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Forescout Platform vs Palo Alto Networks IoT Security comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Feb 3, 2025

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

Forescout Platform
Ranking in IoT Security
3rd
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
6.6
Number of Reviews
78
Ranking in other categories
Network Access Control (NAC) (4th), Endpoint Compliance (4th), Extended Detection and Response (XDR) (15th)
Palo Alto Networks IoT Secu...
Ranking in IoT Security
4th
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
11
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of December 2025, in the IoT Security category, the mindshare of Forescout Platform is 8.8%, down from 16.2% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Palo Alto Networks IoT Security is 6.8%, down from 7.5% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
IoT Security Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Forescout Platform8.8%
Palo Alto Networks IoT Security6.8%
Other84.4%
IoT Security
 

Featured Reviews

reviewer1911570 - PeerSpot reviewer
Director, International IT Infrastructure Support & Information Security at a manufacturing company with 1,001-5,000 employees
Automation streamlines network security while a web interface would improve usability
One of the most valuable features of Forescout Platform is its automation, particularly the ability to automate remediation of rogue devices on the network. This feature allows us to quickly and automatically respond to network threats. Additionally, the platform enables automated policy enforcement, allowing us to simulate and test policies before enforcement, streamlining our security operations. This automation significantly reduces manual efforts and improves efficiency.
Muhammad Ahsan Riaz - PeerSpot reviewer
Chief Information Security Officer at Packages Group
Responsive system enhances network management but integration needs refinement
I find Palo Alto Networks IoT Security to be highly responsive, and its separate management and data planes are a major advantage. As an insurance company in the financial sector, we must meet strict regulatory requirements, and Palo Alto has proven to be an excellent solution. Its management is straightforward, the dashboards and reporting are comprehensive, and most importantly, it functions exactly as described in the documentation. For example, when we needed to block YouTube on our network, Palo Alto successfully blocked access while our Cisco firewall failed to block access on iPhones. This highlights the inconsistency we've experienced with different firewalls, whereas Palo Alto has consistently performed as expected.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The plugins are very robust -- the ability scanner, patch management system, and SQL integrator."
"Forescout Platform's compliance enforcement has delivered significant cost savings for our organization."
"The most valuable feature of the Forescout Platform is the large capacity it can handle. Additionally, the interface of the platform is good."
"The scalability is good."
"Being able to actively identify the client without a certificate allows you to control every device on your network regardless of the make, model, and software running. This allows for end-to-end security."
"Emergency response, risk assessment information to get a view of the of the vulnerability."
"The most valuable feature of Forescout Platform is that it has everything that Aruba has at significantly less cost."
"The most valuable features of the Forescout Platform are ease of management and outstanding visibility. The visibility is simple to obtain."
"I would recommend Palo Alto Networks IoT Security to any organization with automation plants or standard enterprise IT environments."
"I like the Cortex Data Lake integration with security automation."
"The key strength of Palo Alto firewalls lies in their application-based approach, offering a much finer level of control compared to traditional firewalls."
"I find Palo Alto Networks IoT Security to be highly responsive, and its separate management and data planes are a major advantage."
"Single-pass traffic processing enables very high throughput and low latency."
"I like the threat information, and we can share the logging data with Cortex Data Lake."
"This solution has been most valuable for establishing a VPN and implementing allow/deny rules. It has also enabled us to create security policies. It is an easy solution to customise when it comes to creating templates and pulling reports."
"It is simple to use. We just need to enable features and then configure IoT policies."
 

Cons

"Forescout Platform sometimes returns false positives, so there's some fine-tuning to be done there."
"When it comes to improving Forescout Platform, I have faced some issues recently, particularly with the switch integration part."
"The console is a fat client, and a web interface would be preferable."
"The biggest disadvantage is the pricing."
"As a product, there is nothing to complain about. However, they should improve their overall support. You need that level of knowledge, that level of information is clearly not available. First and foremost, that information is not accessible. The second point to mention is that once you purchase the later support and services. That is, they will continue to charge you for every service."
"Other solutions have TACACS+, but Forescout does not. In the next release, I would like to see Forescout have accounting."
"The initial setup was complex."
"They need to handle their Tier 1 cases differently. The biggest negative regarding Forescout is their support. Not having the ability to get instantly transferred to a support engineer for Tier 1 cases is pretty ridiculous."
"More application signatures are required."
"It would be beneficial if Palo Alto IoT Security could integrate with Let's Encrypt for free SSL certificates."
"There can be more automation in terms of security and detection. It is already good."
"I had to call the support because there were some devices that were not showing up."
"It would be beneficial to have a more centralized and user-friendly platform that could consolidate all the necessary information, which proved challenging during the initial POC phase."
"Essentially, this solution focuses on data analysis and cannot perform any physical actions."
"While not overly complex, its usability could be enhanced, making it a more intuitive experience for everyone."
"The support is in line with Palo Alto Networks services for other products but needs improvement."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"They base the license on the number of devices, which is quite misleading."
"You can have a flexible license depending on your environment."
"Forescout Platform is too expensive, so the price should be reduced."
"We went with the virtual appliance option. The biggest cost to running these types of appliances would be to either have multiple virtual appliances at every data center or running Remote SPAN hardware to provide you the real-time network visibility."
"For one license, we pay around 3,000 Indian rupees."
"Time savings in finding rogue devices as well as identifying potentially unwanted devices on the network has saved the organization time and money."
"We paid between $20,000 and $25,000 for a three-year license with maintenance."
"The cost of licensing for this product is quite high, but this cost covers all the features of the solution so it is a single payment for the term that has been selected."
"While Palo Alto Networks IoT Security might cost more than some competitors, its features and effectiveness justify the price tag."
"The successful migration trend suggests that Palo Alto provides a superior cost-benefit ratio for firewall solutions."
"The pricing for Palo Alto Networks IoT Security is a bit high."
"The initial investment is substantial, but the renewal costs make it financially unsustainable."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Manufacturing Company
12%
Financial Services Firm
11%
Computer Software Company
10%
Government
8%
Computer Software Company
14%
Performing Arts
13%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Government
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business30
Midsize Enterprise10
Large Enterprise44
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business3
Large Enterprise7
 

Questions from the Community

What advice do you have for others considering Forescout Platform?
Forescout is a very powerful NAC product that does not rely on port level configuration. It can detect and block unauthorized devices very quickly. But it has a lot of capabilities and really would...
What advice do you have for others considering Forescout Platform?
I would rate the Forescout Device and Visibility Control Platform at a six out of ten.
What advice do you have for others considering Forescout Platform?
I recommend doing a compression demo. If people use it, they will buy it. So they have to see the product in place. That's the main recommendation is to do a proof of concept. If they do, they will...
What needs improvement with Palo Alto Networks IoT Security?
One thing I communicated to them is that they need to provide a managed update for their IoT devices.
What is your primary use case for Palo Alto Networks IoT Security?
I use it for one of my customers, and my role is to help my customer with the solution. They use it for their IoT devices in the field, and they have a lot of sensors out there for their heating eq...
What advice do you have for others considering Palo Alto Networks IoT Security?
The pricing is not that bad. I would rate this solution an 8 out of 10.
 

Also Known As

Forescout Platform, CounterACT for Endpoint Compliance, ForeScout CounterACT
No data available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

NHS Sussex, SAP, SEGA, Vistaprint, Miami Children's Hospital, Pioneer Investments, New York Law School, OmnicomGroup, Meritrust
Information Not Available
Find out what your peers are saying about Forescout Platform vs. Palo Alto Networks IoT Security and other solutions. Updated: December 2025.
879,259 professionals have used our research since 2012.