Cisco Secure Firewall vs GajShield Next Generation Firewall comparison

Cisco Secure Firewall vs. GajShield Next Generation Firewall

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Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:

Categories and Ranking

Fortinet FortiGate

Mindshare comparison

As of September 2025, in the Firewalls category, the mindshare of Fortinet FortiGate is 20.7%, up from 18.6% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Cisco Secure Firewall is 6.0%, up from 5.3% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of GajShield Next Generation Firewall is 0.1%, up from 0.1% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Firewalls Market Share Distribution
Product	Market Share (%)
Fortinet FortiGate	20.7%
Cisco Secure Firewall	6.0%
GajShield Next Generation Firewall	0.1%
Other	73.2%

Firewalls

Featured Reviews

Vasu Gala

Manager, Information Technology Operation/Presales at TechMonarch

A stable solution with an intuitive interface and quick customer service

I have been working with Fortinet FortiGate, WatchGuard, Sophos, and SonicWall. I'm not as comfortable with SonicWall because of their UI and limitations. I prefer Fortinet above all other options. When it comes to configuration, I am confident in my ability to handle various tasks, including creating policies such as firewall rules, web policies, and application policies. Additionally, I can configure VPNs and implement load balancing, among other tasks. Overall, I feel much more comfortable working with Fortinet. Fortinet has made significant improvements by integrating AI with firewalls for threat analysis and prevention. In the past 2-3 years, they have launched FortiSASE and SIEM, and they also provide SOC services. Both Palo Alto and Fortinet FortiGate are excellent. While Fortinet FortiGate comes at higher prices, the functionality and support justify the cost. They promptly resolve firmware issues and inform all support providers about configuration changes.

Unified policies streamline network management but complex licensing requires attention

Phil Shiflett

Senior Manager, Network Engineering at TTi Power Equipment

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.

Simplifies the management of complex data networks, but its technical support could be improved

Nazish Sameer Shaikh

Senior Network Security Engineer at UNITE HERE HEALTH

Sometimes, we have to use SD-WAN support for the solution, which can be improved by adapting some features that will help our approach to network services. The solution can adapt some of the tools where we, as network engineers, can adjust to the changing application needs. Also, the solution can provide us with multiple support, allowing us to create a network segment. The solution’s technical support could be improved.

More Fortinet FortiGate pros

Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:

Pros

"The threat prevention is the solution's most valuable aspect."

"The SD-WAN function is very developed. It has SD-WAN functionality with security features in one device. We can manage from one single console SD-WAN and the security policy."

"It performs very well."

"The solution is stable."

"FortiGate's web and URL filtering are unlike any other firewall I've used. The functionality of URL filtering in those solutions is problematic because everything is encrypted, and firewalls can't break that encryption protocol. Fortinet has an SSL proxy, so the encryption is done before the packet ever leaves the FortiGate. The URL filter is definitely one of the most helpful features."

"This version is stable. I don't have any issues with this solution, in our environment, it works well."

"The most valuable features are the enterprise modeling and the simple interface."

"Fortinet FortiGate's most valuable features are the UTM package which provides internet blocking restrictions and load balancing. Additionally, the solution is easy to use and the security reporting is good. The security fabric which they have launched Fortinet FortiGate IPS, it's very good in terms of giving details."

"We can shift traffic, block certain content, or redirect policies."

"The traffic inspection and the Firepower engine are the most valuable features. It gives you full details, application details, traffic monitoring, and the threats. It gives you all the containers the user is using, especially at the application level. The solution also provides application visibility and control."

"The features I appreciate the most about Cisco Secure Firewall are the policies, ACLs, and traffic behavior analytics."

"Cisco offers a great educational series to train users on their devices."

"I have found the most valuable feature to be the access control and IPsec VPN."

"The solution is used for the protection of the mobile data network. It is protecting 3G/4G Internet customers and the Private APN."

"The stability of the solution is very good. We can see that it gets even better with every release."

"It's got the capabilities of amassing a lot of throughput with remote access and VPNs."

More Cisco Secure Firewall pros

"It is an easily scalable solution...The initial setup was very easy."

"Gajshiled's enterprise cloud and DLP-level features give it an advantage over other products."

"GajShield has improved our mobile device-based connectivity."

"GajShield Next Generation Firewall's best feature is the network DLP."

"It is a stable solution."

"The most valuable feature of the GajShield Next Generation Firewall is the user-friendly settings, dashboards, and anti-threat protection. Additionally, the solution upgrades frequently which is good because we receive new features."

"The solution's outcome is very high, and we often use it in a very high-traffic environment."

Cons

"The updates Fortinet provides are sometimes unstable."

"It could use more templates for third-party site-to-site VPN setups other than FortiGate and Cisco."

