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Cato SASE Cloud Platform vs Zscaler Private Access (ZPA) comparison

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Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary

Review summaries and opinions

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

Categories and Ranking

iboss
Sponsored
Ranking in Cloud Access Security Brokers (CASB)
7th
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.1
Number of Reviews
19
Ranking in other categories
Secure Web Gateways (SWG) (7th), Internet Security (3rd), Web Content Filtering (1st), ZTNA as a Service (8th), Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) (8th)
Cato SASE Cloud Platform
Ranking in Cloud Access Security Brokers (CASB)
6th
Average Rating
8.8
Reviews Sentiment
7.7
Number of Reviews
30
Ranking in other categories
WAN Optimization (1st), Intrusion Detection and Prevention Software (IDPS) (9th), Software Defined WAN (SD-WAN) Solutions (3rd), WAN Edge (4th), ZTNA as a Service (3rd), Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) (4th), Remote Browser Isolation (RBI) (2nd)
Zscaler Private Access (ZPA)
Ranking in Cloud Access Security Brokers (CASB)
8th
Average Rating
8.8
Reviews Sentiment
7.3
Number of Reviews
10
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Featured Reviews

Matt Crockford - PeerSpot reviewer
It's easy to roll out, and their understanding of our business made it seamless
One aspect we value about iboss is its simplicity. Their customer service is brilliant, and they are super responsive and knowledgeable. It's easy to roll out, and their understanding of our business made it seamless. We were impressed by the solution's mental health function, which can detect if someone needs help. It scans what users are browsing and flags warning signs so we can check to see if they are okay. We've had to use it a couple of times. The user interface is highly intuitive. Our IT team picked it up with minimal training. It's arranged so that it's easy to find where things are. Another advantage is the single pane of glass console, which gives you visibility into what's happening. We're not fully there yet because we haven't implemented zero trust, but we're excited about the possibilities from the demos we've seen. We launched a POC of iboss' ChatGPT Risk Protection feature two weeks ago. AI is a great tool, but you need to be careful what you put into it. My biggest fear is employees inputting sensitive corporate information or customer PII data into one of these chatbots. I was impressed by our trial of the feature. It's exactly what we wanted. Now, when a user goes to ChatGPT, there's a banner warning them not to share information, and we can block conversations containing customer data like bank details and email addresses. I don't want to stop people from using it, but we need visibility. We've only tried it on a test group of 15 people. You can configure it to look for specific keywords or integrate it with your DLP policy if you have that configured
Alexander Azikov - PeerSpot reviewer
Provide a seamless experience for end users with internet duplication feature
The setup and onboarding process is very straightforward - I'd rate it a ten out of ten for ease. We use CatoCloud as our cloud provider. They have points of presence, and we connect to the nearest one to our physical location. All the routing, inspection, and logic for what to route, block, or allow happens in the cloud, not on the local device. Our deployment took a couple of weeks because we installed the sites manually. If we had a team to help switch locally, it could have been done in a week. The deployment process is straightforward. We set up all the sites in their cloud system; then, they ship the sockets directly to the location or our main office. We connect the device to the internet, it gets activated, we assign it to a specific site inside the cloud, and it's online and ready to use. It's very easy.
Martin Partridge - PeerSpot reviewer
User access is simplified and secured through central core functionalities
The simplicity and logical structure of Zscaler make it easy to use and administer. It allows grouping, enabling en masse access conveniently. Unlike the BlueCoat proxy, which was more prescriptive and individual-focused, Zscaler offers group access. Additionally, Zscaler's modern tools enhance the network architecture by passing everything through a central core of security, ensuring everything is secure before accessing the internet.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"iboss is easy to use despite its complexity. Multiple engineers manage it, but it's significantly more straightforward to administer than traditional VPNs and web proxies."
"First of all, the security policies are essential. I do not have to rely solely on Active Directory for our users."
"From a use-case scenario, what I like the most is the plug-in. I like the fact that we can do the filtering of these devices offsite independent of the network they are connected to, and we do not have to have traffic coming back inside our network."
"iboss has significantly lowered the number of security incidents. It is crazy how much it blocks and how much it is aware of the outside danger."
"Content filtering is the most useful feature of iboss."
"We chose iboss for both zero trust and proxy (SWG) because their SWG was superior."
"The console is cloud-based, which is something I really appreciate."
"I would rate the technical support of iboss a solid 10 without a shadow of a doubt."
"The most valuable feature is that it also works as a next-gen firewall because it has security features."
"It's a cloud-based solution that integrates well with everything."
"The product's most valuable features include advanced firewall capabilities for robust security, a secure gateway for safe data transmission, and next-generation anti-malware for threat prevention."
"The Cato SASE Cloud Platform is a remarkable solution for managing and controlling all aspects of Zero Trust network access functions through its SASE capabilities. It's designed with an exquisite and practical architecture, making it a worthwhile investment for organizations looking to optimize IT spending and streamline management processes."
"The product is very simple, and everything can be done very quickly."
"The visibility control and security aspects are amazing."
"The WAN aggregation feature is the most valuable."
"We appreciate the optimization and acceleration of the performance of SDP users."
"Zscaler Private Access (ZPA) is the most mature compared to other vendors in terms of features and stability."
"The scalability is amazing. Whenever we need to upgrade the users, it increases immediately."
"Zscaler ZPA is easy to administer and is organized in a straightforward and logical manner."
"Zscaler Private Access (ZPA) is much more secure than VPN because users are only allowed to access specific applications rather than the whole network."
"Zscaler Private Access (ZPA) is more secure than these particular VPN solutions."
"Zscaler Private Access (ZPA) does an excellent job offering secure remote access to internal applications for our distributed workforce because it provides a granular way to grant access for specific people with specific applications."
"It provides security and has a great service user experience."
"Zscaler has allowed an easy, secure way for us to access our internal resources from outside."
 

