Netskope Private Access vs Prisma Access by Palo Alto Networks comparison

Netskope Private Access vs. Prisma Access by Palo Alto Networks

Download the complete report

Helped 916,197 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

iboss

Mindshare comparison

As of October 2026, in the ZTNA as a Service category, the mindshare of iboss is 3.5%, up from 2.4% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Netskope Private Access is 2.3%, down from 4.6% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Prisma Access by Palo Alto Networks is 9.8%, down from 13.5% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

ZTNA as a Service Mindshare Distribution
Product	Mindshare (%)
Prisma Access by Palo Alto Networks	9.8%
iboss	3.5%
Netskope Private Access	2.3%
Other	84.4%

ZTNA as a Service

Featured Reviews

Ashok Ananthula

Senior Consultant Proxy Engineering at a financial services firm with 10,001+ employees

Cloud gateway has strengthened remote web security and now needs better Mac and ISP support

The problem our organization had is that iboss failed for the Mac devices. It is not able to give a successful agent for the Mac agents. That is where in 2025, we had to migrate to the Palo Alto-based platform. If your use case is for just Windows laptops,you can consider this platform as an option One issue is the data center resiliency part. In India especially, they are not tied up with the Tier 1 ISPs like Tata or Airtel; they were having Tier 2 ISPs and encountered many issues reaching few major sites that my organization depends on, and they were having problems that they could not fix quickly. They also lack a mechanism to route that traffic within their data center; rather, they ask customers to make a pac file change to route it to Singapore explicitly. It would be better if they route from their backend , i mean even if I send it to India DC, they should be able to route it internally to make that work; however, they fail to do that and ask the customer to route it in the pac file. Another suggestion is that in China, they do not have the proper setup; they used to have numerous problems with slowness and lack of premium circuits in China as well. That leads to multiple sites working slowly with latency-related issues. So the main issue is the ISP-related problems that need to be solved.

Read full review

Prathamesh Samant

Presales Manager at a manufacturing company with 201-500 employees

Has ensured secure remote access through real-time device checks and policy controls

There is a mixed review on the integration part of Netskope Private Access. Wherever they have out-of-the-box support, it is quite easy to integrate. Wherever customization is needed, it depends on the openness of the application being integrated with. If the other application has an open architecture where you have easy API integrations, then it becomes easier. However, in some cases, it is a tedious task to do the integration where the application is not that open or it is not supported out-of-the-box from Netskope. They can introduce the DLP feature for Netskope Private Access. Zscaler has that DLP feature. It is in their roadmap, but currently, they don't have it. If they have data protection or data loss prevention within their NPA, that would be a significant advantage.

Read full review

IgorPinter

Director at PULSEC

Zero-trust access has improved remote security and now simplifies cloud-based firewall management

Regarding the integration part for Prisma Access by Palo Alto Networks, the integration with identity providers is pretty much good. It is basically firewall as a service, so it performs well. I completed the integration without any issues. What Palo Alto Networks can do better for Prisma Access by Palo Alto Networks is probably to have the point of presence available in more locations. The point of presence from the Serbia region has the nearest POP in Frankfurt, which is an issue since it is your gateway—when you start browsing the internet, you go through a commercial connection in Germany. They definitely need to spread the service in other countries.

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

"We were impressed by the solution's mental health function, which can detect if someone needs help. It scans what users are browsing and flags warning signs so we can check to see if they are okay. We've had to use it a couple of times."

"As I mentioned, the return on investment is significant, as it saved our office locations' bandwidth because when you are working remotely at home, your internet traffic routes directly to iboss and will not go to your office building, saving bandwidth bottlenecks and ensuring that issues with our building internet circuits will not impact your internet connectivity because you are directly going to the iboss data center."

"Its initial setup was straightforward."

"We chose iboss for both zero trust and proxy (SWG) because their SWG was superior."

"The iboss solution gives me the ability to scan the traffic through all the ports, through all the 131,000 PCP and UDP ports, and with this ability, we have the granularity also for consults over social media and applications on mobile, and this is an advantage that the customers are looking for right now."

"Valuable features: Within the filter: Controls (Web categories, applications, and Allow/Block list) and Network (local Subnets). Within the reporter: Logs (Event Log) and Reports."

"Content filtering is the most useful feature of iboss."

