LevelBlue USM Anywhere vs Zscaler Client Connector comparison

Why PeerSpot?

LevelBlue and Zscaler are both solutions in the Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) category. LevelBlue is ranked #33 with an average rating of 8.0, while Zscaler is ranked #23 with an average rating of 8.8. LevelBlue holds a 1.4% mindshare in EDR, compared to Zscaler’s 0.7% mindshare. Additionally, 92% of LevelBlue users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 100% of Zscaler users who would recommend it.

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Download the report

Executive SummaryUpdated on Sep 24, 2026

USM Anywhere and Zscaler Client Connector compete in cybersecurity solutions. USM Anywhere leads with its detailed threat detection and ease of deployment, while Zscaler Client Connector excels in providing secure cloud application access with flexible connectivity options despite challenges in pricing.

Features: USM Anywhere offers centralized threat detection, response, and security analysis, with significant asset discovery capabilities. It also provides integrated vulnerability management. Zscaler Client Connector focuses on secure cloud access, auto-switching networks without session drops, and includes zero-trust access for specific applications, eliminating the need for traditional VPNs.

Room for Improvement: USM Anywhere could improve its log data handling and reduce complexity in its correlation engine. Enhanced customization features would also benefit users. Zscaler Client Connector faces pricing challenges and requires improvement in support services. There is also room for enhancing speed performance under low bandwidth conditions.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: USM Anywhere provides a hassle-free integration within existing infrastructures and benefits from responsive customer support. Zscaler Client Connector integrates seamlessly with its cloud-native model but demands more configuration effort, though it offers support once setup is complete.

Pricing and ROI: USM Anywhere has a moderate initial cost, delivering commendable ROI through its comprehensive security solution. Zscaler Client Connector involves higher initial expenses but offers long-term benefits when fully operational, impacting purchase decisions based on specific organizational needs and budget considerations.

To learn more, read our detailed LevelBlue USM Anywhere vs. Zscaler Client Connector Report (Updated: September 2026).

Buyer's Guide

LevelBlue USM Anywhere vs. Zscaler Client Connector

September 2026

Download the complete report

Helped 921,714 peers since 2012

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...

Mindshare comparison

As of November 2026, in the Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) category, the mindshare of Cortex XDR by Palo Alto Networks is 3.8%, down from 3.8% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of LevelBlue USM Anywhere is 1.4%, up from 0.3% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Zscaler Client Connector is 0.7%, up from 0.4% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) Mindshare Distribution
Product	Mindshare (%)
Cortex XDR by Palo Alto Networks	3.8%
Zscaler Client Connector	0.7%
LevelBlue USM Anywhere	1.4%
Other	94.1%

Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR)

Featured Reviews

ABHISHEK_SINGH

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.

Read full review

Kris Nawani

Co-Founder/Director at Bangkok MSP Company Limited

Offers complete coverage without the need to install additional software

USM Anywhere is used for threat detection and investigation. It provides a solution with built-in threat intelligence and various other investigation tools The solution offers complete coverage without the need to install additional software, as it is maintained by the vendor. It helps in saving…

Read full review

Dimitrios Arvanitakis

IT Support Admin at Kuehne & Nagel Inc.

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.

Read full review

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"We have found in our test Cortex XDR by Palo Alto Networks to be a very good tool."

"Palo Alto is the best security solution in the market."

"It is easy to use."

"Cortex XDR alerts us on the dashboard when there's a threat, which allows us to restrict that user and helps secure our infrastructure."

"One of the things that I enjoy the most is using policy extensions. It's like having host firewalls to control USB connections. I think it's a wonderful tool to restrict use when connecting to our computers. Another important tool is Home Insights. That is an add-on to the Cortex solution. I like that because we can see all the vulnerabilities in the environment and control what assets are connected to our network."

"Cortex XDR by Palo Alto Networks should be a stable solution."

"The main benefit of using Cortex XDR by Palo Alto Networks while employing Palo Alto Firewall at the internet edge is that it improves security on our endpoint devices, integrating seamlessly with Palo Alto Firewalls to deliver comprehensive network, analyst, and security details all in a single dashboard, which allows us to manage everything from our network devices."

"Cortex XDR's most valuable feature is its intelligence-based dashboards."

More Cortex XDR by Palo Alto Networks pros

"It allows for a lot of out-of-the-box features: vuln scanning, HIDS/HIPS, and IDS."

"AlienVault is the more appropriate solution, it's flexible, Linux based, and contains a large number of open source solutions."

