Cisco Firepower 1000 Series vs. Sophos SG Firewall Appliances

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
Cisco Firepower 1000 Series
Score 7.4 out of 10
N/A
The Cisco Firepower® 1000 Series for small to medium-size businesses and branch offices is a family of four threat-focused Next-Generation Firewall (NGFW) security platforms designed to deliver business resiliency through superior threat defense. The vendor provides that they offers exceptional sustained performance when advanced threat functions are enabled. The 1000 Series’ throughput range addresses use cases from the small office, home office, remote branch office to the Internet edge. The…N/A
Sophos SG Firewall Appliances
Score 8.7 out of 10
N/A
Sophos SG Firewall Appliances are designed to provide optimal protection for organizations of all sixes from small remote offices, to global organizations requiring high-availability andN/A
Pricing
Cisco Firepower 1000 SeriesSophos SG Firewall Appliances
Editions & Modules
Firepower 1000
1,000-5,000
per appliance
No answers on this topic
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
Cisco Firepower 1000 SeriesSophos SG Firewall Appliances
Free Trial
NoNo
Free/Freemium Version
NoNo
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
NoNo
Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
Additional Details
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
Cisco Firepower 1000 SeriesSophos SG Firewall Appliances
Features
Cisco Firepower 1000 SeriesSophos SG Firewall Appliances
Firewall
Comparison of Firewall features of Product A and Product B
Cisco Firepower 1000 Series
8.4
33 Ratings
3% below category average
Sophos SG Firewall Appliances
9.4
8 Ratings
9% above category average
Identification Technologies8.031 Ratings9.78 Ratings
Visualization Tools7.230 Ratings8.58 Ratings
Content Inspection8.330 Ratings9.58 Ratings
Policy-based Controls8.733 Ratings9.08 Ratings
Active Directory and LDAP8.529 Ratings9.78 Ratings
Firewall Management Console7.232 Ratings8.78 Ratings
Reporting and Logging8.333 Ratings9.58 Ratings
VPN9.228 Ratings10.08 Ratings
High Availability9.232 Ratings9.58 Ratings
Stateful Inspection8.928 Ratings9.78 Ratings
Proxy Server00 Ratings9.76 Ratings
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User Ratings
Cisco Firepower 1000 SeriesSophos SG Firewall Appliances
Likelihood to Recommend
8.2
(34 ratings)
8.7
(8 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
7.0
(2 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Usability
8.0
(5 ratings)
9.0
(4 ratings)
Availability
8.1
(2 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Performance
8.3
(29 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Support Rating
8.6
(34 ratings)
10.0
(1 ratings)
Implementation Rating
9.0
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Ease of integration
8.1
(2 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
User Testimonials
Cisco Firepower 1000 SeriesSophos SG Firewall Appliances
Likelihood to Recommend
Cisco
I think it is well suited for smaller companies or (as in our case) extension to a central system with higher performance. My personal guess is, that it can be quite annoying with those delays in bigger environments, when 20 or more devices needed to be managed. From the point of security, support and updates it works quite good and seem to have no downsides.
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Sophos
Well suited in tech companies that have an IT person to monitor and adjust settings as needed. It is not SUPER user-friendly if you don't know what you are doing.
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Pros
Cisco
  • My organization is all Cisco and wants to stay in the Cisco life cycle, Firepower 1000 series is great for small to medium-size office.
  • Very robust enterprise-grade security solution with updated threat features to handle any current and upcoming threats. The solution is backed by Cisco to ensure constant security updates. Integrated AnyConnect remote client VPN is a big plus to allow for secure remote workers access. Easier to set up a site to site VPN due to the large user base and case studies published on integrating to other manufacturer solutions.
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Sophos
  • It helps you to protect your corporate network and data from external cyber threats.
  • It provides you with with advanced features like load balancing, web and app access, etc., to optimize bandwidth uses.
  • It enables you to configure an IPsec VPN to access organization resources remotely.
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Cons
Cisco
  • ACLS in gui are PIA cant see object details
  • Objects in ACLs dont show IP addresses
  • Have to renames every object to name+ip to make acl GUI useable
  • Speed to data can use improvement.
  • Health warnings should allow you to resolve you have to dig n search in some cases.
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Sophos
  • We would like more feature reach port blocking. This could be reorganized to make it easier on Network Admins to add or change ports.
  • I would like easier access to the CLI
  • I would like it to perform faster
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Likelihood to Renew
Cisco
It is quite good, robust and reliable but not always so easy to manage and configure. The tools could be improved and the price is not low for an entry level firewall
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Sophos
I rated Sophos SG Firewall a 9 out of 10 because it has consistently provided strong and reliable security for our organization over the past five years. Its unified features like IPS, VPN, web filtering, and reporting make it easy to manage and highly effective in protecting our network. The interface is user-friendly, and support from Sophos has been timely and helpful. I deducted one point only because deeper cloud-native integration and more advanced analytics would further enhance its future readiness.
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Usability
Cisco
Firepowers are secure, reliable, central management and configuration is easy and they fit in well with our existing Cisco infrastructure. Good feature set and support. Good management and control with chassis manager and central control with additional Firepower Management Centre.
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Sophos
It does the job well, but is not easy to learn if you are not an IT person (but it can be done!)
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Reliability and Availability
Cisco
Has not let me down yet.
