Cisco Secure Firewall vs. WatchGuard Network Security

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
Cisco Secure Firewall
Score 8.4 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
WatchGuard Network Security
Score 8.7 out of 10
N/A
WatchGuard Network Security is a network security and firewall software. WatchGuard includes secure Wi-Fi, multi-factor authentication, and network intelligence products and services designed for SMB’s.N/A
Pricing
Cisco Secure FirewallWatchGuard Network Security
Editions & Modules
No answers on this topic
Support
Contact sales team
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Basic Security
Contact sales team
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Total Security
Contact sales team
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Offerings
Pricing Offerings
Cisco Secure FirewallWatchGuard Network Security
Free Trial
YesNo
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 Secure FirewallWatchGuard Network Security
Considered Both Products
Cisco Secure Firewall

No answer on this topic

WatchGuard Network Security
Chose WatchGuard Network Security
In comparison with other network security companies and its services', WatchGuard Network Security seems to be a more economic choice for our customers needs
Chose WatchGuard Network Security
WatchGuard Network Security integrates multiple security functionalities (firewall, VPN, intrusion prevention, antivirus, application control, etc.) into a unified platform. This integration simplifies management, enhances visibility, and ensures consistent policy enforcement …
Chose WatchGuard Network Security
WatchGuard has in the past always been one step ahead of new security needs for network perimeters. They have managed to do this, and continue to have high throughput with all security turned on, while many of its competitors will not show you what [their] speed is with all …
Features
Cisco Secure FirewallWatchGuard Network Security
Firewall
Comparison of Firewall features of Product A and Product B
Cisco Secure Firewall
8.2
197 Ratings
5% below category average
WatchGuard Network Security
8.2
532 Ratings
5% below category average
Identification Technologies8.1178 Ratings8.5488 Ratings
Visualization Tools7.8176 Ratings7.0481 Ratings
Content Inspection8.3176 Ratings8.4512 Ratings
Policy-based Controls8.5184 Ratings8.9528 Ratings
Active Directory and LDAP7.9157 Ratings8.7445 Ratings
Firewall Management Console8.0183 Ratings8.6519 Ratings
Reporting and Logging7.7185 Ratings7.0516 Ratings
VPN8.7165 Ratings8.9509 Ratings
High Availability8.9178 Ratings8.3463 Ratings
Stateful Inspection8.8172 Ratings8.1475 Ratings
Proxy Server7.895 Ratings8.0341 Ratings
User Ratings
Cisco Secure FirewallWatchGuard Network Security
Likelihood to Recommend
8.4
(204 ratings)
8.6
(547 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
9.5
(6 ratings)
7.9
(43 ratings)
Usability
7.3
(6 ratings)
8.0
(121 ratings)
Availability
9.5
(6 ratings)
8.9
(6 ratings)
Performance
9.9
(3 ratings)
7.8
(6 ratings)
Support Rating
7.8
(131 ratings)
9.5
(30 ratings)
In-Person Training
10.0
(1 ratings)
7.3
(5 ratings)
Online Training
-
(0 ratings)
8.2
(3 ratings)
Implementation Rating
8.8
(6 ratings)
8.2
(267 ratings)
Configurability
10.0
(1 ratings)
8.8
(5 ratings)
Contract Terms and Pricing Model
8.0
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Ease of integration
8.4
(5 ratings)
7.1
(5 ratings)
Product Scalability
9.4
(3 ratings)
8.5
(6 ratings)
Vendor post-sale
10.0
(1 ratings)
9.2
(4 ratings)
Vendor pre-sale
10.0
(1 ratings)
9.2
(4 ratings)
User Testimonials
Cisco Secure FirewallWatchGuard Network Security
Likelihood to Recommend
Cisco
Much of my reason is because Cisco Secure Firewall really is better, in my opinion, than the competition. The only exception would possibly be Palo Alto. I have worked with the other brands, and I prefer Cisco Secure Firewall Firepower. I have had problems with configuration and upgrades; it seems like I always find the unpublished bugs. Everyone has their problems, but Cisco TAC has really failed me lately, and I think the quality of support has gone down significantly since COVID.
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WatchGuard Technologies
One scenario where WatchGuard Network Security is well-suited for a task is when a site needs to be whitelisted. For example, if a site is whitelisted and hosted in a country blocked by geolocation, we can bypass the block and route traffic to the site. This is particularly helpful with CDN's.
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Pros
Cisco
  • Cisco's firewall actually does its job of blocking what it is supposed to block. We had an old Firewall that led to slippages. Cisco catches 97% of malware and vulnerabilities during testing. For Coitiar, that means an engineer who clicks a link with malware is handled quickly.
  • We actually tested if failovers would affect running sessions. We pulled our primary unit during a certification submission period. The firewall just switched, and the connection kept running.
  • The AI assistant in policy management is excellent, and for our lean team, it makes the whole process easy and efficient. I don't have to audit 200 policies manually; the AI steps in and does its thing.
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WatchGuard Technologies
  • Incoming Torrent attempts were blocked, but outgoing (by a user) were permitted. Similarly, other direct attempts were summarily blocked.
  • provides full administrative support for analysis of usage and scope.
  • strong Wi-Fi support and security - area wi-fi maps
  • They think of all the things secure and I don't have to worry about it.
  • I have not identified anything else that needs improvement - I am well satisfied.
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Cons
Cisco
  • I mean I think a lot of the technology with managing them is getting better. There's a few cons to the new firewall management console. You can't sort through routes or I think you can with interfaces now, but there's a few caveats that they haven't really worked out yet, but they're implementing AI into it, so it's getting to be a lot easier to use.
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WatchGuard Technologies
  • Better integration with VoIP services, such as templates for policies handling traffic for Bria or Asterisk endponts and servers.
  • Get webblocker to work without breaking secure websites.
  • Lower cost on endpoint agents for antivirus and include application control and webblocker with the agents.
  • Make the cost per endpoint with TDR and Netowrk access control lower than the cost of Antivirus licensing that is not integrated.
