Prisma Access by Palo Alto Networks vs Symantec Secure Web Gateway comparison

Palo Alto Networks and Broadcom are both solutions in the Secure Web Gateways (SWG) category. Palo Alto Networks is ranked #4 with an average rating of 8.2, while Broadcom is ranked #28. Palo Alto Networks holds a 9.2% mindshare in WSG, compared to Broadcom’s 1.2% mindshare. Additionally, 92% of Palo Alto Networks 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 Prisma Access by Palo Alto Networks compete in the secure web access solutions category. Prisma Access is frequently seen as having the upper hand due to its extensive feature set and perceived value despite Symantec’s more affordable pricing and strong support.

Features: Symantec Secure Web Gateway delivers robust web protection, advanced threat prevention, and comprehensive policy management. Prisma Access excels with extensive cloud-based capabilities, seamless integration with other Palo Alto Networks tools, and superior scalability.

Room for Improvement: Symantec could enhance its cloud-first capabilities and simplify its deployment process. Prisma Access could benefit from further reducing initial costs and offering more detailed documentation for complex integrations.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Prisma Access offers a streamlined deployment model with strong cloud architecture, simplifying scalability and management, and is backed by highly effective customer service. Symantec Secure Web Gateway, while offering reliable customer support, may have a more complex setup process due to its weaker cloud-centric model.

Pricing and ROI: Symantec Secure Web Gateway is considered competitively priced with a strong ROI, appealing to businesses focused on web protection needs. Prisma Access tends to have a higher initial cost but provides significant long-term value through advanced features and integration, which can justify the expense for companies emphasizing scalability and comprehensive security.

To learn more, read our detailed Prisma Access by Palo Alto Networks vs. Symantec Secure Web Gateway Report (Updated: December 2025).

Buyer's Guide

Prisma Access by Palo Alto Networks vs. Symantec Secure Web Gateway

December 2025

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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 January 2026, in the Secure Web Gateways (SWG) category, the mindshare of iboss is 2.4%, up from 1.9% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Prisma Access by Palo Alto Networks is 9.2%, down from 11.0% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Symantec Secure Web Gateway is 1.2%, up from 0.8% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Secure Web Gateways (SWG) Market Share Distribution
Product	Market Share (%)
Prisma Access by Palo Alto Networks	9.2%
iboss	2.4%
Symantec Secure Web Gateway	1.2%
Other	87.2%

Secure Web Gateways (SWG)

Featured Reviews

reviewer2701851

Managing Director

Enhances web security with a single pane of glass and flexible deployment

I don't see any need for improvement; one of the really good things about iboss as a company is that they listen to customer feedback. I have suggested enhancements, and they are responsive, making changes for the better, and they do a lot of testing. To improve iboss, although we haven't used it, we considered the VPN solution that comes with the highest tier licensing, which includes DLP and various other add-ons. We prefer using another product which automatically logs you back onto your network when turning on your PC. With iboss, the connection is manual, which doesn't meet our needs. Additionally, sizing can be tricky because, although the initial recommendations may seem adequate, actual usage may require more gateways than anticipated.

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IgorPinter

Director at PULSEC

Zero-trust access has improved remote security and now simplifies cloud-based firewall management

Regarding the integration part for Prisma Access by Palo Alto Networks, the integration with identity providers is pretty much good. It is basically firewall as a service, so it performs well. I completed the integration without any issues. What Palo Alto Networks can do better for Prisma Access by Palo Alto Networks is probably to have the point of presence available in more locations. The point of presence from the Serbia region has the nearest POP in Frankfurt, which is an issue since it is your gateway—when you start browsing the internet, you go through a commercial connection in Germany. They definitely need to spread the service in other countries.

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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.

Read full review

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"From a use-case scenario, what I like the most is the plug-in. I like the fact that we can do the filtering of these devices offsite independent of the network they are connected to, and we do not have to have traffic coming back inside our network."

"iboss is pretty scalable. They provide good support. The case managers you work with to coordinate what you need are pretty good."

"iboss is among the few products providing inline filtering where no application is needed on the device."

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

"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."

"I would definitely recommend iboss for web filtering purposes to other organizations or individuals."

"The solution has massively improved our security posture, giving us full visibility into what our staff does online."

