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Cisco Secure IPS (NGIPS) vs Fortinet FortiGate IPS comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Dec 19, 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

Cisco Secure IPS (NGIPS)
Ranking in Intrusion Detection and Prevention Software (IDPS)
6th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
66
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Fortinet FortiGate IPS
Ranking in Intrusion Detection and Prevention Software (IDPS)
4th
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.1
Number of Reviews
65
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of February 2025, in the Intrusion Detection and Prevention Software (IDPS) category, the mindshare of Cisco Secure IPS (NGIPS) is 4.2%, down from 4.6% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Fortinet FortiGate IPS is 7.0%, up from 6.7% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Intrusion Detection and Prevention Software (IDPS)
 

Featured Reviews

YoussefBoukari - PeerSpot reviewer
Very effective for malware and signature-based anomalies but stability needs improvement
Our company uses the solution for data functions in banking. It is a backend solution in the server center.  We analyze traffic and adapt configurations or customize policies to the environment of the IPS itself.  The solution very effectively provides malware protection and signature-based…
Taha Turkestani - PeerSpot reviewer
Enhanced threat prevention with very good support and valuable behavior reports
We use FortiGate as a firewall. We have a FortiGate 201 model It's good that we didn't get hacked or attacked, indicating strong threat prevention. The reporting on employee behavior and the prevention of new viruses are essential features. Additionally, we have found it convenient for…

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The tracking intelligence feature is very good. This solution provides us with the opportunity to detect threats in real-time."
"The most valuable feature of Cisco NGIPS is the centralized user interface. You have the ability to quickly push out configurations across your environment using the Cisco UI. It's a powerful capability of that solution."
"Technical support is quite good. With firewalls, the last cases I had with Cisco were professionally handled quite quickly and it was great."
"You can do zero-day prevention and detection. It's quite useful."
"I configured the system myself and the process was okay."
"The main advantages to Cisco are the scale, the integration, the training, and the possibility of finding somebody to work with."
"The cost is the most valuable feature."
"The most valuable features of Cisco NGIPS are protection and reporting."
"The initial setup is straightforward."
"It is a reliable solution."
"FortiGate's SD-WAN capability is the most useful feature for us."
"The most useful feature of FortiGate IPS for me is Application Control."
"The solution effectively blocks unwanted traffic."
"We like signature-based anomaly detection and zero-day protection features."
"The detection is great."
"The initial setup is very easy."
 

Cons

"I would like to see a more user-friendly interface."
"I would like to see integration with monitoring tools such as Nagios or BMC."
"We would like to see improvements in the dashboard features."
"Cisco can do better on their documentation because the product is really hard to understand."
"The only thing I think they may need to improve on a little bit is identifying software more correctly when you do network discovery."
"It is no longer scalable because it has gone end of life."
"They could provide one solution to fit all the use cases."
"Multi-internet line load balancing should be supported."
"They should add a feature for detailed reporting."
"They can probably improve the reporting feature. Reporting and report alerting are the main key features of this solution. They can always find ways to improve these."
"The IPS monitoring can be improved."
"The solution has limited scalability."
"The graphical interface could be improved."
"There could be more modifications."
"It would be helpful to have a better tool for migrating all policy rules using an automatic script."
"There are no areas that need improvement at this point in time."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Cisco products are not cheap and this solution is no different."
"It could be less expensive."
"The price of Cisco NGIPS could be reduced. It is more expensive than other solutions."
"The licensing can be billed annually or in multi-year contracts such as three, four, or five years."
"It is expensive. It has separate licensing for all the features, and every feature set seems to require another license. Licensing is on a yearly basis. There are no additional costs besides the standard licensing fee."
"We buy the licensing on a yearly basis, when we renew our contract. It is around $14,000."
"Licensing fees for this solution are $3,500 USD, and there are no additional costs."
"We get cut in price since we use other Cisco products. We have the whole bundle of Cisco solutions."
"The tool is a bit pricey for small businesses, but it is still bearable in terms of cost."
"The pricing is reasonable."
"There is an annual license to use this solution. The prices have been increasing over the years."
"The licensing costs are very competitive."
"I pay €1,200 per year for the license along with Fortinet's 81E firewall appliance. I would rate this pricing as 3/5 stars, and I believe the price is reasonably similar to its competitors in the market, being somewhere in the middle."
"The pricing is based on a licensing model for each IPS in your environment."
"It cost us around $73,000 for three years."
"The platform offers a reasonable price point compared to its competitors."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
17%
University
12%
Financial Services Firm
9%
Educational Organization
8%
Computer Software Company
21%
Financial Services Firm
9%
Comms Service Provider
9%
Manufacturing Company
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Cisco NGIPS?
The product's initial setup phase was easy.
What needs improvement with Cisco NGIPS?
The dashboard is quite old compared to today's technology. We would like to see improvements in the dashboard features.
What do you like most about Fortinet FortiGate IPS?
The most significant aspect of IPS is self-explanatory as it primarily focuses on intrusion prevention, which is crucial for Fortinet's internal outbreak prevention efforts and ensuring compliance ...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Fortinet FortiGate IPS?
There are no extra expenses involved after purchasing the solution. Pricing could be better, however, overall, it is considered a middle-level price for a middle-level company.
What needs improvement with Fortinet FortiGate IPS?
There could be improvements in the mathematical algorithms used for behavior analytics of traffic. More advanced AI capabilities would be beneficial in future updates.
 

Also Known As

Sourcefire NGIPS, Firepower NGIPS
FortiGate IPS
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

American Electric Power, Huntington Bank, Keycorp, Nationwide, Transunion, Marriott, Inova Health, Ford, Thomson Reuters, Dow Chemical, Equifax, Chevron, Walmart, Coca Cola
Riverside Healthcare, Salt Lake City, Dell SecureWorks, Credit Bank Zagreb
Find out what your peers are saying about Cisco Secure IPS (NGIPS) vs. Fortinet FortiGate IPS and other solutions. Updated: January 2025.
838,713 professionals have used our research since 2012.