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Best Enterprise SASE Alternatives to Zscaler in 2026

Enterprise SASE platforms from major networking and security vendors offer Zscaler alternatives for organizations with existing vendor relationships and complex infrastructure requirements.

3 Enterprise SASE Platforms, side by side

ToolDeploymentPricing modelOpen source
Palo Alto Prisma AccessCloudPer-user or bandwidth-based annual subscription—
Fortinet FortiSASECloudPer-user annual subscription with tiered bundles—
Cisco Secure AccessCloudPer-user annual subscription with bundled tiers—

Palo Alto Prisma Access extends NGFW policies to the cloud for Palo Alto shops, Fortinet FortiSASE provides the most cost-effective enterprise SASE with best-in-class SD-WAN, and Cisco Secure Access converges Umbrella, Duo, and Meraki for Cisco-centric enterprises. These platforms trade Zscaler's cloud-native architectural purity for deeper integration with existing on-premises infrastructure and broader networking capabilities.

By use case

Our read on which tool suits which job. Editorial, not paid, and separate from the listing below.

Enterprises already invested in Palo Alto Networks firewalls that want to extend their security policies to a cloud-delivered SASE architecture

Palo Alto Prisma Access

The most feature-complete enterprise SASE with ZTNA 2.0, integrated SD-WAN, and seamless policy management for Palo Alto NGFW customers. Best for organizations heavily invested in the Palo Alto ecosystem who want to extend on-prem firewall policies to cloud-delivered security without starting over.

Cloud

Mid-market and large enterprises with existing Fortinet infrastructure that want SASE with integrated SD-WAN at competitive pricing

Fortinet FortiSASE

The most cost-effective enterprise SASE platform with industry-leading integrated SD-WAN and consistent FortiOS management. Best for mid-market and large enterprises with Fortinet infrastructure that want SASE capabilities without Zscaler's premium pricing.

Cloud

Large enterprises with existing Cisco networking infrastructure wanting to consolidate security into a unified SASE platform

Cisco Secure Access

The natural SASE choice for Cisco-centric enterprises, converging Umbrella DNS security, Duo zero trust access, Meraki SD-WAN, and Talos threat intelligence into a unified platform. Best for organizations with deep Cisco networking investment wanting to consolidate security vendors.

Cloud

Palo Alto Prisma Access

SASE & Zero Trust
Best fit for

Enterprises already invested in Palo Alto Networks firewalls that want to extend their security policies to a cloud-delivered SASE architecture

Palo Alto Prisma Access delivers SASE through Palo Alto Networks' cloud infrastructure, bringing the same next-generation firewall security policies that enterprises have relied on for over a decade into a cloud-delivered service. Prisma Access combines ZTNA 2.0, Cloud SWG, FWaaS, CASB, DLP, SD-WAN (via Prisma SD-WAN), and Autonomous Digital Experience Management (ADEM) into a unified platform. Its key differentiator is enabling organizations already invested in Palo Alto's on-premises NGFW to extend those same policies and management workflows seamlessly to remote users, branch offices, and cloud workloads.

Pricing

Custom enterprise pricing / Per-user or per-Mbps models

Per-user or bandwidth-based annual subscription

Deployment

Cloud

Visit Palo Alto Prisma AccessView listing

Fortinet FortiSASE

SASE & Zero Trust
Best fit for

Mid-market and large enterprises with existing Fortinet infrastructure that want SASE with integrated SD-WAN at competitive pricing

Fortinet FortiSASE converges Fortinet's security and networking capabilities into a unified cloud-delivered SASE solution powered by FortiOS, the same operating system running on FortiGate firewalls worldwide. FortiSASE delivers SD-WAN, SWG, CASB, DLP, ZTNA, and FWaaS through Fortinet's global PoP network, enabling consistent security policies across on-premises and cloud environments. Its key advantage is leveraging the FortiGuard Labs threat intelligence. One of the largest security research teams globally. And offering competitive pricing that undercuts pure-play SASE vendors, making enterprise-grade SASE accessible to mid-market organizations.

