See how Cisco SD-WAN stacks up

Compare Cisco SD-WAN with vendors Arista, Fortinet, HPE, and PAN. Take a deep dive into how Cisco transforms your WAN for a smarter, simpler, and safer experience.

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When comparing SD-WAN solutions, performance, reliability, security, speed, bandwidth, scalability, and simplicity are critical. Cisco SD-WAN meets all these needs and more.

SD-WAN comparison chart

Most popular

Vendors/Capabilities	Most popular Cisco	Arista (Velo)	Fortinet	HPE	Palo Alto Networks (PAN)

Customized SD-WAN offerings	Available Offers comprehensive solutions for any branch edge use case: Advanced secure network connectivity plus common firewall capabilities (Catalyst SD-WAN) Integrated LAN/Firewall and SD-WAN with simplified cloud management (Meraki SD-WAN) Advanced security capabilities with standard network connectivity (Secure Firewall SD-WAN)	Limited Connectivity centric SD-WAN solution. Provides connectivity and path optimization services.	Limited Threat-centric. Provides advanced firewall services with basic SD-WAN add-on services	Limited Connectivity centric: Edgeconnect SD-WAN solution provides connectivity focused solution with path optimization. Newly added firewall and antivirus capabilities.	Limited Threat centric. PAN firewalls offer security focused NGWE service plus basic SD-WAN connectivity. PAN ION devices offer SD-WAN connectivity focused solutions and leverage Prisma Access SSE for security.
Supports traditional routing and SD-WAN	Available Comprehensive traditional routing services and smooth migration path to SD-WAN on the same platform¹ Unified image common across traditional routing and SD-WAN¹	Not Available Proprietary VeloCloud SD-WAN only	Limited Supports standard routing protocols	Not Available Proprietary SD-WAN for Session Smart Router and EdgeConnect	Limited PANOS Firewall supports standard routing protocols
Dynamic path selection for applications	Available Automatically steers critical applications to the best performing path, making decisions around network problems/ metrics like latency, jitter, and packet loss	Available Automatically steers critical applications to the best performing path, making decisions around network problems/ metrics like latency, jitter, and packet loss	Available Automatically steers critical applications to the best performing path, making decisions around network problems/ metrics like latency, jitter, and packet loss	Available Automatically steers critical applications to the best performing path, making decisions around network problems/ metrics like latency, jitter, and packet loss	Available Automatically steers critical applications to the best performing path, making decisions around network problems/ metrics like latency, jitter, and packet loss
Multi-region fabric	Available Supports sub-regions in multi-fabric region solution, providing: Support for redundant Border Routers Helps scale the WAN with hierarchical regions improving performance and reliability	Not Available	Not Available	Not Available	Not Available
Industrial SD-WAN support	Available Ruggedized SD-WAN solutions for adverse and industrial environments	Not Available	Available Ruggedized SD-WAN solutions for adverse and industrial environments	Not Available	Available
Cellular support (5G, LTE)	Available Advanced cellular capabilities as a transport link Supported with the deployment flexibility of a built-in module, card, or external gateway on Cisco 8000 Secure Router Series and Cisco Industrial Routers	Available Specific models with built-in cellular support	Available Specific models with built-in cellular support or external cellular gateway options	Not Available Requires third-party modem or router	Available Specific models with built-in cellular support
Network anomaly detection	Available Dedicated dashboard that identifies anomalous network behavior across key KPIs (loss, latency, jitter)¹	Available Alerts are generated on Velo Cloud Orchestrator when there are ISP outages, dropped connections, QoS degradation	Available Supports forecasting and anomaly detection by feeding telemetry from FortiGates into FortiAIOps	Available Detects anomalies using baseline telemetry, event detection like tunnel flaps etc.	Available Monitors key performance metrics like latency, jitter, and packet loss, flagging anomalies that could impact application performance
Predictive path recommendations	Available Leverages telemetry data to proactively suggest optimal paths for application traffic to prevent potential problems before they impact user experiences¹	Not Available	Not Available	Not Available	Not Available
Bandwidth forecasting	Available Tracks historical usage of links to sites and forecast future requirements¹	Not Available	Not Available	Not Available	Not Available
Guided AI assistants	Available AI powered capabilities include⁴: Documentation search Monitoring and troubleshooting TAC, PSIRT, EoS advisories	Available Uses chat interface to manage and troubleshoot network Provides context and links to documentation	Available Forti AI-Assist integrates with FortiAIOps and allows natural language queries, surface diagnostics, suggests remediation and guides configuration tasks	Available Aruba Central uses AI to analyze network events, identify potential problems, and provide specific details for troubleshooting	Available Uses Strata Copilot Answers query on SD-WAN environment Provides suggestions and insights

