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Cisco Secure Firewall Management Center vs FortiGate Cloud-Native Firewall (FortiGate CNF) comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Nov 4, 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
3.2
Cisco Secure Firewall Management Center boosts efficiency and security, offsetting higher initial costs with reduced operational expenses.
Sentiment score
6.9
FortiGate Cloud-Native Firewall offers cost savings, enhanced security, and value with favorable pricing and comprehensive features over competitors.
With Cisco Secure Firewall Management Center, we can push policies centrally to multiple devices in just a few minutes, which has significantly reduced the effort and time.
Network Security Consultant at NTT DATA
There are a lot of solutions which can provide the same features.
Senior Network and Security Engineer at Symbol Technologies PLC
FortiGate Cloud-Native Firewall provides the same features that higher-end models offer, but at a much lower cost.
Senior Network Consultant at Visionet Systems Inc.
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
7.3
Cisco Secure Firewall Management Center's support is mixed, praised for expertise but criticized for delays and regional access issues.
Sentiment score
7.6
FortiGate CNF offers effective customer support, scoring high user ratings, yet there's room for improvement, particularly with technical training.
Cisco's documentation and knowledge base are quite strong, which helps with resolving issues without always raising a ticket.
Network Security Consultant at NTT DATA
I rate the technical support from Cisco as ten out of ten.
Sr. Solutions Architect, Consulting Engineer at a tech services company with 11-50 employees
There is local support through the distributor, which is efficient and provides a friendly relationship.
Technical Presales at A.G.A.S. מחשוב ותקשורת לעסקים
For technical support from the vendor, I would give it probably an eight as they are fairly responsive and usually fairly knowledgeable.
Systems engineer at The IT Team (New Zealand)
Technical support from Fortinet is rated high, a nine out of ten, though there is always room for improvement.
Senior Cyber Security Specialist Architect at a outsourcing company with 11-50 employees
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
7.8
Cisco Secure Firewall Management Center excels in scalability, managing large environments and user bases while supporting growth with flexibility.
Sentiment score
7.0
FortiGate CNF is scalable, flexible, but faces challenges with hardware compatibility and seeks improvement in open-source integration.
It supports managing multiple devices and policies from a single console, which makes scaling operations easier.
Network Security Consultant at NTT DATA
I would rate scalability capabilities as ten out of ten.
Senior Network and Security Engineer at Symbol Technologies PLC
For the 3000 new series and the 4000, we can make a cluster.
Sr. Solutions Architect, Consulting Engineer at a tech services company with 11-50 employees
Unfortunately, FortiGate Cloud-Native Firewall (FortiGate CNF) is not very scalable.
Key Account Manager at ITBiz Solutions
The scalability allows for increasing the capacity through configuration adjustments.
Director at Movate
For scalability, if the hardware isn't fit or working, the box needs changing.
Senior Manager Tech Compliance at Qenta Inc.
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
7.1
Cisco Secure Firewall Management Center is stable with occasional performance issues, generally rated seven to nine for reliability.
Sentiment score
8.5
FortiGate CNF is praised for stability, rarely experiences issues, and is highly valued for reliable infrastructure security.
We have not faced any major outages from the platform itself.
Network Security Consultant at NTT DATA
I would rate the stability of FortiGate Cloud-Native Firewall (FortiGate CNF) as nine out of ten, indicating it is very stable.
Senior Network Consultant at Visionet Systems Inc.
The stability of FortiGate Cloud-Native Firewall (FortiGate CNF) is highly appreciated by the people I work with, as they love its reliability.
Senior Cyber Security Specialist Architect at a outsourcing company with 11-50 employees
The FortiGate firewall is stable and supports all our requirements for infrastructure security.
Senior Manager Tech Compliance at Qenta Inc.
 

Room For Improvement

Cisco Secure Firewall Management Center struggles with complexity, performance, cost, integration, and requires improvements in usability and features.
FortiGate CNF faces criticism for high pricing, limited customization, performance issues, and lagging behind competitors in AI and threat monitoring.
I remember version 6.4 had an integration with Eddie, allowing me to define a policy according to my users, however, the latest version, lacks this integration.
Senior Network and Security Engineer at Symbol Technologies PLC
Now Cisco has published the 120 series and the 1100 series, which support SD-WAN features in the firewall.
Sr. Solutions Architect, Consulting Engineer at a tech services company with 11-50 employees
At times, it can feel complex, especially for new users, and navigation between different sections could be more intuitive.
Network Security Consultant at NTT DATA
The Intrusion Prevention System (IPS) in Fortinet products, including FortiGate Cloud-Native Firewall (FortiGate CNF), is not very strong; we often prefer Cisco IPS instead.
Key Account Manager at ITBiz Solutions
It is a tool that we have used quite heavily, but it has a lot of vulnerabilities and they are starting to be dropping support for it.
Systems engineer at The IT Team (New Zealand)
The prices for FortiGate are way too high and are perceived as overpriced.
Technical Presales at A.G.A.S. מחשוב ותקשורת לעסקים
 

Setup Cost

Cisco Secure Firewall pricing is high but justified by its comprehensive features, with flexible and variable licensing costs.
FortiGate CNF pricing is mixed, seen as costly yet cost-effective, balancing value with enterprise needs amid currency challenges.
I find the pricing for Cisco Secure Firewall Management Center to be very reasonable, as they offer the license for both virtual and hardware options.
Sr. Solutions Architect, Consulting Engineer at a tech services company with 11-50 employees
The initial setup cost can be significant because it involves licensing along with compatible hardware or virtual deployment.
Network Security Consultant at NTT DATA
A $80 or $200 device translates to approximately 8,000 to 10,000 Rand, which includes licensing costs.
Senior Cyber Security Specialist Architect at a outsourcing company with 11-50 employees
FortiGate's cost-effectiveness is noticeable as it provides many features with one license, saving costs compared to Cisco ASA.
Senior Manager Tech Compliance at Qenta Inc.
The pricing is considered too high and does not justify the value provided by the devices.
Technical Presales at A.G.A.S. מחשוב ותקשורת לעסקים
 

