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Palo Alto Networks WildFire vs Symantec Advanced Threat Protection comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Dec 1, 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

Palo Alto Networks WildFire
Ranking in Advanced Threat Protection (ATP)
1st
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.1
Number of Reviews
72
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Symantec Advanced Threat Pr...
Ranking in Advanced Threat Protection (ATP)
21st
Average Rating
7.8
Reviews Sentiment
7.1
Number of Reviews
16
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of March 2026, in the Advanced Threat Protection (ATP) category, the mindshare of Palo Alto Networks WildFire is 7.5%, down from 11.6% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Symantec Advanced Threat Protection is 2.2%, up from 1.5% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Advanced Threat Protection (ATP) Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Palo Alto Networks WildFire7.5%
Symantec Advanced Threat Protection2.2%
Other90.3%
Advanced Threat Protection (ATP)
 

Featured Reviews

RK
Engineer at Taalumgroup
Achieve effective threat prevention and seamless integration with powerful technical support
Integration with third-party products is possible. For example, connecting a mail gateway with Palo Alto Networks WildFire allows them to handle prevention. Palo Alto Networks WildFire is a cloud-based sandboxing solution. The firewall is connected to WildFire, and XDR performs sandboxing from the cloud. WildFire conducts malware scanning and emulation, then informs the firewall to block threats based on the response. It also generates reports regarding malware and other issues. The sandboxing process involves sending sample files to the cloud for scanning, checking file authenticity, certificates, and detecting malicious code. WildFire performs multiple checks and informs the XDR agent about file status. This automatic process occurs within minutes or seconds. For unknown or suspicious files, immediate blocking occurs while samples are sent to WildFire for identification. I rate Palo Alto Networks WildFire a 9 out of 10.
TapabrataSamanta - PeerSpot reviewer
Lead Architect at Zones
Reliable platform with effective integration capabilities
Our primary use case for the product is to provide advanced threat protection to our clients, primarily in the banking and financial sectors Symantec ATP has been beneficial in ensuring robust security for our clients. Its effectiveness in detecting and mitigating threats has improved customer…

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Intuitive threat prevention and analysis solution, with a machine learning feature. Scalable, stable, and protects against zero-day threats."
"I absolutely recommend WildFire because it dramatically reduces response times against zero-day attacks."
"The most valuable features are all of the security features in terms of protection and SSL and VPN."
"The analysis is very fast."
"It is stable and pretty much scalable."
"The platform is scalable as it integrates with other threat prevention modules."
"Technology-wise, it is good because of the granular controls we get in Palo Alto Networks."
"The way that the solution quickly updates to adjust to threats is the solution's most valuable aspect. When there's a security attack, within five minutes, all Wildfire subscribers have access to updates so that all systems will be safe. Its threat prevention is way better than other vendor products."
"The technical support services are excellent."
"What I like most about Symantec Advanced Threat Protection is its notification capability."
"All of the solution's features are quite valuable for us. We especially like the threat protection it provides."
"They manage to solve detection quite nicely. There is some rather elaborate detection compared to other providers."
"The product integrates well with our systems, and we have not encountered any problems."
"The Application Control code and the easy integration are valuable features."
"Technical support has been helpful and responsive."
"Symantec Endpoint Protection provides end-to-end protection. Along with antivirus protection, it has a lot of key areas, including intrusive prevention, firewall features, and application and device control."
 

Cons

"The cyber security visibility and forensics features to receive more information about incidents could improve in Palo Alto Networks WildFire."
"The initial setup was a little bit complex, mainly due to the GUI console and management challenges."
"The support is good but they could be faster."
"I would give this product a rating of 9 out of 10 due to some slight issues of performance."
"In the future, I would like to see more automation in the reporting."
"The threat intelligence that we receiving in the reporting was not as expected. We were expecting more. Additionally, we should be able to whitelist a specific file based on a variety of attributes."
"The cost of the solution is excessively high."
"The only complaint that we receive from our customers is in regards to the price."
"They could enhance the solution to work across all devices, including Android, iOS, and Mac, and make it more user-friendly."
"The product's support services need improvement."
"An improvement could be made on the reporting because then it would be easier to collect information and submit it for compliance."
"There are some ‎features that would add value to this product. One of them would be a graphical presentation of threats that the system has encountered."
"Scalability could be better."
"The security features need to be improved."
"Not ideal for advanced threat protection."
"It also needs network-based threat protection for shared folders and files."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The solution is overpriced."
"There are different types of licenses."
"It depends on the features. Additional features cost additional money as well."
"Palo Alto Networks WildFire is quite expensive, and this is what puts people off."
"The solution is a bit expensive."
"The price is fair and comparable to other solutions."
"The solution is a bit expensive. You pay for security."
"Palo Alto Networks WildFire is a product with a high price."
"Pricing is good. It is nice to have a great product at a fair price."
"Symantec Advanced Threat Protection's pricing is comparable."
"Symantec Endpoint Protection has an average price."
"The price is quite expensive."
"The pricing of this solution is inexpensive and affordable."
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Comparison Review

it_user206346 - PeerSpot reviewer
Security Consultant at Webernetz.net - Network Security Consulting
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
Computer Software Company
10%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Comms Service Provider
7%
Marketing Services Firm
13%
University
10%
Manufacturing Company
6%
Financial Services Firm
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business37
Midsize Enterprise16
Large Enterprise29
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business9
Midsize Enterprise3
Large Enterprise13
 

Questions from the Community

How does Cisco Firepower NGFW Firewall compare with Palo Alto Networks Wildfire?
The Cisco Firepower NGFW Firewall is a very powerful and very complex piece of anti-viral software. When one considers that fact, it is all the more impressive that the setup is a fairly straightf...
Which is better - Wildfire or FortiGate?
FortiGate has a lot going for it and I consider it to be the best, most user-friendly firewall out there. What I like the most about it is that it has an attractive web dashboard with very easy nav...
How does Cisco ASA Firewall compare with Palo Alto's WildFire?
When looking to change our ASA Firewall, we looked into Palo Alto’s WildFire. It works especially in preventing advanced malware and zero-day exploits with real-time intelligence. The sandbox featu...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Symantec Advanced Threat Protection?
The price is quite expensive because a different entity has taken over the company.
What needs improvement with Symantec Advanced Threat Protection?
One area for improvement could be the pricing model. Future releases could further enhance integration capabilities with other platforms and simplify the licensing model to compete more with Micros...
What is your primary use case for Symantec Advanced Threat Protection?
Our primary use case for the product is to provide advanced threat protection to our clients, primarily in the banking and financial sectors.
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Novamedia, Nexon Asia Pacific, Lenovo, Samsonite, IOOF, Sinogrid, SanDisk Corporation
ECI
Find out what your peers are saying about Palo Alto Networks WildFire vs. Symantec Advanced Threat Protection and other solutions. Updated: January 2026.
883,448 professionals have used our research since 2012.