Forcepoint Secure Web Gateway vs Trustwave Secure Web Gateway [EOL] comparison

Why PeerSpot?

Forcepoint and LevelBlue are both solutions in the Secure Web Gateways (SWG) category. Additionally, 82% of Forcepoint users are willing to recommend the solution.

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Download the report

Executive Summary

We performed a comparison between Forcepoint Secure Web Gateway and Trustwave Secure Web Gateway [EOL] based on real PeerSpot user reviews.

Find out what your peers are saying about Cisco, Fortinet, Zscaler and others in Secure Web Gateways (SWG).

To learn more, read our detailed Secure Web Gateways (SWG) Report (Updated: September 2026).

Buyer's Guide

Secure Web Gateways (SWG)

September 2026

Download the complete report

Helped 917,433 peers since 2012

Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:

Categories and Ranking

iboss

Featured Reviews

Ashok Ananthula

Senior Consultant Proxy Engineering at a financial services firm with 10,001+ employees

Cloud gateway has strengthened remote web security and now needs better Mac and ISP support

The problem our organization had is that iboss failed for the Mac devices. It is not able to give a successful agent for the Mac agents. That is where in 2025, we had to migrate to the Palo Alto-based platform. If your use case is for just Windows laptops,you can consider this platform as an option One issue is the data center resiliency part. In India especially, they are not tied up with the Tier 1 ISPs like Tata or Airtel; they were having Tier 2 ISPs and encountered many issues reaching few major sites that my organization depends on, and they were having problems that they could not fix quickly. They also lack a mechanism to route that traffic within their data center; rather, they ask customers to make a pac file change to route it to Singapore explicitly. It would be better if they route from their backend , i mean even if I send it to India DC, they should be able to route it internally to make that work; however, they fail to do that and ask the customer to route it in the pac file. Another suggestion is that in China, they do not have the proper setup; they used to have numerous problems with slowness and lack of premium circuits in China as well. That leads to multiple sites working slowly with latency-related issues. So the main issue is the ISP-related problems that need to be solved.

Read full review

reviewer1047669

PS & Technical Manager at a tech services company with 11-50 employees

Has faced usability challenges while managing integrated components

We are working with web gateway and full endpoint security. URL filter is a notable feature. While it is not specifically related to Forcepoint Secure Web Gateway alone, if you have the complete Forcepoint solution, it can integrate with other Forcepoint products, such as DLP solution and email gateway. The URL filter of Forcepoint Secure Web Gateway is good for web gateway. Clients and consumers do not prefer it because the interface is not good. When using FSM with DLP, web gateway, and email gateway, upgrades cannot be performed simultaneously since Forcepoint Secure Web Gateway might need an upgrade while email gateway does not, despite having the same manager controlling them. Forcepoint Secure Web Gateway works well with banking and small companies. Email gateway is less needed as everything is moving to the cloud.

Read full review

JonathanChawatama

IT Security Consultant at ZOL Zimbabwe

Enables policies on threats from downloads, social networks, and AV plug-ins

It has helped a lot with bandwidth management Enables policies on downloads, social networks, and AV plug-ins. These are major threat sources and with the inclusion of the AV plug-ins, Secure Web Gateway is a better product. The default size for database logging should be improved. More than…

Read full review

Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:

Pros

"Deploying iboss leads to good return on investment, estimated around 70% to 80%."

"Granular setup, which was able to set different levels of filters using the OUs in the AD."

"The iboss system is highly reliable. The false positive rates are small compared to some other systems we've experienced through other partner agencies who use competing solutions."

"This product is solid, fairly easy to use, and reliable."

"We chose iboss for both zero trust and proxy (SWG) because their SWG was superior."

"The students were always protected, and the content filtering worked very well, seeming to work better than other products we had tried previously."

"I would definitely recommend iboss for web filtering purposes to other organizations or individuals."

