Cisco Secure Firewall vs. Sophos SG Firewall Appliances

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
Sophos SG Firewall Appliances
Score 9.0 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 Secure FirewallSophos SG Firewall Appliances
Editions & Modules
No answers on this topic
No answers on this topic
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
Cisco Secure FirewallSophos SG Firewall Appliances
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 FirewallSophos SG Firewall Appliances
Features
Cisco Secure FirewallSophos SG Firewall Appliances
Firewall
Comparison of Firewall features of Product A and Product B
Cisco Secure Firewall
7.9
Ratings
9% below category average
Sophos SG Firewall Appliances
10.0
Ratings
15% above category average
Identification Technologies8.10 Ratings10.00 Ratings
Visualization Tools7.00 Ratings10.00 Ratings
Content Inspection8.20 Ratings10.00 Ratings
Policy-based Controls8.80 Ratings10.00 Ratings
Active Directory and LDAP8.70 Ratings10.00 Ratings
Firewall Management Console8.20 Ratings10.00 Ratings
Reporting and Logging7.20 Ratings10.00 Ratings
VPN7.70 Ratings10.00 Ratings
High Availability8.50 Ratings10.00 Ratings
Stateful Inspection7.90 Ratings10.00 Ratings
Proxy Server6.80 Ratings10.00 Ratings
User Ratings
Cisco Secure FirewallSophos SG Firewall Appliances
Likelihood to Recommend
8.1
(0 ratings)
10.0
(0 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
7.2
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Usability
9.0
(0 ratings)
10.0
(0 ratings)
Availability
9.1
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Performance
5.0
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Support Rating
7.5
(0 ratings)
10.0
(0 ratings)
Implementation Rating
8.0
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Product Scalability
5.0
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
User Testimonials
Cisco Secure FirewallSophos SG Firewall Appliances
Likelihood to Recommend
The software offers advanced firewall solutions from Web threats management to behavioural analytics and comprehensive application security. Cisco Secure firewall software is incredibly easy to deploy and implement. Customer support services providers are concise and very responsive. Integration and customization of the software are exceptional. The product boasts impressive capabilities, enabling it to stop threats and manage all security flaws in real time.
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It is well-suited for all sizes of organizations. It will help them to safeguard their network from various cyber threats like ransomware, phishing, malware, etc. It will provide them with many features like deep packet inspection, web filtering, application control, etc. in one place. It will also help them optimize bandwidth usage
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Pros
  • It's good at segregating networks and ensuring that you only give the access that you need to give. Especially with medical devices, you want to only give the access that they need and keep them in their own separate areas so that they can't just communicate with the rest of the network. It's also good at the border for keeping attackers out of the network.
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  • 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
  • I have one argument, failover scenario. It's not quite easy. Failover scenario of firewalls. It's sometimes not quite easy to know the issue. But if we open a tech case, a technical case to Cisco, Cisco will help us, it's a little bit con, but we are happy with this product.
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  • I have had major issues integrating this with SIEM solution as the device is not CEF compliant
  • Vendor support has been not on par with other major NGFW vendors like Palo Alto
  • Documentation and troubleshooting content on forums is lacking
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Likelihood to Renew
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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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
The platform is powerful and feature-rich, especially when paired with tools like Firepower Management Center (FMC) and SecureX. The policy structure is logical, and the visibility into traffic flows, threat activity, and rule hits is quite strong once you're familiar with the interface
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Management could use some improvements. Sophos management and workflows has always been designed by Engineers for Engineers. They do not always follow logical workflows in the real world. Once you figure this out it is easier to use but no where as smooth as many other products on the market.
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Reliability and Availability
As for the availability, in general we did not experience any issues with it, neither in situations where there's only one physical device implemented nor when there's and High Availability pair. Failover works like a charm, no complaints here, it works as it should and so far it has been highly reliable.
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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
no slowing down, vpn is working fast
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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
Our experience with Cisco TAC support for Cisco Secure Firewall has been very good. The support engineers are knowledgeable about the product and have many tools available to them to work "under the hood" of the firewalls or management center. When we've had equipment failures, the RMA process has been simple and straightforward.
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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
very good
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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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Online Training
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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No answers on this topic
Implementation Rating
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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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 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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We use Sophos in conjunction with WatchGuard, for an extra added level of security. Sophos is a little more sophisticated and complicated but they work well together as added layers of protection against most cyber threats.
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Scalability
you can choose up to 50 devices i think thats enough for our organization
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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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Return on Investment
  • 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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  • RoI is easy to achieve with Sophos firewalls as they are on the cheaper side of firewall costs
  • The product work well for small environments or building needs
  • The security features meet or exceed our internal and governance requirements
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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