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Cisco Secure Email vs Cisco Secure Firewall comparison

 

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
6.4
Cisco Secure Email enhances ROI with robust security, reducing disruptions and downtime from cyber threats, despite perceived high costs.
Sentiment score
7.3
Cisco Secure Firewall boosts ROI with enhanced security, cost reductions, and compatibility, proving its value and efficiency over time.
The biggest return on investment when using Cisco Secure Firewall is that there's no waste in any infrastructure cost and licensing costs for us.
Assistant Vice President at PLDT Enterprise
From my point of view, the biggest return on investment when using Cisco Secure Firewall is the single pane of glass, which is a huge plus for us.
Network Engineer at a government with 10,001+ employees
The biggest return on investment for me when using Cisco Secure Firewall is reliability and robust network design.
OT NETWORK MANAGER at a energy/utilities company with 10,001+ employees
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
7.3
Cisco Secure Email support is praised for its responsiveness and expertise, though experiences can vary based on assigned engineers.
Sentiment score
7.5
Cisco Secure Firewall's customer service is praised for its knowledgeable support, though initial response times and experiences vary.
Cisco's tech support can be hit or miss, depending on the engineer you get.
Cloud Partner & Solutions Architect at a tech vendor with 1,001-5,000 employees
The support is pretty decent, with a rating of eight out of ten.
Chief Information Security Officer at Abcl
I have to provide many logs, yet problems remain unresolved, often requiring workarounds rather than solutions.
VSO at a computer software company with 501-1,000 employees
I have been working with them on firewalls, wireless, switching, and routing, and the support is the best.
Principal Consultant at Epitome Infotech Solutions (P) Ltd
They have expertise and provide solutions for the most difficult problems.
Network Security Administrator at a government with 501-1,000 employees
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
7.2
Cisco Secure Email provides scalable solutions for seamless user migration and system growth, with reliable cloud service options.
Sentiment score
7.3
Cisco Secure Firewall offers scalable solutions with adaptable clustering, despite some licensing concerns, enhancing integration and management ease.
The on-premises hardware is not very scalable, but switching to the SaaS offering is expected to improve scalability.
Chief Information Security Officer at Abcl
Scalability presents a challenge.
VSO at a computer software company with 501-1,000 employees
Compared to FortiGate and Palo Alto, it lags in configuration and other aspects.
Senior Network Administrator at iib
Even with the highest one, the 4600, we still face issues, particularly when transitioning between screens; it becomes very slow.
Network Security Engineer at a computer software company with 501-1,000 employees
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
8.0
Cisco Secure Email is praised for reliability, consistent performance, easy maintenance, and high user satisfaction with stable uptime.
Sentiment score
7.4
Cisco Secure Firewall is stable, with some VPN issues; recent updates improve stability, highlighting the importance of proper configuration.
Based on my experience, the stability of Cisco Secure Email is very strong.
Systems Engineer at a non-tech company with 51-200 employees
We have often encountered split-brain scenarios during failover processes and code upgrades, which have been persistent problems for us.
Senior Manager, Network Engineering at TTi Power Equipment
We work with a cluster with high availability, so if something goes wrong, we have it functioning.
Cisco Secure Firewall offers exceptional performance and stability.
Principal Consultant at Epitome Infotech Solutions (P) Ltd
 

Room For Improvement

Cisco Secure Email's high cost, complexity, poor interface, and limited integration impact usability, requiring AI and service enhancements.
Cisco Secure Firewall is hindered by complex UI, licensing issues, outdated features, and needs improvements in scalability and integration.
The solution should better analyze the actual content rather than only focusing on the email header or origin.
Chief Information Security Officer at Abcl
It would be beneficial to have the functionality of the Email Threat Defense integrated into the Email Security Gateway so customers don't have to buy two products for full email protection.
Systems Engineer at a non-tech company with 51-200 employees
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.
Senior Manager, Network Engineering at TTi Power Equipment
Firepower Management Center is quite out of date compared to other vendors.
Team Lead at WM Group
The integration between Cisco products themselves presents difficulties, such as SD-WAN configuration.
VSO at a computer software company with 501-1,000 employees
 

