Check Point Harmony SASE (formerly Perimeter 81) vs Zscaler Cloud Firewall comparison

Check Point Harmony SASE (formerly Perimeter 81) vs. Zscaler Cloud Firewall

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Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:

Categories and Ranking

Fortinet FortiGate

Mindshare comparison

As of April 2025, in the Firewalls category, the mindshare of Fortinet FortiGate is 21.1%, up from 17.7% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Check Point Harmony SASE (formerly Perimeter 81) is 0.1%, up from 0.1% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Zscaler Cloud Firewall is 0.4%, up from 0.3% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Firewalls

Featured Reviews

EhabAli

Sr. Cybersecurity Solutions Architect at BMB

Efficient, user-friendly, and affordable

In the past, NSS Labs was utilized to test files and verify the numbers and datasheets. It would be beneficial to have an organization or testing lab that can verify the numbers in our datasheets since changes are frequently made, which can be inconvenient for review. For instance, when comparing different competitors such as Forcepoint, Palo Alto, and Check Point, the throughput or numbers in the datasheet may be lower than the actual numbers. Conversely, Fortinet typically reports very high numbers, but they cannot be replicated in the real world. Therefore, it would be advantageous for them to partner with a neutral testing organization such as NSS Labs to validate these numbers, thus providing more credibility and comfort to everyone regarding the accuracy of the datasheets. For the migration, everyone has a firewall in use and I am selling Fortinet. Typically, I am replacing another firewall. Previously, there was a tool available to convert configurations from one firewall, such as Palo Alto, to Fortinet, but this tool is no longer free. If it could be made free again, it would be very beneficial. This tool shows a lot of promise and is very good. Making it free would help many companies deliver their products in a more efficient and integrated way. It would also be more valuable to include the tool with the firewall package or license instead of having to pay extra for it. Paying extra puts more pressure on small companies to deliver the firewall and complete the configuration, especially if they have hundreds or thousands of policies. It's very painful to move through these policies line by line. The stability has room for improvement. When it comes to Secure SD-WAN, everything is fine. They are going the right way. SD-WAN is very promising. They can provide the SD-WAN solution separately, but they will not take this approach because even the smallest firewall can support the features, so there is no need to have a separate service or appliance. They are following the right steps, and there is nothing to be improved. Feature-wise, I'm really satisfied with the new release, and the features they have added. For now, it's fine.

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reviewer8099174

IT Help Support - Coop at DistillerSR

Secure access with an intuitive design and straightforward controls

In terms of improvement, Perimeter 81 could enhance its reporting and analytics capabilities to provide more detailed insights into network activity. Additionally, expanding integration options with a broader range of third-party tools would be beneficial for seamless compatibility with various existing systems. As for additional features in the next release, it would be great to see advanced threat detection and response capabilities integrated into the platform. This would further enhance security by proactively identifying and mitigating potential threats. Additionally, improved mobile device management features and more comprehensive user behavior analytics would be valuable additions to meet evolving cybersecurity needs.

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Bhaskar Rao

Network manager admin at Yamaha

Though it helps deal with web traffic or any malicious traffic, it needs to work on its DC performance issues

The product's initial setup phase is moderate in level, so it is neither very complex nor very easy. For the deployment, my company first needs to gather all the requirements of the users and the domain names and consider how many users there are in the company. In the implementation and planning part, my company needs to consider what kind of policies we will create while ensuring that the policies are created based on the requirements of the users. There is a need to segregate the users' requirements since there are separate departments in the company, like the HR department, sales department, IT department, and manufacturing department, so that our company can create policies depending on their requirements. On-site, if you want a GRE tunnel, our company can handle GRE tunnel traffic routing and Zscaler Cloud Firewall, after which Zscaler will take action based on the policies created by our organization. For the deployments and maintenance, a team of five members consisting of two managers and three engineers is required.

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Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:

Pros

"We were looking for the VPN feature and controlling the inflow and outflow of all the traffic within the site and across the sites. We are also using it for the VPN and VLANs."

