Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls vs Zscaler Cloud Firewall comparison

Palo Alto Networks and Zscaler are both solutions in the Firewalls category. Palo Alto Networks is ranked #7 with an average rating of 8.7, while Zscaler is ranked #24 with an average rating of 8.6. Palo Alto Networks holds a 3.3% mindshare in Firewalls, compared to Zscaler’s 0.3% mindshare. Additionally, 96% of Palo Alto Networks users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 100% of Zscaler users who would recommend it.

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Jan 5, 2025

Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls and Zscaler Cloud Firewall compete in the network security category. Based on the comparison, Zscaler Cloud Firewall seems to have the upper hand in terms of ease of deployment due to its cloud-native nature.

Features: Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls offer application control, antivirus, and content filtering. They provide strong network visibility and threat analysis capabilities. Zscaler Cloud Firewall provides seamless security across devices, easy integration, and does not require on-premises hardware.

Room for Improvement: Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls can improve in reporting, threat analysis, and regional support. Moreover, better hardware options for mid-sized enterprises are suggested. Zscaler Cloud Firewall can enhance its web browser isolation and user-based access policies. Simplifying deployment and improving policy flexibility remain areas for improvement.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls support hybrid, on-premises, and cloud deployment, though initial setup can be complex, and support quality may vary by region. Zscaler Cloud Firewall facilitates deployment with its public cloud-based nature, requiring no on-site hardware maintenance, and offers generally satisfactory customer service.

Pricing and ROI: Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls are expensive, with a high ownership cost due to multiple licenses, but offer significant ROI through security features. Zscaler Cloud Firewall, while carrying a premium cost, provides ROI through flexible subscriptions and operational cost efficiency, but may be costly for small businesses.

To learn more, read our detailed Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls vs. Zscaler Cloud Firewall Report (Updated: March 2025).

Buyer's Guide

Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls vs. Zscaler Cloud Firewall

March 2025

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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 March 2025, in the Firewalls category, the mindshare of Fortinet FortiGate is 20.8%, up from 17.8% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls is 3.3%, up from 3.1% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Zscaler Cloud Firewall is 0.3%, 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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AmjadKhan1

Head of data centers at a non-profit with 10,001+ employees

Provides inline protection with a unified view and anti-spyware capabilities

I would rate Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls ten out of ten because it is the best. Our disaster recovery site utilizes Palo Alto Networks Next-Generation Firewalls. We are also in the process of upgrading the firewalls at our 365 sites in Pakistan to Palo Alto Networks firewalls. While budget firewalls may advertise comparable features, they often fall short of effectively detecting viruses, threats, and ransomware. In contrast, Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls, combined with Cortex XDR, provide comprehensive threat intelligence and detection capabilities, ensuring superior security coverage. I recommend conducting a proof of concept before selecting a firewall. This will allow you to evaluate different options and determine which best suits your needs. While Palo Alto offers robust firewall solutions, it's essential to compare them with other vendors to ensure you make an informed decision.

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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

"The security features that they have are quite good. On top of that, their licensing model is quite nice where they don't charge you anything for the SD-WAN functionality for the firewall."

"FortiGate has a very strong unified threat management system."

"The security fabric is excellent."

"Fortinet FortiGate's reliability is valuable."

"It is easy to use and performs very well."

"User-friendly and affordable security solution that's recommended for SMB customers. This solution has good technical support."

"I have found Fortinet FortiGate to be scalable."

"The features that we have found most valuable are the SSL VPN and the User Portal."

More Fortinet FortiGate pros

"The solution is very stable and reliable."

"The most valuable features are IPS and stateful inspection."

"Decryption is one of Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls' best features because we can decrypt by category. For instance, we can decrypt everything except for bank traffic so that we don't interfere with the passwords and two-factor authentication of those checking their bank accounts at work. We can still monitor for malware and other threats that come through a secure channel. It's seamless for users. The URL filtering and IPS are both great as well."

"Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls have a Single Pass Parallel Processing (SP3) Architecture, which has a different kind of code doing the work. It increases the packet processing rate. Whereas, without the SP3 Architecture, you are waiting for each job to complete, even if you have 100 jobs assigned."

"I like the firewall's vulnerability management features, which give you reminders to update your system and update your OS."

"The machine learning in the core of the firewalls, for inline, real-time attack prevention, is very important to us. With the malware and ransomware threats that are out there, to keep abreast of and ahead of those types of attacks, it's important for our devices to be able to use AI to distinguish when there is malicious traffic or abnormal traffic within our environment, and then notify us."