"First of all, the security policies are essential. I do not have to rely solely on Active Directory for our users."

More iboss pros

"I would recommend Prisma Access by Palo Alto Networks as it is really good, but it would be much better if the pricing were lower so that I could provide cloud firewall services instead of physical firewalls to customers."

"It's much faster and more secure than legacy solutions. It is also quite stable and scalable as well. We are able to see all the traffic in one place."

"Prisma Access provides comprehensive security. It provides URL filtering, application control, SSL, DLP, etc. It provides complete security for the cloud environment."

"The remediation process is easy compared to other platforms."

"Prisma Access is very stable, and I am very much satisfied with its stability, rating it nine to ten out of ten."

"Monitoring is the most valuable feature because we can easily monitor all kinds of stuff coming over the network. We can check the dashboard and work accordingly."

"Prisma Access by Palo Alto Networks is a seamless solution."

"It's very stable. Sometimes after installing the boxes, we leave them for one or two years. We would just touch the box in the case of the customer needing new requirements or changes to the setup."

More Prisma Access by Palo Alto Networks pros

"It is a stable solution."

"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."

"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."

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

"It offers an easy initial setup."

"I find the product to be very straightforward."

"It is quite scalable. If a user needs to do more deployments, they can just add them."

"The most valuable feature is the endpoint security."

More Symantec Secure Web Gateway pros

Cons

"Iboss is growing so fast that it is often hard for them to keep up with the challenges."

"For zero trust implementation, we encountered complexity issues, especially with a large infrastructure company ExxonMobil."

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

"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."

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

"Regarding pricing, setup costs, and licensing, iboss is not cheap, and that's my only concern."

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

More iboss cons

"My clients would like to see a more feature-rich product."

"Palo Alto Prisma 10 came out over a year ago. Palo Alto added this identity management feature. The legacy way Palo Alto selected which user is sitting on an IP address it passes through has been clunky."

"The product's price is an area of concern where improvements are required. The solution's price should be lowered."

"It is a managed firewall. When you run into issues and have to troubleshoot, there is a fair amount of restriction. You run into a couple of restrictions where you don't have any visibility on what is happening on the Palo Alto managed infrastructure, and you need to get on a call to get technical assistance from Palo Alto's technical support. You have to get them to work with you to fix the problem. I would definitely like them to work on the visibility into what happens inside Palo Alto's infrastructure. It is not about getting our hands onto their infrastructure to do troubleshooting or fixing problems; it is just about getting more visibility. This will help us in guiding technical support folks to the area where they need to work."

"I would like the solution to support a different type of authentication. We can't configure a secondary method for our portal."

"The price can be reduced to make it more competitive."

"Its integration with non-Palo Alto products can be improved. Currently, it is easy to integrate it with other Palo Alto products such as Cortex XDR. It integrates well with other Palo Alto products. A major part of our network is based on Palo Alto products, but for those companies that use multi-vendor products in their infrastructure, Palo Alto should optimize the integration of Prisma Access with the network devices from other vendors."

"If you compare Prisma SaaS against other products, such as Cloud Log, it's a little bit tricky to understand, but it offers different functionality that other products don't have. From a user usability point of view, you need some training for this product, as an admin, you need a couple of demos."

More Prisma Access by Palo Alto Networks cons

"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 interface could be made more user-friendly."

"The reports could be better."

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

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

"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 needs to be easier to set up rules for what sites it should allow or not allow us in certain areas of our computer for programs. It would also be nice really nice to have it give you better information about what it's finding. A lot of the alerts we get are very difficult to understand what it's actually telling you. It's too generic."

"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."

More Symantec Secure Web Gateway cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

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

"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 expensive compared to one of its competitors."

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

"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."

"They price their products using credit modules."

"I would advise choosing your options according to your company's needs. Just go for what you want and do not pay for anything extra in terms of licensing. You need to determine how much bandwidth is required in your company network, and according to that, you should pay for the license. The mobile user license is based on the number of users who are going to use the VPN solution. You need to determine how many mobile users you are going to have in your network, and you should pay according to that. There are no other costs in addition to licensing, but if you go for the consultant services of Palo Alto networks to deliver the solution for you, then you need to pay something extra. That is not a part of licensing."

"The licensing fees are paid on a yearly basis and for what we get, the price is good."

