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Cisco Secure Access vs OPNsense comparison

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Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary

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
5.0
Cisco Secure Access enhances ROI through reduced VPNs, streamlined management, cost savings, faster threat detection, and improved efficiency.
Sentiment score
3.0
Numerous users reported substantial financial savings and improved network security with OPNsense compared to alternatives like FortiGate or Sophos.
At Amazon, we knew exactly how much it would cost if a fulfillment center was down for an hour.
Director, Network Services at a healthcare company with 10,001+ employees
The AI features further contribute by expediting threat detection and incident response, ensuring tangible returns through operational savings.
Principle Cloud Architect at a tech services company with 11-50 employees
It is one of those tools that needs to work right out of the box, and thankfully, it does; it is reliable, and the setup time was quick and straightforward.
Cyber Security Manager at a non-profit with 501-1,000 employees
The network attacks reduced by approximately 60% after using that, even without customizing the custom configuration yet.
Senior IT Infrastructure Engineer at a real estate/law firm with 11-50 employees
For a very little investment, I was able to increase the security of my network.
Administrator at a retailer with 10,001+ employees
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
6.8
Cisco Secure Access support is effective and professional, though challenges exist in initial interactions and specialized support access.
Sentiment score
5.3
OPNsense users mostly find community forums and documentation sufficient, though some express dissatisfaction with official support availability and cost.
Cisco TAC is very competent.
Network Operations Engineer at a media company with 1,001-5,000 employees
With our established point of contact within Cisco, our experience has greatly improved; we no longer log all issues through technical cases, as we can go directly to our account managers or customer service team, which expedites resolution.
Cyber Security Manager at a non-profit with 501-1,000 employees
I would rate the technical support ten out of ten. Hands down.
Senior Network Administrator at a healthcare company with 1,001-5,000 employees
Compared to some open-source projects with weak support, OPNsense stands out for having both a strong community and commercial backing options.
ISO 27001 Lead Implementer at a consultancy with 11-50 employees
I mainly rely on community support since the solution is open source.
Senior Client Solutions Architect at a tech services company with 1,001-5,000 employees
If you say you do not have one, it is finished. This is where the monopoly starts.
Senior Solutions Engineer at a educational organization with 201-500 employees
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
5.3
Cisco Secure Access offers scalable, cloud-native security solutions with centralized management, handling growth efficiently without infrastructure changes.
Sentiment score
6.8
OPNsense offers scalable and flexible network solutions, effectively supporting mid-sized to enterprise needs with appropriate hardware or virtualization.
We turn the traffic to the Cisco Secure Access cloud, and we can manage and apply the policies that are necessary, making it very easy to scale the solution.
System Engineer at a tech services company with 51-200 employees
Cisco has a great benefit in that you can integrate with other solutions in an easy way because it has a lot of protocols to integrate with others and sophisticated steps that we can apply for integration.
IT Manager at Bavaria Egypt S.A.E.
Performance has remained consistent, usage has increased, and we have not experienced scalability-related limitations.
Manager at a computer software company with 201-500 employees
I use Zenarmor, pinning it to one core for packet inspection, and the CPU performance seems very good.
Senior Client Solutions Architect at a tech services company with 1,001-5,000 employees
OPNsense's scalability is excellent; I just need to resize my hardware and upgrade the server, and voilà, I am good to go.
Senior IT Infrastructure Engineer at a real estate/law firm with 11-50 employees
In theory, OPNsense can handle small home networks and even large enterprise environments if deployed on sufficiently powerful hardware or virtualized on a clustered system.
ISO 27001 Lead Implementer at a consultancy with 11-50 employees
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
7.7
Cisco Secure Access is praised for its stability and reliability, achieving 99.9% uptime despite occasional minor glitches.
Sentiment score
7.3
OPNsense is stable with occasional issues; praised for security and UI, performance varies with hardware and resource availability.
Cisco is renowned for their reliability, and their products perform well under high data usage.
Network Operations Engineer at a media company with 1,001-5,000 employees
The service consistently provides secure connectivity for remote users, contractors, and hybrid environments with minimal disruption.
Manager at a computer software company with 201-500 employees
I rate the stability of Cisco Secure Access as ten out of ten.
General Manager at Datasoft Comnet
For home and small network use, OPNsense is also reliable, providing enterprise-grade security at no cost.
ISO 27001 Lead Implementer at a consultancy with 11-50 employees
The only challenge faced was its inadequacy to manage large voice traffic effectively, even with dedicated hardware.
Senior Network Engineer at a comms service provider with 11-50 employees
At the latest code level, I haven't experienced any crashes.
Senior Client Solutions Architect at a tech services company with 1,001-5,000 employees
 

