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Cisco Secure IPS (NGIPS) vs Palo Alto Networks URL Filtering with PAN-DB 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)
10th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.7
Number of Reviews
70
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Palo Alto Networks URL Filt...
Ranking in Intrusion Detection and Prevention Software (IDPS)
9th
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
6.7
Number of Reviews
13
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of February 2026, in the Intrusion Detection and Prevention Software (IDPS) category, the mindshare of Cisco Secure IPS (NGIPS) is 3.4%, up from 2.9% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Palo Alto Networks URL Filtering with PAN-DB is 2.1%, up from 1.8% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Intrusion Detection and Prevention Software (IDPS) Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Palo Alto Networks URL Filtering with PAN-DB2.1%
Cisco Secure IPS (NGIPS)3.4%
Other94.5%
Intrusion Detection and Prevention Software (IDPS)
 

Featured Reviews

reviewer373227 - PeerSpot reviewer
System Engineer at a tech services company with 11-50 employees
Marketing strengths shine but regaining user trust needs significant effort
There are numerous things that could be improved about Cisco Secure IPS (NGIPS) to get it back on track. Sollution for small branches: when we have to connect a lot very small branches (or sometimes only an ATM) we need something small, with LTE and with reasonable price. Cisco response is SDWAN but it is not always the case. Recently Cisco released some small firewalls but I have not tried them yet. Central management with FMC is a very good idea, but sometimes local management or monitoring is helpfull. With Cisco You have to decide: central or local. You cannot have both. Regarding usability, when you commit configuration on Cisco, it sometimes takes very long. Commits also take some time for the competition, but Cisco is definitely lagging behind the rest in this respect. Last but not least, for me as a professional is lack of CLI. With CLI, I can configure every firewall on the market except Cisco. CLI is very important in professional working, and IMHO it was an unwise decision by Cisco to remove it. Graphical interfaces are very nice, but when you've got thousands of objects in a big installation and have to configure many things, CLI is a much faster way to do it.
Abdul  Basit - PeerSpot reviewer
Deputy Manager IT at Asia Petroleum Limited
Advanced features and robust support elevate overall network management experience
I think URL filtering could be better to some extent. Improvements could be made in Palo Alto Networks URL Filtering with PAN-DB compared to Sophos. The URL filtering option in Palo Alto gives a very clear vision of the network and the applications using URL filtering. If you assign a user in a group not to access certain URLs, that user should only be allowed to access LinkedIn without running videos. However, deep URL filtering in Palo Alto is not configurable. One user can have access to LinkedIn with video running, while another cannot. They should improve this deep analysis of URL filtering options.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"We have found the product to be quite stable."
"Cisco is number one in the technical support. It's good technical support and this is actually a problem when we do the recruitment for some other products. Other products you are on hold forever and the support might be not the best compared to Cisco."
"The thing about this solution that I like the most is that it's intuitive."
"The traffic filter of this solution is very valuable to us, and to our clients."
"The main advantages to Cisco are the scale, the integration, the training, and the possibility of finding somebody to work with."
"The solution is very stable."
"It has aligned the features in accordance to our strategic needs"
"We have found the IPS detection to be a very valuable feature of this solution. It is easy to use to stop policy violations."
"Being able to manage blacklists and whitelists easily is very useful, especially for internal access and limiting outbound access."
"The stability of the solution is perfect and totally useful."
"Real-time analysis is excellent, and the integration of the solution with our infrastructure is straightforward and less challenging."
"It provides visibility and control over where people are web browsing and protects them from going to malicious sites."
"I would rate Palo Alto Networks URL Filtering with PAN-DB a perfect 10 out of 10."
"The initial setup is easy."
"It's allowed us to have better visibility and protection from threats."
"The tool blocks URLs."
 

