Microsoft Defender for Cloud Apps vs Netskope comparison

Microsoft and Netskope are both solutions in the Cloud Access Security Brokers (CASB) category. Microsoft is ranked #4 with an average rating of 8.5, while Netskope is ranked #3 with an average rating of 8.3. Microsoft holds a 6.5% mindshare in CASB, compared to Netskope’s 14.4% mindshare. Additionally, 100% of Microsoft users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 97% of Netskope users who would recommend it.

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Feb 8, 2026

Netskope and Microsoft Defender for Cloud Apps compete in SaaS governance with Microsoft Defender having the upper hand due to its integration capabilities within the Microsoft ecosystem enhancing threat detection and data protection.

Features: Netskope offers SaaS management, 360-degree visibility, and risk assessment tools. It excels in CASB and DLP functionality and supports easy deployment. Microsoft Defender for Cloud Apps provides robust threat detection, seamless integration with Microsoft products, and strong identity management and data protection capabilities.

Room for Improvement: Netskope can enhance reporting capabilities, proxy platform compatibility, and integration with Mac environments. Microsoft Defender for Cloud Apps needs better cross-platform integration, user-friendly policy application, and reduced false positives. Enhancing reporting and multi-cloud integration are also areas for improvement.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Both products support various deployment models and have strong customer support, but Netskope struggles with deployment complexities and slow support. Microsoft Defender integrates easily within its ecosystem but faces challenges with multi-cloud integration and support responsiveness.

Pricing and ROI: Netskope's pricing is competitive yet on the higher end, offering significant ROI through operational cost reduction. Microsoft Defender for Cloud Apps is cost-effective for Microsoft users, priced in the mid-range, and provides value through its ecosystem integration, enhancing security and operational efficiency.

To learn more, read our detailed Microsoft Defender for Cloud Apps vs. Netskope Report (Updated: February 2026).

Buyer's Guide

Microsoft Defender for Cloud Apps vs. Netskope

February 2026

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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

iboss

Mindshare comparison

As of February 2026, in the Cloud Access Security Brokers (CASB) category, the mindshare of iboss is 2.5%, up from 1.7% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Microsoft Defender for Cloud Apps is 6.5%, down from 10.1% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Netskope is 14.4%, up from 14.4% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Cloud Access Security Brokers (CASB) Market Share Distribution
Product	Market Share (%)
Netskope	14.4%
Microsoft Defender for Cloud Apps	6.5%
iboss	2.5%
Other	76.6%

Cloud Access Security Brokers (CASB)

Featured Reviews

reviewer2701851

Managing Director

Enhances web security with a single pane of glass and flexible deployment

I don't see any need for improvement; one of the really good things about iboss as a company is that they listen to customer feedback. I have suggested enhancements, and they are responsive, making changes for the better, and they do a lot of testing. To improve iboss, although we haven't used it, we considered the VPN solution that comes with the highest tier licensing, which includes DLP and various other add-ons. We prefer using another product which automatically logs you back onto your network when turning on your PC. With iboss, the connection is manual, which doesn't meet our needs. Additionally, sizing can be tricky because, although the initial recommendations may seem adequate, actual usage may require more gateways than anticipated.

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Frank Van Der Spek

Security and Continuity Manager at Rolinco NV

Deployment has been seamless with insightful data categorization and enhanced control

The features of Microsoft Defender for Cloud Apps that I have found most valuable include the overall portal view, with bubble graphs which give us insight into what goes where in the categorization, nowadays with Generative AI but all kinds of categorization, collaboration, etc. That central view of the portal is very useful for us. The impact of Microsoft Defender for Cloud Apps on our organization's ability to assess and manage app related risks has been significant because we have more visibility. Therefore, we can add more control, and we have already done so. This was not possible in the old solution, in the old CASB solution with Netskope. We now can see on the spot, and we do that almost weekly, what the end users are utilizing, which cloud providers or cloud apps they're using. The visibility into OAuth apps provided by Microsoft Defender for Cloud Apps is very good. The visibility into risk and risk management of our organization's Generative AI apps is very nice, as you can choose the category Generative AI and then see exactly what traffic has been going to and from Generative AI in the cloud. This makes us very insightful on what is used within the company. We have some policies on blocking specific Generative AI, and we use within our company one particular AI part, which is CoPilot of Microsoft. In this way, we can see what the end users are using other than CoPilot, and that makes us more in control. The effectiveness of the integration of Microsoft Defender for Cloud Apps with Defender XDR and defending against SaaS attacks is very intuitive. It works immediately if we create a new policy or in Purview or in Microsoft Defender for Cloud Apps, or when we make an app unsanctioned by blocking it, then it is almost immediately, or at least within a couple of hours, effective on all the endpoints where the EDR is running. This gives us much better control over things than before.

