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Cisco IOS SSL VPN vs Prisma Access by Palo Alto Networks comparison

 

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:
 

ROI

Sentiment score
6.7
Cisco IOS SSL VPN is highly rated for its security, ease of use, and minimal impact on performance.
Sentiment score
7.0
Prisma Access enhances cybersecurity, offers cost-effective scalability, and streamlines services, providing financial benefits and operational efficiency.
There is a net positive return on investment
Network and Cybersecurity Consultant at a tech services company with 11-50 employees
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
7.3
Cisco IOS SSL VPN users praise the effective customer support, highlighting timely service, comprehensive documentation, and strong local assistance.
Sentiment score
6.7
Prisma Access support is praised for expertise but needs improvements in response time, support continuity, and language options.
When Cisco first took over, it was a bit more difficult to get support, but they now integrate it without differentiating the support for Linksys versus full-blown Cisco switches.
student at a university with 1,001-5,000 employees
We contact support regularly, especially for deployments, and they are very responsive.
Technical Services Lead at Telenet Solutions
I usually need to raise the alarm and contact a couple of people within Palo Alto Networks to just respond quicker, so technical support should be much better.
Director at PULSEC
The product is reliable, making customer support less frequently needed.
Senior DevOps Expert at Telenor
The service and technical support quality varies depending on the personnel.
Network and Cybersecurity Consultant at a tech services company with 11-50 employees
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
7.8
Cisco IOS SSL VPN is scalable and efficient, supporting diverse user bases with flexible licensing and expandability.
Sentiment score
7.4
Prisma Access is scalable for diverse companies but may face challenges in pricing and international deployment complexities.
It integrates well with Cisco's ecosystem, providing flexibility and options to connect to diverse environments.
Technical Services Lead at Telenet Solutions
Prisma Access provides significant scalability, allowing integration of different systems.
Senior DevOps Expert at Telenor
To scale, one would need to upgrade or acquire more hardware.
Senior Manager for Infrastructure at a computer software company with 5,001-10,000 employees
Prisma Access by Palo Alto Networks is a cloud-based solution, and from my experience, there are no issues with scalability.
Security Engineer at a tech services company with 1,001-5,000 employees
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
8.0
Cisco IOS SSL VPN is highly stable and reliable, with users experiencing minimal issues and continuous service even during power failures.
Sentiment score
7.9
Prisma Access is highly rated for stability, offering reliable performance with minimal issues and seamless scalability, despite minor delays.
Linksys can be fairly stable for easy environments, but in more complex network environments, Cisco is definitely a lot more stable.
student at a university with 1,001-5,000 employees
Cisco IOS SSL VPN is extremely stable.
student at a university with 1,001-5,000 employees
Prisma Access by Palo Alto Networks works efficiently during peak usage times.
CyberSecurity Specialist at Aiuken Cybersecurity
I think the stability of Prisma Access by Palo Alto Networks is excellent, and I would rate it ten out of ten.
Security Engineer at a tech services company with 1,001-5,000 employees
GlobalProtect is a satisfying solution, and the product is robust without major stability issues.
Senior Manager for Infrastructure at a computer software company with 5,001-10,000 employees
 

Room For Improvement

Cisco IOS SSL VPN requires improvements in language support, pricing, GUI, compatibility, deployment processes, and enhanced remote access options.
Prisma Access needs better UI, integration, custom application support, pricing, documentation, global presence, and technical support enhancements.
There have been issues with operating systems where newer updates cause problems with backward compatibility.
Technical Services Lead at Telenet Solutions
I believe Cisco could support easier configuration and having tools that allow for easier management and configuration.
student at a university with 1,001-5,000 employees
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.
Director at PULSEC
Sometimes a third-party outage could impact the whole operability.
Network and Cybersecurity Consultant at a tech services company with 11-50 employees
There is a lack of integration with third-party solutions like CrowdStrike or SentinelOne in Prisma Access by Palo Alto Networks.
Security Engineer at a tech services company with 1,001-5,000 employees
 

Setup Cost

Cisco IOS SSL VPN is costly compared to FortiGate and Aruba, though discounts exist and pricing reflects its stability.
Prisma Access is costly but valued for its comprehensive security, with room for pricing and licensing flexibility improvement.
For more than one hundred users, it costs about $60 per seat.
Technical Services Lead at Telenet Solutions
The pricing is on the higher side, rating it around eight to nine out of ten.
Senior DevOps Expert at Telenor
From my experience, Palo Alto is more expensive compared to solutions like Netskope and Triscale.
Security Engineer at a tech services company with 1,001-5,000 employees
Pricing for Prisma Access and Prisma SD WAN is high due to the need for different hardware flavors like IONs.
Senior Manager for Infrastructure at a computer software company with 5,001-10,000 employees
 

