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Cisco Adaptive Security Appliance (ASA) Software vs. SonicWall TZ

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    Overview
    ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price

    Cisco Adaptive Security Appliance (ASA) Software

    Score9 out of 10
    N/ACisco Adaptive Security Appliance (ASA) software is the core OS for the ASA suite. It provides firewall functionality, as well as integration with context-specific Cisco security modules. It is scaled for enterprise-level traffic and connections.N/A

    SonicWall TZ

    Score8.4 out of 10
    N/ASonicWall TZ is an entry to mid-tier NGFW for small to mid-sized companies. It is a Unified Threat Management solution, with additional native decryption and deep-packet inspection capabilities.

    $399

    one-time fee

    Pricing
    Cisco Adaptive Security Appliance (ASA) SoftwareSonicWall TZ
    Editions & Modules
    No answers on this topic
    SonicWall TZ270 High Availability
    $329.60
    SonicWall TZ270 (hardware only)
    $414.04
    SonicWall TZ370 High Availability
    $493.04
    SonicWall TZ270 Wireless-AC (hardware only)
    $502.57
    SonicWall TZ370 (hardware only)
    $618.34
    SonicWall TZ270 TotalSecure - Essential Edition (1 Year)
    $689.16
    SonicWall TZ370 Wireless-AC (hardware only)
    $708.23
    SonicWall TZ270 TotalSecure - Advanced Edition (1 Year)
    $769.52
    SonicWall TZ470 High Availability
    $776.33
    SonicWall TZ270 Wireless-AC TotalSecure - Essential Edition (1 Year)
    $796.76
    SonicWall TZ270 Wireless-AC TotalSecure - Advanced Edition (1 Year)
    $930.24
    SonicWall TZ370 TotalSecure - Essential Edition (1 Year)
    $973.82
    SonicWall TZ470 (hardware only)
    $973.82
    SonicWall TZ570 High Availability (HA) Unit
    $988.80
    SonicWall TZ470 Wireless-AC (hardware only)
    $1063.71
    SonicWall TZ370 TotalSecure - Advanced Edition (1 Year)
    $1085.50
    SonicWall TZ370 Wireless-AC TotalSecure - Essential Edition (1 Year)
    $1107.29
    SonicWall TZ370 Wireless-AC TotalSecure - Advanced Edition (1 Year)
    $1232.60
    SonicWall TZ570
    $1240.77
    SonicWall TZ670 High Availability (HA) Unit
    $1273.46
    SonicWall TZ570 Wireless-AC
    $1356.54
    SonicWall TZ570 with 8x5 Support (1 Year)
    $1450.51
    SonicWall TZ570 Wireless-AC with 8x5 Support (1 Year)
    $1588.07
    SonicWall TZ470 TotalSecure - Essential Edition (1 Year)
    $1596.25
    SonicWall TZ670
    $1596.25
    SonicWall TZ470 Wireless-AC TotalSecure - Essential Edition (1 Year)
    $1729.72
    SonicWall TZ470 TotalSecure - Advanced Edition (1 Year)
    $1805.99
    SonicWall TZ670 with 8x5 Support (1 Year)
    $1867.28
    SonicWall TZ470 Wireless-AC TotalSecure - Advanced Edition (1 Year)
    $1876.82
    SonicWall TZ570 TotalSecure - Essential Edition (1 Year)
    $2006.20
    SonicWall TZ570 Wireless-AC TotalSecure - Essential Edition (1 Year)
    $2192.80
    SonicWall TZ570 TotalSecure - Advanced Edition (1 Year)
    $2200.97
    SonicWall TZ570 Wireless-AC TotalSecure - Advanced Edition (1 Year)
    $2442.04
    SonicWall TZ670 TotalSecure - Essential Edition (1 Year)
    $2574.15
    SonicWall TZ670 TotalSecure - Advanced Edition (1 Year)
    $2868.34
    Offerings
    Pricing Offerings
    Cisco Adaptive Security Appliance (ASA) SoftwareSonicWall TZ
    Free Trial
    NoYes
    Free/Freemium Version
    NoNo
    Premium Consulting/Integration Services
    NoNo
    Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
    Additional DetailsSee pricing link for TZ Series (Gen6) editions. All prices have been converted from pounds. Conversion rates may change.
    More Pricing Information
    Community Pulse
    Cisco Adaptive Security Appliance (ASA) SoftwareSonicWall TZ
    Considered Both Products
    Cisco
    Chose Cisco Adaptive Security Appliance (ASA) Software
    Cisco ASAs are a world apart from SonicWall's, and even more so pfSense. Sonicwall's are okay for SOHO purposes; they're not expensive, but they're not as robust either. They often choke bandwidth because of CPU limitations. pfSense is a Linux-based firewall, and it does the …
    Incentivized
    Chose Cisco Adaptive Security Appliance (ASA) Software
    Cisco certainly has the more well-known brand. Although it's more expensive than competitors, it has a good reputation for support, reliability, and security. It's also very common for IT experts to be familiar with Cisco, since it is a common and sought-after brand. The …
    Incentivized
    Chose Cisco Adaptive Security Appliance (ASA) Software
    Above all, the robustness and quality of the components, the support and the rapid resolution of warranty issues. Cisco is a serious company and demonstrates this by making the processes with the client as easy as possible.
    Incentivized
    Chose Cisco Adaptive Security Appliance (ASA) Software
    The ease of use and the in house experience was the big factor for purchasing Cisco products. Though the other two products worked within our environment, they proved a little difficult when working with other Cisco products. This could have been due to the lack of …
    Incentivized
    Chose Cisco Adaptive Security Appliance (ASA) Software
    I had previously used Watchguard and Sonicwall firewalls (in addition to older Cisco firewalls). The Sonicwall worked ok as a small business firewall, but isn't really on the same level as Palo Alto and Cisco. Watchguard is closer to that level, and I did like their gui …
    Incentivized
    Chose Cisco Adaptive Security Appliance (ASA) Software
    Shortly before my departure, my previous company had me involved with a 3 month proof-of-concept and
