No more typing reviews! Try our Samantha, our new voice AI agent.

Cato SASE Cloud Platform vs Juniper Session Smart Router 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

Cato SASE Cloud Platform
Ranking in Software Defined WAN (SD-WAN) Solutions
5th
Average Rating
9.0
Reviews Sentiment
7.5
Number of Reviews
31
Ranking in other categories
WAN Optimization (2nd), Intrusion Detection and Prevention Software (IDPS) (12th), Cloud Access Security Brokers (CASB) (6th), WAN Edge (6th), ZTNA as a Service (7th), Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) (3rd), Remote Browser Isolation (RBI) (2nd)
Juniper Session Smart Router
Ranking in Software Defined WAN (SD-WAN) Solutions
9th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
5.2
Number of Reviews
11
Ranking in other categories
Routers (6th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of June 2026, in the Software Defined WAN (SD-WAN) Solutions category, the mindshare of Cato SASE Cloud Platform is 7.3%, down from 8.6% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Juniper Session Smart Router is 2.2%, down from 2.6% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Software Defined WAN (SD-WAN) Solutions Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Cato SASE Cloud Platform7.3%
Juniper Session Smart Router2.2%
Other90.5%
Software Defined WAN (SD-WAN) Solutions
 

Featured Reviews

reviewer2697738 - PeerSpot reviewer
Product & Services Integrator at a comms service provider with 10,001+ employees
Cloud security has unified global network design and has simplified threat visibility
I think all of the functionalities, such as the secure web gateway feature, are quite good. I also believe Cato SASE Cloud Platform is one of the only solutions that has not only a software firewall solution but also a physical software solution where you can change the company's firewalls and put in sockets from Cato SASE Cloud Platform, which I see as an advantage for them. The single-pass architecture has improved user experience with Cato SASE Cloud Platform as it provides security teams in companies a platform where they can easily obtain information if there are breaches or security issues. I assess the benefit of integrating WAN optimization as good. There is ease in making rules between WAN optimization, especially when it comes to global connections because of all their points of presence that are spread over the world. I think the real-time threat protection of Cato SASE Cloud Platform is also good. Their points of presence are quite efficient, and I do not see any delays in that area.
Vinitha Kundawad - PeerSpot reviewer
Network Implementation Engineer at Cisco
Session-based routing has transformed branch failover and now optimizes application paths
Juniper Session Smart Router is a very good cloud integration router, with very strong application visibility, and WAN path optimization is also present. It has very good simplified branch connectivity, particularly strong automation and API support, and better SaaS performance. Session-based routing instead of tunnel-heavy architecture is one of the best features. Session-based routing and API support in Juniper Session Smart Router have helped me in my work. It helps in session-based routing changes from route-based packets only on destination IP to application session awareness. This can help with a better application experience, and voice or video traffic automatically takes the best WAN path based on latency, jitter, and packet loss. Faster failover occurs; instead of waiting for routing protocol convergence, sessions can dynamically move to healthier links. Additionally, there is improved SaaS performance. In terms of APIs, I have had a very good experience integrating it with automation platforms like Terraform and Ansible. It has reduced manual errors, and my team has been using the API to automate deployment and dozens of other tasks with branch SSR devices. Another feature I can think of regarding Juniper Session Smart Router is that there is no traditional overlay tunnel overhead in many scenarios, which is one of the best features. Dynamic path selection based on latency and jitter makes this one of the standout features.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"When I first encountered Cato, I didn't know how to use it, but after a week of training, I could onboard our systems to it, so the solution was easy to learn and navigate."
"It's a cloud-based solution that integrates well with everything."
"My customer saves millions of pesos when we remove the line dependency for MPLS/IPVPN for domestic and international sites."
"The product's most valuable features include advanced firewall capabilities for robust security, a secure gateway for safe data transmission, and next-generation anti-malware for threat prevention."
"Unified management and internet duplication are our most valuable features. They provide a seamless experience for end users—if one link goes down, they can still work without noticing."
"I would definitely recommend Cato Networks to other users."
"The query and the SD-WAN are useful features of the solution."
"It's a pretty straightforward solution."
"I can share specific numbers; we achieved a 30 to 60% WAN cost reduction by reducing MPLS usage."
"The solution is especially Session's smart, application-aware, AI-based."
"Customer service is very prompt."
"As compared to the other major vendors in the SD-WAN market, such as VeloCloud, Cisco, and others, the tunnel-free and secure vector routing technology is its major USP, which gives plenty of room to discuss with the customer why IPSec from 1998 is a bit outdated."
"For telecom companies, I think zero-trust segmentation is the way to go because if you allow anything that you do not understand, then it becomes a problem."
"The best feature is the easiest way to deploy configuration and also back up them, and also to roll back quickly if there's an incident."
"The biggest advantage of Juniper Session Smart Router that really stands out is its reliability and performance."
"Because we are talking directly to engineers in the US, the support is usually the best you can possibly get."
 