Cons

"Their on-premise hardware's network interface is capped at one gigabit, which is sort of a problem. If you stand a filter up where all traffic flows through that, according to them, in order to go above a gigabit, you have to have multiple devices, which in today's IT seems a little bit silly. They could easily put in an SFP port into their device that could accommodate 10 gigs or at least offer a box."
"For zero trust implementation, we encountered complexity issues, especially with a large infrastructure company ExxonMobil."
"File integrity monitoring would be very advantageous as an additional feature."
"To scale up, a new iboss Node Blade Chassis must be purchased."
"Iboss is growing so fast that it is often hard for them to keep up with the challenges."
"The area I would like to see improvement in is the ability with in the reporter to navigate directly to the content the user is traversing. It is kind of there, but it's not perfect. Quite frequently, I receive links that lead me to pages with error messages."
"The solution could be stronger on the integration side and offer more cloud applications like G Suite or Oracle."
"Sometimes when you call in support, you get someone who is just following a sheet. It feels like a runaround. You feel that you are running into that support wall."
"The tool should improve its interface."
"I am located in South Korea, and I can say that most people here have no idea about Cato Networks. I think Cato Networks should promote its network services in various countries."
"They should add more sophisticated security features. It should also be integrated into the cloud."
"Cato Networks could improve their intrusion detection. There is not a lot in place."
"There's no principal in Malaysia, only a distributor."
"It could expand its reach into other sectors like professional services and finance, requiringmore specialized tools beyond Cato's current offerings. This includes better integration with third-party providers for more sophisticated tools such as intrusion prevention systems, anti-malware, and data loss prevention. Additionally, enhancing network speed and optimizing last-mile connectivity for managed service providers like us would be beneficial."
"However, Cato's solution is modular. You don't have to buy the whole package; instead, you can start with some of the functionality and then expand it as you see fit, based on its value and as your other contracts expire."
"The solution is not cheap."
"Customer service and support are rated seven or eight out of ten, needing improvement in quality and response time."
"The solution is not scalable; we deploy it in a high-availability environment, but it's not automated."
"The rollout process could be much easier, and the configuration of identity providers like Azure is more complicated than with other zero trust network providers. This can be a pain point."
"Sometimes connection errors occur when users are unable to connect to the particular cloud."
"There are some bugs in the solution."
"The lack of control over the 700+ external IPs through which traffic exits Zscaler is problematic."
"The price is a concern as it increases every year and becomes more expensive, driving customers and other vendors to look for alternatives."
"There are some bugs in the solution, which they are clearly working on, and they are still not resolving them. So it's taking some time."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The overall pricing for iboss is very competitive and transparent."
"It is probably in line with other solutions, but I do not deal with the financial side."
"It is not expensive, and it is also not cheap. iboss is priced right in the sweet spot for the number of features it offers."
"It is expensive compared to one of its competitors."
"We have not priced the solution recently, but they were competitive with other vendors in the past."
