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Barracuda CloudGen Firewall vs Cisco Meraki vMX comparison

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Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary

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

Fortinet FortiGate
Sponsored
Ranking in Software Defined WAN (SD-WAN) Solutions
1st
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
587
Ranking in other categories
Secure Web Gateways (SWG) (2nd), Firewalls (1st), Intrusion Detection and Prevention Software (IDPS) (1st), WAN Edge (1st), ZTNA (1st), Unified Threat Management (UTM) (1st)
Barracuda CloudGen Firewall
Ranking in Software Defined WAN (SD-WAN) Solutions
9th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.1
Number of Reviews
45
Ranking in other categories
Firewalls (25th), Advanced Threat Protection (ATP) (19th), IoT Security (6th), WAN Edge (10th)
Cisco Meraki vMX
Ranking in Software Defined WAN (SD-WAN) Solutions
17th
Average Rating
9.0
Reviews Sentiment
4.6
Number of Reviews
3
Ranking in other categories
Enterprise Infrastructure VPN (22nd)
 

Featured Reviews

Vasu Gala - PeerSpot reviewer
Manager, Information Technology Operation/Presales at TechMonarch
A stable solution with an intuitive interface and quick customer service
I have been working with Fortinet FortiGate, WatchGuard, Sophos, and SonicWall. I'm not as comfortable with SonicWall because of their UI and limitations. I prefer Fortinet above all other options. When it comes to configuration, I am confident in my ability to handle various tasks, including creating policies such as firewall rules, web policies, and application policies. Additionally, I can configure VPNs and implement load balancing, among other tasks. Overall, I feel much more comfortable working with Fortinet. Fortinet has made significant improvements by integrating AI with firewalls for threat analysis and prevention. In the past 2-3 years, they have launched FortiSASE and SIEM, and they also provide SOC services. Both Palo Alto and Fortinet FortiGate are excellent. While Fortinet FortiGate comes at higher prices, the functionality and support justify the cost. They promptly resolve firmware issues and inform all support providers about configuration changes.
Jennifer  Bernice - PeerSpot reviewer
Dotnet Developer at Kohl's
Centralized firewall management has saved time and improved network security across locations
Barracuda CloudGen Firewall could be improved as it has a very high learning curve. It is definitely not a one and done firewall, as a one and done firewall requires a lot of dedicated time to get the machine running the way you want. To improve Barracuda CloudGen Firewall, there should be a lot of tutorials and videos online to help new users. Multiple ways to configure for the same service or feature takes time to determine your customized build. In addition to previous points, the interface can sometimes be clunky when trying to determine how it is organized or arranged.
Mansukh Bhesania - PeerSpot reviewer
MD and CEO at Aster Networks
Have worked confidently across large deployments and ensured long-term reliability for critical sectors
I have used Cisco Meraki vMX dashboard's orchestration feature with this product. The Meraki dashboard helps manage our network effectively because it is quite easy; we manage ourselves very well. Performance-wise, there is no problem with Cisco Meraki vMX's integrated analytics for network performance, as my 70 to 80 customers use Cisco only. We do business with semi-enterprise customers, and there is no competition against Cisco except for the wireless solutions from Aruba. We find it easy to promote Cisco Meraki vMX because the centralized dashboard is there for management, and the customers accept it without any problem. From a sales point of view, it is easy to integrate, and nowadays, the 93 is also part of the Meraki desktop.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The reporting and monitoring are very good."
"I would rate the scalability of this product a nine out of ten because it is highly scalable. We have not had problems with customers in terms of scalability."
"The web controls are what I appreciate about Fortinet FortiGate. We have extensive controls over areas where we could block external-facing IPs, external URLs. We can do geo-fencing with the firewalls, which is a good feature."
"It has very easy management and an amazing ETM configuration."
"The most valuable feature is the ease of use."
"The product is highly stable."
"We receive substantial help from Fortinet, which is very valuable as they assist us in choosing the right solutions. If we need configuration assistance, they can send specialists who help design the solution."
"The best features of Fortinet FortiGate are that it does the job effectively and protects our environment."
"It is stable, it is working, and there are no issues."
"One of the most important parts is, there is auto-upgrade of the hardware every fourth year."
"Scalability is good; the company wants to be able to handle large customers."
"Add-on features such as Virus Scanning, ATP, and web filtering add another level of protection and block malware before it gets to the end user."
"The antivirus protection or malware protection has been great."
"I rate the customer service as ten out of ten."
"Inbound and outbound traffic analysis, rule creation wizard, and the GUI portal are among the key features."
"It is a very stable solution."
"Cisco Meraki vMX offers sufficient features for most customers; it is very easy to handle and proves very efficient, with the main advantages being the visibility it provides and the ease of administration."
"The Meraki dashboard helps manage our network effectively because it is quite easy; we manage ourselves very well."
"The most valuable features in Cisco Meraki vMX are easy deployment, an easy-to-read dashboard for information, and automatic load balancing for two circuits in the MX, which are the most important key features for our small business customers."
 

