Fortinet FortiProxy vs Zscaler Internet Access comparison

Why PeerSpot?

Fortinet and Zscaler are both solutions in the Secure Web Gateways (SWG) category. Fortinet is ranked #15 with an average rating of 8.0, while Zscaler is ranked #3 with an average rating of 8.7. Fortinet holds a 2.1% mindshare in WSG, compared to Zscaler’s 9.8% mindshare. Additionally, 100% of Fortinet users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 98% of Zscaler users who would recommend it.

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Jun 3, 2026

Zscaler Internet Access (ZIA) and Fortinet FortiProxy are key competitors in the cybersecurity industry, particularly in internet access security solutions. ZIA appears to have the upper hand due to its comprehensive security features and low latency global server access, whereas Fortinet is favored for its affordability and granular policy controls.

Features: Zscaler Internet Access offers secure web gateways, data loss prevention, and cloud access security broker (CASB) capabilities. Its cloud-native approach also provides low-latency global server access, making it scalable and reliable. Fortinet FortiProxy focuses on user-friendly attributes, detailed access policies, and DNS filtering, ensuring compliance with security protocols while offering visibility into user behavior.

Room for Improvement: Zscaler could enhance user and role-based access integration and improve local data center availability in specific regions. Fortinet requires improvement in its web filtering capabilities and could benefit from an intrusion prevention system. Its documentation and remote support services also need enhancements. Both products need stronger AI/ML integration and more adaptable pricing models.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Zscaler supports versatile deployment models across public, private, and hybrid cloud environments. However, it faces mixed reviews regarding customer service response times. Fortinet FortiProxy is primarily on-premises, with deployment considered straightforward and support being reliable, albeit sometimes needing clearer scheduling and direct vendor intervention.

Pricing and ROI: Zscaler Internet Access is known for higher costs but justified by robust security features and scalable cost efficiency, yielding good ROI for larger enterprises. Its pricing is considered steep for smaller businesses. Fortinet FortiProxy is budget-friendly, offering effective features for moderate needs, thus being more cost-effective for smaller-scale implementations.

To learn more, read our detailed Fortinet FortiProxy vs. Zscaler Internet Access Report (Updated: November 2026).

Buyer's Guide

Fortinet FortiProxy vs. Zscaler Internet Access

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 Fortinet FortiProxy is 2.1%, down from 4.8% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Zscaler Internet Access is 9.8%, down from 14.1% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Secure Web Gateways (SWG) Mindshare Distribution
Product	Mindshare (%)
Zscaler Internet Access	9.8%
iboss	3.2%
Fortinet FortiProxy	2.1%
Other	84.9%

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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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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VikasTiwari

Senior Network Engineer at Anthology

Cloud security has transformed remote access and now supports zero trust for all users

The best features Zscaler Internet Access offers are Secure Web Gateway, URL filtering, SSL inspections, and policy-based access control. I find myself relying on Secure Web Gateway, URL filtering, SSL inspection, and policy-based access control the most because these are the main and top-most features I use regularly. Zscaler Internet Access has all of these types of features for securing all internet access and web inspections, allowing me to control all traffic through these features. Zscaler Internet Access features include a Secure Web Gateway for URL filtering, file type control, and inline SSL inspections. The second feature is a cloud firewall with Layer 3 to Layer 7 filtering control and stateful inspections. No hardware inspection or hardware firewall is required. I can also perform segmentations by users, location, and application. There is a cloud CASB solution available as well. Additionally, there is an advanced threat protection feature with signature-based behavioral detections, inline IPS, and zero-day threat protections. The cloud sandboxing solution scans unknown files and provides machine learning-based verdicts to prevent zero-day malware delivery in my environment. There is also a DNS security feature that provides DNS tunneling detections, malicious domain controls, and faster threat containment at the DNS layer. The data protection feature includes inline DLP and CASB-style cloud app control, data sovereignty enforcement, and browser isolation, which executes risky sites in isolated cloud browsers and prevents endpoint compromises. Zscaler Internet Access has positively impacted my organization by reducing the dependency on on-premises hardware and improving security posture, enabling faster user onboarding, and providing better performance for remote users. It has resulted in a drop in security incidents related to web threats and improved visibility into user activity. An area for improvement includes fine-grained troubleshooting tools, better policy simulations, and optimizations around initial configuration complexity.

