Try our new research platform with insights from 80,000+ expert users

Cisco Sourcefire SNORT vs Trend Micro Deep Discovery 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 Sourcefire SNORT
Ranking in Intrusion Detection and Prevention Software (IDPS)
15th
Average Rating
7.8
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
20
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Trend Micro Deep Discovery
Ranking in Intrusion Detection and Prevention Software (IDPS)
6th
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
28
Ranking in other categories
Advanced Threat Protection (ATP) (17th), Network Detection and Response (NDR) (6th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of February 2026, in the Intrusion Detection and Prevention Software (IDPS) category, the mindshare of Cisco Sourcefire SNORT is 3.1%, up from 2.2% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Trend Micro Deep Discovery is 3.4%, down from 4.6% 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 (%)
Trend Micro Deep Discovery3.4%
Cisco Sourcefire SNORT3.1%
Other93.5%
Intrusion Detection and Prevention Software (IDPS)
 

Featured Reviews

reviewer2772102 - PeerSpot reviewer
Cloud Architect at a consultancy with 1-10 employees
Logging and customizable rules have helped improve threat monitoring and detection
The logging is mainly what I consider one of the best features with Cisco Sourcefire SNORT. Being able to log and store it in a file allows you to push it to a centralized repository. The logging and reporting help improve incident response. You should always be logging threats, any sort of misconfiguration, and anything that could be an issue. It's important to at least log and monitor it. The basic rules provide a good baseline in assessing Cisco Sourcefire SNORT's ability in providing real-time analytics for threat detection, but as a professional, you should look to constantly modify that baseline. They provide extensive customizability so you can define your own rules. The customizability allows it to be adaptable in protecting against diverse network threats to the constant change.
reviewer2266119 - PeerSpot reviewer
Senior IT Security Engineer at a financial services firm with 5,001-10,000 employees
Has improved email security through advanced filtration and timely threat detection
I work with Trend Micro Apex One. I have used the Deep Discovery's Sandbox analysis feature, and we utilize another appliance known as Deep Discovery Analyzer, abbreviated as DDA. This tool makes analysis for URLs and attachments contained in inbound emails, so whenever we receive an email with a URL or attachment, it will be analyzed by Trend Micro Deep Discovery Analyzer. In evaluating Deep Discovery's real-time visibility on network traffic, it is important to note that we applied our Deep Discovery Analyzer for Trend Micro to conduct sandboxing specifically for email channels only, and we do not utilize it for network channels. For network channel sandboxing, we use a solution called FortiAnalyzer, which belongs to another team called network security. I assess Deep Discovery's effectiveness in identifying sophisticated attack patterns by looking at how it handles high traffic loads, and how effectively it can use its instances and images to analyze numerous URLs and attachments simultaneously. Additionally, I evaluate its ability to maintain round-robin or load balancing across different analyses without leaving samples queued for analysis. The performance is critical when the product updates for signatures are up-to-date, as this aids in the detection and classification of URLs and attachments without delay in the analysis process. On a scale of one to ten, I rate Trend Micro Deep Discovery a nine.

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 visibility that we have across the virtual environment."
"The solution is rather easy to use."
"The solution can be integrated with some network electors like Cisco Stealthwatch, Cisco ISE, and Active Directory to provide the client with authentication certificates."
"It simplifies the configuration process by offering pre-defined base configurations, including security and connectivity settings."
"I like most of Cisco's features, like malware detection and URL filtering."
"Cisco Sourcefire SNORT is easy to configure and the reporting is great. It's also very user-friendly."
"Cisco technical support is unbeatable. It offers a premium service every time."
"The most valuable features of Cisco Sourcefire SNORT are the dashboard for monitoring events."
"As a security product, managing threats is crucial for my clients."
"Sandboxing gives us a chance to identify malicious behavior, especially for unknown vulnerabilities, although it's rarely needed as a last resort after all other security measures have failed."
"It is a very good solution. It is very light, and it is quite quick to figure out the problem in your network."
"The performance and stability are great."
"Deep Discovery is scalable and compatible with other products. It's crucial to have that compatibility because it's an integral part of our security solution. It integrates smoothly. The interface is user-friendly, so administration is simple."
"Initial setup is easy. It can be done by yourself."
"I like the sales operations testing. and support."
"Trend Micro Deep Discovery Email Inspector includes its ability to perform mail detection and mail filtration against various email attacks such as phishing and spam, serving as an email gateway for both inbound and outbound traffic."
 

