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    Overview
    ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price

    Cisco Meraki MX

    Score9 out of 10
    N/ACisco Meraki MX Firewalls is a combined UTM and Software-Defined WAN solution. Meraki is managed via the cloud, and provides core firewall services, including site-to-site VPN, plus network monitoring.

    $595

    per appliance

    Forcepoint NGFW

    Score8 out of 10
    N/AForcepoint Next-Generation Firewall delivers network security at scale. They can be deployed from anywhere through the Secure Management Console (SMC) and unify policy management, incident response and reporting.

    $900

    one-time fee for the entry tier Forcepoint N60 (approx)

    Pricing
    Cisco Meraki MXForcepoint NGFW
    Editions & Modules
    MX64
    $595
    per appliance
    MX67
    $695
    per appliance
    MX68
    $995
    per appliance
    MX84
    $1,995
    per appliance
    MX100
    $4,995
    per appliance
    MX250
    $9,995
    per appliance
    MX450
    $19,995
    per appliance
    Forcepoint NGFW N60
    $900
    one-time fee (approx)
    Forcepoint NGFW N120
    $1314
    one-time fee (approx)
    Forcepoint NGFW N350
    $7850
    one-time fee (approx)
    Forcepoint NGFW N1200
    $13600
    one-time fee (approx)
    Forcepoint NGFW N2200
    $36000
    one-time fee (approx)
    Forcepoint NGFW N3400 & N3500
    varies
    one-time fee
    Offerings
    Pricing Offerings
    Cisco Meraki MXForcepoint NGFW
    Free Trial
    YesYes
    Free/Freemium Version
    NoNo
    Premium Consulting/Integration Services
    NoNo
    Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
    Additional Details—Firewalls are bought predominately through partners and third-party VARs. Pricing for purchase and lease and support options vary by reseller.
    More Pricing Information
    Community Pulse
    Cisco Meraki MXForcepoint NGFW
    Considered Both Products
    Cisco
    No answer on this topic
    Forcepoint
    No answer on this topic
    Key User Insights
    Would buy again
    96%
    Would buy again
    171 Answers
    No answers on this topic
    Delivers good value for the price
    96%
    Delivers good value for the price
    160 Answers
    No answers on this topic
    Happy with the feature set
    94%
    Happy with the feature set
    167 Answers
    No answers on this topic
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    95%
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    145 Answers
    No answers on this topic
    Implementation went as expected
    95%
    Implementation went as expected
    164 Answers
    No answers on this topic
    Features
    Cisco Meraki MXForcepoint NGFW
    Firewall
    Comparison of Firewall features of Cisco Meraki MX and Forcepoint NGFW
    Feature
    Cisco Meraki MX
    7.8
    173 Ratings
    10% below category average
    Forcepoint NGFW
    8.1
    1 Ratings
    6% below category average
    Identification Technologies7.8167 Ratings5.01 Ratings
    Visualization Tools8.4162 Ratings5.01 Ratings
    Content Inspection7.7158 Ratings10.01 Ratings
    Policy-based Controls7.7160 Ratings10.01 Ratings
    Active Directory and LDAP7.8132 Ratings8.01 Ratings
    Firewall Management Console7.7158 Ratings10.01 Ratings
    Reporting and Logging7.1166 Ratings8.01 Ratings
    VPN8.6157 Ratings9.01 Ratings
    High Availability8.5158 Ratings9.01 Ratings
    Stateful Inspection7.5149 Ratings7.01 Ratings
    Proxy Server7.188 Ratings00 Ratings
    Best Alternatives
    Cisco Meraki MXForcepoint NGFW
    Small Businesses
    SonicWall NSA Series
    Score8.3 out of 10
    SonicWall NSA Series
    Score8.3 out of 10
    Medium-sized Companies
    Barracuda CloudGen Firewall
    Score9.6 out of 10
    Barracuda CloudGen Firewall
    Score9.6 out of 10
    Enterprises
    Cisco Adaptive Security Appliance (ASA) Software
    Score9 out of 10
    Cisco Adaptive Security Appliance (ASA) Software
    Score9 out of 10
    All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
    User Ratings
    Cisco Meraki MXForcepoint NGFW
    Likelihood to Recommend
    9.0
    (218 ratings)
    9.0
    (1 ratings)
    Likelihood to Renew
    9.1
    (16 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Usability
    9.2
    (13 ratings)
    10.0
    (1 ratings)
    Availability
    9.0
    (3 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Performance
    9.0
    (3 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Support Rating
    8.9
    (19 ratings)
    6.0
    (1 ratings)
    In-Person Training
    10.0
    (1 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Online Training
    5.7
    (2 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Implementation Rating
    8.0
    (2 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Configurability
    9.0
    (2 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Ease of integration
    6.2
    (4 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Product Scalability
    8.9
    (184 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Vendor post-sale
    8.7