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Sophos
I rated the availability of Sophos SG Firewall a 10 because, in our experience, it has been highly reliable and available whenever we needed it. We have not faced any significant application errors or unplanned outages. The system has been robust, ensuring continuous protection and minimal downtime, even during firmware updates or configuration changes. Its stability and uptime have been consistent, allowing us to trust it as a critical part of our network security infrastructure.
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Performance
Cisco
Great performance even on the lower end model of the series. You can push a lot of traffic through these devices without much performance impact. If you decide you want to inspect encrypted traffic however, you may take a big hit on the cpu and memory of the box, but they still manage to keep up even with all the bells and whistles turned on.
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Sophos
I rated the performance of Sophos SG Firewall a 10 because it consistently delivers fast and reliable results. Pages load quickly, reports are generated within a reasonable time frame, even for complex queries, and overall system responsiveness is excellent. Additionally, the firewall integrates seamlessly with other software and systems without causing any noticeable slowdowns or performance degradation. Its optimized performance has contributed to smooth network operations and minimal disruption to other services, making it a highly reliable solution for our needs.
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Support Rating
Cisco
I have had troubles with Firepower Management Center and the FTD's in the past. Sticking to a Gold Star image and upgrading when the "bugs" are fixed is great. That still doesn't mean you are left vulnerable though. The extra features are just not enabled yet. Great product and calling support is readily available for any issue.
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Sophos
The biggest selling point for sophos is their vendor support. Those guys put a smile on our faces. There are multiple ways you can contact their support like chat, or telephone or email. They are very responsive and they do have very knowledgable and patient support staff. We have raised tickets at all odd hours and they have been addressed correctly
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In-Person Training
Cisco
No answers on this topic
Sophos
I rated the in-person training a 10 because the sessions were thorough, engaging, and well-structured. The trainers had a deep understanding of the Sophos SG Firewall and were able to clearly explain both basic and advanced features. The hands-on approach allowed us to directly apply what we were learning, which made the training highly practical and valuable. Additionally, the trainers were available to address specific questions and provide real-time troubleshooting during the sessions, making it an overall positive experience.
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Implementation Rating
Cisco
Utilize the new FMC cloud which is available in Cisco Defense Orchestrator.
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Sophos
I was very satisfied with the implementation of the Sophos SG Firewall, giving it a rating of 9. One key insight from the implementation process is that while the setup was relatively straightforward, it’s crucial to carefully plan the network configuration in advance, especially for high availability (HA) and VPN setups. Ensuring compatibility with existing infrastructure and performing thorough testing before going live can significantly reduce issues later on. Additionally, leveraging the built-in wizards and configuration guides helped streamline the process, but hands-on testing was essential to ensure everything worked as expected in our specific environment.
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Alternatives Considered
Cisco
Cisco Meraki MX is much more simple to configure it if you compare to Cisco Firepower 1000, but it is more limited to pur some complex configurations. The Cisco Firepower 1000 Series is typically deployed as a physical appliance, while the Meraki MX can be deployed as a physical or virtual appliance.The Firepower 1000 Series has a more complex user interface, with a steeper learning curve, but offers more customization and configuration options. The Meraki MX has a simpler, more intuitive interface,
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Sophos
It certainly stacks up well as it is very competitive in the pricing segment while having all the features that an ideal NGFW should possess. Basic functionalities like Network Firewall, Proxy and VPN work flawlessly while advanced features like IPS perform reasonably well. The detection content is very relevant and performs well.
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Contract Terms and Pricing Model
Cisco
No answers on this topic
Sophos
I rated the contract terms and pricing structure a 9 because, overall, they were fair and competitive. The unit pricing for the Sophos SG Firewall was reasonable considering the features and performance offered, and the billing frequency was flexible, allowing us to align it with our budget cycles. However, one area that could be improved is the pricing for multi-year commitments—there could be more significant discounts or additional incentives for long-term agreements. Overall, the structure worked well for our needs, but some adjustments could make it even more cost-effective.
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Scalability
Cisco
No answers on this topic
Sophos
I rated the product's scalability a 9 because Sophos SG Firewall offers excellent flexibility and can be easily scaled across multiple departments and sites. It provides the ability to add more firewalls, manage them centrally, and integrate with other security solutions as our network grows. However, the only reason I didn’t give it a perfect score is that, in some complex environments, managing a large-scale deployment with many firewalls can become a bit challenging, especially in terms of centralized management and monitoring. Despite this, the overall scalability is highly effective for most use cases.
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Professional Services
Cisco
No answers on this topic
Sophos
I rated the professional services a 10 because the support we received was outstanding. The team was highly skilled, responsive, and provided tailored solutions to meet our specific needs. They guided us through the entire implementation process, from setup to optimization, ensuring that the firewall was configured efficiently and securely. Their expertise helped us avoid potential pitfalls and ensured a smooth deployment, which greatly contributed to the success of our project.
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Return on Investment
Cisco
  • We have seen improved throughput on our internet.
  • It took several attempts with Cisco engineers to configure the device; it requires a deep set of knowledge to set up in a more complicated environment.
  • This will allow us to move forward with a more stable and configurable environment with security available we didn't have before.
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Sophos
  • Positive. We are able to expand our network by using the Flexi Port Modules that are available.
  • Positive. We are able to boast that our network is more secure than other businesses of the same model.
  • Negative. The VPN needs to be updated to use OVPN configs and then it would be perfect.
  • Negative. The home license needs to have the IP restriction removed for folks who work from home and need to access on-site terminals.
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