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Vectra AI 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

Vectra AI
Ranking in Intrusion Detection and Prevention Software (IDPS)
4th
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.0
Number of Reviews
48
Ranking in other categories
Network Detection and Response (NDR) (2nd), Extended Detection and Response (XDR) (16th), Identity Threat Detection and Response (ITDR) (11th), AI-Powered Cybersecurity Platforms (8th)
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 Vectra AI is 6.7%, down from 8.1% 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 (%)
Vectra AI6.7%
Zscaler Cloud IPS1.9%
Other91.4%
Intrusion Detection and Prevention Software (IDPS)
 

Featured Reviews

RR
Consultant at a retailer with 5,001-10,000 employees
Threat detection has improved and malicious emails are now identified quickly
Vectra AI offers artificial intelligence capabilities with visibility that can be integrated into our day-to-day operations and other tools, including malware detection tools and cyber threat tools. Vectra AI has positively impacted my organization. Last year while using it, we received many malicious email threats and virus incidents, including a trojan virus that had reportedly been deployed by someone. Our company used Vectra AI to detect the malicious threats and viruses before they could cause more damage, and we successfully stopped the threats. Using Vectra AI, I notice that server downtime has decreased significantly. We now experience only two to three hours of downtime, whereas without Vectra AI and other tools, our downtime would exceed 48 to 72 hours.
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

"Scalability wise, we have many sensors, and Vectra AI seems to handle them all very well."
"It gives you access, with Recall, to instant visibility into your network through something like a SIEM solution. For us, being able to correlate all of this network data without having to manage it, has provided immediate value. It gives us the ability to really work on the stuff where I and my team have expertise, instead of having to manage a SIEM solution..."
"The core product provides excellent visibility, but my favorite feature is Vectra Recall."
"Vectra AI has positively impacted my organization; last year while using it, we received many malicious email threats and virus incidents, including a trojan virus that had reportedly been deployed by someone, and our company used Vectra AI to detect the malicious threats and viruses before they could cause more damage, and we successfully stopped the threats."
"The intuitive dashboards are incredibly useful, with both the Quadrant UX and the Respond UX, so whether looking from a management point of view or an analyst point of view, both dashboards are very intuitive."
"We have been extremely happy with the solution; it's been one of the best solutions we have in our enterprise and I would put it at the top of the list."
"Cognito Streams gives you a detailed view of what happens in the network in the form of rich metadata. It is just a super easy way to capture network traffic for important protocols, giving us an advantage. This is very helpful on a day-to-day basis."
"After deploying Vectra AI in our network, it began to add value to our security operations within a week."
"The best feature is that Zscaler allows for a separation between cloud applications and URL filtering."
"Cloud IPS integration is seamless, and it uses a Zero Trust model. It also simplifies overall user access management."
"Cloud IPS integration is seamless, and it uses a Zero Trust model, and it also simplifies overall user access management."
"The initial setup process is easy."
"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 is straightforward and easy in comparison with other solutions."
"The initial setup is straightforward and easy in comparison with other solutions."
"The product's most valuable feature is complete SSL inspection."
 

Cons

"Integration with other security components needs improvement. It should have true integration as opposed to just being a separate pane of glass."
"In comparison with a lot of systems I used in the past, the false positives are really a burden because they are taking a lot of time at this moment."
"The solution has not reduced the security analyst workload in our organization because we still need to SIEM. Unfortunately, while Vectra, for us, is a brilliant tool for network investigations, giving wonderful visibility, it doesn't go the whole way to replace our SIEM that is needed for compliance. So, I still have the same amount of alerting and logging that I did before. It gives us more defined ability to see incidents, but it doesn't give us enough information to satisfy a PCI or 27001 audit."
"Multiple appliances are required for Vectra AI, making it less convenient compared to competitors."
"Vectra AI could be improved by focusing on all threat types, not only malicious threats or virus threats."
"You are always limited with visibility on the host due to the fact that it is a network based tool. It gives you visibility on certain elements of the attack path, but it doesn't necessarily give you visibility on everything. Specifically, the initial intrusion side of things that doesn't necessarily see the initial compromise. It doesn't see stuff that goes on the host, such as where scripts are run. Even though you are seeing traffic, it doesn't necessarily see the malicious payload. Therefore, it's very difficult for it to identify these type of host-driven complex attacks."
"Cost-wise, they're not cheap. They were definitely the most expensive option, but you get what you pay for."
"Vectra is still limited to packet management. It's only monitoring packet exchanges."
"There is always room for improvement."
"When it comes to scalability, the IPsec could be improved."
"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."
"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 encounter issues sharing IP addresses with other companies using the software."
"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."
"When it comes to scalability, the IPsec could be improved."
"There is always room for improvement."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The licensing is on an annual basis."
"Vectra AI is not a cheap solution."
"Vectra AI's pricing is cheaper than that of Darktrace."
"Vectra's pricing is too high. All schools will not be able to afford it. Vectra will only end up targeting higher education and higher value independence purely because of the price. A lot of schools would love to have a product like Vectra AI, but they simply can't because they struggle to even pay the high E5 licensing from Microsoft. When you're up against that, Vectra AI is never going to be within the sector's price range."
"The pricing is very good. It's less expensive than many of the tools out there."
"The solution's pricing was 50 percent lower than the other vendors shortlisted."
"From a licensing perspective, the Vectra detect platform is pretty doable. Also, the hardware prices are nothing that we're not used to. The stream part is a little overpriced compared to the detect part. The reason is that you need to stream data to detect events anyway, so the data is in there. The only thing that's not available is the UI to be able to look at the stream data, which is also on the appliances but is just not activated. That's mainly the thing that we want to improve on."
"Cost is a big factor, as always. However, I think we have a very good price–performance ratio."
"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."
"The software has become more expensive at present."
"The product is not affordable for small and medium enterprises."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
10%
Computer Software Company
8%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Government
7%
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 Enterprise10
Large Enterprise29
No data available
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Vectra AI?
The solution is currently used as a central threat detection and response system.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Vectra AI?
It is very acceptable when you compare it with Darktrace, for example.
What needs improvement with Vectra AI?
Vectra AI could be improved by focusing on all threat types, not only malicious threats or virus threats. All threats, including hacking attempts, should be comprehensively addressed. The user inte...
Ask a question
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Also Known As

Vectra Networks, Vectra AI NDR
No data available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Tribune Media Group, Barry University, Aruba Networks, Good Technology, Riverbed, Santa Clara University, Securities Exchange, Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association
Zenith Live, Azure, Carlsberg Group
Find out what your peers are saying about Vectra AI vs. Zscaler Cloud IPS and other solutions. Updated: April 2026.
893,311 professionals have used our research since 2012.