Palo Alto Networks K2-Series vs Zscaler Cloud Firewall comparison

Palo Alto Networks K2-Series vs. Zscaler Cloud Firewall

December 2025

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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:

ROI

Sentiment score

5.8

Fortinet FortiGate offers cost-effective, robust security, reducing expenses, enhancing efficiency, easy implementation, quick ROI, and improved network management.

Sentiment score

6.2

Palo Alto Networks K2-Series improved cybersecurity, efficiency, and cost savings through enhanced visibility, automation, and reduced incident response times.

Sentiment score

1.0

Users experienced cost reductions, improved security, enhanced performance, easier scalability, better threat protection, simplified management, and efficient resource utilization.

Clients are now comfortable and not wasting productive hours on IT support.

MURALI NIDAMANURI

Managing Director at a manufacturing company with 10,001+ employees

The automation part is giving us a cost benefit and speed; we can react faster.

Bart Homblé

BDM Fortinet & BDM Teamlead at Exclusive Networks

It's a very useful tool to mitigate and protect your enterprise.

Bernard Samontanes

Staff Infrastructure & Security Engineer at Mozn Systems

For more quotes and insights, download the Fortinet FortiGate report

For CN-Series, there is no competitor which works the same way as Palo Alto does.

For more quotes and insights, download the Palo Alto Networks K2-Series report

Sr. Cloud Security Architect at a tech services company with 11-50 employees

No quotes available

For more quotes and insights, download the Zscaler Cloud Firewall report

Customer Service

Sentiment score

6.6

Fortinet FortiGate's customer service is generally praised for responsiveness, though some users experience delays in critical situations.

Sentiment score

8.0

Palo Alto Networks K2-Series support is praised for vendor responsiveness and expertise, though partner support is less reliable.

Sentiment score

5.0

Zscaler Cloud Firewall offers responsive and knowledgeable support, though occasional escalations might cause delays, with room for improvement.

The quick resolution of issues with Fortinet FortiGate is due to the support of the company and the fact that the equipment is easy to work with.

Alexandre Menezes

IT Manager at a consultancy with 10,001+ employees

I would rate the technical support for Fortinet FortiGate a ten out of ten.

AnishKumar

NAC Support at Rah Infotech Pvt Ltd

As a solution provider, when I encounter problems, I connect directly with Fortinet support, and they provide solutions within a very short time.

Vasu Gala

Manager, Information Technology Operation/Presales at TechMonarch

For more quotes and insights, download the Fortinet FortiGate report

I would rate tech support from Palo Alto Networks at around eight out of ten points because we had dedicated people assigned to us.

Sr. Cloud Security Architect at a tech services company with 11-50 employees

We get Gold support from them, and they are pretty good.

reviewer2224035

Design engineer at a construction company with 201-500 employees

I would rate the technical support for the Palo Alto Networks K2-Series from Palo Alto as nine out of ten points.

For more quotes and insights, download the Palo Alto Networks K2-Series report

Director at MICROLOGIC NETWORKS PRIVATE LIMITED

The response and support are sometimes inadequate, which detracts from the overall experience of an otherwise impressive solution.

Director at Aquila ICT Solutions

The technical support from Zscaler was excellent.

For more quotes and insights, download the Zscaler Cloud Firewall report

Cyber Security Architect at Accenture

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score

7.1

Fortinet FortiGate is scalable and popular for SMEs but requires careful design and may incur scaling costs and licensing constraints.

Sentiment score

7.8

Palo Alto Networks K2-Series offers scalable, flexible solutions for organizations, excelling in network expansion and handling diverse environments.

Sentiment score

5.3

Zscaler Cloud Firewall is scalable and easy to manage, praised for performance and user satisfaction across various regions.

They scale up really well from smaller models like the FortiGate 40 and 50 to bigger sites with the FortiGate 100 for more throughput - up to enterprise datacenters.

Ian Manton

IT Manager at Daltons Limited

The variation comes in terms of the interfaces and throughputs, but from a security perspective, you get the same benefit, irrespective of whether you have an entry-level unit or an enterprise.

reviewer2667480

Cewa Solutions Architect at a tech services company with 11-50 employees

We determine sizing based on multiple factors: number of users, available links, traffic types, server count, services in use, and whether services will be published.