"The solution is expensive."

"Based on what I have heard from others, it is a pricey solution as compared to its peers, but I am not sure. However, considering the features that it offers, it is a break-even point. You get whatever they are promising."

"We have to pay additional costs for maintenance and support services."

"The pricing for this solution is on the higher end."

"Prisma Access by Palo Alto Networks is an expensive solution, especially when compared to other solutions like Cisco. There are no additional charges apart from the standard licensing costs attached to the solution."

More Prisma Access by Palo Alto Networks pricing and cost advice

"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

No data available

Financial Services Firm

11%

Manufacturing Company

11%

Computer Software Company

11%

Government

Financial Services Firm

10%

Retailer

10%

Manufacturing Company

10%

Comms Service Provider

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	6
Midsize Enterprise	6
Large Enterprise	5

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	24
Midsize Enterprise	21
Large Enterprise	27

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

Questions from the Community

What needs improvement with iboss?

For zero trust implementation, we encountered complexity issues, especially with a large infrastructure company Exxon...

See all answers

What is your primary use case for iboss?

Previously when I used iboss, we did the POC for iboss for ExxonMobil. Four or five people wanted to move from our ol...

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for iboss?

Regarding pricing, setup costs, and licensing, iboss is not cheap, and that's my only concern. There are cheaper alte...

See all answers

What is the better solution - Prisma Access or Zscaler Private Access?

We looked into Prisma Access before choosing Zscaler Private Access (ZPA). Palo Alto’s Prisma Access is a secure ac...

See all answers

What do you like most about Prisma Access by Palo Alto Networks?

The most valuable features of the solution are in the areas of the secure remote access it provides while also being ...

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What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Prisma Access by Palo Alto Networks?

From my experience, Palo Alto is more expensive compared to solutions like Netskope and Triscale.

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

Netskope vs iboss

Compared 13% of the time

Cisco Umbrella vs iboss

Compared 9% of the time

Zscaler Internet Access vs iboss

Compared 9% of the time

FortiSASE vs iboss

Compared 7% of the time

Fortinet FortiGate vs iboss

Compared 6% of the time

More iboss Competitors

Netskope vs Prisma Access by Palo Alto Networks

Compared 13% of the time

Zscaler Internet Access vs Prisma Access by Palo Alto Networks

Compared 10% of the time

FortiSASE vs Prisma Access by Palo Alto Networks

Compared 9% of the time

Cato SASE Cloud Platform vs Prisma Access by Palo Alto Networks

Compared 6% of the time

Cisco Umbrella vs Prisma Access by Palo Alto Networks

Compared 5% of the time

More Prisma Access by Palo Alto Networks Competitors

Cisco Umbrella vs Symantec Secure Web Gateway

Compared 19% of the time

Symantec Proxy vs Symantec Secure Web Gateway

Compared 15% of the time

Skyhigh Security vs Symantec Secure Web Gateway

Compared 12% of the time

Zscaler Internet Access vs Symantec Secure Web Gateway

Compared 12% of the time

Fortinet FortiGate vs Symantec Secure Web Gateway

Compared 8% of the time

More Symantec Secure Web Gateway Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

iboss

January 2026

Download iboss product report

Buyer's Guide

Prisma Access by Palo Alto Networks

January 2026

Prisma Access by Palo Alto Networks report

Download Prisma Access by Palo Alto Networks product report

Buyer's Guide

Symantec Secure Web Gateway

January 2026

Download Symantec Secure Web Gateway product report

Also Known As

iBoss Cloud Platform

Palo Alto Networks Prisma Access, Prisma Access, GlobalProtect, Palo Alto GlobalProtect Mobile Security Manager, Prisma SaaS by Palo Alto Networks, Prisma Access

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

Prisma Access by Palo Alto Networks provides consistent security for all users and applications across your remote networks. Prisma Access grants users safe access to the cloud and data center applications and the internet as well. In addition, the solution combines all of your security and networking capabilities into a single cloud-delivered platform, enabling flexible hybrid workforces.