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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

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

"I would say iboss is a very good product; its scalability is very good, and it's seamless for the user."

"Content filtering is the most useful feature of iboss."

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

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

"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."

"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."

More iboss pros

"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."

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

"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."

"The most valuable feature is intrusion prevention (IPS) and antivirus profiles. These features help control user activity, ensuring that they access only permitted websites and protects from downloading viruses."

"It seamlessly integrates with various security products, enhancing threat intelligence and improving indicators of compromise."

"The solution's stability is good."

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

More Fortinet FortiProxy pros

"The solution is scalable and stable."

"It securely transfers internet connectivity seamlessly, without any problems or issues."

"The protection is most valuable."

"After a proper implementation, the maintenance is very low."

"The most valuable feature for me is the ability to see how my network and traffic looks with modules like analytics and insights."

"Zscaler Internet Access has positively impacted my organization by reducing the dependency on on-premises hardware and improving security posture, enabling faster user onboarding, and providing better performance for remote users."

"The solution is scalable, we have around 70,000 total users across various environments."

"In summary, this is a good product and I completely recommend it."

More Zscaler Internet Access pros

Cons

"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."

"The reporting feature needs improvement."

"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."

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

"I'd like to see them accelerate development on the security side, particularly around data loss prevention."

"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 would like to see simpler dashboards, more detailed reporting, and faster performance in iboss."

"Sometimes, obviously, there are bugs."

More iboss cons

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

"Its web filtering capabilities could be improved."

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

"The tool's most valuable feature is its granular access control. For example, users can browse the main site if you allow access to Amazon, but it stops them from visiting secondary Amazon websites without specific permission. This granular control is really helpful."

"For IT administrators and managers, the reporting features are the main issues that should be addressed in order to improve the performance, security, and effective utilization of the product."

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

"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."

"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."

More Fortinet FortiProxy cons

"The current reports can, therefore, be somewhat improved and simplified."

"In terms of usage, here in the GCC, it's still growing a growing market, so the combination of DLP, data leak prevention, to a certain extent is fine. But what it requires is user-based access or role-based access. The solution needs to grow into that, which definitely takes time. There's not an easy way to integrate it, when you have a cloud-based solution."

"Zscaler Internet Access needs to integrate more ISPs. It is good to have more than three ISPs."

"Zscaler Internet Access could improve by adding a VPN feature."

"The scalability of Zscaler Internet Access rates at 7-8 in the majority of cases. However, I am currently working with a client that requires very high internet throughput, which has been challenging."

"The solution can be improved by advancing some of the newer technologies such as the DLP feature, and adding email security."

"The admin UI and documentation for Zscaler Internet Access could be more intuitive for new users, specifically during initial rollout and advanced policy design."

"The solution is expensive. They recently revised the pricing and packaging. Some of our existing customers have been asking for alternate solutions for a lower price."

More Zscaler Internet Access cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"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."

"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 expensive compared to one of its competitors."

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

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

"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."

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

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

"It is a cost-effective solution."

"Licenses are available on a per-host basis. Some features like sandboxing require an additional fee, but most standard features are included in the license."

"The pricing is an issue. It is expensive compared to other firewalls on the market."

"We pay around 6,500 INR per user per year, which is very expensive. I would rate Zscaler's pricing one out of five."

"We have found the solution to be expensive."

"Price-wise, the tool is reasonable compared to the other products in the market but it is not a very low-priced tool. The solution does provide value for money."

"It is quite expensive. It does its job, but it is quite expensive for what we need."

"ZIA follows a subscription model pricing and charges you based on the number of users. I would say its price is good."

"It is a few pounds per user per month."

