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Zscaler Competitors: The Best Alternatives for Cloud Security, SASE, and Zero Trust

14 days ago by softwarepair

Zscaler Competitors: The Best Alternatives for Cloud Security, SASE, and Zero Trust (2025 Guide)

In today’s cloud-first world, cybersecurity has shifted away from traditional hardware appliances and toward cloud-delivered, identity-based security. Zscaler has become one of the leaders in this movement, well known for its Zero Trust Exchange platform, secure web gateway, and broad SASE (Secure Access Service Edge) capabilities.

However, Zscaler is not the only solution in the market—far from it. Over the past few years, many cybersecurity vendors have rapidly innovated to provide similar or more flexible alternatives. These Zscaler competitors offer different strengths, whether in performance, pricing, integrations, threat intelligence, or ease of deployment.

This guide explores the top Zscaler competitors and alternatives in detail, helping you understand which solution best fits your company’s network security strategy.

If you want an even deeper comparison, you can also check out our full article on Zscaler competitors and alternatives.

Why Businesses Look for Zscaler Competitors

Before reviewing alternatives, it’s important to understand why organizations explore other options. Zscaler is powerful, but it does not fit every business.

1. Cost and Scalability

Zscaler is often considered premium-priced. For large organizations with tens of thousands of users, licensing can become expensive. Some companies seek more flexible or predictable pricing models.

2. Integration Complexity

Although Zscaler integrates with identity providers and SD-WAN vendors, some businesses prefer solutions that integrate more seamlessly with their existing security stack—especially if they already use Palo Alto, Fortinet, or Cisco.

3. Performance in Certain Regions

Zscaler has a strong global presence, but some competitors offer faster performance in specific regions due to larger, more distributed networks.

4. Feature Depth in Specific Areas

For example:

  • Netskope is often praised for CASB and DLP depth.
  • Cloudflare leads in global network performance.
  • Fortinet provides superior integration with security hardware.
  • Palo Alto offers stronger threat detection with WildFire.

5. Desire for Unified Platforms

Some businesses prefer a single-vendor firewall + SASE + endpoint ecosystem, which companies like Palo Alto and Fortinet offer.

The Top Zscaler Competitors in 2025

Here are the strongest Zscaler competitors, with deep analysis of their strengths and ideal use cases.

1. Netskope

Netskope is widely considered the closest direct competitor to Zscaler. Both companies lead in SASE and Zero Trust, but Netskope stands out for its data protection capabilities and granular visibility.

Key Strengths

  • Deep CASB (Cloud Access Security Broker) capabilities
  • Strong advanced DLP engine
  • Granular application discovery and control
  • Low-latency NewEdge security network
  • Flexible deployment options (agent, inline, API)

Why Companies Choose Netskope Over Zscaler

Netskope is particularly popular among organizations that need strong data protection, behavior analytics, and visibility into SaaS applications—areas where Zscaler is sometimes less detailed.

Best For

  • Enterprises with heavy SaaS adoption
  • Companies prioritizing DLP and contextual data visibility
  • Organizations needing more flexible policy creation

2. Palo Alto Networks Prisma Access

Palo Alto Networks, a giant in cybersecurity, has expanded strongly into cloud security with Prisma Access. For organizations already using Palo Alto NGFWs or Cortex XDR, Prisma Access feels like a natural extension.

Key Strengths

  • Tight integration with Palo Alto firewalls
  • Excellent threat intelligence via WildFire
  • Robust ZTNA and remote access
  • Unified security operations platform

Why Companies Prefer It

Many businesses choose Prisma Access for ecosystem consolidation. Instead of mixing hardware and cloud solutions from multiple vendors, Prisma Access allows them to keep everything under one management console.

Best For

  • Organizations using Palo Alto hardware or endpoint solutions
  • Companies wanting a unified security ecosystem
  • Enterprises requiring a highly advanced threat prevention engine

3. Cisco Secure Access

Cisco has long dominated enterprise networking. Its transition into cloud-delivered security includes Cisco Secure Access, Umbrella, Duo, and other Zero Trust components.

Key Strengths

  • Comprehensive Zero Trust architecture
  • Deep identity integration via Duo
  • Excellent DNS-layer protection
  • Strong global network footprint

Why Companies Choose Cisco Over Zscaler

Cisco products are already embedded in many enterprises. Choosing Cisco Secure Access allows them to extend their architecture into the cloud without replacing large parts of their existing infrastructure.

Best For

  • Organizations already using Cisco networking hardware
  • Remote workforces needing secure identity-based access
  • Companies prioritizing DNS security and secure access

4. Cloudflare One

Cloudflare is known for its massive global network—one of the fastest and most distributed in the world. Cloudflare One is its SASE and Zero Trust suite, built on top of Cloudflare’s network edge.

Key Strengths

  • Unmatched network speed and global reach
  • Instant DNS propagation
  • Integrated DDoS protection
  • Simple and fast deployment
  • Excellent Secure Web Gateway performance

Why Companies Prefer Cloudflare Over Zscaler

Cloudflare excels in performance. Some businesses report faster speeds compared to Zscaler due to Cloudflare’s network architecture. Additionally, Cloudflare One is often easier to manage.

