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CrowdStrike Falcon vs Zscaler Client Connector comparison

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Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Jan 11, 2026

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

Cortex XDR by Palo Alto Net...
Sponsored
Ranking in Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR)
7th
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
108
Ranking in other categories
Endpoint Protection Platform (EPP) (5th), Extended Detection and Response (XDR) (6th), Ransomware Protection (2nd), AI-Powered Cybersecurity Platforms (2nd)
CrowdStrike Falcon
Ranking in Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR)
1st
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.3
Number of Reviews
138
Ranking in other categories
Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) (6th), Endpoint Protection Platform (EPP) (1st), Threat Intelligence Platforms (TIP) (1st), Extended Detection and Response (XDR) (1st), Attack Surface Management (ASM) (1st), Identity Threat Detection and Response (ITDR) (1st), AI-Powered Cybersecurity Platforms (1st)
Zscaler Client Connector
Ranking in Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR)
32nd
Average Rating
8.8
Reviews Sentiment
5.9
Number of Reviews
6
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of March 2026, in the Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) category, the mindshare of Cortex XDR by Palo Alto Networks is 3.4%, down from 4.0% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of CrowdStrike Falcon is 8.4%, down from 15.2% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Zscaler Client Connector is 0.6%, up from 0.1% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
CrowdStrike Falcon8.4%
Cortex XDR by Palo Alto Networks3.4%
Zscaler Client Connector0.6%
Other87.6%
Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR)
 

Featured Reviews

ABHISHEK_SINGH - PeerSpot reviewer
Senior Process Expert at A.P. Moller - Maersk
Gained full visibility and streamlined threat detection through behavior-based insights and AI integration
Initially, we got to have a lot of false positives when we onboarded, but nowadays it's quite smooth. We have fine-tuned our security policies and allowed different levels of policies to get rid of those false positives. Currently, we are getting a fairly good amount of incidents that are not false positives or benign, but actionable items. The process is streamlined. In the initial days, the operations used to get involved in a lot of benign and other activities, but now the process is streamlined. We are leveraging the auto-detection and remediation plans. The operations teams are now more involved in other business roles as well, not just looking into the logs and fetching out what's happening there. They have fixed a lot of things. Initially, they didn't have IAC code drift detection, cloud posture management, or security posture management, but they have those now. They purchased different vendors and did a merger with that. They have now Prisma Cloud that gets integrated and now they are working with Cortex Cloud. Everything that was negative has now been addressed, and the product altogether looks to be in a very better and mature shape now. Currently, it's more or less detecting the workloads with AI-based best practices. Since most organizations are consuming AI agents and other things, we are looking forward to seeing what other feature enhancements Palo Alto can support in that.
Waleed Omar - PeerSpot reviewer
Information Security Specialist at Arab Open University
Provides effective real-time threat detection with potential for cost optimization
Some features such as device control, firewall management, and file analysis are standalone products that we need to purchase separately. If these features came out of the box within the product, it would be much more beneficial for us. Other providers such as SentinelOne include these features in their base product. We attended a CrowdStrike Falcon event where they discussed some shallow AI features, but we cannot see these in our panel yet. We work with different solutions such as Darktrace and SocRadar, where AI features are automatically displayed in our dashboards after release. However, for CrowdStrike Falcon, we cannot see these features.
DA
IT Support Admin at Kuehne+Nagel
Client activity has been monitored efficiently through in-depth log analysis and traffic filtering