"iboss is pretty scalable. They provide good support. The case managers you work with to coordinate what you need are pretty good."

More iboss pros

"The base features have been fantastic. The ability to be able to granularly assign application access to end-users has been really good."

"Even without extensive training, if you're a proficient IT professional, you can easily configure it."

"It is a stable solution...It is a scalable solution."

"Netskope enables users to securely access private applications remotely without a VPN."

"The main benefit for users from Netskope Private Access would be secure access from anywhere; they can easily access their systems or applications in their office premises or on-premises environment in a very secure way and the organization can also be assured knowing that whatever access they have been providing to their remote users goes through proper checks and balances before access is provided."

"There are several valuable features, like advanced security protections, especially the DLP (Data Loss Protection), and there's also browser and web filtering, or content filtering for our users to protect them when accessing certain links or websites, ensuring their security and permission."

"In the VPN scenario, what was happening, the user would get back to the complete source. But in NPA, the application will go to the user. There is an outbound connection. There is no inbound. Storage providers are also not there. It's the best feature because it is the replacement of the VPN."

"In the firewall, we don't have a user-based policies list, and we can't create them. Netskope helps us to create user-based policies. For example, if there are specific teams like HR or more than nine teams, and we want logs from access over particular URLs, and we don't want to allow that specific URL for certain users, we can create these policies in Netskope. It's handy, easy to use for new users, and has a cool GUI interface. We can create multiple policies, and as for the proxy, it's a leading solution."

More Netskope Private Access pros

"This is a one-stop solution; they have multiple features for every product, you don't need to purchase different products for each platform, and when you purchase one Prisma SaaS you can connect to 10 different things."

"Overall, I am very happy with the security provided by Prisma Access."

"The solution also provides traffic analysis, threat prevention, URL filtering, and segmentation. That combination is important because it enhances the protection and makes the traffic more secure. It also keeps things more up-to-date, enabling us to deal with more of the current threats."

"The solution improved the consistency of our security controls and the BCP, there has been a 20 percent reduction in TCO, and Prisma Access also enabled us to deliver better applications by centralizing security management."

"Speaking as an ambassador for Palo Alto and Prisma access, it's the best solution on the market."

"For anybody who is looking for a contained-based solution, I definitely recommend this product."

"The solution is not very complex and is easy to manage for people who may or may not have knowledge about Palo Alto Networks."

"The crux of why we're using the product is because of the automations, and we are very confident that the product will keep us secure at all times."

More Prisma Access by Palo Alto Networks pros

Cons

"To scale up, a new iboss Node Blade Chassis must be purchased."

"I appreciate that iboss's single pane of glass console gives centralized visibility into web traffic, user activity, security policies, and alerts from one dashboard, allowing us to quickly investigate incidents and monitor policy violations without switching between multiple tools, improving operational efficiency; however, the dashboard customization and reporting could be more flexible."

"For zero trust implementation, we encountered complexity issues, especially with a large infrastructure company ExxonMobil."

"Its pricing could be better."

"Their on-premise hardware's network interface is capped at one gigabit, which is sort of a problem. If you stand a filter up where all traffic flows through that, according to them, in order to go above a gigabit, you have to have multiple devices, which in today's IT seems a little bit silly. They could easily put in an SFP port into their device that could accommodate 10 gigs or at least offer a box."

"I am currently doing a PoC of the zero trust aspect of it. Compared to other similar solutions, it is hard to get around each feature. It takes a while to get used to it."

"Our iboss subscription access should be more secure with an OTP or VPN etc. It is easy to gain access if, for example, hackers obtain my username and password."

"It is stable, but due to growth, it can sometimes be less stable than wanted."

More iboss cons

"There could be an ability to access one server from another when we have console access to the first server."

"Netskope Private Access could improve by enhancing visibility of user performance and application performance. It should also integrate wider DLP and inspection engines on private access traffic."

"Netskope Private Access allows mapping only one DNS server. If a user uses a secondary DNS on-premises, Netskope fails to disconnect them. This is an issue that needs to be addressed."

"The product is not easy to use."

"The cost has room for improvement."

"I would rate the stability around seven out of ten. Sometimes, we face some difficulty, but it depends upon the complexity of the environment."

"Netskope needs to provide some kind of data protection strategy as well because, currently, if you connect through private access, we don't have any data protection policies or implementation."