Remote office, branch office, on-premises security services	Available Includes enterprise firewall with application-awareness, snort IPS, URL filtering, AMP file analysis, threat grid sandboxing, SSL and Talos threat intelligence - managed centrally via Security Cloud Control	Limited Supports stateful firewall and basic IDS/IPS services. Typically needs third-party security add-ons	Available FortiGate supports NGFW capabilities Like IPS/IDS, SSL inspection, Application Control, URL filtering	Limited Supports stateful firewall and basic IDS/IPS services. Typically needs third-party security add-ons	Available PAN Firewalls supports NGFW capabilities Like IPS/IDS, SSL inspection, Application Control, URL filtering
Segmentation (End-to-end VRF-style segmentation)	Available Proven, scalable MPLS/VRF-like end-to-end segmentation Supports up to 2000 VPNs in the overlay, up to 500 per device. Many MPLS services are supported in autonomous mode, including MPLS and layer 2/layer 3 VPN services	Limited Supports up to 128 data segments Does not support complete set of routing services for all segments	Limited FortiOS currently supports up 512 VRFs per Virtual Domain.	Limited Supports up 2000 VRF segments across the fabric, up to 64 VRFs per single appliance	Limited PAN Firewalls typically implement VPNs using virtual firewalls, the number of instances range by model, between 5 - 200 typically
SD-WAN and ISE integration	Available Supports the configuration of security posture policies in the SD-WAN fabric, context extension, and periodic reassessment of device posture	Not Available Security enforcement typically done via third party	Available Supports native identity and access management solutions as well as third-party integrations	Not Available Security enforcement typically done via third party	Available Supports native Identity and Access Management solution as well as third-party integrations
Multiple-IDPs integration	Available Supports multiple identity providers for checking user identities to access digital and cloud-hosted applications Three IDPs supported in case of single tenant; three IDPs supported per tenant in case of multi-tenant	Available Supports multiple identity providers for checking user identities to access digital and cloud-hosted applications	Available Supports multiple identity providers for checking user identities to access digital and cloud-hosted applications	Available Supports multiple identity providers for checking user identities to access digital and cloud-hosted applications	Available Supports multiple identity providers for checking user identities to access digital and cloud-hosted applications
Encrypted traffic analysis and inspection	Available Cisco Secure Firewall detects malware by matching encrypted patterns without decryption³	Not Available	Not Available	Not Available	Not Available
Zero trust network access (ZTNA)	Available Ensures continuous policy enforcement with deep identity integration (who, context, posture) embedded throughout the SD-WAN fabric	Not Available	Available Ensures continuous policy enforcement with identity integration	Not Available	Available Ensures continuous policy enforcement with identity integration

SaaS optimized connectivity	Available Transport independence providing intelligent path selection to leading SaaS applications based on performance metrics and optimal path availability	Available Transport independence providing intelligent path selection to leading SaaS applications based on performance metrics and optimal path availability	Available Transport independence providing intelligent path selection to leading SaaS applications based on performance metrics and optimal path availability	Available Transport independence providing intelligent path selection to leading SaaS applications based on performance metrics and optimal path availability	Available Transport independence providing intelligent path selection to leading SaaS applications based on performance metrics and optimal path availability
Custom SaaS Cloud App optimization	Available Cisco uses NBAR2 and AppQoE to identify SaaS and cloud applications, probes multiple paths and selects the best performing path¹	Available Uses Dynamic Multipath Optimization feature and built-in application database	Available Uses FortiGuard Database to identify Saas apps and leverage FortiManager for real time monitoring	Available Uses First-packet to identify apps. Steers traffic over the best performing link with dynamic path control	Available Uses App-ID to classify apps and measures loss, latency, and jitter to SaaS endpoints via probes
IaaS public cloud optimized connectivity	Available Guided workflows for automated deployment across various cloud service providers (CSPs) including Amazon Web Services (AWS), Microsoft Azure, Google Cloud Platform (GCP), and Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI)	Limited Requires manual deployment using the IaaS vendor's dashboard	Limited Requires manual deployment using the IaaS vendor's dashboard	Available Supports automated deployment of virtual appliance using the centralized Orchestrator	Available Supports automated deployment of virtual appliance using the Panorama cloud plugin
Colocation-cloud gateways	Available Simplified network management with traffic aggregation through colocation hubs to cloud workloads Guided workflows for automated deployment	Limited Supports virtual router deployments using third-party dashboard	Limited Supports virtual router deployments using third-party dashboard	Limited Supports virtual router deployments using third-party dashboard	Limited Supports virtual router deployments using third-party dashboard
Multiple VHUBs per Azure region	Available Cloud OnRamp deployment support of cloud gateways into multiple virtual hubs within the same region Cloud gateways (C8000v) can advertise VNETs connected to the VHUBs Traffic directed using centralized policies Supports up to eight VHUBs per region	Not Available	Not Available	Not Available	Not Available
Google Service Directory integration	Available Detection and recognition of custom cloud applications Seamless mapping of service directory traffic profile to SD-WAN policy manager Unified visibility for all services across all environments Easy creation of traffic profiles in service directory	Not Available	Not Available	Not Available	Not Available
WAN optimization	Available Supports Application Quality of experience (AppQoE) through TCP Optimization, Forward Error Correction (FEC), Packet Duplication, Data Redundancy Elimination (DRE) and Caching¹.	Limited Does not include traditional WAN optimization features like data deduplication, file/object caching, or protocol acceleration VeloCloud supports Forwarded Error Correction techniques	Available Supports TCP optimization, Forward Error Correction (FEC), Packet Duplication, Data Redundancy Elimination (DRE) and Caching	Available Supports TCP optimization, Forward Error Correction (FEC), Packet Duplication, Data Redundancy Elimination (DRE) and Caching	Available PAN firewall Supports TCP optimization, Forward Error Correction (FEC), Packet Duplication, Data Redundancy Elimination (DRE) and Caching

