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Google Cloud Identity-Aware Proxy vs Portnox comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Jan 15, 2026

Review summaries and opinions

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

ROI

Sentiment score
6.7
Google Cloud Identity-Aware Proxy enhances collaboration and security for Google apps, with ROI varying based on utilization strategies.
Sentiment score
4.5
Portnox offers cost savings and efficiency by reducing staffing needs with cloud-hosted network visibility and security solutions.
If I compare this to an on-premises environment using Cisco ISE or Aruba ClearPass, it would require phenomenally large teams for infrastructure management.
Sr. Cloud Security Architect at a tech services company with 11-50 employees
If you were moving from a traditional on-premise NAC that was 100% managed by the IT department, there would be great savings in going to a cloud-based NAC with Portnox.
IT Infrastructure Manager at a tech vendor with 501-1,000 employees
Most customers feel value immediately upon deployment.
Product Manager at Applied Principles Limited
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
6.5
Google Cloud Identity-Aware Proxy support varies; some find it excellent while others face inefficiencies, affecting direct Google interaction.
Sentiment score
6.9
Portnox customer service is generally well-rated for responsiveness, though improvements in technical training and ticketing are needed.
The main area needing improvement is the technical knowledge of support staff.
Senior Network Engineer at a tech services company with 11-50 employees
For very high severity issues where the entire office is non-functional, response time is within 30 minutes.
Sr. Cloud Security Architect at a tech services company with 11-50 employees
They respond very immediately and provide detailed, amazing support.
Systems Analyst at a construction company with 1,001-5,000 employees
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
7.6
Google Cloud Identity-Aware Proxy is praised for effective scalability and ease of management despite potential cost concerns.
Sentiment score
7.7
Portnox is praised for its scalability, flexible licensing, and ease of expansion, especially with its cloud-based Portnox Clear.
We have never had any challenge based on a customer who has 1,000 devices versus a customer who has 30,000 devices; the feel is the same.
Product Manager at Applied Principles Limited
They ensure the backend can support it and do the provisioning while maintaining headroom and elasticity.
Sr. Cloud Security Architect at a tech services company with 11-50 employees
I rate scalability a ten; you simply pay and you get more.
Network And Security Engineer at a manufacturing company with 1,001-5,000 employees
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
8.1
Google Cloud Identity-Aware Proxy is praised for its reliability and stability, with minor issues mainly in virtual machines.
Sentiment score
7.4
Portnox stability ratings vary, with more issues reported for CORE users, particularly regarding updates and communication processes.
The product itself is available and its uptime is 100%.
Systems Analyst at a construction company with 1,001-5,000 employees
In the four years that I used Portnox, if it crashed or the server crashed, that would not have been more than once.
Information Technology System Administrator at a energy/utilities company with 10,001+ employees
If there is a version one and another version, the communication between the organization using it and Portnox should be firm so they can coordinate effectively.
Windows Server Administrator/ IT Support Officer at a financial services firm with 5,001-10,000 employees
 

Room For Improvement

Google Cloud Identity-Aware Proxy needs better user-friendliness, integration, security, support, and cost-effectiveness for enhanced performance and usability.
Portnox requires improvements in data retrieval, authentication, support, documentation, costs, integration, server response, and MAC address filtering.
Ideally, we should be able to search for any MAC address in the database, regardless of its authentication status, to see all its associated groups and potential conflicts.
President at TrackerSoft
When I reach the technical support, they give solutions that do not help me much, so I try to search the internet for other users' experiences to find solutions.
IT Project Manager at Xpress technologies
When I'm doing filtering at times, it doesn't filter the items properly.
Systems Analyst at a construction company with 1,001-5,000 employees
 

Setup Cost

Google Cloud Identity-Aware Proxy offers competitive pricing, with mixed reviews on cost-effectiveness compared to AWS and Oracle alternatives.
Portnox offers competitive, value-driven pricing with scalability, flexible subscriptions, and costs based on user numbers and devices.
If you compare Portnox with all other well-known standard products, it is the cheapest.
IT Network Engineer at a tech vendor with 5,001-10,000 employees
The pricing is a bit high, possibly due to the cloud features and running instances across regions like the US, Asia, and Europe.
President at TrackerSoft
You are charged according to the number of users.
Senior Network Engineer at a tech services company with 11-50 employees
 

