Cloudflare One vs Symantec Proxy comparison

Why PeerSpot?

Cloudflare and Broadcom are both solutions in the Secure Web Gateways (SWG) category. Cloudflare is ranked #11 with an average rating of 8.5, while Broadcom is ranked #15 with an average rating of 8.0. Cloudflare holds a 4.5% mindshare in WSG, compared to Broadcom’s 1.8% mindshare. Additionally, 100% of Cloudflare users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 80% of Broadcom users who would recommend it.

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Apr 5, 2026

Symantec Proxy and Cloudflare One compete in the cybersecurity category. Cloudflare One seems to have the upper hand with its user-friendly interface and competitive pricing making it more appealing.

Features: Symantec Proxy is recognized for strong URL filtering, caching, and content inspection capabilities. It offers granular web traffic controls crucial for threat detection. Cloudflare One distinguishes itself with simplicity, robust DDoS protection, and features like rate limiting that simplify complex configurations.

Room for Improvement: Symantec Proxy requires enhancements in SSL inspection, documentation, and technical support. Cloudflare One could improve its technical support and simplify system integration. Symantec needs better policy management and threat intelligence features while Cloudflare could enhance user feedback and onboarding processes.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Symantec Proxy offers primarily on-premises deployment with hybrid options, while Cloudflare One provides flexibility through a cloud-based approach. Symantec's technical support has declined, leading to unresolved issues, whereas Cloudflare One's service is more customer-centric but needs improvement for complex integrations.

Pricing and ROI: Symantec Proxy faces criticism for high pricing, complex licensing, and high renewal costs, making it less attractive for SMEs despite robust features. In contrast, Cloudflare One offers more competitive pricing with a clear cost structure, providing a cost-effective solution without hidden charges, making it a better value option.

To learn more, read our detailed Cloudflare One vs. Symantec Proxy Report (Updated: September 2026).

Buyer's Guide

Cloudflare One vs. Symantec Proxy

September 2026

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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

Mindshare comparison

As of October 2026, in the Secure Web Gateways (SWG) category, the mindshare of iboss is 3.2%, up from 2.2% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Cloudflare One is 4.5%, up from 3.2% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Symantec Proxy is 1.8%, down from 2.0% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Secure Web Gateways (SWG) Mindshare Distribution
Product	Mindshare (%)
iboss	3.2%
Cloudflare One	4.5%
Symantec Proxy	1.8%
Other	90.5%

Secure Web Gateways (SWG)

Featured Reviews

Ashok Ananthula

Senior Consultant Proxy Engineering at a financial services firm with 10,001+ employees

Cloud gateway has strengthened remote web security and now needs better Mac and ISP support

The problem our organization had is that iboss failed for the Mac devices. It is not able to give a successful agent for the Mac agents. That is where in 2025, we had to migrate to the Palo Alto-based platform. If your use case is for just Windows laptops,you can consider this platform as an option One issue is the data center resiliency part. In India especially, they are not tied up with the Tier 1 ISPs like Tata or Airtel; they were having Tier 2 ISPs and encountered many issues reaching few major sites that my organization depends on, and they were having problems that they could not fix quickly. They also lack a mechanism to route that traffic within their data center; rather, they ask customers to make a pac file change to route it to Singapore explicitly. It would be better if they route from their backend , i mean even if I send it to India DC, they should be able to route it internally to make that work; however, they fail to do that and ask the customer to route it in the pac file. Another suggestion is that in China, they do not have the proper setup; they used to have numerous problems with slowness and lack of premium circuits in China as well. That leads to multiple sites working slowly with latency-related issues. So the main issue is the ISP-related problems that need to be solved.

