Appgate SDP vs Portnox comparison

Appgate and Portnox Security are both solutions in the ZTNA category. Appgate is ranked #8 with an average rating of 8.0, while Portnox Security is ranked #7 with an average rating of 8.2. Additionally, 100% of Appgate users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 96% of Portnox Security users who would recommend it.

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Jun 3, 2026

Portnox and Appgate SDP both compete in network security and access control. Based on user feedback, Portnox seems to have an advantage due to its pricing strategy and ease of integration.

Features: Portnox stands out with network visibility, proactive threat management, and agentless deployment which simplifies maintenance. Appgate SDP is praised for its policy-based access control, granular rule-building, and reliable connectivity across environments.

Room for Improvement: Portnox could improve integration ease, adjust its licensing model, and enhance firewall integration. Appgate SDP would benefit from an improved user interface, cost-effective solutions for smaller deployments, and simplified policy management.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Portnox is noted for its straightforward deployment process and responsive customer support. Appgate SDP offers powerful deployment options with good customer service, albeit with a more complex configuration process.

Pricing and ROI: Portnox is favored for its competitive and flexible pricing, offering significant ROI through streamlined IT tasks. Appgate SDP is seen as more costly with a premium price reflecting its strong security controls, yet users seek improvements in ease of use for better perceived value.

To learn more, read our detailed Appgate SDP vs. Portnox Report (Updated: June 2026).

Buyer's Guide

Appgate SDP vs. Portnox

June 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

Featured Reviews

Ashok Ananthula

Senior Consultant Proxy Engineering at a financial services firm with 10,001+ employees

Cloud gateway has strengthened remote web security and now needs better Mac and ISP support

The problem our organization had is that iboss failed for the Mac devices. It is not able to give a successful agent for the Mac agents. That is where in 2025, we had to migrate to the Palo Alto-based platform. If your use case is for just Windows laptops,you can consider this platform as an option One issue is the data center resiliency part. In India especially, they are not tied up with the Tier 1 ISPs like Tata or Airtel; they were having Tier 2 ISPs and encountered many issues reaching few major sites that my organization depends on, and they were having problems that they could not fix quickly. They also lack a mechanism to route that traffic within their data center; rather, they ask customers to make a pac file change to route it to Singapore explicitly. It would be better if they route from their backend , i mean even if I send it to India DC, they should be able to route it internally to make that work; however, they fail to do that and ask the customer to route it in the pac file. Another suggestion is that in China, they do not have the proper setup; they used to have numerous problems with slowness and lack of premium circuits in China as well. That leads to multiple sites working slowly with latency-related issues. So the main issue is the ISP-related problems that need to be solved.

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Sachin Mohanty

Cloud Operations Engineer at PowerSchool India Pvt.Ltd

Zero trust access has strengthened security and now streamlines remote work across all sites

The reporting can be improved, as Appgate SDP is strong but could benefit from enhanced reporting features. This would improve visibility and simplify operational monitoring, along with simpler initial deployment. The initial setup and configuration require a good understanding of Zero Trust principles. The user interface can also be improved, as the administrative interface and policy workflows would make day-to-day operations easier for security teams. Additionally, more AI-driven insights such as anomaly detection and automated policy recommendations would further enhance security operations, along with richer reporting and dashboard capabilities. Regarding scalability, we can improve it for larger-scale deployments, making the platform more effective for growing enterprises and benefiting organizations with large and distributed user populations. Many users starting with Appgate SDP would see improvements from better centralized policy management for large environments and more efficient handling for large-scale deployments while improving monitoring and reporting across multiple regions. Additional automation capabilities would also support expanding infrastructures.

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Maurice Mwaura

Product Manager at Applied Principles Limited

Unified access control has improved compliance visibility and simplified passwordless access

There is work to be done when it comes to making the solution more seamless. For example, when a user is denied access, they would need a way to maybe self-resolve themselves, perhaps a way to generate a ticket on their own, something around resolutions. When it comes to users using the product, that is where good products are differentiated from products that are a bit of a challenge. Portnox has much to do in terms of their reporting. The generated reports need improvement. Things that other tools would say are normal are usually not present. For example, there is a page called NAS devices or NAS network that is able to show the switches that have been managed. Currently, there is no way of generating an easy report or an easy way of just generating something to tell the customer what they have been able to achieve so far. This is not done yet and is still very manual. I think there is work to be done there. More integrations around the various products being used would be beneficial. So far I have not encountered any major challenge. Where there was a challenge, I think support came in and helped us resolve. In fact, most of the challenges are not with the product; they are with the customer environment. I think that is just to update their documentation where they have come across a new vendor for easier integrations in the future.