"The main advantage of iboss is its cloud-based security centralized policy management, which helps organizations protect users working from different locations, secure access to cloud applications, and reduce security risks."

More iboss pros

"The tool's most valuable features are content filtering and URL filtering."

"There is some sandboxing available, which is quite useful."

"I have found the simplicity of the solution valuable. The dashboard and reports are good as well."

"Forcepoint Web Security is a complete web security solution, not just a web filter, like many other solution offerings."

"Configuration and customized policies are easy to implement."

"We deployed this solution during COVID, for two or three customers, and the customers are very happy with this product."

"Giving visibility to people's actions in the network, while keeping attackers out: across data centers, offices, branches, and the cloud."

"The customization and control of URL filtering and the integration with other Forcepoint solutions are great features."

More Forcepoint Secure Web Gateway pros

"Enables policies on downloads, social networks, and AV plug-ins. These are major threat sources and with the inclusion of AV plug-in, Secure Web Gateway is a better product."

"If you are looking for a solution to internet threats and security, Secure Web Gateway is the best there is."

Cons

"File integrity monitoring would be very advantageous as an additional feature."

"I'd like to see them accelerate development on the security side, particularly around data loss prevention."

"The reporting feature needs improvement."

"Our iboss subscription access should be more secure with an OTP or VPN etc. It is easy to gain access if, for example, hackers obtain my username and password."

"iboss can be improved because the integration could be better; you need to import all the sites that you access today, and there are a few problems whenever you import thousands of websites, making the integration process messy for the users."

"Their on-premise hardware's network interface is capped at one gigabit, which is sort of a problem. If you stand a filter up where all traffic flows through that, according to them, in order to go above a gigabit, you have to have multiple devices, which in today's IT seems a little bit silly. They could easily put in an SFP port into their device that could accommodate 10 gigs or at least offer a box."

"Iboss is growing so fast that it is often hard for them to keep up with the challenges."

"One thing I would like to see differently with their Zero Trust platform is that some of the AI aspects related to high-risk activities have more false positives."

More iboss cons

"The technical support needs to be improved."

"Customer Service: 2 out of 10 Technical Support: 6 out of 10"

"The solution has complexity with the databases, and we have to manually clear old data logs."

"If we have a chance to change, we would change it because it is not user-friendly."

"I have been in contact with technical support several times, and I am not happy with them."

"Reports in the sand-boxing, ease of deployment of sensors to ready to go server with one click of a button."

"The reporting could be improved."

"The automation lifecycle, integration, and export functionality could all be improved."

More Forcepoint Secure Web Gateway cons

"The default size for database logging should be improved."

Pricing and Cost Advice

"It is not expensive, and it is also not cheap. iboss is priced right in the sweet spot for the number of features it offers."

"It is expensive compared to one of its competitors."

"It is probably in line with other solutions, but I do not deal with the financial side."

"The overall pricing for iboss is very competitive and transparent."

"We had the cost of purchasing a new appliance along with the implementation and licensing costs. However, the following year, the cost of just licensing was similar to what was paid the previous year for a new appliance along with the implementation and licensing costs."

"We have not priced the solution recently, but they were competitive with other vendors in the past."

"It is quite expensive."

"The pricing on Forcepoint Web Security is fair. Fair pricing at current market rates, if you are comparing with the competition."

"The pricing depends upon the number of users."

"The price of this product should be reduced to make it more competitive."

"Forcepoint's pricing is moderate."

"Compared to the other products in the market, Forcepoint Secure Web Gateway can be a cost-effective tool."

"Licensing is flexible. License pricing information is based on the customer, their environment, and on the future approach."

"Overall, I am not aware of the option to pay for one time use of Forcepoint Secure Web Gateway."

More Forcepoint Secure Web Gateway pricing and cost advice

"Pricing is favorable. Yearly licensing is preferable."

See which vendors are best for you

Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Secure Web Gateways (SWG) solutions are best for your needs.

See recommendations

917,433 professionals have used our research since 2012.

