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 #11 with an average rating of 7.6, while Broadcom is ranked #27. Forcepoint holds a 1.7% mindshare in WSG, compared to Broadcom’s 1.6% mindshare. Additionally, 100% of Forcepoint users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 57% of Broadcom users who would recommend it.

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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: November 2026).

Buyer's Guide

Forcepoint ONE vs. Symantec Secure Web Gateway

November 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 November 2026, in the Secure Web Gateways (SWG) category, the mindshare of iboss is 3.2%, up from 2.3% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Forcepoint ONE is 1.7%, up from 1.4% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Symantec Secure Web Gateway is 1.6%, up from 1.1% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Secure Web Gateways (SWG) Mindshare Distribution
Product	Mindshare (%)
iboss	3.2%
Forcepoint ONE	1.7%
Symantec Secure Web Gateway	1.6%
Other	93.5%

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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Manish Kumar Twinkle

Security Engineer at itsipl

Secure browsing and cloud use have protected data and improved visibility into user activity

The best features that Forcepoint ONE offers are RBI and CDR in SWG. RBI helps me specifically by removing all the malicious JavaScript codes from websites that users might visit, allowing them to access the URL without encountering the actual malicious codes. Regarding CDR, when a user downloads malicious executable files or something injected with malicious codes, CDR assists by creating the same package with other files, effectively removing the original malicious content. I love the features of SWG and RBI because they secure our users by removing JavaScript and malicious file codes, particularly since many attackers employ codeless or fileless patterns or signatureless attacks. Additionally, if any user is uncertain about any data or its origin, CrowdStrike anti-malware sensors scan it for us. CDR is crucial as it protects our end users from unknown third-party files, ensuring the authenticity of shared files. Forcepoint ONE has positively impacted our organization by providing visibility through CASB, caching user activities, and preventing threats by guiding users to the correct cloud services like Office 365 instead of blocking access to more vulnerable services.

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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

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

"Its initial setup was straightforward."

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

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

"We were impressed by the solution's mental health function, which can detect if someone needs help. It scans what users are browsing and flags warning signs so we can check to see if they are okay. We've had to use it a couple of times."

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

"The security aspect of the solution, particularly the malware behind it, is excellent. That's something that really helped us out. It's not just a simple proxy that just blocks the insights of potential threats that come on behind it. They do malware detection and that helps us a lot."

"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."

More iboss pros

"The platform's feature that has been most beneficial for our web security is its capability to replicate rules."

"It allows a window into who is sharing what types of data internally and externally."

"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, 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."

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

"The solution’s AJAX-VM provides constant reverse proxy uptime. It has been very positive for our security operations. When people are trying to access the SaaS solution, it protects us from downloading any of that data and experiencing any type of attacks"

"The initial setup was straightforward, which was a huge win. That mostly goes to the fact that they are agentless. We didn't have to sit there deploying thousands of agents and all the things that go along with that type of deployment. We were up and running very quickly."

"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."

More Forcepoint ONE pros

"I find the product to be very straightforward."

"It offers an easy initial setup."

"It is easy to manage. The graphical user interface is quite easy to navigate, and we don't have any difficulty in using it. It is a good solution."

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

"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."

"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."

"Scalability is not really any major issue, it is quite scalable and if we need to do more deployments, we just add them."

"The most valuable features are the website blocking capability and SSL interception."

More Symantec Secure Web Gateway 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."

"Sometimes, obviously, there are bugs."

"Fold that in with the risk intelligence they're getting from all of the different subscriptions they are a part of. Now, these security companies subscribe to things like emerging threats, databases, etc. You can fold all this intelligence to decide what's happening on an endpoint. I would love to see them start moving into that space. That would compete directly with Microsoft. Maybe that's why they haven't. Having that ability native within the solution would be great. The other area in which I would love to see improvement is more detailed descriptions of why they block websites."

"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."

"Sometimes when you call in support, you get someone who is just following a sheet. It feels like a runaround. You feel that you are running into that support wall."

"I would rate iboss an eight out of ten because it provides strong cloud-based security threat protection, centralized policy management, and visibility into web traffic. I would give it a higher rating if automation, reporting, and troubleshooting capabilities could be improved further."

"The endpoint-type solution is an area that needs some improvement."

More iboss cons

"Areas for improvement for the platform include addressing scalability and architecture concerns, especially for large deployments involving more than 500 or 1,000 users."

"There is room for improvement in making the reporting closer to real-time, ideally around five or ten minutes instead of half an hour. The interface could also be updated as it was quite dated."

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

"I wish they would advance more into the endpoint DLP solution."

"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."

"A few minor items for consideration: Enhanced reporting (e.g. a report to find out how many users are in specific Bitglass group). MFA Enhancement: Perhaps adding an MFA Application."

"Forcepoint ONE can be improved in scalability to handle more hybrid environments."

"We encounter challenges in determining whether certain features for blocking certain file types or preventing automatic downloads are functioning correctly."

More Forcepoint ONE cons

"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."

