Cisco Secure Firewall vs Forcepoint Next Generation Firewall comparison

Cisco Secure Firewall vs. Forcepoint Next Generation Firewall

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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

Fortinet FortiGate

Mindshare comparison

As of April 2025, in the Firewalls category, the mindshare of Fortinet FortiGate is 21.1%, up from 17.7% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Cisco Secure Firewall is 5.8%, up from 5.5% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Forcepoint Next Generation Firewall is 0.4%, up from 0.4% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Firewalls

Featured Reviews

EhabAli

Sr. Cybersecurity Solutions Architect at BMB

Efficient, user-friendly, and affordable

In the past, NSS Labs was utilized to test files and verify the numbers and datasheets. It would be beneficial to have an organization or testing lab that can verify the numbers in our datasheets since changes are frequently made, which can be inconvenient for review. For instance, when comparing different competitors such as Forcepoint, Palo Alto, and Check Point, the throughput or numbers in the datasheet may be lower than the actual numbers. Conversely, Fortinet typically reports very high numbers, but they cannot be replicated in the real world. Therefore, it would be advantageous for them to partner with a neutral testing organization such as NSS Labs to validate these numbers, thus providing more credibility and comfort to everyone regarding the accuracy of the datasheets. For the migration, everyone has a firewall in use and I am selling Fortinet. Typically, I am replacing another firewall. Previously, there was a tool available to convert configurations from one firewall, such as Palo Alto, to Fortinet, but this tool is no longer free. If it could be made free again, it would be very beneficial. This tool shows a lot of promise and is very good. Making it free would help many companies deliver their products in a more efficient and integrated way. It would also be more valuable to include the tool with the firewall package or license instead of having to pay extra for it. Paying extra puts more pressure on small companies to deliver the firewall and complete the configuration, especially if they have hundreds or thousands of policies. It's very painful to move through these policies line by line. The stability has room for improvement. When it comes to Secure SD-WAN, everything is fine. They are going the right way. SD-WAN is very promising. They can provide the SD-WAN solution separately, but they will not take this approach because even the smallest firewall can support the features, so there is no need to have a separate service or appliance. They are following the right steps, and there is nothing to be improved. Feature-wise, I'm really satisfied with the new release, and the features they have added. For now, it's fine.

Enhances security with precise access control but has integration challenges

Maharajan S

VSO at a computer software company with 501-1,000 employees

Overall, I would rate the product six out of ten. Because of the support and cost, I moved away from Cisco, but otherwise, it is a good product. Recommendation depends on the requirement. If lacking a proper team and being dependent on the OEM and partner, Cisco is not suitable. However, if the team is qualified with Cisco-certified people and the requirement is a big network, it can be considered. In today's hybrid work world, having an expanded gateway is more typical than having a single one. Thus, Cisco is unlikely to be recommended for a hybrid requirement unless in-house skills align. Otherwise, depending on partners and Cisco, it can be a risk. I rate the overall solution six out of ten.

Provides decent protection for the LAN but complicated interface

OusaidAbaz

Security Network Architect at Inmac

We had some licensing issues with its web filtering capabilities. That's why we migrated our web filtering to Cisco Umbrella. Moreover, the interface is complicated. It's difficult to locate all the necessary menus and functions. For example, one of the many issues is with SSH. Even now, we haven't successfully opened the port to connect using SSH mode when we want to change the configuration. It's like a black box—not very open to changes and customization. It's simply not easy to configure. There are other problems, too. For example regarding Forcepoint's Websense component. We had a lot of problems managing the web settings within Websense. That's why we migrated to Cisco Umbrella for cloud-based web filtering. It's not that Forcepoint is inherently bad. The issue is that it's not user-friendly. It is not easy to use. The developers need to redesign the interface (GUI) for better management. It is very difficult to manage. For example, simple actions require too many clicks compared to FortiGate or Palo Alto. That's the main problem.

More Fortinet FortiGate pros

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Fortinet FortiGate's ease of management is the most valuable feature."

