Netskope Next Gen Secure Web Gateway vs Symantec Cloud Secure Web Gateway comparison

Netskope and Broadcom are both solutions in the Secure Web Gateways (SWG) category. Netskope is ranked #19 with an average rating of 8.0, while Broadcom is ranked #31. Netskope holds a 2.4% mindshare in WSG, compared to Broadcom’s 0.8% mindshare. Additionally, 100% of Netskope users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 100% of Broadcom users who would recommend it.

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Download the report

Executive SummaryUpdated on Dec 4, 2024

Netskope Next Gen Secure Web Gateway and Symantec Cloud Secure Web Gateway compete in the secure web gateway market. Symantec may have the upper hand with its comprehensive feature set despite higher costs.

Features: Netskope offers real-time data and threat protection, cloud-native architecture, and seamless integration capabilities. Symantec provides comprehensive threat intelligence, granular control, and extensive policy enforcement.

Room for Improvement: Netskope could enhance its feature depth and expand its policy customization options. It might also improve integration with third-party security tools. Symantec should focus on simplifying its deployment process, improving its cloud-native approach, and streamlining user management interfaces.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Netskope's cloud-native architecture simplifies deployment and offers responsive customer service. Symantec's deployment is more complex but is supported by extensive documentation and support resources.

Pricing and ROI: Netskope presents a cost-effective setup with substantial ROI due to easy use and efficient threat detection. Symantec entails higher initial costs, yet its extensive feature set justifies the investment with significant ROI over time.

To learn more, read our detailed Netskope Next Gen Secure Web Gateway vs. Symantec Cloud Secure Web Gateway Report (Updated: December 2025).

Buyer's Guide

Netskope Next Gen Secure Web Gateway vs. Symantec Cloud Secure Web Gateway

December 2025

Download the complete report

Helped 881,082 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

iboss

Mindshare comparison

As of January 2026, in the Secure Web Gateways (SWG) category, the mindshare of iboss is 2.4%, up from 1.9% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Netskope Next Gen Secure Web Gateway is 2.4%, up from 2.0% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Symantec Cloud Secure Web Gateway is 0.8%, up from 0.3% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Secure Web Gateways (SWG) Market Share Distribution
Product	Market Share (%)
iboss	2.4%
Netskope Next Gen Secure Web Gateway	2.4%
Symantec Cloud Secure Web Gateway	0.8%
Other	94.4%

Secure Web Gateways (SWG)

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.

Read full review

Ernst (Eric) Goldman

Owner at Antares Joint Development

Designed to enforce architecture governance, ensuring traceable SaaS traffic

Netskope provides vigorous policy enforcement for SaaS platforms based on how we configure it, but its vulnerability management and threat intelligence capabilities could be stronger. We rely on external sources to become aware of vulnerabilities in major SaaS platforms, which highlights a gap. It would be beneficial if Netskope offered more robust vulnerability management or integrated threat intelligence through in-house development or partnerships. This would allow for a better policy setup without needing external threat intelligence to configure Netskope. Adding these features would enhance its overall value. I would suggest making some minor improvements to the interface to make it more intuitive, but those are primarily cosmetic. In terms of actual features, the only significant enhancement I could think of, besides better threat intelligence, would be for Netskope to assess the general SaaS landscape. This could include a scorecard showing the security posture of various SaaS platforms based on their track record with breaches and vulnerabilities. I understand this could create friction with SaaS providers if some receive poor scores, which might impact their relationship with Netskope. If Netskope were to harness machine learning more effectively and share those models transparently with enterprise customers, this could include making traffic data they already collect available for deeper analytics, allowing customers to gain better insights into employee traffic patterns. It could also assist with network operations by helping to fine-tune performance based on traffic flow, even though the primary purpose of analyzing that data is security-related. Providing more advanced analytics using existing data could significantly enhance its value to enterprises.

Read full review

cto543714

CTO at a tech services company with 11-50 employees

Simplifies management by shifting from on-premises solutions to cloud-based

Depending on the complexity of your system, you might need additional help during implementation. Considerations such as whether you’re using federated Active Directory or on-premises Active Directory need to be addressed. While setting up a system can be quick, taking only ten minutes to get started, rolling it out for an enterprise requires careful planning. Ensuring you make the right configuration choices is crucial for a successful deployment. It depends on the size of your deployment. While you can handle the setup, larger deployments might require additional support to manage effectively. I rate the initial setup an eight out of ten, where one is difficult and ten is easy.