FatmaSamy

General Surgery Specialist at Helwan University Cairo

For more quotes and insights, download the Fortinet FortiGate report

Vertical scaling allows you to purchase more powerful devices with additional RAM, compute, and larger model form factors.

For more quotes and insights, download the Palo Alto Networks K2-Series report

Sr. Cloud Security Architect at a tech services company with 11-50 employees

In this case, Twingate will be very easy compared to Zscaler.

reviewer2641644

IT Security at a manufacturing company with 11-50 employees

For more quotes and insights, download the Zscaler Cloud Firewall report

Stability Issues

Sentiment score

7.7

Fortinet FortiGate is praised for its stability, with effective long-term performance and improvements in newer firmware versions.

Sentiment score

7.8

Palo Alto Networks K2-Series is praised for exceptional stability and dependability, with minor configuration and maintenance issues reported.

Sentiment score

6.4

Zscaler Cloud Firewall is stable, reliable, and well-rated, with minor performance issues and redundancy minimizing outages.

We're experiencing 99.999% availability consistently.

Ricardo Biggs

Manager, Information Technology at a consumer goods company with 11-50 employees

I would rate the stability of Fortinet FortiGate a ten out of ten.

AnishKumar

NAC Support at Rah Infotech Pvt Ltd

Currently, we are experiencing a general outage of one of the main internet service providers of the Dominican Republic, and we have not been impacted in our operations because with SD-WAN, we have another internet service provider and we are working with the second WAN connection without any disruption.

Juan Frias

CISO at a financial services firm with 1,001-5,000 employees

For more quotes and insights, download the Fortinet FortiGate report

Palo Alto typically doesn't have many glitches.

For more quotes and insights, download the Palo Alto Networks K2-Series report

Sr. Cloud Security Architect at a tech services company with 11-50 employees

There were some stability issues due to occasional latency and lags, particularly with the GUI and report generation.

For more quotes and insights, download the Zscaler Cloud Firewall report

Cyber Security Architect at Accenture

Room For Improvement

Fortinet FortiGate needs enhanced UI, simplified licensing, improved performance, reporting, third-party integration, and expanded automation features.

Palo Alto Networks K2-Series needs better pricing, integration, usability, and AI to address user demands for support and scalability.

Zscaler Cloud Firewall needs improved features, better integration, enhanced support, wider coverage, affordable pricing, and a modernized interface.

These sessions should be around five to ten minutes long, allowing users and partners to quickly grasp the information without disrupting their daily tasks.

MURALI NIDAMANURI

Managing Director at a manufacturing company with 10,001+ employees

The solution should be able to implement machine learning and analytics of all the logs for threat detection and protection.

Elvis Mahadeo

Senior Systems Engineer at Caribbean Development Company

It would be better for customers to get immediate replacements even with a standard subscription.

Pravin Mandlik

Director at a tech services company with 11-50 employees

For more quotes and insights, download the Fortinet FortiGate report

Enhancing web traffic protection would be a great upgrade.

Krishnakumar M

enterprise architect at a tech services company with 1-10 employees

L1 engineers cannot work on the Palo Alto Networks K2-Series because it's too complex, which requires L2 and above level of engineers.

Director at MICROLOGIC NETWORKS PRIVATE LIMITED

With AI, if there is a Precision AI bundle that you're planning on exploring, then that definitely needs a significant uplift because currently it doesn't work for all the known models.

For more quotes and insights, download the Palo Alto Networks K2-Series report

Sr. Cloud Security Architect at a tech services company with 11-50 employees

For now, there is no dashboard or network management system available for Twingate.

reviewer2641644

IT Security at a manufacturing company with 11-50 employees

The reverse proxy feature for Data Loss Prevention (DLP) is missing.

Cyber Security Architect at Accenture

I believe the integration of AI could improve the dashboard by making it more agile and effective in monitoring and predicting threats.

