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Cisco Secure Firewall vs Juniper vSRX 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:
 

Categories and Ranking

Fortinet FortiGate
Sponsored
Ranking in Firewalls
2nd
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.2
Number of Reviews
318
Ranking in other categories
Software Defined WAN (SD-WAN) Solutions (1st), WAN Edge (1st)
Cisco Secure Firewall
Ranking in Firewalls
7th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.1
Number of Reviews
409
Ranking in other categories
Cisco Security Portfolio (4th)
Juniper vSRX
Ranking in Firewalls
22nd
Average Rating
7.8
Reviews Sentiment
7.1
Number of Reviews
36
Ranking in other categories
Virtualization Security (4th), Unified Threat Management (UTM) (7th)
 

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 Juniper vSRX is 0.2%, up from 0.2% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Firewalls
 

Featured Reviews

EhabAli - PeerSpot reviewer
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.
Maharajan S - PeerSpot reviewer
Enhances security with precise access control but has integration challenges
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.
Stratos-Margaritis - PeerSpot reviewer
The ease of installation and licensing are also significant advantages
We use the application filtering, content filtering, and intrusion prevention system (IPS) features. These features are crucial for our network security. The ease of installation and licensing are also significant advantages, as it allows us to have one license for all products, which simplifies upgrading and maintenance. Additionally, the ease of deployment is critical for us.

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 of this solution is the analytics."
"Fortinet FortiGate is user-friendly and affordable."
"We use the filtering feature the most. It has filtering and inbuilt securities. We can create customized rules to define which users can access a particular type of site. We can create policies inside the firewall."
"There are lots of features and most of them are deployed for internet security. Users are protected if they accidentally go to some malicious sites."
"Security solution with a straightforward and quick setup. It's a stable and scalable product."
"It can expand easily."
"It works very well. It has a lot of different functionalities. Its cost is also fine for our customers."
"The base firewall features are quite valuable to us."
"It's a flexible solution and is well-known in the community."
"One of the most valuable features of Firepower 7.0 is the "live log" type feature called Unified Event Viewer. That view has been really good in helping me get to data faster, decreasing the amount of time it takes to find information, and allowing me to fix problems faster. I've found that to be incredibly valuable because it's a lot easier to get to some points of data now."
"They provide DDoS protection and multi-factor authentication. That is a good option as it enables work-from-home functionality."
"The stability of Cisco ASA is excellent compared to other products on the market. Because of our customer experience as an integrator company, our clients never report any performance problems. We have a good performance reputation with Cisco ASA."
"The VPN feature is the most valuable to us because it accomplishes the task well. We're able to do everything we need to do."
"It is a highly stable product. We rarely receive any serious outdates, so it works quite well."
"Ease of configuration: It has gotten a lot easier to configure compared to the original Cisco Pix."
"It's the VPN side of things that has been most useful for us. It allows us to secure our users even when they're working from home. They are able to access all of our resources, no matter where they are in the world."
"The product's scalability is good, and my company has 150 users."
"The hardware is stable."
"The ease of installation and licensing are also significant advantages, as it allows us to have one license for all products, which simplifies upgrading and maintenance."
"It's basic functionality is probably the most valuable feature."
"The architecture of the OS in Juniper is very good. It's flexibility, scalability, and the technicality is also good."
"It's a very powerful solution and the firewalls offer high performance"
"Juniper is more flexible with the commit check and the commit confirmed command. The design of the forwarding and contract plan in the operating system is very important for the performance when we have very big traffic."
"The support is excellent."
 