"Fortinet FortiGate can improve the integration with Active Directory. Additionally, I would like to have a Cloud Controller, such as they do in the Cisco Meraki solution."

"The product does need better support in the cloud environment. It's not exactly cloud-native right now."

"We have experienced a number of failures when trying to upgrade firmware and the process takes a long time. We only experienced this when doing major upgrades between versions."

"The feature which gives us a lot of pain is ASIC architecture."

"The pricing could be reduced or include the first year warranty."

"We are pretty happy with it. If anything, I believe the web interface could be simpler, especially for someone who has limited networking experience."

More Fortinet FortiGate cons

"I work for a school, so getting licensing and getting the budget for Cisco Secure Firewall for certain products is a challenge. It's good to have them, however, it costs us a lot."

"The Sandbox and the Web Censoring in this solution need to be improved."

"Cisco provides us with application visibility and control, although it's not a complete solution compared to other vendors. Cisco needs to work on the application behavior side of things, in particular when it comes to the behavior of SSL traffic."

"We would really like to see dual dual power supplies for some Cisco Firewall products."

"I would like for the user interface to be easier for the admin and network admin. I would also like to be able to access everything from the GUI interface. The way it is now, it needs somebody experience in iOS to be able to operate it. I would like to have a GUI interface."

"The only con that I have really seen with it is the reporting structure. FirePOWER is good. It has been a great help because, before that, it was not good at all."

"FlexConfig is there as a bridge for features that are not yet natively integrated into Firepower. It is a way of allowing you to be able to configure things that wouldn't otherwise be possible until the development team can add them into Firepower's native capability. There is still some work that needs to be done around FlexConfig. There are still quite a few complex things, like policy-based routing, that have to be done in FlexConfig, and it doesn't always work perfectly. Sometimes, there are some glitches. It is recommended that you configure FlexConfig policies with Cisco TAC. It would be good to see Cisco accelerate some of those configurations that you can only do in FlexConfig into the platform, so that they are there natively."

"The use of it has really bogged down our response time for certain problems, given we have to go through AT&T for everything."

More Cisco Secure Firewall cons

"GajShield Next Generation Firewall would be improved with the addition of a load-balancing feature."

"The firewall configuration and administration screens could use some improvement."

"Sometimes, we have to use SD-WAN support for the solution, which can be improved by adapting some features that will help our approach to network services."

"Gajshield can improve SD-WAN compatibility at an enterprise cloud level."

"We raised a support ticket, and the project didn't get a proper response. There was a skill issue in TAC support."

"GajShield Next Generation Firewall could improve the flow of the settings. If somebody's using a Cisco firewall or any other brand and they want to use GajShield Next Generation Firewall the platform's UI is a bit different. If it was more similar to the others it would be better."

"We face issues with some configuration parts that we don't understand in the solution, and sometimes we face issues with the VPN connection."

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The licensing costs are very low."

"I would rate pricing to be about four or five out of ten, it is reasonable."

"We pay about $4,000 for a yearly license, and there aren't any additional fees."

"The price of Fortinet FortiGate is reasonable for an SME."

"My experience with the pricing, setup cost, and licensing for Fortinet FortiGate is quite good. I don't have a public site, such as in Azure, where I can see the pricing. I always have to go through the distributor, and that could take some time to get the real price for each appliance."

"Setup costs and pricing depends on many variables, but it's mostly affordable."

"The pricing for this solution is reasonable."

"The price of Fortinet FortiGate is affordable. Most of our customers are on a three-year license to use the solution. All the features and support are included in the price."

More Fortinet FortiGate pricing and cost advice

"The pricing was pretty comparable to other solutions when we purchased it."

"I have to admit that the price is high. But I think it's worth it if the stability of your solution counts for you."

"The solution’s pricing is competitive."

"The pricing was fairly reasonable. It was competitive and was slightly more than Check Point was. However, when we looked at the usability and the features that we would get out of Firepower, it was certainly reasonable. Licensing is complex, and I'd like it to be simplified."

"It's pretty competitive. If they could make it cheaper, it would be great. You always want cheaper, but relative to the performance capabilities of the firewall and relative to what you get, it's fair. It's not the cheapest in the world, but you get an excellent product for that price."

"Firepower has a very high cost and you have to pay for the standby as well, meaning that the cost is doubled."

"It is pay-as-you-go, so it much cheaper than buying in the plants."

"Licensing, recently, has been getting more complicated. In particular, the Smart Licensing that came out is quite complicated. I don't know what's going on.... They call it Smart, but it's complicated. I prefer the traditional license where you buy it once."

More Cisco Secure Firewall pricing and cost advice

"GajShield Next Generation Firewall is cheaper than the other products in the market. The licensing costs for the solution are on a yearly basis."

"The price of the GajShield Next Generation Firewall is very attractive when compared to other solutions."

