Barracuda CloudGen Firewall vs. Cisco Secure Firewall

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
Barracuda CloudGen Firewall
Score 9.6 out of 10
N/A
Barracuda CloudGen Firewalls provides a wide range of security and connectivity features, including web filtering, NAC and SSL VPN and other features for remote access, as well as protection as edge devices and IoT security.N/A
Cisco Secure Firewall
Score 8.5 out of 10
N/A
Cisco Secure Firewall delivers comprehensive threat protection for modern, distributed networks. Built to support hybrid workforces and multicloud environments, it enables Zero Trust access, application visibility, and secure remote connectivity. With integration across the Cisco Secure portfolio, including SecureX and Talos threat intelligence, the firewall powers organizations to detect and stop more sophisticated threats. Centralized management simplifies policy enforcement, orchestration,…N/A
Pricing
Barracuda CloudGen FirewallCisco Secure Firewall
Editions & Modules
No answers on this topic
No answers on this topic
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
Barracuda CloudGen FirewallCisco Secure Firewall
Free Trial
YesYes
Free/Freemium Version
NoNo
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
NoNo
Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
Additional DetailsBarracuda offers prospective buyers a build and quote tool on their website.
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
Barracuda CloudGen FirewallCisco Secure Firewall
Considered Both Products
Barracuda CloudGen Firewall

