Cisco Firepower 4100 Series vs. Zscaler Internet Access

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
Cisco Firepower 4100 Series
Score 7.2 out of 10
N/A
The Cisco Firepower 4100 Series’ 1-rack-unit size is presented by the vendodr as ideal at the Internet edge and in high-performance environments. They further state that it shows what’s happening on your network, detects attacks earlier so you can act faster, and reduces management complexity.N/A
Zscaler Internet Access
Score 8.8 out of 10
N/A
Zscaler Internet Access™ (ZIA) is a secure web gateway (SWG), delivering cloud native cyberthreat protection and zero trust access to the internet and SaaS apps.N/A
Pricing
Cisco Firepower 4100 SeriesZscaler Internet Access
Editions & Modules
Firepower 4100
50,000-250,000
per appliance
No answers on this topic
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
Cisco Firepower 4100 SeriesZscaler Internet Access
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 4100 SeriesZscaler Internet Access
Features
Cisco Firepower 4100 SeriesZscaler Internet Access
Firewall
Comparison of Firewall features of Product A and Product B
Cisco Firepower 4100 Series
8.6
Ratings
0% below category average
Zscaler Internet Access
-
Ratings
Identification Technologies8.00 Ratings00 Ratings
Visualization Tools8.00 Ratings00 Ratings
Content Inspection8.00 Ratings00 Ratings
Policy-based Controls8.00 Ratings00 Ratings
Active Directory and LDAP10.00 Ratings00 Ratings
Firewall Management Console9.00 Ratings00 Ratings
Reporting and Logging8.00 Ratings00 Ratings
VPN10.00 Ratings00 Ratings
High Availability10.00 Ratings00 Ratings
Stateful Inspection10.00 Ratings00 Ratings
Proxy Server5.50 Ratings00 Ratings
Identity Management
Comparison of Identity Management features of Product A and Product B
Cisco Firepower 4100 Series
-
Ratings
Zscaler Internet Access
5.0
Ratings
56% below category average
Multi-Factor Authentication00 Ratings5.00 Ratings
Endpoint Security
Comparison of Endpoint Security features of Product A and Product B
Cisco Firepower 4100 Series
-
Ratings
Zscaler Internet Access
10.0
Ratings
6% above category average
Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR)00 Ratings10.00 Ratings
Threat Intelligence
Comparison of Threat Intelligence features of Product A and Product B
Cisco Firepower 4100 Series
-
Ratings
Zscaler Internet Access
9.5
Ratings
7% above category average
Network Analytics00 Ratings9.70 Ratings
Threat Recognition00 Ratings9.40 Ratings
Vulnerability Classification00 Ratings9.40 Ratings
Automated Alerts and Reporting00 Ratings9.40 Ratings
Threat Analysis00 Ratings9.70 Ratings
Threat Intelligence Reporting00 Ratings9.70 Ratings
Automated Threat Identification00 Ratings9.10 Ratings
Zero Trust Security
Comparison of Zero Trust Security features of Product A and Product B
Cisco Firepower 4100 Series
-
Ratings
Zscaler Internet Access
9.7
Ratings
4% above category average
Continuous Verification00 Ratings9.70 Ratings
Secure Web Gateways00 Ratings9.70 Ratings
Network Flow Control00 Ratings9.70 Ratings
Network Traffic Analysis00 Ratings9.40 Ratings
Segmentation Leveraging00 Ratings10.00 Ratings
Admin Access Control00 Ratings9.40 Ratings
Network Data Encryption00 Ratings9.40 Ratings
Network Topology Mapping00 Ratings10.00 Ratings
Best Alternatives
Cisco Firepower 4100 SeriesZscaler Internet Access
Small Businesses
pfSense
pfSense
Score 9.9 out of 10
ThreatLocker
ThreatLocker
Score 9.5 out of 10
Medium-sized Companies
Quantum Firewalls and Security Gateways
Quantum Firewalls and Security Gateways
Score 9.6 out of 10
Palo Alto Networks Prisma Access
Palo Alto Networks Prisma Access
Score 8.9 out of 10
Enterprises
Palo Alto Networks Virtualized Next-Generation Firewalls - VM Series
Palo Alto Networks Virtualized Next-Generation Firewalls - VM Series
Score 10.0 out of 10
Palo Alto Networks Prisma Access
Palo Alto Networks Prisma Access
Score 8.9 out of 10
All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
User Ratings
Cisco Firepower 4100 SeriesZscaler Internet Access
Likelihood to Recommend
7.0
(0 ratings)
8.7
(0 ratings)
Usability
8.0
(0 ratings)
8.5
(0 ratings)
Support Rating
-
(0 ratings)
8.1
(0 ratings)
Vendor post-sale
-
(0 ratings)
8.0
(0 ratings)
Vendor pre-sale
-
(0 ratings)
8.0
(0 ratings)
User Testimonials
Cisco Firepower 4100 SeriesZscaler Internet Access
Likelihood to Recommend
When we are asked by local partners which security equipment we use we always recommend our Cisco security products. The Firepower firewall is no exception and we can easily recommend this to others who need a fast, secure, and well built system that integrates well with all your existing hardware and software.
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Zscaler Internet Access has extremely powerful category selection and it is very easy to create your own destinations for inspection and policy exceptions (SSL exception specifically). It is also very affordable and just as powerful (if not more) than some of the other solutions I have used in the past to achieve internet security.
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Pros
  • Policy management in the GUI. I'm old-school, and still create ACLs in the CLI, but using the GUI for this is very nice.
  • Event monitoring and reporting is great, and you can get very granular when it comes to what information you are viewing.