"GajShield Next Generation Firewall is not that expensive, and its pricing is better than Palo Alto."

"GajShield is a cheaper solution as of now. The subscription is yearly."

"It was about 15% cheaper compared to Sophos."

"GajShield Next Generation Firewall is reasonably priced."

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Comparison Review

it_user206346

Security Consultant at Webernetz.net - Network Security Consulting

Mar 11, 2015

Cisco ASA vs. Palo Alto Networks

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Which is the better NGFW: Fortinet Fortigate or Cisco Firepower?

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

15%

Comms Service Provider

Manufacturing Company

Financial Services Firm

Computer Software Company

20%

University

Manufacturing Company

Comms Service Provider

Media Company

28%

Manufacturing Company

10%

Outsourcing Company

Energy/Utilities Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	350
Midsize Enterprise	129
Large Enterprise	187

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	180
Midsize Enterprise	126
Large Enterprise	212

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	3
Midsize Enterprise	1
Large Enterprise	3

Questions from the Community

When you compare these firewalls you can identify them with different features, advantages, practices and usage a...

What is the biggest difference between Sophos XG and FortiGate?

From my experience regarding both the Sophos and FortiGate firewalls, I personally would rather use FortiGate. I know...

What are the biggest technical differences between Sophos UTM and Fortinet FortiGate?

As a solution, Sophos UTM offers a lot of functionality, it scales well, and the stability and performance are quite ...

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 Fort...

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 Cis...

Which is better - Meraki MX or Cisco ASA Firewall?

Cisco Adaptive Security Appliance (ASA) software is the operating software for the Cisco ASA suite. It supports netw...

What do you like most about GajShield Next Generation Firewall?

The solution's outcome is very high, and we often use it in a very high-traffic environment.

What needs improvement with GajShield Next Generation Firewall?

Sometimes, we have to use SD-WAN support for the solution, which can be improved by adapting some features that will ...

What is your primary use case for GajShield Next Generation Firewall?

GajShield Next Generation Firewall helps us with security solutions and platforms. It helps us configure the network....

Sophos XG vs Fortinet FortiGate

Comparisons

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Compared 9% of the time

Cisco Meraki MX vs Fortinet FortiGate

Compared 4% of the time

WatchGuard Firebox vs Fortinet FortiGate

Compared 4% of the time

OPNsense vs Fortinet FortiGate

Compared 4% of the time

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Palo Alto Networks WildFire vs Cisco Secure Firewall

Compared 9% of the time

Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls vs Cisco Secure Firewall

Compared 8% of the time

Netgate pfSense vs Cisco Secure Firewall

Compared 4% of the time

OPNsense vs Cisco Secure Firewall

Compared 4% of the time

Cisco Meraki MX vs Cisco Secure Firewall

Compared 3% of the time

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Sophos XG vs GajShield Next Generation Firewall

Compared 53% of the time

More GajShield Next Generation Firewall Competitors

Product Reports

Fortinet FortiGate

Download Fortinet FortiGate product report

Cisco Secure Firewall

Download Cisco Secure Firewall product report

GajShield Next Generation Firewall

Download GajShield Next Generation Firewall product report

GajShield Next Generation Firewall report

Also Known As

No data available

Cisco Adaptive Security Appliance (ASA) Firewall, Cisco ASA NGFW, Adaptive Security Appliance, Cisco Sourcefire Firewalls, Cisco ASAv, Cisco Firepower NGFW Firewall

GajShield NGFW

Overview

Fortinet FortiGate excels in providing integrated VPN, firewalling, and Unified Threat Management (UTM) with centralized management and high availability. It supports remote access and comprehensive threat protection, making it a preferred choice for securing networks.

Fortinet FortiGate offers a robust security platform with features such as strong intrusion prevention, application control, and web filtering. Its integration with Active Directory and SD-WAN functionality provides scalable solutions for large networks. Users appreciate its ease of use through centralized management interfaces, ensuring robust security with flexible configurations. However, FortiGate could enhance its graphical interface and technical support responsiveness, address firmware bugs and costly licensing, improve logging, integrate better with third-party tools, and strengthen scalability and memory for log storage. Complexity in configuration and the need for intuitive features are noted challenges, and there's a demand for advanced security, zero-trust capabilities, and AI integration.

What are the key features of Fortinet FortiGate?

VPN: Secure remote access and connectivity.
Firewalling: Protects networks from unauthorized access and attacks.
UTM: Offers a comprehensive approach to threat management.
SD-WAN: Optimizes traffic routing for efficient network performance.
Web Filtering: Controls and monitors web access and ensures Internet security.

What benefits or ROI should be considered?

