I've been using Zscaler for the past year in my organization, which has about 200 users, including a mix of office and remote employees. It's been increasingly frustrating due to constant performance issues, particularly with lag and timeouts for our remote workers on slower connections or those running virtual machines. Many of my colleagues have requested to disable the client just to get their work done. Furthermore, support has been disappointing; they tend to ghost us or blame our setup without providing proper troubleshooting assistance.
Managing Zscaler has also been challenging, with two separate portals that complicate configuration changes; we even need PAC files for basic filtering. To top it off, the pricing has just increased by another 20% upon renewal, which is tough to justify given the ongoing problems.
I'm looking for viable alternatives—preferably a cloud proxy or SASE solution that offers reliable global points of presence (PoPs) to ensure low latency, a unified management dashboard to avoid juggling between portals, and the capacity to handle various connection types without disrupting VPNs. Good support that actively participates in troubleshooting calls would be a significant advantage. Extra points if the solution includes robust ZTNA, DLP features, and effective filtering without slowing down performance.
Has anyone successfully switched from Zscaler to a solution they liked? I'm keen on hearing real experiences or suggestions for proof of concepts (PoCs).
5 Answers
For the performance problems with Zscaler, consider tuning its settings. While I’m not managing it anymore, I recall significant adjustments being needed to improve performance, such as switching to dTLS tunnels instead of regular TLS. Also, check the data center your employees are connecting to, since some might be linked to distant locations due to geoIP issues, adding unnecessary latency.
When choosing an alternative to Zscaler, consider focusing on operational ease rather than just matching features. Options like Cloudflare or Cato offer simpler user experiences, while things like Palo Alto's Prisma Access or Fortinet's FortiSASE provide more enterprise controls. Be sure to run a proof of concept with real remote users on slower networks, as lab tests might not reveal latency issues. The best choice is often the one that users stop complaining about.
Netskope is considered Zscaler's biggest competitor. I don't have a strong preference between the two, but you should explore both of them.
I've found success with Netskope! It seems to be a better fit than Zscaler.
If you're needing PAC files in 2026, that suggests something's off with your cloud setup. Nowadays, people generally expect an agent-first approach or identity-based routing instead.
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