  • Make it easier to set up network access control and VLAN assignment by device, perhaps with templates.
  • Get webblocker and application control working with QUIC.
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Likelihood to Renew
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.
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WatchGuard Technologies
We have been renewing and purchasing new equipment for the last 20 years. This is because the equipment is easy to use and manage and also quite affordable. Compared to other products, Watchguard just works and has not had the issues with device security seen in other products. They have been a reliable partner.
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Usability
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
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WatchGuard Technologies
Although it might take some time to figure out, we have been able to use WatchGuard's online reference library and tech support to create/implement/modify all of our filtering rules and exceptions needed. There really has not been a shortcoming other than perhaps a learning curve.
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Reliability and Availability
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.
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WatchGuard Technologies
Availability has always been a strong point of this product, it is rare that watchguard does not have a solution for customers' network monitoring needs.
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Performance
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.
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WatchGuard Technologies
The performance of WatchGuard Network Security is very good, in the years that we have used the solution we have only had a single error and Watchguard itself was able to solve it. Furthermore, when purchasing any product, the partner always evaluates the capacity of the solution to recommend the most appropriate product for our needs.
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Support Rating
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.
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WatchGuard Technologies
We have only had to contact them once during the initial set up to help bring the internet back on line. After that for the most part our systems have been automated, and could easily be checked form their online FAQ and Knowledge base that they provide. Everything else is easily handled from their browser based interface
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In-Person Training
Cisco
very good
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WatchGuard Technologies
We participate to a in person training and the three days of learning was really useful and complete to gain skill to solve the major part of the problem we encounter during our life. And more the in person training give us the opportunity to create a network with other WatchGuard partner.
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Online Training
Cisco
was a good training but questions was answered not so good. Training was "Fundamentals of Cisco Firewall Threat Defense and Intrusion Prevention (SFWIPF)".
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WatchGuard Technologies
Online training is good for learning how to use the product. It does not teach security strategy because that is not its intent.
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Implementation Rating
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.
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WatchGuard Technologies
I had my key information for setting up the firewall, and they assisted me in finding the settings and appropriate places to enter data. They also helped troubleshoot when I didn't understand some of their feature concepts, and we got it running.
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Alternatives Considered
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.
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WatchGuard Technologies
I was not involved with the decision making for WatchGuard versus another product. However, I know WatchGuard is significantly less expensive than other brands. My overall preference would be Ubiquiti due to their continuous improvement of the product with tons of great features. I know WatchGuard is making great advances, but the progress seems slower in comparison.
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Contract Terms and Pricing Model
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)
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WatchGuard Technologies
No answers on this topic
Scalability
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.
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WatchGuard Technologies
This product is very scalable since previously everything related to Watchguard was on premises but that has now changed with the inclusion of watchguard cloud. Now the product has evolved to have full control of firewalls at the cloud level.
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Professional Services
Cisco
was not involved
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WatchGuard Technologies
No answers on this topic
Return on Investment
Cisco
  • Cisco Secure Firewall gives details on the possible intrusions attempts that are occurring on the network, which gives stakeholders confidence that the network is being protected.
  • Cisco's reputation as a longstanding network leader provides the trust that is needed in keeping networks secure.
  • The wide variety of tools and features that Cisco Secure Firewall provides allows business owners to plan for changes that can occur in the network as Cisco is able to adapt to the different needs.
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WatchGuard Technologies
  • WatchGuard provides the features we need at a great price point.
  • Good technical support saves time by preventing unnecessary time taken up managing the product and resolving issues.
  • The appliance helps us meet minimum cybersecurity requirements for doing business with our clients.
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ScreenShots

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

WatchGuard Network Security Screenshots

Screenshot of WatchGuard Cloud Customizable DashboardScreenshot of Threat Monitoring SummaryScreenshot of Device Security SummaryScreenshot of Automated ReportingScreenshot of User Authentication SummaryScreenshot of Endpoint Protection Summary