Cisco Secure Access vs. Zscaler Internet Access

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
Cisco Secure Access
Score 8.9 out of 10
N/A
A cloud-delivered security service edge (SSE) solution, grounded in zero trust, designed to give users an exceptional user experience and protected access from any device to anywhere.N/A
Zscaler Internet Access
Score 8.8 out of 10
N/A
Zscaler Internet Access™ (ZIA) is a secure web gateway (SWG), delivering cloud native cyberthreat protection and zero trust access to the internet and SaaS apps.N/A
Pricing
Cisco Secure AccessZscaler Internet Access
Editions & Modules
No answers on this topic
No answers on this topic
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
Cisco Secure AccessZscaler Internet Access
Free Trial
NoNo
Free/Freemium Version
NoNo
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
NoYes
Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
Additional Details
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
Cisco Secure AccessZscaler Internet Access
Considered Both Products
Cisco Secure Access
Chose Cisco Secure Access
is a better product when other Cisco products in the mix for integrations.
Chose Cisco Secure Access
Cisco Secure Access still has to improve but opted for Cisco Secure Access due to better tco (total cost of ownership)
Zscaler Internet Access
Chose Zscaler Internet Access
complete ecosystem
Features
Cisco Secure AccessZscaler Internet Access
Identity Management
Comparison of Identity Management features of Product A and Product B
Cisco Secure Access
-
Ratings
Zscaler Internet Access
5.0
2 Ratings
56% below category average
Multi-Factor Authentication00 Ratings5.02 Ratings
Endpoint Security
Comparison of Endpoint Security features of Product A and Product B
Cisco Secure Access
-
Ratings
Zscaler Internet Access
10.0
2 Ratings
11% above category average
Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR)00 Ratings10.02 Ratings
Threat Intelligence
Comparison of Threat Intelligence features of Product A and Product B
Cisco Secure Access
-
Ratings
Zscaler Internet Access
8.4
216 Ratings
9% above category average
Network Analytics00 Ratings8.6213 Ratings
Threat Recognition00 Ratings8.2210 Ratings
Vulnerability Classification00 Ratings8.4187 Ratings
Automated Alerts and Reporting00 Ratings8.1201 Ratings
Threat Analysis00 Ratings8.7199 Ratings
Threat Intelligence Reporting00 Ratings8.5195 Ratings
Automated Threat Identification00 Ratings8.4188 Ratings
Zero Trust Security
Comparison of Zero Trust Security features of Product A and Product B
Cisco Secure Access
-
Ratings
Zscaler Internet Access
8.8
262 Ratings
3% above category average
Continuous Verification00 Ratings8.6240 Ratings
Secure Web Gateways00 Ratings9.0231 Ratings
Network Flow Control00 Ratings8.1212 Ratings
Network Traffic Analysis00 Ratings8.8215 Ratings
Segmentation Leveraging00 Ratings8.5190 Ratings
Admin Access Control00 Ratings9.0226 Ratings
Network Data Encryption00 Ratings8.8203 Ratings
Network Topology Mapping00 Ratings10.02 Ratings
Best Alternatives
Cisco Secure AccessZscaler Internet Access
Small Businesses