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Cobe Van Coller

Network Architect at IP Dimension

Cloud security has improved remote access and has reduced costs for smaller client sites

I have used Cloudflare One's Identity-Aware Proxy, and it is quite straightforward from what I have seen so far. The app registration on the Azure side integrates fully into Cloudflare, and I am very satisfied with that part because it is easy to set up. The integration of Cloudflare One's Secure Web Gateway and Zero Trust Network Access works without any issues. That part is pretty automatic, and if you complete the rest of the setup, it comes together by itself with no issues from my side. What makes it nice is that we can actually start replacing on-site firewalls at this stage for the smaller clients because it does not matter if they go to a coffee shop or work from home; they are still secured by the same connection. The hops get shorter and you get better latency. We have done testing to see if it is better. One thing that we did notice with our proof of concept with our current client is that they have people connecting from the UK. When they used their previous VPN solution, uploading CAD drawings and other files to the server took a long time. They mentioned that it is much quicker on Cloudflare One's solution. I definitely believe that is part of the improved performance, and I am satisfied with that as well. What is nice about Cloudflare One is that it makes the setup easier and also easier to train technicians to maintain it. Compared to legacy systems, we do not need to get fancy firewalls in place that are costly. That is definitely also a cost-saver with Cloudflare One.

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Ganesh Basappa

Network Security Consultant at a financial services firm with 10,001+ employees

Granular control for web traffic with enhanced content inspection, but support needs improvement

There are many use cases in terms of content inspection, such as having granular control for file type extensions when trying to download file types by default. It depends on the requirements, and based on that, we customize policies. We have deployed it in an Azure infrastructure, and we have…

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Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The iboss solution gives me the ability to scan the traffic through all the ports, through all the 131,000 PCP and UDP ports, and with this ability, we have the granularity also for consults over social media and applications on mobile, and this is an advantage that the customers are looking for right now."

"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."

"From a corporate perspective, I understand that it's important to keep the company data safe."

"Because of iboss, I did not have to assign web filtering tasks to my techs on a daily basis."

"First of all, the security policies are essential. I do not have to rely solely on Active Directory for our users."

"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."

"Content filtering is the most useful feature of iboss."

"Iboss is a solution that prevents advanced persistent threats, and has a zero tolerance for attacks."

More iboss pros

"The solution has different options that can be used to differentiate DDoS attacks."

"Cloudflare, in my opinion, was easy to implement."

"It's the endpoint exposition. We don't need to expose our VPN server to the internet and need a zero-test solution. I can apply some conditional access to the endpoint that's connecting to our network to check their security policies or the security condition of their workstation. Once the workstation is trying to connect to my internal network, then I would like to check the discrete condition of these endpoints that are trying to access my internal network. We created some conditional access. We have CrowdStrike, to check if the CrowdStrike is installed, to check if it's updated, and to check for Windows updates. We created some conditional policies to check it."

"Cloudflare DDoS mitigates DDoS attacks."

"We mostly use Cloudflare WAF, and gets basic Cloudflaire DDoS, caching as extra bonus . We like the factor these features are all integrated into 1 console, simple to manage."

"What makes it nice is that we can actually start replacing on-site firewalls at this stage for the smaller clients because it does not matter if they go to a coffee shop or work from home; they are still secured by the same connection."

"Cloudflare Access is a stable solution."

"Cloudflare Zero Trust Platform removes the risk of exposing the applications to the public."

More Cloudflare One pros

"The proxy is valuable due to its reputation and categorization features for sites, which assist in blocking malicious sites."

"The most valuable feature is the caching."

"Global Intelligence Network is the best feature of the product."

"The most valuable feature of Symantec Proxy is the support and autoscaling."

"The tool's most valuable features are content-to-content filtration and SCCM protection."

"The product is very good, and the URL filtering database is great."

"I would rate the overall solution a nine out of ten."

"What I found most valuable in Symantec Proxy is that it doesn't have any limitations. It also has a simple configuration, with only one window pane, unlike Zscaler, which has multiple window panes. Deploying the agent is also more straightforward in Symantec Proxy."

More Symantec Proxy pros

Cons

"The reporting feature needs improvement. It doesn't give you the expected results. It is quite difficult to get the specific reports needed, and it is not as intuitive as the rest of the platform."

"I appreciate that iboss's single pane of glass console gives centralized visibility into web traffic, user activity, security policies, and alerts from one dashboard, allowing us to quickly investigate incidents and monitor policy violations without switching between multiple tools, improving operational efficiency; however, the dashboard customization and reporting could be more flexible."