    vendor selection process for SCADA environments in an oil and gas environment. The products tested were the Cisco ASA 5516 w/SourceFire, Palo Alto, and CheckPoint. Of them, …
    Incentivized
    SonicWall
    Chose SonicWall TZ
    We were using the Cisco ASA but there are lots of security features that are missing in these devices. SonicWall is a combination in advanced security and advanced routing. You can easy to use this firewall.
    Incentivized
    Chose SonicWall TZ
    We chose the Sonicwall TZ250 because it has reliability in the Dell Sonicwall brand. It is a reliable product, with excellent support and warranty with face-to-face service should the need arise. It is cheaper than the competition, does not take up rack space, does not heat up, …
    Incentivized
    Chose SonicWall TZ
    We like it is a small, portable, and has many features. I have confidence in the brand a long time. Support was also a differential to make the decision.
    Incentivized
    Chose SonicWall TZ
    Pretty much similar functionality. SonicWall TZ400 compared to ASA 5506 has better hardware performance. SonicWall licenses cost less money which makes it better for the same needs and functionality. However, the Cisco ASA Internet unity and knowledge base are bigger then …
    Incentivized
    Chose SonicWall TZ
    because it is multiprotocol, has continuous support and is also economical
    Incentivized
    Chose SonicWall TZ
    Costs, features and ease of use were the determining factors. The UI alone outweighs the CLI from the ASA and SRX, features were easier to understand and licenses were more easily obtained.
    Incentivized
    Key User Insights
    Would buy again
    87%
    Would buy again
    40 Answers
    93%
    Would buy again
    13 Answers
    Delivers good value for the price
    95%
    Delivers good value for the price
    42 Answers
    93%
    Delivers good value for the price
    13 Answers
    Happy with the feature set
    91%
    Happy with the feature set
    42 Answers
    100%
    Happy with the feature set
    14 Answers
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    100%
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    36 Answers
    100%
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    12 Answers
    Implementation went as expected
    98%
    Implementation went as expected
    41 Answers
    100%
    Implementation went as expected
    14 Answers
    Features
    Cisco Adaptive Security Appliance (ASA) SoftwareSonicWall TZ
    Firewall
    Comparison of Firewall features of Cisco Adaptive Security Appliance (ASA) Software and SonicWall TZ
    Feature
    Cisco Adaptive Security Appliance (ASA) Software
    8.9
    50 Ratings
    4% above category average
    SonicWall TZ
    8.4
    15 Ratings
    2% below category average
    Identification Technologies7.932 Ratings9.115 Ratings
    Visualization Tools7.931 Ratings8.314 Ratings
    Content Inspection8.433 Ratings8.815 Ratings
    Policy-based Controls8.446 Ratings8.415 Ratings
    Active Directory and LDAP8.448 Ratings7.112 Ratings
    Firewall Management Console9.049 Ratings7.615 Ratings
    Reporting and Logging8.949 Ratings7.814 Ratings
    VPN10.049 Ratings8.915 Ratings
    High Availability9.649 Ratings9.214 Ratings
    Stateful Inspection10.046 Ratings8.414 Ratings
    Proxy Server9.032 Ratings8.410 Ratings
    Best Alternatives
    Cisco Adaptive Security Appliance (ASA) SoftwareSonicWall TZ
    Small Businesses
    SonicWall NSA Series
    Score8.4 out of 10
    SonicWall NSA Series
    Score8.4 out of 10
    Medium-sized Companies
    Barracuda CloudGen Firewall
    Score9.6 out of 10
    Barracuda CloudGen Firewall
    Score9.6 out of 10
    Enterprises
    F5 BIG-IP Advanced Firewall Manager (AFM)
    Score8.8 out of 10
    Cisco Adaptive Security Appliance (ASA) Software
    Score9 out of 10
    All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
    User Ratings
    Cisco Adaptive Security Appliance (ASA) SoftwareSonicWall TZ
    Likelihood to Recommend
    9.0
    (88 ratings)
    9.2
    (21 ratings)
    Likelihood to Renew
    7.1
    (4 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Usability
    -
    (0 ratings)
    8.3
    (6 ratings)
    Availability
    7.5
    (2 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Support Rating
    8.7
    (8 ratings)
    9.0
    (9 ratings)
    Implementation Rating
    8.0
    (2 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Ease of integration
    6.5
    (2 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    User Testimonials
    Cisco Adaptive Security Appliance (ASA) SoftwareSonicWall TZ
    Likelihood to Recommend
    Cisco
    Cisco ASA's are great for internal network connected access between a firewall and the central management server. And, for complex networks where high security requirements with overly strict compliance are necessary. For networks with limited connectivity to the core or for poor network connectivity these are not the best solution. There are other more stand-alone firewall's that do this better. These firewall's are a little more complex to set up to start with so significant knowledge of these devices is required to set them up and ensure they are best practice installed.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    SonicWall
    Based on my experience, this is a solid platform for a small to mid sized company, especially when there is someone who has IT experience, or can get outsourced IT help. I would not recommend for someone who is a technology novice. Also, this is a competent device for someone who is looking to add VPN services for remote workers.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Pros
    Cisco
    • ASA is our VPN concentrator. The client and server are very stable and very easy to use