Cons

"Cisco NGIPS could improve its ability to do SSL inspections. Sometimes the ability to do SSL inspection is not scalable and you might not be able to get the installment required if you don't size the right hardware."
"NGIPS' GUI interface could be improved and made more user-friendly."
"The onboarding process could be made a little bit better."
"I think that some initiation scripts might be helpful because they would make the configuration easier and more user-friendly for customers."
"I would like to see a more user-friendly interface."
"There is room for improvement in the policy documentation."
"The SSL decrypt could be improved, but it's normal. All the devices in our platform need a lot of memory or CPU to do the SSL decrypt. This is an issue to improve in all platforms, not only in Cisco."
"We would like to see improvements in the dashboard features."
"The licensing costs and setup costs are very expensive for us. The price is significantly higher compared to other competitive products."
"The main limitation is that it needs a live Internet connection for ongoing updates."
"One way Palo Alto can improve is by offering sandboxing. I don't know if they currently offer a sandboxing feature together with the firewall or not. They should provide secure sandboxing with the firewalls."
"Performance monitoring could use improvement."
"Support needs to be enhanced."
"For hosting sites like Blogspot, they host sites that should be in different categories, but get lumped together in general. There needs to be more granularity or multiple categorizations."
"We have had some challenges with making Palo Alto Networks URL Filtering with PAN-DB work with ELK stack."
"It is an expensive solution and not everyone has the budget for it."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"They are very expensive in some places and not reasonable at times for many customers. I have had customers choose another solution because of the high price."
"Cisco products are not cheap and this solution is no different."
"When it comes to pricing you pay for a permanent licensing structure. One, three, and five-year options. There are no extra costs."
"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."
"The solution is pricey, but worth it."
"Cisco NGIPS is an expensive product."
"Pricing depends on negotiation with the vendor, although I can say that it is moderate."
"It is more expensive than ASA but is far cheaper than Checkpoint. So, pricing wise, it is right in the middle."
"Expensive, but that's because it provides everything."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
11%
Marketing Services Firm
9%
Comms Service Provider
8%
University
8%
Performing Arts
14%
University
10%
Financial Services Firm
9%
Manufacturing Company
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business28
Midsize Enterprise16
Large Enterprise27
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business5
Midsize Enterprise3
Large Enterprise5
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Cisco NGIPS?
The product's initial setup phase was easy.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Cisco NGIPS?
Cisco is one of the top brands known for cost-effectiveness, making it worth the money. It's cheaper to integrate with existing IT security solutions compared to other expensive brands with subscri...
What needs improvement with Cisco NGIPS?
There are numerous things that could be improved about Cisco Secure IPS (NGIPS) to get it back on track. Sollution for small branches: when we have to connect a lot very small branches (or sometime...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Palo Alto Networks URL Filtering with PAN-DB?
The licensing costs and setup costs are very expensive for us. The price is significantly higher compared to other competitive products.
What needs improvement with Palo Alto Networks URL Filtering with PAN-DB?
I think URL filtering could be better to some extent. Improvements could be made in Palo Alto Networks URL Filtering with PAN-DB compared to Sophos. The URL filtering option in Palo Alto gives a ve...
What is your primary use case for Palo Alto Networks URL Filtering with PAN-DB?
We previously discussed Palo Alto Networks WildFire, and we are currently using it for our firewalls with the WildFire subscription included. We have micro-segmentation using the VMware environment...
 

Also Known As

Sourcefire NGIPS, Firepower NGIPS
Palo Alto Networks URL Filtering PAN-DB
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

American Electric Power, Huntington Bank, Keycorp, Nationwide, Transunion, Marriott, Inova Health, Ford, Thomson Reuters, Dow Chemical, Equifax, Chevron, Walmart, Coca Cola
TRI-AD, Telkom Indonesia
Find out what your peers are saying about Cisco Secure IPS (NGIPS) vs. Palo Alto Networks URL Filtering with PAN-DB and other solutions. Updated: February 2026.
881,821 professionals have used our research since 2012.