No more typing reviews! Try our Samantha, our new voice AI agent.

Prisma Access by Palo Alto Networks vs Zscaler Internet Access comparison

Sponsored
 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Jan 11, 2026

Review summaries and opinions

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

ROI

Sentiment score
5.4
iboss improved bandwidth and security for remote work, but per-device fees and Mac agent delays prompted vendor alternatives.
Sentiment score
7.0
Prisma Access enhances cybersecurity, offers cost-effective scalability, and streamlines services, providing financial benefits and operational efficiency.
Sentiment score
5.7
Zscaler Internet Access drives cost savings by reducing on-premises needs, enhancing security, and cutting hardware and staffing costs.
With iboss, whenever you turn on your laptop, the iboss agent automatically connects to the iboss cloud, enforcing all security policies. So with respect to the security side, it strengthens measures.
Senior Consultant Proxy Engineering at a financial services firm with 10,001+ employees
I have seen some cost effectiveness from iboss; it has reduced certain support requirements, making it a more hands-off solution.
Managing Director
There is a net positive return on investment
Network and Cybersecurity Consultant at a tech services company with 11-50 employees
The managed service aspect of Zscaler Internet Access has allowed for reduced staffing costs, resulting in a saving of approximately 20-25% compared to prior expenses.
Sr. Cloud Security Architect at a tech services company with 11-50 employees
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
7.8
Iboss customer service receives mixed reviews, with praise for responsiveness and criticism for communication and resolution delays.
Sentiment score
6.7
Prisma Access support is praised for expertise but needs improvements in response time, support continuity, and language options.
Sentiment score
6.5
Zscaler Internet Access customer service is responsive and knowledgeable, with high ratings but occasional scheduling and resource issues.
They are very fast, responsive, and knowledgeable.
Head of Cybersecurity at SES Water
The quality of the support is fantastic.
Educational Technology Coordinator at a performing arts with 201-500 employees
We had promising discussions about resolving these issues, but no real action followed.
Network Administrator at a educational organization with 51-200 employees
The product is reliable, making customer support less frequently needed.
Senior DevOps Expert at Telenor
I usually need to raise the alarm and contact a couple of people within Palo Alto Networks to just respond quicker, so technical support should be much better.
Director at PULSEC
We rarely need to contact support due to having a strong internal team and a robust product.
Senior Manager for Infrastructure at a computer software company with 5,001-10,000 employees
The technical support for Zscaler Internet Access is rated around seven out of ten due to some response time issues and the engagement model.
Sr. Cloud Security Architect at a tech services company with 11-50 employees
Zscaler Internet Access customer service is really very good.
Product Owner at a financial services firm with 501-1,000 employees
I find customer support to be quite adequate
Group IT Manager at a wholesaler/distributor with 10,001+ employees
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
7.3
Iboss exhibits reliable scalability with easy resource expansion, accommodating high demand smoothly while maintaining performance and flexibility.
Sentiment score
7.4
Prisma Access is scalable for diverse companies but may face challenges in pricing and international deployment complexities.
Sentiment score
7.2
Zscaler Internet Access offers scalable cloud solutions for easy expansion, with some challenges in cost, bandwidth, and deployment complexity.
They are also able to meet on-demand requirements based on your contract with them, and can easily provide adequate resources and scalability.
Senior Consultant Proxy Engineering at a financial services firm with 10,001+ employees
I would rate it a nine out of ten for scalability.
If I start seeing sluggishness or anything like that, I just reach out to my rep, and they connect with their dev team, typically resolving it the same day.
Educational Technology Coordinator at a performing arts with 201-500 employees
To scale, one would need to upgrade or acquire more hardware.
Senior Manager for Infrastructure at a computer software company with 5,001-10,000 employees
Prisma Access provides significant scalability, allowing integration of different systems.
Senior DevOps Expert at Telenor
Prisma Access by Palo Alto Networks is a cloud-based solution, and from my experience, there are no issues with scalability.
Security Engineer at a tech services company with 1,001-5,000 employees
With the pricing structure that they currently have, it is only for big customers.
Product Owner at a financial services firm with 501-1,000 employees
I find Zscaler Internet Access to be highly scalable, which was one of the reasons for choosing it.
Group IT Manager at a wholesaler/distributor with 10,001+ employees
Zscaler Internet Access is scalable and has points of presence across the globe to ensure low latency and reliable connections.
Sr. Cloud Security Architect at a tech services company with 11-50 employees
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
7.5
iboss is highly stable with 99% uptime, minor deployment challenges, and receives strong performance ratings of 7-9 out of 10.
Sentiment score
7.9
Prisma Access is highly rated for stability, offering reliable performance with minimal issues and seamless scalability, despite minor delays.
Sentiment score
7.4
Zscaler Internet Access is globally stable and secure, with minor regional latency issues, and straightforward deployment praised by users.
It's been pretty solid; I've never had an outage with them, and if I ever had, it's only been once out of the seven years.
Educational Technology Coordinator at a performing arts with 201-500 employees
We've experienced zero downtime.
Head of Cybersecurity at SES Water
Our biggest problem with their service was it did not recognize the device despite our ClearPass sending information to the iboss box.
Network Administrator at a educational organization with 51-200 employees
I think the stability of Prisma Access by Palo Alto Networks is excellent, and I would rate it ten out of ten.
Security Engineer at a tech services company with 1,001-5,000 employees
Prisma Access by Palo Alto Networks works efficiently during peak usage times.
CyberSecurity Specialist at Aiuken Cybersecurity
GlobalProtect is a satisfying solution, and the product is robust without major stability issues.
Senior Manager for Infrastructure at a computer software company with 5,001-10,000 employees
Zscaler Internet Access is stable and capable of building resilient architectures.
Sr. Cloud Security Architect at a tech services company with 11-50 employees
Zscaler Internet Access is very stable, and I would rate its stability as nine out of ten.
Group IT Manager at a wholesaler/distributor with 10,001+ employees
 

