Cisco Web Security Appliance vs Fortinet FortiProxy comparison

Cisco Web Security Appliance vs. Fortinet FortiProxy

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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

Mindshare comparison

As of August 2026, in the Secure Web Gateways (SWG) category, the mindshare of iboss is 3.5%, up from 2.1% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Cisco Web Security Appliance is 2.0%, down from 2.3% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Fortinet FortiProxy is 2.2%, down from 5.2% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Secure Web Gateways (SWG) Mindshare Distribution
Product	Mindshare (%)
iboss	3.5%
Fortinet FortiProxy	2.2%
Cisco Web Security Appliance	2.0%
Other	92.3%

Secure Web Gateways (SWG)

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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Vusa Ndlovu

Security Solution Architect at a tech services company with 501-1,000 employees

Advanced protection features offer robust security while integration process presents challenges

With the WebAssign integration, it is not easy when I am integrating policies within the company, especially with NAND and wireless policies. The challenge arises when traffic is blocked from either wireless or wired connections. Although implementing it as a standalone is quicker, integrating BYOD with Cisco I and FTB can be tiring. Once it is done correctly, the functionality and reports become valuable, although the implementation part can still be challenging.

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Emmanuel Dasho

Cyber Security Engineer | Network/Security at GCET

Ease of configuration and seamless integration enhance operational efficiency

The App Control feature in the Fortinet FortiProx * Deep Packet Inspection (DPI): FortiProxy analyzes traffic at the application layer to detect applications even if they use non-standard ports or are encrypted. * Application Signatures: Uses FortiGuard’s application signature database (constantly updated) to recognize thousands of applications. * Policy Enforcement: You can create policies to Allow, Block, Monitor, or Shape (QoS) based on application type, category, or specific apps.

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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

"iboss has significantly lowered the number of security incidents. It is crazy how much it blocks and how much it is aware of the outside danger."

"iboss is among the few products providing inline filtering where no application is needed on the device. It operates on the network side and is not device-based. This feature was one of the main reasons why we stayed with them for so long."

"Valuable features: Within the filter: Controls (Web categories, applications, and Allow/Block list) and Network (local Subnets). Within the reporter: Logs (Event Log) and Reports."

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

"Our primary use case for this product is DLP,"

"Because of iboss, I did not have to assign web filtering tasks to my techs on a daily basis."

"I would rate the technical support of iboss a solid 10 without a shadow of a doubt."

"From a corporate perspective, I understand that it's important to keep the company data safe."

More iboss pros

"This solution helps our customers with the challenges their clients face attempting to connect to their network or app."

"Cisco regularly upgrades features for the customer's security requirements."

"The best feature of Cisco Web Security Appliance is its policy framing. It also has a good UI and it can handle traffic well. Cisco Web Security Appliance is a good product."

"It's very scalable; if you buy one bundle with 100 users, you can install unlimited appliances to scale horizontally and have ten appliances that can log share communications."

"Cisco is the best in giving technical support. There is no doubt about that."

"The solution is very easy to implement; it's not overly complex or too difficult."

"Integration-wise, browser-security-wise (for users browsing the internet), it's one of the greatest tools."

"It also allows you to decrypt SSL traffic, and that's a really important feature as well, which is something I also configured."

More Cisco Web Security Appliance pros

"We can use Fortinet FortiProxy configuration for your network."

"It is a really stable solution."

"The solution's stability is good."

"The tool's most valuable feature is traffic inspections."

"The most valuable features of Fortinet FortiProxy are its simplicity and performance."

"It helps to secure the networks at the DNA level and ensure proper identification and filtering of DNS traffic."

"The App Control feature in the Fortinet FortiProxy Deep Packet Inspection (DPI): FortiProxy analyzes traffic at the application layer to detect applications even if they use non-standard ports or are encrypted."

"I liked the tool's ability to provide detailed access control. For example, we could allow users to watch YouTube videos but not post comments. This level of control wasn't available in FortiGate."

More Fortinet FortiProxy pros

Cons

"I appreciate that iboss's single pane of glass console gives centralized visibility into web traffic, user activity, security policies, and alerts from one dashboard, allowing us to quickly investigate incidents and monitor policy violations without switching between multiple tools, improving operational efficiency; however, the dashboard customization and reporting could be more flexible."

"File integrity monitoring would be very advantageous as an additional feature."

"It is stable, but due to growth, it can sometimes be less stable than wanted."

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

"The reporting feature needs improvement. It doesn't give you the expected results. It is quite difficult to get the specific reports needed, and it is not as intuitive as the rest of the platform."

"The dashboards for local use could be better."

