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Cisco Secure Firewall vs Juniper vSRX 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)
Juniper vSRX
Ranking in Firewalls
22nd
Average Rating
7.8
Reviews Sentiment
7.1
Number of Reviews
36
Ranking in other categories
Virtualization Security (4th), Unified Threat Management (UTM) (7th)
 

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 Juniper vSRX is 0.2%, up from 0.2% 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.
Stratos-Margaritis - PeerSpot reviewer
The ease of installation and licensing are also significant advantages
We use the application filtering, content filtering, and intrusion prevention system (IPS) features. These features are crucial for our network security. The ease of installation and licensing are also significant advantages, as it allows us to have one license for all products, which simplifies upgrading and maintenance. Additionally, the ease of deployment is critical for us.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The most valuable feature is the ease of use."
"The security features are about the best that I've seen anywhere."
"It is simple to manage, and there are a lot of functionalities in the same box."
"I'm pretty happy with its reliability. It is also very scalable."
"It is very flexible to use."
"It is quite easy to handle."
"I like several features that this product has, such as antivirus and internet navigation inspection. It is also simple to use."
"The secure web gateway module and the application control module are valuable. HA operations are very easy."
"The solution is excellent for enterprise-level networks."
"This solution is easy to use if you know how to set it up."
"FMC is very good in terms of giving a lot of visibility into what the firewall is seeing, what it's stopping, and what it's letting through. It lets the administrator have a little bit of knowledge of what's coming in or out of the device. It's excellent."
"To be honest, all of the features that are provided, all the other vendor will also have. One feature we did find valuable was the CLI, it is more accurate. Additionally, I was happy with the customization, dashboards, access lists and interface."
"Management Console and user profiling to define activities."
"We use the solution for deep packet inspection, Internet Edge functionality, IDS, and IDP."
"I have found the most valuable feature to be the access control and IPsec VPN."
"The best solutions for our company are those we have yet to implement so it will be even better in the future for us than it already is."
"The product’s quality and performance are better than other vendors."
"The dashboard, customization, API, and pricing are good."
"The architecture of the OS in Juniper is very good. It's flexibility, scalability, and the technicality is also good."
"It's basic functionality is probably the most valuable feature."
"The features we found most valuable are using the IDS and IPS during protection. The application filtering feature is great."
"The ease of installation and licensing are also significant advantages, as it allows us to have one license for all products, which simplifies upgrading and maintenance."
"The initial setup was very straightforward. There was no problem. The initial deployment took about one hour."
"The authentication part is seamless and easy for people."
 

Cons

"The platform's interface could improve."
"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."
"It can be a little bit more user-friendly in terms of policy definition and implementation. It seems a little bit complicated, and it could be simplified."
"The product does need better support in the cloud environment. It's not exactly cloud-native right now."
"Sometimes you do need to know some CLI commands, so it's a bit harder for technicians or new people that don't know it."
"I think that the infrastructure for the VPN could be improved. The way that it is bundled also made it difficult to use and sell as it is too expensive."
"The user interface could be improved."
"The solution could be more secure and stable."
"The policies module in FMC specifically isn't the most user-friendly. Coming from Cisco ASA, Cisco ASA is a little bit easier to use. When you get into particularly complex deployments where you have a lot of different interfaces and all that kind of stuff, it's a little bit tricky. Some usability improvements there would be nice."
"The only drawback of the user interface is when it comes to policies. When you open it and click on the policies, you have to move manually left and right if you want to see the whole field within the cell. Checkpoint has a very detailed user interface."
"One of my main concerns, an area that could use improvement is in adjusting the need to buy a license to enable features."
"Cisco Secure Firewall could improve in areas like user-friendliness and cost-effectiveness, as it is very costly and difficult to manage. I would rate it seven out of ten, but I would recommend other firewalls due to its high cost and complexity."
"Recently, we have been having an issue with the ASA firewall. We haven't found the root cause yet and are still working on it. We failed over the firewall from active to passive and suddenly that resolved the issue. We are now working to find the root cause."
"I would like the ability to drill down into certain reports because currently, that cannot be done."
"I'm working on a slightly older version, but what it needs is a better alert management. It's pretty standard, but there's no real advanced features involved around it."
"Most of the time, when I try to run Java, it is not compatible with ASA's current operating systems."
"It is pretty complex to manage and could be easier."
"We have some weird errors and some weird behavior on the solution occasionally. The device gets buggy without anyone touching it. It would work and then suddenly stop. Sometimes you need to just move the cards out and restart it again, and it will work. The solution itself, the hardware and the software, there must be some bugs that need to be dealt with."
"The GUI really needs a lot of work, and it has got worse with successive version updates."
"The GUI interface needs improvement."
"Juniper vSRX is expensive."
"The solution should consider improving its licensing policies."
"The GUI needs to be faster."
"We experienced some technical issues during implementation"
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"In the Asian economy in which we operate, FortiGate is expensive."
"Pricing for this product is comparatively lower than other products. It's an affordable solution, but when expanding the number of users, they'll ask you to replace the model, so that's an added cost."
"It is an inexpensive solution."
"Work through partners for the best pricing."
"The price depends on the size of the company. From the beginning, you just want to know the internet bandwidths, speed, and the number of users to be able to offer the right product and model. They have a lot of products in FortiGate according to the size of the company, like 200D and 300D."
"It is more affordable than Check Point and Palo Alto. Another thing is that all the features and the OS remain the same irrespective of the size of the device. Pricing-wise, Fortinet typically provides one-year support with the firewall appliance. There is also an option for three years which is how their licensing works."
"The product pricing is reasonable."
"The price of FortiGate support is too expensive."
"The enterprise agreement that we have has helped with the pricing because it allows us to consume licensing in more of a consumption model versus a per-user type model. That has helped us a lot."
"Watch out for hidden licensing and incredibly high annual maintenance costs."
"​Price point is too high for features and throughput available.​"
"In terms of costs, other solutions are more expensive than Cisco. Palo Alto is more expensive than Cisco."
"The pricing was pretty comparable to other solutions when we purchased it."
"Cisco Firepower is a great solution, but it is expensive compared to others that can provide similar benefits for much less."
"It is a great solution for medium or big enterprises, not so much for small businesses, mainly due to the financial costs."
"Based on the services that you will get, especially the AMP license, the price is very reasonable."
"Our experience purchasing the solution through the AWS Marketplace was good."
"It is not that costly."
"The ongoing licensing cost seems to be pretty standard. There are no additional costs."
"I rate the tool's pricing a five out of ten."
"After some research, I think that the cost of Juniper is more than Check Point, Palo Alto, and Fortinet."
"The solution is inexpensive."
"The solution is pricey."
"The solution could have been cheaper."
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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%
Educational Organization
83%
Computer Software Company
3%
Financial Services Firm
2%
Government
1%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

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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 Juniper vSRX?
One of Juniper vSRX's most valuable features is its integration with safety applications. It keeps the software secur...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Juniper vSRX?
The pricing is competitive, being neither the most expensive nor the cheapest option. It falls within the medium to h...
What needs improvement with Juniper vSRX?
I would suggest improving the pricing, particularly the licensing model. Although it is currently quite reasonable, m...
 

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
No data available
 

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.
Expedient Data Centers
Find out what your peers are saying about Cisco Secure Firewall vs. Juniper vSRX and other solutions. Updated: April 2025.
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