Symantec Proxy vs Symantec Secure Web Gateway comparison

Why PeerSpot?

Symantec Proxy and Symantec Secure Web Gateway are both solutions in the Secure Web Gateways (SWG) category. Symantec Proxy is ranked #15 with an average rating of 8.0, while Symantec Secure Web Gateway is ranked #27. Symantec Proxy holds a 1.8% mindshare in WSG, compared to Symantec Secure Web Gateway’s 1.5% mindshare. Additionally, 80% of Symantec Proxy users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 57% of Symantec Secure Web Gateway users who would recommend it.

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Dec 4, 2024

Symantec Proxy and Symantec Secure Web Gateway are both in the network security category, competing to enhance protection by filtering web traffic. Symantec Secure Web Gateway has the upper hand due to its advanced security features and comprehensive protection, which can justify its higher cost.

Features: Symantec Proxy provides web filtering, SSL inspection, and data protection services aimed at basic security needs. Symantec Secure Web Gateway offers extensive threat intelligence, granular policy enforcement, and advanced threat protection, making it a strong choice for complex security environments.

Room for Improvement: Symantec Proxy could enhance its feature set to compete with more advanced solutions and improve reporting capabilities. It may also benefit from integrating more comprehensive threat detection features. Symantec Secure Web Gateway might simplify its deployment process, improve user interface design, and enhance the speed of policy updates to ensure smoother operations.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Symantec Proxy is recognized for easy deployment and effective customer service, making it suitable for organizations lacking extensive security expertise. Symantec Secure Web Gateway, although powerful, may require meticulous planning and additional support, indicating a need for more strategic implementation.

Pricing and ROI: Symantec Proxy typically offers a lower initial setup cost and faster ROI, appealing to organizations with budget constraints. Symantec Secure Web Gateway, while having higher upfront costs, delivers significant long-term ROI through comprehensive security measures, justifying the investment for enterprises needing robust protection.

To learn more, read our detailed Symantec Proxy vs. Symantec Secure Web Gateway Report (Updated: September 2026).

Buyer's Guide

Symantec Proxy vs. Symantec Secure Web Gateway

September 2026

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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

Mindshare comparison

As of October 2026, in the Secure Web Gateways (SWG) category, the mindshare of iboss is 3.2%, up from 2.2% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Symantec Proxy is 1.8%, down from 2.0% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Symantec Secure Web Gateway is 1.5%, up from 1.1% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Secure Web Gateways (SWG) Mindshare Distribution
Product	Mindshare (%)
iboss	3.2%
Symantec Proxy	1.8%
Symantec Secure Web Gateway	1.5%
Other	93.5%

Secure Web Gateways (SWG)

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.

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Ganesh Basappa

Network Security Consultant at a financial services firm with 10,001+ employees

Granular control for web traffic with enhanced content inspection, but support needs improvement

There are many use cases in terms of content inspection, such as having granular control for file type extensions when trying to download file types by default. It depends on the requirements, and based on that, we customize policies. We have deployed it in an Azure infrastructure, and we have…

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Kedar-Kulkarni

Principal Consultant at CSaaS

Monitors traffic effectively but struggles with integration challenges

I find that the technical support is mediocre, at least for the Middle East. I frequently face challenges when contacting OpenStack through the distribution channel. It should be more straightforward. I notice that customers work with partners, not directly with Symantec, relying on local company integrators for support. Symantec becomes the level two or level three support, which requires navigating through a supply chain that is quite extensive.

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

"The security aspect of the solution, particularly the malware behind it, is excellent. That's something that really helped us out. It's not just a simple proxy that just blocks the insights of potential threats that come on behind it. They do malware detection and that helps us a lot."

"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."

"We were impressed by the solution's mental health function, which can detect if someone needs help. It scans what users are browsing and flags warning signs so we can check to see if they are okay. We've had to use it a couple of times."

"Our primary use case for this product is DLP,"

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

"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."

