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Check Point Harmony Browse vs F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager (APM) comparison

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Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Dec 4, 2024

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 Secure Web Gateways (SWG)
5th
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.1
Number of Reviews
19
Ranking in other categories
Internet Security (3rd), Web Content Filtering (1st), Cloud Access Security Brokers (CASB) (7th), ZTNA as a Service (8th), Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) (8th)
Check Point Harmony Browse
Ranking in Secure Web Gateways (SWG)
8th
Average Rating
9.0
Reviews Sentiment
7.2
Number of Reviews
30
Ranking in other categories
Enterprise Browsers (3rd)
F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Man...
Ranking in Secure Web Gateways (SWG)
15th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.1
Number of Reviews
17
Ranking in other categories
Network Access Control (NAC) (7th), SSL VPN (5th), Remote Access (10th), Access Management (9th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of October 2025, in the Secure Web Gateways (SWG) category, the mindshare of iboss is 2.2%, up from 1.8% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Check Point Harmony Browse is 0.7%, up from 0.4% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager (APM) is 1.4%, up from 0.6% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Secure Web Gateways (SWG) Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
iboss2.2%
Check Point Harmony Browse0.7%
F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager (APM)1.4%
Other95.7%
Secure Web Gateways (SWG)
 

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
AndreiBo - PeerSpot reviewer
Real-time threat intelligence enhances security and user confidence
At this point, I do not have any suggestions for improvements to Check Point Harmony Browse because I haven't encountered anything that would need changing. If a solution is installed correctly, it usually won't fail. It's hard to suggest new features for Check Point Harmony Browse because it's a sub-component of a larger Harmony Endpoint Security solution, which is handled separately under specific situations, and while it has many options, it already scans and delivers files efficiently. Regarding the scanning of large files in Check Point Harmony Browse, the process typically involves sending the file to Check Point cloud for scanning and returning the clean file to the user, which is inherently complex and I do not see how it could be optimized to be faster.
Ashish Kumar Rai - PeerSpot reviewer
Offers remote access control, good GUI and easy to configure
I'd suggest improved documentation integration directly within the GUI. Right now, finding comprehensive documentation often requires going to external websites like the community portal. In the APM interface itself, they could add direct hyperlinks to relevant online documentation. This would provide easy access to admin guides and other resources when working within the GUI.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Technical support is pretty sharp and very responsive."
"I would definitely recommend iboss for web filtering purposes to other organizations or individuals."
"The iboss system is highly reliable. The false positive rates are small compared to some other systems we've experienced through other partner agencies who use competing solutions."
"Our primary use case for this product is DLP,"
"The console is cloud-based, which is something I really appreciate."
"Its initial setup was straightforward."
"We chose iboss for both zero trust and proxy (SWG) because their SWG was superior."
"Valuable features: Within the filter: Controls (Web categories, applications, and Allow/Block list) and Network (local Subnets). Within the reporter: Logs (Event Log) and Reports."
"The downloaded protection as it scans and emulates the files on a browser level is great."
"Its Nano Agent, which integrates with the browser, is incredibly invisible to the user and the computer since it does not require much performance."
"The real-time Threat Intelligence feature powered by Check Point's ThreatCloud is impressive because ThreatCloud integrates and correlates all malicious data from Check Point installations globally, collecting and analyzing this data with AI and machine learning to help prevent zero-day attacks effectively."
"The product enforces the privacy of the users, which is good."
"The installation process is simple. Once initiated, the process is quite straightforward and seamless, making it easy to complete."
"The initial setup process for Check Point Harmony Browse was really smooth; that was the main advantage."
"Check Point Harmony Browse has positively impacted my organization by providing great enterprise-class security to our customers."
"The product is stable."
"The most valuable feature is the virtual IP creation. It's our most frequently used feature."
"The performance of the solution is valuable."
"The product allows us to create customized portals for your users."
"The solution is stable and reliable."
"On a scale from one to ten for stability, I would rate F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager (APM) a ten."
"Stickiness is the most valuable feature of the product."
"In my opinion, the GUI is perfect with the configuration options provided. F5 BIG-IP has given customization options and policy configuration tools in the GUI. It's good and good enough to work."
"The portal access was very good."
 