"Allows for firewall rules to be programmed and named in a way that makes it “readable”"

"I like Fortinet's cloud management. It allows me to manage all my devices in different branches for three cloud accounts. Even though I use on-prem devices, I can manage everything on the cloud."

"We purchased Fortinet because of the pricing, its functionality, because it met our requirements, and the total cost of ownership over five years was quite reasonable. In the market, Fortinet is rated quite well."

"The web filtering feature and the intrusion protection system are the most valuable. It is a resilient appliance. I never had an issue with it in terms of any security breaches."

"We are using the FortiGate 100D series. VPN, firewall, anti-malware, OTM, and intrusion prevention are useful features."

"Its stability is the most valuable."

"Security management tool that's easy to integrate and easy to work with. No issues found with its stability and scalability."

"Stability, high availability of services, and very high MTBU were the most valuable features for me."

"AnyConnect has been very helpful, along with the ability to use LDAP for authentication."

"I have experience with URL filtering, and it is very good for URL filtering. You can filter URLs based on the categories, and it does a good job. It can also do deep packet inspection."

"The transparency of the single UI to ensure security. A product has to be simple so that an administrator can use it."

"At this point, we find that this product has high productivity and high availability and there is no need for improvement."

"A stable and solid solution for protection from external threats and for VPN connections."

"If you compare the ASA and the FirePOWER, the best feature with FirePOWER is easy to use GUI. It has most of the same functionality in the Next-Generation FirePOWER, such as IPS, IPS policies, security intelligence, and integration and identification of all the devices or hardware you have in your network. Additionally, this solution is user-friendly."

"In v9.8 you are able to do active/backup HA with ASAv (Adaptive Security Virtual Appliance) deployed on MS Azure."

More Cisco Secure Firewall pros

"The feature that we like the most about Forcepoint is that we know the technology and have confidence in it. We can have several functionalities to simplify operations and management. We can combine functionalities like log ownership to review the number of devices in the infrastructure."

"I don't have anything bad to say about the product. I absolutely love it."

"It provides decent protection for the LAN, especially in run mode."

"The VPN is great."

"We're trying to use all the firewall's features. Most of the features were effective, but the usability is a huge concern."

"We like the scalability of Forcepoint because with the Forcepoint NGFW solution, we can scale anything. The solution has central management, so we can manage all the branches and devices centrally in one controller."

"The solution offers sandboxing, which can be integrated at any time."

"I like the Firewall and the IPS."

More Forcepoint Next Generation Firewall pros

Cons

"I would like reporting to be improved and should offer a lot more tools to monitor the products."

"The configuration part was challenging, especially converting configurations from another OEM to FortiGate."

"You do need some IT knowledge in order to effectively work with the solution."

"Fortinet needs more memory to save the log files. We need it to save the logs on the hardware and not in the cloud. I know this feature is available in FortiCloud, but if we need this log locally, it is not available."

"The firewall engine is not so strong as of now, in my opinion... My second concern is that, while they have Zero-day vulnerability and anti-malware features, the threat engine needs to be strengthened, its efficiency can be increased."

"They've become quite expensive."

"There are some license issues. Not every feature must have a separate license. There must be some of kind synergy between the license so we don't have to pay for every individual license that we would like to have."

"We had some issues in the beginning while setting it up, but after doing the firmware update, it is working fine."

More Fortinet FortiGate cons

"Some of the features, like the stability, need to be improved."

"Cisco Secure Firewall’s customer support could be improved."

"There are always vulnerabilities that come up and there was one in early 2018 but this was patched with software updates."

"It would be great to have all the data correlated to have an overview and one point of administration."

"The inclusion of an autofill feature would improve the ease of commands."

"Sometimes my customers say that Cisco Firewalls are a bit more difficult compared to Fortigate or Palo Alto. There is complexity in the configuration and the GUI could be improved."

"The initial setup could be simplified, as it can be complex for new users."

"Nowadays, nobody is in the office, so I need to figure out how to put the firewall outside. If I could have a centralized firewall that also receives information from external locations, like peoples' home offices, that would help us consolidate everything into one appliance."