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

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

"iboss is easy to use despite its complexity. Multiple engineers manage it, but it's significantly more straightforward to administer than traditional VPNs and web proxies."

"iboss has significantly lowered the number of security incidents. It is crazy how much it blocks and how much it is aware of the outside danger."

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

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

"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."

"iboss is among the few products providing inline filtering where no application is needed on the device. It operates on the network side and is not device-based. This feature was one of the main reasons why we stayed with them for so long."

"I would rate the technical support of iboss a solid 10 without a shadow of a doubt."

More iboss pros

"There are a lot of features, but the groups that are created for the policy groups available with Netskope are already relevant to any industry. So grouping the policies is the easiest part and a valuable feature."

"Prevents data leakage and protects data."

"The solution offers good security functionality."

"Overall, the product is nice, and I like the URL filtering, CASB, and other security stacks like threat prevention."

"We've found the solution to be quite stable."

"The most valuable features of the solution are its three modules, which are SWG, ZTNA, and CASB."

"The solution's CASB, DLP, and threat protection features are very good."

"Web filtering and DLP are good features."

More Netskope Next Gen Secure Web Gateway pros

"I would rate my experience with the initial setup an eight out of ten, where one is difficult, and ten is easy to set up. It was pretty straightforward."

"The product is easy to install and deploy on the cloud."

"This solution does not require much administration."

Cons

"Sometimes, obviously, there are bugs."

"I'd like to see them accelerate development on the security side, particularly around data loss prevention."

"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."

"Regarding pricing, setup costs, and licensing, iboss is not cheap, and that's my only concern."

"The reporting feature needs improvement."

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

"Their on-premise hardware's network interface is capped at one gigabit, which is sort of a problem. If you stand a filter up where all traffic flows through that, according to them, in order to go above a gigabit, you have to have multiple devices, which in today's IT seems a little bit silly. They could easily put in an SFP port into their device that could accommodate 10 gigs or at least offer a box."

"Our iboss subscription access should be more secure with an OTP or VPN etc. It is easy to gain access if, for example, hackers obtain my username and password."

More iboss cons

"Netskope can only provide the high level related to threats."

"The solution lacks a good reporting feature."

"The accuracy could be improved."

"The stability of the solution to be very good. It is not the best and could improve but it is better than other solutions, such as Forcepoint."

"Netskope Next Gen Secure Web Gateway needs to integrate IoT, which can help to control devices."

"The solution needs to improve its on-premise detection technique."

"The initial setup is a bit complex in that it takes a lot of time. In order to get the product to work as you need it to, there is a lot of configuration required."

"They should work on marketing material to put out their work with a little more effort."

More Netskope Next Gen Secure Web Gateway cons

"WSS runs slowly sometimes, I would like for this to be looked into."

"Symantec Cloud Secure Web Gateway can be improved by giving customers more ability to provide feedback on the categorization of websites and the site review portal."

"The product is cost-effective, considering its features, technology, and support services."

Pricing and Cost Advice

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

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

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

"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."

"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."

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

"The price is average. Because the license is user-based, you can increase it as per the user quantity."

"The product is cheap."

"The solution's overall cost is cheaper than regular web security solutions."

"The license model is based on the number of users. You have the possibility to have 10,000 users if you wish."

"We pay a licensing fee of $10,000 on a yearly basis."

"The price is fixed and affordable."

See which vendors are best for you

Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Secure Web Gateways (SWG) solutions are best for your needs.

See recommendations

881,082 professionals have used our research since 2012.

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

No data available

Financial Services Firm

12%

Computer Software Company

12%

Manufacturing Company

Healthcare Company

Financial Services Firm

17%

Performing Arts

12%

Manufacturing Company

12%

Computer Software Company

10%

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	8
Midsize Enterprise	3
Large Enterprise	3

No data available

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...

See all answers

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...

See all answers

Which lesser known firewall product has the best chance at unseating the market leaders?

Netscope, Zscaler if they continue route they are on now. FIrewalls needs great deal of automation on each end, datac...

See all answers

Which lesser known firewall product has the best chance at unseating the market leaders?

Those firewalls that allow extend the perimeter. Nowadays, there is a issue with the static perimeter and all is goin...

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Netskope Next Gen Secure Web Gateway?

It is fairly priced.

