliance (ASA) Firewall, Cisco ASA NGFW, Adaptive Security Appliance, Cisco Sourcefire Firewalls, Cisco ASAv, Cisco Firepower NGFW Firewall
Huawei USG Firewalls, USG9500 Series, USG6600 Series, USG6300 Series
 

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
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.
KMITL, Peking University
Find out what your peers are saying about Cisco Secure Firewall vs. Huawei NGFW and other solutions. Updated: April 2025.
847,862 professionals have used our research since 2012.