Next-generation firewalls · October 2026 Edition
Palo Alto Networks NGFW vs Cisco Secure Firewall
Zero of fourteen models named Palo Alto Networks NGFW first on the direct prompt; zero named Cisco Secure Firewall. Both were named by all fourteen models and Palo Alto Networks NGFW carries 44 labels and Cisco Secure Firewall 40, so the shares are not directly comparable.
Named in one category this edition.
Named in one category this edition.
First-choice share2%2%Of first choices across the direct, paraphrase, budget and scale prompts, 0 to 100.
Negative rate20%25%Negative labels as a share of the product's labels, 0 to 100.
Rank in category#3#4A position in a field of 8; printed, not drawn.
Labels4440A count; the two differ.
The two percentage rows are drawn on one 0 to 100 track, Palo Alto Networks NGFW reading right to left. Rank and label count are printed, not drawn.Fortinet FortiGate was named alongside these two in fourteen of the fourteen direct answers. Fortinet FortiGate vs Palo Alto Networks NGFW · Fortinet FortiGate vs Cisco Secure Firewall · Sophos Firewall vs Palo Alto Networks NGFW
Share is the count of first choices across the direct, paraphrase, budget and scale prompts over all fourteen models, for a mid-market B2B company; rank is within the category; every quote names the model and the prompt it came from. Both figures come from the next-generation firewalls page.
By framing
How many of the fourteen models made each the first choice, per way of asking, and how many argued against it.
Palo Alto Networks NGFWFirst choices, of fourteen modelsCisco Secure Firewall
Direct002 against Palo Alto Networks NGFW · 2 against Cisco Secure Firewall
Paraphrase00
Comparative801 against Cisco Secure Firewall
Budget-constrained002 against Palo Alto Networks NGFW · 1 against Cisco Secure Firewall
Scale-constrained11
Negative105 against Palo Alto Networks NGFW · 6 against Cisco Secure Firewall
Bars are first choices, 0 to 14 each sideModels that argued againstA model can name both, so the two sides of a row do not sum to fourteen.
Across every category in the October 2026 Edition, Palo Alto Networks NGFW and Cisco Secure Firewall were named in the same answer seventy-nine times, of the 131 answers naming Palo Alto Networks NGFW and the 107 naming Cisco Secure Firewall. In those answers Cisco Secure Firewall took the first choice zero times and Palo Alto Networks NGFW thirty-one.
Every model, every framing
The eighty-four answers behind the chart above, one cell each: where Palo Alto Networks NGFW and Cisco Secure Firewall stood in it.
| Model | Direct | Paraphrase | Comparative | Budget-constrained | Scale-constrained | Negative |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Claude Haiku 4.5 | | | ||||
| GPT-5.4 mini | | | | |||
| Gemini 3.5 Flash | | | | | | |
| Perplexity Sonar | | |||||
| Grok 4.1 Fast | | | | | | |
| Mistral Small | | | | |||
| DeepSeek V4 Flash | | | | |||
| Llama 4 Maverick | ||||||
| Qwen 3.7 Flash | | | | |||
| Kimi K2 | | | ||||
| GLM 4.7 FlashX | | | | | | |
| MiniMax M2.5 | | | ||||
| GPT-6 Luna | | | | | ||
| Muse Glimmer 30B | | |
Palo Alto Networks NGFW Cisco Secure Firewall first choice named as an alternative argued againstblank: not namedEach cell is one answer, Palo Alto Networks NGFW on the left and Cisco Secure Firewall on the right.The direct prompt
The plain question, one answer per model, grouped by where Palo Alto Networks NGFW and Cisco Secure Firewall stood in it.