"The most valuable features of Fortinet FortiGate are the ability to work in proxy mode, which other solutions, such as Palo Alto cannot. There are some features that are better that come at no extra license or subscriptions cost, such as basic SD-WAN. The DLT is useful, other solutions have the same feature too, such as Palo Alto."

"SSL-VPN is very useful for us and has been very reliable."

"The price-to-performance ratio for using Fortinet FortiGate is always better compared to any other competitor, so they are rated better than the likes of Check Point or Palo Alto."

"The technical support is great."

"The reporting you receive out of this appliance is excellent. You will not need an external management system."

"The most valuable feature of Fortinet FortiGate is security. They are known for efficiency and are on the top of Gartner Quadrant reviews. Fortinet FortiGate has an easy-to-use platform with a good graphical interface. The configuration is simple and the solution provides an overall good layer of security."

"I like Fortinet FortiGate's antispam filter, SPN, and clustering features."

More Fortinet FortiGate pros

"The solution has many valuable aspects, including anti-Phishing, which blocks phishing attacks in all applications (email, messaging, and social networks)."

"Distributing the agent was very simple, allowing us to enforce security posture on our devices (i.e. S1, Disk-encryption, etc.)."

"The solution offers both client and clientless versions for good remote access."

"The monitoring and granular policies are very helpful."

"The product’s ability to block phishing sites is valuable."

"Our investment in quality hardware has proven to provide a better customer experience. They heavily rely on Check Point Firewall and Check Point SaaS Connect to safeguard their networks from external threats and attacks."

"It has centralized management that allows administrators to supervise and control the security of the entire network."

"I rate the overall product as ten out of ten."

More Check Point Harmony SASE (formerly Perimeter 81) pros

"If malicious traffic attacks our on-premises servers, then it gets blocked by Zscaler Cloud Firewall."

"Once you have Zscaler running you have access to configure it however you want."

"It helps a lot of companies to reduce their downtime. Also, It helps businesses in terms of being secured and protected from any threats."

"Zscaler is still a very good product."

"The solution offers good sandboxing."

"Zscaler provides effective protection against various cyber threats ensuring a safe environment"

"The initial setup is straightforward."

"The visibility and log availability offered are highly valued for troubleshooting purposes, and this is a key factor driving customer interest in the firewall module."

More Zscaler Cloud Firewall pros

Cons

"As far as wanting more scalability or things in the network diagram, it's going to cost you."

"Improvement is needed in the Web Filter quotas to restrict users with allocated quotas."

"The solution could be improved by addressing limited local reporting. It requires obtaining the FortiAnalyzer for proper visibility because you can't do much from a reporting perspective with just the firewall alone."

"The support system could be improved."

"It could use more templates for third-party site-to-site VPN setups other than FortiGate and Cisco."

"We would like to see an upgrade to the VPN feature, we are using the VPN from outside of our office and there is a limitation to 10 connections, more connections would be suitable."

"The support team for Fortinet FortiGate needs to be more customer friendly."

"We had some issues in the beginning while setting it up, but after doing the firmware update, it is working fine."

More Fortinet FortiGate cons

"The solution's speed of upload and download is an area where it lacks"

"A Google Chrome extension would be handy instead of logging into the app."

"Automation and scalability are areas where the solution lacks and needs to improve."

"Regarding the support, the schedules can be improved since they are generally in another geographical area, and it is difficult to solve the problems with the time differences between them and us."

"Branding could be better."

"I don't know if it is technically feasible, however, if the Desktop App could be used as a Web App or a Chrome Extension it would be very nice."

"Support is one of the points of improvement."

"While the product has been instrumental in enhancing security, continuous improvement is essential. Feedback from users and ongoing technological advancements should guide the refinement of these security measures."

More Check Point Harmony SASE (formerly Perimeter 81) cons

"It would be nice to have some sort of a form factor, a physical form factor perhaps, or virtual machine that you could install on devices or on a cloud, and have some cloud computing."

"Pricing is a challenge."