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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

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

"Its initial setup was straightforward."

"The iboss solution gives me the ability to scan the traffic through all the ports, through all the 131,000 PCP and UDP ports, and with this ability, we have the granularity also for consults over social media and applications on mobile, and this is an advantage that the customers are looking for right now."

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

"We chose iboss for both zero trust and proxy (SWG) because their SWG was superior."

"The security aspect of the solution, particularly the malware behind it, is excellent. That's something that really helped us out. It's not just a simple proxy that just blocks the insights of potential threats that come on behind it. They do malware detection and that helps us a lot."

"As I mentioned, the return on investment is significant, as it saved our office locations' bandwidth because when you are working remotely at home, your internet traffic routes directly to iboss and will not go to your office building, saving bandwidth bottlenecks and ensuring that issues with our building internet circuits will not impact your internet connectivity because you are directly going to the iboss data center."

"iboss is pretty scalable. They provide good support. The case managers you work with to coordinate what you need are pretty good."

More iboss pros

"Appgate SDP has positively impacted my organization by strengthening our security posture and providing more granular control over access to internal resources we handle daily."

"It is a scalable solution...The support answers your questions very fast."

"It is pretty stable."

"The flexibility of the tool is valuable; it is very robust, has a very robust configuration capability, is pretty well documented, and is also good interface-wise."

"Appgate SDP has positively impacted my organization, as we are using it to securely access the internet after the cyber attack."

"The simplicity of the SDP platform is a standout feature; instead of navigating through intricate details, users can seamlessly connect to the company's network or switch to the internet with minimal effort."

"Appgate SDP is the best solution for micro-segmentation and supplying VPN solutions."

"The interface is really friendly. It's simple to understand."

More Appgate SDP pros

"Portnox is better than other solutions that I tried before, at least with Cisco, because it has lots of features that are not included in Cisco, so it is the best for me."

"The most important of all is that we are aware of situations the minute anyone on the network has issues, with a very good graphical interface that shows us exactly where the issue is and what ports it is occurring at, making it a lot easier for us to troubleshoot network issues and helping with uptime and productivity."

"The simplicity of the product is commendable."

"The visibility of the product is excellent."

"The ability of the product to search the entire network and know what you have hidden on your network."

"Portnox is a winner for me compared to other vendors, especially other NAC vendors, in terms of pricing."

"For a network access control solution, Portnox is a very good solution."

"Portnox helped to free up staff time and resources for other IT security priorities and IT work."

More Portnox pros

Cons

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

"The solution could be stronger on the integration side and offer more cloud applications like G Suite or Oracle."

"I have heard they are doing DDoS filtering, but I am not certain if they are implementing it correctly."

"The endpoint-type solution is an area that needs some improvement."

"If they could implement an extra security layer preventing access to iboss from the open internet, it would be great."

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

"Fold that in with the risk intelligence they're getting from all of the different subscriptions they are a part of. Now, these security companies subscribe to things like emerging threats, databases, etc. You can fold all this intelligence to decide what's happening on an endpoint. I would love to see them start moving into that space. That would compete directly with Microsoft. Maybe that's why they haven't. Having that ability native within the solution would be great. The other area in which I would love to see improvement is more detailed descriptions of why they block websites."

"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."

More iboss cons

"It would be better to connect to an application portal from any device. Documentation and support could be better."

"One thing that kind of sticks out to me is the ability to do a proper non-split tunnel."

"One limitation is that it's harder to provide access to multiple applications in the company with Appgate, but that's probably because of poor management."

"On the cloud, when you make some changes, it may be difficult."

"If I could change or improve anything about Appgate SDP, it would be to enhance the user experience by improving the UI so that it is more explanatory."

"The reporting can be improved, as Appgate SDP is strong but could benefit from enhanced reporting features."

"They could provide a single-box solution to manage tools for 4000 users. Additionally, they could add extra features to enhance remote micro connection."

