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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:
 

Categories and Ranking

Illumio
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.4
Number of Reviews
11
Ranking in other categories
Cloud and Data Center Security (7th), 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 23.4%, down 23.8% compared to last year.
Zscaler Internet Access, on the other hand, focuses on Secure Web Gateways (SWG), holds 14.2% mindshare, down 17.2% since last year.
Cloud and Data Center Security Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Illumio23.4%
Akamai Guardicore Segmentation22.2%
Cisco Secure Workload13.1%
Other41.300000000000004%
Cloud and Data Center Security
Secure Web Gateways (SWG) Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Zscaler Internet Access14.2%
Cisco Umbrella17.1%
Prisma Access by Palo Alto Networks10.9%
Other57.8%
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.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The solution helps to maintain logs and monitor activities. It also helps us with access management. The tool helps us to secure organizational data that include files."
"The tool helps with my company's security posture."
"The most valuable feature of Illumio Adaptive Security Platform is monitoring. When I have no requirement from the other application, I can use the web block traffic to build."
"The dependency map is most valuable feature."
"The solution is easy to use."
"Customer support is excellent."
"The Explorer allows you to know the traffic between source and destination."
"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."
"Zscaler Internet Access protects using data loss prevention. If you have a CASB exposing your cloud out into the network, then Zscaler Internet Access will go ahead and control that unknown cloud application in the CASB, protecting it. There is also data detection with exact data match. This improves the data coming into your cloud so you are protecting it."
"Zscaler Web Security protects our users in remote locations from internet threats - even if they are not connected to our network."
"Whether you are in a hotel somewhere, or in Africa, it does not matter. You will get the Zscaler protection presence anywhere."
"The solution replaces multiple vendor technologies with one which makes it worth the cost."
"The most valuable features of Zscaler Internet Access are it's on the cloud, high network performance, and the interception of users is very easy."
"In terms of management and visibility, there is a single panel where you can configure the policies for your entire organisation worldwide."
"The solution is scalable and stable."
"One feature that is valuable to me from an implementation point of view is that it's very easy to implement."
 

Cons

"We need more details on areas where there is an error or a traffic blockage. I would like the tool to offer a more detailed view."
"Illumio Adaptive Security Platform could improve by supporting more operating systems. For example, Cisco and Apache appliances."
"The interaction we've had with the support team hasn't been ideal. Technical support should be improved."
"The product’s agents don't work very well in OT environments."
"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."
"The solution is very basic and doesn't do anything other than the orchestration of layer four endpoint firewall rules."
"I have not had the chance to experiment deeply with it."
"The customer service is lagging a bit. It could be better."
"The solution's pricing is on the higher side. It would be better if it could be lower."
"In terms of usage, here in the GCC, it's still growing a growing market, so the combination of DLP, data leak prevention, to a certain extent is fine. But what it requires is user-based access or role-based access. The solution needs to grow into that, which definitely takes time. There's not an easy way to integrate it, when you have a cloud-based solution."
"The solution can be improved by advancing some of the newer technologies such as the DLP feature, and adding email security."
"If they can also integrate with the multi-factor authentication to prompt users to do another, second-factor authentication, that would be ideal."
"One thing that they could improve is the ability to import rules from other platforms."
"There are some performance issues when we add on additional controls."
"The main issue with Zscaler Internet Access is proxy IP detection, which sometimes makes sites inaccessible."
"Sometimes it's not easy to use during large deployments of workstations."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The product's pricing is around 10,000-15,000 USD. The pricing is on a yearly basis."
"There is a subscription needed to use Illumio Adaptive Security Platform and we pay every three years. Overall the solution is expensive."
"The pricing is fair based on its competitive market."
"It is quite expensive. It does its job, but it is quite expensive for what we need."
"​Be aware that you will need to invest some time and money to adapt your environment for Zscaler (traffic redirection, software deployment, authentication, etc).​"
"The solution is a little bit expensive. On a scale of one to five, I would rate it as a three."
"We have found the solution to be expensive."
"It is costlier than other solutions."
"Roughly, we might spend $70,000 a month on the solution. We don't pay for anything beyond the standard licensing fee."
"Zscaler is an expensive solution, but it's worth the price. Their services are unmatched by competitors. Some may come with half the features that Zscaler can offer and be much cheaper. However, they do not have the global coverage that Zscaler has, and they will not provide the same low latencies and the same speeds that Zscaler can."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
18%
Computer Software Company
14%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Government
7%
Computer Software Company
15%
Manufacturing Company
11%
Financial Services Firm
10%
Government
5%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business3
Midsize Enterprise1
Large Enterprise7
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business15
Midsize Enterprise8
Large Enterprise39
 

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, VMware and others in Cloud and Data Center Security. Updated: September 2025.
867,676 professionals have used our research since 2012.