"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."

"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 solution could be stronger on the integration side and offer more cloud applications like G Suite or Oracle."

"To scale up, a new iboss Node Blade Chassis must be purchased."

"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."

"If they could implement an extra security layer preventing access to iboss from the open internet, it would be great."

More iboss cons

"The response time for support must be reduced."

"The pricing is an area that can be improved. Pricing, as far as I recall, was the source of our problems."

"Our customers no longer use Cloudflare because its service is subpar."

"Cloudflare Zero Trust Platform needs to improve its documentation. It took time to do the implementation."

"Cloudflare DDoS has poor technical support."

"The onboarding process can be improved a little bit."

"I would like them to include a VPN feature to provide a secure connection to the data center."

"They don't have a person to provide support for customers using the solution under their free plan."

More Cloudflare One cons

"Improvements in log availability would greatly enhance its overall effectiveness."

"The solution is quite complex."

"The user interface could be improved, and the price could be lower as well."

"The traffic filtering could improve. Our firewall traffic is limited. Additionally, it would be helpful if there was a dashboard and reporting feature."

"I would like to see more improvements in the cloud."

"Symantec was purchased by Broadcom and since this has happened the support has not been good. They do not find the solutions to our issues quickly."

"Pricing is difficult to specify as Broadcom sells platforms that include multiple products, making it hard to determine the exact cost for the proxy component. Forcepoint sold only proxies, which was easier to measure."

"The platform's pricing needs improvement."

More Symantec Proxy cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The overall pricing for iboss is very competitive and transparent."

"It is expensive compared to one of its competitors."

"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."

"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."

"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."

"Cloudflare Zero Trust Platform's pricing is good."

"My company has to make yearly payments towards the licensing costs attached to the solution. There are no hidden charges apart from the licensing costs of the solution."

"The pricing of the solution is cheap. The licensing cost is also very low. I rate the cost and pricing a three out of ten."

"The price tag is no longer $200,000, but rather $300,000 to $400,000. It's twice."

"The pricing is somewhere in the middle. I would rate the pricing a seven out of ten."

"The solution is not that expensive."

"The solution's pricing lacks transparency."

"The prices are slightly expensive."

"In terms of cost, it is expensive. Its pricing has been a challenge for us since its acquisition by Broadcom."

"Symantec Proxy has different expiry dates and renewal dates, which is a problem, so Broadcom should improve the licensing renewal process for the solution."

"The price of the solution is reasonable compared to others on the market."

"There are no licensing fees required."

"The tool is pretty expensive."

"The product is highly priced. There are no additional costs apart from the standard licenses."

"There is a different department that looks into the licensing part."

"There is a license needed to use Symantec Proxy."

More Symantec Proxy pricing and cost advice

See which vendors are best for you

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Financial Services Firm

11%

Manufacturing Company

10%

Comms Service Provider

Construction Company

18%

Comms Service Provider

11%

Outsourcing Company

Financial Services Firm

18%

Outsourcing Company

13%

Manufacturing Company

Healthcare Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	13
Midsize Enterprise	7
Large Enterprise	11

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	10
Large Enterprise	13

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	6
Midsize Enterprise	4
Large Enterprise	12

Questions from the Community

What needs improvement with iboss?

I think iboss could be improved by making reporting and dashboard customization more flexible, and simplifying troubl...

See all answers

What is your primary use case for iboss?

I use iboss as a cloud-based secure web gateway to provide secure internet access, web filtering, and protect remote ...

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for iboss?

My experience with iboss's pricing structure, setup cost, and licensing model has been positive, straightforward, and...

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Cloudflare Zero Trust Platform?

Pricing is competitive. Akamai is more expensive, in my view.

See all answers

What needs improvement with Cloudflare Zero Trust Platform?

In my opinion, Cloudflare One can be improved mainly through compatibility, as the integration should be much simpler...

See all answers

What is your primary use case for Cloudflare Zero Trust Platform?

