TrustRadius: an HG Insights company

Cisco Adaptive Security Appliance (ASA) Software vs. Cisco ASA 5500-X with FirePOWER Services

Save this comparison

Save this comparison

Add Product

Recommended Comparisons

    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

    Cisco ASA 5500-X with FirePOWER Services

    Score7.3 out of 10
    N/ACisco offers a threat-focused next-generation firewall (NGFW), the ASA 5500-X Series. The ASA 5500 Series platforms can run either the Cisco ASA Firewall or Cisco Firepower Threat Defense (FTD). The series features appliances in a variety of form factors, including standalone options for small and midsize businesses, ruggedized appliances for extreme environments, midsize appliances for security at the Internet edge, and high-performance appliances for enterprise data centers.N/A
    Pricing
    Cisco Adaptive Security Appliance (ASA) SoftwareCisco ASA 5500-X with FirePOWER Services
    Editions & Modules
    No answers on this topic
    No answers on this topic
    Offerings
    Pricing Offerings
    Cisco Adaptive Security Appliance (ASA) SoftwareCisco ASA 5500-X with FirePOWER Services
    Free Trial
    NoNo
    Free/Freemium Version
    NoNo
    Premium Consulting/Integration Services
    NoNo
    Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
    Additional Details—Cisco ASA 5500-X pricing starts at ~$400 and scales up to $20,000 for higher capacity appliances.
    More Pricing Information
    Community Pulse
    Cisco Adaptive Security Appliance (ASA) SoftwareCisco ASA 5500-X with FirePOWER Services
    Considered Both Products
    Cisco
    Chose Cisco Adaptive Security Appliance (ASA) Software
    We moved from older ASAs to Firepower and were excited to see the new features and higher reliability. Throughput is faster and as our old ASAs were breaking down intermittently it was time for the upgrade. The newer GUI has a better dashboard and is easy to maneuver in, easier …
    Incentivized
    Cisco
    Chose Cisco ASA 5500-X with FirePOWER Services
    We were using Cisco ASA but security features were missing so we discussed with Cisco and upgraded with FirePOWER Services. We are using all the features like AMP, IPS, sandbox etc for network security. We have very critical client data so clients want the security for our …
    Incentivized
    Chose Cisco ASA 5500-X with FirePOWER Services
    We were using Cisco ASA but lots of security features were missing so we decided to purchase the FirePOWER Services to protect our layer 7 attacks and good control on layer 3 to 4. With the help of firepower services, you can put more control on user traffic.
    Incentivized
    Chose Cisco ASA 5500-X with FirePOWER Services
    Cisco ASA is a good firewall but a lot of security features are missing so Cisco introduced [Cisco ASA 5500-X with FirePOWER Services]. It provides advanced security for any type of cyber attack. [Cisco ASA 5500-X with FirePOWER Services] is also good [to] stop ransomware …
    Incentivized
    Chose Cisco ASA 5500-X with FirePOWER Services
    We were using Cisco ASA in our organization but lots of security services were missing so we purchased the [Cisco ASA 5500-X with FirePOWER Services]. It provides us application layer security and deep packet scan features for protecting our organization from any type of cyber …
    Incentivized
    Chose Cisco ASA 5500-X with FirePOWER Services
    We were using Cisco ASA 5525 but lots of security features were missing so we decided to upgrade with Cisco ASA 5500-X with FirePOWER Services. Now we are using advanced features like sandbox, IPS, malware protection, URL filtering, etc.
    Incentivized
    Chose Cisco ASA 5500-X with FirePOWER Services
    We were using Cisco ASA before in our environment but when it comes to advance security features it doesn't have to provide that much reliability. After using Cisco ASA 5500-X with Firepower provides high-security features such as Sandboxing & Deep Scanning. It also provides …
    Incentivized
    Chose 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 …
    Incentivized
    Key User Insights
    Would buy again
    87%
    Would buy again
    39 Answers
    78%
    Would buy again
    18 Answers
    Delivers good value for the price
    95%
    Delivers good value for the price
    41 Answers
    100%
    Delivers good value for the price
    23 Answers
    Happy with the feature set
    91%
    Happy with the feature set
    41 Answers
    96%
    Happy with the feature set
    22 Answers
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    100%
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    36 Answers
    95%
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    19 Answers
    Implementation went as expected
    98%
    Implementation went as expected
    40 Answers
    85%
    Implementation went as expected
    17 Answers
    Features
    Cisco Adaptive Security Appliance (ASA) SoftwareCisco ASA 5500-X with FirePOWER Services
    Firewall
    Comparison of Firewall features of Cisco Adaptive Security Appliance (ASA) Software and Cisco ASA 5500-X with FirePOWER Services
    Feature
    Cisco Adaptive Security Appliance (ASA) Software
    7.8
    49 Ratings
    10% below category average
    Cisco ASA 5500-X with FirePOWER Services
    9.0
    30 Ratings
    4% above category average
    Identification Technologies6.532 Ratings8.428 Ratings
    Visualization Tools6.530 Ratings9.324 Ratings
    Content Inspection8.032 Ratings8.429 Ratings
    Policy-based Controls9.045 Ratings10.028 Ratings
    Active Directory and LDAP7.547 Ratings10.029 Ratings
    Firewall Management Console7.547 Ratings9.830 Ratings
    Reporting and Logging5.948 Ratings7.629 Ratings
    VPN9.048 Ratings10.030 Ratings
    High Availability9.047 Ratings10.028 Ratings
