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Illumio vs Zscaler Internet Access comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary

Review summaries and opinions

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

ROI

Sentiment score
7.4
Illumio provides East-West traffic visibility and log auditing, offering substantial value with cost-effectiveness and time efficiencies despite incomplete data.
Sentiment score
6.2
Zscaler Internet Access cuts costs by removing legacy systems and reducing security, hardware, and management expenses, enhancing efficiency.
Illumio is known to be the cheapest solution among the security solutions we evaluated.
The managed service aspect of Zscaler Internet Access has allowed for reduced staffing costs, resulting in a saving of approximately 20-25% compared to prior expenses.
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
1.0
Illumio's customer service is generally responsive with 24/7 availability, but experiences and satisfaction vary among users.
Sentiment score
6.6
Zscaler Internet Access's support is praised for responsiveness and knowledge, though improvements in communication and response times are needed.
Even if we raise an issue on non-working days like Saturdays or Sundays, we receive prompt responses.
From my experience, they are very responsive.
The technical support for Zscaler Internet Access is rated around seven out of ten due to some response time issues and the engagement model.
I find customer support to be quite adequate
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
7.6
Illumio effortlessly scales in large installations, supports diverse environments, and receives high user satisfaction across various professional roles.
Sentiment score
7.4
Zscaler Internet Access offers seamless scalability for varying user bases, though some encounter bandwidth and regional data center issues.
Scaling it to a large level is not an issue for us.
I find Zscaler Internet Access to be highly scalable, which was one of the reasons for choosing it.
Zscaler Internet Access is scalable and has points of presence across the globe to ensure low latency and reliable connections.
They require close to 200,000 megabits per second, and this bandwidth requirement has posed problems for both Zscaler and Netskope.
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
8.0
Illumio is praised for stability and reliability, using native firewalls with high user satisfaction and an 8.5 rating.
Sentiment score
7.4
Zscaler Internet Access is praised for reliability and stability, despite occasional regional performance issues and being expensive.
Illumio is a stable solution with no glitches or bugs reported, making it a reliable product for us.
Zscaler Internet Access is stable and capable of building resilient architectures.
Zscaler Internet Access is very stable, and I would rate its stability as nine out of ten.
 

Room For Improvement

Illumio needs improved support, integration, OS compatibility, data security, detailed logs, interactive sessions, and tagging automation guidance.
Zscaler Internet Access needs better integration, improved interfaces, pricing, performance, more data centers, and enhanced government site reliability.
There could also be more examples of how the automations can be done using Illumio.
That's why I'm looking for comparisons with other products.
There should be an option to upgrade from the console to the latest version instead of performing manual upgrades.
The response time and engagement model for technical support could be improved to handle complex outages more efficiently.
In future updates, I would like to see some of the features bundled into the existing product set, perhaps more AI features and a refreshed interface.
Zscaler Internet Access has introduced AI control for tools such as ChatGPT, providing options to restrict to text-only input without file or image uploads through CASB restriction controls.
 

Setup Cost

Illumio offers flexible pricing based on workloads, with mixed views on cost, subscribing every three years.
Zscaler Internet Access is costly but valued for its robust security features, global coverage, and comprehensive capabilities.
I know that Illumio is the cheapest solution in the security area.
I think it's not very expensive if we compare it with Guardicore.
Zscaler Internet Access is less expensive than competitors like Palo Alto, offering a premium service justified by security enhancements and cost-effective scalability.
Zscaler Internet Access is recognized as an expensive solution.
 

Valuable Features

Illumio enhances security and usability with its Application Dependency Map, traffic analysis, and centralized policy management, aiding visibility and micro-segmentation.
Zscaler Internet Access excels in URL filtering, threat protection, and secure access, noted for scalability and seamless user experience.
The most important feature is the traffic review analysis, where we use the draft view and the reported view that helps us understand how the application interacts with other applications in the environment, and based on that, we are able to define the policies.
Illumio helps in audit purposes by saving data and showing blocked traffic, ensuring no outside traffic is allowed.
The dependency map is the most valuable aspect.
It prevents numerous web attacks through its AI/ML incorporated capability which identifies malware, threats, and viruses.
The most valuable feature for me is the ability to see how my network and traffic looks with modules like analytics and insights.
Its cloud-native proxy architecture ensures high availability and resilience, even in challenging regions like China.
 

