Cato Networks SASE vs Zscaler Zero Trust Exchange Platform: Side-by-Side Comparison (2026)

Cato Networks SASE

Mid-market and enterprise teams consolidating network and security infrastructure will value Cato Networks SASE for its private backbone eliminating internet-bound traffic, which cuts both latency and exposure in ways pure cloud gateways don't. The platform covers PR.AA, PR.DS, and PR.IR across NIST CSF 2.0, meaning identity-driven access, data controls, and network resilience all get native support rather than bolted-on. Skip this if your organization needs deep endpoint detection or incident response; Cato is a network perimeter play that assumes your EDR and SIEM are working elsewhere.

Zscaler Zero Trust Exchange Platform

Mid-market and enterprise security teams moving to cloud-first architectures should prioritize Zscaler Zero Trust Exchange Platform for its one-to-one connection brokering, which genuinely eliminates lateral movement by design rather than hoping detection catches it. The platform processes 500+ trillion daily signals for risk assessment and enforces least-privileged access at scale across distributed workforces, covering all four NIST CSF 2.0 foundations from identity verification through continuous monitoring. Skip this if your organization is still managing primarily on-premises infrastructure or needs deep DLP functionality beyond sensitive data identification; Zscaler's strength is preventing breach impact through access control, not recovering from data exfiltration after the fact.