More Cisco Secure Firewall cons

"Its management center should be easier to use. The management interface of Forcepoint is unique and a little bit different from some of the firewall solutions on which people might have worked before. Sometimes, the customers say that it is not very friendly, and we help them with how to use this management interface. It just takes a little bit of time, and after some time, it gets easy to manage or use. It is quite similar to Palo Alto, Fortinet, and legacy Juniper solutions. Their support should be faster. We have received complaints that they are not responding fast, which is not good for the vendor and us."

"A VPN client feature is missing in our region, which we hope Forcepoint will address in future updates."

"They need to increase the local support here. There are also some bugs or fixes on which they need to work. They very well know about these bugs. In terms of licensing, I would like them to either increase the number of features in a single license or make licensing more flexible."

"I would like to see more sizing in the next release, and the roadmap should be clear."

"Management could be better. They can improve the management. I think all our customers can't accept firewalls that have standalone management. So, they prefer Fortinet or Palo Alto. But overall, inspection and other features are working fine."

"They should have a local vendor who can provide support. Most of the support is overseas, so the time zones can be a problem."

"The solution needs to add an antivirus profile and anti-spyware profile, not just policies and VPN."

"The optimization is not really ready. If you want very good optimization, you have to add it to the network."

More Forcepoint Next Generation Firewall cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"It is more expensive than Sophos. Fortinet is overall more expensive than Sophos. The small range of Fortinet, such as 60F and 80F, is more expensive than the small range of Sophos. Sophos is cheaper. In addition, if you jump from 80F Series to 100F Series, the price doubles."

"The main reason we chose Fortinet FortiGate was that the price was better than the competition."

"Fortinet is reasonable in pricing and licensing. Overall, FortiGate is affordable. The licensing fee can be a little high, depending on the budget for your project."

"The value is the capability of having multiple services with one unique license, not having the limitation per user licensing schema, like other vendors."

"Other firewalls are more expensive than Fortinet FortiGate, such as the Azure firewall."

"On a scale of one being cheap and ten being expensive, I rate the tool's price as an eight."

"For our organization, the licensing costs are approximately $7,000 per year."

"The cost is too high... They have to focus on more features with less cost for the customer. If you see the market, where it's going, there are a lot of players offering more features for less cost."

More Fortinet FortiGate pricing and cost advice

"Cisco devices are for sure costly and budget could be an important constrain on selecting them as our security solution."

"You get what you pay for. It's always priced based on what you get and what it can handle. It's acceptable."

"Licensing is expensive compared to other solutions."

"The cost is a big factor for us. This is why we are using it only in our restricted area. They are very much higher than their competitors in the market."

"The cost of the firewalls versus the ROI is okay."

"We normally license on a yearly basis. The hardware procurement cost should be considered. If you're virtual maybe that cost is eradicated and just the licensing cost is applied. If you have hardware the cost must be covered by you. All the shipping charges will be paid by you also. I don't thing there are any other hidden charges though."

"When we bought it, it was really expensive. I'm not aware of the current pricing. We had problems with licensing. After our IPS subscription ended, we couldn't renew it because Cisco was moving to the next-generation firewall platform. So, they didn't provide us with the new license."

"This product requires licenses for advanced features including Snort, IPS, and malware detection."

More Cisco Secure Firewall pricing and cost advice

"The training that they offer to their end-customers. It's quite expensive, I believe it costs roughly $11,000"

"Forcepoint Next Generation Firewall is reasonable, it is priced the same as other firewalls."

"There is a license required to use this solution and we can purchase it for one, two, three, or five years."

"The pricing of the solution is normally competitive with other products."

"Forcepoint is very expensive but it's really secure."

"It is expensive."

"It requires a yearly subscription."

"It could be cheaper like Fortinet."

