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Check Point Web Gateway vs Cisco Web Security Appliance 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 Web Gateway
Ranking in Secure Web Gateways (SWG)
14th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.1
Number of Reviews
24
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Cisco Web Security Appliance
Ranking in Secure Web Gateways (SWG)
13th
Average Rating
7.8
Reviews Sentiment
6.7
Number of Reviews
31
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of September 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 Web Gateway is 1.2%, up from 0.8% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Cisco Web Security Appliance is 2.2%, down from 2.7% 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%
Cisco Web Security Appliance2.2%
Check Point Web Gateway1.2%
Other94.4%
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
Nagendra Nekkala - PeerSpot reviewer
A user-friendly product that enables organizations to understand user behavior and create policies to block threats from internal and external users
The deployment is very easy. The deployment took one week. We need only one person to deploy and maintain the solution. It's easy to maintain it. The person maintaining the tool must perform data analysis of the blocked sites and the sites monitored by the management. The tool is deployed on the cloud.
Vusa Ndlovu - PeerSpot reviewer
Advanced protection features offer robust security while integration process presents challenges
With the WebAssign integration, it is not easy when I am integrating policies within the company, especially with NAND and wireless policies. The challenge arises when traffic is blocked from either wireless or wired connections. Although implementing it as a standalone is quicker, integrating BYOD with Cisco I and FTB can be tiring. Once it is done correctly, the functionality and reports become valuable, although the implementation part can still be challenging.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"iboss is pretty scalable. They provide good support. The case managers you work with to coordinate what you need are pretty good."
"We chose iboss for both zero trust and proxy (SWG) because their SWG was superior."
"Our primary use case for this product is DLP,"
"Iboss is a solution that prevents advanced persistent threats, and has a zero tolerance for attacks."
"iboss is among the few products providing inline filtering where no application is needed on the device. It operates on the network side and is not device-based. This feature was one of the main reasons why we stayed with them for so long."
"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."
"I would rate the technical support of iboss a solid 10 without a shadow of a doubt."
"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."
"We are satisfied with the effectiveness of the multi-layered defense approach in Check Point Web Gateway."
"The stability of the tool is very good."
"Check Point Web Gateway offers a basic bundle that includes numerous solutions, covering about 50% of customer tasks."
"SmartConsole is intuitive."
"The most valuable features of Check Point Web Gateway are all the IPS. However, what matters for users is content and web filtering."
"One of its rather outstanding capabilities is its ability to add an extra layer of protection to our company's internal network."
"It has an excellent threat prevention mechanism."
"The product covers all the security needs of roaming users."
"I would recommend this solution to others."
"This appliance gives me good visibility in the userbase and their activities."
"It also has high availability."
"The solution offers content filtering and micro-content controls, such as regulating the types of images and their resolution."
"Cisco Web Security Appliance is user-friendly and easy to manage. It protects your environment while accessing the internet."
"The best feature of Cisco Web Security Appliance is its policy framing. It also has a good UI and it can handle traffic well. Cisco Web Security Appliance is a good product."
"Cisco is the best in giving technical support. There is no doubt about that."
"The product is stable."
 

Cons

"To scale up, a new iboss Node Blade Chassis must be purchased."
"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."
"Its pricing could be better."
"File integrity monitoring would be very advantageous as an additional feature."
"Our biggest problem with their service was it did not recognize the device and filtering did not always work correctly."
"Sometimes the agent stops working in iboss, and we have to reinstall the agent."
"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."
"One thing I would like to see differently with their Zero Trust platform is that some of the AI aspects related to high-risk activities have more false positives."
"What I don't appreciate about Check Point Web Gateway is that sometimes we encounter problems with them asking too many questions."
"Most of the time, we are struggling when it comes to getting support."
"The solution should improve integration."
"The tool's response time can be improved since sometimes it lags, but not always...The tool's UI should be made more dynamic."
"I would like to see improvement in the tool's availability."
"Check Point Web Gateway could add an end point access function."
"There should be an improvement in interface integration."
"It is expensive. Its price should be better."
"I would like more automation."
"This solution could be more secure."
"The solution is not very compatible with other products."
"The tool needs to provide logs. They need to improve firewall threat defense."
"The transparent proxy is quite difficult to enforce on smartphones and tablets."
"If a user wants to use it for other devices like mobile or smartphones, this product isn't so reliable."
"With the WebAssign integration, it is not easy when I am integrating policies within the company, especially with NAND and wireless policies."
"The reporting needs improvement."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"We have not priced the solution recently, but they were competitive with other vendors in the past."
"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."
"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 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."
"Our customers pay a licensing fee annually or once in three or five years, per their requirements."
"There is a need to make yearly payments towards the licensing charges attached to the product. The product is neither too expensive nor too cheap, so it comes at a good price point for my company."
"It is expensive. Licensing is on a yearly basis. You need to do the support subscription."
"This program is very, very expensive."
"The price is very high."
"The product is not cheap. It is expensive."
"If one is cheap and ten is expensive, I rate the tool's price as a seven out of ten."
"The price is on the higher side, even when compared to Azure Firewall Premium."
"Licensing fees are based on the number of users."
"Regarding Cisco price-wise, it is always on a bit on the higher side."
"The licensing options begin with 100 users and this is a high threshold for smaller networks."
"When you compare the price of this solution to the price of FortiGate, it's high."
"At the time, licensing fees were paid on an annual basis."
"The solution has a standard license."
"The tool's licensing is yearly."
"I rate Cisco WSA a seven out of ten since it is costly."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
11%
Financial Services Firm
11%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Government
6%
Government
20%
Healthcare Company
12%
Computer Software Company
12%
Security Firm
8%
Financial Services Firm
17%
Computer Software Company
15%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Non Profit
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 Business20
Midsize Enterprise5
Large Enterprise7
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business11
Midsize Enterprise7
Large Enterprise11
 

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 Check Point Web Gateway?
You don't have to wander around the tool since it is very simple. You can grab and get a hold of the tool very quickly.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Check Point Web Gateway?
The pricing and discounts for Check Point Web Gateway are similar to Fortinet, making it cost-effective with fair pri...
What needs improvement with Check Point Web Gateway?
Visibility and a high-performance interface could be improved. Furthermore, deployment issues on Linux have been note...
What do you like most about Cisco Web Security Appliance?
The most valuable features of the solution are the functions of proxy for the users who use the internet and the secu...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Cisco Web Security Appliance?
Comparing with other products, Cisco has more functionality, but pricing is a challenge. Cisco is not a product for s...
What needs improvement with Cisco Web Security Appliance?
With the WebAssign integration, it is not easy when I am integrating policies within the company, especially with NAN...
 

Also Known As

iBoss Cloud Platform
No data available
Cisco WSA, Cisco Web Security
 

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.
Morton Salt, Medical Advocacy and Outreach, BH Telecom, Lightbeam Health Solutions, X by Orange, Cadence, Nihondentsu, Datastream Connexion, Good Sam, Omnyway, FIASA, Pacific Life, Banco del Pacifico, Control Southern, Xero, Centrify, Tradair, Laterlite, Phoenix International, Unisinos, Wilkin Chapman, Connexus Energy, Mutua Universal, Smart & Final, Central New Mexico Community Colleg, Grupo Financiero Multiva
New South Wales Rural Fire Service, Caixa Seguradora
Find out what your peers are saying about Check Point Web Gateway vs. Cisco Web Security Appliance and other solutions. Updated: September 2025.
866,956 professionals have used our research since 2012.