"Apart from the issues associated with the product in areas like the DC performance issues and DC failover, Zscaler Cloud Firewall's IP should not have a proxy IP."

"Its technical support services could be better."

"We are having some issues with internet access being denied when organizational ID-based policies change. For example, a lower level employee ends up getting the same level of access as that of a higher level employee."

"The issue right now is probably that Zscaler is not providing web browser isolation. Another solution, Menlo, offers this. For one customer, we had to send traffic to Menlo to do the isolation for us. It was requested by the customer so that they could integrate any iframe. Zscaler needs to add this type of feature in their next release."

"I don't have the visibility of a control dashboard or a network management system."

"If I can get rid of Jetscaler, I will use Twingate for sure."

More Zscaler Cloud Firewall cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Its licenses cost the same for different subscription plans."

"The beauty is the price performance ratio is great with FortiGate. It provides all the features we needed and the price is comparable with others' firewalls. The price is quite competitive with the firewalls with similar features."

"The license for Fortinet FortiGate is affordable in my country."

"The price of Fortinet FortiGate is reasonable for an SME."

"Pricing for this product is comparatively lower than other products. It's an affordable solution, but when expanding the number of users, they'll ask you to replace the model, so that's an added cost."

"In the Asian economy in which we operate, FortiGate is expensive."

"When you look at these end security systems and firewalls, these firewalls even five years ago were $50,000 or perhaps $25,000 to implement in some types of customer sites. Now we're talking about tools that are $1,000. In this case, it might have been $500 or something like that."

"Its price is reasonable. They have a clear pricing policy. It is not complicated by the number of VPN users at a time. We know what the price is. The yearly subscription for the security license is rather high, but it is all included for whatever number of users you have and the kind of functions you need."

More Fortinet FortiGate pricing and cost advice

"The product is neither cheap nor expensive."

"The pricing of Check Point is relatively high when compared to other competitors like Palo Alto and Fortinet. While Palo Alto may be on the higher side in terms of cost, Check Point's pricing is similar to that of Fortinet. In some cases, Check Point offers better value for the features it provides. We initially considered other options but ultimately decided to purchase hardware that came with three years of iOS. This approach eliminated the need for any additional costs associated with Check Point. I would rate it 10 out of 10."

"The solution's pricing model may not be suitable for smaller companies, as they might find it expensive. Larger companies tend to receive more value due to many users."

"The pricing is good, especially when you compare it to other firewall or UTM solutions from FortiGate or SonicWall, where you would have to invest about four hundred thousand rupees for 100 users over a three-year period."

"Overall I am very happy with the solution’s flexibility and pricing."

"Regarding pricing, I can say that the more the number of users, the less they have to pay."

"The product is reasonably priced."

"Annual licenses cost $30 to $40 each."

More Check Point Harmony SASE (formerly Perimeter 81) pricing and cost advice

"It is not the most budget-friendly solution, but it's important to consider its overall value."

"The product is a bit expensive compared to the solutions offered by its competitors, like Palo Alto. There is a need to make yearly payments towards the license in charges associated with the product."

"Zscaler is priced too high compared to the cost of Fortinet."

"There are licensing costs, and I would not say that it's a cheap vendor."

"There are different subscription models available."

"On a scale from one to ten, where one is cheap, and ten is expensive, I rate the solution's pricing an eight out of ten."

"It is expensive for small businesses."

"It comes at a significantly reduced cost while ensuring control and effectiveness."

More Zscaler Cloud Firewall pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Educational Organization

21%

Computer Software Company

14%

Comms Service Provider

Manufacturing Company

Computer Software Company

21%

Financial Services Firm

Manufacturing Company

Government

Financial Services Firm

13%

Computer Software Company

13%

Manufacturing Company

Government

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

Questions from the Community

Which is the better NGFW: Fortinet Fortigate or Cisco Firepower?

When you compare these firewalls you can identify them with different features, advantages, practices and usage a...

What is the biggest difference between Sophos XG and FortiGate?

From my experience regarding both the Sophos and FortiGate firewalls, I personally would rather use FortiGate. I know...