Room For Improvement

iboss struggles with Mac support, integration issues, performance limitations, and needs improvements in security features and user configurations.
Prisma Access needs better UI, integration, custom application support, pricing, documentation, global presence, and technical support enhancements.
Zscaler Internet Access needs improved integration, reporting, user interface, support, pricing, scalability, and feature enhancements for better overall performance.
It is not as intuitive as the rest of the platform.
Head of Cybersecurity at SES Water
We also had a problem with a transition when we upgraded from one appliance of theirs to another, but their engineer lost a good deal of our data.
Network Administrator at a educational organization with 51-200 employees
Our iboss subscription access should be more secure with an OTP or VPN etc.
Hosting it in the cloud can mitigate these issues by allowing connection through the nearest Palo Alto or Prisma Cloud regional hub.
Senior Manager for Infrastructure at a computer software company with 5,001-10,000 employees
There is a lack of integration with third-party solutions like CrowdStrike or SentinelOne in Prisma Access by Palo Alto Networks.
Security Engineer at a tech services company with 1,001-5,000 employees
Sometimes a third-party outage could impact the whole operability.
Network and Cybersecurity Consultant at a tech services company with 11-50 employees
The response time and engagement model for technical support could be improved to handle complex outages more efficiently.
Sr. Cloud Security Architect at a tech services company with 11-50 employees
In future updates, I would like to see some of the features bundled into the existing product set, perhaps more AI features and a refreshed interface.
Cyber Security Architect at a manufacturing company with 1,001-5,000 employees
Zscaler Internet Access has introduced AI control for tools such as ChatGPT, providing options to restrict to text-only input without file or image uploads through CASB restriction controls.
Associate Vice President at Novac Technology Solutions
 