"Iboss is a solution that prevents advanced persistent threats, and has a zero tolerance for attacks."

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

More iboss pros

"The GUI has been effective."

"The CPL code is the best feature of the solution."

"The proxy is valuable due to its reputation and categorization features for sites, which assist in blocking malicious sites."

"The developer's assistance is valuable, enabling seamless integration which allows for a comprehensive view of categories, even if not certified by the link."

"The Symantec antivirus suite and the proxy component are the most valuable feature, and that's probably why management decided to purchase the solution."

"It's a stable solution."

"The solution is scalable."

"The security features provided by Symantec Proxy, such as granular controls for web traffic and caching, set it apart from other secure web gateways."

More Symantec Proxy pros

"The most valuable feature is the endpoint security."

"I find the product to be very straightforward."

"Overall, this product is okay and it does the job that it is supposed to do."

"In terms of stability, it's fine, as we have never had downtime because availability is AWS' responsibility since it is hosted on their servers, so availability is not an issue."

"It offers an easy initial setup."

"It is a stable solution."

"The most valuable features are the website blocking capability and SSL interception."

"Typically, Symantec is more or less like any other platform that performs proxy functions."

More Symantec Secure Web Gateway pros

Cons

"I appreciate that iboss's single pane of glass console gives centralized visibility into web traffic, user activity, security policies, and alerts from one dashboard, allowing us to quickly investigate incidents and monitor policy violations without switching between multiple tools, improving operational efficiency; however, the dashboard customization and reporting could be more flexible."

"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."

"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."

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

"The reporting feature needs improvement. It doesn't give you the expected results. It is quite difficult to get the specific reports needed, and it is not as intuitive as the rest of the platform."

"Regarding pricing, setup costs, and licensing, iboss is not cheap, and that's my only concern."

"It is stable, but due to growth, it can sometimes be less stable than wanted."

"Sometimes the agent stops working in iboss, and we have to reinstall the agent."

More iboss cons

"The initial setup is actually quite complex to install because our users don't have admin rights on the boxes and there's no remote install option by an administrator."

"There are some challenges with reporting and accessing specific logs, particularly older logs or user activity over time."

"My experience was horrible using this solution. I would not advise anyone to use it, there are a lot of improvements needed."

"Activating the SSL inspection is one of the challenges."

"Pricing is difficult to specify as Broadcom sells platforms that include multiple products, making it hard to determine the exact cost for the proxy component. Forcepoint sold only proxies, which was easier to measure."

"Support response time and case resolution could be improved."

"The solution could improve by having better documentation."

"They charge a lot of money yet don't give highly productive features."

More Symantec Proxy cons

"There's a need for increased firewall functionality and capabilities. I'm not seeing a competitive Symantec cloud product. Specifically, functionalities with security as filtering from the cloud. I am aware that there is a product, a proxy in the cloud but I have compared it with other vendors and I don't find it that powerful. I think the worst thing that we're experiencing is very poor and inadequate technical support. It seems to me that tech support engineers aren't qualified to fulfill their job duties."

"It's not user-friendly, and we end up making too many phone calls to get things fixed."

"The problem with Complete Website Security is with the dot com transition and dealing with Symantec is becoming a problem right now."

"Depending on the severity of the issue, I think they can be a bit slow - a few days for the low severity cases, but for the severe cases normally they contact you back in a couple of hours."

"It needs to be easier to set up rules for what sites it should allow or not allow us in certain areas of our computer for programs. It would also be nice really nice to have it give you better information about what it's finding. A lot of the alerts we get are very difficult to understand what it's actually telling you. It's too generic."