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Aravind Vellingiri

Cyber security consultant at L&T Technology Services

User-friendly console integrates robust security features for seamless traffic management

Netskope serves as a single web console carrying out multiple functionalities: Zero Trust Network Architecture (ZTNA), Secure Web Gateway (SWG), Cloud Access Security Broker (CASB), Web DLP, and firewall services. I can toggle between these features on a single platform, enhancing ease of use. In comparison, Zscaler requires multiple consoles for managing similar features. Having these functionalities integrated into one dashboard makes Netskope efficient and user-friendly.

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Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"iboss is among the few products providing inline filtering where no application is needed on the device."

"Granular setup, which was able to set different levels of filters using the OUs in the AD."

"Because of iboss, I did not have to assign web filtering tasks to my techs on a daily basis."

"The solution has massively improved our security posture, giving us full visibility into what our staff does online."

"I would definitely recommend iboss for web filtering purposes to other organizations or individuals."

"The console is cloud-based, which is something I really appreciate."

"Valuable features: Within the filter: Controls (Web categories, applications, and Allow/Block list) and Network (local Subnets). Within the reporter: Logs (Event Log) and Reports."

"Content filtering is the most useful feature of iboss."

More iboss pros

"The ability to sanction unsanctioned apps using Secure Score benchmarking, included in Cloud, is also beneficial."

"I like the web GUI/the management interface. I also like the security of Microsoft. As compared to other manufacturers, it's less complex and easy to understand and work with."

"The favorite feature of Microsoft Defender for Cloud Apps is the categorical blocking capability, which appears to be fed from Microsoft Security Intelligence feeds that seem to be better than other solutions and allows for dynamic configuration, cutting down on potential issues from manually managing block lists."

"The most valuable feature is the seamless integration across different clouds."

"Defender helps us control which applications are being used and gain more security insight into remote and hybrid users based on user identity and log in location. You can also integrate Defender for Cloud Apps with Defender for Endpoint to extend its capabilities."

"The solution does not affect a user's workflow."

"Defender for Cloud Apps has given us good visibility regarding what we've allowed into our environment until now."

"The product’s most valuable feature is SQL database."

More Microsoft Defender for Cloud Apps pros

"The tool provides extensive DLP features."

"It has hundreds of features and many of them are useful."

"It's a comprehensive security portfolio solution."

"Netskope is a one-platform security product that provides security functions. It is the most advantageous product in the Japanese market."

"Technical support is pretty good."

"Netskope is a really good product. I cannot segregate which features are the most valuable. We find most of the features to be valuable. It gives us what we are looking for."

"Netskope has positively impacted our organization by securing all our systems, and the response time is also less, with a high catch rate for any incident."

"The feature that I like best is the GUI."

More Netskope pros

Cons

"Sometimes, obviously, there are bugs."

"Our biggest problem with their service was it did not recognize the device and filtering did not always work correctly."

"File integrity monitoring would be very advantageous as an additional feature."

"Its pricing could be better."

"Our biggest problem with their service was it did not recognize the device and filtering did not always work correctly."

"I am currently doing a PoC of the zero trust aspect of it. Compared to other similar solutions, it is hard to get around each feature. It takes a while to get used to it."

"The dashboards for local use could be better."

"One thing I would like to see differently with their Zero Trust platform is that some of the AI aspects related to high-risk activities have more false positives."

More iboss cons

"We sometimes get errors when we create policies, which is somewhat annoying because some policies stop working due to misconfigurations. We find this challenging because it limits our options for troubleshooting an issue."

"There have been instances where the alerts generated have been false positives."

"I would like more customization of notifications. Currently, you either get everything or you get limited information. I would like to have something in between where we can customize the data that is included in notifications."

"Generally, the pricing can always be improved along with the management system."

"Microsoft Defender for Cloud Apps' initial setup was quite technical but we were prepared. The time of the implementation depends on the job and how many users are being set up."

"The areas of Microsoft Defender for Cloud Apps that need improvement are related to IAM, as they do not provide much support for local users."

"The insights could be improved, especially in reporting. While it is possible for me to see the usage from different cloud apps, determining if critical data has been uploaded or if it is just normal transport data is difficult."

"The response time could be better. It will be helpful if the alerts are even more proactive and we can see more data. Currently, the data is a little bit weak. It is not complete. I can't just see it and completely know which user or which device it is. It takes some effort and time on my part to investigate and isolate a user. It would be great if it is more user-friendly or easy for people to understand."