For more quotes and insights, download the Zscaler Cloud Firewall report

Director at Aquila ICT Solutions

Setup Cost

Enterprise buyers find Fortinet FortiGate costly initially, but cheaper overall, despite some high renewal and setup costs.

Palo Alto Networks K2-Series is expensive, suitable for large enterprises, with straightforward licensing but requires frequent price negotiations.

Zscaler Cloud Firewall is flexible yet expensive, valued for tiered packages, with prices affected by user count and features.

Last year, I renewed the support for three years, which can sometimes be expensive but depends on the security benefits and how it helps us.

AiméKouchade

Network & System Admin at Invoke Studios

It offers cost savings as it is generally cheaper than the competition.

NilsPaley

IT Infrastructure Architect at Apotek 1

It is about 20% cheaper.

MithatBulut

Network Security Engineer at TD SYNNEX

For more quotes and insights, download the Fortinet FortiGate report

It's a little bit expensive.

Krishnakumar M

enterprise architect at a tech services company with 1-10 employees

The pricing for the Palo Alto Networks K2-Series solution is affordable.

For more quotes and insights, download the Palo Alto Networks K2-Series report

Director at MICROLOGIC NETWORKS PRIVATE LIMITED

Zscaler Cloud Firewall is quite expensive compared to competitors.

For more quotes and insights, download the Zscaler Cloud Firewall report

Cyber Security Architect at Accenture

Valuable Features

Fortinet FortiGate provides robust, flexible security solutions with key features like web filtering, SSL VPN, SD-WAN, and centralized management.

Palo Alto Networks K2-Series provides advanced, scalable security with AI-driven features, strong threat prevention, and user-friendly management.

Zscaler Cloud Firewall offers advanced threat protection, simplified management, and seamless integration, enhancing security with flexible policy customization and traffic control.

These features help reduce our downtime, manage the ISPs, and deploy SLAs for all the website traffic.

Syed Ali Waqas

Head IT at Burraq Cyber Security Solutions

The most valuable feature of FortiGate is FortiView which provides proactive monitoring.

Viraj Fernandopulle

General Manager Group IT at DART GLOBAL LOGISTICS PTE. LTD.

We got a firewall and gave an SSL VPN to my client to connect to their servers, after which, such kind of activities involving ransomware attacks stopped.

VINAY GUJARATHI

Owner at Mindware Computer Solutions

For more quotes and insights, download the Fortinet FortiGate report

Overall, the K2-Series helps in much more protection, and dashboard compliances are being met.

Director at MICROLOGIC NETWORKS PRIVATE LIMITED

We had configured dynamic user groups and App-ID based policies, which makes it all Zero Trust.

For more quotes and insights, download the Palo Alto Networks K2-Series report

Sr. Cloud Security Architect at a tech services company with 11-50 employees

Mainly, it is very easy to understand, and the logs are very good.

reviewer2224035

Design engineer at a construction company with 201-500 employees

It is really customized, a security policy that can be applied to the users so they can access only the resources I enable them.

reviewer2641644

IT Security at a manufacturing company with 11-50 employees

Advanced threat protection features in Zscaler Cloud Firewall are practically the key component that every customer wants.

Director at Aquila ICT Solutions

The biggest advantage of Zscaler Cloud Firewall is its consolidation of products.

For more quotes and insights, download the Zscaler Cloud Firewall report

Cyber Security Architect at Accenture

Categories and Ranking

Fortinet FortiGate

Mindshare comparison

As of January 2026, in the Firewalls category, the mindshare of Fortinet FortiGate is 18.8%, down from 20.7% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Palo Alto Networks K2-Series is 0.2%, up from 0.0% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Zscaler Cloud Firewall is 0.6%, up from 0.3% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Firewalls Market Share Distribution
Product	Market Share (%)
Fortinet FortiGate	18.8%
Palo Alto Networks K2-Series	0.2%
Zscaler Cloud Firewall	0.6%
Other	80.4%