Cons

"The pricing needs to be improved. We have lots of low-budget clients around us. Budget constraints are always a deterrent in our market."
"The solution's approach to managing traffic blocking is confusing and impractical."
"Performance needs improvement."
"We are unhappy with technical support for this solution, and it is not as professional as what we typically expect from Cisco."
"While the alerts they offer are good, it could improve it in the sense that they should be more detailed to make the alerts more useful to us in general. Sometimes the solution will offer up false positives. Due to the fact that the alerts aren't detailed, we have to go dig around to see why is it being blocked. The solution would be infinitely better if there was just a bit more detail in the alert information and logging we receive."
"To be frank, the product is not really stable, although they're working on that. Whenever I go to the technical community with an issue, they will usually say that it is not there yet, but the technical team are working on it. The issues are not insolvable. I think they should just keep working on the product to make sure that the product can become very stable. The technical support is great. I appreciate that. We have a lot of communities supporting Firepower now, so you can find help for whatever issue you have."
"I did not experience any pain points that required improvement. Maybe a couple of false-positives, but that's about it."
"Cisco Sourcefire SNORT can scale, but if you have too much, you could fill up your log files, which I consider when discussing scalability."
"All issues we faced related to false positives regarding many hashes and URLs specifically for mail gateway and sandboxing, which led us to open a threat ticket with Trend Micro support for validation."
"The price range is a little high."
"The solution needs improvement in terms of pricing."
"The product's scalability feature needs to be improved, as it is an area in the product with certain shortcomings."
"All issues we faced related to false positives regarding many hashes and URLs specifically for mail gateway and sandboxing, which led us to open a threat ticket with Trend Micro support for validation."
"This solution could be improved with faster technical support and cheaper licensing prices."
"Trend Micro can improve the pricing in general. There is nothing else they can add or improve in the solution."
"The main issue is its high cost."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The cost is per port and can be expensive but it does include training and support for three years."
"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."
"If one is an extremely expensive product, and ten is cheap, I rate the tool's price as a five."
"Licensing for this solution is paid on a yearly basis."
"We have a three-year license for this solution."
"The tool's licensing costs are yearly. There are no additional costs associated with the product."
"Its price is fine, but Trend Micro can improve the pricing in general. It is a hardware solution. It is based on the number of nodes, and according to the number of nodes, clients decide which box they should acquire. They have to renew their license every year. It is subscription-based."
"Compared to its competitors, Trend Micro Deep Discovery is a little expensive."
"The licensing cost is a bit pricey. We pay a yearly subscription."
"Overall, Trend Micro Deep Discovery has proven to be a reliable solution that enhances our security posture while minimizing operational disruptions."
"The tool’s licensing costs depend on the customers."
"The price of the solution is lower compared to the competition."
"Trend Micro Deep Discovery is quite expensive compared to other endpoint security products."
report
Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Intrusion Detection and Prevention Software (IDPS) solutions are best for your needs.
882,032 professionals have used our research since 2012.
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
University
12%
Financial Services Firm
10%
Comms Service Provider
10%
Government
8%
Computer Software Company
11%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Healthcare Company
7%
Manufacturing Company
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business6
Midsize Enterprise8
Large Enterprise7
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business15
Midsize Enterprise6
Large Enterprise9
 

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?
I have not had much experience with the community-driven rule set while utilizing Cisco Sourcefire SNORT. I don't have experience with recognizing zero-day vulnerabilities, but based on my knowledg...
What do you like most about Trend Micro Deep Discovery?
The tool's most valuable feature is its collaboration with other products. Integrating with other security products was simple and easy.
What needs improvement with Trend Micro Deep Discovery?
Server Protect is not commonly used. When considering the Sandbox feature, it only inspects small files, and not all types of files are supported. The solution is very expensive. The solution is no...
 

Also Known As

Sourcefire SNORT
Trend Micro Deep Discovery Inspector, Trend Micro Deep Discovery Analyzer
 

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
Allied Telesis, Atma Jaya Catholic University of Indonesia, Babou, Blekinge County Council, Delacour, Hiroshima Prefectural Government, Live Nation Entertainment Inc., Mazda Motor Logistics Europe, McGill University Health Centre, Mikuni Corporation, OKWAVE, Sinar Mas Land, SWICA, UTOC Corporation
Find out what your peers are saying about Cisco Sourcefire SNORT vs. Trend Micro Deep Discovery and other solutions. Updated: February 2026.
882,032 professionals have used our research since 2012.