Valuable Features

Google Cloud Identity-Aware Proxy provides scalable security, user-friendly access management, real-time collaboration, and seamless integration with minimal expertise needed.
Portnox provides efficient, scalable network security and management with easy integration, praised UI, cost-efficiency, and effective visibility.
It's notable how Portnox has improved operational efficiency.
IT Network Engineer at a tech vendor with 5,001-10,000 employees
It is a very robust application because three teams use that part: the network team, the security team, and the support people.
Windows Server Administrator/ IT Support Officer at a financial services firm with 5,001-10,000 employees
It is possible to find the MAC address in the switch, but in Portnox, it is very useful to see the status of those ports, and that increases our security.
Assistant System Engineer at Tata Consultancy
 

Categories and Ranking

Google Cloud Identity-Aware...
Ranking in ZTNA
10th
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.5
Number of Reviews
45
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Portnox
Ranking in ZTNA
8th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
7.0
Number of Reviews
29
Ranking in other categories
Network Access Control (NAC) (6th), Passwordless Authentication (1st)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of March 2026, in the ZTNA category, the mindshare of Google Cloud Identity-Aware Proxy is 2.5%, down from 2.7% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Portnox is 3.3%, up from 0.5% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
ZTNA Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Portnox3.3%
Google Cloud Identity-Aware Proxy2.5%
Other94.2%
ZTNA
 

Featured Reviews

Nobuaki Kitamura - PeerSpot reviewer
managing director of IT Department at Nara OA System Inc
Google Cloud Platform works better with Google Workspace, stable product but a bit complicated, especially the networking
We used Google Workspace, so all my employees have Google Workspace accounts. I initially wanted to use Google Cloud Platform for subscription compatibility. Google Cloud Platform works better with Google Workspace, but unfortunately, it's a bit complicated, especially the networking. Oracle Cloud's virtual network system is much easier and more flexible. Also, Oracle was cheaper. That's the main reason we chose Oracle Cloud.
Maurice Mwaura - PeerSpot reviewer
Product Manager at Applied Principles Limited
Unified access control has improved compliance visibility and simplified passwordless access
There is work to be done when it comes to making the solution more seamless. For example, when a user is denied access, they would need a way to maybe self-resolve themselves, perhaps a way to generate a ticket on their own, something around resolutions. When it comes to users using the product, that is where good products are differentiated from products that are a bit of a challenge. Portnox has much to do in terms of their reporting. The generated reports need improvement. Things that other tools would say are normal are usually not present. For example, there is a page called NAS devices or NAS network that is able to show the switches that have been managed. Currently, there is no way of generating an easy report or an easy way of just generating something to tell the customer what they have been able to achieve so far. This is not done yet and is still very manual. I think there is work to be done there. More integrations around the various products being used would be beneficial. So far I have not encountered any major challenge. Where there was a challenge, I think support came in and helped us resolve. In fact, most of the challenges are not with the product; they are with the customer environment. I think that is just to update their documentation where they have come across a new vendor for easier integrations in the future.
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Manufacturing Company
13%
Comms Service Provider
12%
Marketing Services Firm
11%
Performing Arts
9%
Manufacturing Company
16%
Financial Services Firm
13%
Healthcare Company
9%
Computer Software Company
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business17
Midsize Enterprise12
Large Enterprise19
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business15
Midsize Enterprise5
Large Enterprise9
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Google Cloud Platform Cloud Identity-Aware Proxy?
I can access the information whenever I want. It's integration is easy. The tool's GUI is easy to use with an IT background. The value benefits of using it include the ability to avoid storing data...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Google Cloud Platform Cloud Identity-Aware Proxy?
There are different pricing plans depending on data volumes and services, but it's comparable to other providers. The value and benefits depend on what we're developing and the specific use case.
What needs improvement with Google Cloud Platform Cloud Identity-Aware Proxy?
Google Cloud Platform Cloud Identity-Aware Proxy should improve stability.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Portnox Clear?
Portnox's pricing is very conservative and offers great value for money. If I compare it with any other solution, pricing is definitely at the top of the list because it is very affordable. Pricing...
What needs improvement with Portnox Clear?
In Portnox, the area that has room for improvement is that older data is not fetching correctly. For an older switch, for example, a six-month-old switch that we just added, it does not happen to e...
What is your primary use case for Portnox Clear?
My use case for Portnox is for whitelisting ports and adding policies. We are using two modes: enforce mode and monitoring mode. For monitoring, we are using some smaller switches, just some busine...
 

Also Known As

GCP Cloud IAP, Google Cloud Platform Cloud IAP, Cloud Identity-Aware Proxy
Access Layers Portnox, Portnox CLEAR
 

Interactive Demo

Demo not available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Information Not Available
Data Realty, Royal London, Wales Millennium Centre, McLaren Construction Group, EL AL Israeli Airlines, 
Find out what your peers are saying about Google Cloud Identity-Aware Proxy vs. Portnox and other solutions. Updated: March 2026.
884,873 professionals have used our research since 2012.