What are the biggest technical differences between Sophos UTM and Fortinet FortiGate?

As a solution, Sophos UTM offers a lot of functionality, it scales well, and the stability and performance are quite ...

What do you like most about Perimeter 81?

Even after restarting, it tries to quickly reestablish connection which is very helpful.

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Perimeter 81?

It's essential to consider the organization's specific requirements and budget. Here are some general recommendations...

What needs improvement with Perimeter 81?

In terms of improvement, Perimeter 81 could enhance its reporting and analytics capabilities to provide more detailed...

Which lesser known firewall product has the best chance at unseating the market leaders?

Netscope, Zscaler if they continue route they are on now. FIrewalls needs great deal of automation on each end, datac...

What do you like most about Zscaler Cloud Firewall?

The product’s firewall and VPN package are fantastic compared to any other solution.

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Zscaler Cloud Firewall?

The product is a bit expensive compared to the solutions offered by its competitors, like Palo Alto. There is a need ...

Sophos XG vs Fortinet FortiGate

Comparisons

Compared 22% of the time

Netgate pfSense vs Fortinet FortiGate

Compared 13% of the time

Cisco Secure Firewall vs Fortinet FortiGate

Compared 11% of the time

WatchGuard Firebox vs Fortinet FortiGate

Compared 5% of the time

SonicWall TZ vs Fortinet FortiGate

Compared 5% of the time

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Zscaler Zero Trust Exchange Platform vs Check Point Harmony SASE (formerly Perimeter 81)

Compared 16% of the time

Prisma Access by Palo Alto Networks vs Check Point Harmony SASE (formerly Perimeter 81)

Compared 13% of the time

Cato SASE Cloud Platform vs Check Point Harmony SASE (formerly Perimeter 81)

Compared 8% of the time

Netskope vs Check Point Harmony SASE (formerly Perimeter 81)

Compared 8% of the time

Check Point Remote Access VPN vs Check Point Harmony SASE (formerly Perimeter 81)

Compared 2% of the time

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Azure Firewall vs Zscaler Cloud Firewall

Compared 18% of the time

OPNsense vs Zscaler Cloud Firewall

Compared 11% of the time

Check Point NGFW vs Zscaler Cloud Firewall

Compared 9% of the time

Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls vs Zscaler Cloud Firewall

Compared 7% of the time

Cisco Multicloud Defense vs Zscaler Cloud Firewall

Compared 6% of the time

More Zscaler Cloud Firewall Competitors

Product Reports

Fortinet FortiGate

Download Fortinet FortiGate product report

Check Point Harmony SASE (formerly Perimeter 81)

Download Check Point Harmony SASE (formerly Perimeter 81) product report

Check Point Harmony SASE (formerly Perimeter 81) report

Download Zscaler Cloud Firewall product report

Zscaler Cloud Firewall

March 2025

Also Known As

FortiGate 60b, FortiGate 60c, FortiGate 80c, FortiGate 50b, FortiGate 200b, FortiGate 110c, FortiGate, Fortinet Firewall

Check Point Quantum SASE

No data available

Overview

Fortinet FortiGate offers comprehensive network security and firewall protection across multiple locations. It effectively manages data traffic and secures environments with features like VPN, intrusion prevention, and UTM controls.

Organizations rely on Fortinet FortiGate for its robust integration with advanced security policies, ensuring significant protection for enterprises, cloud environments, and educational sectors. It facilitates network segmentation, application-level security, and authentication management, securing communication within and between locations such as branches and data centers. Its efficient SD-WAN and UTM features enable streamlined data management and enhanced threat protection capabilities. Users appreciate its centralized management, facilitating seamless operations across diverse environments.

What are the key features of Fortinet FortiGate?

VPN Capabilities: Ensure secure remote access for users and seamless site-to-site connections.
Intrusion Prevention System (IPS): Detect and prevent security threats and vulnerabilities.
Advanced Firewall: Offers robust firewalling with application control and web filtering.
SD-WAN: Optimizes application performance and enhances bandwidth management.
SSL VPN: Provides reliable and secure access for remote workers.

