What users are saying about
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63 Ratings
Cisco ASA 5500-X with FirePOWER Services
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63 Ratings
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Based on 63 reviews and ratings
FortiGate
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Top Rated
254 Ratings
<a href='https://www.trustradius.com/static/about-trustradius-scoring' target='_blank' rel='nofollow noopener'>trScore algorithm: Learn more.</a>Score 8.8 out of 100
Based on 254 reviews and ratings
Feature Set Ratings
- Fortinet FortiGate ranks higher in 1 feature set: Firewall
Firewall
8.5
Cisco ASA 5500-X with FirePOWER Services
85%

9.1
FortiGate
91%
Fortinet FortiGate ranks higher in 10/11 features
Fortinet FortiGate ranks higher in 10/11 features
Identification Technologies
8.5
85%
24 Ratings

9.1
91%
34 Ratings
Visualization Tools
7.8
78%
21 Ratings

8.9
89%
33 Ratings
Content Inspection
8.0
80%
25 Ratings

8.5
85%
35 Ratings
Policy-based Controls
8.8
88%
25 Ratings

9.0
90%
36 Ratings
Active Directory and LDAP
9.0
90%
24 Ratings

9.2
92%
34 Ratings
Firewall Management Console
8.7
87%
25 Ratings

9.4
94%
36 Ratings
Reporting and Logging
8.7
87%
25 Ratings

8.7
87%
36 Ratings
VPN
9.5
95%
25 Ratings

9.6
96%
36 Ratings
High Availability
9.7
97%
25 Ratings

9.3
93%
31 Ratings
Stateful Inspection
8.0
80%
4 Ratings

9.2
92%
33 Ratings
Proxy Server
7.1
71%
3 Ratings

8.9
89%
26 Ratings
Attribute Ratings
- Cisco ASA 5500-X with FirePOWER Services is rated higher in 2 areas: Support Rating, Implementation Rating
- Fortinet FortiGate is rated higher in 4 areas: Likelihood to Recommend, Likelihood to Renew, Usability, Performance
Likelihood to Recommend
8.7
Cisco ASA 5500-X with FirePOWER Services
87%
25 Ratings

9.1
FortiGate
91%
62 Ratings
Likelihood to Renew
7.1
Cisco ASA 5500-X with FirePOWER Services
71%
2 Ratings

9.9
FortiGate
99%
4 Ratings
Usability
7.2
Cisco ASA 5500-X with FirePOWER Services
72%
2 Ratings

10.0
FortiGate
100%
6 Ratings
Availability
Cisco ASA 5500-X with FirePOWER Services
N/A
0 Ratings

10.0
FortiGate
100%
4 Ratings
Performance
8.5
Cisco ASA 5500-X with FirePOWER Services
85%
21 Ratings

10.0
FortiGate
100%
2 Ratings
Support Rating
9.1
Cisco ASA 5500-X with FirePOWER Services
91%
25 Ratings

8.8
FortiGate
88%
49 Ratings
In-Person Training
Cisco ASA 5500-X with FirePOWER Services
N/A
0 Ratings

10.0
FortiGate
100%
1 Rating
Implementation Rating
8.2
Cisco ASA 5500-X with FirePOWER Services
82%
2 Ratings

8.0
FortiGate
80%
8 Ratings
Product Scalability
Cisco ASA 5500-X with FirePOWER Services
N/A
0 Ratings

9.8
FortiGate
98%
2 Ratings
Likelihood to Recommend
Cisco ASA 5500-X with FirePOWER Services
This device fits very well in medium to large enterprise networks, the ability for active/passive failover makes it extremely reliable should you choose to purchase two units. For smaller networks, the 5500 series may be overkill with a multitude of less expensive options available. Having everything in one box and management utilizing the Cisco ASDM console is very nice.

Verified User
Professional in Information Technology
Civil Engineering Company, 51-200 employeesFortiGate
For FortiGate Firewall, the basic functionality and requirement is met easily as Fortigate is among market leaders in NGFW. There are some extra points that inclined us to use Fortigate as our main Firewall. [Fortinet]Fortigate has a very well refined and functional SD-WAN solution when it comes to load balancing for normal Internet Traffic. SD-WAN - Load balancing of Internet traffic is a USP of Fortigate and makes it stand tall in the competition. Be it 3 or more Internet Links, multiple Subnets/segments of users to distribute and bandwidth load balancing for links and users. SLA based monitoring of Internet Links / MPLS links, makes it even better to choose the links on the basis of performance (Latency, packet loss, Jitter etc). SSL VPN configuration - The deep CLI-level debugging is also very helpful in troubleshooting. Type of tunnel can be easily configured - Full Tunnel or Split Tunnel for SSL. Though, I think Fortigate is one of the best options for small and mid-sized organizations, there are some areas for improvement. First, the CLI interface is very hard to adapt as the commands and directory hierarchy is very different for common syntax and standards.

