Forcepoint ONE vs Symantec Secure Web Gateway comparison

Why PeerSpot?

Forcepoint and Broadcom are both solutions in the Secure Web Gateways (SWG) category. Forcepoint is ranked #12 with an average rating of 7.6, while Broadcom is ranked #27. Forcepoint holds a 1.6% mindshare in WSG, compared to Broadcom’s 1.4% mindshare. Additionally, 100% of Forcepoint users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 57% of Broadcom users who would recommend it.

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Dec 4, 2024

Symantec Secure Web Gateway and Forcepoint ONE are both engaged in delivering web security solutions. Symantec seems to hold advantages in pricing and support, while Forcepoint ONE stands out with its feature set and perceived value.

Features: Symantec Secure Web Gateway are notable features such as real-time threat intelligence, granular policy controls, and comprehensive security measures. Forcepoint ONE includes advanced threat protection, data loss prevention, and prioritizes defense against sophisticated attacks.

Room for Improvement: Symantec can improve in areas like interface simplicity, integration with modern platforms, and deployment flexibility. Forcepoint ONE could enhance its offering with cost efficiency, scalability for smaller enterprises, and detailed reporting capabilities.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Symantec Secure Web Gateway provides a traditional deployment model with dedicated support resources, suitable for enterprises with specific security needs. Forcepoint ONE offers a modern, flexible deployment approach, benefiting from faster implementation and highly responsive customer service.

Pricing and ROI: Symantec Secure Web Gateway is competitively priced, ensuring a strong ROI for cost-focused companies. Although Forcepoint ONE has higher initial costs, it justifies its investment with advanced features and bundled solutions, offering greater long-term value.

To learn more, read our detailed Forcepoint ONE vs. Symantec Secure Web Gateway Report (Updated: September 2026).

Buyer's Guide

Forcepoint ONE vs. Symantec Secure Web Gateway

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

iboss

Mindshare comparison

As of September 2026, in the Secure Web Gateways (SWG) category, the mindshare of iboss is 3.4%, up from 2.2% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Forcepoint ONE is 1.6%, up from 1.5% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Symantec Secure Web Gateway is 1.4%, up from 1.0% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Secure Web Gateways (SWG) Mindshare Distribution
Product	Mindshare (%)
iboss	3.4%
Forcepoint ONE	1.6%
Symantec Secure Web Gateway	1.4%
Other	93.6%

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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reviewer2765397

Security Engineer at a tech services company with 201-500 employees

Delivers reliable policy control and improves data protection across cloud and endpoints

The best features Forcepoint ONE offers include the DLP engine with predefined policies for common data types that help us determine and use it directly, as well as cloud app control to protect SaaS platforms like Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace. We are also helped by the Incident Management Dashboard for quick review and policy tuning, along with integration with Forcepoint Endpoint DLP, allowing us consistent enforcement across devices. The DLP engine and Incident Management Dashboard have made our work much more efficient in daily operations, as detection accuracy reduces the need for manual review, and the centralized dashboard helps us quickly identify which incidents need escalation or policy adjustment. It shortens response time for our clients, allowing their security team to view incidents in real-time, classify them easily, and focus on genuine risks instead of sorting through false positives, and it simplifies reporting and audit preparation since all the relevant data is consolidated in one place. One feature that really stands out for us and our client is the seamless integration between Forcepoint ONE and the on-premise Forcepoint DLP, as it allows consistent data protection policy across both cloud and endpoint environments, making it much easier to manage. Forcepoint ONE has positively impacted our organization by streamlining DLP policy management and reducing time spent on troubleshooting and manual reviews, providing faster compliance reporting for internal needs and compliance with local regulation, and improving visibility into how sensitive data moves across cloud and endpoint environments. Overall, it helps our customers operate more efficiently and confidently in enforcing data protection controls.

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Kedar-Kulkarni

Principal Consultant at CSaaS

Monitors traffic effectively but struggles with integration challenges

I find that the technical support is mediocre, at least for the Middle East. I frequently face challenges when contacting OpenStack through the distribution channel. It should be more straightforward. I notice that customers work with partners, not directly with Symantec, relying on local company integrators for support. Symantec becomes the level two or level three support, which requires navigating through a supply chain that is quite extensive.

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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

"Deploying iboss leads to good return on investment, estimated around 70% to 80%."

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

"We chose iboss for both zero trust and proxy (SWG) because their SWG was superior."