Firewalls

Featured Reviews

Vasu Gala

Manager, Information Technology Operation/Presales at TechMonarch

A stable solution with an intuitive interface and quick customer service

I have been working with Fortinet FortiGate, WatchGuard, Sophos, and SonicWall. I'm not as comfortable with SonicWall because of their UI and limitations. I prefer Fortinet above all other options. When it comes to configuration, I am confident in my ability to handle various tasks, including creating policies such as firewall rules, web policies, and application policies. Additionally, I can configure VPNs and implement load balancing, among other tasks. Overall, I feel much more comfortable working with Fortinet. Fortinet has made significant improvements by integrating AI with firewalls for threat analysis and prevention. In the past 2-3 years, they have launched FortiSASE and SIEM, and they also provide SOC services. Both Palo Alto and Fortinet FortiGate are excellent. While Fortinet FortiGate comes at higher prices, the functionality and support justify the cost. They promptly resolve firmware issues and inform all support providers about configuration changes.

Read full review

Has provided strong traffic visibility and efficient policy management for advanced network environments

Sr. Cloud Security Architect at a tech services company with 11-50 employees

Palo Alto Networks K2-Series could be improved, though I don't think of much. I'm unsure how widespread the adoption for K2-Series alone is. Looking at the base Palo Alto capabilities, they are going in the right direction. K2 specifically about its efficacy with all these 5G protocols, the GPRS tunneling protocol performed without many hiccups during testing. With AI, if there is a Precision AI bundle that you're planning on exploring, then that definitely needs a significant uplift because currently it doesn't work for all the known models. There are many false positives that need to be addressed. While it's still ahead of its competitors, on the AI security side, there is quite a room for improvement.

Read full review

Has streamlined secure deployments across large enterprises while offering reliable protection and intuitive management

Director at Aquila ICT Solutions

The centralized management console, also referred to as the Zscaler dashboard, impacts the ability of my customers to respond to security incidents significantly. I see it as user-friendly, and clients are really happy with using it, which motivates them to keep using Zscaler Cloud Firewall because they enjoy the GUI. It's very intuitive, making it easy to navigate alerts and incidents. My clients rarely have questions about where to find specific information once Zscaler Cloud Firewall is running. The interface speaks for itself, requiring little to no additional training, which is a major plus. Advanced threat protection features in Zscaler Cloud Firewall are practically the key component that every customer wants. Unfortunately, it is an option and not included in the basic package. Clients need to pay for the next higher bundle to access it, but practically all clients I have dealt with want this feature 100%. Regarding visibility, I can confirm that Zscaler Cloud Firewall indeed includes a feature for application layer visibility embedded in the service. It provides visibility into what you're doing, which is especially interesting nowadays when discussing AI tools, as companies do not want their employees to copy-paste sensitive information into AI systems. We have seen cases such as Samsung's chip design where sensitive info got exposed. The visibility of applications, including cloud applications and AI tools, is significant for compliance with data policies, and you can also run reports and alerts on it.

Read full review

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881,114 professionals have used our research since 2012.

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

12%

Comms Service Provider

Manufacturing Company

Financial Services Firm

Performing Arts

23%

Computer Software Company

13%

Manufacturing Company

Comms Service Provider

Manufacturing Company

13%

Computer Software Company

11%

Financial Services Firm

Transportation Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	357
Midsize Enterprise	133
Large Enterprise	188

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	14
Midsize Enterprise	8
Large Enterprise	13

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	5
Midsize Enterprise	2
Large Enterprise	12

Questions from the Community

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As a solution, Sophos UTM offers a lot of functionality, it scales well, and the stability and performance are quite ...

Features comparison between Palo Alto and Fortinet firewalls

In the best tradition of these questions, Feature-wise both are quite similar, but each has things it's better at, it...

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Palo Alto Networks K2-Series?

The pricing for the Palo Alto Networks K2-Series solution is affordable and there are no complaints about the licensing.

What needs improvement with Palo Alto Networks K2-Series?

Palo Alto Networks K2-Series could be improved, though I don't think of much. I'm unsure how widespread the adoption ...

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...

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Zscaler Cloud Firewall?

Zscaler Cloud Firewall is quite expensive compared to competitors. However, it offered moderate value for money.

What needs improvement with Zscaler Cloud Firewall?

