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Cisco Sourcefire SNORT vs Fortinet FortiGate IPS comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary
 

Categories and Ranking

Cisco Sourcefire SNORT
Ranking in Intrusion Detection and Prevention Software (IDPS)
10th
Average Rating
7.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.4
Number of Reviews
19
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
7.2
Number of Reviews
61
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of November 2024, in the Intrusion Detection and Prevention Software (IDPS) category, the mindshare of Cisco Sourcefire SNORT is 3.2%, down from 4.3% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Fortinet FortiGate IPS is 6.6%, down 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

Jack Poon - PeerSpot reviewer
Offers ease of setup and good documentation
When it comes to the product's deployment phase, we have a lot of vendor support. We have a lot of skills here in Hong Kong. Our company doesn't find any problem deploying Cisco solutions. The solution is deployed on an on-premises version. Speaking about the time required to deploy the solution, I would say that we have quite a lot of previous experience with deploying Cisco products. We have our company's standard design document, which we need to follow. We have a standard testing procedure for all those features. We just take out some appropriate parts and then compile them into one document for an individual project. It is actually quite easy for us to do the documentation, so it just takes one or two hours, and we can do the implementation because all the materials and testing procedures are already in our company standard documents, so it is not that difficult for us.
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

"In general, the features are all great. However, if I need to take hardware for ASA, because they need to upgrade to Firepower, we want to create rules. For that, most of the time we go to the command line. Right now Firepower is working really hard on the grid. You can apply all those rules to the grid. Even if you want to monitor the logs, for example, the activity will tell you which particular user has been blocked because of that rule. Firepower's monitoring interface is very good, because you can see each and every piece. ASA also had it, but there you needed to type the command and be under the server to see all that stuff. In Firepower you have the possibility to go directly to the firewall. The way the monitoring is displayed is also very nice. The feature I appreciate most in Firepower is actually the grid. The grid has worked very well."
"The whole solution is very good, and stable."
"It is quite an intelligent product."
"It simplifies the configuration process by offering pre-defined base configurations, including security and connectivity settings."
"It has a huge rate of protection. It's has a low level of positives and a huge rate of threat protection. It's easy to deploy and easy to implement. It has an incredible price rate compared to similar solutions."
"The URL filtering is very good and you can create a group for customized URLs."
"The solution is stable."
"The most valuable feature is the visibility that we have across the virtual environment."
"Its interface is the most valuable. It is quite easy to manage."
"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 on endpoint devices."
"The feature that I find most valuable is its protection of the websites."
"Simple interface and easy to deploy."
"We have not had to reach out to FortiGate support yet and that is a pretty good track record."
"The solution effectively blocks unwanted traffic."
"The product's most valuable feature is the ease of deploying IoT security with a single click. Additionally, the frequent updates to the online database ensure that our security measures are always up to date, enhancing our protection against emerging threats."
"Fortinet FortiGate IPS has an easy-to-use interface and configuration."
 

Cons

"The solution's approach to managing traffic blocking is confusing and impractical."
"I want to see a better dashboard for the product. The dashboard can be a bit modified or enhanced."
"We are unhappy with technical support for this solution, and it is not as professional as what we typically expect from Cisco."
"The initial setup is a little difficult compared to other products in the market. It depends on the environment. If we are doing any migration, it might take months in a brown-field environment."
"I don't think this solution is a time-based control system, because one cannot filter traffic based on time."
"The cloud can be improved."
"I would like to have analytics included in the suite."
"Integration with other components — even Cisco's own products — can be enhanced to improve administrative experience."
"The solution is not scalable."
"Two-way inspections are not possible in FortiGate."
"The interface could be better."
"Whitelisting could be better."
"The IPS monitoring can be improved."
"The solution’s stability could be improved because we sometimes faced some drops."
"The solution could improve the integration."
"Fortinet can add some Machine Learning and AI to improve its accuracy and give it an edge on IPS detection and protection."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The cost is per port and can be expensive but it does include training and support for three years."
"If one is an extremely expensive product, and ten is cheap, I rate the tool's price as a five."
"I don't know the exact amount, but most of the time when I go to a company with a proposition, they will say, "This thing that you are selling is good, but it's expensive. Why don't you propose something like FortiGate, Check Point, or Palo Alto?" Cisco device are expensive compared to other devices."
"We have a three-year license for this solution."
"Licensing for this solution is paid on a yearly basis."
"The solution is offered as an annual license."
"Fortinet FortiGate IPS' licensing is quite simple to understand."
"We pay for the license of Fortinet FortiGate IPS annually. There are not any extra costs."
"Fortinet FortiGate IPS is cheaper than other solutions like Cisco or Check Point."
"The pricing is reasonable."
"It's a year based license."
"The licensing costs are very competitive."
"There is a license required to use Fortinet FortiGate with all the features. It has to be updated with the threats on an ongoing basis for the signatures to prevent threats and a license is needed to receive those security updates."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
22%
Financial Services Firm
10%
University
7%
Government
7%
Computer Software Company
24%
Financial Services Firm
9%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Comms Service Provider
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Cisco Sourcefire SNORT?
The product is inexpensive compared to leading brands such as Palo Alto or Fortinet.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Cisco Sourcefire SNORT?
If one is an extremely expensive product, and ten is cheap, I rate the tool's price as a five. There are some other tools in the market that are more expensive than Cisco. There are no additional c...
What needs improvement with Cisco Sourcefire SNORT?
Cisco offers the Cisco DNA Center, which is a source that provides crucial information for us to monitor performance, and see whether there is any trouble. We are using Cisco DNA center, but again,...
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?
FortiGate is slightly more expensive. CrowdStrike is offering better rates, which is something you need to look at.
What needs improvement with Fortinet FortiGate IPS?
Pricing is one of the factors that need improvement. Maybe they can offer a smaller scope for a cheaper price for smaller organizations.
 

Also Known As

Sourcefire SNORT
FortiGate IPS
 

Learn More

 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

CareCore, City of Biel, Dimension Data, LightEdge, Lone Star College System, National Rugby League, Port Aventura, Smart City Networks, Telecom Italia, The Department of Education in Western Australia
Riverside Healthcare, Salt Lake City, Dell SecureWorks, Credit Bank Zagreb
Find out what your peers are saying about Cisco Sourcefire SNORT vs. Fortinet FortiGate IPS and other solutions. Updated: October 2024.
816,636 professionals have used our research since 2012.