Room For Improvement

Cisco Secure Access needs enhancements in automation, AI, integration, pricing, user interface, and onboarding for better usability and competitiveness.
OPNsense users face VPN setup issues, inadequate documentation, performance shortfalls, high pricing, and request better usability and features.
Modernization is needed, specifically in the enhancement of security features and functionality.
Pre-Sales Solution Partner at a computer software company with 11-50 employees
It was challenging to learn because it has a significant learning curve and requires considerable training to become proficient.
Network Operations Engineer at a media company with 1,001-5,000 employees
The granular access issue is coming from the product limitation at the moment, as it does not offer us the option to tell it that a particular role can only manage websites, allowed sites, and blocked sites.
Technical Product Owner at a tech vendor with 10,001+ employees
Enhancing its performance for significant amounts of data traffic would make it closer to a perfect solution.
Senior Network Engineer at a comms service provider with 11-50 employees
It would be beneficial if they could create some videos on how to set it up themselves.
Administrator at a retailer with 10,001+ employees
The documentation should be clearer because I faced some difficulties navigating many options.
ISO 27001 Lead Implementer at a consultancy with 11-50 employees
 

Setup Cost

Cisco Secure Access pricing is mixed, seen as cost-effective by some but expensive with complex licensing for others.
OPNsense is a cost-effective, open-source solution for enterprises, reducing expenses compared to FortiGate and Palo Alto alternatives.
The solution is cheaper than premium options such as Palo Alto, existing Cisco licenses facilitate replacing previous solutions with Cisco Secure Access smoothly and affordably.
Principle Cloud Architect at a tech services company with 11-50 employees
It is good because you want to push Cisco Secure Access, and regarding the price, it is very much below other products.
Junior Information Technology Consultant Security at a tech services company with 10,001+ employees
Improvement on the pricing will help in expanding the market for Cisco Secure Access and then it can be affordable to much more number of companies than what it is right now.
Technical Manager at Ledorbis Solutions
I consider the pricing of OPNsense to be high when compared with other market products.
Senior Network Engineer at a comms service provider with 11-50 employees
OPNsense is free, the licensing and setup was easy.
Administrator at a retailer with 10,001+ employees
 

Valuable Features

Cisco Secure Access provides enhanced security with Zero Trust, seamless connectivity, centralized management, and AI-driven features for user flexibility.
OPNsense provides user-friendly configuration, robust security features, and adaptability, making it ideal for enterprise and IT network management.
It eliminates the hassle of switching on VPNs and provides a direct connection to resources via Cisco Secure Access.
General Manager at Datasoft Comnet
They are sending the traffic encrypted and categorizing the traffic based on the type, whether web traffic or internet traffic, and doing the security mechanism that is needed for the traffic type.
Solution Architect at a outsourcing company with 1,001-5,000 employees
Using ZTNA in Cisco Secure Access has positively affected my transition and my clients' transition to Zero Trust and least privilege principles, reinforcing the security posture.
Ts Senior Technical Consultant at a tech vendor with 10,001+ employees
The most valuable features include the basic firewall functionality and the GeoIP location services.
Senior Network Engineer at a comms service provider with 11-50 employees
I can have a Wi-Fi VLAN and feel secure that the server network or the VM network that I have on a different VLAN are isolated, and they cannot talk to one another, which adds a great level of security.
Administrator at a retailer with 10,001+ employees
It offers enterprise-grade features such as intrusion detection and prevention system, VPN support, traffic shaping, and web filtering, all without license cost.
ISO 27001 Lead Implementer at a consultancy with 11-50 employees
 

Categories and Ranking

Cisco Secure Access
Ranking in Firewalls
10th
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
6.3
Number of Reviews
75
Ranking in other categories
Secure Web Gateways (SWG) (4th), Cloud Access Security Brokers (CASB) (3rd), ZTNA (5th), Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) (3rd), Domain Name System (DNS) Security (2nd)
OPNsense
Ranking in Firewalls
7th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.6
Number of Reviews
47
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of October 2026, in the Firewalls category, the mindshare of Cisco Secure Access is 0.5%, up from 0.0% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of OPNsense is 7.2%, down from 11.1% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Firewalls Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
OPNsense7.2%
Cisco Secure Access0.5%
Other92.3%
Firewalls
 