In terms of improvements for Zscaler Cloud Firewall, I think every product has needed enhancements over time, and cur...

Sophos Firewall vs Fortinet FortiGate

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Compared 3% of the time

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Compared 25% of the time

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Compared 22% of the time

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Compared 16% of the time

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Compared 10% of the time

Azure Firewall vs Zscaler Cloud Firewall

Compared 8% of the time

Huawei NGFW vs Zscaler Cloud Firewall

Compared 5% of the time

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Compared 4% of the time

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Product Reports

Download Fortinet FortiGate product report

Fortinet FortiGate

January 2026

Palo Alto Networks K2-Series

January 2026

Download Palo Alto Networks K2-Series product report

Download Zscaler Cloud Firewall product report

Zscaler Cloud Firewall

January 2026

Also Known As

Fortinet FortiGate Next-Generation Firewall

No data available

Overview

Fortinet FortiGate is a versatile network security tool offering features like VPN, firewall, web filtering, intrusion prevention, and scalability. It is known for its performance and integration with other Fortinet products, making it a preferred choice for robust cybersecurity.

Fortinet FortiGate stands out as a comprehensive cybersecurity solution with strong performance and ease of configuration. It delivers unified threat management, integrating features such as dynamic routing, SD-WAN support, and centralized management. Despite its strengths, improvements in the web interface's stability, pricing structures, and reporting capabilities are needed. Users seek better integration with third-party tools and automation advancements to enhance the experience further. These enhancements, alongside improvements in bandwidth management and the reduction of licensing costs, are points of interest for users looking to capitalize on FortiGate's extensive capabilities.

What are Fortinet FortiGate's key features?

VPN: Ensures secure remote connections.
Firewall: Protects against unauthorized access.
Web Filtering: Blocks malicious sites and content.
Application Control: Manages and controls applications.
Intrusion Prevention: Detects and prevents vulnerabilities.
SSL Inspection: Enhances security by inspecting encrypted traffic.

What benefits should be considered when evaluating Fortinet FortiGate?

Affordability: Offers cost-effective security solutions.
Reliability: Known for consistent and stable performance.
Integration: Seamlessly integrates with other Fortinet products.
Comprehensive Protection: Provides broad threat protection capabilities.

Fortinet FortiGate is widely implemented across industries as a primary firewall system for securing internet gateways and safeguarding data centers. It supports businesses in achieving SD-WAN integration and enhances cybersecurity by providing essential features like antivirus, web filtering, and application control. Enterprises utilize FortiGate for securing remote connections and ensuring compliance with security standards, making it adaptable for different network sizes and industries.

Fortinet

Designed to handle growing throughput needs due to increasing amounts of application-, user-, and device-generated data, the K2-Series offers amazing performance and threat prevention capabilities to stop advanced cyberattacks and secure mobile network infrastructure, subscribers, and services.

Palo Alto Networks

Zscaler enables the world’s leading organizations to securely transform their networks and applications for a mobile and cloud first world. Its flagship services, Zscaler Internet Access and Zscaler Private Access, create fast, secure connections between users and applications, regardless of device, location, or network. Zscaler services are 100% cloud-delivered and offer the simplicity, enhanced security, and improved user experience that traditional appliances or hybrid solutions are unable to match. Used in more than 185 countries, Zscaler operates the world’s largest cloud security platform, protecting thousands of enterprises and government agencies from cyberattacks and data loss.

Check more details: https://www.zscaler.com/produc...

Zscaler

Sample Customers

Amazon Web Services, Microsoft, IBM, Cisco, Dell, HP, Oracle, Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile, Sprint, Vodafone, Orange, BT Group, Telstra, Deutsche Telekom, Comcast, Time Warner Cable, CenturyLink, NTT Communications, Tata Communications, SoftBank, China Mobile, Singtel, Telus, Rogers Communications, Bell Canada, Telkom Indonesia, Telkom South Africa, Telmex, Telia Company, Telkom Kenya

State of North Dakota, SEGA, Alameda County Office of Education, Temple University, VERGE, CAME

Zenith Live, Azure, Carlsberg Group