"I think iboss could be improved by making reporting and dashboard customization more flexible, and simplifying troubleshooting policy issues."

"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, and that is where in 2025 we had to migrate to the Palo Alto-based platform."

More iboss cons

"There are occasional delays in customer support but it's a minor thing."

"We would like to see a security service head, where we can combine all the security into one solution."

"If you're a customer with a lot of sites, then an on-prem solution like WSA is not a good option."

"The support is good but slow. Generally, the response time for resolving issues is getting slower."

"The licensing model needs to be more flexible."

"The FTD 21 model's Firepower Threat Defense does not have the multi-instance feature for the virtualization with the physical equipment."

"The solution is not very compatible with other products."

"The stability is lacking and is something that should be looked at. We don't find it to be very stable."

More Cisco Web Security Appliance cons

"The hardware version is stable, but the VM version is not stable and contains bugs that cause issues."

"Integration with existing infrastructure was generally easy, especially if you had tools like LDAP. However, I had to go through a lot of documentation as it was my first time working with a proxy server. We did experience some issues with certain web applications not working properly after implementing Fortinet FortiProxy."

"Its web filtering capabilities could be improved."

"Fortinet FortiProxy should improve by adding more documentation and guides."

"Fortinet FortiProxy should integrate AI/ML technologies. Its pricing needs to be more flexible."

"Its power supply process for some of the proxies needs improvement."

"I see that the solution's interface is not in French...It would be good for our company if we could have the tool interface in French."

"For me it may be the wildcards for URLs whitelist or blacklist, somehow the page loads."

More Fortinet FortiProxy cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"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."

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

"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."

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

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

"It is probably in line with other solutions, but I do not deal with the financial side."

"The tool's licensing is yearly."

"Regarding Cisco price-wise, it is always on a bit on the higher side."

"Licensing fees are based on the number of users."

"The licensing options begin with 100 users and this is a high threshold for smaller networks."

"The pricing is too high."

"I rate the product price a ten on a scale of one to ten, where one is low price and ten is high price."

"Cisco Web Security Appliance is not the cheapest solution on the market, but it's well worth it."

"I rate Cisco WSA a seven out of ten since it is costly."

More Cisco Web Security Appliance pricing and cost advice

"It offers a more cost-effective solution than alternatives like FortiMail, FortiGate, and various Barracuda devices."

"Price-wise, Fortinet FortiProxy is moderate - not the highest among competitors, but not cheap either."

"The tool's pricing is in the middle."

"The solution is neither too expensive nor very cheap."

"It is a cost-effective solution."

"It can be considered expensive, with a limited lifespan and support that eventually requires updating to newer solutions."

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Financial Services Firm

11%

Manufacturing Company

Computer Software Company

Construction Company

Financial Services Firm

28%

Construction Company

10%

Manufacturing Company

Government

Financial Services Firm

13%

Computer Software Company

11%

Manufacturing Company

Government

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	11
Midsize Enterprise	8
Large Enterprise	10

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	11
Midsize Enterprise	7
Large Enterprise	12

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	7
Midsize Enterprise	1
Large Enterprise	3

Questions from the Community

What needs improvement with iboss?

I think iboss could be improved by making reporting and dashboard customization more flexible, and simplifying troubl...

What is your primary use case for iboss?

I use iboss as a cloud-based secure web gateway to provide secure internet access, web filtering, and protect remote ...

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for iboss?

My experience with iboss's pricing structure, setup cost, and licensing model has been positive, straightforward, and...

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Cisco Web Security Appliance?

Comparing with other products, Cisco has more functionality, but pricing is a challenge. Cisco is not a product for s...

What needs improvement with Cisco Web Security Appliance?

With the WebAssign integration, it is not easy when I am integrating policies within the company, especially with NAN...

What is your primary use case for Cisco Web Security Appliance?

The user interface that I usually provide for the web app includes malware protection, URL filtering, data loss preve...

What needs improvement with Fortinet FortiProxy?

For me it may be the wildcards for urls whitelist or blacklist, somehow the page loads. Aside from that there no other..

What advice do you have for others considering Fortinet FortiProxy?

My advice to others who are considering Fortinet FortiProxy is that it is seamless, easy to use, and quite straightfo...

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Fortinet FortiProxy?

Fortinet FortiProxy is much cheaper compared to other products like Cisco, Palo Alto, and others. It is reasonably pr...

