If you’re evaluating Zscaler for zero trust network access (ztna), the three strongest independent alternatives in our editorial ranking are Cloudflare One, Tailscale, Twingate. Each has a different best-fit buyer — the right choice depends on team size and workflow, not on which has the loudest review-site presence.
Why Zscaler sometimes isn’t the right pick: SMBs under 500 employees (overkill, Cloudflare or Twingate cheaper), Microsoft 365-anchored shops considering Entra-native conditional access, or buyers wanting transparent published pricing. See full “worst for” verdict →
9 Zscaler alternatives
| Rank | Product | Best for | Target size | Pricing |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| #2 | Cloudflare One | Organizations (100-50,000 employees) valuing edge-network performance, transparent published pricing, and developer-friendly deployment with broad protocol support beyond HTTP. | 10-100,000+ | ● Transparent |
| #3 | Tailscale | Engineering teams, devops, and SMB-to-mid-market organizations (10-2,000 employees) wanting frictionless WireGuard mesh access rather than full SASE rollouts. | 5-2,000 | ● Transparent |
| #4 | Twingate | SMB-to-mid-market (50-2,000 employees) wanting VPN replacement with clean ZTNA architecture and centralized policy, without the complexity of full SASE. | 10-2,000 | ● Transparent |
| #5 | Netskope | Mid-market to enterprise buyers (1,000-50,000+ employees) consolidating multiple security tools onto one SSE platform, particularly those leading with CASB / DLP needs. | 1,000-100,000+ | ○ Quote-only |
| #6 | Cato Networks | Mid-market to enterprise (500-25,000 employees) wanting single-vendor SD-WAN + ZTNA + security stack without integrating multiple point products. | 500-25,000 | ○ Quote-only |
| #7 | Perimeter 81 (Check Point Harmony SASE) | Buyers consolidating onto Check Point Harmony security platform (Endpoint + Email + Mobile + SASE), valuing single-vendor consolidation over best-of-breed. | 50-5,000 | ◐ Partial |
| #8 | Cisco Secure Access | Cisco-network-anchored enterprises (5,000+ employees) running Cisco AnyConnect, Catalyst SD-WAN, or Cisco firewalls and consolidating security purchasing onto Cisco. | 1,000-500,000+ | ◐ Partial |
| #9 | Palo Alto Prisma Access | Palo Alto-consolidating enterprises (5,000+ employees) already running PA-Series NGFWs, Cortex XDR, or Prisma Cloud, wanting unified single-vendor security platform. | 1,000-500,000+ | ○ Quote-only |
| #10 | Fortinet FortiSASE | Fortinet-anchored enterprises (500-50,000 employees) already running FortiGate firewalls, FortiClient, or FortiAnalyzer, consolidating onto single-vendor Security Fabric. | 500-50,000+ | ◐ Partial |
Which alternative for which buyer
Cloudflare One
Edge-network-anchored SSE / ZTNA with the most developer-friendly pricing in category.
Organizations (100-50,000 employees) valuing edge-network performance, transparent published pricing, and developer-friendly deployment with broad protocol support beyond HTTP.
Federal buyers requiring FedRAMP High (Zscaler better), buyers needing deepest CASB / DLP feature parity (Netskope better), or strict no-public-cloud-dependency shops.
Tailscale
WireGuard-based mesh VPN with developer-first UX.
Engineering teams, devops, and SMB-to-mid-market organizations (10-2,000 employees) wanting frictionless WireGuard mesh access rather than full SASE rollouts.
Federal / FedRAMP-required buyers (no FedRAMP), enterprises needing full SASE breadth (DLP / CASB / SWG missing), or organizations requiring deep policy granularity beyond ACL files.
Twingate
Modern remote access designed as a clean VPN replacement.
SMB-to-mid-market (50-2,000 employees) wanting VPN replacement with clean ZTNA architecture and centralized policy, without the complexity of full SASE.
Federal buyers (no FedRAMP), enterprises requiring full SSE breadth (Zscaler / Netskope better), or buyers wanting a pure WireGuard mesh (Tailscale better).
Netskope
Comprehensive SSE / SASE platform with deep CASB heritage.
Mid-market to enterprise buyers (1,000-50,000+ employees) consolidating multiple security tools onto one SSE platform, particularly those leading with CASB / DLP needs.
SMBs under 500 employees (overkill, Cloudflare or Twingate cheaper), buyers wanting transparent published pricing, or pure ZTNA buyers without need for SSE breadth.
Cato Networks
SASE-pure single-vendor cloud-native architecture.
Mid-market to enterprise (500-25,000 employees) wanting single-vendor SD-WAN + ZTNA + security stack without integrating multiple point products.
Federal buyers (no FedRAMP), best-of-breed buyers wanting deepest CASB / DLP (Netskope better), or organizations already heavily invested in incumbent SD-WAN.
Perimeter 81 (Check Point Harmony SASE)
Mid-market ZTNA absorbed into Check Point; rebranded Harmony SASE.
Buyers consolidating onto Check Point Harmony security platform (Endpoint + Email + Mobile + SASE), valuing single-vendor consolidation over best-of-breed.
Mid-market buyers who originally bought Perimeter 81 for its transparent published pricing (motion changed post-acquisition), or buyers wary of post-acquisition product velocity slowdowns.
Related editorial
Last updated 2026-05-10. Rankings reflect editorial judgment based on the published Top 10 Zero Trust Network Access (ZTNA) Software (2026). We accept no vendor payments. Found something inaccurate? Tell us.