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. Palo Alto

By use case

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

Enterprise SASE Platforms

Palo Alto Prisma Access

Enterprise SASE platform extending Palo Alto's next-gen firewall to cloud-delivered security

Cloud

Per-user or bandwidth-based annual subscription

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Fortinet FortiSASE

Converged SASE platform powered by FortiOS with competitive pricing and integrated SD-WAN

Cloud

Per-user annual subscription with tiered bundles

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Cisco Secure Access

Cisco's unified SASE platform converging Umbrella, Duo, and Meraki into cloud-delivered security

Cloud

Per-user annual subscription with bundled tiers

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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...

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Cisco Secure Access vs Skyhigh Security

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

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Fortinet FortiSASE vs Skyhigh Security

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

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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...

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Cato Networks vs Fortinet FortiSASE

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

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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...

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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.