    • ASA also offers Intrusion Prevention, to an extent. This is also very useful for an improved security posture for a small company
    • ASA allowed us to scale very quickly. We could onboard clients, partners, and consultants and give them a great onboarding experience as well
    • Administrative costs with ASA are low. It's very easy to administer.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    SonicWall
    • If you have multiple sites and you want the connect the sites through secure medium this is best firewall for you.
    • There are very advanced features helps you to connect the device easily and securely.
    • Easy to connect the sites through advanced routing protocols.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Cons
    Cisco
    • The ASDM software is at times a nightmare to install because of different java versions[.]
    • [The firewall] could do with a power button, just to be able to do a hard reboot when needed[.]
    • It would be nice to manage the firewall via the web on port 443[.]
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    SonicWall
    • There are Service Bundles in SonicWall TZ that are Unlicensed and do not know why they have not be Activated - would need help to further understand benefits
    • Do not know why Standard Support is Unlicensed
    • WiFi range of TZ270W is very limited - need to add Access Points or Extended to obtain adequate coverage
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Likelihood to Renew
    Cisco
    To be honest there has been now great products out in the market compared to Cisco ASA. I beleieve Cisco has to do a lot of improvement in this area. The other defeiniete factors is the cost when it comes to renewals which is always a premium on Cisco products
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    SonicWall
    No answers on this topic
    Usability
    Cisco
    No answers on this topic
    SonicWall
    Overall the new interface is very logical and easy to navigate. We did struggle at first coming from the older interface and finding our way around the new. But our new users found it very simple to find what they were looking for. One negative we do all struggle with is packet cpature not always being clear how its set/what is being monitored. this could do with more information on teh intial page instead of having to look for it
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Reliability and Availability
    Cisco
    I generally have not noticed the outages, however since it's a machine it can malfunction, we need to implement the firewall infrastructure in such a way that it is highly available with device failure, region failure etc. Else any solution will be having the issues if they are not build with resiliency.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    SonicWall
    No answers on this topic
    Support Rating
    Cisco
    The support is usually very good and gets back to you very quickly. However I had some instances of when two engineers will give me wildly different answers to what I thought was a simple question. Overall however I do rate the support highly and they are generally always very good.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    SonicWall
    Once you get to a competent technician the support experience is better. But I have found that the lower tiers of support are very slow to respond (like 1 email per day) and you typically have to re-explain yourself a couple times before they get it. I have not used Phone support, and that may be a better experience.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Implementation Rating
    Cisco
    It was quite a good one, how ever requires an expertise to deploy hence the SMB segment would be finding it difficult to implement this product. The one good reason is that there are lot of ASA certified engineers in compared to the other certified engineers. Hence this resembles positively on the deployment as you have quite a lot of experienced engineer on your deployment
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    SonicWall
    No answers on this topic
    Alternatives Considered
    Cisco
    We were using [pfSense] before in our environment but we regularly facing difficulties over it due to software bugs & downtime. After implementing Cisco ASA, it resolved our availability issue & provides us a reliable solution with the best security features & easy to understand GUI.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    SonicWall
    SonicWall and WatchGuard are both fine appliances, but I am accustomed to the Barracuda NG. The Barracuda Control Center is so powerful and useful that it beats out the other two. SonicWall does a great job of dividing up firewall rules and NAT policies, but this is a preference among engineers.
    Read full review
    Return on Investment
    Cisco
    • Most network engineers have worked with ASA, so there is no need for re-training when adding or turning over staff
    • Current configs from older devices plug in easily, and are operational on larger devices if an upgrade is required
    • Many support options available
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    SonicWall
    • We have three SonicWall TZ devices and they are very helpful in a VPN set up.
    • The subscription costs for the different features has a great return on investment. It is very well worth the money.
    • The antivirus component has been very effective on the computers and servers the SonicWall TZ device protects.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    ScreenShots

    SonicWall TZ Screenshots

    Screenshot of the SonicWall TZ 570 applianceScreenshot of the SonicWall TZ 370W appliance