"Reports are customized, so you can present them to executives or engineers."

"The most valuable feature is vulnerability management because it gives you insight into your environment to know what systems need to be updated or patched."

"The other big selling feature for us was its integration capabilities with all the other security-based products."

"Customer service is excellent! Always very responsive."

"As it includes a logger feature for gathering all logs from all devices (network devices, servers, hosts etc.) it has basically become the only software that we look at when we have a problem."

"Here we can get file integrity monitoring and a vulnerability assessment tool together with SIEM."

More LevelBlue USM Anywhere pros

"I'd rate the solution nine out of ten."

"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."

"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."

"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."

"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."

Cons

"I would like to see them include NDR (Network Detection Response). Then it would work well with SIEM Response."

"Cortex XDR by Palo Alto Networks could improve by adding a sandbox feature to better compete with their competitors which have it."

"Every 30 or 40 days, there's a new version and we need to go and make sure our customer's laptops are upgraded."

"They have the worst support, as a company, that I have ever worked with, as they are difficult to get a hold of and keep on the phone. They don't know what they are talking about when you get them on the phone. They don't like to respond to messages when you send them to them. They like to "research problems" for weeks on end, then pass you off to somebody else."

"The technical support is not very good. I find the process difficult."

"I think sometimes Cortex XDR agent automatically stops event capturing from the device, and then even the dashboard does not get any notifications from the agent."

"It is a complex solution to implement."

"The only issues that we have are, one the cost, two the dashboard is not very intuitive, even though you can drill down within the dashboard, we usually have to gather information from other sources to determine locations and if its a false positive."

More Cortex XDR by Palo Alto Networks cons

"The configuration is somewhat complex and the interface a bit non-intuitive."

"IPv6 not supported Correlate with external logs from other sources makes little bit difficult to work"

"The system slows down considerably when a large number of events are fed in."

"ROI has not yet been measured."

"I would say the menus could use some tweaking and custom rule creation could be made simpler."

"We develop additional rules and scripts to make it more usable."

"I would not recommend anyone to use it. I rate ATT AlienVault USM a one out of ten."

"In emergency cases, it is difficult to reach them."

More LevelBlue USM Anywhere cons

"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."

"There is a hard learning curve for Zscaler Client Connector; their support isn't the greatest all the time."

"There is room for improvement regarding the price of Zscaler Client Connector, as it is one of the most expensive solutions available."

"Zscaler Client Connector is not low in cost; it is definitely on the higher side."

"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."

"The stability of Zscaler Client Connector needs improvement, as it often disconnects and reconnects."

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The cost depends on your chosen license type, like Pro or other licenses."

"Compared to CrowdStrike, Cortex XDR is an expensive solution."

"The price of the solution is high for the license and in general."

"It's the most expensive solution, but features-wise, it's quite strong. It's very good for protection, so the results are very good in the case of protection. I would rate it a two out of ten in terms of pricing."

"It is cost-effective compared to similar solutions. It fits for the small businesses through to the big businesses."

"We pay about $50,000 USD per year for a bundle that includes Cortex XDR."

"The price was fine."

"It has a yearly renewal."

More Cortex XDR by Palo Alto Networks pricing and cost advice

"Its price is in the medium to upper range."

"Use the AlienVault team. They are helpful and the documentation that they provide is second to none."

"Negotiate the best package for your environment."

"The pricing is a good value. The key thing is that for the new product, the licensing of it, is subscription-based and it's based on data. Clients need to be really careful when thinking about that, because odds are they're going to need to put a lot more data into it than what they initially estimate, which is going to drive their subscription costs up."

"The price of this solution is reasonable, which is one of the reasons why we selected it over other solutions."

"I don't know exactly, but I know it is based on the number of logs and the retention duration, such as 30 days or something like that. So, the smallest package is about 500 a month for 30 days of logs. There is a virtual machine. You need resources for it. It is a log collecting VM. They provide the software, and you just have to load a virtual machine. So, you're going to incur some CPU RAM and storage for wherever this log collecting appliance is running, which typically is in our cloud and on our platform for the customer."

"The vulnerability management solution is worse than buying a Nessus Professional license."

"It's very reasonably priced. It was one of the lowest among the ones I looked at. Licensing is pretty flexible. They can do a two-year or a three-year, even a one-year, perhaps."

More LevelBlue USM Anywhere pricing and cost advice

Information not available

See which vendors are best for you

Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) solutions are best for your needs.