"Iboss is a solution that prevents advanced persistent threats, and has a zero tolerance for attacks."

"iboss is easy to use despite its complexity. Multiple engineers manage it, but it's significantly more straightforward to administer than traditional VPNs and web proxies."

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

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

"Technical support is pretty sharp and very responsive."

More iboss pros

"The most valuable feature was the website blocking capability, which allowed me to quickly block any dodgy websites."

"It has given us a more secure environment."

"The solution is very good when it comes to securing us against data leakage, because of the other proxy. It also has API scanning or data at rest. It inspects data in motion, which is the proxy, and then it has the data at rest, which is the API scanning. We can inspect for anything we want: file fingerprinting, PHI-sensitive data, PCI-sensitive data. It does not matter. We can usually find it and block it in transit and do our remediation with it. It could either be block, encrypt, or allow and watermark the file to follow it and see where it goes. It allows for those different scenarios."

"It is overall a good solution for securing against data breaches and attacks, but there is no 100 percent guarantee in software."

"Forcepoint ONE's best feature is its ease of use; the UI is basic, so users don't have to spend much time learning, and it looks modern, making it simple to find options."

"Overall, knowing what I know now, a year and two months later, and having been through this whole Bitglass deployment with the issues that we've had that were not Bitglass' fault, I would still choose the same product today."

"I have seen a return on investment, and the improvement is very good, with evident money saved because the license for Forcepoint ONE is a bundled package and noticeable time saved because more incidents are handled and reviewed in a short period of time with fewer employees since Forcepoint ONE does the work that I used to rely on a team of engineers to previously detect."

"It has been a tremendous partnership working with Bitglass."

More Forcepoint ONE pros

"It has a faster implementation process compared to other products."

"Typically, Symantec is more or less like any other platform that performs proxy functions."

"Overall, this product is okay and it does the job that it is supposed to do."

"It's nice to have it in the cloud where we can pull the reporting together for it so we can see what's happening in machines at different locations."

"I find the product to be very straightforward."

"As a proxy, there are many features available that benefit the customers, including caching, the security appliance, the cloud of service, and many other features."

"In terms of most valuable features, I like the ICAP capability and URL filtering the most."

"In terms of stability, it's fine, as we have never had downtime because availability is AWS' responsibility since it is hosted on their servers, so availability is not an issue."

More Symantec Secure Web Gateway pros

Cons

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

"Their on-premise hardware's network interface is capped at one gigabit, which is sort of a problem. If you stand a filter up where all traffic flows through that, according to them, in order to go above a gigabit, you have to have multiple devices, which in today's IT seems a little bit silly. They could easily put in an SFP port into their device that could accommodate 10 gigs or at least offer a box."

"I am currently doing a PoC of the zero trust aspect of it. Compared to other similar solutions, it is hard to get around each feature. It takes a while to get used to it."

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

"Sometimes the agent stops working in iboss, and we have to reinstall the agent."

"The dashboards for local use could be better."

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

"Our biggest problem with their service was it did not recognize the device and filtering did not always work correctly."

More iboss cons

"I wish they would advance more into the endpoint DLP solution. Currently they do not do anything around endpoint, they're still strictly cloud-based. The forward proxy is really the only thing they do. What I would like to see them do is to scan machines, workstations and servers, for information we might not want on those machines. That would be huge."

"Their new SASE (secure access service edge) product would have been the one thing I would have requested."

"Overall, Forcepoint ONE performs well, but I think the dashboard could be made more intuitive, and the policy synchronization between cloud and on-prem components could also be faster and more transparent, alongside having more flexible reporting and alert customization to tailor insights for different clients and compliance needs."

"I believe that Forcepoint ONE could be improved when configuring certain policies; for content filtering, when trying to whitelist or blacklist certain domains, you can only do up to about 50 domains or URLs, which is a limitation that could be addressed."

"While implementing Forcepoint ONE has been very smooth and efficient, the proof of concept phase can be slow, particularly on S3."

"The solution's integration with other products needs improvement."

"Integration into different multi-factor authentication tools. On their page, they tout Duo, but I don't use Duo. I use another vendor. Not that they don't interact, but it takes a little bit more doing. Any amount of efficiencies here would help."

"Forcepoint ONE could be improved."