More Forcepoint Next Generation Firewall pricing and cost advice

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Comparison Review

it_user206346

Security Consultant at Webernetz.net - Network Security Consulting

Mar 11, 2015

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Educational Organization

22%

Computer Software Company

14%

Comms Service Provider

Manufacturing Company

Educational Organization

41%

Computer Software Company

13%

Manufacturing Company

Government

Computer Software Company

17%

Manufacturing Company

10%

Financial Services Firm

10%

Government

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

Questions from the Community

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 ...

Which is better - Fortinet FortiGate or Cisco ASA Firewall?

One of our favorite things about Fortinet Fortigate is that you can deploy on the cloud or on premises. Fortinet Fort...

How does Cisco's ASA firewall compare with the Firepower NGFW?

It is easy to integrate Cisco ASA with other Cisco products and also other NAC solutions. When you understand the Cis...

Which is better - Meraki MX or Cisco ASA Firewall?

Cisco Adaptive Security Appliance (ASA) software is the operating software for the Cisco ASA suite. It supports netw...

What do you like most about Forcepoint Next Generation Firewall?

The product's initial setup phase is easy.

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Forcepoint Next Generation Firewall?

In terms of pricing, I would place Forcepoint in the middle when compared to other firewalls like Fortinet and Palo A...

What needs improvement with Forcepoint Next Generation Firewall?

There is a lot of technical stuff that could be improved. We've encountered scenarios that were really hard to set up...

Sophos XG vs Fortinet FortiGate

Comparisons

Compared 23% of the time

Netgate pfSense vs Fortinet FortiGate

Compared 13% of the time

WatchGuard Firebox vs Fortinet FortiGate

Compared 5% of the time

SonicWall TZ vs Fortinet FortiGate

Compared 5% of the time

Meraki MX vs Fortinet FortiGate

Compared 5% of the time

More Fortinet FortiGate Competitors

Palo Alto Networks WildFire vs Cisco Secure Firewall

Compared 8% of the time

Netgate pfSense vs Cisco Secure Firewall

Compared 6% of the time

Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls vs Cisco Secure Firewall

Compared 5% of the time

OPNsense vs Cisco Secure Firewall

Compared 4% of the time

Meraki MX vs Cisco Secure Firewall

Compared 4% of the time

More Cisco Secure Firewall Competitors

Palo Alto Networks Advanced Threat Prevention vs Forcepoint Next Generation Firewall

Compared 21% of the time

Check Point NGFW vs Forcepoint Next Generation Firewall

Compared 15% of the time

Sophos XG vs Forcepoint Next Generation Firewall

Compared 7% of the time

OPNsense vs Forcepoint Next Generation Firewall

Compared 5% of the time

Trellix Intrusion Prevention System vs Forcepoint Next Generation Firewall

Compared 4% of the time

More Forcepoint Next Generation Firewall Competitors

Product Reports

Fortinet FortiGate

Download Fortinet FortiGate product report

Cisco Secure Firewall

Download Cisco Secure Firewall product report

Forcepoint Next Generation Firewall

Download Forcepoint Next Generation Firewall product report

Forcepoint Next Generation Firewall report

Also Known As

FortiGate 60b, FortiGate 60c, FortiGate 80c, FortiGate 50b, FortiGate 200b, FortiGate 110c, FortiGate, Fortinet Firewall

Cisco Adaptive Security Appliance (ASA) Firewall, Cisco ASA NGFW, Adaptive Security Appliance, Cisco Sourcefire Firewalls, Cisco ASAv, Cisco Firepower NGFW Firewall

Forcepoint NGFW, Stonesoft Next Generation Firewall, McAfee Network Security Platform, Intel Security Network Security Platform

Overview

Fortinet FortiGate offers comprehensive network security and firewall protection across multiple locations. It effectively manages data traffic and secures environments with features like VPN, intrusion prevention, and UTM controls.

Organizations rely on Fortinet FortiGate for its robust integration with advanced security policies, ensuring significant protection for enterprises, cloud environments, and educational sectors. It facilitates network segmentation, application-level security, and authentication management, securing communication within and between locations such as branches and data centers. Its efficient SD-WAN and UTM features enable streamlined data management and enhanced threat protection capabilities. Users appreciate its centralized management, facilitating seamless operations across diverse environments.