"We faced certain issues with China users as it can be rather challenging for them due to the presence of Great Firewall."

More Netskope Private Access cons

"One thing that would help is if we could get a guide. With Cisco, for example, you can just type the problem regarding your Cisco product and you will easily get your solution. In Palo Alto, however, it's not easy to find the solutions."

"Technical support could be a lot better."

"My clients are not satisfied with the technical support from Palo Alto Networks."

"The licensing of this solution is a little expensive and is paid on an annual basis."

"The BGP filtering options on Prisma Access should be improved."

"I would like the solution to support a different type of authentication. We can't configure a secondary method for our portal."

"We've run into some challenges, having hit a lot of bugs over the past year in the deployment of GlobalProtect. We've had our fair share of issues that I haven't been happy with. We're working with the support organization to remediate them and waiting for updated releases. The response on getting the bugs fixed has not been what I would consider adequate for a product like this."

"Prisma's integration between operational technology and IT should be more seamless. Right now, it requires additional setup and maintenance."

More Prisma Access by Palo Alto Networks cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"It is expensive compared to one of its competitors."

"We had the cost of purchasing a new appliance along with the implementation and licensing costs. However, the following year, the cost of just licensing was similar to what was paid the previous year for a new appliance along with the implementation and licensing costs."

"The overall pricing for iboss is very competitive and transparent."

"We have not priced the solution recently, but they were competitive with other vendors in the past."

"It is probably in line with other solutions, but I do not deal with the financial side."

"It is not expensive, and it is also not cheap. iboss is priced right in the sweet spot for the number of features it offers."

"The pricing of the solution is cheap."

"Netskope Private Access is more inexpensive than other products."

"The tool's price is normal. It is not very cheap but good compared to the competitors."

"When it comes to pricing, Netskope Private Access is relatively cheap compared to other solutions."

"It is significantly cost-effective compared to its contenders."

"It is not cheap, but the value of the solution is there. It's worth the investment."

"There was about 60% ROI, just in terms of savings. We had 40% to 60% reduction in monthly operational costs by using Netskope."

"I believe that the price for Netskope Private Access is included in the features or functionality my company purchased from NetSkope."

More Netskope Private Access pricing and cost advice

"There's no reason not to buy the enterprise version that gives you unlimited PoPs, but you must understand the limitations you impose on yourself if you do that. If you go crazy, that allowlist will be too big for Kubernetes clusters."

"It's pricey, it's not cheap. But you get what you pay for."

"The initial prices of Prisma Access were okay. But as soon as you start deploying Palo Alto gear, the support prices and the recurring prices, which are the major operational costs, tend to increase over time."

"Prisma is in the middle of the road. It's not the most expensive, but it's not the cheapest. There aren't any additional costs, to my knowledge. I know they have some extra modules, but we didn't use them."

"The pricing for this solution is on the higher end."

"As compared to other solutions, Prisma Access is much cheaper. It is probably 30% to 40% cheaper than other solutions, but I do not know the exact cost."

"In terms of pricing, considering that it is a two or three years old solution, they should apply big discounts for the next two or three years. This approach will be better for them to capture the market."

"We have to pay additional costs for maintenance and support services."

More Prisma Access by Palo Alto Networks pricing and cost advice

See which vendors are best for you

Use our free recommendation engine to learn which ZTNA as a Service solutions are best for your needs.

See recommendations

916,197 professionals have used our research since 2012.

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Financial Services Firm

11%

Manufacturing Company

10%

Comms Service Provider

Construction Company

Financial Services Firm

Manufacturing Company

Outsourcing Company

Insurance Company

Financial Services Firm

11%

Manufacturing Company

10%

Outsourcing Company

Computer Software Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	14
Midsize Enterprise	7
Large Enterprise	12

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	4
Midsize Enterprise	4
Large Enterprise	9

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	26
Midsize Enterprise	20
Large Enterprise	27

Questions from the Community

What needs improvement with iboss?

I think iboss could be improved by emphasizing the modular function even more during sales presentations and demonstr...

What is your primary use case for iboss?

iboss is primarily used for content filtering within school districts and public K-12 school districts, and it can al...

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for iboss?

My experience with iboss's pricing structure, setup cost, and licensing model has been positive, straightforward, and...

What needs improvement with Netskope Private Access?