    (3 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Vendor pre-sale
    9.6
    (4 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    User Testimonials
    Cisco Meraki MXForcepoint NGFW
    Likelihood to Recommend
    Cisco
    The Meraki MX lineup is well suited for organizations that need centralized management of multiple locations, as it allows for both quick deployment and simple/easy remote administration all from a single pane of glass. It also works very well for providing VPN access for remote workers and helps monitor end-device uptime. It does, however, fall a bit short in its firewall's customization, compared to traditional appliances (like our WatchGuard Firebox), so perhaps less suited for organizations that need more customization, as the Meraki MX lineup is primarily designed for simplicity and straightforward cloud-based management.
    Incentivized
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    Forcepoint
    If you are looking for a smaller network/security team, the ease and low complexity create an easy to manage environment. One engineer can easily manage 100 nodes/locations. If you are just starting to get security conscious and predict regular adjustments to policy, routing, and access, this is a very good system for making easy to understand and low impact changes on a regular basis without operations interruption.
    Incentivized
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    Pros
    Cisco
    • The Cisco Meraki MX series is phenomenal at allowing us to remotely manage networks. So the devices usually act as the brain behind our client's networks, which makes it really, really easy for our team to take a look at what's going on in those client network environments, resolve any issues, and make sure that our client's networks are staying secure.
    Incentivized
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    Forcepoint
    • Easy to manage and make changes on - ACL's are done with ease.
    • Easy USB initial configuration - The easy initial setup of a new location and firewall saves massive time. Settings are automatically pushed to new nodes upon contact with the controller.
    • Low Complexity - This system does not have a lot of complexity requiring extra hours, training, or personnel to manage.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Cons
    Cisco
    • Layer seven firewall rules. Just making them more granular. We've been in meetings with Cisco SES where I've said feature requests many times and that's one of the big ones where it's just a little cumbersome to implement layer seven rules right now.
    • Just making them more granular. We've been in meetings with Cisco SES where I've said feature requests many times and that's one of the big ones where it's just a little cumbersome to implement layer seven rules right now.
    Incentivized
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    Forcepoint
    • Poor Reporting - It exists but even when calling in to support for assistance, they have no idea how to tackle customizing reports or searching for specific data.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Likelihood to Renew
    Cisco
    The simplicity and ease of use for the Meraki Dashboard make it an easy choice for our organization to renew our Meraki Enterprise Agreement. We will likely continue using the Meraki MC67-C, MX450, and other MX models in their catalog until we shift away from Meraki completely
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Forcepoint
    No answers on this topic
    Usability
    Cisco
    Some features simply aren't there, but the ones that are there are pretty easy to use. Sometimes it is easy to get lost when trying to find the specific device you want to work on, but that's mostly due to how rarely we have to go into the interface.
    Incentivized
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    Forcepoint
    The Graphical User Interface is very easy to read, understand and work with. The usability of this product is very high.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Reliability and Availability
    Cisco
    Meraki MX devices support high availability (HA) configurations, which ensures minimal downtime if one device goes offline. This feature has helped us maintain a stable and reliable network, even in cases of hardware failures. ince Meraki is cloud-managed, we've noticed that the cloud infrastructure is generally highly reliable, with minimal service interruptions or downtime. This makes it easier to manage the network remotely without significant availability concerns. Meraki automatically pushes firmware updates and patches, which helps maintain system stability without requiring manual intervention. These updates are rolled out in a manner that ensures minimal disruption to service.
    Incentivized
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    Forcepoint
    No answers on this topic
    Performance
    Cisco
    The interface is pretty responsive. The lower end devices are easy to overwhelm if you have a lot of throughput. Be sure the model you get is rated for the amount of traffic you will have. Overbuild if possible, otherwise you won't be fully leveraging the connection from your ISP.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Forcepoint