More Zscaler Internet Access pricing and cost advice

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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

12%

Computer Software Company

10%

Comms Service Provider

Construction Company

Financial Services Firm

12%

Manufacturing Company

10%

Computer Software Company

Comms Service Provider

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	15
Midsize Enterprise	8
Large Enterprise	16

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

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	17
Midsize Enterprise	9
Large Enterprise	39

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 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..

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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...

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What is your primary use case for Fortinet FortiProxy?

The main use cases for the Fortinet FortiProxy are to segment internet access among departments, as not every departm...

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Which is the better security solution - Cisco Umbrella or Zscaler?

Cisco Umbrella and Zscaler Internet Access are two broad-spectrum Internet security solutions that I have tried. Zs...

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Which is better, Zscaler internet access or Netsckope CASB?

We researched Netskope but ultimately chose Zscaler. Netskope is a cloud access security broker that helps identify ...

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What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Zscaler Internet Access?

We have not purchased Zscaler Internet Access through the AWS Marketplace; the licensing process was handled separate...

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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

Zscaler Zero Trust Exchange Platform vs iboss

Compared 4% of the time

More iboss Competitors

Forcepoint Secure Web Gateway vs Fortinet FortiProxy

Compared 18% of the time

Fortinet FortiGate vs Fortinet FortiProxy

Compared 15% of the time

Cisco Web Security Appliance vs Fortinet FortiProxy

Compared 12% of the time

McAfee Web Gateway Cloud Service vs Fortinet FortiProxy

Compared 6% of the time

More Fortinet FortiProxy Competitors

Cisco Umbrella vs Zscaler Internet Access

Compared 31% of the time

Prisma Access by Palo Alto Networks vs Zscaler Internet Access

Compared 5% of the time

Netskope vs Zscaler Internet Access

Compared 4% of the time

Fortinet FortiGate vs Zscaler Internet Access

Compared 4% of the time

Symantec Secure Web Gateway vs Zscaler Internet Access

Compared 2% of the time

More Zscaler Internet Access Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

iboss

October 2026

Download iboss product report

Buyer's Guide

Fortinet FortiProxy

November 2026

Download Fortinet FortiProxy product report

Buyer's Guide

Zscaler Internet Access

October 2026

Download Zscaler Internet Access product report

Also Known As

iBoss Cloud Platform

FortiProxy

ZIA

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

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

Zscaler Internet Access provides internet security through cloud-native architecture, ensuring threat protection and traffic management without relying on traditional VPNs and firewalls.

It enhances security by offering features such as CASB and DLP. With its cloud-native proxy architecture, it facilitates seamless security with reduced latency and high availability. Organizations value the scalability and centralized policy management, integrating seamlessly with existing systems for remote work. It ensures secure traffic management by delivering advanced threat protection and support for applications through SSL inspection and sandboxing. Enhanced measures for DLP, better integration with tools like MFA, and optimized reporting are areas for growth.

What are the key features?

Website Filtering: Controls access to harmful sites to protect users.
SSL Inspection: Shields against threats bypassing traditional defenses.
Cloud Sandbox: Provides advanced threat protection through testing.
CASB: Offers cloud application visibility and security enforcement.

What benefits should users seek?

Scalability: Easily adjusts to growing requirements without manual intervention.
Centralized Management: Simplifies policy implementation across locations.
Seamless Integration: Reduces need for traditional VPNs by integrating with remote infrastructure.

Many industries leverage Zscaler Internet Access for securing internet traffic and safeguarding against threats like malware and DDoS attacks. It is integral as a secure web gateway to fulfill data loss prevention, bandwidth control, and filtering needs, allowing remote users robust access and protection globally. Companies employ it alongside existing tools for proper security and policy enforcement.

Zscaler

Sample Customers

Trusted by global enterprises and government agencies.

Information Not Available

Ulster-Greene ARC, BanRegio, HDFC, Ralcorp Holdings Inc., British American Tobacco, Med America Billing Services Inc., Lanco Group, Aquafil, Telefonica, Swisscom, Brigade Group

Buyer's Guide

Fortinet FortiProxy vs. Zscaler Internet Access

November 2026

Free Report: Fortinet FortiProxy vs. Zscaler Internet Access

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