No answers on this topic

ThreatLocker
ThreatLocker
Score 9.2 out of 10
Medium-sized Companies
Palo Alto Networks Prisma Access
Palo Alto Networks Prisma Access
Score 8.6 out of 10
Palo Alto Networks Prisma Access
Palo Alto Networks Prisma Access
Score 8.6 out of 10
Enterprises
Palo Alto Networks Prisma Access
Palo Alto Networks Prisma Access
Score 8.6 out of 10
Palo Alto Networks Prisma Access
Palo Alto Networks Prisma Access
Score 8.6 out of 10
All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
User Ratings
Cisco Secure AccessZscaler Internet Access
Likelihood to Recommend
9.1
(33 ratings)
9.0
(290 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
-
(0 ratings)
8.4
(6 ratings)
Usability
8.2
(1 ratings)
8.7
(274 ratings)
Availability
-
(0 ratings)
7.3
(1 ratings)
Performance
-
(0 ratings)
5.5
(1 ratings)
Support Rating
-
(0 ratings)
7.2
(10 ratings)
Online Training
-
(0 ratings)
7.3
(1 ratings)
Implementation Rating
-
(0 ratings)
8.3
(2 ratings)
Configurability
-
(0 ratings)
8.3
(2 ratings)
Product Scalability
-
(0 ratings)
7.3
(1 ratings)
Vendor post-sale
-
(0 ratings)
8.3
(3 ratings)
Vendor pre-sale
-
(0 ratings)
7.3
(2 ratings)
User Testimonials
Cisco Secure AccessZscaler Internet Access
Likelihood to Recommend
Cisco
Cisco as a whole solution, Cisco Secure Access as a solution is very well suited. If you want to simplify the operations and the way that you provide access to certain things, rollout and deployment are fairly straightforward and fairly fast if you know how to configure it properly. Regarding private access, there's still some things that need to be addressed to mitigate certain connections that aren't working correctly through the VPN, or maybe create some kind of exception. The most famous ones are things with Microsoft or other vendors, where, when you send that information through the VPN, split tunnels aren't necessarily the only configurations you have to consider. Things like IPS, decryption, you also have to look at those things as well. It might be good to try to enhance those types of configurations and maybe also document those things so that the users are aware.
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Zscaler
I feel the product is very good to set up basic standards and go beyond that in many aspects. However, due to being sometimes too simple, it limits the ability to do some other complex changes. Having the ability to do both would be ideal for some, if not all, of the products within Zscaler Internet Access. A simple setup to have it stand-up, and more advanced settings for those more experienced.
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Pros
Cisco
  • In my experience, zta (zero trust access) is done well in Cisco Secure Access
  • In my opinion, segmentation is done well in Cisco Secure Access
  • I think traffic security is done well in Cisco Secure Access
  • In my experience, enterprise security is done well in Cisco Secure Access
Read full review
Zscaler
  • Provides a secure VPN connection point for endpoint connectivity.
  • Provides the VPN connectivity in a fast and reliable connection state.
  • Very dependable, once connected the connection stays up and there's no fuss.
  • Very good at letting you know when you are not authenticated.
  • Very easy to authenticate and regain access when your session times out.
Read full review
Cons
Cisco
  • The integration into the Meraki dashboard is not yet complete, you have to use several interfaces to complete the configuration, the services should be fully integrated to provide better handling
  • Integration of firewall rules onprem and cloud should be standardized
  • Better user management / import
Read full review
Zscaler
  • ZS CLI support to turn off ZIA and ZDX service specifically on mac.
  • Better visibility into failed posture devices, including a timeline and the reason the posture failed (This is about the Zscaler mobile portal: Enrolled devices --> Failed posture devices).
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Likelihood to Renew
Cisco
No answers on this topic
Zscaler
While Zscaler Internet Access (ZIA) delivers critical value in cloud security and RBI compliance, I rate renewal likelihood 7/10 due to evolving needs versus platform limitations. Below is my rationale:
Key Gaps:
1. Advanced Threat Costs:
ZIA’s add-ons (e.g., Advanced DLP, Sandboxing) incur 35%+ cost premiums – straining budgets as transaction volumes (UPI/iMobile) grow 50% YoY.
2. API Banking Scalability:
ZIA’s API rate limits throttle real-time policy sync during UPI peaks (10K+ TPS), forcing workarounds for finacle integrations.
3. RBI Future-Proofing:
Limited native support for upcoming digital rupee (CBDC) security rules requires custom development, increasing compliance overhead.
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Usability
Cisco
It's simpler to identify or find things within the platform. Obviously, there are always things to improve, maybe in the GUI or in certain things coming over from Umbrella, because this platform is actually adopting a lot of the Umbrella solutions. And it's just a matter of trying to navigate through it. I really like the way it's simplified in how you categorize your internal policies and your private access policies. It's just a different mindset and a different way of creating policies in this case, compared to how Umbrella did in the past with rule sets and those kinds of things. But the actual solution itself works pretty well when you understand it.
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Zscaler
Getting started was pretty straightforward. We can tell the product is way more robust than we are using it. It started as a replacement for previous DNS-blocking content filtering, but we're exploring how this will add value with an upcoming DLP redesign and with traffic optimization at some of our remote sites with severe bandwidth limits.
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Performance
Cisco
No answers on this topic
Zscaler
There are often performance issues reported
Read full review
Support Rating
Cisco
No answers on this topic
Zscaler
Zscaler's ZIA support is quick and knowledgable. They respond within 1-2 hours of you submitting your ticket. They are very thorough and are typically ready to jump on a live troubleshooting session. Our ZIA platform and how we use is it unique so at times tickets can be open for weeks but we alway get quality support compared to other unrelated product support in our enterprise
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Implementation Rating
Cisco
No answers on this topic
Zscaler
good the engineer give excellent support and eplanation
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Alternatives Considered
Cisco
We selected Cisco Secure Access due to the intuitive GUI and ease of use. The agent deployment was simple and easy to maintain. Any additional updates or changes were quickly deployed, and users found the customized block messages useful. From analytics and management, the Secure Access Product has been simple to manage and provides a robust level of security and flexibility that we haven't found in any other product yet.
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Zscaler
The overall user community and scope of supportability outweighed the others on our short list. Netskope was a close second, but the risk, though small, was greater than that of bringing Zscaler aboard. We were looking for a mature, well-supported, highly functional, and fine-grained solution that met all our user and information security requirements.
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Return on Investment
Cisco
  • The impact Cisco Secure Access has on our organization's overall business objectives is that we Replaced Bomgar
  • Another impact Cisco Secure Access has on our organization's overall business objectives is that it Eliminated giving vendors AD accounts
  • A third impact Cisco Secure Access has on our organization's overall business objectives is that Cisco Secure Access is Quick to deploy
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Zscaler
  • I would say it has a very good ROI, as whenever someone can't access something, they submit a ticket to our network engineer, and within minutes, the site is safely added to ZIA with best-practice configurations. After seeing a little of the UI from the Zenith event, it seems very user-friendly to control these policies.
Read full review
ScreenShots

Zscaler Internet Access Screenshots

Screenshot of an overview of Zscaler Internet Access (ZIA), a cloud native security service edge (SSE) solution that builds on a decade of secure web gateway leadership. Offered as a scalable SaaS platform through Zscaler's security cloud, it replaces legacy network security solutions, preventing advanced attacks and data loss with a comprehensive zero trust approach. ZIA is integrated into the Zscaler Zero Trust Exchange™ to provide superior defense-in-depth, secure connectivity, end user experience, and administrative visibility and control.