Forescout Platform vs Palo Alto Networks IoT Security comparison

Forescout Platform vs. Palo Alto Networks IoT Security

Download the complete report

Helped 842,592 peers since 2012

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

Forescout Platform

Ranking in IoT Security

1st

Average Rating

8.4

Reviews Sentiment

6.6

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Network Access Control (NAC) (4th), Endpoint Compliance (5th), Extended Detection and Response (XDR) (17th)

Palo Alto Networks IoT Secu...

Ranking in IoT Security

4th

Average Rating

8.4

Reviews Sentiment

7.0

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of March 2025, in the IoT Security category, the mindshare of Forescout Platform is 14.9%, down from 19.0% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Palo Alto Networks IoT Security is 6.9%, up from 6.7% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

IoT Security

Featured Reviews

Odai Halawani

Sr. Security Engineer at Topvision

It's an easy and effective solution, especially for device profiling without agents

Forescout Platform's most valuable aspect is its excellent device profiling for devices without agents, which is crucial for our work due to challenges with agent-based devices. Its isolation and blocking actions are particularly effective for network security. The device compliance feature helps us ensure device compliance through immediate actions like updating antivirus software. We have already integrated Forescout with antivirus and vulnerability assessment tools, allowing it to monitor vulnerability scores and automatically isolate devices if critical vulnerabilities are detected.

Read full review

Engineerinfosec67

Senior Information Security Engineer at Westcon-Comstor

Recognizing and classifying devices with AI and machine learning boosts security without extra network controls

Palo Alto Networks IoT Security ( /products/palo-alto-networks-iot-security-reviews ) integrates with a cloud-based engine that uses artificial intelligence and machine learning for device recognition and classification based on traffic types. This adaptability, which does not rely strictly on a static database, allows for identifying a wider range of devices. The behavior-based identification of devices enhances the capabilities of security controls, extending the network security platform's recognition capacity without deploying a separate network access control system.

Read full review

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"It has helped with improving our security posture in terms of controlling the access of rogue devices into our network through identification. We have been able to prevent rogue device activities on the network, check the health of the system, and ensure remediation."

"The most valuable feature is the ease of deployment, which does not require the use of an agent."

"Forescout Platform provides multiple features. They have a very effective device fingerprinting in their cloud. You do not need to add any devices manually, such as in Mac devices. Other solutions you have to add IoT devices and OT devices manually. This is one of the major areas that Forescout Platform is excelling in."

"Forescout Platform is stable, it is great."

"The platform enables automated policy enforcement, allowing us to simulate and test policies before enforcement, streamlining our security operations."

"Forescout CounterACT has allowed us to better open our access and control wireless access globally from our HQ. This allows us to monitor the network access for every office globally. This has improved overall security, reducing risk and opening up the opportunity to provide greater end user flexibility."

"Ease of deployment There's a great support team that becomes actively engaged whenever we encounter issues. Their technical support is amazing. Good documentation is available. The product is stable. The solution is highly scalable. I recommend using the solution because it gives verified control over the environment. It has a great visibility feature."

"We really like that we get full visibility of devices in the local network."

More Forescout Platform pros

"I would recommend Palo Alto Networks IoT Security to any organization with automation plants or standard enterprise IT environments."

"I find Palo Alto Networks IoT Security to be highly responsive, and its separate management and data planes are a major advantage."

"I like the threat information, and we can share the logging data with Cortex Data Lake."

"It is simple to use. We just need to enable features and then configure IoT policies."

"This solution has been most valuable for establishing a VPN and implementing allow/deny rules. It has also enabled us to create security policies. It is an easy solution to customise when it comes to creating templates and pulling reports."

"I like the Cortex Data Lake integration with security automation."

"From a security standpoint, it provides a comprehensive range of standard security features that align with our requirements."

"Single-pass traffic processing enables very high throughput and low latency."

More Palo Alto Networks IoT Security pros

Cons

"The system controls could be better."

"They need to handle their Tier 1 cases differently. The biggest negative regarding Forescout is their support. Not having the ability to get instantly transferred to a support engineer for Tier 1 cases is pretty ridiculous."

"The solution should include integration with other firewalls."

