Cisco Secure Firewall vs McAfee Firewall Enterprise MFE [EOL] comparison

Cisco and McAfee are both solutions in the Firewalls category. Additionally, 83% of Cisco users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 75% of McAfee users who would recommend it.

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Sep 30, 2025

Cisco Secure Firewall and McAfee Firewall Enterprise MFE [EOL] compete in network security. Cisco Secure Firewall holds the upper hand due to its ongoing support, frequent updates, and enhanced features, while McAfee's support has concluded.

Features: Cisco Secure Firewall offers advanced threat protection, application visibility, and integrated threat intelligence. McAfee Firewall Enterprise MFE [EOL] previously excelled in high performance and packet inspection.

Room for Improvement: Cisco Secure Firewall could enhance customization and API integrations. McAfee would need ongoing support, a broader feature set, and improved user interface if it were still supported.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Cisco Secure Firewall facilitates easy deployment with robust customer support, ensuring smooth implementation and troubleshooting. Meanwhile, McAfee Firewall's end-of-life status detracts from its support experience, although it previously offered comprehensive management tools.

Pricing and ROI: Cisco Secure Firewall provides competitive pricing with measurable long-term ROI, supported by regular updates and services. McAfee's value proposition diminished with its end-of-life status, impacting future returns.

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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

Featured Reviews

Abhinandan Yadav

Network Security Engineer at Arrow PC Network Pvt Ltd

Unified security and sd-wan have improved uptime and cut wan costs for multi-site branches

Users report stability issues in certain versions, which requires regular updates. Real-world attacks have also highlighted the need for urgent patching of vulnerabilities.Fortinet FortiGate, while a powerful and feature-rich web firewall, could improve in areas like firmware stability, documentation, and ease of use. The learning curve can be steep for some users. For beginners, support quality can vary, and frequent updates with occasional vulnerabilities call for careful patch management. However, once Fortinet FortiGate is configured, it remains highly reliable and efficient. Customer support needs improvement, as I find it very slow, with reports from other users reflecting that customer support is inadequate.

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Phil Shiflett

Senior Manager, Network Engineering at TTi Power Equipment

Unified policies streamline network management but complex licensing requires attention

Cisco Secure Firewall has some growth opportunities in terms of visibility and control capabilities regarding managing encrypted traffic. It has the ability to analyze encrypted traffic, and there is potential for more integration with APIs and AI to enhance these capabilities. Cisco Secure Firewall needs improvement in deployment time and the capability to access the CLI during support calls. I often encounter issues when technical support uses a CLI that is not familiar to me while troubleshooting through the GUI. My ongoing complaint for the last six years has been the lack of CLI functionality, which hinders my ability to work on the firewall, alongside concerns regarding deployment time. For the next release, they should look at the features offered by competitors such as Fortinet, including the ability to perform packet capture directly from the interface. If they enhanced their troubleshooting efficiency related to packet capture for each specific rule, it would simplify the process significantly.

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reviewer999975

Computer Technician at a leisure / travel company with 1,001-5,000 employees

We cannot find resources to help us configure it, so most of the time the virus still goes on our computer and McAfee doesn't detect it

It's pretty easy to use on a daily basis, but there are no other features because it's hard to configure on the server. On the endpoint it's really easy to push. It's hard to configure on the server, though. It's hard to find resources to help us configure it, and there is not much online help that you can find. Most of the time, we were looking at the forums, and we needed to go very deep to find what we were looking for. It was hard, and McAfee was not really helpful when we were trying to get the product to work perfectly. This is why are changing it.

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Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"FortiGate Next Generation Firewall's design is good...I am very impressed with the product's stability."

"I found the upgrades valuable."

"From the security point of view, it works, and it does its job."

"Overall security features and performance routing is good."

"FortiGate SWG has helped our IT security teams to be faster and more responsive."

"The beauty is the price performance ratio is great with FortiGate, as it provides all the features we need and the price is comparable with other firewalls, making it quite competitive with firewalls that have similar features."