More Microsoft Defender for Cloud Apps cons

"They could improve their mobile agents as they have some limitations."

"Netskope CASB can improve by working more similarly to a VPN technology instead of a proxy. They then could have visibility on the endpoint device. Most clients have some tools where they check the endpoint health or other things, such as the security posture, or if they want to access the resources. For example, if they should have antivirus running, this kind of posture check should be available but it is missing."

"The solution is still pretty new to the CASB environment."

"It needed some fine-tuning on core business sites that we used, which were sensitive to what we term a man-in-the-middle certificate by design. Some sites were not tolerant because they presented as potentially malicious. So, we just had to make some tweaks so that it would bypass or interpret it."

"Third party integration with other cloud applications could be improved. Sometimes the API won't be working, but Netskope is taking it seriously. They accept all the feature requests, and they are trying to provide whatever we ask from them."

"They can focus more on ease of admin, ease of use, and ease of migration. Migration should be simple for companies that are using a different platform and would like to move to Netskope. Everyone looks for a simple migration. They can also focus more on cloud services and cloud trends. They have to see the cloud market, and they should try to compete with Zscaler and other players. They should also work on licensing costs."

"In some cases, when you have a lot of policies, it can get confusing for users and you can get lost in the GUI."

"Deployment and policy tweaking were two areas where improvement needs to be made."

More Netskope cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"We have not priced the solution recently, but they were competitive with other vendors in the past."

"It is probably in line with other solutions, but I do not deal with the financial side."

"We had the cost of purchasing a new appliance along with the implementation and licensing costs. However, the following year, the cost of just licensing was similar to what was paid the previous year for a new appliance along with the implementation and licensing costs."

"It is expensive compared to one of its competitors."

"It is not expensive, and it is also not cheap. iboss is priced right in the sweet spot for the number of features it offers."

"The overall pricing for iboss is very competitive and transparent."

"The product's pricing seems fair."

"I'm not totally involved in the pricing part, but I think its pricing is quite aggressive, and its price is quite similar to Netskope. Netskope has separate licensing fees or additional charges if you want to monitor certain SaaS services, whereas, with MCAS, you get 5,000 applications with their Office 365. It is all bundled, and there's no cost for using that. You only have the operational costs. In the country I am in, it is a bit difficult to get people with the required skill sets."

"It has fair pricing. You pay for what you get. As far as I know, there are no costs in addition to the standard licensing fee."

"We utilize the Microsoft E5 licensing, which encompasses the entire Microsoft suite; however, it is costly."

"Microsoft offers bundle discounts and a pay-as-you-go option."

"It is a little bit expensive. When you want to have the complete package with Office 365, Defender, and everything else, it is expensive."

"The pricing is fair."

"This product is not expensive."

More Microsoft Defender for Cloud Apps pricing and cost advice

"The price of the solution is fair but it depends on your use case."

"The product's price is average."

"Licensing is on a yearly basis."

"It is an expensive solution."

"I would rate the pricing nine out of ten."

"The price is in the middle range compared to other solutions."

"Netskope's pricing is reasonable compared to Microsoft."

"The tool's pricing is not too cheap or expensive. However, it can be costly for a small business."

More Netskope pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Financial Services Firm

11%

Computer Software Company

10%

Manufacturing Company

Comms Service Provider

Computer Software Company

11%

Financial Services Firm

11%

Manufacturing Company

Government

Computer Software Company

12%

Financial Services Firm

12%

Manufacturing Company

11%

Construction Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	6
Midsize Enterprise	6
Large Enterprise	5

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	15
Midsize Enterprise	10
Large Enterprise	19

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	15
Midsize Enterprise	9
Large Enterprise	25

Questions from the Community

What needs improvement with iboss?

For zero trust implementation, we encountered complexity issues, especially with a large infrastructure company Exxon...

See all answers

What is your primary use case for iboss?

Previously when I used iboss, we did the POC for iboss for ExxonMobil. Four or five people wanted to move from our ol...

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What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for iboss?

Regarding pricing, setup costs, and licensing, iboss is not cheap, and that's my only concern. There are cheaper alte...

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Which is the better security solution - Cisco Umbrella or Microsoft Cloud App Security?

Cisco Umbrella is an integral component of the Cisco SASE architecture. It integrates security in a single, cloud-nat...

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Microsoft Cloud App Security?

At the time of implementation, when the size of our organization was small, it was a more affordable product. Since a...

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What needs improvement with Microsoft Cloud App Security?