See recommendations

921,714 professionals have used our research since 2012.

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Comms Service Provider

14%

Outsourcing Company

12%

Construction Company

10%

Manufacturing Company

10%

Outsourcing Company

16%

Construction Company

16%

Manufacturing Company

10%

Comms Service Provider

Manufacturing Company

17%

Comms Service Provider

10%

Financial Services Firm

Government

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	50
Midsize Enterprise	21
Large Enterprise	57

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	65
Midsize Enterprise	29
Large Enterprise	25

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	3
Large Enterprise	5

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. ...

See all answers

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...

See all answers

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,...

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for AT&T AlienVault USM?

The pricing is amazing and really cheap.

See all answers

What needs improvement with AT&T AlienVault USM?

There are scalability issues due to a 60 TB limit, which restricts its use for large customers like banks. It is also...

See all answers

What is your primary use case for AT&T AlienVault USM?

USM Anywhere is used for threat detection and investigation. It provides a solution with built-in threat intelligence...

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Zscaler Client Connector?

My experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing is that the pricing is fair, though it is a bit costly. It oper...

See all answers

What needs improvement with Zscaler Client Connector?

For Zscaler Client Connector, I would appreciate more granular control over the client update rollout and slightly fa...

See all answers

What is your primary use case for Zscaler Client Connector?

My main use case of Zscaler Client Connector is to provide secure, seamless access to the internet and internal appli...

See all answers

Comparisons

Microsoft Defender for Endpoint vs Cortex XDR by Palo Alto Networks

Compared 16% of the time

SentinelOne Singularity Endpoint vs Cortex XDR by Palo Alto Networks

Compared 5% of the time

CrowdStrike Falcon vs Cortex XDR by Palo Alto Networks

Compared 4% of the time

Symantec Endpoint Security vs Cortex XDR by Palo Alto Networks

Compared 3% of the time

Cortex XSIAM vs Cortex XDR by Palo Alto Networks

Compared 3% of the time

More Cortex XDR by Palo Alto Networks Competitors

Splunk Enterprise Security vs LevelBlue USM Anywhere

Compared 5% of the time

IBM Security QRadar vs LevelBlue USM Anywhere

Compared 4% of the time

Elastic Security vs LevelBlue USM Anywhere

Compared 4% of the time

LogRhythm SIEM vs LevelBlue USM Anywhere

Compared 4% of the time

Rapid7 InsightIDR vs LevelBlue USM Anywhere

Compared 3% of the time

More LevelBlue USM Anywhere Competitors

Huntress Managed EDR vs Zscaler Client Connector

Compared 9% of the time

Microsoft Defender for Endpoint vs Zscaler Client Connector

Compared 9% of the time

SentinelOne Singularity Endpoint vs Zscaler Client Connector

Compared 6% of the time

Cisco Secure Endpoint vs Zscaler Client Connector

Compared 5% of the time

More Zscaler Client Connector Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Cortex XDR by Palo Alto Networks

November 2026

Download Cortex XDR by Palo Alto Networks product report

Buyer's Guide

LevelBlue USM Anywhere

October 2026

Download LevelBlue USM Anywhere product report

Buyer's Guide

Zscaler Client Connector

October 2026

Download Zscaler Client Connector product report

Also Known As

Cyvera, Cortex XDR, Palo Alto Networks Traps

AT&T AlienVault USM, AlienVault, AlienVault USM, Alienvault Cybersecurity

No data available

Overview

Cortex XDR by Palo Alto Networks provides advanced threat detection with AI-driven endpoint protection and seamless integration, ensuring multi-layered security and automatic threat response.

Cortex XDR is designed to safeguard endpoints against malware and suspicious activities. It offers advanced threat detection and response capabilities using behavioral analysis, AI, and machine learning. It seamlessly integrates with security infrastructures, providing endpoint security, firewall integration, and enhanced visibility in both cloud-based and on-premises environments.

What are the key features of Cortex XDR?

Advanced Threat Detection: Uses AI and machine learning for proactive threat identification.
Multi-layered Security: Combines various security measures for comprehensive protection.
Endpoint Protection: Safeguards against malware and exploits.
Behavioral Analysis: Monitors suspicious activity for early detection.
Automatic Threat Response: Automates responses to neutralize threats.

What benefits should users expect?

Ease of Use: Simplifies security management with intuitive design.
Resource Efficiency: Minimizes impact on system resources.
Integration Capabilities: Works well with existing security setups.
Reduced Analyst Workload: Automates processes to decrease manual intervention.

