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Cisco Sourcefire SNORT vs Darktrace vs Trellix Intrusion Prevention System 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:
 

Mindshare comparison

As of October 2025, in the Intrusion Detection and Prevention Software (IDPS) category, the mindshare of Cisco Sourcefire SNORT is 2.7%, up from 2.3% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Darktrace is 13.8%, up from 13.0% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Trellix Intrusion Prevention System is 2.7%, up from 2.1% 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 (%)
Darktrace13.8%
Trellix Intrusion Prevention System2.7%
Cisco Sourcefire SNORT2.7%
Other80.8%
Intrusion Detection and Prevention Software (IDPS)
 

Featured Reviews

Jack Poon - PeerSpot reviewer
Offers ease of setup and good documentation
When it comes to the product's deployment phase, we have a lot of vendor support. We have a lot of skills here in Hong Kong. Our company doesn't find any problem deploying Cisco solutions. The solution is deployed on an on-premises version. Speaking about the time required to deploy the solution, I would say that we have quite a lot of previous experience with deploying Cisco products. We have our company's standard design document, which we need to follow. We have a standard testing procedure for all those features. We just take out some appropriate parts and then compile them into one document for an individual project. It is actually quite easy for us to do the documentation, so it just takes one or two hours, and we can do the implementation because all the materials and testing procedures are already in our company standard documents, so it is not that difficult for us.
Malebo Lethoba Group - PeerSpot reviewer
Have found the AI analyst and detection functions highly valuable for network operations while managing complexity in initial setup
The functions I find most valuable in Darktrace are the AI analyst as well as the detection.The autonomous response capabilities of Darktrace are not crucial for me because it doesn't work in a network where there are no core switches. In a modern network, the autonomous response doesn't work, especially when sitting in a shared data center.If I'm running a traditional network where I am not in a shared data center with a layer two dedicated for my resources, then it can work for me. However, if I am in a data center where I don't have layer two, it becomes an issue because the autonomous response is reliant on sending spoofed TCP resets to my core switch to block traffic, which is a major issue.
Daniel_Martins - PeerSpot reviewer
Decade of experience empowers seamless problem resolution and support
I haven't seen threat intelligence and machine learning for predictive threat analysis in the Trellix Intrusion Prevention System yet. For Trellix IPS, AI improvements are an area where it can improve. It's a significant feature. Regarding the Trellix Intrusion Prevention System's flexibility for catering to our organization's specific infrastructure requirements, we have only on-premises and virtual appliances, but it's acceptable. The access and platform could potentially integrate with SaaS. Similar to when you put the EPO in mode integration with SaaS, you can connect with a local credential and with an X Console credential. Another possibility would be to connect with an integration login with the X Console. We have this with EPO on-premise, but with IPS, we don't have it.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"I like most of Cisco's features, like malware detection and URL filtering."
"Cisco technical support is unbeatable. It offers a premium service every time."
"The most valuable feature is the ability to automatically learn the traffic in our environment, and change the merit recommendations based on that."
"It has a huge rate of protection. It's has a low level of positives and a huge rate of threat protection. It's easy to deploy and easy to implement. It has an incredible price rate compared to similar solutions."
"Solid intrusion detection and prevention that scales easily in very large environments."
"The solution is rather easy to use."
"Cisco Sourcefire SNORT is easy to configure and the reporting is great. It's also very user-friendly."
"The most valuable feature is the visibility that we have across the virtual environment."
"The Antigena feature is most valuable. Once it learns your environment, Antigena can step in and block a denial of service attack, a ransomware attack, or just about anything that doesn't belong in the environment. It can detect any type of attack that hits the environment because it understands what normal looks like for the network. It is very useful for an autonomous response."
"Darktrace's most valuable features are its dashboards and its ability to summarize huge amounts of information about threats and suspicious traffic."
"The active threat dashboard is the most valuable feature of this solution."
"I find it very good in the way that they show the past events, including the attack history."
"The technical support from Darktrace is very good, including support from their resellers."
"The most valuable feature has been the behavioral analytics that allows us to monitor all the traffic."
"The solution is stable. We've never had any problems with it."
"The most valuable feature is that it gives us visibility of rogue traffic that is on the network."
"Overall the solution is very good. It offers great protection and gives us a good overview of what is on the network."
"The product is worth the investment."
"The feature I found most valuable is the network threat analyzer in the security platform. It also integrates with GTI, or Global Threat Intelligence. Otherwise, I just use the basic features."
"McAfee NSP is much more stable than Cisco."
"There's a good dashboard you can drill down into. It helps you easily locate intrusions and the source of attacks."
"The most valuable features are the customization of the signature and the unlimited amount of signatures in IPS."
"The most valuable features in Trellix for me are the automated signature updates. It is a great and convenient feature."
"Great monitoring feature."
 

