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Cisco IOS Security vs Palo Alto Networks Advanced Threat Prevention 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:
 

ROI

Sentiment score
7.4
Cisco IOS Security delivered significant ROI through improved routing, security, stability, and cost-efficiency, despite competitive vendor pressures.
Sentiment score
5.7
Palo Alto Networks Advanced Threat Prevention offers financial benefits and high user satisfaction despite its cost, boosting revenues, especially in Italy.
The return on investment is satisfactory with Cisco products as they have long lifespans, and our customers are satisfied with them.
It offers insights into security threats, despite the inability to quantify its impact in numbers.
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
6.7
Cisco IOS Security support is generally praised for speed and skill, though some report delays and complexity in access.
Sentiment score
5.9
Palo Alto Networks' support is praised for expertise but faces inconsistent response times and communication challenges with third-party facilitation.
My impression is that the support quality has deteriorated over time.
Overall, I find the technical support from Palo Alto Networks quite good, although getting a hold of the TAC can be challenging and sometimes requires long phone calls.
I have proof of this rating - when I escalate a case, I receive a reply from TAC support after two days.
I rate technical support from Palo Alto as eight out of ten.
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
7.4
Cisco IOS Security offers scalable, enterprise-level solutions but may increase costs and limit universality due to required hardware.
Sentiment score
7.7
Palo Alto Networks Advanced Threat Prevention is scalable, adaptable, and efficient, though cost may constrain its broad deployment.
Palo Alto Networks Advanced Threat Prevention is scalable and works well wherever enforcement points exist.
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
7.6
Cisco IOS Security is generally reliable with occasional issues, frequently updated for stability, scoring 7-10 in satisfaction.
Sentiment score
7.7
Palo Alto Networks Advanced Threat Prevention is praised for its superior stability and performance, though requires careful version selection.
We find Cisco products stable and thoroughly tested before new software or firmware versions are released.
I find Cisco IOS Security to be a very stable product.
Proper sizing of the firewall models ensures that the system does not experience crippling performance issues.
 

Room For Improvement

Cisco IOS Security struggles with integration, usability, cost, lacking features, complex licensing, performance, and requires enhancement and support.
Palo Alto Networks needs improvements in email filtering, setup ease, user experience, support services, and enhanced security features.
Cisco changes their licensing policy quite frequently, which is becoming confusing and complicated.
Palo Alto needs to focus on how to bring that technology to end users and how easy it is to use, especially in a hybrid environment where users work from various locations.
The behavioral detection capabilities could be expanded to address all threats at the perimeter, reducing the reliance on endpoint detection and response systems.
 

Setup Cost

Cisco IOS Security is costly, favoring medium to large enterprises with longer-term savings over SMB challenges.
Palo Alto Networks Advanced Threat Prevention is costly but valued for strong threat detection, with pricing challenging for smaller businesses.
The cost of Cisco IOS Security for customers is on the higher end of pricing compared to the competition, depending on the targeted customers.
Palo Alto Networks Advanced Threat Prevention requires an add-on license and is considered expensive compared to competitors like Cisco AMP and FortiGate firewalls.
 

Valuable Features

Cisco IOS Security offers scalable, stable solutions with VPN, AAA, firewall integration, and user-friendly management for high-demand environments.
Palo Alto Networks excels in threat prevention with features like sandboxing, machine learning, and user-friendly design, enhancing efficiency.
There are higher-level systems such as intrusion prevention systems which detect intrusions within the system.
This solution, called Network Access Controller, handles authentication, authorization, and accounting for devices accessing the network.
As traditional signature-based mechanisms become less effective due to the evolving nature of attacks, this solution's focus on behavioral analysis is crucial.
We are satisfied with the analytic capabilities of Palo Alto Networks Advanced Threat Prevention, especially the reporting features available in the Palo Alto portal in terms of their application visibility interface, which is very good for us to get visibility on all critical applications and the associated users, as well as the risks associated with every category of traffic.
 

Categories and Ranking

Cisco IOS Security
Ranking in Intrusion Detection and Prevention Software (IDPS)
14th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
49
Ranking in other categories
Firewalls (24th)
Palo Alto Networks Advanced...
Ranking in Intrusion Detection and Prevention Software (IDPS)
6th
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
6.6
Number of Reviews
29
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of October 2025, in the Intrusion Detection and Prevention Software (IDPS) category, the mindshare of Cisco IOS Security is 1.6%, up from 0.9% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Palo Alto Networks Advanced Threat Prevention is 5.6%, up from 5.1% 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 (%)
Palo Alto Networks Advanced Threat Prevention5.6%
Cisco IOS Security1.6%
Other92.8%
Intrusion Detection and Prevention Software (IDPS)
 

Featured Reviews

Danijel Cerovecki - PeerSpot reviewer
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.
Partha Dash - PeerSpot reviewer
Advanced protection enables us to confidently secure against evolving threats
Palo Alto Networks can improve Advanced Threat Prevention by catering to the growing adoption of AI and agentic tooling. The Threat Protection modules should have the necessary intelligence to protect against those types of threats, as AI will be there to do a human job; this is an evolving area. From an Advanced Threat Protection perspective, the technology associated with Palo Alto Networks, such as their sandboxing environment, is quite good. However, Palo Alto needs to focus on how to bring that technology to end users and how easy it is to use, especially in a hybrid environment where users work from various locations. While Palo Alto excels in certain setups, they need to improve the user experience in distributed working conditions.
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
27%
Government
9%
Outsourcing Company
7%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Computer Software Company
13%
Financial Services Firm
9%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Government
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business19
Midsize Enterprise14
Large Enterprise18
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business9
Midsize Enterprise4
Large Enterprise14
 

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?
Pricing can be reduced. I rate the current price for the product a four out of ten.
What needs improvement with Cisco IOS Security?
While I do not have specific recommendations for improvement, pricing can be reduced.
Which is the best DDoS protection solution for a big ISP for monitoring and mitigating?
Arbor would be the best bid, apart from Arbor, Palo Alto and Fortinet have good solutions. As this is an ISP, I would prefer Arbor.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Palo Alto Networks Threat Prevention?
Palo Alto Networks Advanced Threat Prevention requires an add-on license and is considered expensive compared to competitors like Cisco AMP and FortiGate ( /products/fortinet-fortigate-reviews ) fi...
 

Also Known As

IOS Security
No data available
 

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
University of Arkansas, JBG SMITH, SkiStar AB, TRI-AD, Temple University, Telkom Indonesia
Find out what your peers are saying about Cisco IOS Security vs. Palo Alto Networks Advanced Threat Prevention and other solutions. Updated: September 2025.
872,008 professionals have used our research since 2012.