Organizations in diverse sectors deploy Cortex XDR to protect against malware, leveraging its advanced threat detection capabilities. Its integration with existing security infrastructures appeals to those seeking comprehensive protection in both cloud and on-premises environments, providing enhanced visibility and threat intelligence.

Palo Alto Networks

USM Anywhere provides centralized logging, vulnerability scanning, and real-time event correlation, enhancing cybersecurity management and compliance with standards like PCI DSS and ISO 27001. It integrates smoothly with third-party applications and offers diverse, flexible deployment options.

USM Anywhere stands out for its integrated network and host IDS, asset management, and intuitive deployment that enhances efficiency. The platform simplifies security tasks by offering a comprehensive view that aids in compliance and aligns with security regulations such as PCI and GDPR. Despite its strengths, areas like IPv6 support, custom rule creation, and reporting require attention. Users note awkward reporting features and limited integration options. Enhancements are needed in threat detection and vulnerability scanning for faster response times and better support.

What are the key features of USM Anywhere?

Centralized Logging: Streamlines log collection across environments for easy analysis.
Vulnerability Scanning: Identifies potential security gaps in systems and networks.
Real-time Event Correlation: Detects and correlates security events efficiently.
Network IDS and Host IDS: Provides intrusion detection at both network and host levels.
Asset Management: Manages and tracks company assets seamlessly.

What benefits and ROI can users expect?

Enhanced Compliance: Aligns security measures with standards like PCI DSS and ISO 27001.
Improved Efficiency: Simplifies deployment and interface, saving time and resources.
Security Management: Offers comprehensive monitoring for better security posture.
Flexible Integration: Connects with third-party applications to extend functionality.

In industries such as cloud services and enterprise security, USM Anywhere is used extensively for SIEM, managing logs, and detecting security incidents. It supports AWS environment monitoring, providing managed services to clients and facilitating compliance with standards like PCI and GDPR.

LevelBlue

Zscaler Client Connector ensures secure, seamless access to internal applications, replacing traditional VPNs with zero-trust network access.

Offering enhanced user experience, Zscaler Client Connector facilitates application-level access while providing real-time analytics for troubleshooting. It supports efficient resource migration to cloud platforms and incorporates security measures such as Zscaler Deception and Workload Communications. Users note areas like stability and intuitive interface that need improvement, with a call for enhanced AI data handling and transparent traffic routing.

What are the key features?

Zero-Trust Access: Facilitates secure access without VPN dependency.
Traffic Tunneling: Provides a hidden direct path to applications ensuring security.
Auto-Network Switching: Seamlessly changes networks for uninterrupted access.
Detailed Logs: Offers comprehensive logs for easier troubleshooting.
Endpoint Security: Includes Data Loss Prevention for improved security posture.

What benefits and ROI should users expect?

Enhanced Security: Provides robust security through zero-trust principles.
User Transparency: Ensures easy visibility of traffic routing and data handling.
Cost Efficiency: Eliminates the need for complex VPN setups and maintenance.
Scalability: Supports flexible growth without disrupting user experience.

Zscaler Client Connector is essential for industries needing secure work application access for remote and hybrid workforce. It acts as a VPN alternative, ensuring uninterrupted access to internal applications while maintaining global security consistency through partnerships with other security solutions.

Zscaler

Sample Customers

CBI Health Group, University Honda, VakifBank

Abel & Cole, Bank of Ireland, Bluegrass Cellular, CareerBuilder, Claire's, Hays Medical Center, Hope International, McCurrach, McKinsey & Company, Party Delights, Pepco Holdings, Richland School District, Ricoh, SaveMart, Shake Shack, Steelcase, TaxAct, Taylor Morrison, Vonage and Zoom

Information Not Available

Buyer's Guide

LevelBlue USM Anywhere vs. Zscaler Client Connector

September 2026

Free Report: LevelBlue USM Anywhere vs. Zscaler Client Connector

Find out what your peers are saying about LevelBlue USM Anywhere vs. Zscaler Client Connector and other solutions. Updated: September 2026.

DOWNLOAD NOW

921,714 professionals have used our research since 2012.

See our LevelBlue USM Anywhere vs. Zscaler Client Connector report.

See our list of best Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) vendors.

We monitor all Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) reviews to prevent fraudulent reviews and keep review quality high. We do not post reviews by company employees or direct competitors. We validate each review for authenticity via cross-reference with LinkedIn, and personal follow-up with the reviewer when necessary.