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Palo Alto Networks Advanced Threat Prevention vs Zscaler Cloud IPS comparison

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Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Dec 19, 2024

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

Palo Alto Networks Advanced...
Ranking in Intrusion Detection and Prevention Software (IDPS)
8th
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
6.6
Number of Reviews
29
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Zscaler Cloud IPS
Ranking in Intrusion Detection and Prevention Software (IDPS)
20th
Average Rating
9.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
5
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of September 2026, in the Intrusion Detection and Prevention Software (IDPS) category, the mindshare of Palo Alto Networks Advanced Threat Prevention is 4.1%, down from 5.6% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Zscaler Cloud IPS is 2.1%, up from 1.2% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Intrusion Detection and Prevention Software (IDPS) Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Palo Alto Networks Advanced Threat Prevention4.1%
Zscaler Cloud IPS2.1%
Other93.8%
Intrusion Detection and Prevention Software (IDPS)
 

Featured Reviews

Partha Dash - PeerSpot reviewer
Global Network Tech Lead at a tech vendor with 10,001+ employees
Advanced protection enables us to confidently secure against evolving threats
Palo Alto Networks can improve Advanced Threat Prevention by catering to the growing adoption of AI and agentic tooling. The Threat Protection modules should have the necessary intelligence to protect against those types of threats, as AI will be there to do a human job; this is an evolving area. From an Advanced Threat Protection perspective, the technology associated with Palo Alto Networks, such as their sandboxing environment, is quite good. However, Palo Alto needs to focus on how to bring that technology to end users and how easy it is to use, especially in a hybrid environment where users work from various locations. While Palo Alto excels in certain setups, they need to improve the user experience in distributed working conditions.
Utpal Sinha - PeerSpot reviewer
Sr Manager at HCL Tech
Stable product with valuable SSL inspection features
We use Zscaler Cloud IPS for threat protection, full SSL inspection, and data center scalability. It integrates with multiple products, including cloud firewalls, cloud sandboxing, Cloud Security Broker (CSB), and Data Loss Prevention (DLP). It helps us allow or block specific TCP or UDP ports…

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Edge protection is a valuable feature."
"I like the solution's interface."
"My advice to others would be to use Palo Alto Networks Threat Prevention for the perimeter of the network."
"Most of the features of Palo Alto Threat Prevention are alright. I recommend features like content filtering, IP address, & intelligent firewalls. The reporting feature is very good."
"The application control and vulnerability protection are the most valuable features."
"As a next-generation IPS, it's a very good firewall."
"The solution is very good, especially compared to other solutions."
"It's a monster, it's got so many beautiful features. We do deal with other firewalls and we've got a better idea of what other firewalls' capabilities are, any comparison with the Palo Alto I liked the quality of service on the applications that you can control the amount of bandwidth an application is allowed to consume. The best feature is the quality of the application quality of service."
"The best feature is that Zscaler allows for a separation between cloud applications and URL filtering. For example, under the cloud application segment, I can bypass Microsoft Office 365 without the need to add URLs manually. It's one click, so that's handy."
"The initial setup process is easy."
"The product's most valuable feature is complete SSL inspection."
"The initial setup is straightforward and easy in comparison with other solutions."
"Cloud IPS integration is seamless, and it uses a Zero Trust model, and it also simplifies overall user access management."
 

Cons

"Palo Alto's maintenance needs to be improved."
"We are attempting to improve the use of URL filtering beyond threat protection."
"I think they can use some improvement on FID. There are lots of false positives and those can be eradicated."
"While Palo Alto excels in certain setups, they need to improve the user experience in distributed working conditions."
"Generally, to deploy it will take some downtime, about a day."
"Palo Alto Networks Threat Prevention could improve the commercial offing. Other solutions, such as Fortinet provide better commercial features."
"In terms of what needs improvement, the only thing I don't like is the support."
"The solution could benefit from improved AI analytics to predict potential attacks before they occur, similar to NDR systems."
"When it comes to scalability, the IPsec could be improved."
"We encounter issues sharing IP addresses with other companies using the software."
"We recently had a significant issue with Zscaler. I think they have too many customers and some of their connection edge nodes went down because there were too many requests. I think they aren't scaling enough to keep up with the demand in some areas. That's one thing they should improve."
"There is always room for improvement."
"They have given limited free access for a year. Instead, they should increase the file size and give limited free access for around two months. It will allow engineers to evaluate the product."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"There is an initial, expensive investment but the return is good."
"If you want to have all of the good features then you have to pay extra for licensing."
"Palo Alto Networks Advanced Threat Prevention is quite competitive, offering extensive threat detection and prevention capabilities, though it is priced higher than some alternatives."
"From one to ten, with one being the most expensive, I would rate the pricing of Palo Alto Networks Threat Prevention a one out of ten. It is my understanding that Palo Alto Networks Threat Prevention is the most expensive one."
"It's not too expensive."
"The cost involves the price of the hardware, which is expensive. However, most of the Palo Alto solutions are expensive."
"The pricing has improved with the newer generation of their Firewalls, but the price could always be lower."
"The pricing and the licensing are pretty competitive at this stage. As a reseller, I would like to see the price come down a little bit so I can compete better against other firewalls because we do that all the time."
"The product is not affordable for small and medium enterprises."
"Zscaler has so far been solely responsible for all the sales we have done with it, so it would be more suited than us to address any issues concerning the pricing."
"The software has become more expensive at present."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Outsourcing Company
11%
Construction Company
9%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Comms Service Provider
8%
Healthcare Company
15%
Construction Company
11%
Comms Service Provider
9%
Manufacturing Company
9%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business10
Midsize Enterprise4
Large Enterprise15
No data available
 

Questions from the Community

Which is the best DDoS protection solution for a big ISP for monitoring and mitigating?
Arbor would be the best bid, apart from Arbor, Palo Alto and Fortinet have good solutions. As this is an ISP, I would prefer Arbor.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Palo Alto Networks Threat Prevention?
Palo Alto Networks Advanced Threat Prevention requires an add-on license and is considered expensive compared to competitors like Cisco AMP and FortiGate ( /products/fortinet-fortigate-reviews ) fi...
What needs improvement with Palo Alto Networks Threat Prevention?
Palo Alto Networks can improve Advanced Threat Prevention by catering to the growing adoption of AI and agentic tooling. The Threat Protection modules should have the necessary intelligence to prot...
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Overview

 

Sample Customers

University of Arkansas, JBG SMITH, SkiStar AB, TRI-AD, Temple University, Telkom Indonesia
Zenith Live, Azure, Carlsberg Group
Find out what your peers are saying about Palo Alto Networks Advanced Threat Prevention vs. Zscaler Cloud IPS and other solutions. Updated: September 2026.
914,109 professionals have used our research since 2012.