SD-WAN · October 2026 Edition
Cato SASE Cloud vs Palo Alto Networks Prisma SD-WAN
Three of fourteen models named Cato SASE Cloud first on the direct prompt; zero named Palo Alto Networks Prisma SD-WAN. Cato SASE Cloud was named by twelve of the fourteen models and Palo Alto Networks Prisma SD-WAN by fourteen and Cato SASE Cloud carries 27 labels and Palo Alto Networks Prisma SD-WAN 35, so the shares are not directly comparable.
Named in two categories this edition.
Named in two categories this edition.
First-choice share6%2%Of first choices across the direct, paraphrase, budget and scale prompts, 0 to 100.
Negative rate0%17%Negative labels as a share of the product's labels, 0 to 100.
Rank in category#4#7A position in a field of 10; printed, not drawn.
Labels2735A count; the two differ.
The two percentage rows are drawn on one 0 to 100 track, Cato SASE Cloud reading right to left. Rank and label count are printed, not drawn.Fortinet Secure SD-WAN was named alongside these two in twelve of the fourteen direct answers. Fortinet Secure SD-WAN vs Cato SASE Cloud · Fortinet Secure SD-WAN vs Palo Alto Networks Prisma SD-WAN · Cisco Meraki SD-WAN vs Cato SASE Cloud
Share is the count of first choices across the direct, paraphrase, budget and scale prompts over all fourteen models, for a mid-market B2B company; rank is within the category; every quote names the model and the prompt it came from. Both figures come from the SD-WAN page.
By framing
How many of the fourteen models made each the first choice, per way of asking, and how many argued against it.
Cato SASE CloudFirst choices, of fourteen modelsPalo Alto Networks Prisma SD-WAN
Direct301 against Palo Alto Networks Prisma SD-WAN
Paraphrase01
Comparative01
Budget-constrained00
Scale-constrained00
Negative105 against Palo Alto Networks Prisma SD-WAN
Bars are first choices, 0 to 14 each sideModels that argued againstA model can name both, so the two sides of a row do not sum to fourteen.
Across every category in the October 2026 Edition, Cato SASE Cloud and Palo Alto Networks Prisma SD-WAN were named in the same answer forty-four times, of the 126 answers naming Cato SASE Cloud and the 108 naming Palo Alto Networks Prisma SD-WAN. In those answers Palo Alto Networks Prisma SD-WAN took the first choice one time and Cato SASE Cloud five.
Every model, every framing
The eighty-four answers behind the chart above, one cell each: where Cato SASE Cloud and Palo Alto Networks Prisma SD-WAN stood in it.
| Model | Direct | Paraphrase | Comparative | Budget-constrained | Scale-constrained | Negative |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Claude Haiku 4.5 | | | ||||
| GPT-5.4 mini | | |||||
| Gemini 3.5 Flash | | | | | ||
| Perplexity Sonar | | | | |||
| Grok 4.1 Fast | | | | |||
| Mistral Small | | | ||||
| DeepSeek V4 Flash | | | | | | |
| Llama 4 Maverick | | |||||
| Qwen 3.7 Flash | | | ||||
| Kimi K2 | | | ||||
| GLM 4.7 FlashX | | | | |||
| MiniMax M2.5 | ||||||
| GPT-6 Luna | | | | |||
| Muse Glimmer 30B | | |
Cato SASE Cloud Palo Alto Networks Prisma SD-WAN first choice named as an alternative argued againstblank: not namedEach cell is one answer, Cato SASE Cloud on the left and Palo Alto Networks Prisma SD-WAN on the right.The direct prompt
The plain question, one answer per model, grouped by where Cato SASE Cloud and Palo Alto Networks Prisma SD-WAN stood in it.