"One thing that kind of sticks out to me is the ability to do a proper non-split tunnel. VPN tunnel-wise, it is not really a true unsplit tunnel, but I think that's just because of the way it's designed. A split VPN basically allows your system to talk to other systems without being forced down the tunnel. A VPN running in a non-split tunnel mode forces all the traffic down the tunnel to wherever you're VPNing to. It forces the traffic down so that the traffic is subject to the firewall and rules that you have in your corporate environment and such. It helps to prevent remote malicious folks that may be talking directly to that box from piggybacking into the corporate environment through it. They do it partially, but it would be nice to see more of an enterprise-level solution there."

More Appgate SDP cons

"One of the things for the on-premise is that sometimes you click on it and it takes a while for it to respond."

"In Portnox, the area that has room for improvement is that older data is not fetching correctly."

"In terms of operational efficiency, things are more complicated now. It takes more time to get devices on the network, but we increased security quite a bit."

"The Wi-Fi integration could be done better from their end. If there is an improvement, it should be around having more functions on the integration with the Wi-Fi controller I used, which was a UniFi controller, also on-prem."

"However, problems arise when the same MAC address is requested for a different project. Our current system only finds authenticated MAC addresses, making it difficult to troubleshoot when the same device is used for multiple purposes."

"From a resource perspective, the OEM can do better in terms of resource utilization."

"The price could be better."

"Portnox has design considerations that limit its applicability."

More Portnox cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

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

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

"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 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."

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

"It is a pretty expensive tool. It is maybe about $20,000 per year for a hundred users or so."

"We pay $100 per user per month. One license for the site is around $17."

"The pricing is according to the market price. It is not a very cheap solution. They have some very aggressive promotions to sell the product in the market."

"The solution is very expensive and I would rate it 10 out of 10."

"Pricing is quite reasonable."

"The pricing is a bit high, possibly due to the cloud features and running instances across regions like the US, Asia, and Europe."

"The tool is more expensive than Fortinet."

"The cost of Portnox Clear is reasonable."

"It is not bad. It is a bit on the high side, but considering the cloud features and how much it costs to run the instance in the cloud, it is not unreasonable. We do have RADIUS servers for the US, Asia, and Europe."

"The users are not very happy with the new licensing option where there is only a subscription license. There is no perpetual license."

"The licensing module should be reviewed to count the number of devices instead of port numbers of total switches. There is a case for this where not all ports for a switch are used by devices. Unused ports are calculated in the license, then the customer pays for license for those unused ports."

More Portnox pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Financial Services Firm

11%

Manufacturing Company

10%

Computer Software Company

Construction Company

Manufacturing Company

14%

Financial Services Firm

Comms Service Provider

Computer Software Company

Manufacturing Company

16%

Financial Services Firm

14%

Healthcare Company

Construction Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	7
Midsize Enterprise	7
Large Enterprise	8

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	4
Midsize Enterprise	1
Large Enterprise	5

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	17
Midsize Enterprise	6
Large Enterprise	10

Questions from the Community

What needs improvement with iboss?

The problem our organization had is that iboss failed for the Mac devices. It is not able to give a successful agent ...

See all answers

What is your primary use case for iboss?

We used iBoss mainly for Internet Access by having an Agent on Windows laptops Primarily because when we try to use i...

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for iboss?

I am not involved in pricing, but as per the information I have, during that time, the Blue Coat proxies we were usin...

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Appgate SDP?

My experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing is that this whole thing is managed by the security team, and t...

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What needs improvement with Appgate SDP?

If I could change or improve anything about Appgate SDP, it would be to enhance the user experience by improving the ...

See all answers

What is your primary use case for Appgate SDP?

My main use case for Appgate SDP is for security purposes. We are trying to use it to connect with our VPNs and the n...

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Portnox Clear?

My thoughts on the pricing are that they are usually very flexible. They work with the customer's budget. In terms of...

See all answers

What needs improvement with Portnox Clear?

The area that has room for improvement that I had is actually the one that they fixed about two or three days ago reg...

See all answers

What is your primary use case for Portnox Clear?

Some of the best features that I have experienced with Portnox is the integration with identity providers and the fac...