Categories and Ranking

Illumio
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
5.7
Number of Reviews
12
Ranking in other categories
Cloud and Data Center Security (6th), Cloud Workload Protection Platforms (CWPP) (13th), Microsegmentation Software (2nd)
Zscaler Internet Access
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
6.7
Number of Reviews
57
Ranking in other categories
Secure Web Gateways (SWG) (3rd), Internet Security (2nd)
 

Mindshare comparison

While both are Security Software solutions, they serve different purposes. Illumio is designed for Cloud and Data Center Security and holds a mindshare of 22.8%, down 24.1% compared to last year.
Zscaler Internet Access, on the other hand, focuses on Secure Web Gateways (SWG), holds 14.2% mindshare, down 16.8% since last year.
Cloud and Data Center Security Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Illumio22.8%
Akamai Guardicore Segmentation21.5%
Cisco Secure Workload13.2%
Other42.5%
Cloud and Data Center Security
Secure Web Gateways (SWG) Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Zscaler Internet Access14.2%
Cisco Umbrella16.9%
Prisma Access by Palo Alto Networks10.8%
Other58.1%
Secure Web Gateways (SWG)
 

Featured Reviews

Alark Singh - PeerSpot reviewer
Visual traffic interface aids in network micro-segmentation while a streamlined update option enhances process efficiency
The strongest aspect of Illumio is the visual traffic interface, which allows us to see all traffic that communicates with our servers and allied companies. We can write rules that can be embedded into the IP table, making it easy to handle. Illumio enables us to see network flows, traffic sources, and destinations. The policy generation and enforcement capabilities are valuable, allowing for selective enforcement. Illumio helps in audit purposes by saving data and showing blocked traffic, ensuring no outside traffic is allowed.
Mohan Janarthanan - PeerSpot reviewer
User access management and threat prevention are enhanced with user-friendly controls
The best features Zscaler Internet Access offers include application control, tenant segregation, and PoP center regions which have low availability zones. The internet access is very successful and bandwidth speed is excellent. It also has application-based control, URL-based control, and SSL inspection capabilities, which are very useful. Additionally, the in-depth CASB segregation is very beneficial to us. One unique feature I found helpful is the tenant level restrictions, which we use to only access our organization's tenant level mail IDs, drives, and specific tenant level access while restricting public access. Zscaler Internet Access has positively impacted our organization as we have noticed substantial outputs and income. It has improved our security environment control and endpoint protection. It prevents numerous web attacks through its AI/ML incorporated capability which identifies malware, threats, and viruses. It has a toggle button to enable features entirely at the tenant level for all users onboarded into Zscaler Internet Access, resulting in much better outcomes.
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
18%
Computer Software Company
14%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Insurance Company
6%
Computer Software Company
15%
Manufacturing Company
11%
Financial Services Firm
10%
Comms Service Provider
5%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business3
Midsize Enterprise1
Large Enterprise8
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business17
Midsize Enterprise8
Large Enterprise37
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Illumio Adaptive Security Platform?
The features that I have found most useful is the ability to centralize all the rules and then distribute them across various locations. However, I've encountered challenges related to tagging poli...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Illumio Adaptive Security Platform?
I do not have specific knowledge about pricing details as it is handled by upper management. I know that Illumio is the cheapest solution in the security area.
What needs improvement with Illumio Adaptive Security Platform?
There should be an option to upgrade from the console to the latest version instead of performing manual upgrades. This would be more helpful to streamline processes.
Which is the better security solution - Cisco Umbrella or Zscaler?
Cisco Umbrella and Zscaler Internet Access are two broad-spectrum Internet security solutions that I have tried. Zscaler Internet Access is a good option for carrying out multiple security functi...
Which is better, Zscaler internet access or Netsckope CASB?
We researched Netskope but ultimately chose Zscaler. Netskope is a cloud access security broker that helps identify and manage cloud applications, protecting your sensitive data from exfiltration....
 

Also Known As

Illumio Adaptive Security Platform, Illumio ASP
ZIA
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Plantronics, NTT Innovation Institute Inc.
Ulster-Greene ARC, BanRegio, HDFC, Ralcorp Holdings Inc., British American Tobacco, Med America Billing Services Inc., Lanco Group, Aquafil, Telefonica, Swisscom, Brigade Group
Find out what your peers are saying about Akamai, SentinelOne, Broadcom and others in Cloud and Data Center Security. Updated: October 2025.
872,706 professionals have used our research since 2012.