Entra Internet Access vs Zscaler / Netskope
A straight comparison of Microsoft's native secure web gateway against the two SSE incumbents — where each wins, where they don't, and why "either/or" is often the wrong framing.
Where Entra Internet Access wins
- Entra-native — one identity and Conditional Access plane
- Lower total cost for M365-heavy organisations
- No separate policy engine or client to reconcile
- Tight tenant-level controls (tenant restrictions, M365 steering)
Where Zscaler / Netskope still lead
- Depth of SWG/CASB/DLP feature set and maturity
- Breadth of global points of presence and peering
- Years of advanced threat and data-protection telemetry
- Established multi-vendor, multi-cloud policy tooling
01What Entra Internet Access actually is
Internet Access is Microsoft's secure web gateway / firewall-as-a-service. It routes internet and SaaS traffic through the Microsoft edge and applies policy through Conditional Access — the same engine you already use for M365. That's its defining advantage: one policy plane across identity, private apps and the internet.
02The honest trade-off
Zscaler and Netskope are more mature SSE platforms with deeper web-security, CASB and DLP feature sets, and more global PoPs. Internet Access is younger and still catching up in advanced threat and data-protection depth. If you're heavily invested in advanced Zscaler/Netskope features, don't expect a drop-in replacement on day one.
03Where consolidation makes sense
For an organisation that is already Microsoft-centric and doesn't use the deep ends of the incumbent's feature set, consolidating on Internet Access can simplify the stack and cut cost — one client, one policy engine, one identity plane. The economics are strongest for smaller estates and M365-first businesses.
04Coexistence is a first-class option
You don't have to choose. Microsoft documents supported coexistence patterns, and the most common real-world approach is to keep the incumbent for the traffic it's best at while GSA takes over M365 steering and private access. Migrate incrementally, measure, then decide what to retire. See our coexistence guides for vendor-specific patterns.