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Symantec Cloud Secure Web Gateway vs Zscaler Internet Access comparison

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Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Dec 4, 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

iboss
Sponsored
Ranking in Secure Web Gateways (SWG)
6th
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
22
Ranking in other categories
Internet Security (3rd), Web Content Filtering (1st), Cloud Access Security Brokers (CASB) (7th), ZTNA as a Service (8th), Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) (8th)
Symantec Cloud Secure Web G...
Ranking in Secure Web Gateways (SWG)
30th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.4
Number of Reviews
4
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Zscaler Internet Access
Ranking in Secure Web Gateways (SWG)
3rd
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
6.6
Number of Reviews
59
Ranking in other categories
Internet Security (2nd)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of May 2026, in the Secure Web Gateways (SWG) category, the mindshare of iboss is 3.3%, up from 2.0% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Symantec Cloud Secure Web Gateway is 0.8%, up from 0.5% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Zscaler Internet Access is 10.3%, down from 14.8% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Secure Web Gateways (SWG) Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Zscaler Internet Access10.3%
iboss3.3%
Symantec Cloud Secure Web Gateway0.8%
Other85.6%
Secure Web Gateways (SWG)
 

Featured Reviews

Ashok Ananthula - PeerSpot reviewer
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.
cto543714 - PeerSpot reviewer
CTO at a tech services company with 11-50 employees
Simplifies management by shifting from on-premises solutions to cloud-based
Depending on the complexity of your system, you might need additional help during implementation. Considerations such as whether you’re using federated Active Directory or on-premises Active Directory need to be addressed. While setting up a system can be quick, taking only ten minutes to get started, rolling it out for an enterprise requires careful planning. Ensuring you make the right configuration choices is crucial for a successful deployment. It depends on the size of your deployment. While you can handle the setup, larger deployments might require additional support to manage effectively. I rate the initial setup an eight out of ten, where one is difficult and ten is easy.
Mohan Janarthanan - PeerSpot reviewer
Associate Vice President at Novac Technology Solutions
User access management and threat prevention are enhanced with user-friendly controls
The best features Zscaler Internet Access offers include application control, tenant segregation, and PoP center regions which have low availability zones. The internet access is very successful and bandwidth speed is excellent. It also has application-based control, URL-based control, and SSL inspection capabilities, which are very useful. Additionally, the in-depth CASB segregation is very beneficial to us. One unique feature I found helpful is the tenant level restrictions, which we use to only access our organization's tenant level mail IDs, drives, and specific tenant level access while restricting public access. Zscaler Internet Access has positively impacted our organization as we have noticed substantial outputs and income. It has improved our security environment control and endpoint protection. It prevents numerous web attacks through its AI/ML incorporated capability which identifies malware, threats, and viruses. It has a toggle button to enable features entirely at the tenant level for all users onboarded into Zscaler Internet Access, resulting in much better outcomes.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Iboss is a solution that prevents advanced persistent threats, and has a zero tolerance for attacks."
"The iboss system is highly reliable. The false positive rates are small compared to some other systems we've experienced through other partner agencies who use competing solutions."
"First of all, the security policies are essential. I do not have to rely solely on Active Directory for our users."
"Granular setup, which was able to set different levels of filters using the OUs in the AD."
"iboss is easy to use despite its complexity. Multiple engineers manage it, but it's significantly more straightforward to administer than traditional VPNs and web proxies."
"Our primary use case for this product is DLP,"
"It was a very easy product to install. It can be deployed very fast."
"iboss is among the few products providing inline filtering where no application is needed on the device. It operates on the network side and is not device-based. This feature was one of the main reasons why we stayed with them for so long."
"This solution does not require much administration."
"This solution does not require much administration."
"The product is easy to install and deploy on the cloud."
"I would rate my experience with the initial setup an eight out of ten, where one is difficult, and ten is easy to set up. It was pretty straightforward."
"The most valuable feature of Zscaler Internet Access is that it is a consolidated solution, it comes with many features, such as DLP."
"The VPN is valuable, as the whole technology is very different from a traditional VPN."
"This solution helps you establish a secure connection from your laptop to the closest Zscaler point of presence, so you have protection anywhere in the world."
"Zscaler has helped to reduce the time we spend managing security policies, significantly lowered the number of FTEs needed to manage the environment, and has definitely helped reduce the number of infected devices in our organization by proactively preventing attacks."
"The policies are very intuitive and easy to configure, with very little possibility of messing things up."
"Zscaler Internet Access gives visibility, which is important to have, and the fact that it is usable everywhere is a significant advantage."
"Zscaler Internet Access's best feature is the granular policy controls."
"The most valuable feature is the ability to drop packets."
 