The fidelity of the signal in Microsoft Defender for Cloud Apps has been a challenge in some areas. There have been i...

See all answers

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 ...

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What do you like most about Netskope CASB?

The product's analytics part is pretty fine.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Netskope CASB?

The pricing is reasonable compared to other products.

See all answers

Comparisons

Prisma Access by Palo Alto Networks vs iboss

Compared 10% of the time

FortiSASE vs iboss

Compared 7% of the time

Cisco Umbrella vs iboss

Compared 7% of the time

Zscaler Internet Access vs iboss

Compared 6% of the time

Versa Unified Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) Platform vs iboss

Compared 2% of the time

More iboss Competitors

Zscaler Internet Access vs Microsoft Defender for Cloud Apps

Compared 13% of the time

Cisco Umbrella vs Microsoft Defender for Cloud Apps

Compared 11% of the time

Prisma Access by Palo Alto Networks vs Microsoft Defender for Cloud Apps

Compared 7% of the time

Skyhigh Security vs Microsoft Defender for Cloud Apps

Compared 5% of the time

Microsoft Defender for Cloud vs Microsoft Defender for Cloud Apps

Compared 4% of the time

More Microsoft Defender for Cloud Apps Competitors

Prisma Access by Palo Alto Networks vs Netskope

Compared 21% of the time

Zscaler Internet Access vs Netskope

Compared 15% of the time

Cato SASE Cloud Platform vs Netskope

Compared 7% of the time

FortiSASE vs Netskope

Compared 6% of the time

Cloudflare One vs Netskope

Compared 3% of the time

More Netskope Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

iboss

January 2026

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Buyer's Guide

Microsoft Defender for Cloud Apps

January 2026

Microsoft Defender for Cloud Apps report

Download Microsoft Defender for Cloud Apps product report

Buyer's Guide

Netskope

January 2026

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Also Known As

iBoss Cloud Platform

MS Cloud App Security, Microsoft Cloud App Security

Netskope CASB

Overview

Iboss offers a comprehensive cloud-based security platform valued for its scalability and autonomous features, ensuring robust security with easy deployment and management capabilities.

Renowned for its robust security architecture, Iboss integrates seamlessly within diverse networks, delivering efficient granular filtering and advanced content categorization. Its single pane of glass console provides ease of management, allowing rapid scalability suitable for rapidly deploying environments. Operates in BYOD setups due to inline filtering without device installation. Integration with cloud-based applications enhances user control, and features like SASE, SSL inspection, and ChatGPT risk protection stand as highlights. Despite its strengths, users have pointed out areas for enhancement like direct navigation in reports, SSL decryption, and better cloud integration while having room to improve data loss prevention.

What are the most important features of Iboss?

Scalability: Supports rapid deployment across diverse networks.
SASE: A consolidated approach to secure access.
SSL Inspection: Ensures safe data transmission.
Granular Filtering: Detailed control over accessible content.
Single Pane Management: Unifies control through a centralized console.

What benefits should users consider in reviews?

Cost-effectiveness: Offers competitive pricing with robust features.
Autonomous Operation: Reduces management overhead.
Responsive Support: Provides assistance when needed.
Flexible Deployment: Available for both cloud and on-premises environments.

The usage of Iboss spans educational institutions, specifically K-12, to enforce internet policies, protect data, and support remote work environments. It provides web filtering and security frameworks to ensure safe browsing. Its platform-as-a-service model offers flexibility for both cloud-based and on-premises requirements, integrating seamlessly to deliver enhanced security features suitable for various deployment needs including zero trust, CASB, and network security for work-from-home setups.

iboss

Microsoft Defender for Cloud Apps is a comprehensive security solution that provides protection for cloud-based applications and services. It offers real-time threat detection and response, as well as advanced analytics and reporting capabilities. With Defender for Cloud Apps, organizations can ensure the security of their cloud environments and safeguard against cyber threats. Whether you're running SaaS applications, IaaS workloads, or PaaS services, Microsoft Defender for Cloud Apps can help you secure your cloud environment and protect your business from cyber threats.

Microsoft Defender for Cloud Apps Benefits:

Provides comprehensive security for cloud applications
Integrates with other Microsoft security tools
Easy to use and deploy
Provides real-time threat detection and response
Strong protection against phishing attacks and other common threats
Highly customizable to meet specific needs of different organizations

Microsoft Defender for Cloud Apps Use Cases:

Governance, authentication, security, and compliance.
Detects shadow IT and anomalous user behavior
Controls access to applications
Provides auditing and filtering setups
Used for end-user compute devices, file monitoring, user investigation, and activity
Used for data governance, threat detection, and getting visibility over cloud applications
Used to identify information about applications beyond organizational boundaries
Prevent exfiltration and data filtration of corporate data
Used to deal with spam emails and detect shadow IT

Reviews from Real Users

Ram-Krish, Cloud Security & Governance at a financial services firm, says that Microsoft Defender for Cloud Apps "Integrates well and helps us in protecting sensitive information, but takes time to scan and apply the policies and cannot detect everything we need".