"The security features are about the best that I've seen anywhere."

"It is easy to use, and there are a lot of security features right out of the box."

More Fortinet FortiGate pros

"Once you get the ASA set up properly, it can run for a whole year without any major issues, apart from the normal daily administration."

"Advanced malware protection, it blocks malicious attacks."

"The most valuable feature is stability."

"A powerful enterprise security solution that is dependible."

"This tool offers great value with regard to cyber security due to its integration with different tools like Splunk and other cloud-based solutions."

"Our company operates in Saudi Arabia, primarily working with government sectors. If any hardware malfunctions, the defective device is removed, and we receive a replacement from the reseller. We have not encountered any issues related to delays in receiving replacements for malfunctioning devices which has been beneficial."

"Ease of configuration: It has gotten a lot easier to configure compared to the original Cisco Pix."

"Most of same old ASA 5520 config could be used for the new 5516-X model."

More Cisco Secure Firewall pros

"It does give certain protection for everything that is well configured on our McAfee server."

"It does give certain protection for everything that is well configured on our McAfee server. We have good protection with it. If we could find a feature and make it work, it would work perfectly, there would be no bugs, and it would be really good."

"ROI: It's good."

"It's a very functional and stable product if you're looking for a Layer 7 firewall with reputation filtering and encrypted traffic inspection."

"For managing multiple MFE firewalls it is incredibly handy, convenient, and it is easy to use the product with McAfee Control Centre."

"We have 10 offices throughout Brazil, and now they are all connected by using the VPN feature of the firewall."

Cons

"I would like Fortinet to add more automation to FortiGate."

"The licensing model and pricing need improvement."

"Some time ago we upgraded to the Fortinet solution of our previous partner and there was a memory leak which created problems."

"There is room for improvement related to the logging and reporting aspect."

"Fortinet FortiGate needs to improve to be on par with its competitors, such as Palo Alto and Sophos. Fortinet FortiGate needs to improve its capabilities."

"Technical support is not helpful."

"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."

"Regarding stability, I have experienced performance issues with Fortinet FortiGate. Sometimes it does not work correctly in certain situations, such as DNS or URL categories, where it might block incorrectly."

More Fortinet FortiGate cons

"I wouldn't give them a ten. Nobody is perfect. I'll give them a nine because they help me with any issues I've had."

"REST API stability needs improvement in order for customizing resource allocation available to the user rather than just being there transparently. This way users can customize REST API and tailor it to their needs."

"Its interface is sometimes is a little bit slow, and it can be improved. When you need to put your appliance in failover mode, it is a little difficult to do it remotely because you need to turn off the appliance in Cisco mode. In terms of new features, it would be good to have AnyConnect VPN with Firepower. I am not sure if it is available at the moment."

"There is also no software accessibility with Cisco ASA NGFW."

"The SecureX ASA administration platform should be improved."

"In the next release, I would like to see the VPN and UTM features included."

"Cisco should redo their website so it's actually usable in a faster way."

"Tech support could not answer all of our questions. I had to do research on the web to solve my issues."

More Cisco Secure Firewall cons

"Migrating from v7 to v8 of McAfee Firewall Enterprise, in many cases, involves you having to completely re-write all of your previous McAfee Firewall Enterprise v7 policies due to the difference in the way the interfaces are named in the product going from v7 to v8."

"Administration of the firewall is a little confusing for end users."

"The hardware is not stable and we have faced many stability issues."

"HA configuration is a bit difficult for the first time."

"Customer support and AV are both lacking and are really hard to come to you when the product is installed. Those are the two major points that they need to work on."

"Customer support and AV are both lacking and are really hard to come to you when the product is installed."

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Easy to understand licensing requirements."

"The pricing is justified. It's a little pricey, but what you pay for is what you get."

"The solution could be better priced."