Cloudflare One's primary use case for my organization is to protect servers and to provide remote access with the VPN...

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Symantec Proxy?

Pricing is difficult to specify as Broadcom sells platforms that include multiple products, making it hard to determi...

See all answers

What needs improvement with Symantec Proxy?

AI features could potentially improve the proxy by helping build rules more efficiently, suggesting unused rules, and...

See all answers

What is your primary use case for Symantec Proxy?

I use Symantec Proxy for surfing the internet from internal to external networks. My endpoints do not have direct acc...

See all answers

Comparisons

Prisma Access by Palo Alto Networks vs iboss

Compared 10% of the time

Netskope vs iboss

Compared 8% of the time

Fortinet FortiGate vs iboss

Compared 8% of the time

Cisco Umbrella vs iboss

Compared 6% of the time

Cisco Secure Access vs iboss

Compared 3% of the time

More iboss Competitors

Cato SASE Cloud Platform vs Cloudflare One

Compared 3% of the time

Zscaler Zero Trust Exchange Platform vs Cloudflare One

Compared 3% of the time

Prisma Access by Palo Alto Networks vs Cloudflare One

Compared 3% of the time

Twingate vs Cloudflare One

Compared 3% of the time

Fortinet FortiGate vs Cloudflare One

Compared 2% of the time

More Cloudflare One Competitors

Cisco Web Security Appliance vs Symantec Proxy

Compared 15% of the time

Forcepoint Secure Web Gateway vs Symantec Proxy

Compared 11% of the time

Akamai Secure Internet Access Enterprise vs Symantec Proxy

Compared 10% of the time

Fortinet FortiGate vs Symantec Proxy

Compared 8% of the time

McAfee Web Gateway Cloud Service vs Symantec Proxy

Compared 7% of the time

More Symantec Proxy Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

iboss

September 2026

Download iboss product report

Buyer's Guide

Cloudflare One

October 2026

Download Cloudflare One product report

Buyer's Guide

Symantec Proxy

September 2026

Download Symantec Proxy product report

Also Known As

iBoss Cloud Platform

Cloudflare Area 1 Email Security, Cloudflare Bot Management, Cloudflare Gateway, Cloudflare Zero Trust Platform, Cloudflare DDoS, Cloudflare SASE & SSE Platform

Blue Coat Encrypted Traffic Management, ProxySG Appliance

Overview

iboss is the Zero Trust SASE platform that gives organizations complete visibility and governance over their AI, data, and applications through one unified platform, one console, one policy engine, and one data lake.

Your endpoints may already stop malware. Your data and application activity can still be invisible. iboss decrypts and understands every connection, then turns that signal into answers security leaders can act on.

The platform leads with three capabilities in this order: AI Security and Visibility, Data Security and Visibility, and App Visibility and Control. Zero Trust Network Access, VPN replacement, and SD-WAN sit underneath as the access fabric that carries those three. Trusted by global enterprises and government agencies.

What are the most important features of Iboss?

- AI Security and Visibility: conversation capture, shadow-AI discovery, AI DLP, and agent governance across Claude, Co-Work, ChatGPT, Gemini, and Grok, and emerging services.

- Data Security and Visibility: full SSL/TLS decryption, deep content inspection, MIP label compliance, and one-click compliance reporting.

- App Visibility and Control: signatureless CASB, dual risk scoring, in-app controls, and SSPM for major SaaS.

- Containerized Zero Trust SASE: dedicated containers, isolated SSL keys, one console, one policy engine, one data lake.

- Access fabric: ZTNA, VPN replacement, and SD-WAN under the same platform.

What benefits should users consider in reviews?

- Complete visibility over AI, data, and applications from one platform instead of separate point tools.

- Encrypted traffic is inspected by default so data decisions use content and context together.

- Shadow SaaS and new web tools appear as they are used, with enforceable controls in one console.

- Native data sovereignty through dedicated containers, in-region inspection, and per-customer SSL key custody.

- Scale proven in published materials: 10M+ users, 100+ countries, 150B+ transactions, 2.5B+ threats blocked.