What are the key features of Fortinet FortiGate?

VPN Capabilities: Ensure secure remote access for users and seamless site-to-site connections.
Intrusion Prevention System (IPS): Detect and prevent security threats and vulnerabilities.
Advanced Firewall: Offers robust firewalling with application control and web filtering.
SD-WAN: Optimizes application performance and enhances bandwidth management.
SSL VPN: Provides reliable and secure access for remote workers.

What benefits should users expect from Fortinet FortiGate?

High-performance Security: Delivers effective threat mitigation with high availability.
Centralized Management: Simplifies network operations with cloud-based management tools.
Detailed Analytics: Provides comprehensive insights into network activity and security threats.
Load Balancing: Ensures optimal resource distribution and traffic management.

Fortinet FortiGate is crucial in sectors like education, offering robust networks for secure data flow between campuses and facilitating remote learning. In enterprise environments, it allows efficient management of application traffic and security across multiple branches, while in the cloud, it seamlessly integrates with diverse platforms to enhance security infrastructure.

Fortinet

Cisco Secure Firewall stands as a robust and adaptable security solution, catering to organizations of all sizes. It's designed to shield networks from a diverse array of cyber threats, such as ransomware, malware, and phishing attacks. Beyond mere protection, it also offers secure access to corporate resources, beneficial for employees, partners, and customers alike. One of its key functions includes network segmentation, which serves to isolate critical assets and minimize the risk of lateral movement within the network.

The core features of Cisco Secure Firewall are multifaceted:

Advanced threat protection is achieved through a combination of intrusion prevention, malware detection, and URL filtering technologies.
For secure access, the firewall presents multiple options, including VPN, remote access, and single sign-on.
Its network segmentation capability is vital in creating barriers within the network to safeguard critical assets.
The firewall is scalable, effectively serving small businesses to large enterprises.
Management is streamlined through Cisco DNA Center, a central management system.

The benefits of deploying Cisco Secure Firewall are substantial. It significantly reduces the risk of cyberattacks, thereby enhancing the security posture of an organization. This security also translates into increased productivity, as secure access means uninterrupted work. Compliance with industry regulations is another advantage, as secure access and network segmentation align with many regulatory standards. Additionally, it helps in reducing IT costs by automating security tasks and simplifying management processes.

In practical scenarios, Cisco Secure Firewall finds diverse applications. It's instrumental in protecting branch offices from cyberattacks, securing remote access for various stakeholders, safeguarding cloud workloads, and segmenting networks to isolate sensitive areas.

User reviews from PeerSpot reflect an overall positive experience with the Cisco Secure Firewall. Users appreciate its ease of configuration, good management capabilities, robust protection, user-friendly interface, and scalability. However, some areas for improvement include better integration capabilities with other vendors, maturity, control over bandwidth for end-users, and addressing software bugs.

In summary, Cisco Secure Firewall is a comprehensive, versatile, and reliable security solution that effectively meets the security needs of various organizations. It offers a balance of advanced protection, user-friendly management, and scalability, making it a valuable asset in the realm of network security.

Cisco

Forcepoint Next Generation Firewall is a versatile and comprehensive solution for perimeter security, offering features such as SD-WAN, IPS, VPN, and cloud or on-premises subscription keys. It is preferred by many clients over Cisco and is used for obligation redundancy, VPN access, and as the main point of security in infrastructure.

The product is praised for its simplicity, flexibility, complete feature set, scalability, and central management capabilities. Other valuable features include IPS, firewall, sandbox, application control, filtering, security management center, connectivity, and integration capabilities.

Forcepoint

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

There are more than one million Adaptive Security Appliances deployed globally. Top customers include First American Financial Corp., Genzyme, Frankfurt Airport, Hansgrohe SE, Rio Olympics, The French Laundry, Rackspace, and City of Tomorrow.

California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR)

Cisco Secure Firewall vs. Forcepoint Next Generation Firewall