Cons

"A couple of things I've seen that need improvement, especially in terms of a hard coding. The driver-level active moment really is out-of-the-box and we have to have contact the customer support and sometimes it is difficult to resolve."
"In the balance between links feature normally you can just choose one option to balance. It would be better for the solution to have more than one option, preferably three."
"It could use more templates for third-party site-to-site VPN setups other than FortiGate and Cisco."
"Fortinet should focus on enhancing the capabilities of FortiGate by consolidating its various products, such as FortiGate Cloud, FortiManager, and FortiAnalyzer."
"This product could be improved with Active directory integration and better handling in IPsec and GRE Tunnels."
"The command line is complicated, and the interface could be better."
"The customization could be improved. Cisco, for example, is much better at this. They need to work to be at least as good as they are."
"We would like to see a better training platform implemented."
"We see a lot of vendors in the market with a lot of niche products. I understand that it's difficult to cover everything, but making it more open for integration with other vendors would be a value add for Cisco."
"Cisco provides us with application visibility and control, although it's not a complete solution compared to other vendors. Cisco needs to work on the application behavior side of things, in particular when it comes to the behavior of SSL traffic."
"Usually, the customers are satisfied, but I am going to recommend that all clients upgrade to FirePOWER management. I want Cisco to improve the feature called anti-spam. We use a Cisco only email solution, that's why we need the anti-spam on email facility."
"It should have packets, deep level inspections and controls, like the features which other IPS solutions used to have."
"There are always vulnerabilities that come up and there was one in early 2018 but this was patched with software updates."
"Cisco could improve its score by developing more features that integrate seamlessly with various applications and investing in hardware acceleration to enhance performance."
"We're getting support but there's a big delay until we get a response from their technical team. They're in the USA and we're in Africa, so that's the difficulty. When they're in the office, they respond."
"The main problem we have is that things work okay until we upgrade the firmware, at which point, everything changes, and the net stops working."
"I would suggest improving the pricing, particularly the licensing model."
"The security feature must be improved."
"Right now, we are going through issues and problems where the product gets dropped with the connection or during the authentication initial phase. While it could be our problem, we would like to see more stability in this area."
"The solution should consider improving its licensing policies."
"Fortinet is more user friendly than Juniper. In terms of remote access, I actually prefer using Fortinet. It's much easier to configure."
"The solution can be improved by allowing automatic updates for the OS devices."
"They could provide support for cloud deployments."
"Juniper vSRX is expensive."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Fortigate's pricing is competitive."
"Fortinet FortiGate has different licensing models, depending on what you're going to do. Services included would depend on the license model. Licenses can be renewed annually."
"If the customer is looking for SD-WAN, it comes free with FortiGate."
"The license is too expensive to renew. The license renewal process is also complex."
"We find the most valuable aspect of this solution is the price. It is affordable, and cheaper than other firewalls."
"The price of FortiGate is reasonable as I plan to buy new switches. The initial gadgets are already booted, and the pricing seems normal on the market. As for additional costs, I haven't subscribed to many extra features, so I'm only using what I need. 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."
"​We saved a bundle by not needing all the past appliances from an NGFW.​"
"The pricing is perfect."
"Once you know what the product is, it is not that bad. Yes, it is expensive. When you try to get a license, it is like, "Well, I don't know which one of these I need. And, if I don't buy it now, then I will probably be back later. Now, I have to justify the money." Typically, you end up just buying everything that you don't use most of the time. It is one of those solutions where you get what you pay for. If you don't know what you need, just buy everything. We have additional licenses that we don't use."
"Purchasing from the AWS Marketplace was easy. It was just point and click."
"The solution’s pricing could be lower."
"It was pretty good and not expensive on the subscription side. Cisco is doing a good job on this."
"Everything with Cisco is expensive. My advice is that there are a lot better options out in the market now."
"In terms of scalability, it is really expensive. It is scalable, but when it comes to pricing, the upgrading is a bit high."
"I am happy with the product in general, including the pricing."
"Cisco devices are for sure costly and budget could be an important constrain on selecting them as our security solution."
"The pricing is reasonable."
"As a customer, the pricing is good for us."
"The solution could have been cheaper."
"Our experience purchasing the solution through the AWS Marketplace was good."
"We like pricing through the AWS Marketplace."
"The ongoing licensing cost seems to be pretty standard. There are no additional costs."
"It is not that costly."
"The solution is pricey."
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Comparison Review

it_user206346 - PeerSpot reviewer
Mar 11, 2015
Cisco ASA vs. Palo Alto Networks
Cisco ASA vs. Palo Alto: Management Goodies You often have comparisons of both firewalls concerning security components. Of course, a firewall must block attacks, scan for viruses, build VPNs, etc. However, in this post I am discussing the advantages and disadvantages from both vendors concerning…
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Educational Organization
22%
Computer Software Company
14%
Comms Service Provider
7%
Manufacturing Company
6%
Educational Organization
42%
Computer Software Company
13%
Manufacturing Company
4%
Government
4%
Educational Organization
84%
Computer Software Company
3%
Financial Services Firm
2%
Comms Service Provider
1%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

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 ...
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 Juniper vSRX?
One of Juniper vSRX's most valuable features is its integration with safety applications. It keeps the software secur...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Juniper vSRX?
The pricing is competitive, being neither the most expensive nor the cheapest option. It falls within the medium to h...
What needs improvement with Juniper vSRX?
I would suggest improving the pricing, particularly the licensing model. Although it is currently quite reasonable, m...
 

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
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
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.
Expedient Data Centers
Find out what your peers are saying about Cisco Secure Firewall vs. Juniper vSRX and other solutions. Updated: March 2025.
845,406 professionals have used our research since 2012.