Cons

"Scalability is one of the disadvantages. When it comes to scalability, you have to actually change the box. If you want to upgrade it, you need to actually change the existing box and probably you take the system off to other sites."
"It would be nice if backups could more easily migrate between different models."
"The dashboard is not user friendly so is a bit complicated."
"They could simplify their deployment process, especially when customers have existing devices."
"My only complaint about FortiGate is a lack of QinQ VLAN tunneling. I haven't found this feature in any Fortinet product. You can do this on all Cisco routers, including the smaller models. However, QinQ isn't available on the biggest, most expensive Fortinet units. They still don't have that. I think now we're on software version 6.0, and they still haven't found a solution for QinQ. It isn't a dealbreaker, but that's my main complaint."
"The price of FortiGate should be reduced because there are some other leading products that are cheaper."
"The built-in logging and reporting is limited without FortiAnalyzer."
"Price, of course, can always be more competitive or better."
"I was a long-time strong fan of this product, but unfortunately, I will change the vendor for another one."
"Overall, Barracuda CloudGen Firewall is very effective, but there is always room for improvement."
"The price is a bit higher than other vendors."
"The interface of Barracuda CloudGen Firewall is not as user-friendly as others."
"One of the main challenges that we face with Barracuda CloudGen Firewall is that the URL filtering and application control license are not perpetual and need to be renewed every year, so it can be a bit expensive."
"The interface should be more user-friendly and it should be easier to configure."
"The interface of Barracuda CloudGen Firewall is not as user-friendly as others. It is a bit complicated and could be improved."
"When you do any commit, it locks your next access. If you are making a change to the device, from the security standpoint it's fine, but from the admin side it's not good. When you make changes, after each and every one it becomes locked."
"It is not the strongest security solution, so if you want to have next-generation firewall features, you always need an additional component."
"In comparison with Aruba, I find Aruba to be far better in terms of deployment, ClearPass, and everything, which is all very easy."
"Cisco Meraki vMX needs to improve its ability to configure complex policy-based routing."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"We pay $500 per year for the license."
"In the Asian economy in which we operate, FortiGate is expensive."
"Its pricing is good. It's average or normal as compared to Palo Alto and Check Point firewalls."
"Fortinet Secure SD-WAN delivered the lowest total cost of ownership (TCO) per Mbps among all other vendors."
"We are currently evaluating a Palo Alto solution, and the pricing could be a reason for going for Palo Alto."
"The product is expensive. I rate its pricing a six out of ten."
"I would rate the pricing a six out of ten, where one is cheap and ten is expensive."
"The pricing is based on a licensing model for each IPS in your environment."
"In general, it tends to be cheaper than most solutions."
"It's not the most expensive, but it's certainly not cheap."
"Pricing is good. Licensing is pretty much automatic if using Control Center."
"The 600 series is about USD $10,000 a year and the 80 is USD $400 a year."
"It is a product with a very transparent model of licensing. In the sense of hidden expenses, they do not exist with this model. ​"
"The pricing is very cheap compared to Cisco ASA, which we used before, and compared to Palo Alto Networks and Fortinet. Barracuda has different solutions for different people. So for my SMB-level infrastructure, Barracuda has given me a proper solution that is half of the price of Palo Alto or Fortinet."
"We pay around 150 to 200 Euros per year and there are no additional costs."
"The solution costs more than 800 Euros to purchase an F18, which is an entry model, and then another 500 Euros for instant replacement, and 500 Euros for energized updates. The total package would be around 1,900 Euros for five years license and all updates for an entry model."
Information not available
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
11%
Comms Service Provider
10%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Financial Services Firm
6%
Computer Software Company
7%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Retailer
7%
Marketing Services Firm
7%
No data available
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business360
Midsize Enterprise135
Large Enterprise190
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business32
Midsize Enterprise10
Large Enterprise8
No data available
 

Questions from the Community

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What is the biggest difference between Sophos XG and FortiGate?
From my experience regarding both the Sophos and FortiGate firewalls, I personally would rather use FortiGate. I know...
What are the biggest technical differences between Sophos UTM and Fortinet FortiGate?
As a solution, Sophos UTM offers a lot of functionality, it scales well, and the stability and performance are quite ...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Barracuda CloudGen Firewall?
My experience with pricing is that while the licensing cost can be reduced and is somewhat costly, the price is good ...
What needs improvement with Barracuda CloudGen Firewall?
There is room for improvement in terms of response time and first-level support quality. Barracuda CloudGen Firewall ...
What is your primary use case for Barracuda CloudGen Firewall?
My main use case for Barracuda CloudGen Firewall is that we purchased it to replace our current Cisco firewall tool. ...
What needs improvement with Cisco Meraki vMX?
Cisco Meraki vMX needs to improve its ability to configure complex policy-based routing. The product can only be set ...
What is your primary use case for Cisco Meraki vMX?
I am an architect planning for our customers to plan their enterprise connectivity via Cisco Meraki vMX and SASE. Thi...
What advice do you have for others considering Cisco Meraki vMX?
I have no idea about additional features that I would like to see in the next release to make it better. My customers...
 

Also Known As

Fortinet FortiGate Next-Generation Firewall
Barracuda NextGen Firewall, Barracuda CloudGen Firewalls
No data available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Amazon Web Services, Microsoft, IBM, Cisco, Dell, HP, Oracle, Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile, Sprint, Vodafone, Orange, BT Group, Telstra, Deutsche Telekom, Comcast, Time Warner Cable, CenturyLink, NTT Communications, Tata Communications, SoftBank, China Mobile, Singtel, Telus, Rogers Communications, Bell Canada, Telkom Indonesia, Telkom South Africa, Telmex, Telia Company, Telkom Kenya
ARZ, Bauer, CBCX Technologies, Diamant-groep, Eissmann Group Automotive, European Youth Olympics, Exalo Drilling, FineLine Technologies, Geocell, Grimaldi, Infront Sports & Media, Odlo, Schenker Deutschland AG, Tilak, Verbandsgeneinde Zell, Conservas El Cidacos S.A., Institute for Emergency Medicine and Medicine Management, Erwin Muller GmbH, Info-Tech: NGF is Champion, Schoellerbank, IZB Informatik-Zentrum, RHI AG, Berglandmilch, Antenne Bayern, Sanochemia
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Find out what your peers are saying about Barracuda CloudGen Firewall vs. Cisco Meraki vMX and other solutions. Updated: March 2026.
884,797 professionals have used our research since 2012.