PeerSpot user, Senior Cloud & Security Consultant at a tech services, writes that Microsoft Defender for Cloud Apps "Great for monitoring user activity and protecting data while integrating well with other applications".

Simon Burgess,Infrastructure Engineer at SBITSC, states that Microsoft Defender for Cloud Apps is "A fluid, intelligent product for great visibility, centralized management, and increased uptime".

Microsoft

Netscope is a Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) platform that includes core products such as Cloud Access Security Broker (CASB) and Security Service Edge (SSE).

Netskope CASB is a cloud access security broker tool that allows you to adopt cloud applications and services without sacrificing security. The solution makes it possible to manage the movement of sensitive data between cloud app instances and in the context of app risk and user risk. With Netskope’s industry-leading cloud security solution, you can also prevent sensitive data from being exfiltrated from your environment by risky insiders or malicious cybercriminals who have breached your perimeter.

Netskope CASB Features

Netskope CASB has many valuable key features. Some of the most useful ones include:

Cloud app risk scoring: With this feature you can automatically audit your traffic to discover your overall risk profile.

Advanced data loss protection: The solution’s data loss protection capabilities provide contextual awareness of content being used in the cloud and include machine learning enhancements to simplify, expedite, and accurately scan and classify data.

Granular visibility and control: The Netskope CASB solution gives you inline visibility for thousands of apps (managed and unmanaged) in use, including users, file names, activity, and other contextual information.

Real-time enforcement: Netskope CASB offers real-time enforcement of security policies to prevent data loss and stop threats.

Streamlined operations: Because of its streamlined operations, you can identify, mitigate, and remediate insider threats, compromised accounts, and privileged user threats across web and cloud applications within a single centralized administrative console.

Global scale and performance: The solution runs on NewEdge, a carrier-class global network, to provide maximum performance and efficacy worldwide.

Netskope CASB Benefits

There are many benefits to implementing Netskope CASB. Some of the biggest advantages the solution offers include:

Granular control of personal devices: With Netskope CASB, you can enforce granular control of unmanaged devices that have single-sign-on (SSO) access to managed cloud services, like Box and Microsoft 365.

Data protection: The solution has a single pane of glass and a policy interface that is easy to use to create security policies across cloud services, apps, and digital assets.

Find cloud services in use and assess risk: Netskope CASB can help you discover 50,000+ cloud apps and also provides risk-ratings for cloud apps so you can devise appropriate security policies.

Data exfiltration prevention: By using this solution, you can prevent users on corporate cloud services who download sensitive data from uploading that data to unmanaged or personal cloud apps.

Protection against cloud threats: Netskope CASB enables you to stop malware and advanced threats from infected users spreading through your organization. The solution directly blocks malware, whether it’s delivered from collaboration tools or downloaded from a cloud storage service to a sync client.

Reviews from Real Users

Netskope CASB is a solution that stands out when compared to many of its competitors. Some of its major advantages are that it offers great reporting, has a good tracking mechanism, and has a solid Cloud Control feature.

Prerna S., Senior Information Security Analyst II at Workato, says, “[Netskope] CASB has a lot of good features; their reporting and tracking mechanism is amazing.”

PeerSpot reviewer Dima Z., Director at Irangers International Inc., mentions, “The most useful feature of this solution is Cloud Control, which allows me to schedule cloud uploads.”

Syed H., Lead Cloud Security Practice at Vincacyber, states, "I have found the most useful features to be the Web Secure Gateway, CASB, infrastructural service scanning, and Zero Trust."

Netskope

Sample Customers

More than 4,000 global enterprises trust the iboss Cloud Platform to support their modern workforces, including a large number of Fortune 50 companies.

Customers for Microsoft Defender for Cloud Apps include Accenture, St. Luke’s University Health Network, Ansell, and Nakilat.

NetApp, Genomic Health, Caterpillar, Apollo, Pandora, Continental Resources, Fractal, infinera, Tesla

Buyer's Guide

Microsoft Defender for Cloud Apps vs. Netskope

February 2026

Free Report: Microsoft Defender for Cloud Apps vs. Netskope

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