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Aruba VPN vs Prisma Access by Palo Alto Networks comparison

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Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Aug 6, 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

Aruba VPN
Ranking in Enterprise Infrastructure VPN
33rd
Average Rating
5.6
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
4
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Prisma Access by Palo Alto ...
Ranking in Enterprise Infrastructure VPN
5th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
65
Ranking in other categories
Secure Web Gateways (SWG) (5th), Cloud Access Security Brokers (CASB) (1st), ZTNA as a Service (4th), Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) (1st)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of September 2026, in the Enterprise Infrastructure VPN category, the mindshare of Aruba VPN is 0.8%, up from 0.5% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Prisma Access by Palo Alto Networks is 6.4%, up from 6.4% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Enterprise Infrastructure VPN Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Prisma Access by Palo Alto Networks6.4%
Aruba VPN0.8%
Other92.8%
Enterprise Infrastructure VPN
 

Featured Reviews

Prashant-Patel - PeerSpot reviewer
Senior Presales Consultant - Networking Solutions at Mannai
A highly scalable solution that can be used to access corporate resources anywhere in the world
Currently, the connections on Aruba VPN are robust and the fastest. As it is a lighter client, it does not put any pressure or heavy connections. It's all about how much internet connection you have. Your VPN connection will work faster based on your internet connection. The authentication with Aruba VPN is faster and takes around five milliseconds. You need two or three engineers to deploy and maintain the solution at the start of a project. However, once it is set up, only one person is needed to do it. I would recommend Aruba VPN to other users. If someone has a workforce working from home or traveling, then Aruba VPN is the right solution for them. Overall, I rate Aruba VPN ten out of ten.
IgorPinter - PeerSpot reviewer
Director at PULSEC
Zero-trust access has improved remote security and now simplifies cloud-based firewall management
Regarding the integration part for Prisma Access by Palo Alto Networks, the integration with identity providers is pretty much good. It is basically firewall as a service, so it performs well. I completed the integration without any issues. What Palo Alto Networks can do better for Prisma Access by Palo Alto Networks is probably to have the point of presence available in more locations. The point of presence from the Serbia region has the nearest POP in Frankfurt, which is an issue since it is your gateway—when you start browsing the internet, you go through a commercial connection in Germany. They definitely need to spread the service in other countries.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"What I like the most about Aruba VPN is that it's great for companies with diverse network needs."
"Aruba VPN’s stability was okay."
"The initial setup was straightforward."
"Aruba VPN is lighter on machines, and users don't feel any difference in having these items installed on their PCs or laptops."
"We are quite happy with this feature and feel very confident that the Palo Alto security stack takes care of all of these things automatically."
"Prisma Access provides comprehensive security. It provides URL filtering, application control, SSL, DLP, etc. It provides complete security for the cloud environment."
"The overall rating for GlobalProtect is nine out of ten."
"The most valuable feature is the zero-trust part of this solution."
"The solution has all its capabilities in a single cloud delivery platform which is great and it provides overall good protection."
"Prisma integrates pretty nicely even if you aren't using other Palo Alto products, is very effective for a CSP solution, and the time to value is almost instant because as soon as you stand it up, it shows value by telling you all the vulnerabilities or risks in that environment."
"The solution also provides traffic analysis, threat prevention, URL filtering, and segmentation. That combination is important because it enhances the protection and makes the traffic more secure. It also keeps things more up-to-date, enabling us to deal with more of the current threats."
"This is the best product that I have looked at, out of all of the competitors."
 