What benefits should users expect from Fortinet FortiGate?

High-performance Security: Delivers effective threat mitigation with high availability.
Centralized Management: Simplifies network operations with cloud-based management tools.
Detailed Analytics: Provides comprehensive insights into network activity and security threats.
Load Balancing: Ensures optimal resource distribution and traffic management.

Fortinet FortiGate is crucial in sectors like education, offering robust networks for secure data flow between campuses and facilitating remote learning. In enterprise environments, it allows efficient management of application traffic and security across multiple branches, while in the cloud, it seamlessly integrates with diverse platforms to enhance security infrastructure.

Fortinet

Perimeter 81 is a cloud-based network security and software-defined perimeter (SDP) solution designed to provide secure access to resources in the cloud, data centers, and on-premises environments. It offers a unified platform for organizations to manage and secure their network infrastructure, regardless of the location or type of resources.

Perimeter 81 Benefits:

Easy to use
Flexible access policies
Strong encryption and authentication protocols
Scalable
Compatible with various devices and platforms

Perimeter 81 Features:

Secure Network Access: Perimeter 81 provides secure access to internal resources and cloud-based applications through its client applications and gateways.
Software-Defined Perimeter (SDP): SDP is a security framework that focuses on dynamically creating secure connections between users and resources on a need-to-know basis.
Zero Trust Network Access (ZTNA): Perimeter 81 follows the Zero Trust security model, which assumes that no user or device can be inherently trusted.
Multi-Cloud and Hybrid Cloud Support: Perimeter 81 is designed to secure access to resources across multi-cloud and hybrid cloud environments.
User and Device Management: The solution offers centralized user and device management capabilities, allowing administrators to define access policies, manage user roles, and enforce multi-factor authentication (MFA) for enhanced security.
Network Segmentation: Perimeter 81 enables organizations to segment their network resources, creating isolated environments based on logical groupings.
Centralized Management and Analytics: Perimeter 81 provides a centralized management console where administrators can configure and monitor their network security settings.

Reviews from Real Users

PeerSpot user, Frontend Developer at Limelight Networks, states that "We use some VPN solutions, and Perimeter 81 has the best user experience for desktop or mobile".

Daniel Goldfeld, Vice President of Customer Success at Mine - The All-in-One Privacy Suite, says that Perimeter 81 has "Great SAML and SCIM support with the ability to deploy site-2-site tunnels with specific IP restrictions".

Another PeerSpot user, Accounts Payable Specialist at Simera, writes that "The feature that I have found to be most valuable is the reputation that the company has regarding privacy. Nowadays, this is critical, especially when you do all of your work online."

Check Point Software Technologies

Zscaler enables the world’s leading organizations to securely transform their networks and applications for a mobile and cloud first world. Its flagship services, Zscaler Internet Access and Zscaler Private Access, create fast, secure connections between users and applications, regardless of device, location, or network. Zscaler services are 100% cloud-delivered and offer the simplicity, enhanced security, and improved user experience that traditional appliances or hybrid solutions are unable to match. Used in more than 185 countries, Zscaler operates the world’s largest cloud security platform, protecting thousands of enterprises and government agencies from cyberattacks and data loss.

Check more details: https://www.zscaler.com/produc...

Zscaler

Sample Customers

Amazon Web Services, Microsoft, IBM, Cisco, Dell, HP, Oracle, Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile, Sprint, Vodafone, Orange, BT Group, Telstra, Deutsche Telekom, Comcast, Time Warner Cable, CenturyLink, NTT Communications, Tata Communications, SoftBank, China Mobile, Singtel, Telus, Rogers Communications, Bell Canada, Telkom Indonesia, Telkom South Africa, Telmex, Telia Company, Telkom Kenya

Aqua Security, Cognito, Multipoint, Kustomer, Postman, Meredith

Zenith Live, Azure, Carlsberg Group

Check Point Harmony SASE (formerly Perimeter 81) vs. Zscaler Cloud Firewall