Setup Cost

Iboss offers competitive and transparent pricing, often cheaper than Broadcom and Check Point, despite annual cost increases.
Prisma Access is costly but valued for its comprehensive security, with room for pricing and licensing flexibility improvement.
Zscaler Internet Access pricing is high, with a per-user model, making it cost-effective yet potentially inaccessible for small businesses.
It offers the same features you would get from a vendor that charges 250,000 British pounds for a fraction of the price.
Head of Cybersecurity at SES Water
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.
Network Administrator at a educational organization with 51-200 employees
Regarding pricing, setup costs, and licensing, iboss is not cheap, and that's my only concern.
Managing Director
The pricing is on the higher side, rating it around eight to nine out of ten.
Senior DevOps Expert at Telenor
From my experience, Palo Alto is more expensive compared to solutions like Netskope and Triscale.
Security Engineer at a tech services company with 1,001-5,000 employees
Pricing for Prisma Access and Prisma SD WAN is high due to the need for different hardware flavors like IONs.
Senior Manager for Infrastructure at a computer software company with 5,001-10,000 employees
Zscaler Internet Access is recognized as an expensive solution.
Group IT Manager at a wholesaler/distributor with 10,001+ employees
Zscaler Internet Access is less expensive than competitors like Palo Alto, offering a premium service justified by security enhancements and cost-effective scalability.
Sr. Cloud Security Architect at a tech services company with 11-50 employees
Of course, it is an expensive product.
Product Owner at a financial services firm with 501-1,000 employees
 

Valuable Features

iboss provides advanced security features, seamless cloud management, and scalability with user-friendly integration and robust threat protection capabilities.
Prisma Access provides scalable, secure cloud-based VPN access, real-time threat prevention, and integrates seamlessly with existing infrastructures.
Zscaler Internet Access enhances security with URL filtering, SSL inspection, threat protection, and seamless remote management, improving efficiency globally.
The solution's mental health function can detect if someone needs help.
Head of Cybersecurity at SES Water
It's given us a lot more visibility into our computer assets that may be infected with viruses and also shows us people who have unusually large uploads or might be engaging in high-risk activities, such as searches or going to sites not categorized by their web crawler.
Educational Technology Coordinator at a performing arts with 201-500 employees
iboss was the best solution for us because, no matter what domain you were in, everything is under a single pane of glass, which is exactly what we wanted.
Managing Director
These features are security-driven, providing robust protection against increasing cyber threats by integrating NG Firewalls, SD WAN, and CASB, all within a fully cloud-native solution.
Senior DevOps Expert at Telenor
GlobalProtect has been beneficial for its cloud security capabilities, which are vital as businesses seek hybrid options and need to support remote workers while addressing latency issues.
Senior Manager for Infrastructure at a computer software company with 5,001-10,000 employees
One of the most valuable features of Prisma Access by Palo Alto Networks is the ability to manage on-premise firewalls.
Security Engineer at a tech services company with 1,001-5,000 employees
It prevents numerous web attacks through its AI/ML incorporated capability which identifies malware, threats, and viruses.
Associate Vice President at Novac Technology Solutions
Zscaler Internet Access has positively impacted my organization by reducing the dependency on on-premises hardware and improving security posture, enabling faster user onboarding, and providing better performance for remote users.
Senior Network Engineer at Anthology
The most valuable feature for me is the ability to see how my network and traffic looks with modules like analytics and insights.
Group IT Manager at a wholesaler/distributor with 10,001+ employees
 

Categories and Ranking

iboss
Sponsored
Ranking in Secure Web Gateways (SWG)
5th
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
21
Ranking in other categories
Internet Security (3rd), Web Content Filtering (1st), Cloud Access Security Brokers (CASB) (7th), ZTNA as a Service (8th), Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) (8th)
Prisma Access by Palo Alto ...
Ranking in Secure Web Gateways (SWG)
4th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
65
Ranking in other categories
Cloud Access Security Brokers (CASB) (1st), Enterprise Infrastructure VPN (7th), ZTNA as a Service (5th), Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) (1st)
Zscaler Internet Access
Ranking in Secure Web Gateways (SWG)
3rd
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
6.6
Number of Reviews
59
Ranking in other categories
Internet Security (2nd)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of April 2026, in the Secure Web Gateways (SWG) category, the mindshare of iboss is 2.8%, up from 1.9% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Prisma Access by Palo Alto Networks is 7.9%, down from 10.8% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Zscaler Internet Access is 10.9%, down from 15.1% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Secure Web Gateways (SWG) Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Zscaler Internet Access10.9%
Prisma Access by Palo Alto Networks7.9%
iboss2.8%
Other78.4%
Secure Web Gateways (SWG)
 

