Aruba VPN vs Prisma Access by Palo Alto Networks comparison

Why PeerSpot?

Hewlett Packard Enterprise and Palo Alto Networks are both solutions in the Enterprise Infrastructure VPN category. Hewlett Packard Enterprise is ranked #33, while Palo Alto Networks is ranked #5 with an average rating of 8.4. Hewlett Packard Enterprise holds a 0.8% mindshare in EIV, compared to Palo Alto Networks’s 6.4% mindshare. Additionally, 92% of Palo Alto Networks users are willing to recommend the solution.

Aruba VPN

Read 4 Aruba VPN reviews

951 Views
932 Comparison Views

0% willing to recommend

Prisma Access by Palo Alto ...

Read 65 Prisma Access by Palo Alto Networks reviews

30,127 Views
6,025 Comparison Views

92% willing to recommend

Aruba VPN

Prisma Access by Palo Alto ...

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Aug 6, 2024

Prisma Access by Palo Alto Networks and Aruba VPN are both prominent products in the VPN market. Prisma Access leads in customer support and feature robustness, while Aruba VPN is favored for its cost-effectiveness and simpler deployment.

Features: User reviews highlight Prisma Access for its advanced security features, robust integration capabilities, and comprehensive security functionalities. In contrast, Aruba VPN is praised for its user-friendliness, straightforward management, and balanced feature set.

Room for Improvement: Prisma Access could enhance its performance speed, ease of use, and UI intuitiveness. Aruba VPN users suggest improvements in feature set, scalability, and advanced security options.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Prisma Access is noted for its complex but highly secure deployment model, with exceptional customer support assisting throughout. Aruba VPN is valued for its easier deployment process, though its customer service is deemed adequate but not outstanding.

Pricing and ROI: Prisma Access tends to be on the pricier side, yet users feel the investment is justified by its extensive capabilities and superior customer support. Aruba VPN, with its lower setup costs, offers satisfactory ROI with its affordability and balanced features.

To learn more, read our detailed Aruba VPN vs. Prisma Access by Palo Alto Networks Report (Updated: September 2026).

Buyer's Guide

Aruba VPN vs. Prisma Access by Palo Alto Networks

September 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

Aruba VPN

Ranking in Enterprise Infrastructure VPN

33rd

Average Rating

5.6

Reviews Sentiment

6.9

Number of Reviews

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

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 November 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 5.9% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Enterprise Infrastructure VPN Mindshare Distribution
Product	Mindshare (%)
Prisma Access by Palo Alto Networks	6.4%
Aruba VPN	0.8%
Other	92.8%

Enterprise Infrastructure VPN

Featured Reviews

Prashant-Patel

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.

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IgorPinter

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.

Read full review

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 is lighter on machines, and users don't feel any difference in having these items installed on their PCs or laptops."

"Aruba VPN’s stability was okay."

"The initial setup was straightforward."

"Prisma Access gives us security from a single point. It controls mobile users and determines how secure their networks will be, including from where they will get internet access. We can optimize things and add security profiles centrally."

"This is a one-stop solution; they have multiple features for every product, you don't need to purchase different products for each platform, and when you purchase one Prisma SaaS you can connect to 10 different things."

"I've evaluated multiple solutions on the market but to quarantine and clean a malware file is something I haven't seen anywhere else."

"Customers are quite happy with Prisma Access by Palo Alto Networks because there is less spending on technologies."

"It protects all app traffic so that users can gain access to all apps. Unlike other solutions that only work from ports 80 and 443, which are predominantly for web traffic, Prisma Access covers all protocols and works on all traffic patterns... The most sophisticated attacks can arise from sources that are not behind 80/443."

"A feature I've found very helpful is run time security because most of the products on the market will look at security during the build time, and they don't really look at what happens once you're going into production."

"Since installing this solution we haven't had any penetration or malware, so it has definitely kept us protected."

"Security is absolutely spot-on, really top-notch. It's the result of all the components that come together, such as the HIP [Host Information Profile] and components like Forcepoint, providing end-user content inspection, and antivirus. It incorporates DLP features and that's fantastic because Prisma Access makes sure that all of the essential prerequisites are in place before a user can log in or can be tunneled into."

More Prisma Access by Palo Alto Networks pros

Cons

"There is room for improvement from the solution's security point of view."

"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."

"It should address issues that are vital to maintaining the company's reputation."

"Though the monitoring is fine, the solution should improve its application graphs and interface monitoring."

"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."

"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."

"However, when you have different environments for a single application, such as DEV, QA, PROD, and TEST, all these environments run multiple containers, which can lead to a very high number of containers."

"The one point I have deducted is because it is very hard to get support sometimes."

"It's not very easy to use. Sometimes it's buggy and there are problems when doing updates."

"We are using the SaaS offering. We use our applications for microservices. We use Twistlock to scan containers, and it displays these results in Prisma, which is a good feature because we can see vulnerabilities with respect to these containers. We can see everything in a very detailed manner. However, when you have different environments for a single application, such as DEV, QA, PROD, and TEST, all these environments run multiple containers, which can lead to a very high number of containers. In such a scenario, it shows you the alerts for all those containers that have vulnerabilities. If you show the results of all the containers that share the same image, it is not going to add any value. Therefore, they should narrow down the alerts based on a container. It should show information for a single container. Otherwise, the person who is looking at the results gets the impression that he has to fix all these issues. This is something that they can improve."

"When it comes to integration mechanisms, Prisma SaaS does not support reverse proxy type of integrations."