Best For

  • Companies looking for speed and low latency
  • Organizations wanting easy deployment
  • Businesses needing built-in DDoS protection

5. Fortinet FortiSASE

Fortinet is highly respected for its blend of hardware and cloud-based security. For enterprises already using FortiGate firewalls, FortiAnalyzer, or FortiClient, FortiSASE integrates naturally.

Key Strengths

  • Deep integration with Fortinet hardware
  • Strong SD-WAN capabilities
  • Unified logging and analytics
  • Effective and affordable licensing

Why Companies Choose Fortinet Over Zscaler

Fortinet provides superior control for hybrid environments that mix on-prem hardware and cloud security. It’s often more cost-effective for distributed enterprises.

Best For

  • Organizations with existing FortiGate firewalls
  • Highly distributed environments
  • Companies looking for cost-efficient SASE

6. Akamai Enterprise Application Access

Akamai dominates CDN and edge delivery, and its security offerings follow the same philosophy—speed and global reach.

Key Strengths

  • Extremely fast global edge network
  • Secure Zero Trust access to applications
  • Strong web app protection
  • Great for media, streaming, and large-scale enterprises

Why Companies Prefer Akamai

Akamai excels at application performance + security, making it ideal for organizations where uptime and performance are critical.

Best For

  • Media and streaming companies
  • Large enterprises needing high-performance ZTNA
  • Organizations with heavy global traffic

7. Broadcom / Symantec Security Cloud

Symantec (now under Broadcom) continues to serve large enterprises with its cloud security solutions.

Key Strengths

  • Mature DLP engine
  • Strong threat intelligence (from global telemetry)
  • Integrated endpoint and email security

Why Companies Choose It

Symantec’s DLP solution is one of the most advanced in the world. Organizations with strict compliance or data sensitivity often keep Symantec for consistency.

Best For

  • Financial institutions
  • Healthcare organizations
  • Enterprises requiring high-level data protection

8. Check Point Harmony Connect

Check Point has built a robust SASE platform with Harmony Connect, focusing on secure access and threat prevention.

Key Strengths

  • Consistent security management
  • Highly effective threat prevention
  • Good visibility and analytics

Why Companies Prefer Check Point

Businesses already using Check Point firewalls appreciate the unified policy management across cloud and on-prem.

Best For

  • Enterprises with existing Check Point deployments
  • Companies focused heavily on network-based threat prevention

9. Versa Networks

Versa is a strong SASE provider known for its SD-WAN foundation. Many businesses choose Versa for its networking-first approach.

Key Strengths

  • Strong SD-WAN integration
  • Good performance at scale
  • Flexible deployment

Why Companies Choose Versa

Versa is excellent for organizations that prioritize both network performance and security without overpaying.

Best For

  • Large distributed enterprises
  • Branch-heavy organizations
  • Businesses combining SD-WAN with SASE

Detailed Comparison Categories: How These Competitors Stack Up Against Zscaler

To understand how Zscaler compares to its competitors, it helps to break features into major categories.

1. Network Performance & Global Reach

The fastest and widest networks belong to:

  • Cloudflare
  • Akamai
  • Palo Alto (via Prisma Access)

Zscaler also performs strongly, but some users find Cloudflare’s latency consistently lower.

2. Data Protection and CASB

Top vendors here:

  • Netskope
  • Symantec
  • Microsoft Defender for Cloud Apps

Zscaler CASB is good, but some competitors offer more granular SaaS visibility.

3. Zero Trust Access

Strong ZTNA solutions include:

  • Zscaler
  • Palo Alto
  • Cisco Duo
  • Akamai

Zscaler remains one of the strongest here, though its competitors catch up fast.

4. Ecosystem Integration

If you already use:

  • Palo Alto → choose Prisma Access
  • Fortinet → choose FortiSASE
  • Cisco → choose Secure Access
  • Check Point → choose Harmony Connect

These ecosystems provide tighter management and reduce operational overhead.

5. Pricing Model

Zscaler pricing is typically premium. More cost-effective options include:

  • Fortinet FortiSASE
  • Cloudflare One
  • Versa Networks

These vendors often attract mid-sized businesses or distributed enterprises.

Which Zscaler Competitor Is Best for You?

Choose Netskope if…

You need strong CASB, DLP, and data-centric controls.

Choose Palo Alto Prisma Access if…

You want the most advanced threat detection and unified ecosystem.

Choose Cloudflare One if…

Performance and global latency matter most.

Choose Fortinet FortiSASE if…

You want cost-effective security tightly integrated with hardware.

Choose Cisco Secure Access if…

You already rely on Cisco networks and identity systems.

Choose Akamai if…

Your business depends heavily on global application performance.

Final Thoughts

Zscaler has built a powerful cloud security platform, but it’s not the only choice. Whether you prioritize performance, pricing, data protection, or ecosystem integration, many strong competitors may be a better fit depending on your business needs.

If you’d like a deeper analysis of Zscaler vs its closest competitor, you can explore our full article on Zscaler competitors and alternatives for more insights.