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Cisco Secure IPS (NGIPS) vs Zscaler Cloud IPS comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Dec 19, 2024

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

Cisco Secure IPS (NGIPS)
Ranking in Intrusion Detection and Prevention Software (IDPS)
12th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.7
Number of Reviews
69
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Zscaler Cloud IPS
Ranking in Intrusion Detection and Prevention Software (IDPS)
22nd
Average Rating
9.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
5
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of October 2025, in the Intrusion Detection and Prevention Software (IDPS) category, the mindshare of Cisco Secure IPS (NGIPS) is 3.4%, up from 3.0% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Zscaler Cloud IPS is 1.3%, up from 0.9% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Intrusion Detection and Prevention Software (IDPS) Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Cisco Secure IPS (NGIPS)3.4%
Zscaler Cloud IPS1.3%
Other95.3%
Intrusion Detection and Prevention Software (IDPS)
 

Featured Reviews

Yosevan Sinaga Sinaga - PeerSpot reviewer
Effectively identifies malicious behavior while future automation and AI advancements hold potential
Cisco Secure IPS (NGIPS) is quite powerful for threat detection and includes botnet detection. It effectively blocks unwanted software, hashes, and suspicious behaviors. The tool is easy to integrate with other IT security solutions due to similar protocols. The system offers effective threat detection features, although automation capabilities are not yet fully utilized.
Atdhe Zyhranaj - PeerSpot reviewer
It allows for a separation between cloud applications and URL filtering
We recently had a significant issue with Zscaler. I think they have too many customers and some of their connection edge nodes went down because there were too many requests. I think they aren't scaling enough to keep up with the demand in some areas. That's one thing they should improve.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The most valuable features of Cisco NGIPS are the VPN, IPS, access policy management, EIM, and the ASA model as part of Firepower."
"It is more or less stable. Sometimes I have some issues normally when we need to upgrade it to newer versions. I think it does the job."
"The tracking intelligence feature is very good. This solution provides us with the opportunity to detect threats in real-time."
"The technical support is impressive."
"We have found the IPS detection to be a very valuable feature of this solution. It is easy to use to stop policy violations."
"The threat detection and prevention feature is particularly important for us."
"I like how NGIPS has everything in one console."
"The most valuable feature of Cisco NGIPS is the centralized user interface. You have the ability to quickly push out configurations across your environment using the Cisco UI. It's a powerful capability of that solution."
"The initial setup process is easy."
"The product's most valuable feature is complete SSL inspection."
"Cloud IPS integration is seamless, and it uses a Zero Trust model. It also simplifies overall user access management."
"The initial setup is straightforward and easy in comparison with other solutions."
"The best feature is that Zscaler allows for a separation between cloud applications and URL filtering. For example, under the cloud application segment, I can bypass Microsoft Office 365 without the need to add URLs manually. It's one click, so that's handy."
 

Cons

"The price could be improved."
"The attack patterns and payloads go undetected in Cisco. We would like to see a new solution with more effective detection of attack patterns. There should be more data analyzing patterns as well which provides useful information."
"I would like to see better integration with SIEMs."
"NGIPS' GUI interface could be improved and made more user-friendly."
"I would like to see integration with monitoring tools such as Nagios or BMC."
"In the next release I would like to see better reporting. I also find it's hard to act on the data it gives you."
"We don't like its licensing model. It has separate licensing for all the features. For instance, to get URL filtering, you need to buy another license. Every feature set seems to require another license. Unless you purchase them all upfront, you find some surprises and realize that you can't do that because you need another license. Its logging isn't quite as good as it used to be in our previous solution. We used to have Cisco ASA, and we could view the logs a lot easier than NGIPS (also known as Firepower). We saw real-time logging, but we don't see that as much in Firepower."
"Cisco NGIPS could improve its ability to do SSL inspections. Sometimes the ability to do SSL inspection is not scalable and you might not be able to get the installment required if you don't size the right hardware."
"We encounter issues sharing IP addresses with other companies using the software."
"When it comes to scalability, the IPsec could be improved."
"There is always room for improvement."
"We recently had a significant issue with Zscaler. I think they have too many customers and some of their connection edge nodes went down because there were too many requests. I think they aren't scaling enough to keep up with the demand in some areas. That's one thing they should improve."
"They have given limited free access for a year. Instead, they should increase the file size and give limited free access for around two months. It will allow engineers to evaluate the product."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"This is an expensive product, with the biggest cost being the license that keeps the service going."
"It could be less expensive."
"I would rate the pricing four out of 10."
"Pricing depends on negotiation with the vendor, although I can say that it is moderate."
"In our company, we know that the price of Cisco products is high, especially for its switches, routers and IOS. The price of Cisco products may be twice its original price if you plan to extend some of its features."
"The price for additional throughput is the highest in the industry."
"This is a very affordable product."
"It is highly priced but competitive regarding features and support services."
"Zscaler has so far been solely responsible for all the sales we have done with it, so it would be more suited than us to address any issues concerning the pricing."
"The software has become more expensive at present."
"The product is not affordable for small and medium enterprises."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
12%
University
9%
Educational Organization
9%
Comms Service Provider
8%
Manufacturing Company
15%
Healthcare Company
11%
Computer Software Company
9%
Financial Services Firm
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business26
Midsize Enterprise17
Large Enterprise26
No data available
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Cisco NGIPS?
The product's initial setup phase was easy.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Cisco NGIPS?
Cisco is one of the top brands known for cost-effectiveness, making it worth the money. It's cheaper to integrate with existing IT security solutions compared to other expensive brands with subscri...
What needs improvement with Cisco NGIPS?
There are numerous things that could be improved about Cisco Secure IPS (NGIPS) to get it back on track. Sollution for small branches: when we have to connect a lot very small branches (or sometime...
What do you like most about Zscaler Cloud IPS?
The product's most valuable feature is complete SSL inspection.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Zscaler Cloud IPS?
The product is not affordable for small and medium enterprises.
What needs improvement with Zscaler Cloud IPS?
They have given limited free access for a year. Instead, they should increase the file size and give limited free access for around two months. It will allow engineers to evaluate the product.
 

Also Known As

Sourcefire NGIPS, Firepower NGIPS
No data available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

American Electric Power, Huntington Bank, Keycorp, Nationwide, Transunion, Marriott, Inova Health, Ford, Thomson Reuters, Dow Chemical, Equifax, Chevron, Walmart, Coca Cola
Zenith Live, Azure, Carlsberg Group
Find out what your peers are saying about Cisco Secure IPS (NGIPS) vs. Zscaler Cloud IPS and other solutions. Updated: September 2025.
869,566 professionals have used our research since 2012.