"I should be able to integrate my Forescout with any other third party security technology, to build that connected security strategy."

"The cost is too high."

"Forescout Platform could improve the vulnerability management as well as the control on the endpoint, which needs to be connected to my network."

"Forescout Platform would benefit from using AI. Everything has to be set up manually, but AI can learn and suggest rules over time. It also lacks visualization, and some interface configurations need improvement. The visualization seems a couple of years behind compared to other products."

"Forescout Platform isn't flexible with connections to devices like printers and forces you to re-enter details like the MAC address after any breakdowns."

More Forescout Platform cons

"Palo Alto Networks IoT Security's reporting capabilities are less comprehensive and robust than those provided by Cisco."

"It would be beneficial to have a more centralized and user-friendly platform that could consolidate all the necessary information, which proved challenging during the initial POC phase."

"It would be beneficial if Palo Alto IoT Security could integrate with Let's Encrypt for free SSL certificates."

"More application signatures are required."

"The support is in line with Palo Alto Networks services for other products but needs improvement."

"While not overly complex, its usability could be enhanced, making it a more intuitive experience for everyone."

"The reporting for this solution could be improved. The logs we receive are only saved for one week. We would like to have the database timeframe increased to a month or two for historical reporting as well as increased storage capabilities to support this data and reporting."

"The cost is still high and licensing is still complex."

More Palo Alto Networks IoT Security cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The price of Forescout is reasonable when compared to Cisco ISE."

"We went with the virtual appliance option. The biggest cost to running these types of appliances would be to either have multiple virtual appliances at every data center or running Remote SPAN hardware to provide you the real-time network visibility."

"It might not be the cheapest solution, but you get what you pay for."

"The tool's pricing is expensive but reasonable."

"The ROI is priceless."

"For one license, we pay around 3,000 Indian rupees."

"We have a very clear licensing model for business. I don't have to have a Ph.D. to be able to understand the licensing model as you might need for other solutions. If I know exactly what we want, it can tell you which license you need. The solution is easy for purchasing, ordering, and ease of deployment as well."

"There are no additional costs that I am aware of."

More Forescout Platform pricing and cost advice

"While Palo Alto Networks IoT Security might cost more than some competitors, its features and effectiveness justify the price tag."

"The pricing for Palo Alto Networks IoT Security is a bit high."

"The successful migration trend suggests that Palo Alto provides a superior cost-benefit ratio for firewall solutions."

"The initial investment is substantial, but the renewal costs make it financially unsustainable."

See which vendors are best for you

Use our free recommendation engine to learn which IoT Security solutions are best for your needs.

See recommendations

842,592 professionals have used our research since 2012.

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Educational Organization

32%

Computer Software Company

10%

Financial Services Firm

Government

Manufacturing Company

16%

Computer Software Company

15%

Energy/Utilities Company

Comms Service Provider

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

Questions from the Community

What advice do you have for others considering Forescout Platform?

Forescout is a very powerful NAC product that does not rely on port level configuration. It can detect and block unauthorized devices very quickly. But it has a lot of capabilities and really would...

What advice do you have for others considering Forescout Platform?

I would rate the Forescout Device and Visibility Control Platform at a six out of ten.

What advice do you have for others considering Forescout Platform?

I recommend doing a compression demo. If people use it, they will buy it. So they have to see the product in place. That's the main recommendation is to do a proof of concept. If they do, they will...

What do you like most about Palo Alto Networks IoT Security?

From a security standpoint, it provides a comprehensive range of standard security features that align with our requirements.

What needs improvement with Palo Alto Networks IoT Security?

The major challenge is the integration with existing complex production lines. These architectures were developed with a focus on automation functionalities, not security. Finding the right integra...

What is your primary use case for Palo Alto Networks IoT Security?

I use Palo Alto Networks IoT Security ( /products/palo-alto-networks-iot-security-reviews ) for discovering automation devices and detecting various types of data traffic on automation infrastructu...

Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE) vs Forescout Platform

Comparisons

Compared 24% of the time

Aruba ClearPass vs Forescout Platform

Compared 23% of the time

Fortinet FortiNAC vs Forescout Platform

Compared 15% of the time

Nozomi Networks vs Forescout Platform

Compared 6% of the time

Armis vs Forescout Platform

Compared 4% of the time

More Forescout Platform Competitors

Nozomi Networks vs Palo Alto Networks IoT Security

Compared 64% of the time

Armis vs Palo Alto Networks IoT Security

Compared 25% of the time

Microsoft Defender for IoT vs Palo Alto Networks IoT Security

Compared 11% of the time

More Palo Alto Networks IoT Security Competitors

Product Reports

Forescout Platform

Download Forescout Platform product report

Palo Alto Networks IoT Security

Download Palo Alto Networks IoT Security product report

Also Known As

Forescout Platform, CounterACT for Endpoint Compliance, ForeScout CounterACT

No data available

Overview

Forescout Platform provides today’s busy enterprise organizations with policy and protocol management, workflow coordination, streamlining, and complete device and infrastructure visibility to improve overall network security. The solution also provides concise real-time intelligence of all devices and users on the network. Policy and protocols are delineated using gathered intelligence to facilitate the appropriate levels of remediation, compliance, network access, and all service operations. Forescout Platform is very flexible, integrates well with most of today’s leading network security products, and is a very cost-effective solution.

Forescout Platform Features

Real-time complete visibility: With Forescout eyeSight, each and every device is classified when any attempt to access your network has been made. This includes - but is not limited to - desktops, laptops, android devices, virtual machines, switches, VoIP phones, USB memory sticks, webcams, IoT devices, and more.
Policy-based and manual controls: In today’s busy robust environment, networks are continually changing; there are different types and amounts of devices connected, various software applications, network compliance requirements, and the constant potential for risk make managing an IT network a very daunting challenge. The Forescout Console is used to simplify the administration and management of important alerts, remediation, and access controls to keep the network secure.
Intuitive real-time dashboards: Forescout Dashboards, a component of Forescout WebClient, is a comprehensive web-based intelligence center that gives full visibility and real-time insight of the complete network using both out-of-the-box and user-created widgets. The dashboards are very intuitive and deliver robust, easy-to-understand information about device visibility, compliance, health monitoring, and more.
Advanced reporting capabilities: The Forescout Reports Plugin will generate numerous valuable reports indicating real-time and overall status information about endpoint compliance, device details, networks guests, protocols, and more. The reports help to ensure IT administrators, executives, security teams, and other important shareholders stay well-informed about all network activity at all times.
Comprehensive third-party overview: Forescout eyeExtend facilitates seamless information sharing with third-party vendors, networks, and IT management solutions supporting improved automated workflows, productivity, cost-effectiveness, and overall security.

Real User Reviews

An important main feature of Forescout is the visibility the solution offers.

One reviewer who is a Consultant at a tech services company, says, "Within three or four days, you can have complete visibility of your infrastructure on the network. Compared to other solutions, the deployment of the solution is easier and we can close the project quickly."

Users also appreciate that the user interface is clear and easy to understand.

An Instructor at a tech services company, shares, "The most valuable feature of the Forescout Platform is the large capacity it can handle. Additionally, the interface of the platform is good."

Forescout

Introducing comprehensive IoT Security solutions tailored for enterprises, healthcare, and industrial operations. Safeguard every device, visible or unseen, with Zero Trust security protocols, ensuring protection against known and unknown threats. With rapid 15X faster deployment times, Enterprise IoT Security, Medical IoT Security, and Industrial OT Security streamline operations, allowing teams to prioritize security over setup. Seamlessly integrate with Palo Alto Networks ML-Powered NGFWs or Prisma Access for swift implementation, making your infrastructure IoT-aware within minutes. Eliminate blind spots across existing IT and security solutions with playbook-driven, built-in integrations, and simplify cloud delivery for deployment across any architecture without the need for multiple sensors or network redesign. Protect your assets and ensure uninterrupted operations with our comprehensive IoT security solutions.

Palo Alto Networks

Sample Customers

NHS Sussex, SAP, SEGA, Vistaprint, Miami Children's Hospital, Pioneer Investments, New York Law School, OmnicomGroup, Meritrust

Information Not Available

Forescout Platform vs. Palo Alto Networks IoT Security