Prisma Access can be managed two ways:

Cloud Managed
Panorama Managed

Prisma Access delivers both networking and security services, including:

SD-WAN
VPN
Zero Trust network access (ZTNA)
Quality of service (QoS)
Clean Pipe
Firewall as a service (FWaaS)
DNS Security
Threat Prevention
Cloud secure web gateway (SWG)
Data loss prevention (DLP)
Cloud access security broker (CASB)

Prisma Access by Palo Alto Networks Features

Prisma Access by Palo Alto Networks has many valuable key features including: App-ID, User-ID, Device-ID, SSL Decryption, Dynamic User Group (DUG) Monitoring, AI/ML-Based Detection, IoT Security, Reporting, URL Filtering, Enterprise Data Loss Prevention (DLP), Digital Experience Monitoring (DEM)*, Logging, Policy Automation, Intrusion Prevention System (IPS), and many more.

Prisma Access by Palo Alto Networks Benefits

Some of the benefits of using Prisma Access by Palo Alto Networks include:

Security: Prisma Access gives you consistent security to protect against cyberattacks, with enforcement of policy at every location. By implementing Prisma Access, you also gain protection that works to prevent known and unknown malware, exploits, credential theft, command and control, and many other attack vectors across all ports and protocols.
Global connectivity: Prisma Access provides global coverage through use of its connectivity layer.
Scalability: With Prisma Access, scaling is automatically managed and is scalable, flexible, and agile.
Instant deployment: Deployment is fast, eliminating wasted time that may otherwise be associated with setting up a solution, operating it, or shipping hardware in order to get started.

Reviews from Real Users

Below are some reviews and helpful feedback written by Microsoft Azure Synapse Analytics

users who are currently using the solution.

PeerSpot user Partha D., Global Network Tech Lead at a computer software company, speaks about his experience using the product, saying, "It protects all app traffic so that users can gain access to all apps. Unlike other solutions that only work from ports 80 and 443, which are predominantly for web traffic, Prisma Access covers all protocols and works on all traffic patterns... The most sophisticated attacks can arise from sources that are not behind 80/443."

Tejas J., a Sr. Cloud Security Architect at a computer software company, mentions that "it is geographically dispersed, and it sits on top of Google and AWS platforms. Therefore, you don't face the standard issues, such as latency or bandwidth issues, that you usually face in the case of on-prem data centers.”

Another PeerSpot reviewer, Max I., Associate Director at Cognizant, comments that "Security is absolutely spot-on, really top-notch. It's the result of all the components that come together, such as the HIP [Host Information Profile] and components like Forcepoint, providing end-user content inspection, and antivirus. It incorporates DLP features and that's fantastic because Prisma Access makes sure that all of the essential prerequisites are in place before a user can log in or can be tunneled into."

Palo Alto Networks

Symantec Secure Web Gateway is a comprehensive web security solution that provides advanced protection against web-based threats. It offers real-time threat detection and prevention, content filtering, and data loss prevention capabilities to safeguard organizations from web-based attacks. With its advanced threat intelligence and machine learning capabilities, it can detect and block even the most sophisticated web-based threats, including malware, phishing, and ransomware attacks. The solution also provides granular control over web access, allowing organizations to enforce web usage policies and prevent access to malicious or inappropriate websites. It offers flexible deployment options, including on-premises, cloud, and hybrid deployments, to meet the unique needs of different organizations. Additionally, it integrates seamlessly with other Symantec security solutions, such as Symantec Endpoint Protection and Symantec Data Loss Prevention, to provide a comprehensive security posture. Symantec Secure Web Gateway is designed to provide a seamless user experience, with minimal impact on web browsing performance. It offers a range of reporting and analytics capabilities, allowing organizations to gain insights into web usage patterns and identify potential security risks. With its comprehensive web security capabilities, Symantec Secure Web Gateway is an essential component of any organization's security infrastructure.

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.

Concord Hospital, State of Colorado, Essilor International, RheinLand Versicherungsgruppe, University of Westminster, Universidade Nove de Julho, SPAR Austria, CAME Group, ZipRealty, Greenhill & Co., IKT Agder, Aviva Stadium, Animal Logic, Management & Training Corporation, Brigham Young University Hawaii, School District of Chilliwack

Information Not Available

Buyer's Guide

Prisma Access by Palo Alto Networks vs. Symantec Secure Web Gateway

December 2025

Free Report: Prisma Access by Palo Alto Networks vs. Symantec Secure Web Gateway

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