There is a mixed review on the integration part of Netskope Private Access. Wherever they have out-of-the-box support...

What is your primary use case for Netskope Private Access?

For secure remote access for people who are working out of the office, remotely, or traveling, my clients mostly use ...

What advice do you have for others considering Netskope Private Access?

I work with a system integrator, and nowadays, we have all these solutions in our portfolio for our customers. At tha...

What is the better solution - Prisma Access or Zscaler Private Access?

We looked into Prisma Access before choosing Zscaler Private Access (ZPA). Palo Alto’s Prisma Access is a secure ac...

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Prisma Access by Palo Alto Networks?

From my experience, Palo Alto is more expensive compared to solutions like Netskope and Triscale.

What needs improvement with Prisma Access by Palo Alto Networks?

Regarding the integration part for Prisma Access by Palo Alto Networks, the integration with identity providers is pr...

Fortinet FortiGate vs iboss

Comparisons

Netskope vs iboss

Compared 8% of the time

Compared 7% of the time

Cisco Umbrella vs iboss

Compared 6% of the time

FortiSASE vs iboss

Compared 6% of the time

Zscaler Internet Access vs iboss

Compared 4% of the time

More iboss Competitors

Zscaler Zero Trust Exchange Platform vs Netskope Private Access

Compared 14% of the time

Cato SASE Cloud Platform vs Netskope Private Access

Compared 12% of the time

Check Point Harmony SASE (formerly Perimeter 81) vs Netskope Private Access

Compared 6% of the time

Cloudflare One vs Netskope Private Access

Compared 5% of the time

Appgate SDP vs Netskope Private Access

Compared 5% of the time

More Netskope Private Access Competitors

Netskope vs Prisma Access by Palo Alto Networks

Compared 12% of the time

FortiSASE vs Prisma Access by Palo Alto Networks

Compared 5% of the time

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

Compared 4% of the time

Cato SASE Cloud Platform vs Prisma Access by Palo Alto Networks

Compared 4% of the time

Fortinet FortiGate vs Prisma Access by Palo Alto Networks

Compared 2% of the time

More Prisma Access by Palo Alto Networks Competitors

Product Reports

iboss

Download iboss product report

Netskope Private Access

Download Netskope Private Access product report

Prisma Access by Palo Alto Networks

Download Prisma Access by Palo Alto Networks product report

Prisma Access by Palo Alto Networks report

Also Known As

iBoss Cloud Platform

No data available

Palo Alto Networks Prisma Access, Prisma Access, GlobalProtect, Palo Alto GlobalProtect Mobile Security Manager, Prisma SaaS by Palo Alto Networks, Prisma Access

Overview

iboss is the Zero Trust SASE platform that gives organizations complete visibility and governance over their AI, data, and applications through one unified platform, one console, one policy engine, and one data lake.

Your endpoints may already stop malware. Your data and application activity can still be invisible. iboss decrypts and understands every connection, then turns that signal into answers security leaders can act on.

The platform leads with three capabilities in this order: AI Security and Visibility, Data Security and Visibility, and App Visibility and Control. Zero Trust Network Access, VPN replacement, and SD-WAN sit underneath as the access fabric that carries those three. Trusted by global enterprises and government agencies.

What are the most important features of Iboss?

- AI Security and Visibility: conversation capture, shadow-AI discovery, AI DLP, and agent governance across Claude, Co-Work, ChatGPT, Gemini, and Grok, and emerging services.

- Data Security and Visibility: full SSL/TLS decryption, deep content inspection, MIP label compliance, and one-click compliance reporting.

- App Visibility and Control: signatureless CASB, dual risk scoring, in-app controls, and SSPM for major SaaS.

- Containerized Zero Trust SASE: dedicated containers, isolated SSL keys, one console, one policy engine, one data lake.

- Access fabric: ZTNA, VPN replacement, and SD-WAN under the same platform.

What benefits should users consider in reviews?

- Complete visibility over AI, data, and applications from one platform instead of separate point tools.

- Encrypted traffic is inspected by default so data decisions use content and context together.

- Shadow SaaS and new web tools appear as they are used, with enforceable controls in one console.

- Native data sovereignty through dedicated containers, in-region inspection, and per-customer SSL key custody.

- Scale proven in published materials: 10M+ users, 100+ countries, 150B+ transactions, 2.5B+ threats blocked.