See all answers

What needs improvement with Symantec Web Security Service?

Most products in this space are still maturing. Organizations rushing toward implementing zero-trust models often enc...

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Symantec Cloud Secure Web Gateway?

Symantec is now part of Broadcom, and their pricing is comparable to others in the market. It's reasonably priced rel...

See all answers

What advice do you have for others considering Symantec Cloud Secure Web Gateway?

Customers are increasingly adopting web isolation to enhance their network security. While this technology is costly,...

See all answers

Comparisons

Netskope vs iboss

Compared 13% of the time

Prisma Access by Palo Alto Networks vs iboss

Compared 10% of the time

Cisco Umbrella vs iboss

Compared 9% of the time

Zscaler Internet Access vs iboss

Compared 8% of the time

FortiSASE vs iboss

Compared 7% of the time

More iboss Competitors

Fortinet FortiGate vs Netskope Next Gen Secure Web Gateway

Compared 10% of the time

Zscaler Internet Access vs Netskope Next Gen Secure Web Gateway

Compared 9% of the time

Cato SASE Cloud Platform vs Netskope Next Gen Secure Web Gateway

Compared 8% of the time

Prisma Access Browser vs Netskope Next Gen Secure Web Gateway

Compared 7% of the time

Cisco Umbrella vs Netskope Next Gen Secure Web Gateway

Compared 7% of the time

More Netskope Next Gen Secure Web Gateway Competitors

Prisma Access by Palo Alto Networks vs Symantec Cloud Secure Web Gateway

Compared 31% of the time

Fortinet FortiProxy vs Symantec Cloud Secure Web Gateway

Compared 28% of the time

Cisco Umbrella vs Symantec Cloud Secure Web Gateway

Compared 21% of the time

Zscaler Internet Access vs Symantec Cloud Secure Web Gateway

Compared 20% of the time

More Symantec Cloud Secure Web Gateway Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

iboss

January 2026

Download iboss product report

Buyer's Guide

Netskope Next Gen Secure Web Gateway

January 2026

Netskope Next Gen Secure Web Gateway report

Download Netskope Next Gen Secure Web Gateway product report

Buyer's Guide

Secure Web Gateways (SWG)

January 2026

Symantec Cloud Secure Web Gateway report

Download Symantec Cloud Secure Web Gateway product report

Also Known As

iBoss Cloud Platform

No data available

Symantec Web Security Service

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

Netskope Next Gen Secure Web Gateway is a comprehensive cloud-based security solution that provides advanced threat protection, data loss prevention, and web filtering capabilities. It offers real-time visibility and control over web traffic, enabling organizations to enforce policies and protect against web-based threats. The solution uses machine learning and behavioral analysis to detect and block advanced threats, including malware, phishing, and ransomware. It also provides granular control over web access, allowing organizations to block or allow specific websites and applications based on user, group, or location. With Netskope Next Gen Secure Web Gateway, organizations can ensure compliance with industry regulations and protect sensitive data from unauthorized access or exfiltration. The solution is easy to deploy and manage, with a user-friendly interface and centralized policy management.

Netskope

Increasing web use, rapid cloud adoption, and greater numbers of remote users are exposing your network to additional risk. Symantec Cloud Secure Web Gateway (formerly Web Security Service) is an indispensable line of defense against modern-day cyber threats. A critical capability of Symantec Web Protection, it enables enterprises to control access, protects users from threats, and secures their sensitive data.

Broadcom

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.

Arrow, Cloudrise, Sainsbury, Evalueserve, Stroock, Apria, Ather Energy, CSA, AVX Corporation Nuna, City of San Diego Case, Genomic Health Case Study, Oak Hill Advisors, MaRS Discovery District.

Information Not Available

Buyer's Guide

Netskope Next Gen Secure Web Gateway vs. Symantec Cloud Secure Web Gateway

December 2025

Free Report: Netskope Next Gen Secure Web Gateway vs. Symantec Cloud Secure Web Gateway

Find out what your peers are saying about Netskope Next Gen Secure Web Gateway vs. Symantec Cloud Secure Web Gateway and other solutions. Updated: December 2025.

DOWNLOAD NOW

881,082 professionals have used our research since 2012.

See our Netskope Next Gen Secure Web Gateway vs. Symantec Cloud Secure Web Gateway report.

See our list of best Secure Web Gateways (SWG) vendors.

We monitor all Secure Web Gateways (SWG) 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.