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F5 Distributed Cloud WAF (Web Application Firewall) vs. Zscaler Internet Access

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    Overview
    ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price

    F5 Distributed Cloud WAF (Web Application Firewall)

    Score9.2 out of 10
    N/AF5 Distributed Cloud WAF leverages F5's Advanced WAF technology, delivering WAF-as-a-Service and combining signature- and behavior-based protection for web applications. It acts as an intermediate proxy to inspect application requests and responses to block and mitigate a broad spectrum of risks stemming from the OW ASP Top 10, persistent and coordinated threat campaigns, bots, and layer 7 DoS.N/A

    Zscaler Internet Access

    Score8.9 out of 10
    N/AZscaler 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
    F5 Distributed Cloud WAF (Web Application Firewall)Zscaler Internet Access
    Editions & Modules
    No answers on this topic
    No answers on this topic
    Offerings
    Pricing Offerings
    F5 Distributed Cloud WAF (Web Application Firewall)Zscaler Internet Access
    Free Trial
    YesNo
    Free/Freemium Version
    NoNo
    Premium Consulting/Integration Services
    YesYes
    Entry-level Setup FeeOptionalNo setup fee
    Additional Details——
    More Pricing Information
    Community Pulse
    F5 Distributed Cloud WAF (Web Application Firewall)Zscaler Internet Access
    Considered Both Products
    F5
    Chose F5 Distributed Cloud WAF (Web Application Firewall)
    Ease of use. Cost. Features ability to use managed service, in cloud provider and on prem.
    Incentivized
    Chose F5 Distributed Cloud WAF (Web Application Firewall)
    We chose F5 Distributed Cloud WAF (Web Application Firewall) due to competitive pricing, value for money features as well as good after-sales support.
    Incentivized
    Zscaler
    No answer on this topic
    Key User Insights
    Would buy again
    98%
    Would buy again
    178 Answers
    99%
    Would buy again
    284 Answers
    Delivers good value for the price
    95%
    Delivers good value for the price
    158 Answers
    98%
    Delivers good value for the price
    245 Answers
    Happy with the feature set
    96%
    Happy with the feature set
    174 Answers
    99%
    Happy with the feature set
    284 Answers
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    96%
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    129 Answers
    97%
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    207 Answers
    Implementation went as expected
    95%
    Implementation went as expected
    142 Answers
    93%
    Implementation went as expected
    227 Answers
    Features
    F5 Distributed Cloud WAF (Web Application Firewall)Zscaler Internet Access
    Identity Management
    Comparison of Identity Management features of F5 Distributed Cloud WAF (Web Application Firewall) and Zscaler Internet Access
    Feature
    F5 Distributed Cloud WAF (Web Application Firewall)
    -
    Ratings
    Zscaler Internet Access
    5.0
    2 Ratings
    55% below category average
    Multi-Factor Authentication00 Ratings5.02 Ratings
    Endpoint Security
    Comparison of Endpoint Security features of F5 Distributed Cloud WAF (Web Application Firewall) and Zscaler Internet Access
    Feature
    F5 Distributed Cloud WAF (Web Application Firewall)
    -
    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 F5 Distributed Cloud WAF (Web Application Firewall) and Zscaler Internet Access
    Feature
    F5 Distributed Cloud WAF (Web Application Firewall)
    -
    Ratings
    Zscaler Internet Access
    8.5
    216 Ratings
    6% above category average
    Network Analytics00 Ratings8.7217 Ratings
    Threat Recognition00 Ratings8.3214 Ratings
    Vulnerability Classification00 Ratings8.5191 Ratings
    Automated Alerts and Reporting00 Ratings8.2205 Ratings
    Threat Analysis00 Ratings8.8203 Ratings
    Threat Intelligence Reporting00 Ratings8.5199 Ratings
    Automated Threat Identification00 Ratings8.5192 Ratings
    Zero Trust Security
    Comparison of Zero Trust Security features of F5 Distributed Cloud WAF (Web Application Firewall) and Zscaler Internet Access
    Feature
    F5 Distributed Cloud WAF (Web Application Firewall)
    -
    Ratings
    Zscaler Internet Access
    8.9
    262 Ratings
    3% above category average
    Continuous Verification00 Ratings8.7245 Ratings
    Secure Web Gateways00 Ratings9.0236 Ratings
    Network Flow Control00 Ratings8.1217 Ratings
    Network Traffic Analysis00 Ratings8.8219 Ratings
    Segmentation Leveraging00 Ratings8.6194 Ratings
    Admin Access Control00 Ratings9.1230 Ratings
    Network Data Encryption00 Ratings8.8207 Ratings
    Network Topology Mapping00 Ratings10.02 Ratings
    Best Alternatives
    F5 Distributed Cloud WAF (Web Application Firewall)Zscaler Internet Access
    Small Businesses
    No answers on this topic
    No answers on this topic
    Medium-sized Companies
    F5 Big-IP Advanced WAF
    Score9.4 out of 10
    No answers on this topic
    Enterprises
    F5 Big-IP Advanced WAF
    Score9.4 out of 10
    Forescout Vistaro Platform
    Score6.6 out of 10
    All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
    User Ratings
    F5 Distributed Cloud WAF (Web Application Firewall)Zscaler Internet Access
    Likelihood to Recommend
    9.2
    (180 ratings)
    9.0
    (295 ratings)
    Likelihood to Renew
    7.7
    (11 ratings)
    8.4
    (6 ratings)
    Usability
    9.1
    (3 ratings)
    8.8
    (279 ratings)
    Availability
    9.1
    (1 ratings)
    7.3
    (1 ratings)
    Performance
    9.1
    (1 ratings)
    5.5
    (1 ratings)
    Support Rating
    9.1
    (2 ratings)
    7.1
    (10 ratings)
    Online Training
    9.1
    (1 ratings)
    7.3
    (1 ratings)
    Implementation Rating
    8.6
    (2 ratings)