No answer on this topic

Cisco Secure Firewall
Chose Cisco Secure Firewall
Price was my reason for selecting Cisco Secure Firewall.
Features
Barracuda CloudGen FirewallCisco Secure Firewall
Firewall
Comparison of Firewall features of Product A and Product B
Barracuda CloudGen Firewall
9.5
11 Ratings
10% above category average
Cisco Secure Firewall
8.2
171 Ratings
5% below category average
Identification Technologies9.710 Ratings8.1153 Ratings
Visualization Tools8.510 Ratings7.8154 Ratings
Content Inspection9.49 Ratings8.3153 Ratings
Policy-based Controls9.810 Ratings8.5161 Ratings
Active Directory and LDAP9.611 Ratings7.9140 Ratings
Firewall Management Console9.611 Ratings8.0160 Ratings
Reporting and Logging9.411 Ratings7.7162 Ratings
VPN9.710 Ratings8.7145 Ratings
High Availability9.99 Ratings8.9156 Ratings
Stateful Inspection9.88 Ratings8.7152 Ratings
Proxy Server9.04 Ratings7.885 Ratings
Best Alternatives
Barracuda CloudGen FirewallCisco Secure Firewall
Small Businesses
pfSense
pfSense
Score 8.6 out of 10
pfSense
pfSense
Score 8.6 out of 10
Medium-sized Companies
Quantum Firewalls and Security Gateways
Quantum Firewalls and Security Gateways
Score 9.2 out of 10
Quantum Firewalls and Security Gateways
Quantum Firewalls and Security Gateways
Score 9.2 out of 10
Enterprises
Palo Alto Networks Virtualized Next-Generation Firewalls - VM Series
Palo Alto Networks Virtualized Next-Generation Firewalls - VM Series
Score 9.1 out of 10
Palo Alto Networks Virtualized Next-Generation Firewalls - VM Series
Palo Alto Networks Virtualized Next-Generation Firewalls - VM Series
Score 9.1 out of 10
All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
User Ratings
Barracuda CloudGen FirewallCisco Secure Firewall
Likelihood to Recommend
9.9
(15 ratings)
8.5
(142 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
-
(0 ratings)
9.4
(4 ratings)
Usability
5.5
(1 ratings)
7.0
(3 ratings)
Availability
-
(0 ratings)
9.5
(4 ratings)
Performance
-
(0 ratings)
5.0
(1 ratings)
Support Rating
6.0
(4 ratings)
7.9
(78 ratings)
Implementation Rating
-
(0 ratings)
9.3
(4 ratings)
Ease of integration
-
(0 ratings)
8.3
(3 ratings)
Product Scalability
-
(0 ratings)
5.0
(1 ratings)
User Testimonials
Barracuda CloudGen FirewallCisco Secure Firewall
Likelihood to Recommend
Barracuda Networks, Inc.
I would say a small business with a basic firewall and security needs would be a perfect fit for the Barracuda CloudGen firewall. I know that they soon end up leaving the NG models and are moving forward with the F series firewall. I think the F series is a much more difficult to manage device and doesn’t offer simplistic configuration or use and lacks cloud control so I don’t understand the move on Barracuda’s part to nix a great easy to manage the firewall. I do think that the NG line is maybe too simple for bigger businesses and would lack some main features that they would require.
Read full review
Cisco
Cisco Secure Firewall is essential for any organization that wants to secure its network and ensure that data packets are not lost during transmission. It helps structure and consistently deploy policies throughout the organization. However, the high licensing costs for the standby unit, which remains idle, may make this solution unsuitable for small, cost-sensitive organizations.
Read full review
Pros
Barracuda Networks, Inc.
  • The management software is excellent. It make it much easier to manage the firewalls than some of the other vendors.
  • Watching real-time traffic is easy to do when trying to troubleshoot a users issues getting to a particular service.
  • Support from Barracuda has been excellent. We rate their phone and online remote support as being the best in the business.
  • We like the QoS and Traffic shaping of the NG Firewalls. They help is manage our limited bandwidth, so that business critical resources are available over lesser critical resources.
  • Integration with Active Directory makes it easy to identify users activities in logs.
Read full review
Cisco
  • It's good at segregating networks and ensuring that you only give the access that you need to give. Especially with medical devices, you want to only give the access that they need and keep them in their own separate areas so that they can't just communicate with the rest of the network. It's also good at the border for keeping attackers out of the network.
Read full review
Cons
Barracuda Networks, Inc.
  • Very complex and steep learning curve to get up to speed.
  • Multiple ways to configure for the same service or feature. Takes time to determine "your" customized build.
  • Interface can sometimes be clunky when trying to determine how it's organized or arranged. Again, steep learning curve.
Read full review
Cisco
  • I wish that the deployment of the updates to the sensors from the FMC was faster.
  • Cisco ASA firewall did a great job of authentication and authorization on the local firewall. FTD does not authorize users well in terms that an AAA must be setup to provide the granular tools that the ASA did.
  • Cisco's method of licensing the firewall can be improved. The FMC and the FTD are licensed through the Cisco software manager and there are instances where the devices are licensed but the firewall still displays and error due to licensing.
Read full review
Likelihood to Renew
Barracuda Networks, Inc.
No answers on this topic
Cisco
It works really well. We can do most anything we want or need to with it, and you don’t have to have a doctorate or multiple certs to necessarily figure it out. The thing that would probably have to happen to make us switch would be if we just got priced out - Cisco’s more powerful and higher bandwidth models cost a pretty penny.
Read full review
Usability
Barracuda Networks, Inc.
Easy enough to use and configure using the management UI. Reporting from the web filter is a little clunky, and not very user friendly. To be perfectly honest, once it's set up and running, there isn't a lot to do from the day-to-day side of things, which is not a bad thing.
Read full review
Cisco
i think overall after ALOT of tac cases it works allright now. But still have alot of issues if you use cloud based mangement. fx, if you open 2 windows of access policys, both of the pages, rules starte to jump form side to side. if you then open one more list, its start to jump even faster. if you close the 2 of them, its back to normal. ALSO the extended access lists for VPN, SUCKS. Its the tiniest window when opening the editor, and you are not able to give the rules names, Which means finding and editing rules SUCKS, its a horrible experience, and eveytime we have to we want to yell :P
Read full review
Reliability and Availability
Barracuda Networks, Inc.
No answers on this topic
Cisco
Rationale:


Strengths:


High availability (HA) and failover configurations ensure continuous operation during hardware or network issues.


Minimal unplanned outages reported; system remains responsive under full inspection load.


Centralized monitoring and proactive alerts help prevent downtime.




Minor Considerations:


Occasional maintenance windows or updates may require brief service interruptions.


Complex integrations with other systems may sometimes require extra attention to maintain uptime.




