Try our new research platform with insights from 80,000+ expert users

Quad9 vs Zscaler Internet Access comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Jan 1, 2025

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

Quad9
Ranking in Internet Security
8th
Average Rating
6.0
Reviews Sentiment
7.9
Number of Reviews
2
Ranking in other categories
Managed DNS (5th)
Zscaler Internet Access
Ranking in Internet Security
2nd
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
6.6
Number of Reviews
59
Ranking in other categories
Secure Web Gateways (SWG) (3rd)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of March 2026, in the Internet Security category, the mindshare of Quad9 is 4.9%, down from 5.2% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Zscaler Internet Access is 28.8%, down from 35.7% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Internet Security Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Zscaler Internet Access28.8%
Quad94.9%
Other66.3%
Internet Security
 

Featured Reviews

Louis Geoffroy - PeerSpot reviewer
President at IDEBUG
It's easy to use and set up, but I've faced performance problems
I have experience with Quad9 and most other filtering solutions. Quad9 was working well initially, but it started slowing, so I switched to OpenDNS. I recently checked Tom's Hardware, an IT review site, and read a review of seven DNS filters. Open DNS was ranked the fastest, and Quad9 was second. Google was on there too, but they said it didn't filter enough.
Mohan Janarthanan - PeerSpot reviewer
Associate Vice President at Novac Technology Solutions
User access management and threat prevention are enhanced with user-friendly controls
The best features Zscaler Internet Access offers include application control, tenant segregation, and PoP center regions which have low availability zones. The internet access is very successful and bandwidth speed is excellent. It also has application-based control, URL-based control, and SSL inspection capabilities, which are very useful. Additionally, the in-depth CASB segregation is very beneficial to us. One unique feature I found helpful is the tenant level restrictions, which we use to only access our organization's tenant level mail IDs, drives, and specific tenant level access while restricting public access. Zscaler Internet Access has positively impacted our organization as we have noticed substantial outputs and income. It has improved our security environment control and endpoint protection. It prevents numerous web attacks through its AI/ML incorporated capability which identifies malware, threats, and viruses. It has a toggle button to enable features entirely at the tenant level for all users onboarded into Zscaler Internet Access, resulting in much better outcomes.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The most valuable feature of Quad9 is that it is a free solution."
"Setting up Quad9 is straightforward if you know what you're doing, and it's easy to use overall."
"The most valuable feature is bandwidth control."
"The most valuable feature is the ability to drop packets."
"The most valuable features of Zscaler Internet Access are it's on the cloud, high network performance, and the interception of users is very easy."
"The URL filtering has been the most valuable feature."
"The solution's most valuable features are its reliability and availability, measured by the number of ports it offers."
"The policies are very intuitive and easy to configure, with very little possibility of messing things up."
"There is no lag in service when accessing the internet."
"Zscaler Internet Access integrates effectively, especially with the high-level IP services."
 

Cons

"Quad9 could improve by having more free features, such as custom DNS filtering."
"It used to work fine for all the devices, but it started to slow and become non-responsive. I would have to reload the page two or three times before all the pages loaded. With OpenDNS, I only need to load the page once."
"The pricing is an issue. It is expensive if you have all of your users in the same location. It is expensive compared to other firewalls on the market."
"It needs better integration with other applications. It takes a fair amount of regular activity to apply the by-passes because it is very strict in its restrictions and frequently you have to go in and open things up to allow the workforce to work."
"Zscale is providing a proxy IP, and most government sites will block traffic from a proxy. Also, we see some performance issues on the cloud side during DC failover."
"I don't know whether it's Zscaler or not, however, sometimes I can't access my time management. I need to wait and try again a few hours later. Typically, if I let some time pass, I can access it again."
"We'd like to have more plugins and integration."
"In every cloud service in the world, you have multiple upstream internet providers to create diversity so that if one of your providers fails, your network just continues. In South Africa, there is only one upstream provider, and that's not right. That that's a problem."
"Cloud App’s database should be improved."
"They could provide more time for the onboarding the training of an IT person."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The price of Quad9 is free."
"The price is competitive. It's not cheap and it's not expensive."
"ZIA follows a subscription model pricing and charges you based on the number of users. I would say its price is good."
"It is quite expensive. It does its job, but it is quite expensive for what we need."
"Licenses are available on a per-host basis. Some features like sandboxing require an additional fee, but most standard features are included in the license."
"We have found the solution to be expensive."
"There are multiple bundles: enterprise, business, and transformation. Transformation includes all the features, but recently I've seen a few more line items that are additional costs. Overall, it's expensive."
"The pricing is an issue. It is expensive compared to other firewalls on the market."
"The solution is a little bit expensive. On a scale of one to five, I would rate it as a three."
report
Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Internet Security solutions are best for your needs.
883,896 professionals have used our research since 2012.
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Comms Service Provider
25%
Computer Software Company
9%
Hospitality Company
7%
Financial Services Firm
5%
Computer Software Company
12%
Financial Services Firm
10%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Comms Service Provider
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business17
Midsize Enterprise10
Large Enterprise37
 

Questions from the Community

Which would you choose - Cloudflare DNS or Quad9?
Cloudflare DNS is a very fast, very reliable public DNS resolver. It is an enterprise-grade authoritative DNS service that offers great redundancy and advanced security with built-in unmetered and ...
Which is the better security solution - Cisco Umbrella or Zscaler?
Cisco Umbrella and Zscaler Internet Access are two broad-spectrum Internet security solutions that I have tried. Zscaler Internet Access is a good option for carrying out multiple security functi...
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 and manage cloud applications, protecting your sensitive data from exfiltration....
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Zscaler Internet Access?
It is only for big companies currently and they only focus on that. That is one of the problems to get into the market. Of course, it is an expensive product.
 

Also Known As

No data available
ZIA
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

CISCO, Netlab, proofpoint
Ulster-Greene ARC, BanRegio, HDFC, Ralcorp Holdings Inc., British American Tobacco, Med America Billing Services Inc., Lanco Group, Aquafil, Telefonica, Swisscom, Brigade Group
Find out what your peers are saying about Quad9 vs. Zscaler Internet Access and other solutions. Updated: March 2026.
883,896 professionals have used our research since 2012.