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Cisco IOS Security vs Netgate pfSense comparison

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Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Sep 16, 2024

Review summaries and opinions

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

ROI

Sentiment score
5.9
Fortinet FortiGate offers strong security, cost efficiency, and easy integration, saving organizations up to 30% on data costs.
Sentiment score
7.4
Cisco IOS Security delivered significant ROI through improved routing, security, stability, and cost-efficiency, despite competitive vendor pressures.
Sentiment score
6.5
Netgate pfSense provides cost-effective network management with inexpensive hardware, eliminating costly licenses, and offering reliable, low-maintenance features.
Clients are now comfortable and not wasting productive hours on IT support.
The automation part is giving us a cost benefit and speed; we can react faster.
It's a very useful tool to mitigate and protect your enterprise.
The return on investment is satisfactory with Cisco products as they have long lifespans, and our customers are satisfied with them.
If they can save their data from attackers then it would save them at least two days of not working plus the cost of recovery, which would be much more than the cost of the system and maintenance.
Since the memory leak fixes, it's been incredibly stable and requires minimal maintenance.
In four years of using it, that payment of 189 dollars per year has already paid off.
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
6.6
Fortinet FortiGate support is generally effective, but some users report delays and issues with complex problem resolution and communication.
Sentiment score
6.7
Cisco IOS Security support is generally praised for speed and skill, though some report delays and complexity in access.
Sentiment score
7.9
pfSense users benefit from robust online resources and community support, with paid services praised for promptness and professionalism.
They offer very accurate solutions.
The quick resolution of issues with Fortinet FortiGate is due to the support of the company and the fact that the equipment is easy to work with.
I would rate the technical support for Fortinet FortiGate a ten out of ten.
My impression is that the support quality has deteriorated over time.
When I provide detailed information about the problem, they've been able to reply quickly with a solution or go research the problem and get back to us quickly with a fix.
They are highly responsive.
I couldn't imagine having better support.
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
7.1
Fortinet FortiGate efficiently scales for SMEs, though hardware upgrades can be challenging, with virtual deployments offering flexibility.
Sentiment score
7.4
Cisco IOS Security offers scalable, enterprise-level solutions but may increase costs and limit universality due to required hardware.
Sentiment score
6.6
Netgate pfSense is highly scalable and adaptable, efficiently managing network demands and supporting seamless expansion across various environments.
They scale up really well from smaller models like the FortiGate 40 and 50 to bigger sites with the FortiGate 100 for more throughput - up to enterprise datacenters.
The variation comes in terms of the interfaces and throughputs, but from a security perspective, you get the same benefit, irrespective of whether you have an entry-level unit or an enterprise.
We determine sizing based on multiple factors: number of users, available links, traffic types, server count, services in use, and whether services will be published.
If I put things into a certain context and say that we have a network that has around 100 people, then you don't put up a device that can manage 100 people. Instead, you need to get a device that can manage 150 to 200 people, and then you can create room for growth.
I don't think Netgate pfSense can offer much scalability for big enterprises.
Even with a jump from a 50 megabit to a 500 megabit internet connection and approximately 65 active VPN clients, our firewall operates smoothly without any strain.
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
7.7
Fortinet FortiGate is praised for its dependable stability, minimal downtime, and robust performance, especially with regular firmware updates.
Sentiment score
7.6
Cisco IOS Security is generally reliable with occasional issues, frequently updated for stability, scoring 7-10 in satisfaction.
Sentiment score
6.5
Netgate pfSense is highly reliable and stable, often rated top-tier, with most issues stemming from non-software factors.
We're experiencing 99.999% availability consistently.
I would rate the stability of Fortinet FortiGate a ten out of ten.
Currently, we are experiencing a general outage of one of the main internet service providers of the Dominican Republic, and we have not been impacted in our operations because with SD-WAN, we have another internet service provider and we are working with the second WAN connection without any disruption.
We find Cisco products stable and thoroughly tested before new software or firmware versions are released.
I find Cisco IOS Security to be a very stable product.
I rate the solution's stability a ten out of ten.
I've noticed a substantial improvement in stability and ease of use for upgrades and patching over the past year or two.
When I replace consumer routers with pfSense for small businesses with two or three employees, they are often amazed to discover the router can run for a year without a reboot.
 

