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AWS Firewall Manager vs Cisco Secure Firewall Management Center comparison

Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Cisco are both solutions in the Firewall Security Management category. Amazon Web Services (AWS) is ranked #7 with an average rating of 8.2, while Cisco is ranked #9 with an average rating of 7.9. Amazon Web Services (AWS) holds a 3.1% mindshare in Firewall Security Management, compared to Cisco’s 1.9% mindshare. Additionally, 100% of Amazon Web Services (AWS) users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 83% of Cisco users who would recommend it.
AWS Firewall Manager
Read 11 AWS Firewall Manager reviews
  • 1,043 Views
  • 1,043 Comparison Views
100% willing to recommend
Cisco Secure Firewall Manag...
Read 28 Cisco Secure Firewall Management Center reviews
  • 709 Views
  • 709 Comparison Views
83% willing to recommend
 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Nov 4, 2024

AWS Firewall Manager and Cisco Secure Firewall Management Center are competing in the network security solutions category. AWS appears to have the upper hand in environments that heavily utilize AWS services due to its seamless integration and pricing, while Cisco excels in offering comprehensive security features catering to large enterprises.

Features: AWS Firewall Manager supports centralized control for AWS-hosted applications, reducing manual management tasks. It integrates with AWS services to simplify security measures and offers real-time logs. Cisco Secure Firewall Management Center includes robust analytics, intrusion prevention, and seamless integration with other Cisco products, making it effective for policy enforcement and threat management.

Room for Improvement: AWS could enhance its analytics capabilities and expand its support for non-AWS environments. While its interface is user-friendly, more advanced threat intelligence features could be beneficial. Cisco could improve its deployment process to be more streamlined. Its pricing model can be less flexible for smaller enterprises, and better integration with non-Cisco products would enhance its appeal.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: AWS Firewall Manager benefits from rapid deployment within AWS environments backed by existing AWS support structures. In contrast, Cisco Secure Firewall Management Center requires more complex deployment but provides extensive support and documentation, ensuring thorough integration into diverse IT ecosystems.

Pricing and ROI: AWS Firewall Manager is cost-effective, particularly for businesses already utilizing AWS services, due to reduced manual security management. It typically offers a significant ROI for cloud-focused enterprises. Cisco Secure Firewall Management Center involves a higher initial investment. However, the advanced security features yield considerable ROI for large operations needing extensive protection.

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To learn more, read our detailed AWS Firewall Manager vs. Cisco Secure Firewall Management Center Report (Updated: March 2026).
Buyer's Guide
AWS Firewall Manager vs. Cisco Secure Firewall Management Center
March 2026
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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

AWS Firewall Manager
Ranking in Firewall Security Management
7th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
7.1
Number of Reviews
11
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Cisco Secure Firewall Manag...
Ranking in Firewall Security Management
9th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.4
Number of Reviews
28
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of March 2026, in the Firewall Security Management category, the mindshare of AWS Firewall Manager is 3.1%, down from 4.5% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Cisco Secure Firewall Management Center is 1.9%, up from 0.8% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Firewall Security Management Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
AWS Firewall Manager3.1%
Cisco Secure Firewall Management Center1.9%
Other95.0%
Firewall Security Management
 

Featured Reviews

Venda E - PeerSpot reviewer
Venda E
Cloud Option Engineer at a tech vendor with 10,001+ employees
Centralized security policies have streamlined audits and ensure consistent protection by default
One area for improvement is the reporting and customization option. The compliance reports are helpful, but having more granular insights or export options would make it even easier to use during audits. Also, support for more third-party integration could improve flexibility. Another improvement I need to see is a smoother setup experience. Some of the initial configuration steps, especially around the organization and permissions, can feel complex. A more guided setup or clear UI explanation would make it easier for teams to adopt quickly. One more improvement would be better alerting options. Right now, we mostly rely on AWS Security Hub or CloudWatch for detailed alerts. Having more built-in, real-time notification directly from AWS Firewall Manager would make it easier to monitor policy violations without extra setup.
Read full review
reviewer2290770 - PeerSpot reviewer
reviewer2290770
Sr. Solutions Architect, Consulting Engineer at a tech services company with 11-50 employees
Centralized firewall policies have strengthened security posture and simplified threat management
So far, I find that everything related to Cisco Secure Firewall Management Center is adequate. The only thing that was missing in the portfolio was SD-WAN, which I would like to use similar to Fortinet. Now Cisco has published the 120 series and the 1100 series, which support SD-WAN features in the firewall. I have not tried it myself yet, but I intend to use it and configure it as an SD-WAN gateway. When I use it, I will be able to provide feedback on whether there is anything new or if everything is adequate, but I have not used it or configured it by my hand till now.
Read full review