Verified User
Administrator in Information Technology
Computer Software Company, 501-1000 employeesPros
Cisco ASA 5500-X with FirePOWER Services
- Cisco ASA 5500-X with FirePOWER Services are very well suited for most environments.
- Cisco ASA 5500-X with FirePOWER Services have a variety of networking features including NextGen, web content filtering, data analysis, high availability failover, packet inspection, context-based ACL, and other features to protect your networks.
- It's easy to deploy and manage.

Verified User
Manager in Information Technology
Paper & Forest Products Company, 10,001+ employeesFortiGate
- It is the most reliable NGFW that we have ever been touch with it.
- You can easily upgrade the firewall cluster firmware without user attention!!!
- User IDentity based feature is fantastic and intrusion prevention just works with least false-positive possible.
- Very reachfull and intuitive GUI, just love it
Network Administrator
CalSpas - Lloyd's Material SupplyRecreational Facilities & Services, 501-1000 employees
Cons
Cisco ASA 5500-X with FirePOWER Services
- Performance when using FirePower services make the unit slow
- Capacity of what the FirePower services need
- The interface is better than ASDM but these still need ASDM and that can be a challenge to get the correct Java version loaded
- Certain 5500-X models are different than previous versions with no switchport options

Verified User
Manager in Information Technology
Mining & Metals Company, 501-1000 employeesFortiGate
- When we switched to Fortinet Fortigate, it took some time getting used to and become familiar with the new interface. Being used to strictly command-line interfaces, a full GUI-based firewall was something brand new. Careful planning had to be done when creating rules to ensure we didn't miss anything. However, once we got used to the new GUI interface, going from one Fortinet product to another was simple, as Fortinet used the same interface for all of its devices.

Verified User
C-Level Executive in Information Technology
Government Administration Company, 51-200 employeesPricing Details
Cisco ASA 5500-X with FirePOWER Services
General
Free Trial
—Free/Freemium Version
—Premium Consulting/Integration Services
—Entry-level set up fee?
No
Starting Price
—FortiGate
General
Free Trial
Yes
Free/Freemium Version
—Premium Consulting/Integration Services
—Entry-level set up fee?
No
Starting Price
—Likelihood to Renew
Cisco ASA 5500-X with FirePOWER Services
Cisco ASA 5500-X with FirePOWER Services 7.1
Based on 2 answers
We are exploring cloud services, the services are getting cheaper and the features offered in terms of hardware and software are becoming comparable to ASA.
IT Network Specialist
Wood's HomesNon-profit Organization Management, 201-500 employees
FortiGate
FortiGate 9.9
Based on 4 answers
Fortinet's products have kept improving with new software releases and they continue to deliver great value. Their support is also very good. I believe that as a small enterprise, their products have given us competitive advantage delivering features and functionality that enable us to innovate and do things better. They also continue to be a leader in the markets they serve.
Manager, IT Operations
Cidel Bank & Trust IncFinancial Services, 51-200 employees
Usability
Cisco ASA 5500-X with FirePOWER Services
Cisco ASA 5500-X with FirePOWER Services 7.2
Based on 2 answers
Cisco firepower provides automatation for an organisations security operations to detect and stop the most advanced threats fast. It also assists in preventing attacks in using intelligence and innovative solutions.
Solutions Architect
Baraka Technology GroupInformation Technology and Services, 51-200 employees
FortiGate
FortiGate 10.0
Based on 6 answers
The user interface shared among many simultaneous users is very easy to get around. With shared favorites among users, most tasks are easily bookmarked and can quickly be found and edited. Their strategy for web filter integration is easy to understand and manage as well. With some general direction, setup and maintenance were easy to do and easy to teach others in the organization to do as well.
IS Director
City of Hot SpringsGovernment Administration, 501-1000 employees
Reliability and Availability
Cisco ASA 5500-X with FirePOWER Services
No score
No answers yet
No answers on this topic
FortiGate
FortiGate 10.0
Based on 4 answers
We had didn't any hardware failures at our two main office locations and upgraded our units last year after using them for about 5-6 years
Manager, IT Operations
Cidel Bank & Trust IncFinancial Services, 51-200 employees
Performance
Cisco ASA 5500-X with FirePOWER Services
Cisco ASA 5500-X with FirePOWER Services 8.5
Based on 21 answers
The solution is great, it has incredible features, but when activating all Firepower services on the appliance, the ASA suffers from a performance degradation and is slower to process the information and access the management settings. That is why it is important to correctly size the equipment to avoid this type of problem.
Analista de sistemas
NestléFood & Beverages, 10,001+ employees
FortiGate
FortiGate 10.0
Based on 2 answers
Good performance and really good integration. We have integration with Microsoft AD.
Supervisor IT Operations
Laureate International UniversitiesEducation Management, 10,001+ employees
Support Rating
Cisco ASA 5500-X with FirePOWER Services
Cisco ASA 5500-X with FirePOWER Services 9.1
Based on 25 answers
I gave this rating because Cisco ASA 5500-X with FirePOWER Services offers the best technical and software solutions and it has the best customer care service. They solve issues within 24 hours and they provide so much consistent support and relevant solutions to products at hand and it is too cheap compared to all other software we have ever used as an organization.
Network Engineer
JohannesburgInformation Technology & Services, 5001-10,000 employees
FortiGate
FortiGate 8.8
Based on 49 answers
We live in Turkey. Fortinet's Turkey office [dealt] constantly with us in our every problem or our experience. In addition, global support teams also supported every ticket we opened in every problem we encountered. They support innovative approaches and evaluate and offer solutions. In this context, they were very supportive of the problems we encountered in previous versions.
Senior Security Supervisor
N11.comRetail, 201-500 employees
In-Person Training
Cisco ASA 5500-X with FirePOWER Services
No score
No answers yet
No answers on this topic
FortiGate
FortiGate 10.0
Based on 1 answer
I received it a couple years afters use it and it was just to confirm my knowledge about the tool.
Supervisor IT Operations
Laureate International UniversitiesEducation Management, 10,001+ employees
Implementation Rating
Cisco ASA 5500-X with FirePOWER Services
Cisco ASA 5500-X with FirePOWER Services 8.2
Based on 2 answers
We find these easy to deploy and we have a process we follow. We normally take 1-2 days to deploy.