"Depending on the severity of the issue, I think they can be a bit slow - a few days for the low severity cases, but for the severe cases normally they contact you back in a couple of hours."

"The platform’s data center is not capable of managing most of the traffic."

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

"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."

"There's a need for increased firewall functionality and capabilities. I'm not seeing a competitive Symantec cloud product. Specifically, functionalities with security as filtering from the cloud. I am aware that there is a product, a proxy in the cloud but I have compared it with other vendors and I don't find it that powerful. I think the worst thing that we're experiencing is very poor and inadequate technical support. It seems to me that tech support engineers aren't qualified to fulfill their job duties."

"The cost has risen and it is more expensive than it used to be."

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

More Symantec Secure Web Gateway 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."

"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."

"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."

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

"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."

"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."

"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."

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

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

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

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

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Financial Services Firm

11%

Manufacturing Company

10%

Comms Service Provider

Construction Company

Financial Services Firm

10%

Outsourcing Company

10%

Healthcare Company

Comms Service Provider

Construction Company

19%

Comms Service Provider

11%

Financial Services Firm

10%

Manufacturing Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	14
Midsize Enterprise	8
Large Enterprise	15

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?

iboss could be improved by making the dashboard more user-friendly, providing more detailed real-time alerts, and imp...

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What is your primary use case for iboss?

iboss is primarily used for cloud security, helping to protect users when they access websites and cloud applications...

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What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for iboss?

The pricing and licensing for iboss were reasonable for the security features. The setup costs were manageable, thoug...

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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 8% 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 5% of the time

More iboss Competitors

Skyhigh Security vs Forcepoint ONE

Compared 12% of the time

Netskope vs Forcepoint ONE

Compared 10% of the time

Zscaler Internet Access vs Forcepoint ONE

Compared 7% of the time

Akamai Enterprise Application Access vs Forcepoint ONE

Compared 6% of the time

FortiSASE vs Forcepoint ONE

Compared 5% of the time

More Forcepoint ONE Competitors

Zscaler Internet Access vs Symantec Secure Web Gateway

Compared 20% of the time

Akamai Secure Internet Access Enterprise vs Symantec Secure Web Gateway

Compared 14% of the time

Cisco Umbrella vs Symantec Secure Web Gateway

Compared 12% of the time

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

Compared 8% of the time

Blue Coat Secure Web Gateway Virtual Appliance vs Symantec Secure Web Gateway

Compared 2% of the time

More Symantec Secure Web Gateway Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

iboss

October 2026

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Buyer's Guide

Forcepoint ONE

October 2026

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Buyer's Guide

Symantec Secure Web Gateway

October 2026

Download Symantec Secure Web Gateway product report

Also Known As

iBoss Cloud Platform

Bitglass

Symantec Complete Website Security

Overview

iboss is the Zero Trust SASE platform that gives organizations complete visibility and governance over their AI, data, and applications through one unified platform, one console, one policy engine, and one data lake.

Your endpoints may already stop malware. Your data and application activity can still be invisible. iboss decrypts and understands every connection, then turns that signal into answers security leaders can act on.

The platform leads with three capabilities in this order: AI Security and Visibility, Data Security and Visibility, and App Visibility and Control. Zero Trust Network Access, VPN replacement, and SD-WAN sit underneath as the access fabric that carries those three. Trusted by global enterprises and government agencies.

What are the most important features of Iboss?

- AI Security and Visibility: conversation capture, shadow-AI discovery, AI DLP, and agent governance across Claude, Co-Work, ChatGPT, Gemini, and Grok, and emerging services.

- Data Security and Visibility: full SSL/TLS decryption, deep content inspection, MIP label compliance, and one-click compliance reporting.

- App Visibility and Control: signatureless CASB, dual risk scoring, in-app controls, and SSPM for major SaaS.

- Containerized Zero Trust SASE: dedicated containers, isolated SSL keys, one console, one policy engine, one data lake.

- Access fabric: ZTNA, VPN replacement, and SD-WAN under the same platform.

What benefits should users consider in reviews?

- Complete visibility over AI, data, and applications from one platform instead of separate point tools.

- Encrypted traffic is inspected by default so data decisions use content and context together.

- Shadow SaaS and new web tools appear as they are used, with enforceable controls in one console.

- Native data sovereignty through dedicated containers, in-region inspection, and per-customer SSL key custody.

- Scale proven in published materials: 10M+ users, 100+ countries, 150B+ transactions, 2.5B+ threats blocked.

Economic buyers are CISOs, CIOs, and VPs of Security. Champions include security architects, network and infrastructure leaders, SecOps, and GRC. Primary segments: enterprise and business, financial services, government (including FedRAMP Gov Cloud), healthcare, manufacturing, legal and professional services, retail and hospitality, and MSP/MSSP partners. Education, including K-12, is one vertical among these.

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

Trusted by global enterprises and government agencies.

UNC-Charlotte

Information Not Available

Buyer's Guide

Forcepoint ONE vs. Symantec Secure Web Gateway

November 2026

Free Report: Forcepoint ONE vs. Symantec Secure Web Gateway

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