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

"Its pricing is good. The advantages of Fortinet FortiGate over its competitors include good pricing and meeting our requirements at a lower cost."

"The tool's pricing is neither cheap nor expensive. Overall, I find it to be competitive in the market."

"Fortinet FortiGate IPS is cheaper than other solutions like Cisco or Check Point."

"The solution is offered as an annual license."

More Fortinet FortiGate pricing and cost advice

"Cisco is expensive, but you do get benefits for the price."

"They seem to be at the top end in terms of pricing, but they are worth the price. They are probably a little bit lower than Palo Alto. If the customers are relying on Cisco products and they are thinking more in terms of scaling to another layer in a year, it is pretty much in a good price range."

"We've compared it to other solutions, like WatchGuard and other types of firewalls in that same realm. Cisco ASAs are fairly priced and very competitive with them."

"It is more expensive than the other solutions."

"We're using the smart license for this firewall. The models that we have require licensing for remote access."

"This solution might be expensive, but it is economical in the long run."

"The price is good."

"Some of our customers would be more likely to standardize on Cisco equipment if the cost was lower because a lot of people install cheap equipment."

More Cisco Secure Firewall pricing and cost advice

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Comparison Review

it_user206346

Security Consultant at Webernetz.net - Network Security Consulting

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…

Read full review

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

10%

Comms Service Provider

10%

Manufacturing Company

Financial Services Firm

Computer Software Company

10%

Manufacturing Company

Financial Services Firm

Comms Service Provider

No data available

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	367
Midsize Enterprise	135
Large Enterprise	193

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	190
Midsize Enterprise	129
Large Enterprise	231

No data available

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Comparisons

Sophos Firewall vs Fortinet FortiGate

Compared 18% of the time

Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls vs Fortinet FortiGate

Compared 5% of the time

Netgate pfSense vs Fortinet FortiGate

Compared 3% of the time

Check Point Quantum Force (NGFW) vs Fortinet FortiGate

Compared 3% of the time

OPNsense vs Fortinet FortiGate

Compared 3% of the time

More Fortinet FortiGate Competitors

Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls vs Cisco Secure Firewall

Compared 9% of the time

Palo Alto Networks WildFire vs Cisco Secure Firewall

Compared 9% of the time

Check Point Quantum Force (NGFW) vs Cisco Secure Firewall

Compared 4% of the time

Netgate pfSense vs Cisco Secure Firewall

Compared 3% of the time

Palo Alto Networks VM-Series vs Cisco Secure Firewall

Compared 3% of the time

More Cisco Secure Firewall Competitors

SonicWall NSa vs McAfee Firewall Enterprise MFE [EOL]

Compared 54% of the time

More McAfee Firewall Enterprise MFE [EOL] Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Fortinet FortiGate

May 2026

Download Fortinet FortiGate product report

Buyer's Guide

Cisco Secure Firewall

May 2026

Download Cisco Secure Firewall product report

Buyer's Guide

Firewalls

April 2026

McAfee Firewall Enterprise MFE [EOL] report

Download McAfee Firewall Enterprise MFE [EOL] product report

Also Known As

Fortinet FortiGate Next-Generation Firewall

Cisco Adaptive Security Appliance (ASA) Firewall, Cisco ASA NGFW, Adaptive Security Appliance, Cisco Sourcefire Firewalls, Cisco ASAv, Cisco Firepower NGFW Firewall, Cisco Secure Firewall ASA Virtual - BYOL

Firewall Enterprise MFE, Intel Security Firewall Enterprise MFE

Overview

Fortinet FortiGate is a versatile network security tool offering features like VPN, firewall, web filtering, intrusion prevention, and scalability. It is known for its performance and integration with other Fortinet products, making it a preferred choice for robust cybersecurity.