I use the Zscaler speed test, and it is very nice. We use some logs from Zscaler Client Connector to collect data and see what is happening, such as if there is an interruption or something. There is a specific tunnel version that we have to use because, depending on the internet provider, some of them have lower speed, so we have some issues. This is because of the provider, not from Zscaler. We use Office 365 services and Office applications, and because some connections are slow and they do not have full coverage from the internet provider, we have some issues. If the speed is slow for Zscaler Client Connector connection, then we have issues because if the speed is not good, then Zscaler Client Connector goes down. This may be because they put some policy. Of course, if you use Office 365 services such as Outlook, the minimum bandwidth is 5 megabits and more, so this causes issues if the users do not have a good remote connection. This depends on the companies and the users, so they need to fix it. This is not from us or our company. It is very useful, and the logs are very helpful. When we go to logs, we understand what is happening.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"WildFire AI is the best option for this product."
"Stability is one of the features we like the most."
"The initial setup isn't too bad."
"The stability of the solution is very good. We have about 100 users on it right now, and we use it twice a week."
"I generally believe that Cortex XDR by Palo Alto Networks is probably the best in the market right now."
"Cortex is the best solution for avoiding security breaches, malware attacks, and other kinds of security issues."
"My advice for anybody who is considering Cortex XDR is that it is a complete solution, and has very good features."
"Cortex Xnor's playbooks predefine the workflow of the automation, such as response processes, alert triggering, and enriching the context, collecting relevant indicators such as hashes, IP addresses, or domains efficiently and can detect and block malicious attacks with firewalls."
"I like Falcon's threat detection and endpoint investigation features. It's a user-friendly solution."
"The CS falcon agent is a lightweight agent compared with other agents of EDR products."
"One of the most valuable features of CrowdStrike Falcon is when there are upgrades there are no additional fees."
"The OverWatch is the most valuable feature to me. It's a 24x7 monitoring service, and when they see anything suspicious in my environment, they will investigate."
"The solution has improved my organization by automating the detection and reporting of unwanted applications so we're aware of them and can respond appropriately."
"From what we have seen, it is very scalable. We have recently acquired a company where someone had a ransomware attack when we joined networks. Within the course of just a few days, we were able to easily get CrowdStrike rolled out to about 300 machines. That also included the removal of that company's legacy anti-malware tool."
"There are two things which customers really like about CrowdStrike: If they buy managed services from CrowdStrike, it offers them detection of security issues in one minute, and if you buy their professional services, they offer insurance where you can claim up to $5 million if there's a breach."
"The feature that I find to be the most valuable, is being able to look at the system analysis and being able to baseline what is installed on the system."
"It is very important to see what is happening between the user and the applications that we have, and to filter the traffic from outbound traffic and inside traffic."
"Zscaler Client Connector has eliminated VPN bottlenecks and outages, improved user productivity with instant secure access, and reduced help desk tickets related to VPN issues, overcoming 60% of VPN-related problems while allowing faster onboarding of remote users and better enforcement of zero-trust security policies."
"It is very important to see what is happening between the user and the applications that we have, and to filter the traffic from outbound traffic and inside traffic."
"The real-time analytics feature in Zscaler Client Connector is another valuable feature called Digital Experience, or ZDX, which can easily identify the root cause of issues accessing public or internal resources and provide good analysis so relevant teams can quickly resolve them, making it a very good tool that helps customers."
"Zscaler Client Connector is quite scalable, and I would rate its scalability as nine or ten out of ten."
"The best features of Zscaler Client Connector are that it gives the client a much more transparent experience, as they don't have to worry about connecting to a VPN."
"It is very useful, and the logs are very helpful; when we go to logs, we understand what is happening."
"The solution operates in the background seamlessly without the user noticing."
 