Centralized Management: Simplifies administration and monitoring.
High Availability: Ensures consistent security and network availability.
Scalability: Adapts to the needs of growing networks.
Comprehensive Threat Protection: Provides robust security measures.
Ease of Use: Minimizes the complexity of security management.

Fortinet FortiGate is widely implemented across industries like education, finance, and government. Companies use it for firewall protection, VPN, and SD-WAN capabilities, ensuring secure perimeter and data center security. It facilitates remote access management and traffic routing optimization, offering reliable security and connectivity solutions.

Fortinet

Cisco Secure Firewall stands as a robust and adaptable security solution, catering to organizations of all sizes. It's designed to shield networks from a diverse array of cyber threats, such as ransomware, malware, and phishing attacks. Beyond mere protection, it also offers secure access to corporate resources, beneficial for employees, partners, and customers alike. One of its key functions includes network segmentation, which serves to isolate critical assets and minimize the risk of lateral movement within the network.

The core features of Cisco Secure Firewall are multifaceted:

Advanced threat protection is achieved through a combination of intrusion prevention, malware detection, and URL filtering technologies.
For secure access, the firewall presents multiple options, including VPN, remote access, and single sign-on.
Its network segmentation capability is vital in creating barriers within the network to safeguard critical assets.
The firewall is scalable, effectively serving small businesses to large enterprises.
Management is streamlined through Cisco DNA Center, a central management system.

The benefits of deploying Cisco Secure Firewall are substantial. It significantly reduces the risk of cyberattacks, thereby enhancing the security posture of an organization. This security also translates into increased productivity, as secure access means uninterrupted work. Compliance with industry regulations is another advantage, as secure access and network segmentation align with many regulatory standards. Additionally, it helps in reducing IT costs by automating security tasks and simplifying management processes.

In practical scenarios, Cisco Secure Firewall finds diverse applications. It's instrumental in protecting branch offices from cyberattacks, securing remote access for various stakeholders, safeguarding cloud workloads, and segmenting networks to isolate sensitive areas.

User reviews from PeerSpot reflect an overall positive experience with the Cisco Secure Firewall. Users appreciate its ease of configuration, good management capabilities, robust protection, user-friendly interface, and scalability. However, some areas for improvement include better integration capabilities with other vendors, maturity, control over bandwidth for end-users, and addressing software bugs.

In summary, Cisco Secure Firewall is a comprehensive, versatile, and reliable security solution that effectively meets the security needs of various organizations. It offers a balance of advanced protection, user-friendly management, and scalability, making it a valuable asset in the realm of network security.

Cisco

GajShield Next Generation Firewall (NGFW) is a cutting-edge cybersecurity solution designed to protect organizations from advanced threats and secure their network infrastructure. With its advanced features and robust capabilities, GajShield NGFW offers comprehensive security, high performance, and simplified management.

GajShield NGFW provides real-time visibility and control over network traffic, allowing organizations to monitor and manage their network effectively. It offers deep packet inspection (DPI) technology, which enables the identification and analysis of application-layer protocols, ensuring that only authorized applications are allowed to pass through the firewall.

This next-generation firewall also incorporates advanced threat intelligence and behavior-based analytics to detect and prevent sophisticated cyber threats. It uses machine learning algorithms to identify and block malicious activities, ensuring that organizations are protected against zero-day attacks and advanced persistent threats (APTs).

GajShield NGFW offers a wide range of security features, including an intrusion prevention system (IPS), virtual private network (VPN), web filtering, and data loss prevention (DLP). These features help organizations enforce security policies, prevent unauthorized access, and protect sensitive data from being leaked or compromised.

Furthermore, GajShield NGFW provides granular control over user access and application usage, allowing organizations to define and enforce policies based on user roles and responsibilities. It also offers bandwidth management capabilities, enabling organizations to prioritize critical applications and ensure optimal network performance.

With its intuitive and user-friendly interface, GajShield NGFW simplifies the management and administration of network security. It provides centralized control and monitoring, allowing administrators to configure policies, generate reports, and receive real-time alerts on security events.

GajShield Next Generation Firewall is a comprehensive cybersecurity solution that offers advanced threat protection, network visibility, and simplified management. With its powerful features and robust capabilities, it helps organizations safeguard their network infrastructure and protect against evolving cyber threats.

GajShield

Sample Customers

Amazon Web Services, Microsoft, IBM, Cisco, Dell, HP, Oracle, Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile, Sprint, Vodafone, Orange, BT Group, Telstra, Deutsche Telekom, Comcast, Time Warner Cable, CenturyLink, NTT Communications, Tata Communications, SoftBank, China Mobile, Singtel, Telus, Rogers Communications, Bell Canada, Telkom Indonesia, Telkom South Africa, Telmex, Telia Company, Telkom Kenya

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.

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Cisco Secure Firewall vs. GajShield Next Generation Firewall