Valuable Features

Cisco IOS SSL VPN provides secure, user-friendly remote access with strong encryption, seamless integration, and efficient management, ensuring high user satisfaction.
Prisma Access provides scalable, secure cloud-based VPN access, real-time threat prevention, and integrates seamlessly with existing infrastructures.
The solution is also very scalable, offering up to one hundred licenses for free, and can integrate well with Cisco's ecosystem, such as Cisco ISE and NAC.
Technical Services Lead at Telenet Solutions
Configuring QoS on Linksys is pretty easy, especially compared to Cisco QoS, which I am certified in, as it helps ensure that the bandwidth for voice or other applications doesn't bleed over into the data links.
student at a university with 1,001-5,000 employees
The valuable features of Cisco IOS SSL VPN are the ease of use and the speed.
student at a university with 1,001-5,000 employees
These features are security-driven, providing robust protection against increasing cyber threats by integrating NG Firewalls, SD WAN, and CASB, all within a fully cloud-native solution.
Senior DevOps Expert at Telenor
The HIP Check is the most valuable feature of Prisma Access, which is the feature usually used from GlobalProtect.
Director at PULSEC
One of the most valuable features of Prisma Access by Palo Alto Networks is the ability to manage on-premise firewalls.
Security Engineer at a tech services company with 1,001-5,000 employees
 

Categories and Ranking

Cisco IOS SSL VPN
Ranking in Enterprise Infrastructure VPN
8th
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.2
Number of Reviews
50
Ranking in other categories
SSL VPN (2nd)
Prisma Access by Palo Alto ...
Ranking in Enterprise Infrastructure VPN
5th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
66
Ranking in other categories
Secure Web Gateways (SWG) (4th), Cloud Access Security Brokers (CASB) (1st), ZTNA as a Service (2nd), Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) (1st)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of January 2026, in the Enterprise Infrastructure VPN category, the mindshare of Cisco IOS SSL VPN is 2.0%, up from 0.9% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Prisma Access by Palo Alto Networks is 5.8%, down from 6.3% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Enterprise Infrastructure VPN Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Prisma Access by Palo Alto Networks5.8%
Cisco IOS SSL VPN2.0%
Other92.2%
Enterprise Infrastructure VPN
 

Featured Reviews

VM
student at a university with 1,001-5,000 employees
Cost efficiency and ease of setup define network management while potential improvements in complexity handling are noted
Optimizing and configuring for network segmentation is the biggest thing for helping with segmenting traffic management. Configuring QoS on Linksys is pretty easy, especially compared to Cisco QoS, which I am certified in, as it helps ensure that the bandwidth for voice or other applications doesn't bleed over into the data links. In the past, Linksys has been pretty good at network protection, segmenting off that protection for unauthorized access or cyber threats. Cost savings and ease of use are the benefits I've seen from Linksys. It's a little bit less complex to set up and configure compared to Cisco switching. I utilized the VLAN support feature in the Linksys switches. A lot of the networks I have were broken up by VLAN, and I definitely configured them for different VLANs. The best feature of Linksys in my opinion is cost, as they tend to be more cost-effective compared to larger switches or Cisco switches.
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.
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
17%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Healthcare Company
8%
Manufacturing Company
6%
Financial Services Firm
11%
Manufacturing Company
11%
Computer Software Company
11%
Government
5%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business24
Midsize Enterprise4
Large Enterprise24
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business24
Midsize Enterprise21
Large Enterprise27
 

Questions from the Community

What needs improvement with Cisco IOS SSL VPN?
I have not found any areas that could be improved so far. I am not sure how Cisco IOS SSL VPN can continue their improvements for the future, but I think it is a great product. To stay on top, they...
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 do you like most about Prisma Access by Palo Alto Networks?
The most valuable features of the solution are in the areas of the secure remote access it provides while also being user-friendly.
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.
 

Also Known As

Cisco SSL VPN
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

MST Systems
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 Cisco IOS SSL VPN vs. Prisma Access by Palo Alto Networks and other solutions. Updated: December 2025.
881,082 professionals have used our research since 2012.