Fortinet FortiGate stands out as a comprehensive cybersecurity solution with strong performance and ease of configuration. It delivers unified threat management, integrating features such as dynamic routing, SD-WAN support, and centralized management. Despite its strengths, improvements in the web interface's stability, pricing structures, and reporting capabilities are needed. Users seek better integration with third-party tools and automation advancements to enhance the experience further. These enhancements, alongside improvements in bandwidth management and the reduction of licensing costs, are points of interest for users looking to capitalize on FortiGate's extensive capabilities.

What are Fortinet FortiGate's key features?

VPN: Ensures secure remote connections.
Firewall: Protects against unauthorized access.
Web Filtering: Blocks malicious sites and content.
Application Control: Manages and controls applications.
Intrusion Prevention: Detects and prevents vulnerabilities.
SSL Inspection: Enhances security by inspecting encrypted traffic.

What benefits should be considered when evaluating Fortinet FortiGate?

Affordability: Offers cost-effective security solutions.
Reliability: Known for consistent and stable performance.
Integration: Seamlessly integrates with other Fortinet products.
Comprehensive Protection: Provides broad threat protection capabilities.

Fortinet FortiGate is widely implemented across industries as a primary firewall system for securing internet gateways and safeguarding data centers. It supports businesses in achieving SD-WAN integration and enhances cybersecurity by providing essential features like antivirus, web filtering, and application control. Enterprises utilize FortiGate for securing remote connections and ensuring compliance with security standards, making it adaptable for different network sizes and industries.

Fortinet

Cisco Secure Firewall provides comprehensive network security with advanced features such as application visibility, URL filtering, and malware protection. It combines a user-friendly interface with robust VPN capabilities, making it a reliable choice for varying network environments and industry applications.

Cisco Secure Firewall offers exceptional protection with its integration into Cisco's broader ecosystem, ensuring enhanced threat detection and policy unification. Despite its complexity in command-line interfaces and management, Cisco Secure Firewall remains a potent tool for safeguarding data. It is widely adopted for edge security, VPN services, perimeter defense, and traffic segmentation, especially in hybrid settings. Essential sectors like banking and telecom benefit from its stable connectivity and centralized security management. Though there are challenges with costs and support for third-party APIs, the firewall's scalability and high availability provide comprehensive support for protecting network assets.

What are the key features of Cisco Secure Firewall?

Application Visibility: Offers in-depth visibility of application traffic to monitor and protect against threats.
Advanced Malware Protection: Protects against known and emerging malware threats with powerful detection capabilities.
URL Filtering: Manages and restricts access to websites, enhancing organizational data security.
VPN Capabilities: Ensures secure remote access and encrypted communication through strong VPN features.
Integration with Cisco Ecosystem: Enhances security measures with seamless integration with Cisco's suite of security tools.

What benefits and ROI should be expected from Cisco Secure Firewall?

Comprehensive Protection: Offers multi-layered security for diverse network environments, increasing overall data protection.
Performance Efficiency: High availability and scalability lead to improved network performance and resource management.
Management Simplification: Centralized security management streamlines policy deployment across networks.
Enhanced Threat Detection: Integration capabilities improve threat detection and mitigation for better security posture.

Cisco Secure Firewall is widely implemented across sectors like banking, education, ISPs, and telecoms. It fortifies data centers and network edge security, delivering strong protection for client access, hybrid environments, and intrusion prevention. In these industries, firewall solutions ensure secure connectivity and manage RTU traffic effectively, leveraging centralized management and integration with Cisco's security tools.

Cisco

McAfee Firewall Enterprise defends critical assets, such as regulated data repositories (customer, financial, and healthcare data), email and web servers, extranets, and data centers. This proxy-based firewall also offers application visibility and deep application controls for defense, delivers strong policy-based controls, blocks the latest threats, and eliminates unwanted traffic.

McAfee

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.

French Ministry of Education, RWTH Aachen, Avency, Cegedim, Cobweb, Intel Security, Cemex Mauser, R_sler Oberfl_chentechnik

Find out what your peers are saying about Fortinet, Netgate, Sophos and others in Firewalls. Updated: April 2026.

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