  • I really like the troubleshooting features that are built in, especially the packet tracer and the ability to generate and download a troubleshooting package to review or send to TAC.
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  • The depth that Cloud App control policies can go into. Being able to control individual actions within an application, more than just all or nothing access.
  • The UX/UI design makes it really easy to navigate the portal.
  • Understanding how cloud app/url control policy gets evaluated and creating/editing existing policy is extremely straightforward.
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Cons
  • When deployed as Firepower Threat Defense, configurations cannot be made within the device itself.
  • Troubleshooting can be difficult if the Cisco Firepower 4100 Series firewall is managed by the Cisco Firepower Management Center.
  • There are two operating systems in Cisco Firepower 4100 Series, firmware upgrade process will take a long time.
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  • Easier interface on the menus so they don't disappear.
  • Help, I'm contacting support only through the ZIA portal, but I'm unable to use the link easily.
  • Mobile interface changes.
  • The searching function for the logs is tricky and challenging to use, and the menu always pops down when trying to find the proper function.
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Likelihood to Renew
No answers on this topic
While Zscaler Internet Access (ZIA) delivers critical value in cloud security and RBI compliance, I rate renewal likelihood 7/10 due to evolving needs versus platform limitations. Below is my rationale:
Key Gaps:
1. Advanced Threat Costs:
ZIA’s add-ons (e.g., Advanced DLP, Sandboxing) incur 35%+ cost premiums – straining budgets as transaction volumes (UPI/iMobile) grow 50% YoY.
2. API Banking Scalability:
ZIA’s API rate limits throttle real-time policy sync during UPI peaks (10K+ TPS), forcing workarounds for finacle integrations.
3. RBI Future-Proofing:
Limited native support for upcoming digital rupee (CBDC) security rules requires custom development, increasing compliance overhead.
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Usability
It not easy to understand the different features it offers. Sometimes you need to spend a couple of minutes to implement a change or even open a ticket with cisco tac to figure it out. Once support is on the phone with you they know how to resolve problems. But it's not an intuitive tool
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The application is easy to install and configure on all Windows devices. To troubleshoot any internet issue, we can easily collect all the relevant logs from Zscaler and check the exact issue. The only problem is with the uninstall, as a dedicated crew needs to provide the password.
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Performance
No answers on this topic
There are often performance issues reported
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Support Rating
No answers on this topic
Zscaler's ZIA support is quick and knowledgable. They respond within 1-2 hours of you submitting your ticket. They are very thorough and are typically ready to jump on a live troubleshooting session. Our ZIA platform and how we use is it unique so at times tickets can be open for weeks but we alway get quality support compared to other unrelated product support in our enterprise
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Alternatives Considered
We switch to Palo Alto due the amount of tickets open with Cisco Firepower 4100 Series. It was taking a great amount of time for our engineers to fix problems. But it was a great tool when it was working as we were expecting. The fact it has a lot of instability on the releases was the deciding factor.
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Zscaler Internet Access is most akin to ZPA - we bought both at the same time to handle all traffic internally and externally. In terms of quality - I would make the statement that Zscaler Internet Access is a simpler product but that's also cause there are no App Connectors involved in that process.
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Return on Investment
  • Quickly respond to incidents using vpn remote access
  • VPN L2L used to establish connections with global providers
  • Up to 2000+ vpn access without having performance issues
  • Granular access with policy groups based on the AD user
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  • Has allowed us to remove other products that were suboptimal
  • Saved us money overall by stacking it with other Zscaler products
  • Created a more secure work environment for our users through intelligent internet policies that are not needlessly restrictive while still maintaining security best practices
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ScreenShots

Zscaler Internet Access Screenshots

Screenshot of an overview of Zscaler Internet Access (ZIA), a cloud native security service edge (SSE) solution that builds on a decade of secure web gateway leadership. Offered as a scalable SaaS platform through Zscaler's security cloud, it replaces legacy network security solutions, preventing advanced attacks and data loss with a comprehensive zero trust approach. ZIA is integrated into the Zscaler Zero Trust Exchange™ to provide superior defense-in-depth, secure connectivity, end user experience, and administrative visibility and control.