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Palo Alto Networks WildFire vs Symantec Advanced Threat Protection comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Dec 1, 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

Palo Alto Networks WildFire
Ranking in Advanced Threat Protection (ATP)
1st
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.2
Number of Reviews
71
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Symantec Advanced Threat Pr...
Ranking in Advanced Threat Protection (ATP)
20th
Average Rating
7.8
Reviews Sentiment
7.1
Number of Reviews
16
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of August 2025, in the Advanced Threat Protection (ATP) category, the mindshare of Palo Alto Networks WildFire is 11.4%, down from 12.6% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Symantec Advanced Threat Protection is 2.1%, down from 2.1% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Advanced Threat Protection (ATP)
 

Featured Reviews

AjayKumar17 - PeerSpot reviewer
Enhanced cybersecurity with advanced sandboxing and effective in controlling DNS issues
Improvements are needed in the UI part. The dashboard should provide better visibility, especially in showing how many files are sent to Wildfire and their findings. This information should be integrated with the Dashboard so that system admins can see what is happening. Furthermore, technical support needs a lot of improvement, particularly in terms of responsiveness and adhering to service level agreements.
TapabrataSamanta - PeerSpot reviewer
Reliable platform with effective integration capabilities
Our primary use case for the product is to provide advanced threat protection to our clients, primarily in the banking and financial sectors Symantec ATP has been beneficial in ensuring robust security for our clients. Its effectiveness in detecting and mitigating threats has improved customer…

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"I give the initial setup an eight out of ten."
"Integrating Palo Alto Networks WildFire with various security protocols similar to a firewall has significantly improved the overall threat detection capabilities in our organization."
"WildFire has been instrumental in blocking a number of new threats, before common desktop anti-virus tools were able to detect them."
"The most valuable feature of Palo Alto Networks WildFire is its ability to adapt to environments and its robustness."
"You have better control because you define apps. You just don't define ports. You define apps, and the apps are monitored in the traffic. It is more specific than the Cisco firewall when it comes to our needs."
"I have files tickets and their support was great. I was able to solve the problems of my customers."
"Scalable ATP solution that's quick to set up. It demonstrates good performance and stability."
"The platform's most valuable feature is its seamless automation within the broader Palo Alto ecosystem."
"Real-time threat analysis is quick and takes action on threats immediately."
"What I like most about Symantec Advanced Threat Protection is its notification capability."
"They manage to solve detection quite nicely. There is some rather elaborate detection compared to other providers."
"All of the solution's features are quite valuable for us. We especially like the threat protection it provides."
"Symantec Endpoint Protection provides end-to-end protection. Along with antivirus protection, it has a lot of key areas, including intrusive prevention, firewall features, and application and device control."
"Currently we have 800-plus nodes connected with this solution, without any issues. The solution is scalable."
"Technical support has been helpful and responsive."
"Technical support is very responsive. You just have to open a ticket. They respond in a timely manner. Their response is good. I'm satisfied."
 

Cons

"The initial setup was complex."
"The product integration with third-party systems need improvement."
"The cyber security visibility and forensics features to receive more information about incidents could improve in Palo Alto Networks WildFire."
"Management and web filtering can be improved. There should also be better reporting, particularly around web filtering."
"Any enhancements should likely be focused on the firewall appliance to further strengthen overall security capabilities, such as refining app and user identity features."
"The system performance degrades after the solution has been deployed for some time. The data that it gives us becomes a little bit slow. When you try to get some data for troubleshooting, it seems like it's working hard to extract that data."
"The cost of this solution could still be improved, in particular, giving product discounts for charitable causes."
"Perhaps an anti-spam feature could be considered."
"They could enhance the solution to work across all devices, including Android, iOS, and Mac, and make it more user-friendly."
"Scalability could be better."
"The support has dropped down to a five out of ten."
"It also needs network-based threat protection for shared folders and files."
"There are limits with respect to blocking files by hash value or blocking IP addresses, and these limits should be removed."
"Not ideal for advanced threat protection."
"It should be able to collect information if the agent is disabled."
"The product's support services need improvement."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"It's pretty expensive but with respect to value for money, it's okay."
"Setup costs and licensing for WildFire are comparable to other enterprise solutions."
"This is an expensive product and the market for Palo Alto in Poland could be much bigger if the pricing was comparable to Fortinet."
"The solution is a bit expensive."
"The price of Palo Alto Networks WildFire could improve. It is expensive. There is an annual subscription to use the solution."
"It is expensive, a feature more accessible to enterprise class customers, but provides an enhanced possibility that Zero- or near-Zero-day threats may be identified and mitigated. The cost of the product weighed against the potential impact of even one successful crypto malware-type exploit may justify the expense."
"There are different types of licenses."
"This solution is very pricey and it depends on the package that you implement."
"Symantec Advanced Threat Protection's pricing is comparable."
"Symantec Endpoint Protection has an average price."
"Pricing is good. It is nice to have a great product at a fair price."
"The pricing of this solution is inexpensive and affordable."
"The price is quite expensive."
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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
Computer Software Company
15%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Financial Services Firm
9%
Government
7%
Financial Services Firm
13%
Manufacturing Company
12%
University
10%
Insurance Company
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

How does Cisco Firepower NGFW Firewall compare with Palo Alto Networks Wildfire?
The Cisco Firepower NGFW Firewall is a very powerful and very complex piece of anti-viral software. When one considers that fact, it is all the more impressive that the setup is a fairly straightf...
Which is better - Wildfire or FortiGate?
FortiGate has a lot going for it and I consider it to be the best, most user-friendly firewall out there. What I like the most about it is that it has an attractive web dashboard with very easy nav...
How does Cisco ASA Firewall compare with Palo Alto's WildFire?
When looking to change our ASA Firewall, we looked into Palo Alto’s WildFire. It works especially in preventing advanced malware and zero-day exploits with real-time intelligence. The sandbox featu...
What do you like most about Symantec Advanced Threat Protection?
Symantec Endpoint Protection provides end-to-end protection. Along with antivirus protection, it has a lot of key areas, including intrusive prevention, firewall features, and application and devic...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Symantec Advanced Threat Protection?
The price is quite expensive because a different entity has taken over the company.
What needs improvement with Symantec Advanced Threat Protection?
One area for improvement could be the pricing model. Future releases could further enhance integration capabilities with other platforms and simplify the licensing model to compete more with Micros...
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Novamedia, Nexon Asia Pacific, Lenovo, Samsonite, IOOF, Sinogrid, SanDisk Corporation
ECI
Find out what your peers are saying about Palo Alto Networks WildFire vs. Symantec Advanced Threat Protection and other solutions. Updated: July 2025.
865,295 professionals have used our research since 2012.