Economic buyers are CISOs, CIOs, and VPs of Security. Champions include security architects, network and infrastructure leaders, SecOps, and GRC. Primary segments: enterprise and business, financial services, government (including FedRAMP Gov Cloud), healthcare, manufacturing, legal and professional services, retail and hospitality, and MSP/MSSP partners. Education, including K-12, is one vertical among these.

iboss

Cloudflare One is a comprehensive platform for security, performance, and connectivity. It provides features like rate limiting, DDoS protection, and application access, tailored to enhance user experience while securing internet access and accelerating communications.

Designed to integrate security measures with ease of use and scalability, Cloudflare One offers a secure web gateway and zero trust network access. These features ensure seamless setup and operation, making connectivity reliable and protected. Users appreciate its integrated console, intuitive interface, and the ability to manage risk effectively. It offers straightforward deployment, improves latency, and boasts cost-effectiveness. While its onboarding process and documentation need enhancement, its value in content delivery and application shielding is notable. Despite challenges in integrating Cloudflare Access with existing VPNs and the need for better automation and support, it remains vital for DNS and infrastructure protection.

What features make Cloudflare One stand out?

Rate Limiting: Controls the traffic rate to prevent abuse.
DDoS Protection: Shields applications from distributed denial-of-service attacks.
Secure Web Gateway: Provides secure internet access with seamless operation.
Zero Trust Network Access: Ensures secure, application-based connectivity without relying on traditional VPNs.
Access for Connectivity: Facilitates access to internal applications securely.

What benefits should users look for in reviews?

Security: Robust measures for DNS and browsing protection.
Performance: Enhanced site accessibility and communication speed.
Cost-Effectiveness: Offers competitive pricing for its features.
Ease of Deployment: Straightforward and efficient setup process.

In industries like finance, retail, and technology, Cloudflare One is crucial for enabling secure remote access and protecting web applications against dynamic threats. It supports compliance access policies and enhances content delivery, playing a key role in safeguarding digital infrastructure.

Cloudflare

Symantec Proxy offers robust web security by providing features like content caching and URL filtering. It enhances security, optimizes performance, and simplifies policy management for enterprises, serving as a dynamic tool across cloud environments.

Symantec Proxy integrates with Broadcom's FireGlass, providing enhanced compatibility and seamless functionality. Known for a stable deployment and a precise URL database, it offers comprehensive threat detection and policy creation, utilizing the Global Intelligence Network. Users deploy it for web security, malware blocking, and traffic filtering. Symantec Proxy's reputation and site categorization bolster defense against malicious sites, although SSL inspection, dashboard integration, and technical support could benefit from improvements. The platform has shifted post-Broadcom acquisition, needing streamlined solutions. Current challenges include performance with O365 and complexities around pricing and licensing.

What features define Symantec Proxy?

Content Caching: Improves performance by storing frequently accessed web content.
URL Database: Provides accurate categorization for security policies.
Policy Creation: Allows for detailed web and URL filtering rules.
Global Intelligence Network: Offers a robust threat detection system.
Autoscaling: Adjusts resource allocation to meet demand efficiently.
Threat Detection: Identifies and mitigates potential security risks.

What benefits and ROI considerations are evident?

Enhanced Performance: Boosts speed through efficient caching mechanisms.
Security: Protects against malicious attacks with intelligent filtering.
Simple Configuration: Allows for quick setup and policy management.
Integration: Seamlessly works with other Broadcom tools for broader functionality.

Enterprises leverage Symantec Proxy to secure web access and manage Internet usage across industries. Deployed across cloud providers like AWS, GCP, and Azure, it supports URL filtering, remote access, and bandwidth control by user privileges. Organizations also find value in its role within antivirus scanning, policy customization, and reporting.

Broadcom

Sample Customers

Trusted by global enterprises and government agencies.

23andMe

Jefferies

Buyer's Guide

Cloudflare One vs. Symantec Proxy

September 2026

Free Report: Cloudflare One vs. Symantec Proxy

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