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Financial Services Firm

11%

Manufacturing Company

10%

Comms Service Provider

Construction Company

Outsourcing Company

13%

Construction Company

Financial Services Firm

Manufacturing Company

No data available

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	14
Midsize Enterprise	8
Large Enterprise	14

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	23
Midsize Enterprise	6
Large Enterprise	29

No data available

Questions from the Community

What needs improvement with iboss?

I think iboss could be improved by emphasizing the modular function even more during sales presentations and demonstr...

See all answers

What is your primary use case for iboss?

iboss is primarily used for content filtering within school districts and public K-12 school districts, and it can al...

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for iboss?

My experience with iboss's pricing structure, setup cost, and licensing model has been positive, straightforward, and...

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Forcepoint Secure Web Gateway?

I would rate pricing for Forcepoint Secure Web Gateway a two out of ten. It's really expensive.

See all answers

What needs improvement with Forcepoint Secure Web Gateway?

Forcepoint Secure Web Gateway is not endpoint security. If we have a chance to change, we would change it because it ...

See all answers

What is your primary use case for Forcepoint Secure Web Gateway?

We have no big project, but we are trying to sell it in the market here. We are working with Forcepoint because there...

See all answers

Ask a question

Earn 20 points

Comparisons

Prisma Access by Palo Alto Networks vs iboss

Compared 10% of the time

Netskope vs iboss

Compared 8% of the time

Fortinet FortiGate vs iboss

Compared 7% of the time

Cisco Umbrella vs iboss

Compared 6% of the time

FortiSASE vs iboss

Compared 6% of the time

More iboss Competitors

Fortinet FortiProxy vs Forcepoint Secure Web Gateway

Compared 10% of the time

Zscaler Internet Access vs Forcepoint Secure Web Gateway

Compared 8% of the time

Fortinet FortiGate vs Forcepoint Secure Web Gateway

Compared 7% of the time

Cisco Umbrella vs Forcepoint Secure Web Gateway

Compared 7% of the time

Quad9 vs Forcepoint Secure Web Gateway

Compared 2% of the time

More Forcepoint Secure Web Gateway Competitors

Cisco Umbrella vs Trustwave Secure Web Gateway [EOL]

Compared 53% of the time

More Trustwave Secure Web Gateway [EOL] Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

iboss

October 2026

Download iboss product report

Buyer's Guide

Forcepoint Secure Web Gateway

October 2026

Download Forcepoint Secure Web Gateway product report

Buyer's Guide

Secure Web Gateways (SWG)

September 2026

Trustwave Secure Web Gateway [EOL] report

Download Trustwave Secure Web Gateway [EOL] product report

Also Known As

iBoss Cloud Platform

Forcepoint SWG, Websense Web Security, Forcepoint TRITON

Trustwave SWG

Overview

iboss is the Zero Trust SASE platform that gives organizations complete visibility and governance over their AI, data, and applications through one unified platform, one console, one policy engine, and one data lake.

Your endpoints may already stop malware. Your data and application activity can still be invisible. iboss decrypts and understands every connection, then turns that signal into answers security leaders can act on.

The platform leads with three capabilities in this order: AI Security and Visibility, Data Security and Visibility, and App Visibility and Control. Zero Trust Network Access, VPN replacement, and SD-WAN sit underneath as the access fabric that carries those three. Trusted by global enterprises and government agencies.

What are the most important features of Iboss?

- AI Security and Visibility: conversation capture, shadow-AI discovery, AI DLP, and agent governance across Claude, Co-Work, ChatGPT, Gemini, and Grok, and emerging services.

- Data Security and Visibility: full SSL/TLS decryption, deep content inspection, MIP label compliance, and one-click compliance reporting.

- App Visibility and Control: signatureless CASB, dual risk scoring, in-app controls, and SSPM for major SaaS.

- Containerized Zero Trust SASE: dedicated containers, isolated SSL keys, one console, one policy engine, one data lake.