    Stateful Inspection9.046 Ratings8.14 Ratings
    Proxy Server8.031 Ratings7.23 Ratings
    Best Alternatives
    Cisco Adaptive Security Appliance (ASA) SoftwareCisco ASA 5500-X with FirePOWER Services
    Small Businesses
    SonicWall NSA Series
    Score8.4 out of 10
    SonicWall NSA Series
    Score8.4 out of 10
    Medium-sized Companies
    Barracuda CloudGen Firewall
    Score9.4 out of 10
    Barracuda CloudGen Firewall
    Score9.4 out of 10
    Enterprises
    Cisco Meraki MX
    Score9.2 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) SoftwareCisco ASA 5500-X with FirePOWER Services
    Likelihood to Recommend
    9.0
    (87 ratings)
    9.2
    (30 ratings)
    Likelihood to Renew
    7.1
    (4 ratings)
    9.7
    (3 ratings)
    Usability
    -
    (0 ratings)
    7.2
    (2 ratings)
    Availability
    7.5
    (2 ratings)
    10.0
    (1 ratings)
    Performance
    -
    (0 ratings)
    9.2
    (26 ratings)
    Support Rating
    8.7
    (8 ratings)
    9.9
    (29 ratings)
    Implementation Rating
    8.0
    (2 ratings)
    10.0
    (2 ratings)
    Ease of integration
    6.5
    (2 ratings)
    9.0
    (1 ratings)
    User Testimonials
    Cisco Adaptive Security Appliance (ASA) SoftwareCisco ASA 5500-X with FirePOWER Services
    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
    Cisco
    This firewall is best suited for the network edge/perimeter deployment. The next gen features works very well and the remote access VPN is also very much suitable for the organizations which have a huge user base working remotely. The Remote Access VPN is very much customizable and the authentication integration option like LDAP and RADIUS provides and addon.
    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
    Cisco
    • The Cisco ASA with FirePOWER Services model works perfectly for network edge protection scenarios.
    • It allows for the creation and connection of sites through site-to-site VPN configuration.
    • It enables remote connection and home office with remote SSL or IPSEC VPN.
    • It has layer 7 traffic protection and visibility.
    • It has anti-malware protection from start to finish.
    • The configuration is easy to perform.
    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
    Cisco
    • URL Filtering feature could be easier to utilize for beginners
    • I'd like to see a visual of VPN networks setup and show the functioning or malfunctioning status to assist in making troubleshooting easier
    • Recommendations on ACLs for beginners based on their account creation date
    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
    Cisco
    Ever since we installed Cisco ASA 5500-X with FirePOWER Services we have never had to deal with an attack. We can see in the logs almost every day hackers attempting to break into our networks and failing. We also have the ability to blacklist every IP address that attempts to break into our firewalls
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Usability
    Cisco
    No answers on this topic
    Cisco
    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.
    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
    Cisco
    We have never had an outage caused by firewall failure. We have had a few outages caused by the internet failing or cloud applications going offline but never a firewall breaking down. When making changes we have a very strong change control, major software updates are always carried out out of working hours. At places where we have two firewalls in HA, we are able to do upgrades in working ours and the users will never know that an upgrade is taking place, that how great these firewalls are
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Performance
    Cisco
    No answers on this topic
    Cisco
    The Cisco ASA 5500X with Firepower performance needs consideration before deploying. Although the solution is Pay as you grow, adding additional features to the system has a negative impact on overall throughput. I would more like now only to deploy the Cisco FPR units as they have better performance and will last the test of time.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    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
    Cisco
    I would recommend the purchase of the Smartnet 24x7 service in the case of a unit and the Smartnet 8x5NBD in the case of only one appliance installed on site. This service is important to always have the latest firmware updates, corrective updates and especially the hardware warranty and maintenance service in case of problems. The service is done by phone or on the official Cisco website and I can say that it is very good and efficient.
    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
    Cisco
    We implemented a centralized management of all our Cisco ASA 5500-x with FirePOWER Services so that we can have a holistic view of all our sites in London and other European countries. This also helps when making changes, instead of login on to each firewall we can use Firepower Management Center (FMC) to central deploy changes across all devices
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    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
    Cisco
    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.
    Incentivized
    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
    Cisco
    • Working of remote workforce made easy
    • Security was enhanced on the data traffic shared with the vendors due to the use of VPNs
    • Inbound attacks were mostly blocked on the edge and saved a lot of resources (which could had been used in case of attacks getting successful on the application servers)
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    ScreenShots