    No answers on this topic
    Support Rating
    Cisco
    I haven't ever had a bad experience with Meraki support. On the few occasions where I wasn't understanding the UI or needed some clarification about what a setting actually would do, I contacted them and they were very quickly able to provide help. Returns are simple and fast, too. We had to return a defective device one time and they shipped the replacement before we had even un-racked the one that was faulty. Unlike many other vendors, they didn't ask use to a do long list of scripted diagnostics, they just took my word for it that the device was broken and sent out a replacement immediately
    Incentivized
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    Forcepoint
    Support has varied over the history of the company. Terro is a name that comes up often with the best of service from this company.
    Incentivized
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    In-Person Training
    Cisco
    great when they offered it, really tested your knowledge with hands on and see what your peers from other orgs know. glad to see that we were ahead of the curve of what our peers knew
    Incentivized
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    Forcepoint
    No answers on this topic
    Online Training
    Cisco
    it was okay as it was moderated but still better than nothing and done via semi self paced webex meeting
    Incentivized
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    Forcepoint
    No answers on this topic
    Implementation Rating
    Cisco
    Implementing Meraki MX devices in phases—starting with a pilot group or select branch offices—was invaluable. This allowed us to identify potential configuration issues, troubleshoot problems, and refine our setup before rolling it out company-wide. It also helped to get feedback from early users and adjust the deployment strategy accordingly. The SD-WAN capabilities in Meraki MX were essential for optimizing our WAN traffic and ensuring better application performance across various locations.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Forcepoint
    No answers on this topic
    Alternatives Considered
    Cisco
    Cisco CVO (MEVO) As previously mentioned we needed to manually configure each one which would take 15-20 minutes per device and needed to be done on-site. These devices can also go down more frequently after power outages and other incidents, and we've seen them not come back online. These devices are also much larger.
    Incentivized
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    Forcepoint
    There are similar hardware and license costs between the two products. The Forcepoint NGFW product is by far easier to use and manage.
    Incentivized
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    Scalability
    Cisco
    We started only with the Main Meraki MX85 in our enterprise for our main hub, then we started adding remote sites with Meraki MX 68 and connected to our Main hub. Adding more sites and scaling the network is easy, and improving our connectivity saves time and cost to manage, or adding manpower with only 1 dashboard can manage all applications. Scaling and flexibility to change or expand our network are easy thanks to Meraki MX features
    Incentivized
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    Forcepoint
    No answers on this topic
    Return on Investment
    Cisco
    • From a positive impact? Basically it allows us to set up shop very quickly. It allowed us to add sites to our network very quickly. From a negative perspective, I think the only thing is that I can see from a negative perspective is I have a preference to working with ACLI in terms of how I engage with the youth tool At the moment, the only way to actually engage with a tool is on a gui and sometimes what I'd actually like is more detailed information in terms of actual configuration that you'll actually get out of ACLI.
    Incentivized
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    Forcepoint
    • Efficiency/Productivity increase. The company moved from Cisco firewall and routing hardware to Forcepoint NGFW. It now takes fewer people and fewer hours to manage the new product. This has allowed the company to put the man-hours to use on other projects and tasks.
    • Long term viability. This has been a concern in the past when the company started as Stonegate, merged to become Stonesoft then got purchased by McAfee, then McAfee got purchased by Intel. However, with Forcepoint the product seems to have found a stable home.
    • Low complexity. The Web GUI based system for management has reduced the cost of personnel and training required. There is no longer a need for the company to have higher trained and higher salary cost employees to manage the system. Mid-level admins at lower salaries are capable of managing the GUI based system with ease.
    Incentivized
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    ScreenShots