More Prisma Access by Palo Alto Networks cons

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."

"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."

"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."

"It's pricey, it's not cheap. But you get what you pay for."

"The licensing model for this product is complicated and changes all the time, making it very hard for the user to comprehend the configuration."

"The licensing fees are paid on a yearly basis and for what we get, the price is good."

"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 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."

"Based on what I have heard from others, it is a pricey solution as compared to its peers, but I am not sure. However, considering the features that it offers, it is a break-even point. You get whatever they are promising."

More Prisma Access by Palo Alto Networks pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Comms Service Provider

12%

University

10%

Manufacturing Company

10%

Healthcare Company

Manufacturing Company

11%

Financial Services Firm

10%

Outsourcing Company

Comms Service Provider

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

No data available

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	26
Midsize Enterprise	20
Large Enterprise	27

Questions from the Community

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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...

See all answers

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.

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What needs improvement with Prisma Access by Palo Alto Networks?

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Comparisons

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Compared 16% of the time

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Compared 15% of the time

Cisco Secure Client (including AnyConnect) vs Aruba VPN

Compared 11% of the time

Ivanti Secure Access Client (ISAC) vs Aruba VPN

Compared 9% of the time

Sangfor SSL VPN vs Aruba VPN

Compared 7% of the time

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Netskope vs Prisma Access by Palo Alto Networks

Compared 13% of the time

FortiSASE vs Prisma Access by Palo Alto Networks

Compared 5% of the time

Appgate SDP vs Prisma Access by Palo Alto Networks

Compared 4% of the time

Check Point Harmony SASE (formerly Perimeter 81) vs Prisma Access by Palo Alto Networks

Compared 4% of the time

Cato SASE Cloud Platform vs Prisma Access by Palo Alto Networks

Compared 4% of the time

More Prisma Access by Palo Alto Networks Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Enterprise Infrastructure VPN

October 2026

Download Aruba VPN product report

Buyer's Guide

Prisma Access by Palo Alto Networks

October 2026

Prisma Access by Palo Alto Networks report

Download Prisma Access by Palo Alto Networks product report

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

Aruba VPN provides secure remote access for employees working from home or remote locations. Users appreciate its ease of deployment, strong security features, and reliable connectivity, adaptable to different devices and operating systems with high performance and minimal downtime.

Aruba VPN is known for its strong security protocols and user-friendly interface, reliable performance, and seamless remote access capabilities. It integrates easily with existing systems and offers scalability and efficient technical support. Notably, it supports a large number of concurrent connections efficiently. Issues were noted during the COVID lockdown with firmware causing connection problems and compatibility problems with Windows 7, which remain under focus for improvement.

What are the most important features?

Strong Security Protocols: Ensures data integrity and protection.
User-friendly Interface: Simplifies deployment and usage for all employees.
Reliable Performance: Provides consistent connectivity with minimal downtime.
Easy Integration: Seamlessly integrates with existing infrastructure.
High Scalability: Supports a large number of concurrent connections.
Efficient Technical Support: Resolves issues promptly and effectively.

What benefits and ROI should users look for in reviews?

Secure Remote Access: Allows employees to work securely from any location.
High Performance: Ensures a smooth and reliable user experience.
Cost Efficiency: Reduces the need for additional hardware or extensive IT resources.
Scalability: Adjusts to the growing needs without compromising performance.
Device Compatibility: Works across different devices and operating systems.

Aruba VPN is utilized across industries such as corporate sectors where secure remote access is critical, education institutions needing to provide students and faculty with reliable connections, and healthcare organizations requiring secure data transmission. Its adaptability and strong security make it a favored choice for dynamic and security-sensitive environments.

Hewlett Packard Enterprise

Prisma Access by Palo Alto Networks delivers robust security features including secure remote access across apps and traffic monitoring. It integrates smoothly with cloud environments to provide advanced threat protection and visibility into network traffic.

Prisma Access offers a comprehensive suite of security tools designed to protect cloud environments and remote workforces. With its focus on real-time risk identification and threat prevention, Prisma Access provides encrypted tunnels and centralized management for seamless connectivity and enhanced data security. Designed to scale across platforms like AWS, Azure, and GCP, it optimizes traffic and connectivity while offering extensive visibility into vulnerabilities. However, integration with third-party products, usability, and support services are areas for development, as users report interface challenges and desire improved scalability and geographic coverage, especially in regions like China and South America.

What are the key features of Prisma Access?

Real-Time Risk Identification: Detects and manages potential threats instantly.
Secure Remote Access: Ensures secure connectivity to applications from anywhere.
Traffic Monitoring: Provides comprehensive oversight of network traffic.
Seamless Integration: Works well with platforms like AWS, Azure, and GCP.
Firewall Capabilities: Blocks unauthorized access and threats.
Scalability: Adapts to various cloud environments to meet growing demands.

What benefits should users expect when evaluating Prisma Access?

Reduced Data Breach Risk: Protects sensitive information through encrypted connections.
User-Friendly Interface: Simplifies management and configuration tasks.
Centralized Management: Offers a single view for managing all security policies.
Advanced Threat Protection: Regular updates guard against new threats.

Prisma Access is effectively used in industries requiring secure remote access and stringent data protection, such as finance and healthcare. Organizations leverage it to enforce Zero Trust policies, optimize network performance with SD-WAN, and ensure security compliance across multiple platforms.

Palo Alto Networks

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

Buyer's Guide

Aruba VPN vs. Prisma Access by Palo Alto Networks

September 2026

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