# Palo Alto Networks NGFW vs Cisco Secure Firewall: which do AI models recommend for firewalls, October 2026

IT AI Recommendation Index, October 2026 Edition, Next-generation firewalls. Zero of fourteen models named Palo Alto Networks NGFW first on the direct prompt; zero named Cisco Secure Firewall. Page: https://it-ai-index.com/network/next-generation-firewalls/palo-alto-networks-ngfw-vs-cisco-secure-firewall/

| | First-choice share | Rank | Negative rate | Labels | Models naming it |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Palo Alto Networks NGFW | 2% | #3 of 8 | 20% | 44 | 14 of 14 |
| Cisco Secure Firewall | 2% | #4 of 8 | 25% | 40 | 14 of 14 |

## The direct prompt, model by model

- GPT-5.4 mini: neither first, one named (first choices: Fortinet FortiGate) (alternatives: Check Point Quantum, Cisco Secure Firewall, Palo Alto Networks NGFW)
- Gemini 3.5 Flash: neither first, one named (first choices: Fortinet FortiGate) (alternatives: Check Point Quantum, Palo Alto Networks NGFW, Sophos Firewall)
- Mistral Small: neither first, one named (first choices: Fortinet FortiGate) (alternatives: Palo Alto Networks NGFW, Sophos Firewall)
- MiniMax M2.5: neither first, one named (first choices: Fortinet FortiGate) (alternatives: Palo Alto Networks NGFW, Sophos Firewall)
- GPT-6 Luna: neither first, one named (first choices: Fortinet FortiGate) (alternatives: Check Point Quantum, Palo Alto Networks NGFW)
- Claude Haiku 4.5: neither named (first choices: Fortinet FortiGate) (alternatives: Check Point Quantum, Palo Alto Networks PA-Series)
- Perplexity Sonar: neither named (first choices: Fortinet FortiGate) (alternatives: Palo Alto Networks PA-Series, Sophos Firewall)
- Grok 4.1 Fast: neither named (first choices: Fortinet FortiGate) (alternatives: Sophos Firewall, WatchGuard Firebox)
- DeepSeek V4 Flash: neither named (first choices: Fortinet FortiGate) (alternatives: Sophos Firewall)
- Llama 4 Maverick: neither named (first choices: Fortinet FortiGate) (alternatives: Cisco Secure Firewalls, Palo Alto Networks' PA-Series)
- Qwen 3.7 Flash: neither named (first choices: Fortinet FortiGate) (alternatives: Check Point Harmony Edge / Infinity, Palo Alto Networks PA-Series)
- Kimi K2: neither named (first choices: Fortinet FortiGate) (alternatives: Cisco Meraki MX, Palo Alto Networks PA-Series, SonicWall NSa Series, Sophos XG, WatchGuard Firebox)
- GLM 4.7 FlashX: neither named (first choices: Fortinet FortiGate, Sophos Firewall)
- Muse Glimmer 30B: neither named (first choices: Fortinet FortiGate) (alternatives: Palo Alto Networks PA-Series, SonicWall Gen 7, Sophos Firewall)

## What the models said about Palo Alto Networks NGFW

- "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

- "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)

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. Comparisons are drawn for the top eight products in each category. Published under CC BY 4.0; the output is the models' output, and nothing here is a recommendation by the index.