More Forcepoint ONE cons

"The major challenge is their support. The support from Broadcom is quite poor. It takes forever for them to get back to you, and when they get back to you, they ask you for so much information, which makes it more difficult. That's the only problem I have with Broadcom. This is one of the reasons why we are switching to another solution. Another reason for switching is that we have a plan to adopt solutions in the cloud so that we can offload the administration efforts to the vendor. In future releases, they can improve its reporting and the process for rules creation. They can also improve Broadcom on things such as security information and event management so that from my same platform, I can carry out functions and probably block websites. Such a feature would be nice. Currently, Broadcom is integrated with McAfee to block access to certain sites automatically. It would be nice if they can expand their integration to IBM Resilient Security Orchestration and Automation Response."

"It's not user-friendly, and we end up making too many phone calls to get things fixed."

"Difficult and time-consuming to deploy and update."

"AI-driven security could be helpful, yet how effective it will be remains unclear."

"The major challenge is their support; the support from Broadcom is quite poor, it takes forever for them to get back to you, and when they get back to you, they ask you for so much information, which makes it more difficult."

"One of the problems with using Symantec is that it's widely known and the people who are making malware have designed to circumvent it."

"I find that the technical support is mediocre, at least for the Middle East. I frequently face challenges when contacting OpenStack through the distribution channel."

"I think the worst thing that we're experiencing is very poor and inadequate technical support."

More Symantec Secure Web Gateway cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

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

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

"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 not expensive, and it is also not cheap. iboss is priced right in the sweet spot for the number of features it offers."

"Typically, the longer you price forward, the better off you're going to be. They have been very willing to work with us on pricing."

"We have our pricing by user. We do our pricing agreements annually. There are also additional costs for maintenance."

"The product is reasonably priced compared to other vendors. I rate the pricing a two or three."

"There is training involved. If you're going to add more people to it, such as cross train more of your group, there's a cost. Other than that, that's it. We have paid exactly what the invoices have said. We signed a three-year contract and not gone above it."

"When considering only the cost, the solution may appear to be costly; however, when evaluated in terms of commercial value, Bitglass is not expensive."

"The licensing cost for Forcepoint ONE would depend on the features, but the pricing is very competitive here in Brazil. The solution offers a good price, and I would rate it a three or a four in terms of pricing. I don't have information on whether there are additional costs apart from the standard licensing fees for Forcepoint ONE."

"Pricing and licensing is stunted and licensing is expensive. We have many customers who are now thinking about other solutions due to the cost."

"Symantec Secure Web Gateway is less expensive than one of its competitors."

"There is an additional charge for advanced security features."

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Financial Services Firm

11%

Manufacturing Company

Comms Service Provider

Computer Software Company

Financial Services Firm

12%

Outsourcing Company

10%

Computer Software Company

Comms Service Provider

Construction Company

21%

Comms Service Provider

10%

Financial Services Firm

Transportation Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	12
Midsize Enterprise	8
Large Enterprise	10

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	10
Midsize Enterprise	3
Large Enterprise	12

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	5
Midsize Enterprise	2
Large Enterprise	4

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...

See all answers

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 ...

See all answers

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...

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Forcepoint ONE?

The aspects of pricing, setup cost, and licensing are managed by our sales team, as I handle the technical side.

See all answers

What needs improvement with Forcepoint ONE?

Forcepoint ONE could be improved in terms of scalability to better support hybrid environments, as many organizations...

See all answers

What advice do you have for others considering Forcepoint ONE?

I advise others looking into using Forcepoint ONE to study its features, as it covers many of the use cases usually a...

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Symantec Secure Web Gateway?

I believe that pricing is on par with peers. Symantec and other vendors offer discounts when cutting a deal with a cu...

See all answers

What needs improvement with Symantec Secure Web Gateway?

AI-driven security could be helpful, yet how effective it will be remains unclear. I plan to evaluate whatever new fe...

See all answers

What is your primary use case for Symantec Secure Web Gateway?

I find the product to be very straightforward. I just install it and forget it as it continuously monitors traffic. I...