Setup Cost

Cisco Secure Email is priced higher, but users find its extensive features and security benefits justify the cost.
Cisco Secure Firewall has high pricing and complex licensing, with significant ongoing costs despite potential discounts.
Its cost is bundled with other Cisco products.
Chief Information Security Officer at Abcl
The licensing is a mess and needs sorting out.
Cloud Partner & Solutions Architect at a tech vendor with 1,001-5,000 employees
The pricing structure is good as it is user-based or email client-based, which is positive for clients.
Systems Engineer at a non-tech company with 51-200 employees
It's good to have them, however, it costs us a lot.
It Administration at Dilcon Community School
It's considered a premium, but people pay that price for Cisco.
Principal Consultant at Epitome Infotech Solutions (P) Ltd
There are a lot of in-place contracts for us that provide the benefit of discounts.
Solutions Architect at a manufacturing company with 501-1,000 employees
 

Valuable Features

Cisco Secure Email provides comprehensive threat management with advanced filtering, intuitive management, and seamless integration, enhancing email security effectively.
Cisco Secure Firewall offers comprehensive security with robust access control, scalability, and advanced protection features, enhancing enterprise security.
It also possesses multiple modules for spam detection, malware detection, and threat intelligence, which are valuable in categorizing emails and determining actions.
Chief Information Security Officer at Abcl
It is highly effective in catching phishing and spam emails.
Systems Engineer at a non-tech company with 51-200 employees
It covers everything through email, like antivirus, IDS, and IPS.
Cloud Partner & Solutions Architect at a tech vendor with 1,001-5,000 employees
What stands out positively about Cisco is their training and support, which has effectively prepared engineers to work with their products.
Senior Manager, Network Engineering at TTi Power Equipment
This is very important to my organization, as we work extensively with security because we are a bank, so we can keep the data safe.
Network Security Administrator at a government with 501-1,000 employees
Cisco Secure Firewall allows me to safeguard Layer 7 or Layer 3 and manage the security rules with the business needs of my organization.
 

Categories and Ranking

Cisco Secure Email
Ranking in Cisco Security Portfolio
6th
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
62
Ranking in other categories
Email Security (5th)
Cisco Secure Firewall
Ranking in Cisco Security Portfolio
3rd
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.4
Number of Reviews
429
Ranking in other categories
Firewalls (7th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of January 2026, in the Cisco Security Portfolio category, the mindshare of Cisco Secure Email is 3.7%, up from 1.4% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Cisco Secure Firewall is 8.2%, up from 7.1% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Cisco Security Portfolio Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Cisco Secure Firewall8.2%
Cisco Secure Email3.7%
Other88.1%
Cisco Security Portfolio
 

Featured Reviews

BD
Chief Information Security Officer at Abcl
Threat intelligence with fast attack detection enables comprehensive email protection
In some cases, detection is missed, leading to false positives where genuine emails are flagged as spam. This could result in users not opening genuine emails. We have highlighted this to Cisco because sometimes phishing or marketing campaigns, which are genuine, are incorrectly flagged as spam. The solution should better analyze the actual content rather than only focusing on the email header or origin.
Phil Shiflett - PeerSpot reviewer
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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881,082 professionals have used our research since 2012.
 

Comparison Review

it_user206346 - PeerSpot reviewer
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…
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
17%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Comms Service Provider
6%
Computer Software Company
15%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Comms Service Provider
7%
University
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business22
Midsize Enterprise18
Large Enterprise25
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business180
Midsize Enterprise126
Large Enterprise212
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Cisco Secure Email?
Cisco Secure Email is a budget-friendly solution.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Cisco Secure Email?
The pricing structure is good as it is user-based or email client-based, which is positive for clients.
What needs improvement with Cisco Secure Email?
The user interface of the Email Security Gateway ( /products/security-gateway-reviews ) should be improved. It would be beneficial to have the functionality of the Email Threat Defense integrated i...
Which is the better NGFW: Fortinet Fortigate or Cisco Firepower?
When you compare these firewalls you can identify them with different features, advantages, practices and usage at large. In my opinion, Fortinet would be the best option and l use Fortinet too...
Which is better - Fortinet FortiGate or Cisco ASA Firewall?
One of our favorite things about Fortinet Fortigate is that you can deploy on the cloud or on premises. Fortinet Fortigate is very stable, reliable, and consistent. We like that we can manage the e...
How does Cisco's ASA firewall compare with the Firepower NGFW?
It is easy to integrate Cisco ASA with other Cisco products and also other NAC solutions. When you understand the Cisco ecosystem, it is very simple to handle. This solution has traffic inspection ...
 

Also Known As

Cisco Email Security, IronPort, Cisco Email Security, ESA, Email Security Appliances
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
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

SUNY Old Westbury, CoxHealth, City of Fullerton, Indra
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.
Find out what your peers are saying about Cisco Secure Email vs. Cisco Secure Firewall and other solutions. Updated: December 2025.
881,082 professionals have used our research since 2012.