Economic buyers are CISOs, CIOs, and VPs of Security. Champions include security architects, network and infrastructure leaders, SecOps, and GRC. Primary segments: enterprise and business, financial services, government (including FedRAMP Gov Cloud), healthcare, manufacturing, legal and professional services, retail and hospitality, and MSP/MSSP partners. Education, including K-12, is one vertical among these.

iboss

Netskope Private Access is innovatively designed to offer secure remote access by eliminating inbound connectivity risks and requiring minimal maintenance, focusing on specific access controls and real-time adaptive policies.

Netskope Private Access stands out for its approach to securing connectivity without using conventional VPNs. It grants granular application access, implements adaptive policies, and ensures low latency with unrestricted bandwidth. Enhanced security features like device checks, Data Loss Protection, and content filtering align with its standard pricing. Meanwhile, its integration capabilities, although complex, facilitate secure connections to internal resources such as Active Directory, supporting compliance standards while migrating from legacy VPN solutions.

What are the key features of Netskope Private Access?

No Inbound Connectivity: Eliminates risks of unauthorized access.
Granular Application Access: Provides specific and detailed access control.
Adaptive Policies: Real-time policy adjustments based on user and device context.
Device Checks: Enhances security with thorough verification measures.
Data Loss Protection & Content Filtering: Protects sensitive data and monitors traffic content.

What benefits should users consider in reviews?

Secure Remote Access: Ensures safe connectivity for remote workforces.
Performance Optimization: Offers seamless, low-latency connectivity.
Scalability and Flexibility: Adapts easily to growing remote access demands.
Simplified Management: Streamlines management without traditional VPN issues.

In sectors like finance and healthcare, organizations deploy Netskope Private Access to enable secure remote access while maintaining compliance. These industries benefit by facilitating remote connections to critical internal applications, reducing downtime and inefficiencies typically associated with VPNs. Industries also leverage adaptive policies to ensure compliance with security protocols and real-time monitoring of remote access.

Netskope

Prisma Access by Palo Alto Networks delivers robust security features including secure remote access across apps and traffic monitoring. It integrates smoothly with cloud environments to provide advanced threat protection and visibility into network traffic.

Prisma Access offers a comprehensive suite of security tools designed to protect cloud environments and remote workforces. With its focus on real-time risk identification and threat prevention, Prisma Access provides encrypted tunnels and centralized management for seamless connectivity and enhanced data security. Designed to scale across platforms like AWS, Azure, and GCP, it optimizes traffic and connectivity while offering extensive visibility into vulnerabilities. However, integration with third-party products, usability, and support services are areas for development, as users report interface challenges and desire improved scalability and geographic coverage, especially in regions like China and South America.

What are the key features of Prisma Access?

Real-Time Risk Identification: Detects and manages potential threats instantly.
Secure Remote Access: Ensures secure connectivity to applications from anywhere.
Traffic Monitoring: Provides comprehensive oversight of network traffic.
Seamless Integration: Works well with platforms like AWS, Azure, and GCP.
Firewall Capabilities: Blocks unauthorized access and threats.
Scalability: Adapts to various cloud environments to meet growing demands.

What benefits should users expect when evaluating Prisma Access?

Reduced Data Breach Risk: Protects sensitive information through encrypted connections.
User-Friendly Interface: Simplifies management and configuration tasks.
Centralized Management: Offers a single view for managing all security policies.
Advanced Threat Protection: Regular updates guard against new threats.

Prisma Access is effectively used in industries requiring secure remote access and stringent data protection, such as finance and healthcare. Organizations leverage it to enforce Zero Trust policies, optimize network performance with SD-WAN, and ensure security compliance across multiple platforms.

Palo Alto Networks

Sample Customers

Trusted by global enterprises and government agencies.

Evalueserve, Stroock, Apria, Ather Energy

Concord Hospital, State of Colorado, Essilor International, RheinLand Versicherungsgruppe, University of Westminster, Universidade Nove de Julho, SPAR Austria, CAME Group, ZipRealty, Greenhill & Co., IKT Agder, Aviva Stadium, Animal Logic, Management & Training Corporation, Brigham Young University Hawaii, School District of Chilliwack

Netskope Private Access vs. Prisma Access by Palo Alto Networks