Featured Reviews

reviewer2788500 - PeerSpot reviewer
Network Operations Engineer at a media company with 1,001-5,000 employees
Secure access has unified zero trust and web protection while AI assistance automates tasks
From a feature perspective, I have not experienced any issues, drawbacks, or shortcomings. However, the cost of Cisco's products and licensing is high. My clients usually prefer cheaper options if possible. Mid-size or smaller businesses typically cannot afford Cisco Secure Access. Additionally, there is a steep learning curve, as it is very intensive. Someone with significant knowledge can work on it, but a new professional would have to spend considerable time to get accustomed to it. It is hard to find engineers who can work on it. Overall, we get what we pay for, as it is a pretty good feature and service. The pricing of Cisco's products and licensing is higher than competitors. If they could be more reasonable, that would help. The support offered for two years also has higher costs. Overall, the client's IT budget gets affected. It was challenging to learn because, as mentioned, it has a significant learning curve and requires considerable training to become proficient.
PM
IT Manager at a comms service provider with 201-500 employees
Open-source firewall has provided affordable real-time protection and secure remote access
In my opinion, OPNsense could improve by incorporating either an open side of wireless management or a way that you can also manage your interconnected devices. You could easily have SNMP, Simple Network Management Protocol, incorporated in it so that you can easily manage the devices and easily get the information about the devices that you are managing. Additionally, the inclusion of Pi-hole would allow you to create an ad-free network instead of adding it on a separate device. I would prefer that incorporated into OPNsense, or if it is there, I would appreciate guidance on how to use it.
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Outsourcing Company
11%
Manufacturing Company
11%
Financial Services Firm
9%
Comms Service Provider
8%
Comms Service Provider
18%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Computer Software Company
8%
Outsourcing Company
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business28
Midsize Enterprise15
Large Enterprise41
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business32
Midsize Enterprise6
Large Enterprise8
 

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Cisco Secure Access?
The pricing is not too bad because it's per headcount with Cisco Secure Access. You check how many clients you have. If you have 500 users, then you base your pricing on that. It's still expensive ...
What is your primary use case for Cisco Secure Access?
I am dealing with Cisco Secure Access products. As a consultant and reseller, I am using it myself with Cisco Secure Access. You can have tenants with Cisco Secure Access. Tenancy is obviously part...
What advice do you have for others considering Cisco Secure Access?
The AI element of Cisco Secure Access should have better guidance on the logs. To be honest, I can't think of anything else because it's quite a robust feature. My overall review rating for Cisco S...
What is the difference between PfSense and OPNsense?
Two of the most common and well recognized firewalls, PfSense and OPNsense both support site-to-site IPsec VPN and client, Open VPN and client, and PPTP client. Both also have intrusion detection a...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for OPNsense?
Setup cost is almost zero as one can simulate the whole environment using open source version. Pricing seems fair enough. Open source license allows a beginner to have a complete firewall solution ...
What needs improvement with OPNsense?
When I talk about VPN, I am not completely satisfied with the VPN functions of OPNsense. What I have received so far is that sometimes the VPN route caches for some time and sometimes I want to cha...
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

1. IBM 2. Microsoft 3. Amazon 4. Google 5. Apple 6. Cisco Systems 7. Oracle 8. Intel 9. HP Inc. 10. Dell Technologies 11. Verizon Communications 12. AT&T 13. Comcast 14. T-Mobile 15. Sprint 16. Vodafone 17. Orange 18. BT Group 19. Deutsche Telekom 20. Telefonica 21. Nokia 22. Ericsson 23. Samsung Electronics 24. Sony 25. Panasonic 26. LG Electronics 27. Siemens 28. General Electric 29. Ford Motor Company 30. General Motors 31. Toyota Motor Corporation 32. Volkswagen Group
1. Deciso B.V. 2. iXsystems, Inc.  3. EuroBSDCon  4. Netgate  5. Claranet  6. Voleatech  7. Open Systems AG  8. Securebit AG  9. Proxmox Server Solutions GmbH  10. AVM Computersysteme Vertriebs GmbH  Additional customers include: T-Systems International GmbH, Deutsche Telekom AG, Vodafone GmbH, 1&1 IONOS SE, OVHcloud, Hetzner Online GmbH, Strato AG, PlusServer GmbH, Host Europe GmbH, United Internet AG, 1&1 Versatel Deutschland GmbH, QSC AG, Bechtle AG, Cancom SE, Computacenter AG & Co. oHG, T-Systems Multimedia Solutions GmbH, Atos SE, Capgemini SE, Accenture plc, IBM Corporation, Hewlett Packard Enterprise Company, Cisco Systems, Inc.
Find out what your peers are saying about Cisco Secure Access vs. OPNsense and other solutions. Updated: September 2026.
915,341 professionals have used our research since 2012.