"The major challenge is their support. The support from Broadcom is quite poor. It takes forever for them to get back to you, and when they get back to you, they ask you for so much information, which makes it more difficult. That's the only problem I have with Broadcom. This is one of the reasons why we are switching to another solution. Another reason for switching is that we have a plan to adopt solutions in the cloud so that we can offload the administration efforts to the vendor. In future releases, they can improve its reporting and the process for rules creation. They can also improve Broadcom on things such as security information and event management so that from my same platform, I can carry out functions and probably block websites. Such a feature would be nice. Currently, Broadcom is integrated with McAfee to block access to certain sites automatically. It would be nice if they can expand their integration to IBM Resilient Security Orchestration and Automation Response."

"One of the problems with using Symantec is that it's widely known and the people who are making malware have designed to circumvent it."

"The platform’s data center is not capable of managing most of the traffic."

More Symantec Secure Web Gateway cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

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

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

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

"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."

"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."

"There is a license needed to use Symantec Proxy."

"The price is too expensive compared with that of another solution."

"The product is highly priced. There are no additional costs apart from the standard licenses."

"Symantec Proxy has different expiry dates and renewal dates, which is a problem, so Broadcom should improve the licensing renewal process for the solution."

"Our cost was based on a three-year upfront CapEx contract."

"There is a different department that looks into the licensing part."

"The tool is pretty expensive."

"The price of the solution is reasonable compared to others on the market."

More Symantec Proxy pricing and cost advice

"There is an additional charge for advanced security features."

"Symantec Secure Web Gateway is less expensive than one of its competitors."

"Pricing and licensing is stunted and licensing is expensive. We have many customers who are now thinking about other solutions due to the cost."

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Financial Services Firm

11%

Manufacturing Company

10%

Comms Service Provider

Construction Company

Financial Services Firm

17%

Outsourcing Company

14%

Manufacturing Company

Healthcare Company

Construction Company

19%

Comms Service Provider

11%

Financial Services Firm

11%

Manufacturing Company

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	6
Midsize Enterprise	4
Large Enterprise	12

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	5
Midsize Enterprise	2
Large Enterprise	4

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 Symantec Proxy?

Pricing is difficult to specify as Broadcom sells platforms that include multiple products, making it hard to determi...

See all answers

What needs improvement with Symantec Proxy?

AI features could potentially improve the proxy by helping build rules more efficiently, suggesting unused rules, and...

See all answers

What is your primary use case for Symantec Proxy?

I use Symantec Proxy for surfing the internet from internal to external networks. My endpoints do not have direct acc...

See all answers

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

I believe that pricing is on par with peers. Symantec and other vendors offer discounts when cutting a deal with a cu...

See all answers

What needs improvement with Symantec Secure Web Gateway?

AI-driven security could be helpful, yet how effective it will be remains unclear. I plan to evaluate whatever new fe...

See all answers

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

I find the product to be very straightforward. I just install it and forget it as it continuously monitors traffic. I...

See all answers

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

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Cisco Web Security Appliance vs Symantec Proxy

Compared 15% of the time

Forcepoint Secure Web Gateway vs Symantec Proxy

Compared 11% of the time

Akamai Secure Internet Access Enterprise vs Symantec Proxy

Compared 11% of the time

Fortinet FortiGate vs Symantec Proxy

Compared 8% of the time

Fortra's Clearswift Secure Web Gateway vs Symantec Proxy

Compared 4% of the time

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Zscaler Internet Access vs Symantec Secure Web Gateway

Compared 18% of the time

Akamai Secure Internet Access Enterprise vs Symantec Secure Web Gateway

Compared 13% of the time

Cisco Umbrella vs Symantec Secure Web Gateway

Compared 12% of the time

Fortra's Clearswift Secure Web Gateway vs Symantec Secure Web Gateway

Compared 9% of the time

Skyhigh Security vs Symantec Secure Web Gateway

Compared 3% of the time

More Symantec Secure Web Gateway Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

iboss

October 2026

Download iboss product report

Buyer's Guide

Symantec Proxy

September 2026

Download Symantec Proxy product report

Buyer's Guide

Symantec Secure Web Gateway

September 2026

Download Symantec Secure Web Gateway product report

Also Known As

iBoss Cloud Platform

Blue Coat Encrypted Traffic Management, ProxySG Appliance

Symantec Complete Website Security

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

Symantec Proxy offers robust web security by providing features like content caching and URL filtering. It enhances security, optimizes performance, and simplifies policy management for enterprises, serving as a dynamic tool across cloud environments.

