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Palo Alto Networks Advanced Threat Prevention vs Zscaler Cloud IPS comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Dec 19, 2024

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

Palo Alto Networks Advanced...
Ranking in Intrusion Detection and Prevention Software (IDPS)
9th
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
6.6
Number of Reviews
29
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Zscaler Cloud IPS
Ranking in Intrusion Detection and Prevention Software (IDPS)
19th
Average Rating
9.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
5
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of May 2026, in the Intrusion Detection and Prevention Software (IDPS) category, the mindshare of Palo Alto Networks Advanced Threat Prevention is 4.8%, down from 5.3% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Zscaler Cloud IPS is 1.9%, up from 1.0% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Intrusion Detection and Prevention Software (IDPS) Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Palo Alto Networks Advanced Threat Prevention4.8%
Zscaler Cloud IPS1.9%
Other93.3%
Intrusion Detection and Prevention Software (IDPS)
 

Featured Reviews

Partha Dash - PeerSpot reviewer
Global Network Tech Lead at a tech vendor with 10,001+ employees
Advanced protection enables us to confidently secure against evolving threats
Palo Alto Networks can improve Advanced Threat Prevention by catering to the growing adoption of AI and agentic tooling. The Threat Protection modules should have the necessary intelligence to protect against those types of threats, as AI will be there to do a human job; this is an evolving area. From an Advanced Threat Protection perspective, the technology associated with Palo Alto Networks, such as their sandboxing environment, is quite good. However, Palo Alto needs to focus on how to bring that technology to end users and how easy it is to use, especially in a hybrid environment where users work from various locations. While Palo Alto excels in certain setups, they need to improve the user experience in distributed working conditions.
Utpal Sinha - PeerSpot reviewer
Sr Network Engineer at Momentive
Stable product with valuable SSL inspection features
We use Zscaler Cloud IPS for threat protection, full SSL inspection, and data center scalability. It integrates with multiple products, including cloud firewalls, cloud sandboxing, Cloud Security Broker (CSB), and Data Loss Prevention (DLP). It helps us allow or block specific TCP or UDP ports…

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"As a next-generation IPS, it's a very good firewall."
"The most valuable feature is its use of machine learning to detect potentially unknown threats."
"For those who want a next-gen firewall that's easy to configure and easy to operate, I think you should go for Palo Alto."
"I find the malware protection very handy."
"We are currently using the URL filtering feature, which is the most popular."
"So far, there have been no security issues and we are absolutely happy with Palo Alto Networks."
"It's a monster, it's got so many beautiful features."
"The sandboxing tools offer great prevention for cloud feeds."
"Cloud IPS integration is seamless, and it uses a Zero Trust model, and it also simplifies overall user access management."
"The product's most valuable feature is complete SSL inspection."
"The initial setup is straightforward and easy in comparison with other solutions."
"The best feature is that Zscaler allows for a separation between cloud applications and URL filtering. For example, under the cloud application segment, I can bypass Microsoft Office 365 without the need to add URLs manually. It's one click, so that's handy."
"The initial setup process is easy."
"Cloud IPS integration is seamless, and it uses a Zero Trust model. It also simplifies overall user access management."
"The initial setup is straightforward and easy in comparison with other solutions."
"The best feature is that Zscaler allows for a separation between cloud applications and URL filtering."
 

Cons

"The application’s pricing and dashboard need improvement. It could be user-friendly."
"I think they can use some improvement on FID. There are lots of false positives and those can be eradicated."
"In terms of what needs improvement, the only thing I don't like is the support."
"The documentation needs to be improved. I need better information about how to configure it and what the best practices are."
"The initial setup was very complex as the solution does not have these APIs to facilitate the configuration."
"The pricing has improved with the newer generation of their Firewalls, but the price could always be lower."
"The solution could benefit from improved AI analytics to predict potential attacks before they occur, similar to NDR systems."
"Some bugs, which will be rectified by Palo Alto in the next update."
"We recently had a significant issue with Zscaler. I think they have too many customers and some of their connection edge nodes went down because there were too many requests."
"We recently had a significant issue with Zscaler. I think they have too many customers and some of their connection edge nodes went down because there were too many requests. I think they aren't scaling enough to keep up with the demand in some areas. That's one thing they should improve."
"They have given limited free access for a year. Instead, they should increase the file size and give limited free access for around two months. It will allow engineers to evaluate the product."
"We encounter issues sharing IP addresses with other companies using the software."
"There is always room for improvement."
"There is always room for improvement."
"When it comes to scalability, the IPsec could be improved."
"When it comes to scalability, the IPsec could be improved."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"It is an expensive solution and I would like to see a drop in price."
"The price of the solution is higher than others on the market. A price reduction would be beneficial if it does not impact their database quality."
"The pricing could be lower."
"The product’s pricing is expensive for small companies."
"Palo Alto Networks Advanced Threat Prevention is quite competitive, offering extensive threat detection and prevention capabilities, though it is priced higher than some alternatives."
"From one to ten, with one being the most expensive, I would rate the pricing of Palo Alto Networks Threat Prevention a one out of ten. It is my understanding that Palo Alto Networks Threat Prevention is the most expensive one."
"If you want to have all of the good features then you have to pay extra for licensing."
"The pricing and the licensing are pretty competitive at this stage. As a reseller, I would like to see the price come down a little bit so I can compete better against other firewalls because we do that all the time."
"The product is not affordable for small and medium enterprises."
"The software has become more expensive at present."
"Zscaler has so far been solely responsible for all the sales we have done with it, so it would be more suited than us to address any issues concerning the pricing."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
9%
Performing Arts
7%
Comms Service Provider
7%
Manufacturing Company
6%
Healthcare Company
11%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Comms Service Provider
8%
University
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business10
Midsize Enterprise4
Large Enterprise14
No data available
 

Questions from the Community

Which is the best DDoS protection solution for a big ISP for monitoring and mitigating?
Arbor would be the best bid, apart from Arbor, Palo Alto and Fortinet have good solutions. As this is an ISP, I would prefer Arbor.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Palo Alto Networks Threat Prevention?
Palo Alto Networks Advanced Threat Prevention requires an add-on license and is considered expensive compared to competitors like Cisco AMP and FortiGate ( /products/fortinet-fortigate-reviews ) fi...
What needs improvement with Palo Alto Networks Threat Prevention?
Palo Alto Networks can improve Advanced Threat Prevention by catering to the growing adoption of AI and agentic tooling. The Threat Protection modules should have the necessary intelligence to prot...
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Overview

 

Sample Customers

University of Arkansas, JBG SMITH, SkiStar AB, TRI-AD, Temple University, Telkom Indonesia
Zenith Live, Azure, Carlsberg Group
Find out what your peers are saying about Palo Alto Networks Advanced Threat Prevention vs. Zscaler Cloud IPS and other solutions. Updated: April 2026.
893,915 professionals have used our research since 2012.