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Cisco IOS Security vs Cisco Sourcefire SNORT comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Dec 19, 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

Cisco IOS Security
Ranking in Intrusion Detection and Prevention Software (IDPS)
17th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
49
Ranking in other categories
Firewalls (29th)
Cisco Sourcefire SNORT
Ranking in Intrusion Detection and Prevention Software (IDPS)
14th
Average Rating
7.8
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
20
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of January 2026, in the Intrusion Detection and Prevention Software (IDPS) category, the mindshare of Cisco IOS Security is 2.1%, up from 0.9% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Cisco Sourcefire SNORT is 3.1%, up from 2.1% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Intrusion Detection and Prevention Software (IDPS) Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Cisco Sourcefire SNORT3.1%
Cisco IOS Security2.1%
Other94.8%
Intrusion Detection and Prevention Software (IDPS)
 

Featured Reviews

Danijel Cerovecki - PeerSpot reviewer
Head of Cyber Defense Department and Network Technologies Department at Verso Altima
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.
reviewer2772102 - PeerSpot reviewer
Cloud Architect at a consultancy with 1-10 employees
Logging and customizable rules have helped improve threat monitoring and detection
The logging is mainly what I consider one of the best features with Cisco Sourcefire SNORT. Being able to log and store it in a file allows you to push it to a centralized repository. The logging and reporting help improve incident response. You should always be logging threats, any sort of misconfiguration, and anything that could be an issue. It's important to at least log and monitor it. The basic rules provide a good baseline in assessing Cisco Sourcefire SNORT's ability in providing real-time analytics for threat detection, but as a professional, you should look to constantly modify that baseline. They provide extensive customizability so you can define your own rules. The customizability allows it to be adaptable in protecting against diverse network threats to the constant change.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The VPN connection portal scan works flawlessly, which was a big plus for us."
"Technical support for this solution is very good."
"The stability of this solution is excellent."
"Cisco IOS allows us to keep the same security features as our principal offices."
"The most valuable feature is endpoint protection."
"The technical is excellent."
"The solution is stable."
"We use Cisco IOS Security mostly for routers to route off the firewall. It's a next-generation device."
"The solution is rather easy to use."
"The most valuable features of Cisco Sourcefire SNORT are the dashboard for monitoring events."
"The tool's most valuable feature is threat detection, which is important because we have multiple layers not only in Cisco."
"Cisco technical support is unbeatable. It offers a premium service every time."
"The whole solution is very good, and stable."
"It simplifies the configuration process by offering pre-defined base configurations, including security and connectivity settings."
"The logging is mainly what I consider one of the best features with Cisco Sourcefire SNORT; being able to log and store it in a file allows you to push it to a centralized repository."
"I like most of Cisco's features, like malware detection and URL filtering."
 

Cons

"Cisco changes their licensing policy quite frequently, which is becoming confusing and complicated."
"Cisco IOS Security should improve its functionalities."
"We have a very bad experience on the support. They take too much time requesting logs, and they are not coming directly online to resolve the issues."
"In the next release of this solution, we would like to see support for the 100BT and 7000 models."
"Cisco is an expensive firewall, so the pricing can be improved."
"The routers, don't have like long-term tendency features, or higher availability features available for the IOS. It could also use a better user interface."
"I think they should bring back remote VPN for users."
"With respect to user-friendliness, it is a command-line interface and those with such experience will get along just fine, whereas others may struggle."
"Performance needs improvement."
"Integration with other components — even Cisco's own products — can be enhanced to improve administrative experience."
"The implementation could be a bit easier."
"While the alerts they offer are good, it could improve it in the sense that they should be more detailed to make the alerts more useful to us in general. Sometimes the solution will offer up false positives. Due to the fact that the alerts aren't detailed, we have to go dig around to see why is it being blocked. The solution would be infinitely better if there was just a bit more detail in the alert information and logging we receive."
"The main dashboard of Cisco Sourcefire SNORT could improve."
"I don't think this solution is a time-based control system, because one cannot filter traffic based on time."
"The customization of the rules can be simplified."
"I would like to have analytics included in the suite."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The cost may be around $5,000 to $10,000 a year. If you want support you have to pay at least this price."
"The pricing is okay. It is competitive. It costs more when you need get more features."
"It is necessary to pay for a license in order to use the solution. It is on a yearly basis and the price is high."
"We need to pay for the license and it is expensive."
"We can purchase its licenses as per specific business requirements."
"The pricing for Cisco IOS Security is reasonable compared to other Cisco products."
"Price is certainly something that the IOS technology has fallen behind the competition on."
"The tool could be priced lower. If you want advanced services, then you need to purchase them."
"I don't know the exact amount, but most of the time when I go to a company with a proposition, they will say, "This thing that you are selling is good, but it's expensive. Why don't you propose something like FortiGate, Check Point, or Palo Alto?" Cisco device are expensive compared to other devices."
"The cost is per port and can be expensive but it does include training and support for three years."
"If one is an extremely expensive product, and ten is cheap, I rate the tool's price as a five."
"We have a three-year license for this solution."
"Licensing for this solution is paid on a yearly basis."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
23%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Government
8%
Outsourcing Company
6%
University
13%
Financial Services Firm
10%
Government
8%
Computer Software Company
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business20
Midsize Enterprise14
Large Enterprise18
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business6
Midsize Enterprise8
Large Enterprise7
 

Questions from the Community

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 offers good network visibility, which helps in rapid response through the Rapid Thr...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Cisco IOS Security?
The cost of Cisco IOS Security for customers is on the higher end of pricing compared to the competition, depending on the targeted customers.This can be a major issue as enterprise customers are o...
What needs improvement with Cisco IOS Security?
Regarding improvements in Cisco IOS Security, what consistently confuses me is the inability of Cisco to maintain a clear licensing policy.This is an issue that I have observed for years now. Cisco...
What do you like most about Cisco Sourcefire SNORT?
The product is inexpensive compared to leading brands such as Palo Alto or Fortinet.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Cisco Sourcefire SNORT?
If one is an extremely expensive product, and ten is cheap, I rate the tool's price as a five. There are some other tools in the market that are more expensive than Cisco. There are no additional c...
What needs improvement with Cisco Sourcefire SNORT?
I have not had much experience with the community-driven rule set while utilizing Cisco Sourcefire SNORT. I don't have experience with recognizing zero-day vulnerabilities, but based on my knowledg...
 

Also Known As

IOS Security
Sourcefire SNORT
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

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
CareCore, City of Biel, Dimension Data, LightEdge, Lone Star College System, National Rugby League, Port Aventura, Smart City Networks, Telecom Italia, The Department of Education in Western Australia
Find out what your peers are saying about Cisco IOS Security vs. Cisco Sourcefire SNORT and other solutions. Updated: December 2025.
881,082 professionals have used our research since 2012.