Verified User
Engineer in Information Technology
Gambling & Casinos Company, 51-200 employeesFortiGate
FortiGate 8.0
Based on 8 answers
Make sure that you have the most current version of FortiOS. Make sure all Fortigates are on the same version
Systems Architect
Browns Hill Engineering and ControlsMechanical or Industrial Engineering, 51-200 employees
Alternatives Considered
Cisco ASA 5500-X with FirePOWER Services
Previous],] I was using the [pfSense] in my organization but when i switched to [Cisco ASA 5500-X with FirePOWER Services] I realized there are lots of issue and missing security features in [pfSense]. The deployment and configuration is very easy as compare to [pfSense]. I highly recommend this product to everyone.
Executive System Admin
FreelancerInformation Technology & Services, 1-10 employees
FortiGate
[Fortinet] FortiGate is not only cost effective but it gives the comprehensive security against the APT attacks and gives the complete traffic visibility and granular control. You can easily create the VDOMs (Virtual firewall) within a Fortigate firewall and customize the dashboard as per your requirement if you have multiple VDOMs within a single firewall.
Shift Supervisor
MattsenKumar LLCInformation Technology & Services, 501-1000 employees
Scalability
Cisco ASA 5500-X with FirePOWER Services
No score
No answers yet
No answers on this topic
FortiGate
FortiGate 9.8
Based on 2 answers
My environments are pretty small (less than 100 users per location) so no issues here.
Manager, IT Operations
Cidel Bank & Trust IncFinancial Services, 51-200 employees
Return on Investment
Cisco ASA 5500-X with FirePOWER Services
- As an integrated appliance, we saved costs on getting other security technologies.
- It provided secure access to our remote users, saving costs and time as our users could get access to the network anywhere and anytime.
- Since we have other Cisco devices, integration was seamless.
- Integration with Active Directory meant we did not need to create addition user accounts.
Solutions Architect
Baraka Technology GroupInformation Technology and Services, 51-200 employees
FortiGate
- Fortigates have an interesting bundle model for support and subscription services that make it an attractive option to deploy Firewall, IDS, Ant-virus, anti-SPAM in a single device. The cost of the bundle is pretty much what you pay for the device, not requiring huge expenditures on it's time to renew the hardware.
Information Technology Manager
Corporation of the Township of EsquimaltGovernment Administration, 51-200 employees