Neither was the first choice, one was named
5 of 14 modelsThe answer put something else first and named one of the two as an alternative.GPT-5.4 miniFortinet FortiGate alternatives: Check Point Quantum, Cisco Secure Firewall, Palo Alto Networks NGFW
Gemini 3.5 FlashFortinet FortiGate alternatives: Check Point Quantum, Palo Alto Networks NGFW, Sophos Firewall
Mistral SmallFortinet FortiGate alternatives: Palo Alto Networks NGFW, Sophos Firewall
MiniMax M2.5Fortinet FortiGate alternatives: Palo Alto Networks NGFW, Sophos Firewall
GPT-6 LunaFortinet FortiGate alternatives: Check Point Quantum, Palo Alto Networks NGFW
Neither was named
9 of 14 modelsThe answer made no first choice from these two in this category.Claude Haiku 4.5Fortinet FortiGate alternatives: Check Point Quantum, Palo Alto Networks PA-Series
Perplexity SonarFortinet FortiGate alternatives: Palo Alto Networks PA-Series, Sophos Firewall
Grok 4.1 FastFortinet FortiGate alternatives: Sophos Firewall, WatchGuard Firebox
DeepSeek V4 FlashFortinet FortiGate alternatives: Sophos Firewall
Llama 4 MaverickFortinet FortiGate alternatives: Cisco Secure Firewalls, Palo Alto Networks' PA-Series
Qwen 3.7 FlashFortinet FortiGate alternatives: Check Point Harmony Edge / Infinity, Palo Alto Networks PA-Series
Kimi K2Fortinet FortiGate alternatives: Cisco Meraki MX, Palo Alto Networks PA-Series, SonicWall NSa Series, Sophos XG, WatchGuard Firebox
GLM 4.7 FlashXFortinet FortiGate, Sophos Firewall
Muse Glimmer 30BFortinet FortiGate alternatives: Palo Alto Networks PA-Series, SonicWall Gen 7, Sophos Firewall
Bold names in an answer are the products the judge labeled a first choice; a model naming several gives each of them that label. The full answer text for every row is in the record.
By buyer segment
The same question asked on behalf of a different buyer. Each standing is computed within its segment and they are never added together. The figures above are the mid-market standing, which is the one the category orders by.
Small business
Palo Alto Networks NGFW leads by two points.
Palo Alto Networks NGFW2%#7 of 8Cisco Secure Firewall0%#8 of 8Mid-marketThe figures above
Level: the same share of first choices.
Palo Alto Networks NGFW2%#3 of 8Cisco Secure Firewall2%#4 of 8Enterprise
Palo Alto Networks NGFW leads by thirty-two points.
Palo Alto Networks NGFW35%#2 of 5Cisco Secure Firewall4%#4 of 5What the models said about Palo Alto Networks NGFW
Every negative label with a quote, up to three, then the highest-weighted positives, up to three. Six of eight in this category shown.
“Palo Alto Networks failed both network and transport-layer categories” Muse Glimmer 30B · negative prompt · hard negative
“Top-tier app control and Recommended ratings, but cons include high costs ("often most expensive per Mbps"), subscription stacking inflating TCO, and steep learning curve.” Grok 4.1 Fast · negative prompt · soft negative
“Palo Alto Networks, Fortinet, Cisco Secure Firewall/ASA, and Check Point all appear repeatedly in vulnerability lists and active exploitation coverage” GPT-5.4 mini · negative prompt · soft negative
“Palo Alto Networks is widely considered the gold standard for enterprise-grade threat prevention and deep application visibility.” Gemini 3.5 Flash · comparative prompt · first choice
“Strongest reputation for advanced threat prevention... deepest security capabilities and strongest premium platform feel.” GPT-5.4 mini · comparative prompt · first choice
“Known for its "Single Pass" architecture... especially strong in security-focused enterprise environments” Mistral Small · comparative prompt · first choice
What the models said about Cisco Secure Firewall
Every negative label with a quote, up to three, then the highest-weighted positives, up to three. Six of eight in this category shown.
“Cisco failed one critical TCP-segmentation evasion, reducing its exploit-evasion resistance to 40 percent” Muse Glimmer 30B · negative prompt · hard negative
“Avoid Cisco if you do not have a dedicated, highly trained Cisco administrator on staff.” Gemini 3.5 Flash · negative prompt · hard negative
“Cisco Secure Firewall shows performance degradation when multiple security features are simultaneously enabled and typically falls below Fortinet and Palo Alto at equivalent price points” Claude Haiku 4.5 · negative prompt · soft negative
“Consider vendors like Fortinet, Palo Alto Networks, or Cisco that have proven mid-market solutions” GLM 4.7 FlashX · scale prompt · first choice
“If your organization's infrastructure is already built entirely on Cisco switches, routers, and identity services, choose Cisco” Gemini 3.5 Flash · comparative prompt · alternative
“Choose Cisco if you already rely heavily on Cisco infrastructure and want advanced traffic-analysis features.” Perplexity Sonar · comparative prompt · alternative
Also compared
Comparisons are drawn for the top eight products in each category, each against each. The output is the models' output; nothing here is a recommendation by the index.