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ControlUp vs Zscaler Digital Experience (ZDX) comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary

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

ControlUp
Ranking in Digital Experience Monitoring (DEM)
5th
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.6
Number of Reviews
13
Ranking in other categories
IT Infrastructure Monitoring (21st)
Zscaler Digital Experience ...
Ranking in Digital Experience Monitoring (DEM)
9th
Average Rating
7.6
Reviews Sentiment
4.5
Number of Reviews
3
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of May 2026, in the Digital Experience Monitoring (DEM) category, the mindshare of ControlUp is 8.7%, down from 10.4% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Zscaler Digital Experience (ZDX) is 8.1%, up from 5.0% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Digital Experience Monitoring (DEM) Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
ControlUp8.7%
Zscaler Digital Experience (ZDX)8.1%
Other83.2%
Digital Experience Monitoring (DEM)
 

Featured Reviews

reviewer2717526 - PeerSpot reviewer
Senior Systems Administrator at a tech vendor with 10,001+ employees
Delivers comprehensive and customizable system management with increased efficiency
The best features I have found are that it is very customizable, which would be number one, and very extensible through the use of scripts and triggers. The visual look of the interface is very easy to understand what is happening and somewhat why it's happening. It may sound facetious, but it really is everything about it. Everything works exactly the way it's meant to, a dream come true for anyone who's administering systems because it gives you all the information that you want and all the actions you want to take, all in one place. The benefits I have seen from using it so far include the ability to know in advance and take actions based on the information the tool gives you.
Chella  Chalapathi - PeerSpot reviewer
Senior Technical Program Manager at Infosys
Offers steady access and reliable support but could benefit from better integration and user-friendly insights
Regarding future updates, I would like to see Zscaler prioritize pricing and integrate more with multiple products. Multiple integrations with various platforms would enable some sort of automation. Zscaler provides real-time insights, but it is not reaching the end users properly, which is something Zscaler should improve because it should be user-friendly for understanding what Zscaler is offering. When there is too much technology, people cannot understand it, so it should be very simplified, and there should be some ways for users to gain knowledge about the product themselves. Zscaler's ability to analyze millions of telemetry data points in real-time is still somewhat unclear to me; perhaps that level of knowledge has not been reached by me or the end users, indicating that Zscaler has to focus on that area.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Security, uptime, and reduced capital expenditures are the main reasons we use ControlUp. So basically, the money that we consume is based on the amount of time we are using a service."
"The script-based actions have allowed us to extend the core reporting capabilities."
"ControlUp has a lot of automation in it; it detects problems and failures very well, and it's not only monitoring, but it's also detecting, and it could even fix problems with a lot of automation that you can put in place to fix problems automatically before you even detect them."
"I would recommend this product because it is straightforward to use and stable."
"In terms of the public cloud, ControlUp's features make us feel very secure."
"ControlUp is a very good solution, but when we monitor an environment, it is very difficult."
"The most valuable features in ControlUp are endpoint monitoring and the many features that are available."
"Integration with Netscaler and Scoutbees can provide a proper end-to-end analysis of the user's experience and give us a real ROI."
"Regarding the benefits of Zscaler Digital Experience (ZDX)'s traffic analysis for my IT operations, I believe it greatly supports our needs."
"Zscaler Digital Experience (ZDX) positively impacted my organization by providing Zero Trust Network Access, which many organizations are moving towards."
"Zscaler Digital Experience (ZDX) has positively impacted my organization by being beneficial for me as a troubleshooter and administrator, as I can identify all types of network performance-related issues, leading to faster resolutions of user complaints, improved collaboration between network, desktop, and security teams, and more productivity in identifying issues before they affect users."
 

Cons

"ControlUp could improve the integration. Microsoft Azure Virtual Desktop monitoring has better integration."
"ControlUp could improve the integration. Microsoft Azure Virtual Desktop monitoring has better integration."
"This solution be improved by including load throttling tools. For example, I can identify a service where we spend a lot of CPU but I cannot restrict the service from ControlUp. I have to use another tool like AppSense."
"Integration is always a problem, and we feel that we are doing our best and the service provider thinks they are doing their best. I guess if ControlUp's system could be more capable or if people could understand the integration part, that would be better."
"Solve is a quick and intuitive tool for quickly mapping data together, however, once you have the view of the data that you like, it is difficult to share this with colleagues."
"The most common complaint that I have heard, at least within our organization, is about reporting. They have their own reporting. It's just that it doesn't yet include everything that you can look at within the application. You can only report on specific metrics or collections."
"Something I would love to see from a partner perspective would be maybe a way to do this in a surface hosting provider."
"ControlUp doesn't allow us to monitor the network infrastructure, so we are obliged to acquire another solution that allows us to monitor the network."
"I have noticed drawbacks within Zscaler Digital Experience (ZDX), as the sales team is too arrogant and too aggressive, playing politics, but the product itself is very good."
"Support responses are excellent, but for more complex cases, it sometimes takes longer."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Personally, I would say that the only thing I could compare it to is another monitoring tool that we use, Nagios."
"Based on my experience, ControlUp is not that expensive."
"We are satisfied with the price compared to other solutions."
Information not available
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
14%
Healthcare Company
10%
Computer Software Company
9%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Financial Services Firm
12%
Manufacturing Company
11%
Healthcare Company
9%
Insurance Company
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business4
Midsize Enterprise2
Large Enterprise8
No data available
 

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for ControlUp Real-time?
It is expensive. It is very expensive. I was working in a bank, and even in the bank, which was quite healthy, the ControlUp budget was something we had to defend very harshly.
What is your primary use case for ControlUp Real-time?
I was taking care of a Citrix infrastructure, and as ControlUp is the best monitoring tool for those environments, I was also using ControlUp to monitor those environments.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Zscaler Digital Experience (ZDX)?
I consider the pricing reasonable for the value delivered, and the setup is straightforward with good onboarding support.
What needs improvement with Zscaler Digital Experience (ZDX)?
Zscaler Digital Experience (ZDX) can be improved with more detailed mobile device support, better integration with third-party ITSM platforms, and enhanced reporting customizations. I can easily in...
What is your primary use case for Zscaler Digital Experience (ZDX)?
My main use case for Zscaler Digital Experience (ZDX) is to monitor end-user experience for SaaS applications, and I can also integrate all those applications within the tenant and troubleshoot net...
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

B/E Aerospace, North Carolina SECU, Vancouver Island Health Authority, University of Florida
Information Not Available
Find out what your peers are saying about ControlUp vs. Zscaler Digital Experience (ZDX) and other solutions. Updated: April 2026.
893,244 professionals have used our research since 2012.