Cons

"When around 100 to 300 users tried to connect at the beginning of the day, the appliance would crash, and the users would not be able to connect."
"They could release product updates more frequently."
"There is room for improvement from the solution's security point of view."
"It should address issues that are vital to maintaining the company's reputation."
"Sometimes, you have these notifications sent out about changes in App-IDs, modifications in App-IDs, or even the introduction of entirely new App-IDs to replace. Sometimes, the recommendations are followed, but even then, when the package is installed on the firewall, it gets messed up. I remember a particular one was with Tableau, and suddenly, people weren't able to use Tableau, which is an analytics tool for business."
"One thing that would help is if we could get a guide. With Cisco, for example, you can just type the problem regarding your Cisco product and you will easily get your solution. In Palo Alto, however, it's not easy to find the solutions."
"Better integration with the MDM solution would be useful."
"Prisma's integration between operational technology and IT should be more seamless. Right now, it requires additional setup and maintenance."
"The one thing that I've been a little bit disappointed with is when we have had to open cases with Palo Alto about Prisma Access issues. Versus their other platforms, like their firewalls, where we tend to get really quick responses and very definitive answers, the few tickets I've had to open for Prisma Access have taken them longer to respond to. And they haven't necessarily given me the kind of answer I was looking for, meaning a fix to the problem."
"It applies commits to the firewalls slowly. There isn't an API you can use for anything. We've previously had trouble with the egress IP addresses though we expressed to engineering that those mustn't change. They changed several times without warning, causing a lot of headaches."
"It's not very easy to use. Sometimes it's buggy and there are problems when doing updates."
"The Prisma Access could improve in terms of adding more machine learning and AI capabilities to automate tasks such as incident response."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"We do not have to purchase a separate license for Aruba VPN; it is included in the ClearPass package."
"Customers need to buy a VPN client license."
"Prisma Access by Palo Alto Networks has flexible licensing models with different categories. It comes with different features which can be removed if not needed. However, its pricing is high."
"The initial prices of Prisma Access were okay. But as soon as you start deploying Palo Alto gear, the support prices and the recurring prices, which are the major operational costs, tend to increase over time."
"We have to pay additional costs for maintenance and support services."
"Prisma Access is a little bit expensive."
"The price has been good for the ROI during these difficult times for the cruise industry. There are no hidden costs; what the product offers is what you get."
"There's no reason not to buy the enterprise version that gives you unlimited PoPs, but you must understand the limitations you impose on yourself if you do that. If you go crazy, that allowlist will be too big for Kubernetes clusters."
"As compared to other solutions, Prisma Access is much cheaper. It is probably 30% to 40% cheaper than other solutions, but I do not know the exact cost."
"Prisma is in the middle of the road. It's not the most expensive, but it's not the cheapest. There aren't any additional costs, to my knowledge. I know they have some extra modules, but we didn't use them."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
No data available
Financial Services Firm
11%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Outsourcing Company
8%
Computer Software Company
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business26
Midsize Enterprise20
Large Enterprise27
 

Questions from the Community

Ask a question
Earn 20 points
What is the better solution - Prisma Access or Zscaler Private Access?
We looked into Prisma Access before choosing Zscaler Private Access (ZPA). Palo Alto’s Prisma Access is a secure access service edge (SASE) designed to deliver network security in a cloud-deliver...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Prisma Access by Palo Alto Networks?
From my experience, Palo Alto is more expensive compared to solutions like Netskope and Triscale.
What needs improvement with Prisma Access by Palo Alto Networks?
Regarding the integration part for Prisma Access by Palo Alto Networks, the integration with identity providers is pretty much good. It is basically firewall as a service, so it performs well. I co...
 

Also Known As

No data available
Palo Alto Networks Prisma Access, Prisma Access, GlobalProtect, Palo Alto GlobalProtect Mobile Security Manager, Prisma SaaS by Palo Alto Networks, Prisma Access
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Information Not Available
Concord Hospital, State of Colorado, Essilor International, RheinLand Versicherungsgruppe, University of Westminster, Universidade Nove de Julho, SPAR Austria, CAME Group, ZipRealty, Greenhill & Co., IKT Agder, Aviva Stadium, Animal Logic, Management & Training Corporation, Brigham Young University Hawaii, School District of Chilliwack
Find out what your peers are saying about Aruba VPN vs. Prisma Access by Palo Alto Networks and other solutions. Updated: September 2026.
913,806 professionals have used our research since 2012.