Room For Improvement

Users seek improvements in FortiGate's performance, web interface, reporting, documentation, licensing, and training resources.
Cisco IOS Security struggles with integration, usability, cost, lacking features, complex licensing, performance, and requires enhancement and support.
Netgate pfSense needs enhancements in reporting, security features, user interface, compatibility, documentation, and integration with third-party tools.
Investing in a solution that can accommodate such growth would be more cost-effective than repeatedly purchasing new hardware.
While Fortinet claims to offer a comprehensive network solution, it falls short in addressing computer application issues, particularly server security.
When considering Sophos XG, which we also use, the logging and reporting functionality is notably more efficient.
Cisco changes their licensing policy quite frequently, which is becoming confusing and complicated.
There is some trade-off between having a certain level of security and maintaining acceptable performance.
If I need to go between different VLANs, I have VLAN 19.1 and VLAN 19.2, and I strictly use Netgate pfSense, but it doesn't route very efficiently and works quite slowly.
They should support the idea of configuration management as code from source code and provide a more robust API for managing the pfSense configuration.
 

Setup Cost

Fortinet FortiGate offers robust features at a competitive price but can be costly, especially with licenses; long-term pricing negotiation advised.
Cisco IOS Security is costly, favoring medium to large enterprises with longer-term savings over SMB challenges.
Netgate pfSense is a cost-effective, flexible firewall solution offering free software and optional paid support for enterprises.
Last year, I renewed the support for three years, which can sometimes be expensive but depends on the security benefits and how it helps us.
It offers cost savings as it is generally cheaper than the competition.
It is about 20% cheaper.
The cost of Cisco IOS Security for customers is on the higher end of pricing compared to the competition, depending on the targeted customers.
The price of setup is approximately €500 to €800, which also includes the initial monitoring.
You can acquire a decent embedded PC for around a hundred dollars and install pfSense on it, effectively creating a robust firewall solution.
The product is free of cost.
 

Valuable Features

Fortinet FortiGate provides robust security, seamless integration, user-friendly interface, and cost-effective advanced threat management for diverse network environments.
Cisco IOS Security offers scalable, stable solutions with VPN, AAA, firewall integration, and user-friendly management for high-demand environments.
Netgate pfSense is favored for its open-source flexibility, robust features, affordability, and strong community support for diverse networking.
In terms of security, we have not experienced any security flaws or loopholes, and it has proven to be quite stable.
FortiGate has helped reduce the risk of cyberattacks that might disrupt our client's production.
These features help reduce our downtime, manage the ISPs, and deploy SLAs for all the website traffic.
This solution, called Network Access Controller, handles authentication, authorization, and accounting for devices accessing the network.
The best features of Cisco IOS Security are its integration with software management tools such as Cisco DNA Center and Cisco ICE, which provide centralized policy and network access control.
We have multiple VLANs, and with assistance, it was easy to get everything set up and running in our organization the way we needed it to.
We had downtime before pfSense. We've never gone down using the solution.
It is very stable, and it works very well.
 

Categories and Ranking

Fortinet FortiGate
Sponsored
Ranking in Firewalls
1st
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
575
Ranking in other categories
Secure Web Gateways (SWG) (2nd), Intrusion Detection and Prevention Software (IDPS) (1st), Software Defined WAN (SD-WAN) Solutions (1st), WAN Edge (1st), ZTNA (2nd), Unified Threat Management (UTM) (1st)
Cisco IOS Security
Ranking in Firewalls
24th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
49
Ranking in other categories
Intrusion Detection and Prevention Software (IDPS) (14th)
Netgate pfSense
Ranking in Firewalls
2nd
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.0
Number of Reviews
217
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of October 2025, in the Firewalls category, the mindshare of Fortinet FortiGate is 20.4%, up from 19.1% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Cisco IOS Security is 0.3%, up from 0.2% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Netgate pfSense is 10.8%, down from 18.5% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Firewalls Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Fortinet FortiGate20.4%
Netgate pfSense10.8%
Cisco IOS Security0.3%
Other68.5%
Firewalls
 