Prisma Access by Palo Alto Networks vs iboss

Comparisons

Compared 10% of the time

Netskope vs iboss

Compared 10% of the time

Fortinet FortiGate vs iboss

Compared 8% of the time

FortiSASE vs iboss

Compared 6% of the time

Cisco Umbrella vs iboss

Compared 6% of the time

More iboss Competitors

Symantec Proxy vs Cisco Web Security Appliance

Compared 14% of the time

Skyhigh Security vs Cisco Web Security Appliance

Compared 11% of the time

Zscaler Internet Access vs Cisco Web Security Appliance

Compared 8% of the time

Cisco Umbrella vs Cisco Web Security Appliance

Compared 8% of the time

Symantec Secure Web Gateway vs Cisco Web Security Appliance

Compared 3% of the time

More Cisco Web Security Appliance Competitors

Fortinet FortiGate vs Fortinet FortiProxy

Compared 19% of the time

Forcepoint Secure Web Gateway vs Fortinet FortiProxy

Compared 17% of the time

Blue Coat Secure Web Gateway Virtual Appliance vs Fortinet FortiProxy

Compared 7% of the time

McAfee Web Gateway Cloud Service vs Fortinet FortiProxy

Compared 6% of the time

More Fortinet FortiProxy Competitors

Product Reports

iboss

Download iboss product report

Cisco Web Security Appliance

Download Cisco Web Security Appliance product report

Fortinet FortiProxy

Download Fortinet FortiProxy product report

Also Known As

iBoss Cloud Platform

Cisco WSA, Cisco Web Security

FortiProxy

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

Cisco Web Security Appliance delivers robust web security, combining efficient proxy functions with strong malware protection and seamless Cisco integration. It enhances security management and is favored by enterprises for its scalability and stability.

Cisco Web Security Appliance is a comprehensive tool used for safeguarding network traffic through powerful proxy capabilities, effective URL filtering, malware protection, and identity checks. Enterprises rely on it for controlling internet browsing, compliance, and securing remote work activities. With advanced features like SSL decryption, content filtering, and real-time policy enforcement, it offers centralized management with intuitive controls. While praised for its reliability, users seek a more affordable price, better support, a simplified interface, and enhanced integration abilities. Supporting Active Directory, it provides granular security measures for efficient web access management.

What are the key features of Cisco Web Security Appliance?

Proxy Functions: Ensures efficient traffic management and control.
SSL Decryption: Enhances inspection of encrypted traffic.
Bandwidth Control: Manages network resources effectively.
Comprehensive Malware Protection: Provides advanced security measures.
User-Friendly Management: Simplifies policy configuration and monitoring.

What benefits should users look for?

Scalability: Supports growing enterprise needs.
Integration: Seamlessly connects with Cisco and other technologies.
Stability: Ensures consistent and reliable performance.
Support: Backed by expert Cisco technical assistance.

Cisco Web Security Appliance is widely implemented across industries like finance, healthcare, education, and government. It protects sensitive data and meets regulatory compliance by controlling web access and ensuring secure remote connectivity for a diverse workforce.

Cisco

Fortinet FortiProxy provides simplicity and high performance with notable traffic inspections and user-friendly features. It integrates with security products to enhance threat intelligence, ensuring secure and efficient network management.

Fortinet FortiProxy is designed to enhance network security through exceptional traffic inspections, intrusion prevention, and antivirus capabilities. Its user-friendly nature allows for granular application and DNS control, deep packet inspection, and detailed access control. Administrators can implement precise policies to manage web access, integrating seamlessly with other security solutions. Offering proactive alarms and caching capabilities, FortiProxy optimizes bandwidth usage while ensuring robust network defense.

What are the key features of Fortinet FortiProxy?

Traffic Inspections: High-performance inspection to secure web traffic.
Intrusion Prevention: Proactively detects and blocks threats.
Antivirus Profiles: Offers robust protection against viruses.
Application and DNS Control: Provides detailed control over applications and DNS settings.
Deep Packet Inspection: Ensures comprehensive inspection of packet content.
Access Control: Enables precise management of user access.

What benefits or ROI should users investigate?

Security Enhancement: Improved protection from web-based threats.
Network Efficiency: Optimized bandwidth through effective caching.
Integration Capabilities: Seamless interaction with other security products.
User-Friendly Management: Simplified administration with granular controls.

In industries focused on maintaining high-level internet security, Fortinet FortiProxy is employed for comprehensive traffic inspections and segmentation. It supports antivirus additions and secure connectivity, serving as a robust web security gateway. Organizations benefit from seamless authentication using Fortinet Single Sign-On, crucial for protecting users from threats and enabling efficient network operations.

Fortinet

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.

New South Wales Rural Fire Service, Caixa Seguradora

Information Not Available

Cisco Web Security Appliance vs. Fortinet FortiProxy