Overall, Cisco Secure Firewall is highly available and dependable, supporting business continuity and operational resilience.
Read full review
Performance
Barracuda Networks, Inc.
No answers on this topic
Cisco
We have not had any performance issues with Cisco Secure Firewall, even with DPI and IPS enabled, we have not seen a performance hit. Emoployes have not complained about any slow network speeds that could have been attributed to the secure firewall it has always been something else within the office network.
Read full review
Support Rating
Barracuda Networks, Inc.
I could go on and on about how good Barracuda's support really is. I have yet to have a problem they didn't help me fix and I always learn something when talking with them. The story that best describes my overall experience with Barracuda's support is this: When I first put in the xSeries they had a problem with a policy route. There was a bug in the code and in the one situation I was it, it just would not work. I went up the levels of support and they couldn't fix it. Well, next thing I know I am on the phone with 2 of the guys that programmed the thing and they work out the solution in no time and get me going. That is support. That is what I have come to expect from Barracuda. If the tech on the phone doesn't know the answer, they do not stop until they find it. Grant it, I also have to admit I do not call support with every problem, I try to work it out on my own first as that is how I learn best, so when I do call support it is going to be complicated.
Read full review
Cisco
Firewall support is professional just like any other technology Cisco sells. From answering simple questions to bringing out outages affecting a large population of our workforce, Cisco support is always courteous, professional, and communicates with our team to keep our request on their radar. Some of the brightest people I've met are from Cisco support both in IQ and EQ which shows the talent Cisco is able to onboard to their team.
Read full review
In-Person Training
Barracuda Networks, Inc.
No answers on this topic
Cisco
very good
Read full review
Online Training
Barracuda Networks, Inc.
No answers on this topic
Cisco
was a good training but questions was answered not so good. Training was "Fundamentals of Cisco Firewall Threat Defense and Intrusion Prevention (SFWIPF)".
Read full review
Implementation Rating
Barracuda Networks, Inc.
No answers on this topic
Cisco
Our initial implementation was aided by Cisco's professional services and was excellent. The engineer was very knowledgeable and helped us work through issues while building out our new internet security edge Part of this involved tools to migrate the firewall configuration from old to new.
Read full review
Alternatives Considered
Barracuda Networks, Inc.
Our Cisco firewall was always difficult to make any changes against. It had no user-friendly GUI interface. We were calling technical support most of the time whenever we needed to make any changes. The Barracuda CloudGen Firewall has a GUI interface which we are looking forward to getting better acquainted with as we move off of our old Cisco. Of course, Barracuda's technical support is always there and is top notch!
Read full review
Cisco
Cisco Secure Firewall works better with the Cisco ecosystem when we can utilize it and feels beefy enough when we utilize it in the data center. The Fortinet we have found are great, small cost boxes for remote offices with a better UI then Cisco Secure Firewalls. The feature set included with the firewalls feels similar from a security point of view.
Read full review
Contract Terms and Pricing Model
Barracuda Networks, Inc.
No answers on this topic
Cisco
A solid, realistic rating most people give for Cisco Secure Firewall pricing is 7 or 8 out of 10 (because the product is strong but licensing can be a bit complex)
Read full review
Scalability
Barracuda Networks, Inc.
No answers on this topic
Cisco
Cisco Secure Firewall has never given us any trouble, it has stayed up at all times, upgrading the appliance has also become much simpler. We operate the appliance in a HA pair, so 0% downtime within our organisation. During switchover while upgrading, not a single packet seems to get lost, so this has been a very valuable asset to our company.
Read full review
Professional Services
Barracuda Networks, Inc.
No answers on this topic
Cisco
was not involved
Read full review
Return on Investment
Barracuda Networks, Inc.
  • We saved multiple thousands of dollars the first year out with the firewall in maintenance fees. We paid for the firewall and 3 years of service and still saved money.
  • The ease of management allows me to do my job more efficiently. I save a lot of time when doing my day to day job because I can get to my firewall virtually anywhere.
  • I feel a lot safer and my business more secure knowing that I have configured things the way they need to be and it was simple and not overly complicated.
Read full review
Cisco
  • Positive impact. Cisco is a big player in IT environment. It is future stuff, everything, what you learn today, maybe something can be tomorrow. And yes, it's quite important to learn the new stuff every day. And yes, that's it. Yes, I'm happy with Cisco.
Read full review
ScreenShots

Barracuda CloudGen Firewall Screenshots

Screenshot of Screenshot of Screenshot of Screenshot of Screenshot of

Cisco Secure Firewall Screenshots

Screenshot of Cisco Secure 1200 Series Firewall FamilyScreenshot of Cisco Secure 4200 SeriesScreenshot of Cisco Secure 4200 SeriesScreenshot of Cisco Secure Firewall 1200 Stack FamilyScreenshot of Cisco Secure Firewall 200 SeriesScreenshot of Cisco Secure Firewall 200 Series