Pricing

Custom pricing / Per-user tiers starting lower than Zscaler

Per-user annual subscription with tiered bundles

Deployment

Cloud

Standards & certifications

SOC 2 Type II

Visit Fortinet FortiSASEView listing

Cisco Secure Access

SASE & Zero Trust
Best fit for

Large enterprises with existing Cisco networking infrastructure wanting to consolidate security into a unified SASE platform

Cisco Secure Access is Cisco's unified SASE and zero trust platform that converges Cisco's security portfolio. Including DNS security (Secure Access DNS Defense, the successor to Cisco Umbrella), Duo zero trust access, Secure Client (formerly AnyConnect), Meraki SD-WAN, and ThousandEyes digital experience monitoring. Into a single cloud-delivered service. Leveraging Cisco Talos, one of the world's largest commercial threat intelligence organizations, Cisco Secure Access targets enterprises with existing Cisco networking and security infrastructure who want to consolidate vendors and move to a cloud-delivered SASE model with integrated SD-WAN.

Pricing

Custom enterprise pricing / Per-user bundled subscription

Per-user annual subscription with bundled tiers

Deployment

Cloud

Standards & certifications

FedRAMP High (Cisco Secure Access for Government instance)

Visit Cisco Secure AccessView listing

Comparisons

Cato Networks vs Palo Alto Prisma Access

Choose Cato Networks if true single-vendor SASE built from scratch. Not assembled from acquisitions is your priority and...

Read Comparison

Cisco Secure Access vs Skyhigh Security

Choose Cisco Secure Access if cisco Talos provides massive threat intelligence from the world's largest commercial secur...

Read Comparison

Fortinet FortiSASE vs Skyhigh Security

Choose Fortinet FortiSASE if most competitive pricing makes enterprise SASE accessible to mid-market is your priority an...

Read Comparison

Cato Networks vs Cisco Secure Access

Choose Cato Networks if true single-vendor SASE built from scratch. Not assembled from acquisitions is your priority and...

Read Comparison

Cato Networks vs Fortinet FortiSASE

Choose Cato Networks if true single-vendor SASE built from scratch. Not assembled from acquisitions is your priority and...

Read Comparison

Netskope vs Palo Alto Prisma Access

Choose Netskope if CASB with the deepest SaaS app visibility and activity-level controls is your priority and organizati...

Read Comparison

Shortlists

Editorial lists and deep dives covering these tools.

Frequently Asked Questions

Choosing your existing firewall vendor's SASE offering has clear advantages: unified policy management, familiar interfaces, and leveraging existing investments. Palo Alto, Fortinet, and Cisco all offer compelling SASE that integrates with their on-prem gear. However, these platforms evolved from appliance architectures and may lack the cloud-native scalability and inspection depth of purpose-built platforms like Zscaler. If you plan to fully eliminate on-prem appliances, a cloud-native SASE may be the better long-term choice. If you need hybrid on-prem and cloud security with unified management, your existing vendor's SASE is a pragmatic path.

Fortinet FortiSASE is typically the most competitively priced, often 30-50% less than Zscaler for comparable capabilities, especially when factoring in SD-WAN. Cisco Secure Access pricing varies significantly based on existing agreements and bundle discounts. Palo Alto Prisma Access is often the most expensive option when including all required modules. Zscaler sits in the premium tier alongside Palo Alto. For budget-constrained enterprises, Fortinet offers the most SASE capability per dollar.

Fortinet FortiSASE has the most mature and deeply integrated SD-WAN, leveraging years of FortiGate SD-WAN leadership. Palo Alto Prisma SD-WAN (acquired from CloudGenix) is well-integrated but still maturing. Cisco Secure Access integrates with Meraki SD-WAN for branch connectivity. Cato Networks (in the cloud-native category) also has excellent native SD-WAN. Zscaler notably lacks native SD-WAN and relies on partner integrations, which is a significant gap for branch-heavy enterprises.

Palo Alto Prisma Access comes closest, with full NGFW-grade inspection in the cloud including advanced threat prevention, WildFire sandboxing, and continuous trust verification with ZTNA 2.0. Fortinet FortiSASE provides solid FortiOS-based inspection but may lack the throughput of cloud-native architectures. Cisco's Umbrella SWG historically focused on DNS-layer security and is still building out full inline inspection. For the deepest inline inspection, Zscaler and Palo Alto Prisma Access lead, though their architectures differ fundamentally.

View all SASE & Zero Trust tools

About this listing

Enterprise SASE Platforms tools, compared on public information. The comparison table and the full entries follow our editorial order, with any paid Featured listing shown first and labelled. How we work →