Featured Reviews

Vasu Gala - PeerSpot reviewer
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.
Danijel Cerovecki - PeerSpot reviewer
Have faced challenges in keeping licensing clear and consistent while ensuring reliable network protection
We are a Gold Partner with Cisco. Our customers come from various industries, including service providers, and we target service providers and enterprise customers.We do not extensively use Zone-Based Firewalls in Cisco IOS Security, instead typically deploying standalone firewalls such as Cisco FTDs or Cisco ASA devices. For threat analytics and vulnerability scanning, we utilize third-party vendors with dedicated devices and software. We use products such as Tenable from Nessus for this type of analysis. We have implemented Secure Access Control Server in Cisco IOS Security, which combines multiple security mechanisms including AAA, 802.1X for network access control with Cisco ICE, TrustSec for identity-based segmentation, and Cisco DNA Center. Cisco IOS Security's VPN support is comprehensive and increasingly important in daily communication, from basic site-to-site tunnels to remote access VPNs and SD-WAN secure VPNs. Protecting and encrypting communication is essential in modern networks. The challenges with Cisco IOS Security are more operational than product-related. There is an understaffing issue, making automation and orchestration capabilities particularly valuable. For the products themselves, we only encounter routine operational matters such as addressing new vulnerabilities and patching. For those considering Cisco IOS Security, it is important to understand that Cisco offers a complete ecosystem. When embracing the Cisco ecosystem fully, customers receive excellent products and comprehensive solutions. On a scale of 1-10, I rate Cisco IOS Security a 9.
Jean-Pierre DAREYS - PeerSpot reviewer
Easy to use, configurable, flexible, excellent user group support
I'm not knowledgeable enough to suggest new features. The use has been very straightforward. Whatever questions I've had, I've found videos to help me on YouTube, or I've been able to ask the forums. I've also reached out to technical support and I've received help although there could be more videos or tutorials from Netgate, in addition to third parties who have already implemented it, which is great. I have suffered a lot of problems over time but I don't think the problems are related to the hardware or the software. I am convinced that the problems have been related to hacking during configuration. During the setup process, while experimenting, the device would stop working or the password would suddenly not allow access, requiring re-installation and re-configuration, it was very slow going until I moved to the cloud. The dashboard is a little bit slow and the reporting isn't always current or immediate but acceptable. I'm not sure I can make data-driven decisions due to insufficient volume. I would need enhanced reporting, statistics, playback. I haven't looked at the reports a lot since because you have to access the log files, time is an issue, I use it in a home office environment.
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
15%
Comms Service Provider
9%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Financial Services Firm
6%
Computer Software Company
27%
Government
9%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Outsourcing Company
7%
Computer Software Company
16%
Comms Service Provider
13%
Educational Organization
6%
University
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business350
Midsize Enterprise130
Large Enterprise187
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business19
Midsize Enterprise14
Large Enterprise18
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business166
Midsize Enterprise33
Large Enterprise28
 

Questions from the Community

Which is the better NGFW: Fortinet Fortigate or Cisco Firepower?
When you compare these firewalls you can identify them with different features, advantages, practices and usage a...
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 do you like most about Cisco IOS Security?
Cisco IOS Security is a mature product with extensive capabilities, serving as the base for the defense layer. It off...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Cisco IOS Security?
Pricing can be reduced. I rate the current price for the product a four out of ten.
What needs improvement with Cisco IOS Security?
While I do not have specific recommendations for improvement, pricing can be reduced.
Help me find the best open source router
You don't really specify what type of router you are looking for but if you are talking about a gateway router I reco...
How do I choose between Fortinet FortiGate and pfSense?
Fortinet’s Fortigate is a firewall solution we use and are very much satisfied with its performance. We find Fortigat...
What is the difference between PfSense and OPNsense?
Two of the most common and well recognized firewalls, PfSense and OPNsense both support site-to-site IPsec VPN and cl...
 

Also Known As

No data available
IOS Security
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
Arup Group, Brunel University London, City of Biel, Gobierno de Castilla-La Mancha, K&L Gates , New South Wales Rural Fire Service, Offshore Northern Seas, Transplace
Nerds On Site Inc., RKC Development Inc., Expertech, Fisher's Technology, Ncisive, Consulting, CPURX, Vaughn's Computer House Calls, Imeretech LLC, Digital Crisis, Carolina Digital Phone, Technigogo Technology Services, The Simple Solution, SwiftecITInc, Rocky Mountain Tech Team, Free Range Geeks, Alaska Computer Geeks, Lark Information Technology, Renaissance Systems Inc., Cutting Edge Computers, Caretech LLC, GoVanguard, Network Touch Ltd, P.C. Solutions.Net, Vision Voice and Data Systems LLC, Montgomery Technologies, Techforce, Concero Networks, ASONInc, CPS Electronics and Consulting, Darkwire.net LLC, IT Specialists, MBS-Net Inc., VOICE1 LLC, Advantage Networking Inc., Powerhouse Systems, Doxa Multimedia Inc., Pro Computer Service, Virtual IT Services, A&J Computers Inc., Envision IT LLC, CommunicaONE Inc., Bone Computer Inc., Amax Engineering Corporation, QPG Ltd. Co., IT 101 Inc., Perfect Cloud Solutions, Applied Technology Group Inc., The Digital Sun Group LLC, Firespring
Find out what your peers are saying about Cisco IOS Security vs. Netgate pfSense and other solutions. Updated: September 2025.
869,785 professionals have used our research since 2012.