"We had the cost of purchasing a new appliance along with the implementation and licensing costs. However, 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."
"The platform is expensive."
"The product is very competitively priced, and that's compelling. They don't charge the customer based on the operational cost like other brands such as Palo Alto. Cato has its own fully-fledged cloud, with their own data centers, equipment, and so on, which is an advantage. I rate the solution five out of five for affordability."
"I rate the price of Cato Networks a four out of five."
"You pay yearly based on the speed of your network. If you increase the speed of your network, you increase the cost for your throughput. It is by bandwidth for the most part and then licenses for VPN. There is some per-seat licensing for VPN access, but the majority of it is minimal. It is like $30 a year per client. The rest is based on how much bandwidth you'll use. You pay for that upfront for the year, and if you have to increase it, you increase it, and then they let you send more data through. There are no additional costs in addition to the standard licensing fees."
"The solution's pricing is flexible."
"The price of Cato Networks is in the middle range compared to other solutions. NetFoundry is a less expensive solution than Cato Networks."
"The price is not an issue for us, as it is priced more competitively than some other vendors."
"The pricing of the solution depends upon the bandwidth required for different branches"
Information not available
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
12%
Financial Services Firm
11%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Healthcare Company
6%
Computer Software Company
22%
Manufacturing Company
12%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Comms Service Provider
7%
Insurance Company
18%
Financial Services Firm
14%
Manufacturing Company
11%
Comms Service Provider
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

What needs improvement with iboss?
For zero trust implementation, we encountered complexity issues, especially with a large infrastructure company Exxon...
What is your primary use case for iboss?
Previously when I used iboss, we did the POC for iboss for ExxonMobil. Four or five people wanted to move from our ol...
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 do you like most about Cato Networks?
The solution is a simple WAN solution. We've onboarded the socket on the Cato platform, and it provides connectivity....
What is your primary use case for Cato Networks?
In construction, we have a company in the steel industries, where we are doing the POCs currently, and we have one ex...
What advice do you have for others considering Cato Networks?
I am also a partner with Cato SASE Cloud Platform. Mentioning the bypassing feature and traffic engineering would be ...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Zscaler Private Access (ZPA)?
Prices for Zscaler Private Access (ZPA) are higher than traditional solutions, but it provides enhanced security.
What needs improvement with Zscaler Private Access (ZPA)?
The only room for improvement is the troubleshooting problem with iPhones as of now. The review should be anonymous; ...
What is your primary use case for Zscaler Private Access (ZPA)?
We are using secure remote access for internal applications, and that's why we are using Zscaler Private Access (ZPA)...
 

Also Known As

iBoss Cloud Platform
Cato Networks
No data available
 

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.
Paysafe, AdRoll, Pet Lovers Centre, Arlington Orthopedics, Humphreys & Partners Architects
Information Not Available
Find out what your peers are saying about Cato SASE Cloud Platform vs. Zscaler Private Access (ZPA) and other solutions. Updated: July 2025.
865,295 professionals have used our research since 2012.