See all answers

Comparisons

Prisma Access by Palo Alto Networks vs iboss

Compared 10% of the time

Netskope vs iboss

Compared 9% of the time

Fortinet FortiGate vs iboss

Compared 7% of the time

Cisco Umbrella vs iboss

Compared 6% of the time

FortiSASE vs iboss

Compared 6% of the time

More iboss Competitors

Skyhigh Security vs Forcepoint ONE

Compared 13% of the time

Netskope vs Forcepoint ONE

Compared 11% of the time

Zscaler Internet Access vs Forcepoint ONE

Compared 6% of the time

Versa Unified Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) Platform vs Forcepoint ONE

Compared 5% of the time

Akamai Enterprise Application Access vs Forcepoint ONE

Compared 5% of the time

More Forcepoint ONE Competitors

Zscaler Internet Access vs Symantec Secure Web Gateway

Compared 18% of the time

Cisco Umbrella vs Symantec Secure Web Gateway

Compared 14% of the time

Akamai Secure Internet Access Enterprise vs Symantec Secure Web Gateway

Compared 11% of the time

Fortra's Clearswift Secure Web Gateway vs Symantec Secure Web Gateway

Compared 10% of the time

Skyhigh Security vs Symantec Secure Web Gateway

Compared 3% of the time

More Symantec Secure Web Gateway Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

iboss

September 2026

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Buyer's Guide

Forcepoint ONE

September 2026

Download Forcepoint ONE product report

Buyer's Guide

Symantec Secure Web Gateway

August 2026

Download Symantec Secure Web Gateway product report

Also Known As

iBoss Cloud Platform

Bitglass

Symantec Complete Website Security

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

Forcepoint ONE offers a comprehensive solution for data protection and security compliance, focusing on cloud applications and role-based access control for safe interactions across platforms.

Forcepoint ONE effectively manages data access, ensuring security and compliance while reducing operational costs and offering a user-friendly interface for easy management. Integrating seamlessly with existing company devices, it provides enhanced Zero Trust Network Access, incident management, and identity verification. Cloud application protection, including Office 365, is maximized through strategic use of Secure Web Gateway (SWG) and Cloud Access Security Broker (CASB) models, which help guard against unauthorized access, manage secure logins, and filter URL content.

What are the key features of Forcepoint ONE?

Zero Trust Network Access: Enhanced security by strictly verifying each identity.
DLP: Prevents data loss through forward and reverse proxies.
Device Integration and Identity Verification: Ensures smooth compatibility with company systems.
Incident Management: Streamlined processes for managing security breach incidents.

What are the primary benefits and ROI?

Operational Cost Reduction: Improves efficiency with integrated tools.
Security and Compliance: Meets regulations through effective data monitoring and controls.
User-Friendly Management: Offers intuitive interface for configuration.

Organizations use Forcepoint ONE primarily for ensuring compliance and secure data management in environments like healthcare and corporate sectors. By safeguarding sensitive information like PHI and utilizing robust role-based access control, users can enhance security measures significantly. Additionally, the system's ability to manage secure exchanges and protect resources underlines its relevance in regulated industries.

Forcepoint

Symantec Secure Web Gateway provides robust endpoint security, offering seamless management, website blocking, and advanced threat protection, with cloud hosting and SSL interception.

Symantec Secure Web Gateway is designed to enhance web security through its endpoint security integration, effective website blocking, and SSL interception capabilities. Supporting numerous platforms, it allows swift deployment and comprehensive reporting, making it a preferred choice for companies seeking reliable antivirus protection and controlled internet access. Despite facing challenges with technical assistance and firewall functionalities, it stands out with its efficient threat-handling processes and user-friendly management features. Administrators benefit from straightforward URL filtering and a consistently active web-based cloud proxy, ideal for reducing infrastructure management issues.

What are the key features of Symantec Secure Web Gateway?

User-friendly interfaces and easy management allow for intuitive operation and administration.
Strong endpoint security integrates seamlessly with antivirus features and content filtering.
Website blocking offers controlled access to ensure safe browsing environments.
SSL interception ensures data protection and secure communication channels.
ICAP capability supports enhanced integration with other security appliances.
URL filtering applies customizable policies for secure, role-based internet access.

What benefits or ROI can be expected from Symantec Secure Web Gateway?

Streamlined deployment and management reduce time and resource investments.
Cloud hosting decreases infrastructure costs and maintenance requirements.
Caching boosts performance with faster load times and reduced bandwidth usage.
Easy initial setup minimizes configuration efforts and operational disruptions.

In industries where web security integration is vital, Symantec Secure Web Gateway manages client traffic, ensures seamless access control, and filters URLs with ease. Its capabilities, similar to Blue Coat's proxy services, offer less infrastructure management, making it ideal for sectors needing constant data protection.

Broadcom

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.

UNC-Charlotte

Information Not Available

Buyer's Guide

Forcepoint ONE vs. Symantec Secure Web Gateway

September 2026

Free Report: Forcepoint ONE vs. Symantec Secure Web Gateway

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