Featured Reviews

Ashok Ananthula - PeerSpot reviewer
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.
IgorPinter - PeerSpot reviewer
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.
Mohan Janarthanan - PeerSpot reviewer
Associate Vice President at Novac Technology Solutions
User access management and threat prevention are enhanced with user-friendly controls
The best features Zscaler Internet Access offers include application control, tenant segregation, and PoP center regions which have low availability zones. The internet access is very successful and bandwidth speed is excellent. It also has application-based control, URL-based control, and SSL inspection capabilities, which are very useful. Additionally, the in-depth CASB segregation is very beneficial to us. One unique feature I found helpful is the tenant level restrictions, which we use to only access our organization's tenant level mail IDs, drives, and specific tenant level access while restricting public access. Zscaler Internet Access has positively impacted our organization as we have noticed substantial outputs and income. It has improved our security environment control and endpoint protection. It prevents numerous web attacks through its AI/ML incorporated capability which identifies malware, threats, and viruses. It has a toggle button to enable features entirely at the tenant level for all users onboarded into Zscaler Internet Access, resulting in much better outcomes.
report
Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Secure Web Gateways (SWG) solutions are best for your needs.
891,869 professionals have used our research since 2012.
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
11%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Computer Software Company
9%
Construction Company
7%
Financial Services Firm
12%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Computer Software Company
9%
Government
5%
Computer Software Company
11%
Financial Services Firm
11%
Manufacturing Company
11%
Comms Service Provider
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business7
Midsize Enterprise7
Large Enterprise8
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business24
Midsize Enterprise21
Large Enterprise27
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business17
Midsize Enterprise10
Large Enterprise37
 

Questions from the Community

What needs improvement with iboss?
iboss can increase security in cyberspace. I have heard they are doing DDoS filtering, but I am not certain if they a...
What is your primary use case for iboss?
I use iboss for corporate VPN and all the corporate VRF, with basically all user traffic proxying to the internet.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for iboss?
Regarding pricing, setup costs, and licensing, iboss is not cheap, and that's my only concern. There are cheaper alte...
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 do you like most about Prisma Access by Palo Alto Networks?
The most valuable features of the solution are in the areas of the secure remote access it provides while also being ...
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.
Which is the better security solution - Cisco Umbrella or Zscaler?
Cisco Umbrella and Zscaler Internet Access are two broad-spectrum Internet security solutions that I have tried. Zs...
Which is better, Zscaler internet access or Netsckope CASB?
We researched Netskope but ultimately chose Zscaler. Netskope is a cloud access security broker that helps identify ...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Zscaler Internet Access?
It is only for big companies currently and they only focus on that. That is one of the problems to get into the marke...
 

Also Known As

iBoss Cloud Platform
Palo Alto Networks Prisma Access, Prisma Access, GlobalProtect, Palo Alto GlobalProtect Mobile Security Manager, Prisma SaaS by Palo Alto Networks, Prisma Access
ZIA
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

More than 4,000 global enterprises trust the iboss Cloud Platform to support their modern workforces, including a large number of Fortune 50 companies.
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
Ulster-Greene ARC, BanRegio, HDFC, Ralcorp Holdings Inc., British American Tobacco, Med America Billing Services Inc., Lanco Group, Aquafil, Telefonica, Swisscom, Brigade Group
Find out what your peers are saying about Prisma Access by Palo Alto Networks vs. Zscaler Internet Access and other solutions. Updated: April 2026.
891,869 professionals have used our research since 2012.