Cons

"They've been having some issues with updating their endpoint agents, and it has been quite frustrating."
"It is not very strong in terms of endpoint management. It should have additional features like DLP, encryption, or advanced device control. Currently, Cortex is good in terms of the security of the endpoints, but it is not as good as other vendors in terms of the management of the endpoint."
"The encryption is not up to the mark."
"I have seen lagging with Cortex XDR by Palo Alto Networks. There was one time when we faced a threat actor trying to gain access to our system. When our team utilized the tool, we were all on the same dashboard and we faced a lag issue at that time of around five minutes, which was quite significant."
"When it comes to malware files, it should be a little quick because, at times, it would give a wrong result in the sense of what it might be on malware, even if it still might be a normal one."
"There are some third-party solutions that are difficult to integrate with, which is something that can be improved."
"Although I would say this product is highly-rated, it could probably do more because nothing does everything that you want."
"It is a complex solution to implement."
"Whenever there is a feature release (upgrade) where we push to all the endpoints, it causes something to be blocked without us knowing."
"Basically, they don't cover legacy OS or applications. That's the only issue we're concerned about."
"Falcon could be improved with more function on the mobile end of things and better optimization with mobile devices."
"I've found that CrowdStrike's technical support could benefit from increased technical expertise."
"I would like to see equal support across all versions."
"There are some aspects of the UI that could use some improvement, e.g., working in groups. I build a group, then I have to manually assign prevention policies, update policies, etc., but there is no function to copy that group. So, if I wanted to make a subgroup for troubleshooting or divide workstations into groups of laptops and desktops, then I have to manually build a brand new group. I can't just copy a build from one to another. Additionally, in order to do any work within a group, I have to first do the work on the respective prevention policy page or individual policy page, then remove the group if the group is assigned to a different prevention policy, remove the prevention policy, and then add the new one in. So, it can get a little hectic. It would be easier if I could add and remove things from the group page rather than having to go into the policy pages to do it."
"We encounter occasional issues, such as when disabling network access for a host that uses CrowdStrike."
"CrowdStrike Falcon by itself does not supply in-depth reporting."
"If the speed is slow for Zscaler Client Connector connection, then we have issues because if the speed is not good, then Zscaler Client Connector goes down."
"There is room for improvement regarding the price of Zscaler Client Connector, as it is one of the most expensive solutions available."
"There is room for improvement regarding the price of Zscaler Client Connector, as it is one of the most expensive solutions available."
"If the speed is slow for Zscaler Client Connector connection, then we have issues because if the speed is not good, then Zscaler Client Connector goes down."
"If the speed is slow for Zscaler Client Connector connection, then we have issues because if the speed is not good, then Zscaler Client Connector goes down."
"Zscaler Client Connector is not low in cost; it is definitely on the higher side."
"There is a hard learning curve for Zscaler Client Connector; their support isn't the greatest all the time."
"I rate this product nine out of ten because I have seen some minor instability issues after updates and some room for UI improvement for deeper analytics, with instances of major issues after updating the GCC that required rollbacks."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The price of the solution could be reduced. I have customers that have voiced that the solution is good for the value but if I want to sell more of the solution the price reduction would help."
"I don't recall what the cost was, but it wasn't really that expensive."
"Very costly product."
"I am using the Community edition."
"Cortex XDR by Palo Alto Networks is an expensive solution."
"In terms of the cost Cortex XDR by Palo Alto Networks is very expensive because we are a Mexican company and when you translate dollars to pesos the cost is very high. The solution is very expensive for Mexican companies. I understand that they have international prices, but I do not think it offsets the price enough for many companies in countries, such as Mexico. The amount it is reduced is not a massive percentage."
"I feel it is fairly priced."
"It has a yearly renewal."
"Annual licensing."
"Crowdstrike Falcon is relatively cheap."
"The product is expensive."
"The licensing model is straightforward. We choose the features we want and we then can download the package we want."
"We pay between $30-50 per user for a yearly license, which is more expensive than SentinelOne or Bitdefender. However, CrowdStrike gives better value for money."
"The solution's pricing is great for us."
"As I'm part of the technical team, not the budgeting team, I don't have information on CrowdStrike Falcon pricing."
"Crowdstrike Falcon is relatively cheap."
Information not available
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Construction Company
13%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Computer Software Company
8%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Computer Software Company
11%
Financial Services Firm
10%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Government
6%
Manufacturing Company
21%
Government
11%
Construction Company
8%
Financial Services Firm
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business44
Midsize Enterprise20
Large Enterprise47
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business50
Midsize Enterprise33
Large Enterprise62
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business2
Large Enterprise5
 

Questions from the Community

Cortex XDR by Palo Alto vs. Sentinel One
Cortex XDR by Palo Alto vs. SentinelOne SentinelOne offers very detailed specifics with regard to risks or attacks. ...
Comparing CrowdStrike Falcon to Cortex XDR (Palo Alto)
Cortex XDR by Palo Alto vs. CrowdStrike Falcon Both Cortex XDR and Crowd Strike Falcon offer cloud-based solutions th...
How is Cortex XDR compared with Microsoft Defender?
Microsoft Defender for Endpoint is a cloud-delivered endpoint security solution. The tool reduces the attack surface,...
How does Crowdstrike Falcon compare with Darktrace?
Both of these products perform similarly and have many outstanding attributes. CrowdStrike Falcon offers an amazing u...
How does Microsoft Defender for Endpoint compare with Crowdstrike Falcon?
The CrowdStrike solution delivers a lot of information about incidents. It has a very light sensor that will never pu...
Is Crowdstrike Falcon better than Trend Micro Deep Security?
I like that Crowdstrike allows me to easily correlate data between my firewalls. What’s most useful for my needs is t...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Zscaler Client Connector?
Zscaler Client Connector is notably costly, with pricing rated at five out of ten in terms of affordability, reflecti...
What needs improvement with Zscaler Client Connector?
Zscaler continues to strengthen the Zscaler Client Connector by introducing new features and expanding the platform’s...
What is your primary use case for Zscaler Client Connector?
I’m not working directly for Zscaler; I work with a partner organization as a Systems Integrator. Our work is not lim...
 

Also Known As

Cyvera, Cortex XDR, Palo Alto Networks Traps
CrowdStrike Falcon XDR, CrowdStrike Falcon Threat Intelligence, CrowdStrike Identity Protection, CrowdStrike Falcon Surface, CrowdStrike Falcon Platform
No data available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

CBI Health Group, University Honda, VakifBank
Information Not Available
Information Not Available
Find out what your peers are saying about CrowdStrike Falcon vs. Zscaler Client Connector and other solutions. Updated: March 2026.
885,376 professionals have used our research since 2012.