- Access fabric: ZTNA, VPN replacement, and SD-WAN under the same platform.

What benefits should users consider in reviews?

- Complete visibility over AI, data, and applications from one platform instead of separate point tools.

- Encrypted traffic is inspected by default so data decisions use content and context together.

- Shadow SaaS and new web tools appear as they are used, with enforceable controls in one console.

- Native data sovereignty through dedicated containers, in-region inspection, and per-customer SSL key custody.

- Scale proven in published materials: 10M+ users, 100+ countries, 150B+ transactions, 2.5B+ threats blocked.

Economic buyers are CISOs, CIOs, and VPs of Security. Champions include security architects, network and infrastructure leaders, SecOps, and GRC. Primary segments: enterprise and business, financial services, government (including FedRAMP Gov Cloud), healthcare, manufacturing, legal and professional services, retail and hospitality, and MSP/MSSP partners. Education, including K-12, is one vertical among these.

iboss

Forcepoint Secure Web Gateway ensures secure internet access with features like URL filtering and real-time analytics. It's known for robust security, scalability, and integration capabilities, making it ideal for managing web traffic and preventing data loss.

Forcepoint Secure Web Gateway is designed to provide comprehensive protection for web traffic while enabling organizations to maintain security and productivity. By integrating well with Forcepoint offerings like DLP and CASB, it offers added functionality. The gateway equips users with tools such as SSL inspection and Shadow IT visibility. Despite its complex setup and challenges with updates, the platform is recognized for its flexibility, performance reliability, and ability to deliver granular policy control. Customers in demanding environments benefit from its extensive IP-based protection and robust report customization capabilities.

What are the standout features?

URL and Content Filtering: Blocks or allows access to websites based on predefined rules.
Real-time Analytics: Provides immediate insights into web traffic and user activity.
Report Customization: Allows tailoring of reports to meet specific needs.
SSL Inspection: Inspects encrypted traffic to ensure security without compromising privacy.
Shadow IT Visibility: Identifies and manages unauthorized applications used by employees.

What benefits can users expect?

Enhanced Security: Protects against advanced malware and data breaches.
Increased Productivity: Blocks undesired websites to keep users focused.
Scalability: Adapts to growing organizational needs efficiently.
Integration with DLP and CASB: Offers expanded protection capabilities.

Government agencies and professional services deploy Forcepoint Secure Web Gateway in on-premises and hybrid cloud setups for enhanced web security. By monitoring and controlling user activity, these entities maintain productivity and protect sensitive data. The gateway effectively manages internal and external web traffic, ensuring cyber threats are minimized. Specific industry needs are addressed with robust security frameworks tailored to maintain data integrity and efficiency.

Forcepoint

Trustwave SWG blocks new malware in real time with several advanced engines. To block dynamic new obfuscated or encrypted drive-by downloads, Trustwave SWG decrypts, unpacks and assembles web pages and exposes their malicious behavior. Trustwave leads the industry in this advanced capability.

LevelBlue

Sample Customers

Trusted by global enterprises and government agencies.

Adventist Health, Alphawest, Amadori, Anoka County, Compartamos Banco, Davies Turner, EverBank, iGATE, Karlstad Municipality, Lake Michigan Credit Union, Scavolini, Smurfit Kappa, Toyota

Information Not Available

Buyer's Guide

Secure Web Gateways (SWG)

September 2026

Download Free Report

Find out what your peers are saying about Cisco, Fortinet, Zscaler and others in Secure Web Gateways (SWG). Updated: September 2026.

DOWNLOAD NOW

917,433 professionals have used our research since 2012.

See our list of best Secure Web Gateways (SWG) vendors.

We monitor all Secure Web Gateways (SWG) reviews to prevent fraudulent reviews and keep review quality high. We do not post reviews by company employees or direct competitors. We validate each review for authenticity via cross-reference with LinkedIn, and personal follow-up with the reviewer when necessary.