Bowtie Zero Trust Network Access vs Kolide by 1Password Announcing 1Password Extended Access Management: Side-by-Side Comparison (2026)

Bowtie Zero Trust Network Access

Security teams managing distributed workforces across multiple cloud regions should prioritize Bowtie Zero Trust Network Access for its refusal to backhaul traffic through centralized gateways, which eliminates the bottleneck that tanks performance in traditional ZTNA deployments. The distributed control plane runs entirely on your infrastructure, not Bowtie's, and WireGuard encryption keeps private keys out of vendor hands, addressing the NIST PR.AA identity and access control requirement without trust dependency. This isn't for buyers seeking integrated secure web gateway capabilities from a single vendor; Bowtie's on-device SWG component is functional but plays second fiddle to its network access core.

Kolide by 1Password Announcing 1Password Extended Access Management

Security teams at mid-market companies running distributed workforces will benefit most from Kolide by 1Password Announcing 1Password Extended Access Management because it binds device compliance enforcement directly to access decisions, not just monitoring. The free pricing model means you can pilot zero trust network access without a budget justification cycle. This tool prioritizes visibility and prevention over incident response, so it's less useful for organizations that already have mature EDR and need faster forensics or recovery workflows.