Palo Alto Networks Next-Generation Firewalls - PA Series vs. Zscaler Internet Access

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
Next-Generation Firewalls - PA Series
Score 9.3 out of 10
N/A
Palo Alto next-generation firewalls classify all traffic, including encrypted and internal traffic, based on application, application function, user and content. Users can create security policies to enable only authorized users to run sanctioned applications.N/A
Zscaler Internet Access
Score 8.8 out of 10
N/A
Zscaler Internet Access is delivered as a security stack as a service from the cloud, and is designed to eliminate the cost and complexity of traditional secure web gateway approaches, and provide easily scaled protection to all offices or users, regardless of location, and minimize network and appliance infrastructure.N/A
Pricing
Palo Alto Networks Next-Generation Firewalls - PA SeriesZscaler Internet Access
Editions & Modules
No answers on this topic
No answers on this topic
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
Next-Generation Firewalls - PA SeriesZscaler Internet Access
Free Trial
NoNo
Free/Freemium Version
NoNo
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
NoNo
Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
Additional Details
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
Palo Alto Networks Next-Generation Firewalls - PA SeriesZscaler Internet Access
Top Pros
Top Cons
Features
Palo Alto Networks Next-Generation Firewalls - PA SeriesZscaler Internet Access
Firewall
Comparison of Firewall features of Product A and Product B
Palo Alto Networks Next-Generation Firewalls - PA Series
9.4
21 Ratings
10% above category average
Zscaler Internet Access
-
Ratings
Identification Technologies9.921 Ratings00 Ratings
Visualization Tools9.021 Ratings00 Ratings
Content Inspection9.921 Ratings00 Ratings
Policy-based Controls10.021 Ratings00 Ratings
Active Directory and LDAP9.920 Ratings00 Ratings
Firewall Management Console10.021 Ratings00 Ratings
Reporting and Logging7.621 Ratings00 Ratings
VPN8.421 Ratings00 Ratings
High Availability10.020 Ratings00 Ratings
Stateful Inspection10.020 Ratings00 Ratings
Proxy Server8.810 Ratings00 Ratings
Identity Management
Comparison of Identity Management features of Product A and Product B
Palo Alto Networks Next-Generation Firewalls - PA Series
-
Ratings
Zscaler Internet Access
8.0
1 Ratings
15% below category average
Multi-Factor Authentication00 Ratings8.01 Ratings
Endpoint Security
Comparison of Endpoint Security features of Product A and Product B
Palo Alto Networks Next-Generation Firewalls - PA Series
-
Ratings
Zscaler Internet Access
8.0
1 Ratings
7% below category average
Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR)00 Ratings8.01 Ratings
Threat Intelligence
Comparison of Threat Intelligence features of Product A and Product B
Palo Alto Networks Next-Generation Firewalls - PA Series
-
Ratings
Zscaler Internet Access
8.4
1 Ratings
1% above category average
Network Analytics00 Ratings9.01 Ratings
Threat Recognition00 Ratings9.01 Ratings
Vulnerability Classification00 Ratings8.01 Ratings
Automated Alerts and Reporting00 Ratings9.01 Ratings
Threat Analysis00 Ratings8.01 Ratings
Threat Intelligence Reporting00 Ratings8.01 Ratings
Automated Threat Identification00 Ratings8.01 Ratings
Zero Trust Security
Comparison of Zero Trust Security features of Product A and Product B
Palo Alto Networks Next-Generation Firewalls - PA Series
-
Ratings
Zscaler Internet Access
8.6
1 Ratings
3% below category average
Continuous Verification00 Ratings8.01 Ratings
Secure Web Gateways00 Ratings9.01 Ratings
Network Flow Control00 Ratings9.01 Ratings
Network Traffic Analysis00 Ratings9.01 Ratings
Segmentation Leveraging00 Ratings8.01 Ratings
Admin Access Control00 Ratings9.01 Ratings
Network Data Encryption00 Ratings9.01 Ratings
Network Topology Mapping00 Ratings8.01 Ratings
Best Alternatives
Palo Alto Networks Next-Generation Firewalls - PA SeriesZscaler Internet Access
Small Businesses
pfSense
pfSense
Score 9.2 out of 10
ThreatLocker
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Score 9.0 out of 10
Medium-sized Companies
pfSense
pfSense
Score 9.2 out of 10
Palo Alto Networks Prisma Access
Palo Alto Networks Prisma Access
Score 8.7 out of 10
Enterprises
Cisco Adaptive Security Appliance (ASA) Software
Cisco Adaptive Security Appliance (ASA) Software
Score 8.9 out of 10
Palo Alto Networks Prisma Access
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Score 8.7 out of 10
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User Ratings
Palo Alto Networks Next-Generation Firewalls - PA SeriesZscaler Internet Access
Likelihood to Recommend
9.5
(37 ratings)
8.7
(16 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
10.0
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Usability
10.0
(2 ratings)
9.0
(1 ratings)
Support Rating
8.4
(9 ratings)
8.1
(5 ratings)
Vendor post-sale
-
(0 ratings)
8.0
(1 ratings)
Vendor pre-sale
-
(0 ratings)
8.0
(1 ratings)
User Testimonials
Palo Alto Networks Next-Generation Firewalls - PA SeriesZscaler Internet Access
Likelihood to Recommend
Palo Alto Networks
Palo Alto firewall only affords by Large level infrastructure having a budget for Security Prospect. I will recommend it for the Card information industry & Confidential data solutions. Because it provides a bucket of security features that are not easily vulnerable.