Cons

"The dashboards for local use could be better."
"If they could implement an extra security layer preventing access to iboss from the open internet, it would be great."
"I am currently doing a PoC of the zero trust aspect of it. Compared to other similar solutions, it is hard to get around each feature. It takes a while to get used to it."
"Fold that in with the risk intelligence they're getting from all of the different subscriptions they are a part of. Now, these security companies subscribe to things like emerging threats, databases, etc. You can fold all this intelligence to decide what's happening on an endpoint. I would love to see them start moving into that space. That would compete directly with Microsoft. Maybe that's why they haven't. Having that ability native within the solution would be great. The other area in which I would love to see improvement is more detailed descriptions of why they block websites."
"SSL decryption: We had issues with learners using apps instead of using web browsers. This type of encryption is tough for any appliance in a BYOD environment."
"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."
"Regarding pricing, setup costs, and licensing, iboss is not cheap, and that's my only concern."
"The solution could be stronger on the integration side and offer more cloud applications like G Suite or Oracle."
"Support must be faster in solving problems."
"Check Point Harmony Browse could improve by offering more details, alerts, and reports so users can better understand threats."
"The URL filtering database should be improved."
"The only thing they should add or improve is the reporting series."
"Something that is worth mentioning is the need for support in Spanish and better representation for teams in the Latin American area, where there is a growing demand for these IT services and new technologies."
"One suggestion for improvement is if the Check Point Browse team can add more plugins to support more third-party browsers such as Opera and Safari."
"One suggestion for improvement is if the Check Point Browse team can add more plugins to support more third-party browsers such as Opera and Safari."
"By default, on Harmony Browse there is no URL group which is commonly blocked worldwide."
"In my opinion, the GUI side needs some improvement based on my usage. Sometimes, it doesn't work as efficiently as the CLI side."
"The price of this product can be improved."
"The solution is quite costly."
"The initial setup was complex."
"F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager has room for improvement in integration with other products."
"I have had a lot of issues in the past few months with the agents, which was disappointing."
"If I could copy and paste objects instead of picking and configuring them from scratch each time, it would be great."
"F5 BIG-IP APM disconnects when you leave it for long enough, but that is natural for IT solutions to do. That's a little bit frustrating."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The overall pricing for iboss is very competitive and transparent."
"We have not priced the solution recently, but they were competitive with other vendors in the past."
"It is probably in line with other solutions, but I do not deal with the financial side."
"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."
"It is expensive compared to one of its competitors."
"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."
"The product has a reasonable pricing."
"The price is not very expensive for our organisation, but for others, it might be a little expensive."
"The product is very expensive."
"Recently, they have simplified the licensing"
"The tool is a little bit expensive."
"I rate the tool's pricing an eight out of ten."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
11%
Computer Software Company
11%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Government
6%
Computer Software Company
30%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Security Firm
8%
Financial Services Firm
7%
Financial Services Firm
15%
Government
11%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Computer Software Company
9%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business6
Midsize Enterprise6
Large Enterprise5
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business17
Midsize Enterprise16
Large Enterprise5
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business9
Midsize Enterprise1
Large Enterprise8
 

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 needs improvement with Check Point Harmony Browse?
I believe that more granular customization, improved user feedback, expanded integration, and performance optimizatio...
What is your primary use case for Check Point Harmony Browse?
The primary use case for Check Point Harmony Browse in our organization is to enhance web security by protecting user...
What do you like most about F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager (APM)?
In my opinion, the GUI is perfect with the configuration options provided. F5 BIG-IP has given customization options ...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager (APM)?
F5 products are more expensive than other solutions but are valued for their quality and reliability, akin to purchas...
What needs improvement with F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager (APM)?
F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager (APM ( /categories/application-performance-monitoring-apm-and-observability )) does n...
 

Also Known As

iBoss Cloud Platform
No data available
F5 Access Policy Manager
 

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.
Information Not Available
City Bank, Ricacorp Properties, Miele, American Systems, Bangladesh Post Office
Find out what your peers are saying about Check Point Harmony Browse vs. F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager (APM) and other solutions. Updated: September 2025.
869,566 professionals have used our research since 2012.