Valuable Features

Cisco Secure Firewall Management Center offers centralized management, strong security, and efficient integration, enhancing network protection and user experience.
FortiGate CNF is valued for scalability, advanced threat protection, cost-effectiveness, and seamless integration with robust support.
I consider Talos feedback that Cisco provides as free threat intelligence to be the most valuable for me and for the operation of the security policy in my organization.
Sr. Solutions Architect, Consulting Engineer at a tech services company with 11-50 employees
The best features of Cisco Secure Firewall Management Center are the centralized management and strong security visibility.
Network Security Consultant at NTT DATA
It provides full visibility of my devices, whether I have six or ten devices.
Senior Network and Security Engineer at Symbol Technologies PLC
The visibility and exposure to logs provide valuable insights for our InfraSec team, aiding in monitoring and managing communication and policies.
Senior Network Consultant at Visionet Systems Inc.
It enables better segregation and integration with on-premise firewalls and infrastructure so that I can seamlessly handle both on-prem physical firewalls and cloud firewalls.
Senior Cyber Security Specialist Architect at a outsourcing company with 11-50 employees
Threat detection and prevention features are the most effective aspects of FortiGate CNF.
Director at Movate
 

Categories and Ranking

Cisco Secure Firewall Manag...
Ranking in Firewall Security Management
9th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.6
Number of Reviews
29
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
FortiGate Cloud-Native Fire...
Ranking in Firewall Security Management
7th
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.5
Number of Reviews
17
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of May 2026, in the Firewall Security Management category, the mindshare of Cisco Secure Firewall Management Center is 2.6%, up from 1.0% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of FortiGate Cloud-Native Firewall (FortiGate CNF) is 3.0%, up from 1.6% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Firewall Security Management Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
FortiGate Cloud-Native Firewall (FortiGate CNF)3.0%
Cisco Secure Firewall Management Center2.6%
Other94.4%
Firewall Security Management
 

Featured Reviews

SurajYadav - PeerSpot reviewer
Network Security Consultant at NTT DATA
Centralized firewall control has improved visibility and policy management but needs faster UI performance
The best features of Cisco Secure Firewall Management Center are the centralized management and strong security visibility. The most useful feature for me is centralized policy management, where I can create and enforce access control policies across multiple firewalls from a single console. It saves a lot of time and ensures consistency. Another key feature is IPS visibility. Cisco Secure Firewall Management Center provides detailed intrusion events and signatures, which help in quickly identifying and responding to threats. Cisco Secure Firewall Management Center has had a positive impact mainly by improving centralized control and visibility across our firewall environment. Earlier, managing multiple firewalls individually was time-consuming and inconsistent. With Cisco Secure Firewall Management Center, we can manage policies from a single console, which has improved efficiency and reduced configuration errors. It has also enhanced our security posture with better visibility into traffic and IPS events. We are able to detect and respond to threats more quickly, which helps in reducing risk and improving overall incident response time.
Andrew_Jackson - PeerSpot reviewer
Systems engineer at The IT Team (New Zealand)
Centralized management has streamlined access for staff and support has consistently addressed issues quickly
I see areas for improvement, particularly around the SSL VPN. It is a tool that we have used quite heavily, but it has a lot of vulnerabilities and they are starting to be dropping support for it. So we kind of see that they have left a vacuum by removing that feature. The VPN feature is indeed the main concern so far. Security around it is a concern, and then the fact that they have just dropped it and have not really provided a solution that fits for us. Their solution was either IPsec or ZTNA, which is not as flexible as the SSL VPN was for our customers.
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Marketing Services Firm
12%
Financial Services Firm
11%
Construction Company
8%
Comms Service Provider
7%
Financial Services Firm
15%
Comms Service Provider
15%
Manufacturing Company
12%
Marketing Services Firm
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business12
Midsize Enterprise9
Large Enterprise8
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business13
Midsize Enterprise2
Large Enterprise3
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Cisco Secure Firewall Management Center?
The platform has significantly enhanced our organization's operations by providing secure communication channels between different office locations.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Cisco Secure Firewall Management Center?
I find the pricing for Cisco Secure Firewall Management Center to be very reasonable, as they offer the license for both virtual and hardware options. For the virtual option, they have minimum lice...
What needs improvement with Cisco Secure Firewall Management Center?
So far, I find that everything related to Cisco Secure Firewall Management Center is adequate. The only thing that was missing in the portfolio was SD-WAN, which I would like to use similar to Fort...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for FortiGate Cloud-Native Firewall (FortiGate CNF)?
The pricing is a bit expensive, primarily due to licensing fees. Extra expenses include upgradations beyond licensing.
What needs improvement with FortiGate Cloud-Native Firewall (FortiGate CNF)?
I see areas for improvement, particularly around the SSL VPN. It is a tool that we have used quite heavily, but it has a lot of vulnerabilities and they are starting to be dropping support for it. ...
What is your primary use case for FortiGate Cloud-Native Firewall (FortiGate CNF)?
The major use case for this product is if customers have on-prem hardware to protect, along with the other use cases with SD-WAN and VPN connectivity.
 

Interactive Demo

Demo not available
 

Overview

Find out what your peers are saying about Cisco Secure Firewall Management Center vs. FortiGate Cloud-Native Firewall (FortiGate CNF) and other solutions. Updated: April 2026.
894,668 professionals have used our research since 2012.