"The strengths of Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls are application visibility and application awareness. Their strong point is identifying applications for traffic. So all of the policies that are configured are related to the application and not to a port."

"The structure is much faster and more sophisticated than Cisco."

More Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls pros

"The solution offers good sandboxing."

"Includes advanced tech protection."

"The scalability is okay. We have around 2200 people using this solution."

"Most of the features that Zscaler has to offer, we will deploy."

"It provides in-depth visibility into your network, ensuring that traffic flowing into your organization, be it from offices or individual users, is effectively filtered and secured through multiple layers of protection."

"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."

"The initial setup is straightforward."

More Zscaler Cloud Firewall pros

Cons

"It would be ideal if they had some sort of GUI interface for troubleshooting and diagnostics."

"There are some cloud-based features that could be much more flexible than they currently are."

"FortiGate support could do some improvements on their IPv6 configuration. Right now it's still in the very early stage for utilizing in an enterprise level network environment."

"The ease of use could be improved."

"Fortinet FortiGate needs to improve the logging and reporting. Additionally, the next-generation application's policies should be improved. When they were released they had bugs."

"I haven't had a single issue since using Fortinet."

"Fortinet FortiGate could improve by having more capabilities for troubleshooting VPN connections. For example, I do get some feedback about the current status, but I could use some history and logging of important events. The information is logged in our Syslog server, but I could use that information from the device. If they could provide a GUI to have some more insight on what's going with my VPN would be useful."

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

More Fortinet FortiGate cons

"Understanding the flow and application of securities can be complex, requiring navigation across different sections."

"These are not the cheapest firewalls; they are quite expensive."

"They can improve the handling and management of User-ID. They should also improve its price. Their technical support can also be improved."

"Overall it is good. It is reliable and easy to understand. However, the monitoring feature could be improved."

"Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls need better training modules. You have to do a lot of reading prior to watching the training videos, and it's good for people who are really into it. However, often you want to use a video for a TID. You want to see how to do something rather than spend 30 minutes reading and then another 30 minutes watching the class. As a result, I take third-party training classes rather than Palo Alto's training because they are a lot better."

"Once in a while, they have new features being released that can be buggy. My criticism is more general to all sorts of network or security devices. In general, everybody is releasing less-tested software. Then, it usually ends up that the first few customers who get a new release need to end up troubleshooting it."

"Enhancements could potentially be made to the firmware to improve its inspectability."

"As part of our internet filtering, we integrate heavily with Active Directory, and we use security groups to separate staff into two groups: those who should have full access to the internet and those who should have limited access. It may be just the way the topology is for our domain controllers and that infrastructure, but at peak usage, there seems to be a delay in reading back against the security group to find out what group the user is in."

More Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls cons

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

"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."

"They do not provide a few components that are fundamental to differentiate the products"

"When it comes to customer support, there is room for improvement in Zscaler's service."

"The product could improve its integration with some legacy systems."

"Pricing is a challenge."

"Zscaler Cloud Firewall should have a better understanding of all dynamic cloud applications."

"Its technical support services could be better."

More Zscaler Cloud Firewall cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Licensing is usually on a three-year period."

"The price is okay."

"The support subscription for the solution is annual. You are paying for support and there are two levels of support, professional and advanced."

"Its pricing is good. It's average or normal as compared to Palo Alto and Check Point firewalls."

"In terms of the market, it's not a cheap product, but it's cost-effective."

"I would say that all things considered, the pricing is pretty good."

"Each feature costs money, so it is important to study your needs."

"The cost is too high... They have to focus on more features with less cost for the customer. If you see the market, where it's going, there are a lot of players offering more features for less cost."

More Fortinet FortiGate pricing and cost advice

"There is an advantage to going with the high availability pair licensing model versus the standalone. It gives you a high availability pair, but the pricing is only a slight increase over a single system. It makes sense to take a look at your add-on functionality, like the Applications and Threats subscription and URL protection subscription. On the user side, I might want everything. However, on the server side, I might not need very much. I might want the Applications and Threats subscription and not much else. So, you don't have to buy all the bells and whistles for every firewall. Depending on what the function is, there are ways around it."

"The price is high."

"The solution provides good protection and is worth the price."

"Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls are expensive."

"It will be worth your time to hire a contractor to set it up and configure it for you, especially if you are not very knowledgeable with PA firewalls."

"The pricing is straightforward with no hidden costs."

"I don't know about the price of the platform or the license fees, as the finance department deals with that. I only bill for the materials involved in the design."

"Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls are expensive compared to other firewalls such as FortiGate Next Generation Firewall."

More Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls pricing and cost advice

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

"It is expensive for small businesses."

"There are different subscription models available."

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

"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."

"There is an annual license required for the use of the Zscaler Cloud Firewall."

"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."

More Zscaler Cloud Firewall pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Educational Organization

22%

Computer Software Company

14%

Comms Service Provider

Manufacturing Company

Computer Software Company

15%

Financial Services Firm

Manufacturing Company

Government

Computer Software Company

13%

Financial Services Firm

11%

Manufacturing Company

Government

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

Questions from the Community

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Azure Firewall Vs. Palo Alto Network NG Firewalls Both solutions provide stellar stability and security. Azure Firew...

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Features comparison between Palo Alto and Fortinet firewalls

In the best tradition of these questions, Feature-wise both are quite similar, but each has things it's better at, it...

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Which is better - Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls or Sophos XG?

Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls have both great features and performance. I like that Palo Alto has regular threat si...

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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...

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What do you like most about Zscaler Cloud Firewall?

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

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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 ...

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Comparisons

Sophos XG vs Fortinet FortiGate

Compared 23% of the time

Netgate pfSense vs Fortinet FortiGate

Compared 14% of the time

Cisco Secure Firewall vs Fortinet FortiGate

Compared 10% of the time

WatchGuard Firebox vs Fortinet FortiGate

Compared 5% of the time

SonicWall TZ vs Fortinet FortiGate

Compared 5% of the time

More Fortinet FortiGate Competitors

Check Point NGFW vs Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls

Compared 12% of the time

Azure Firewall vs Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls

Compared 11% of the time

Sophos XG vs Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls

Compared 10% of the time

Meraki MX vs Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls

Compared 10% of the time

Netgate pfSense vs Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls

Compared 8% of the time

More Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls Competitors

Azure Firewall vs Zscaler Cloud Firewall

Compared 21% 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

Cisco Multicloud Defense vs Zscaler Cloud Firewall

Compared 7% of the time

Cisco Secure Firewall vs Zscaler Cloud Firewall

Compared 5% of the time

More Zscaler Cloud Firewall Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Fortinet FortiGate

March 2025

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Buyer's Guide

Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls

February 2025

Download Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls product report

Buyer's Guide

Zscaler Cloud Firewall

February 2025

Download Zscaler Cloud Firewall product report

Also Known As

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

Palo Alto NGFW, Palo Alto Networks Next-Generation Firewall

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

Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls offer comprehensive security, including application control, traffic shaping, threat prevention, and load balancing, designed to secure internal networks, perimeter protection, VPN services, and cloud environments.

Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls are a key choice for managing and protecting data centers, securing remote access, network segmentation, malware prevention, and ensuring high availability and performance for business-critical applications. Known for stability and strong security, these firewalls use application-aware identifiers and IPS/IDS subscriptions to offer advanced threat protection. The unified platform facilitates seamless integration, while GlobalProtect and centralized management via Panorama enhance ease of use. However, there are areas for improvement, including pricing strategies, training, user support, and integration with third-party applications.

What are the essential features?

Stability: Reliable performance in different environments.
Application Control: Identifies applications to manage traffic.
Advanced Threat Protection: Includes DNS security, WildFire, and machine learning.
GlobalProtect: Secure remote access for users.
Centralized Management: Managed via the Panorama platform.

What benefits or ROI should users expect?

Security: Protects against threats with robust features.
User-Friendly: Simplified interface and easy configuration.
High Availability: Ensures performance for critical applications.
Integration: Seamless with existing systems and applications.
Support: Reliable technical support and resources.

In industries like finance, healthcare, and retail, Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls secure sensitive data and meet regulatory requirements. These firewalls help manage large-scale networks in these sectors, providing essential security features and maintaining high-performance standards. They are implemented to ensure compliance, protect patient information, secure financial transactions, and safeguard customer data.

Palo Alto Networks

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

SkiStar AB, Ada County, Global IT Services PSF, Southern Cross Hospitals, Verge Health, University of Portsmouth, Austrian Airlines, The Heinz Endowments

Zenith Live, Azure, Carlsberg Group

Buyer's Guide

Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls vs. Zscaler Cloud Firewall

March 2025

Free Report: Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls vs. Zscaler Cloud Firewall

Find out what your peers are saying about Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls vs. Zscaler Cloud Firewall and other solutions. Updated: March 2025.

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