    8.4
    (2 ratings)
    Configurability
    9.1
    (1 ratings)
    8.4
    (2 ratings)
    Product Scalability
    9.1
    (1 ratings)
    7.3
    (1 ratings)
    Vendor post-sale
    9.1
    (1 ratings)
    8.4
    (3 ratings)
    Vendor pre-sale
    9.1
    (1 ratings)
    7.3
    (2 ratings)
    User Testimonials
    F5 Distributed Cloud WAF (Web Application Firewall)Zscaler Internet Access
    Likelihood to Recommend
    F5
    It is doing its job effectively, and its scalability is superb. So, if you have a mixed environment with cloud and on-premise systems to protect this product, provide a solution to the challenge. However, its management is more suited to DevOps teams rather than to the ones responsible for on-premise systems, making the management a bit more complex.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    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.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Pros
    F5
    • Layer seven attacks are becoming far more common. Traditionally it was always layered three, layer four, where you get an additional firewall, but with the application layer attacks become more frequent, more popular, et cetera. So having the web application firewall protecting us, and then with the recent Log4j, that's the most recent use case when it gave us that instant level of protection whilst we remediated the Log4j that we had that and the F5 Distributed Cloud WAF was protecting us.
    • I have a great relationship with the account manager, my account manager, and I think he drives the best price possible, um, for me, and I'm happy with that price.
    • F5 Distributed Cloud WAF is always innovating and evolving.
    • We run a very competitive proof value where we run numerous competitors against each other, and then we evaluate from that and then make the selection, and F5 Distributed Cloud WAF was the winner.
    Incentivized
    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.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Cons
    F5
    • Lack of warnings, currently the console does not provide a warning when deleting key-value entry.
    • The web GUI could use some tweaking, currently no undo option when removing exclusion rules.
    • Configuration complexity, currently menus and options are hidden, making it hard to configure vs on prem.
    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).
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Likelihood to Renew
    F5
    We gave it an 8 because it protects our web apps well and is reliable. The WAF is flexible and meets most of our needs. It could improve in user interface and make integrations easier, but overall, it’s a solid and effective security tool for us.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    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.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Usability
    F5
    I believe is a solution that was designed from the start to be simple and easy to use. Coming from Imperva, it simply eased the burden and complexity of managing and securing our apps on different environments (cloud and on-prem). It easy to scale and very quick to deploy (as a cloud waf should be), provide us with DevOps integrations, visibility and automatic insights from multiple events that guarantee peace of mind for us analysts and opp managers.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    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.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Reliability and Availability
    F5
    Seems no issue
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Zscaler
    No answers on this topic
    Performance
    F5
    Unnoticed slowness
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Zscaler
    There are often performance issues reported
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Support Rating
    F5
    I never contacted support for this product.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    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
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Online Training
    F5
    Online training saves me lots of time
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Zscaler
    No answers on this topic
    Implementation Rating
    F5
    Just make sure you origin servers have F5 IPs allowed.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Zscaler
    good the engineer give excellent support and eplanation
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Alternatives Considered
    F5
    The other one that I've used in the past, they're very similar and I haven't used it recently, so I can't do a side-by-side comparison today. But I can say that F5 does everything we want it to do consistent with what this other product did do and it's got enhanced features and of course we have a long history with F5 as a product set in general.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    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.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Scalability
    F5
    Dont see any issue so far
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Zscaler
    No answers on this topic
    Return on Investment
    F5
    • The biggest gain for us was speed. Before F5 Distributed Cloud WAF, onboarding a new app to our WAF stack meant manual rule tuning, traffic sampling and regression testing. Right now, we spin up a service, tag it with the right policy and its ready (production ready) within hours
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    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.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    ScreenShots

    F5 Distributed Cloud WAF (Web Application Firewall) Screenshots

    Product screenshotProduct screenshot

    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.