Cons

"If they could implement an extra security layer preventing access to iboss from the open internet, it would be great."
"The endpoint-type solution is an area that needs some improvement."
"SSL decryption: We had issues with learners using apps instead of using web browsers."
"The area I would like to see improvement in is the ability within the reporter to navigate directly to the content the user is traversing."
"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."
"Its pricing could be better."
"The area I would like to see improvement in is the ability with in the reporter to navigate directly to the content the user is traversing. It is kind of there, but it's not perfect. Quite frequently, I receive links that lead me to pages with error messages."
"Our iboss subscription access should be more secure with an OTP or VPN etc. It is easy to gain access if, for example, hackers obtain my username and password."
"WSS runs slowly sometimes, I would like for this to be looked into."
"The product is cost-effective, considering its features, technology, and support services."
"WSS runs slowly sometimes, I would like for this to be looked into."
"Symantec Cloud Secure Web Gateway can be improved by giving customers more ability to provide feedback on the categorization of websites and the site review portal."
"The performance needs improvement. Some areas create performance issues and, depending on the use cases, require reconfiguration to perform again."
"I would like to see more training and video documentation."
"We'd like to have more plugins and integration."
"It needs better integration with other applications. It takes a fair amount of regular activity to apply the by-passes because it is very strict in its restrictions and frequently you have to go in and open things up to allow the workforce to work."
"The OS capabilities and WSL support could be improved."
"The solution is expensive. They recently revised the pricing and packaging."
"The performance needs improvement. Some areas create performance issues and, depending on the use cases, require reconfiguration to perform again."
"We use other similar products and find them to be a bit more preferable to Zscaler."
 

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."
"The overall pricing for iboss is very competitive and transparent."
"We have not priced the solution recently, but they were competitive with other vendors in the past."
"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."
"It is expensive compared to one of its competitors."
"The price is fixed and affordable."
"We pay around 6,500 INR per user per year, which is very expensive. I would rate Zscaler's pricing one out of five."
"The price is competitive. It's not cheap and it's not expensive."
"The pricing is fair based on its competitive market."
"It is a few pounds per user per month."
"ZIA follows a subscription model pricing and charges you based on the number of users. I would say its price is good."
"It is quite expensive. It does its job, but it is quite expensive for what we need."
"​Be aware that you will need to invest some time and money to adapt your environment for Zscaler (traffic redirection, software deployment, authentication, etc).​"
"If we need any extra features, the price will increase."
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Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Secure Web Gateways (SWG) solutions are best for your needs.
893,221 professionals have used our research since 2012.
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
11%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Computer Software Company
9%
Construction Company
7%
Financial Services Firm
18%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Construction Company
9%
Performing Arts
9%
Computer Software Company
11%
Financial Services Firm
11%
Manufacturing Company
11%
Comms Service Provider
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business6
Midsize Enterprise7
Large Enterprise8
No data available
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business17
Midsize Enterprise10
Large Enterprise37
 

Questions from the Community

What needs improvement with iboss?
The problem our organization had is that iboss failed for the Mac devices. It is not able to give a successful agent ...
What is your primary use case for iboss?
We used iBoss mainly for Internet Access by having an Agent on Windows laptops Primarily because when we try to use i...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for iboss?
I am not involved in pricing, but as per the information I have, during that time, the Blue Coat proxies we were usin...
What needs improvement with Symantec Web Security Service?
Most products in this space are still maturing. Organizations rushing toward implementing zero-trust models often enc...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Symantec Cloud Secure Web Gateway?
Symantec is now part of Broadcom, and their pricing is comparable to others in the market. It's reasonably priced rel...
What advice do you have for others considering Symantec Cloud Secure Web Gateway?
Customers are increasingly adopting web isolation to enhance their network security. While this technology is costly,...
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...
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 ...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Zscaler Internet Access?
It is only for big companies currently and they only focus on that. That is one of the problems to get into the marke...
 

Also Known As

iBoss Cloud Platform
Symantec Web Security Service
ZIA
 

Overview

 

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.
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
Find out what your peers are saying about Symantec Cloud Secure Web Gateway vs. Zscaler Internet Access and other solutions. Updated: April 2026.
893,221 professionals have used our research since 2012.