Cons

"They should add more sophisticated security features. It should also be integrated into the cloud."
"The different languages in the user interface should be enhanced to include other languages."
"They should include a web application firewall feature in the solution."
"Its functionality is a bit limited in some areas as compared to a Cisco solution. It is not as granular. It doesn't have the manageability, feature set, and capabilities of a larger or an enterprise-level solution. It just needs a more robust feature set and granularity."
"I'd rate Cato SASE Cloud Platform's pricing as about five or six out of ten. It's not the cheapest solution, but it is cheaper than Palo Alto and even VeloCloud."
"The tool needs to be more granular. Its reports are not very in-depth."
"The product's technical support could be more responsive."
"A little tweaking or improvement of the UI in terms of logging when troubleshooting would be an improvement because it's very detailed."
"Regarding improvement, we still need to see what it can do."
"A key area for improvement in Juniper Session Smart Router is its security stack, which is not as robust as Fortinet."
"I found some weaknesses on their hardware. They are sometimes breaking very often."
"Juniper Session Smart Router could be better in several areas such as the steep learning curve because the session-based model is different from traditional networking."
"Juniper Session Smart Router could be better in terms of software performance."
"One area for improvement that I have observed is related to the VPN, where I frequently notice VPN flaps or disconnections between Juniper Session Smart Router and the SD-WAN hub device in the data center, which should be addressed to prevent users from experiencing any downtime."
"Juniper Session Smart Router can be improved by simplifying onboarding for traditional network teams and providing better documentation for complex deployments, as well as improving the GUI for operational workflows and better migration tooling."
"The UI of the SSR conductor is the main part where improvements can be done. Today, for every configuration step, you have to do a series of clicks. What we are missing there are wizards. For example, I have two applications, and I want one application to be prioritized against the other. In such a case, a wizard for assigning policies to a service without configuring each step by hand would be very helpful. There should be an overhaul of the GUI of the conductor. The functionality they have got in the Mist portal should be baked into the conductor itself. It would be really great, but as we all know, that won't happen."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The pricing is on the higher side, almost an eight out of ten."
"The solution has reasonable pricing. It has a yearly subscription. The pricing depends on the permit to code. Sometimes, we need to increase the permit, and the cost will automatically change. There's no fixed cost. Unless we request additional modules such as DNS security, ELP, and decent features, there will be no additional cost."
"The product is very competitively priced, and that's compelling. They don't charge the customer based on the operational cost like other brands such as Palo Alto. Cato has its own fully-fledged cloud, with their own data centers, equipment, and so on, which is an advantage. I rate the solution five out of five for affordability."
"You pay yearly based on the speed of your network. If you increase the speed of your network, you increase the cost for your throughput. It is by bandwidth for the most part and then licenses for VPN. There is some per-seat licensing for VPN access, but the majority of it is minimal. It is like $30 a year per client. The rest is based on how much bandwidth you'll use. You pay for that upfront for the year, and if you have to increase it, you increase it, and then they let you send more data through. There are no additional costs in addition to the standard licensing fees."
"Cato Networks seems more expensive than Cisco Meraki."
"The price is not an issue for us, as it is priced more competitively than some other vendors."
"The price of Cato Networks is in the middle range compared to other solutions. NetFoundry is a less expensive solution than Cato Networks."
"I'd rate Cato SASE Cloud Platform's pricing as about five or six out of ten. It's not the cheapest solution, but it is cheaper than Palo Alto and even VeloCloud. We've been working with them for a while and have significant discounts. Our licensing costs vary because we keep adding sites, but it's about 280 per month per site. This includes additional features beyond the base product, starting at around 200."
"We are currently renegotiating the offer for the licenses and the license bundle model. The license for an ISP has to be different from the license for an end customer. This is something we are currently renegotiating with Juniper, but, of course, the pricing for the licensing is always an issue when you want to get more customers."
"It is a simple bandwidth-based license and the orchestration comes bundled with the solution by default."
report
Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Software Defined WAN (SD-WAN) Solutions solutions are best for your needs.
900,644 professionals have used our research since 2012.
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Manufacturing Company
14%
Computer Software Company
10%
Financial Services Firm
9%
Comms Service Provider
9%
Manufacturing Company
23%
Comms Service Provider
7%
Financial Services Firm
7%
Computer Software Company
5%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business16
Midsize Enterprise7
Large Enterprise11
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business5
Midsize Enterprise2
Large Enterprise7
 

Questions from the Community

What is your primary use case for Cato Networks?
I can see that I am a consultant at a reseller and I am the architect of Cato SASE Cloud Platform designs. In the baseline, I usually recommend Cato SASE Cloud Platform for international companies ...
What advice do you have for others considering Cato Networks?
It is difficult to find types of companies I would not recommend Cato SASE Cloud Platform to, and I believe you can use Cato SASE Cloud Platform in most environments, although there could be some c...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Cato Networks?
I do not find it particularly expensive, but for some companies, they may not have the budget to be at that level of security for their networks.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Juniper Session Smart Router?
Pricing for Juniper Session Smart Router is premium but is usually justified for enterprises needing advanced WAN optimization and application-aware routing. Some challenges arise from initial lice...
What needs improvement with Juniper Session Smart Router?
Juniper Session Smart Router can be improved by simplifying onboarding for traditional network teams and providing better documentation for complex deployments, as well as improving the GUI for ope...
What is your primary use case for Juniper Session Smart Router?
My main use case for Juniper Session Smart Router in the lab environment where I've tried learning about Juniper networks is basically SD-WAN and application-aware routing for enterprise WAN transf...
 

Also Known As

Cato Networks
128T Networking Platform, 128 Technology SD-WAN, Juniper SSR Series
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Paysafe, AdRoll, Pet Lovers Centre, Arlington Orthopedics, Humphreys & Partners Architects
Revation Systems
Find out what your peers are saying about Cato SASE Cloud Platform vs. Juniper Session Smart Router and other solutions. Updated: June 2026.
900,644 professionals have used our research since 2012.