Cons

"There are problems setting up VPNs for some regions."
"With the next release, I would like to see some PBR, so that you can do the configuration with the features."
"The customization of the rules can be simplified."
"The solution's approach to managing traffic blocking is confusing and impractical."
"While the alerts they offer are good, it could improve it in the sense that they should be more detailed to make the alerts more useful to us in general. Sometimes the solution will offer up false positives. Due to the fact that the alerts aren't detailed, we have to go dig around to see why is it being blocked. The solution would be infinitely better if there was just a bit more detail in the alert information and logging we receive."
"I don't think this solution is a time-based control system, because one cannot filter traffic based on time."
"The main dashboard of Cisco Sourcefire SNORT could improve."
"I did not experience any pain points that required improvement. Maybe a couple of false-positives, but that's about it."
"One area for improvement is the alerting system, which generates too many alerts and becomes labor-intensive for organizations not equipped with enough personnel in their SOC."
"The dashboard and reporting for this solution could be improved as it is currently complex. The GUI for this solution could also be improved."
"Its threat analyzer could be better. It should also have agents. They should improve this product by installing agents for the machine to get more visibility. Currently, they are monitoring only the network. They should also monitor the agents from inside. It should also have a better pricing plan because it is an expensive product."
"The pricing is costly in USD, and they charge based on device counts."
"There are still some issues with the network capturing or blocking traffic even after implementing exceptions."
"Upper management wasn't sold on the value proposition."
"Darktrace is a closed technology, meaning we know very little about how it works, including the architecture, which is significant. As a result, when we implement the system and find we're getting many false positives, we have minimal insight into why it's happening and what we can do to fix it. We don't know how the solution is configured, the criteria for threats to be determined, or the product's inner workings. We understand that they have to ensure privacy and their copyright, but we want to see some documentation or public research into the security Darktrace provides."
"It can have more integration with orchestration or event management solutions. They can provide more knowledge or research information for analysts for investigating cases and detecting anomalies in networks."
"The pricing could be improved."
"The technical support must be improved."
"Trellix Intrusion Prevention System does not provide virtual patching."
"Integration with Global Thereat Intelligence could be better. Also, I think management solutions are end of life now at McAfee. Network threat analyzer may be used for endpoint quarantines. Integration between these sides, as well as endpoint APO, will help you quarantine the risky endpoints."
"The platform’s GUI could be the latest."
"The management component could be simplified."
"There are limited resources for configuration guidance."
"The solution needs to improve the graphical interface. And they had a limitation in some of the sensor modems as well."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Licensing for this solution is paid on a yearly basis."
"If one is an extremely expensive product, and ten is cheap, I rate the tool's price as a five."
"I don't know the exact amount, but most of the time when I go to a company with a proposition, they will say, "This thing that you are selling is good, but it's expensive. Why don't you propose something like FortiGate, Check Point, or Palo Alto?" Cisco device are expensive compared to other devices."
"The cost is per port and can be expensive but it does include training and support for three years."
"We have a three-year license for this solution."
"It's an expensive solution."
"They are too expensive compared with other vendors."
"It is expensive."
"There is an annual license to use Darktrace."
"If you consider the features and the cost of market leaders, we are satisfied with the pricing."
"Darktrace is pricey, but the price is reasonable for what the solution does, and it's comparable to other products."
"The cost of the solution can be reduced to make it more appealing to customers."
"The pricing is reasonable."
"I rate the product’s pricing an eight out of ten."
"The tool is competitively priced."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
11%
University
11%
Computer Software Company
10%
Government
7%
Computer Software Company
12%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Comms Service Provider
7%
Manufacturing Company
14%
Financial Services Firm
9%
Computer Software Company
9%
Comms Service Provider
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business5
Midsize Enterprise8
Large Enterprise7
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business44
Midsize Enterprise19
Large Enterprise29
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business6
Midsize Enterprise7
Large Enterprise5
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Cisco Sourcefire SNORT?
The product is inexpensive compared to leading brands such as Palo Alto or Fortinet.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Cisco Sourcefire SNORT?
If one is an extremely expensive product, and ten is cheap, I rate the tool's price as a five. There are some other t...
What needs improvement with Cisco Sourcefire SNORT?
Cisco offers the Cisco DNA Center, which is a source that provides crucial information for us to monitor performance,...
How does Crowdstrike Falcon compare with Darktrace?
Both of these products perform similarly and have many outstanding attributes. CrowdStrike Falcon offers an amazing u...
Which is better - SentinelOne or Darktrace?
Which solution is better depends on which is more suitable specifically for your company. Darktrace, for example, is ...
What do you like most about Darktrace?
A very useful feature in Darktrace for real-time threat analysis is the packet inspection that analyzes the packet tr...
What do you like most about McAfee Network Security Platform?
The threat intelligence updates are very accurate.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for McAfee Network Security Platform?
The tool is competitively priced. I rate the pricing a six out of ten.
What needs improvement with McAfee Network Security Platform?
Trellix Intrusion Prevention System does not provide virtual patching. Patching involves updates on the OS side to ad...
 

Also Known As

Sourcefire SNORT
No data available
McAfee Network Security Platform, McAfee NSP, IntruShield Network Intrusion Prevention System, IntruShield Network IPS
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

CareCore, City of Biel, Dimension Data, LightEdge, Lone Star College System, National Rugby League, Port Aventura, Smart City Networks, Telecom Italia, The Department of Education in Western Australia
Irwin Mitchell, Open Energi, Wellcome Trust, FirstGroup plc, Virgin Trains, Drax, QUI! Group, DNK, CreaCard, Macrosynergy, Sisley, William Hill plc, Toyota Canada, Royal British Legion, Vitol, Allianz, KKR, AIRBUS, dpd, Billabong, Mclaren Group.
Desjardins Group, HollyFrontier, Nubia, Agbar, WNS Global Services, INAIL, Universidad de Las Américas Puebla (UDLAP), Cook County, China Pacific Insurance, Bank Central Asia, California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, City of Chicago, Macquarie Telecom, Sutherland Global Services, Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center, United Automotive Electronic Systems
Find out what your peers are saying about Fortinet, Darktrace, Check Point Software Technologies and others in Intrusion Detection and Prevention Software (IDPS). Updated: October 2025.
872,019 professionals have used our research since 2012.