Symantec Proxy integrates with Broadcom's FireGlass, providing enhanced compatibility and seamless functionality. Known for a stable deployment and a precise URL database, it offers comprehensive threat detection and policy creation, utilizing the Global Intelligence Network. Users deploy it for web security, malware blocking, and traffic filtering. Symantec Proxy's reputation and site categorization bolster defense against malicious sites, although SSL inspection, dashboard integration, and technical support could benefit from improvements. The platform has shifted post-Broadcom acquisition, needing streamlined solutions. Current challenges include performance with O365 and complexities around pricing and licensing.

What features define Symantec Proxy?

Content Caching: Improves performance by storing frequently accessed web content.
URL Database: Provides accurate categorization for security policies.
Policy Creation: Allows for detailed web and URL filtering rules.
Global Intelligence Network: Offers a robust threat detection system.
Autoscaling: Adjusts resource allocation to meet demand efficiently.
Threat Detection: Identifies and mitigates potential security risks.

What benefits and ROI considerations are evident?

Enhanced Performance: Boosts speed through efficient caching mechanisms.
Security: Protects against malicious attacks with intelligent filtering.
Simple Configuration: Allows for quick setup and policy management.
Integration: Seamlessly works with other Broadcom tools for broader functionality.

Enterprises leverage Symantec Proxy to secure web access and manage Internet usage across industries. Deployed across cloud providers like AWS, GCP, and Azure, it supports URL filtering, remote access, and bandwidth control by user privileges. Organizations also find value in its role within antivirus scanning, policy customization, and reporting.

Broadcom

Symantec Secure Web Gateway provides robust endpoint security, offering seamless management, website blocking, and advanced threat protection, with cloud hosting and SSL interception.

Symantec Secure Web Gateway is designed to enhance web security through its endpoint security integration, effective website blocking, and SSL interception capabilities. Supporting numerous platforms, it allows swift deployment and comprehensive reporting, making it a preferred choice for companies seeking reliable antivirus protection and controlled internet access. Despite facing challenges with technical assistance and firewall functionalities, it stands out with its efficient threat-handling processes and user-friendly management features. Administrators benefit from straightforward URL filtering and a consistently active web-based cloud proxy, ideal for reducing infrastructure management issues.

What are the key features of Symantec Secure Web Gateway?

User-friendly interfaces and easy management allow for intuitive operation and administration.
Strong endpoint security integrates seamlessly with antivirus features and content filtering.
Website blocking offers controlled access to ensure safe browsing environments.
SSL interception ensures data protection and secure communication channels.
ICAP capability supports enhanced integration with other security appliances.
URL filtering applies customizable policies for secure, role-based internet access.

What benefits or ROI can be expected from Symantec Secure Web Gateway?

Streamlined deployment and management reduce time and resource investments.
Cloud hosting decreases infrastructure costs and maintenance requirements.
Caching boosts performance with faster load times and reduced bandwidth usage.
Easy initial setup minimizes configuration efforts and operational disruptions.

In industries where web security integration is vital, Symantec Secure Web Gateway manages client traffic, ensures seamless access control, and filters URLs with ease. Its capabilities, similar to Blue Coat's proxy services, offer less infrastructure management, making it ideal for sectors needing constant data protection.

Broadcom

Sample Customers

Trusted by global enterprises and government agencies.

Jefferies

Information Not Available

Buyer's Guide

Symantec Proxy vs. Symantec Secure Web Gateway

September 2026

Free Report: Symantec Proxy vs. Symantec Secure Web Gateway

Find out what your peers are saying about Symantec Proxy vs. Symantec Secure Web Gateway and other solutions. Updated: September 2026.

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