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Palo Alto Networks Advanced Threat Prevention vs Palo Alto Networks URL Filtering with PAN-DB comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Dec 19, 2024

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

Palo Alto Networks Advanced...
Ranking in Intrusion Detection and Prevention Software (IDPS)
6th
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
6.6
Number of Reviews
29
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Palo Alto Networks URL Filt...
Ranking in Intrusion Detection and Prevention Software (IDPS)
8th
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
6.7
Number of Reviews
13
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of October 2025, in the Intrusion Detection and Prevention Software (IDPS) category, the mindshare of Palo Alto Networks Advanced Threat Prevention is 5.6%, up from 5.1% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Palo Alto Networks URL Filtering with PAN-DB is 1.9%, down from 2.6% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Intrusion Detection and Prevention Software (IDPS) Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Palo Alto Networks Advanced Threat Prevention5.6%
Palo Alto Networks URL Filtering with PAN-DB1.9%
Other92.5%
Intrusion Detection and Prevention Software (IDPS)
 

Featured Reviews

Partha Dash - PeerSpot reviewer
Advanced protection enables us to confidently secure against evolving threats
Palo Alto Networks can improve Advanced Threat Prevention by catering to the growing adoption of AI and agentic tooling. The Threat Protection modules should have the necessary intelligence to protect against those types of threats, as AI will be there to do a human job; this is an evolving area. From an Advanced Threat Protection perspective, the technology associated with Palo Alto Networks, such as their sandboxing environment, is quite good. However, Palo Alto needs to focus on how to bring that technology to end users and how easy it is to use, especially in a hybrid environment where users work from various locations. While Palo Alto excels in certain setups, they need to improve the user experience in distributed working conditions.
Abdul  Basit - PeerSpot reviewer
Advanced features and robust support elevate overall network management experience
I think URL filtering could be better to some extent. Improvements could be made in Palo Alto Networks URL Filtering with PAN-DB compared to Sophos. The URL filtering option in Palo Alto gives a very clear vision of the network and the applications using URL filtering. If you assign a user in a group not to access certain URLs, that user should only be allowed to access LinkedIn without running videos. However, deep URL filtering in Palo Alto is not configurable. One user can have access to LinkedIn with video running, while another cannot. They should improve this deep analysis of URL filtering options.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"We are currently using the URL filtering feature, which is the most popular."
"Edge protection is a valuable feature."
"It's very easy to use and configure. What is nice about Palo Alto is that even if you don't understand how to use it, you can just click on upload and upload everything that needs to be blocked."
"The user interface is a bit more professional than some free products."
"The sandboxing tools offer great prevention for cloud feeds."
"I rate Palo Alto Networks Advanced Threat Prevention as nine out of ten."
"For those who want a next-gen firewall that's easy to configure and easy to operate, I think you should go for Palo Alto."
"The most valuable features are that it's user-friendly, has interesting features, URL filtering, and threat prevention."
"The most valuable feature is that the product can do everything in a single device, including the firewall, rules, and the PBL. It also has good routing and switching."
"It provides visibility and control over where people are web browsing and protects them from going to malicious sites."
"Prohibited URLs can be listed by category."
"It's allowed us to have better visibility and protection from threats."
"Being able to manage blacklists and whitelists easily is very useful, especially for internal access and limiting outbound access."
"Real-time analysis is excellent, and the integration of the solution with our infrastructure is straightforward and less challenging."
"I would rate Palo Alto Networks URL Filtering with PAN-DB a perfect 10 out of 10."
"The URL categories are updated by Palo Alto Networks itself."
 

Cons

"The solution could benefit from improved AI analytics to predict potential attacks before they occur, similar to NDR systems."
"The initial setup is complex."
"The behavioral detection capabilities could be expanded to address all threats at the perimeter, reducing the reliance on endpoint detection and response systems."
"I think they can use some improvement on FID."
"Palo Alto's maintenance needs to be improved."
"The organization mail security solutions could be improved. There is no mail security solution available."
"Palo Alto Networks Threat Prevention could improve the commercial offing. Other solutions, such as Fortinet provide better commercial features."
"The price of licenses should be lowered to make it less costly to scale our solution."
"The main limitation is that it needs a live Internet connection for ongoing updates."
"One way Palo Alto can improve is by offering sandboxing. I don't know if they currently offer a sandboxing feature together with the firewall or not. They should provide secure sandboxing with the firewalls."
"The licensing costs and setup costs are very expensive for us. The price is significantly higher compared to other competitive products."
"Customer service is sometimes inconsistent. Some engineers are very knowledgeable, while others cannot answer questions and delay solutions."
"Performance monitoring could use improvement."
"We have had some challenges with making Palo Alto Networks URL Filtering with PAN-DB work with ELK stack."
"I think Palo Alto Networks URL Filtering with PAN-DB is too costly compared to others."
"For hosting sites like Blogspot, they host sites that should be in different categories, but get lumped together in general. There needs to be more granularity or multiple categorizations."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"It's not too expensive."
"There is an initial, expensive investment but the return is good."
"It is an expensive solution and I would like to see a drop in price."
"The price of the solution is higher than others on the market. A price reduction would be beneficial if it does not impact their database quality."
"Palo Alto Networks Advanced Threat Prevention is quite competitive, offering extensive threat detection and prevention capabilities, though it is priced higher than some alternatives."
"Palo Alto Networks Threat Prevention could improve by having consistent pricing at system levels."
"The pricing could be lower."
"The pricing has improved with the newer generation of their Firewalls, but the price could always be lower."
"Expensive, but that's because it provides everything."
"It is more expensive than ASA but is far cheaper than Checkpoint. So, pricing wise, it is right in the middle."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
13%
Financial Services Firm
9%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Government
8%
Financial Services Firm
13%
Performing Arts
11%
University
9%
Manufacturing Company
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business8
Midsize Enterprise4
Large Enterprise15
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business5
Midsize Enterprise4
Large Enterprise4
 

Questions from the Community

Which is the best DDoS protection solution for a big ISP for monitoring and mitigating?
Arbor would be the best bid, apart from Arbor, Palo Alto and Fortinet have good solutions. As this is an ISP, I would prefer Arbor.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Palo Alto Networks Threat Prevention?
Palo Alto Networks Advanced Threat Prevention requires an add-on license and is considered expensive compared to competitors like Cisco AMP and FortiGate ( /products/fortinet-fortigate-reviews ) fi...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Palo Alto Networks URL Filtering with PAN-DB?
The licensing costs and setup costs are very expensive for us. The price is significantly higher compared to other competitive products.
What needs improvement with Palo Alto Networks URL Filtering with PAN-DB?
I think URL filtering could be better to some extent. Improvements could be made in Palo Alto Networks URL Filtering with PAN-DB compared to Sophos. The URL filtering option in Palo Alto gives a ve...
What is your primary use case for Palo Alto Networks URL Filtering with PAN-DB?
We previously discussed Palo Alto Networks WildFire, and we are currently using it for our firewalls with the WildFire subscription included. We have micro-segmentation using the VMware environment...
 

Also Known As

No data available
Palo Alto Networks URL Filtering PAN-DB
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

University of Arkansas, JBG SMITH, SkiStar AB, TRI-AD, Temple University, Telkom Indonesia
TRI-AD, Telkom Indonesia
Find out what your peers are saying about Palo Alto Networks Advanced Threat Prevention vs. Palo Alto Networks URL Filtering with PAN-DB and other solutions. Updated: September 2025.
869,089 professionals have used our research since 2012.