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Zscaler
Zscaler Internet Access is an internet tunnel that pairs with the network adapter to secure traffic between servers and workstations. It can refresh policies automatically and log intrusions but does not broadcast intrusions. Cloud-based Zscaler Internet Access is easy to deploy and scale, with no hardware or software needed. In a hybrid model, Zscaler Internet Access performs some security functions on-premises and others in the cloud, allowing organizations to keep infrastructure. There is a slight learning curve from VPN and appliance architecture to this paradigm.
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Pros
Palo Alto Networks
  • The PA handles VPN connectivity without missing a beat. We have multiple VPN tunnels in use for redundancy to cloud-based services.
  • The PA has great functionality in supporting failover internet connections, again with the ability to have multiple paths out to our cloud-based services.
  • The PA is updated on the regular with various security updates, we are not concerned with the firewall's ability to see what packets are really flowing across the network. Being able to see beyond just IP and port requests lets you know things are locked down better than traditional firewalls.
  • It is a great overall kit, with URL filtering and other services that fill in the gaps between other solutions without breaking the bank.
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Zscaler
  • Zscaler completely moved away from the traditional firewall setup to a hosted firewall solution. We don't have to worry about the hardware failing or maintaining it as part of our service plan compared to our on-premise firewall. Zscaler has a lot of data centres across the world where they are maintaining their solutions so mobile consultants will always be close to one of their data centres.
  • Rolling out Zscaler solutions to our end customers' computers is actually pretty easy and hassle-free. As part of onboarding of new employees we can set up the Zscaler solution and push it to our end users' machines and get them connected to the cloud solutions.
  • Zscaler does proper market research on the latest emerging threats and they keep their firewall patched and updated to the latest versions so the security team does not have to worry about keeping the firewall updated.
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Cons
Palo Alto Networks
  • Our specific model is a bit slow and outdated and takes up to 10 minutes to commit a configuration change.
  • Nested security rules would be helpful instead of a linear approach. But rule creation in general is very simple.
  • Documentation gives a very straight forward answer to some items but is very vague in others.
  • Support could be a little better. An issue we had a tech was insistent it was the "other guy" and it ended up being the very latest PAN OS upgrade.
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Zscaler
  • Chat or email support is not available. Only option is to either call them or raise a ticket by logging into their website.
  • Pricing is not transparent and quote based.
  • Access to websites is a little too slow with Zscaler monitoring on.
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Likelihood to Renew
Palo Alto Networks
The PA5220s have far exceeded what we have expected out of them. It was a bit of a learning curve coming from another vendor, but everything falls into place now with ease. The capabilities of the solution still surprise us, allowing us to remove other costly hardware and providing a single point of management needed
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Zscaler
No answers on this topic
Usability
Palo Alto Networks
In my opinion, the Palo Alto Firewall is the simplest firewall in terms of management interfaces; though it has more advanced options that apply to more advanced use cases. Configuring basic features on the firewall is nearly self-explanatory; configuring more advanced features can be met with very thorough vendor documentation.
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Zscaler
Zscaler is a mandatory solution required by almost every large organization with a workforce working remotely or using cloud-based apps. Its deployment is relatively easy and it keeps on working in the background without actively bothering the user. Apart from a few weird messages which a user is unable to comprehend, Zscaler is able to provide fast and safe access to the internet and other external applications.
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Support Rating
Palo Alto Networks
We've run into a couple undocumented bugs, but that seems to happen with every brand and technology. Any time we've had to engage Palo Alto support they've always been professional, knowledgeable and prompt. In almost all cases we've been able to resolve our issues without having to escalate our tickets.
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Zscaler
I cannot give a fair rating for this as I have not had to contact Zscaler support. There was one time we had to contact them because we needed to check if they were having issues on their end. Our ISP was actually the problem but support seemed very friendly.
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Alternatives Considered
Palo Alto Networks
No one can say any other companies in this time is better than Palo Alto Networks Next-Generatoin Firewalls. Palo Alto offers very advanced features which protect you[r] organization. Advanced malware protection, anti spam, lots of other threats.
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Zscaler
Zscaler Intenet Access proved to be superior and the difference for us was the speed of policy delivery since your policy is applied in a web console and is effective in a matter of seconds. Another point to congratulate the solution is its compatibility with different platforms (macOS, Linux, Windows, Android, and iOS).
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Return on Investment
Palo Alto Networks
  • Overall, even though the device is very expensive (both hardware and licensing), the product does produce a decent ROI, given that one (or HA pair) of devices can do so many things, such as anti-virus, anti-malware, URL filtering, SSL decryption, SSL VPN, routing, etc.
  • There will definitely be sticker shock when you're renewal comes up annually (or after 3 years), so be sure to look very carefully at the recurring costs of this product, with respect to licensing and hardware/software maintenance.
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Zscaler
  • ROI is there and it is safeguarding the data and user access to net.
  • Being a cloud based can be scaled up when required.
  • Third parties can be allowed based on the company IT policies (Clients or Vendors etc.) for business perspective.
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ScreenShots