Network and app performance visibility/experience	Available Automated network provisioning, configuration, troubleshooting, and monitoring to minimize downtime, optimize bandwidth and improve efficiency Comprehensive global WAN monitoring with easy navigation to individual sites View overall application experience and underlying circuit health Includes ThousandEyes agents for advanced visibility and control Simple 3-click SD-WAN provisioning² Guided SD-WAN provisioning wizard	Limited Integrated agent support for testing and monitoring that provides basic application visibility and network service monitoring	Limited Integrated agent support for testing and monitoring that provides basic application visibility and network service monitoring	Limited Integrated agent support for testing and monitoring that provides basic application visibility and network service monitoring	Limited Supports Autonomous Digital Experience Management (ADEM) which is managed from the Prisma SASE console not part of the SD-WAN solution
Patch upgrades	Available Includes on demand SD-WAN fabric upgrade facility to deliver feature requests and bug fixes between major releases¹	Not Available	Not Available	Not Available	Limited Typically tied to minor releases
Security insights and management	Available Centralized management of WAN edge security policies with Cisco Security Cloud Control: Native integration with all Cisco SD-WAN fabrics Leverage AI Assistant⁴ to optimize policy enforcement, resolve issues, analyze rules, and manage access control across products	Limited Limited security services are managed via the central orchestrator	Available Native integration with Fortinet FortiManager and FortiAnalyzer Provides full SecOps dashboard and services.	Limited Limited security services are managed via the central orchestrator	Available Native integration with Panorama. Provides full SecOps dashboard and services.

Single-vendor SASE	Available Unified Cisco SD-WAN + SSE (Cisco Secure Access) solution with flexibility to choose the optimal SD-WAN fabric for your environment	Not Available	Available Unified SASE solution	Limited New product with basic services	Available Unified SASE solution
Third-party SSE integrations	Available Cisco SD-WAN supports third-party SSE vendors. Current validations include Zscaler, Palo Alto Networks, Netskope, Cloudflare, Skyhigh	Available Support templates for connections to leading SSE vendors	Not Available Limits automations to FortiSASE only	Available Support templates for connections to leading SSE vendors	Not Available Limits automations to Prisma Access SSE only
High performance SSE tunnel integration	Available Supports up to 8 active and 8 standby 1GE tunnels to SSE Cisco Secure Access ¹. Features advanced load balancing, efficient QUIC proxy protocols, and comprehensive monitoring to provide resilient, secure, and high-performing SSE connectivity	Limited Devices max out below 1Gbps unless using very high end devices	Limited Supported with FortiSASE only, the number of tunnels varies by HW model	Limited Number of tunnels is device-dependent (scales by EdgeConnect model + license).	Available Added tunnels supported with Prisma Access only
Use-case driven cloud-native or on-prem security enforcement	Available Flexibility to choose security enforcement either centrally or at the branch edge depending on traffic patterns and application requirements	Limited Limited on-prem security services, no native cloud SSE	Available Support on-prem security services and native cloud SSE	Limited Support on-prem security services and basic cloud SSE offer	Available Support on-prem security services and native cloud SSE
Hybrid private app access	Available Access to applications and resources can be enforced locally via branch routers or campus fabrics or through Cisco Secure Access^1,3	Not Available	Available Access to applications and resources via locally enforced security policies on FortiGate or in the cloud through FortiSASE	Not Available	Available Access to applications and resources via locally enforced security policies on PAN Firewalls or in the cloud through Prisma Access

1. Catalyst SD-WAN
2. Meraki SD-WAN
3. FTD-SD-WAN
4. In Beta. Generally available in CY 2026

Updated in October 2025 based on public information

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Singapore

Europe Headquarters

Cisco Systems International BV Amsterdam,

The Netherlands

Netherlands

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