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"It has centralized cloud firewall management rules. It provides compliance in tracking and reporting."
"The most valuable feature is scaling, which allows you to deploy one configuration and scan and deploy it across the network. The automated policy application feature also streamlines security operations."
"The product is highly reliable."
"Also, the strength of the community is invaluable."
"It is helpful for our compliance, as the compliance manager manages compliance with leading industry standards such as FedRAMP, which my company complies with, GDPR laws, and ISO 27001."
"AWS Firewall Manager isn't a separate solution when you create the virtual private cloud (VPC), so you can control the traffic through that security group."
"We work with compliance monitoring in the product, which is helpful for identifying framework-based misconfigurations, as it can tell you where to deploy firewall policies based on the frameworks."
"The most valuable feature is the centrally managed rule. I also like the central orchestration."
More AWS Firewall Manager pros
"Malware detection, URL filtering, and antivirus are the most beneficial features for our security management. The platform has three main components: filters, hardware, and antivirus. We use the standard approach for automation and integration. The person in charge of management follows the rules and policies of the equipment and handles operations. However, we haven't set up any notifications, so it's mostly manual."
"The solution is quite scalable."
"The platform has significantly enhanced our organization's operations by providing secure communication channels between different office locations."
"The platform's most valuable feature has been its centralized management capability, which allows us to monitor and control multiple devices from one location."
"The most valuable aspects are the antivirus and URL filtering."
"The tool's deployment is not complex."
"The solution has a great UI and a policy deployment mechanism, and all the configuration is easily manageable for the firewalls."
"I like its system management and filtering options as a layer seven firewall."
More Cisco Secure Firewall Management Center pros
 

Cons

"AWS Firewall Manager should be open to manage other third-party appliances as well."
"They could consider organizing and enhancing documentation in a more structured and chronological manner"
"For AWS WAF, we have seen cases where it allowed suspicious HTTPS headers even if they carried malicious payloads."
"The product could benefit from improvements in the user interface and integration capabilities."
"I would like to see AWS add some UTM features to the firewall. It would also be great if AWS Firewall had native IPS/IDS. They have the separate IPS/IDS, GuardDuty."
"It needs to be more employee-friendly, and the security management could be more efficient."
"Enabling and configuring the logging is not that straightforward."
"This solution is suitable for a small-scale enterprise and may not scale up to a very high volume of traffic or a large number of servers."
More AWS Firewall Manager cons
"I recommend they work on usability and ensure the solution is more user-friendly."
"We use the suggested standard policies that come with the equipment. We don't put much effort into customizing these policies, which we know is a risk. We're moving to a more advanced IT area that will change how we manage the firewall policies. Cisco offers many ways to manage the equipment, but our team lacks extensive knowledge. We're moving these responsibilities to a specialized security team."
"The product could be improved by simplifying its user interface and reducing complexity."
"Cisco Secure Firewall Management Center's logging functionality could be improved."
"The solution could improve the number of ports available and load balancing."
"The initial setup is a bit complex."
"Improving the product by incorporating SD-WAN functionality would be highly beneficial, especially for remote offices with limited server and Internet availability."
"Some duplicated values and security standards are not working in some high-application protocols with Cisco's next-generation firewalls."
More Cisco Secure Firewall Management Center cons
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"It is a cost-efficient product."
"From what I've heard from my colleagues, it appears that the pricing is competitive, which influenced our decision to choose this option."
"The licensing is on a pay-as-you-go basis and we are billed monthly."
"The AWS Firewall Manager is a little on the costly side."
"My license offers all the protection, like malware protection, VPN protection, IDS, IPS, and endpoint protection."
"The platform is costly."
"The price of the solution is expensive. We do not have to pay more than the standard licensing fees."
"Cisco Secure Firewall Management Center has the best price on the market."
"The solution is not expensive."
"It is rather expensive."
"When you are using a Cisco solution you know it will be expensive. Cisco makes you pay for everything individually. We pay for the licenses that we need."
"The product pricing is reasonable and falls in the mid-range."
More Cisco Secure Firewall Management Center pricing and cost advice
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Hospitality Company
8%
University
8%
Comms Service Provider
8%
Retailer
6%
Marketing Services Firm
15%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Computer Software Company
8%
Performing Arts
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business5
Large Enterprise8
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business12
Midsize Enterprise9
Large Enterprise7
 

