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Cisco Secure Firewall vs Cisco Secure Network Analytics 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
5.8
Cisco Secure Firewall offers ROI through reliability, preventing costly incidents, improving efficiency, and easy integration despite ROI quantification challenges.
Sentiment score
8.0
Cisco Secure Network Analytics boosts incident detection and recovery, offering cost savings and labor efficiency for enhanced security.
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
6.4
Cisco Secure Firewall users praise efficient customer service but note occasional inconsistency; direct contracts improve support quality.
Sentiment score
7.3
Cisco Secure Network Analytics support is praised for technical expertise and responsiveness, despite occasional local support challenges and delays.
I have to provide many logs, yet problems remain unresolved, often requiring workarounds rather than solutions.
I have been working with them on firewalls, wireless, switching, and routing, and the support is the best.
Obtaining technical support and involving an engineer in a troubleshooting call is a challenge.
There is a lack of adequate local support from the Indian side.
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
6.6
Cisco Secure Firewall is scalable and flexible for businesses, but costs and hardware vary, requiring careful needs assessment.
Sentiment score
6.5
Cisco Secure Network Analytics excels in scalability and adaptability, though it can be costly and challenging in data management.
Compared to FortiGate and Palo Alto, it lags in configuration and other aspects.
Scalability presents a challenge.
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
8.9
Cisco Secure Firewall is praised for stability, reliability, minimal issues, rapid updates for bugs, and exceptional performance under pressure.
Sentiment score
8.4
Cisco Secure Network Analytics is stable, reliable under complex conditions, but users seek less Java and better product integration.
Cisco Secure Firewall offers exceptional performance and stability.
Cisco products are incredibly stable, boasting a 200% stability.
 

Room For Improvement

Cisco Secure Firewall users seek improvements in routing support, cost efficiency, UI design, integration, and performance enhancements.
Cisco Secure Network Analytics needs enhanced usability, integration, filtering, AI, reporting, training, cost-efficiency, and endpoint management for better security.
The integration between Cisco products themselves presents difficulties, such as SD-WAN configuration.
Firepower Management Center is quite out of date compared to other vendors.
Cisco Firewalls require FMC for management.
The solution should have the ability to analyze security events not only at the network layer but also at the application and OS layers.
 

Setup Cost

Cisco Secure Firewall is costly but valued for performance, support, and discounts, appealing to security-focused enterprises.
Cisco Secure Network Analytics pricing is high, influenced by network flow requirements, with mixed user experiences on cost and licensing.
It's considered a premium, but people pay that price for Cisco.
The licensing process for Cisco Secure Firewall is convoluted, involving many steps to request and enter a license key.
Cisco solutions are considered to be very expensive.
 

Valuable Features

Cisco Secure Firewall offers robust security, easy management, and integration with high availability, scalability, and centralized policy creation.
Cisco Secure Network Analytics enhances security with visibility, real-time anomaly detection, automation, and intuitive management for improved threat response.
The most valuable features of Cisco Secure Firewall include the next-generation firewall and its strong anti-malware capabilities.
It includes features like IPS, malware protection, and other security features.
Cisco Firewall has very good features, like trusted applications and restricted access for users based on keywords.
The most valuable features include encrypted traffic analytics and the ability to fulfill requirements at the network level.
 

Categories and Ranking

Cisco Secure Firewall
Ranking in Cisco Security Portfolio
4th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.2
Number of Reviews
411
Ranking in other categories
Firewalls (7th)
Cisco Secure Network Analytics
Ranking in Cisco Security Portfolio
7th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
60
Ranking in other categories
Network Monitoring Software (22nd), Network Traffic Analysis (NTA) (3rd), Network Detection and Response (NDR) (5th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of May 2025, in the Cisco Security Portfolio category, the mindshare of Cisco Secure Firewall is 6.6%, up from 5.6% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Cisco Secure Network Analytics is 10.3%, down from 15.9% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Cisco Security Portfolio
 

Featured Reviews

Maharajan S - PeerSpot reviewer
Enhances security with precise access control but has integration challenges
Overall, I would rate the product six out of ten. Because of the support and cost, I moved away from Cisco, but otherwise, it is a good product. Recommendation depends on the requirement. If lacking a proper team and being dependent on the OEM and partner, Cisco is not suitable. However, if the team is qualified with Cisco-certified people and the requirement is a big network, it can be considered. In today's hybrid work world, having an expanded gateway is more typical than having a single one. Thus, Cisco is unlikely to be recommended for a hybrid requirement unless in-house skills align. Otherwise, depending on partners and Cisco, it can be a risk. I rate the overall solution six out of ten.
Sudhakar T - PeerSpot reviewer
Strong network security analytics with excellent encrypted traffic analysis features
Improvements are needed on the application layer for complete security analysis. The solution should have the ability to analyze security events not only at the network layer but also at the application and OS layers. There's a need for a more comprehensive licensing model where all necessary licenses are included by default.
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Comparison Review

it_user206346 - PeerSpot reviewer
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
Educational Organization
41%
Computer Software Company
13%
Manufacturing Company
5%
Government
4%
Computer Software Company
28%
Financial Services Firm
11%
Government
9%
Manufacturing Company
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

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 ...
What do you like most about Cisco Stealthwatch?
The most valuable feature of Cisco Secure Network Analytics is the Threat Intelligence integration.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Cisco Stealthwatch?
The organization experienced challenges with licensing as Cisco has multiple licensing factors, and there are concerns about the price. Cisco solutions are considered to be very expensive.
What needs improvement with Cisco Stealthwatch?
Improvements are needed on the application layer for complete security analysis. The solution should have the ability to analyze security events not only at the network layer but also at the applic...
 

Also Known As

Cisco Adaptive Security Appliance (ASA) Firewall, Cisco ASA NGFW, Adaptive Security Appliance, Cisco Sourcefire Firewalls, Cisco ASAv, Cisco Firepower NGFW Firewall
Cisco Stealthwatch, Cisco Stealthwatch Enterprise, Lancope StealthWatch
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

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.
Edge Web Hosting, Telenor Norway, Ivy Tech Community College of Indiana, Webster Financial Corporation, Westinghouse Electric, VMware, TIAA-CREF
Find out what your peers are saying about Cisco Secure Firewall vs. Cisco Secure Network Analytics and other solutions. Updated: April 2025.
849,963 professionals have used our research since 2012.