Cato SASE Cloud first, Palo Alto Networks Prisma SD-WAN an alternative
3 of 14 modelsPalo Alto Networks Prisma SD-WAN was named in the answer but not as the choice, or not at all.Claude Haiku 4.5Cato SASE Cloud alternatives: Aryaka, Comcast Business, Fortinet Secure SD-WAN, MetTel, Windstream
DeepSeek V4 FlashCato SASE Cloud, Fortinet Secure SD-WAN alternatives: Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN, Cisco Meraki SD-WAN
GLM 4.7 FlashXCato SASE Cloud alternatives: Barracuda SecureEdge SD-WAN, Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN, Fortinet Secure SD-WAN, Palo Alto Networks Prisma SD-WAN, VMware VeloCloud SD-WAN
Neither was the first choice, one was named
7 of 14 modelsThe answer put something else first and named one of the two as an alternative.Gemini 3.5 FlashFortinet Secure SD-WAN alternatives: Cato SASE Cloud, Cisco Meraki SD-WAN, Palo Alto Networks Prisma SD-WAN
Perplexity SonarFortinet Secure SD-WAN alternatives: Cato SASE Cloud, Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN, HPE Aruba EdgeConnect, VMware VeloCloud SD-WAN
Grok 4.1 FastCisco Meraki SD-WAN, Fortinet Secure SD-WAN alternatives: HPE Aruba EdgeConnect, Palo Alto Networks Prisma SD-WAN, VMware VeloCloud SD-WAN
Qwen 3.7 FlashCisco Meraki SD-WAN, Fortinet Secure SD-WAN alternatives: Cato SASE Cloud, Palo Alto Networks Prisma SD-WAN
Kimi K2Fortinet Secure SD-WAN alternatives: Cato SASE Cloud, Cisco Meraki SD-WAN
GPT-6 LunaFortinet Secure SD-WAN alternatives: Cato SASE Cloud, Cisco Meraki SD-WAN
Muse Glimmer 30BCisco Meraki SD-WAN, Fortinet Secure SD-WAN alternatives: Cato SASE Cloud, Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN, FatPipe SD-WAN, HPE Aruba EdgeConnect
Neither was named
4 of 14 modelsThe answer made no first choice from these two in this category.GPT-5.4 miniFortinet Secure SD-WAN alternatives: Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN
Mistral SmallHPE Aruba EdgeConnect, VMware VeloCloud SD-WAN alternatives: Fortinet Secure SD-WAN
Llama 4 Maverickno first choice
MiniMax M2.5HPE Aruba EdgeConnect, VMware VeloCloud SD-WAN alternatives: Cisco Meraki SD-WAN
Bold names in an answer are the products the judge labeled a first choice; a model naming several gives each of them that label. The full answer text for every row is in the record.
By buyer segment
The same question asked on behalf of a different buyer. Each standing is computed within its segment and they are never added together. The figures above are the mid-market standing, which is the one the category orders by.
Small business
Cato SASE Cloud leads by two points.
Cato SASE Cloud2%#5 of 9Palo Alto Networks Prisma SD-WAN0%#9 of 9Mid-marketThe figures above
Cato SASE Cloud leads by four points.
Cato SASE Cloud6%#4 of 10Palo Alto Networks Prisma SD-WAN2%#7 of 10Enterprise
Cato SASE Cloud leads by seven points.
Cato SASE Cloud9%#3 of 9Palo Alto Networks Prisma SD-WAN2%#5 of 9What the models said about Cato SASE Cloud
Every negative label with a quote, up to three, then the highest-weighted positives, up to three. Three of three in this category shown.
“For most mid-market B2B companies, Cato Networks and Fortinet are the two names that come up most consistently as the strongest fits” DeepSeek V4 Flash · direct prompt · first choice
“Cato Networks offers a cloud-native SASE platform that's been scored as the easiest-to-use platform by Netify for the third year running” Claude Haiku 4.5 · direct prompt · first choice
“1) Cato Networks - Why it fits mid-market: A single converged SD-WAN + SASE platform with a cloud-native private backbone.” GLM 4.7 FlashX · direct prompt · first choice
What the models said about Palo Alto Networks Prisma SD-WAN
Every negative label with a quote, up to three, then the highest-weighted positives, up to three. Six of eight in this category shown.
“Avoid ... Prisma SD-WAN due to quality, support, or flexibility concerns.” Mistral Small · negative prompt · hard negative
“Prisma SD-WAN is also mentioned as a platform to avoid” Llama 4 Maverick · negative prompt · hard negative
“strong products, but they skew more toward enterprise or converged SASE use cases than a straightforward mid-market recommendation” Perplexity Sonar · direct prompt · soft negative
“Prisma SD-WAN is the best pick if you're an enterprise team that wants cloud-delivered, application-aware routing tied to unified Prisma SASE security governance” Muse Glimmer 30B · comparative prompt · first choice
“my default recommendation would be Palo Alto Networks Prisma SD-WAN” GPT-5.4 mini · paraphrase prompt · first choice
“If you are a cloud-first enterprise prioritizing deep application visibility, AIOps, and premium cloud security, choose Palo Alto Networks.” Gemini 3.5 Flash · comparative prompt · alternative
Also compared
Fortinet Secure SD-WAN vs Cato SASE CloudFortinet Secure SD-WAN vs Palo Alto Networks Prisma SD-WANCisco Meraki SD-WAN vs Cato SASE CloudCisco Meraki SD-WAN vs Palo Alto Networks Prisma SD-WANCisco Catalyst SD-WAN vs Cato SASE CloudCisco Catalyst SD-WAN vs Palo Alto Networks Prisma SD-WANCato SASE Cloud vs HPE Aruba EdgeConnectCato SASE Cloud vs VMware VeloCloud SD-WANHPE Aruba EdgeConnect vs Palo Alto Networks Prisma SD-WANVMware VeloCloud SD-WAN vs Palo Alto Networks Prisma SD-WANAll twenty-one head-to-head pages and the full SD-WAN standing
Comparisons are drawn for the top eight products in each category, each against each. The output is the models' output; nothing here is a recommendation by the index.