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for AWS Firewall Manager?
My experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing for AWS Firewall Manager has been straightforward. There is no separate licensing cost for AWS Firewall Manager itself. It is included with AWS...
See all answers
What needs improvement with AWS Firewall Manager?
One area for improvement is the reporting and customization option. The compliance reports are helpful, but having more granular insights or export options would make it even easier to use during a...
See all answers
What is your primary use case for AWS Firewall Manager?
My main use case for AWS Firewall Manager is centrally managing and enforcing security policies across multiple AWS accounts. It helps me to ensure consistent WAF rules, security group policies, an...
See all answers
What do you like most about Cisco Secure Firewall Management Center?
The platform has significantly enhanced our organization's operations by providing secure communication channels between different office locations.
See all answers
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Cisco Secure Firewall Management Center?
I find the pricing for Cisco Secure Firewall Management Center to be very reasonable, as they offer the license for both virtual and hardware options. For the virtual option, they have minimum lice...
See all answers
What needs improvement with Cisco Secure Firewall Management Center?
So far, I find that everything related to Cisco Secure Firewall Management Center is adequate. The only thing that was missing in the portfolio was SD-WAN, which I would like to use similar to Fort...
See all answers
 

Comparisons

Fortinet FortiGate Cloud vs AWS Firewall Manager Logo
Fortinet FortiGate Cloud vs AWS Firewall Manager
Compared 31% of the time
Palo Alto Networks Panorama vs AWS Firewall Manager Logo
Palo Alto Networks Panorama vs AWS Firewall Manager
Compared 13% of the time
AlgoSec vs AWS Firewall Manager Logo
AlgoSec vs AWS Firewall Manager
Compared 10% of the time
Skybox Security Suite vs AWS Firewall Manager Logo
Skybox Security Suite vs AWS Firewall Manager
Compared 9% of the time
Tufin Orchestration Suite vs AWS Firewall Manager Logo
Tufin Orchestration Suite vs AWS Firewall Manager
Compared 8% of the time
More AWS Firewall Manager Competitors
Palo Alto Networks Panorama vs Cisco Secure Firewall Management Center Logo
Palo Alto Networks Panorama vs Cisco Secure Firewall Management Center
Compared 43% of the time
FireMon Security Manager vs Cisco Secure Firewall Management Center Logo
FireMon Security Manager vs Cisco Secure Firewall Management Center
Compared 16% of the time
Tufin Orchestration Suite vs Cisco Secure Firewall Management Center Logo
Tufin Orchestration Suite vs Cisco Secure Firewall Management Center
Compared 13% of the time
Cisco Security Cloud Control vs Cisco Secure Firewall Management Center Logo
Cisco Security Cloud Control vs Cisco Secure Firewall Management Center
Compared 13% of the time
More Cisco Secure Firewall Management Center Competitors
 

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide
AWS Firewall Manager
March 2026
AWS Firewall Manager reportDownload AWS Firewall Manager product report
Buyer's Guide
Cisco Secure Firewall Management Center
March 2026
Cisco Secure Firewall Management Center reportDownload Cisco Secure Firewall Management Center product report
 

Overview

AWS Firewall Manager is a security management service which allows you to centrally configure and manage firewall rules across your accounts and applications in AWS Organization. As new applications are created, Firewall Manager makes it easy to bring new applications and resources into compliance by enforcing a common set of security rules. Now you have a single service to build firewall rules, create security policies, and enforce them in a consistent, hierarchical manner across your entire infrastructure.

Using AWS Firewall Manager, you can easily roll out AWS WAF rules for your Application Load Balancers, API Gateways, and Amazon CloudFront distributions. Similarly, you can create AWS Shield Advanced protections for your Application Load Balancers, ELB Classic Load Balancers, Elastic IP Addresses and CloudFront distributions. Finally, with AWS Firewall Manager, you can enable security groups for your Amazon EC2 and ENI resource types in Amazon VPCs.

Amazon Web Services (AWS)

The Cisco Secure Firewall Management Center is the administrative nerve center for select Cisco security products running on multiple platforms. It provides unified management of Cisco Secure Firewalls with Firewall Threat Defense (FTD) software for port and protocol control, application control, IPS, URL filtering, and malware protection functions. Firewall Management Center is the centralized event and policy manager for:

● Cisco Secure Firewall with the Firewall Threat Defense (FTD) OS

● Cisco ASA with FirePOWER Services

● Cisco Secure IPS (Firepower Next-Gen IPS / NGIPS)

● Cisco FirePOWER Threat Defense for ISR

● Cisco Malware Defense (AMP)

Cisco
 

Sample Customers

Expedia, Intuit, Royal Dutch Shell, Brooks Brothers
Information Not Available
Buyer's Guide
AWS Firewall Manager vs. Cisco Secure Firewall Management Center
March 2026
Free Report: AWS Firewall Manager vs. Cisco Secure Firewall Management Center
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