See all answers

Comparisons

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Compared 10% of the time

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Fortinet FortiGate vs iboss

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FortiSASE vs iboss

Compared 7% of the time

Cisco Umbrella vs iboss

Compared 6% of the time

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Prisma Access by Palo Alto Networks vs Appgate SDP

Compared 9% of the time

Zscaler Zero Trust Exchange Platform vs Appgate SDP

Compared 7% of the time

Twingate vs Appgate SDP

Compared 5% of the time

Fortinet FortiGate vs Appgate SDP

Compared 4% of the time

Waverley Labs Open Source Software Defined Perimeter vs Appgate SDP

Compared 3% of the time

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Fortinet FortiNAC vs Portnox

Compared 11% of the time

Aruba ClearPass vs Portnox

Compared 10% of the time

Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE) vs Portnox

Compared 9% of the time

Symantec Zero Trust Network Access (ZTNA) vs Portnox

Compared 8% of the time

Ivanti Policy Secure (IPS) vs Portnox

Compared 4% of the time

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Product Reports

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iboss

June 2026

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Buyer's Guide

ZTNA

June 2026

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Buyer's Guide

Portnox

June 2026

Download Portnox product report

Also Known As

iBoss Cloud Platform

No data available

Access Layers Portnox, Portnox CLEAR

Interactive Demo

Demo not available

iboss

Demo not available

Appgate

Portnox Security

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

Appgate SDP provides a comprehensive approach to network access control, optimizing security with robust configurations and a user-friendly interface, featuring flexible deployment and server concealment to mitigate risks.

Appgate SDP has been designed to enhance security operations through reliable access management. It prides itself on offering strong documentation, substantial scalability, and an interface that supports easy deployment, creating a seamless experience for local and remote connections. It enables organizations to implement micro-segmentation and integrate multifactor authentication, thus elevating their security posture. Recent updates reflect improvements, yet aspects like cost, cloud modification difficulties, VPN customization needs, and an upgraded interface remain areas for future enhancement. Ideal for hybrid environments, Appgate SDP aids transitions from traditional VPNs, protecting digital assets and preventing lateral network threats.

What are the key features of Appgate SDP?

Robust Configuration: Allows flexible setups to meet specific requirements.
User-Friendly Interface: Simplifies deployment, enhancing user experience.
Server Concealment: Minimizes exposure to threats by hiding servers.
Scalability: Accommodates growing organizational needs with stable performance.
Access Rule Granularity: Provides detailed options for managing network access.

What benefits should be considered in user reviews?

Security Enhancement: Improved protection against lateral movement and ransomware.
Deployment Ease: Streamlined processes for faster implementation.
Strong Support: Reliable assistance from the vendor ensures sustained use.
Remote Work Optimization: Facilitates safe remote access, vital for modern work environments.

Appgate SDP is prevalent in industries shifting from traditional VPNs to more secure architectures. It supports enterprises embracing cloud technologies by providing reliable network access solutions, especially in hybrid work settings, ensuring the security of digital assets while accommodating multifactor authentication and micro-segmentation strategies.

Appgate

Portnox provides advanced network visibility and proactive security without complexity, ensuring easy setup and scalability. Its agentless nature and intuitive design enable seamless device management and system integration, promoting efficient network operations and endpoint security.

Portnox is known for offering comprehensive network access control, providing firms with vital tools for managing authentication and securing endpoint devices. It's praised for ease of use in integrating with systems such as RADIUS servers and offering detailed analytical capabilities to ensure compliance and control unauthorized access. While users appreciate the intuitive interface and device management, improvements have been suggested in the areas of better GUI, integration with firewalls, and enhanced configuration methods. Portnox aids in handling dynamic VLAN assignments and securing access in both wired and wireless networks, proving particularly valuable for on-premises and remote environments.

What are the key features of Portnox?

Network Visibility: Offers comprehensive oversight of network activities.
Agentless Setup: Ensures easy implementation with minimal disruption.
Compliance Checks: Provides tools for compliance verification and incident reporting.
Integration: Seamlessly connects with existing IT systems for efficient management.

What benefits should users look for?

Enhanced Security: Prioritizes proactive measures to secure endpoints.
Easy Management: Facilitates straightforward device handling and network control.
Efficiency: Streamlines network operations for better performance.
Scalability: Adapts to organizational growth without complexities.

In industries where network security is paramount, such as finance and healthcare, Portnox is implemented to fortify access control and manage endpoint connections effectively. Its ability to secure both on-premises and remote environments makes it a versatile choice across sectors that require stringent access management, particularly where unauthorized device connections pose significant risks.

Portnox Security

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.

United States Air Force FINRA Weight Watchers Rackspace DataDog SageNet Verdant Norwegian Cruise Line VoiceBase The Third Floor

Data Realty, Royal London, Wales Millennium Centre, McLaren Construction Group, EL AL Israeli Airlines,

Buyer's Guide

Appgate SDP vs. Portnox

June 2026

Free Report: Appgate SDP vs. Portnox

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