Zero trust network access · October 2026 Edition
NordLayer vs Zscaler Private Access
One of fourteen models named NordLayer first on the direct prompt; one named Zscaler Private Access. NordLayer was named by nine of the fourteen models and Zscaler Private Access by fourteen and NordLayer carries 18 labels and Zscaler Private Access 51, so the shares are not directly comparable.
Named in four categories this edition.
Named in three categories this edition.
First-choice share3%3%Of first choices across the direct, paraphrase, budget and scale prompts, 0 to 100.
Negative rate11%45%Negative labels as a share of the product's labels, 0 to 100.
Rank in category#4#6A position in a field of 11; printed, not drawn.
Labels1851A count; the two differ.
The two percentage rows are drawn on one 0 to 100 track, NordLayer reading right to left. Rank and label count are printed, not drawn.Cloudflare One was named alongside these two in thirteen of the fourteen direct answers. Twingate vs NordLayer · Twingate vs Zscaler Private Access · Cloudflare One vs NordLayer
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 zero trust network access page.
By framing
How many of the fourteen models made each the first choice, per way of asking, and how many argued against it.
NordLayerFirst choices, of fourteen modelsZscaler Private Access
Direct115 against Zscaler Private Access
Paraphrase111 against NordLayer · 5 against Zscaler Private Access
Comparative08
Budget-constrained001 against NordLayer · 1 against Zscaler Private Access
Scale-constrained004 against Zscaler Private Access
Negative008 against Zscaler Private Access
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.
Every model, every framing
The eighty-four answers behind the chart above, one cell each: where NordLayer and Zscaler Private Access 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 | | | | |
NordLayer Zscaler Private Access first choice named as an alternative argued againstblank: not namedEach cell is one answer, NordLayer on the left and Zscaler Private Access on the right.The direct prompt
The plain question, one answer per model, grouped by where NordLayer and Zscaler Private Access stood in it.
NordLayer first, Zscaler Private Access not the choice
1 of 14 modelsZscaler Private Access was named in the answer but not as the choice, or not at all.Perplexity SonarCloudflare One, NordLayer alternatives: Cato Networks, Cisco Secure Access, Portnox
Zscaler Private Access first, NordLayer not the choice
1 of 14 modelsNordLayer was named in the answer but not as the choice, or not at all.GPT-5.4 miniZscaler Private Access alternatives: Cloudflare One, Netskope One SSE, Prisma Access
Neither was the first choice, one was named
4 of 14 modelsThe answer put something else first and named one of the two as an alternative.Claude Haiku 4.5Cato Networks, Twingate alternatives: Cloudflare One, NordLayer
Mistral SmallCheck Point Harmony SASE, Netskope Private Access alternatives: Cloudflare One, Twingate, Zscaler Private Access
DeepSeek V4 FlashCloudflare One, Twingate alternatives: Cato Networks, Check Point Harmony SASE, NordLayer
Kimi K2Cloudflare One, Twingate alternatives: Cato Networks, Netskope Private Access, NordLayer, Zscaler Private Access
Neither was named
8 of 14 modelsThe answer made no first choice from these two in this category.Gemini 3.5 FlashTwingate alternatives: Cato Networks, Check Point Harmony SASE, Cloudflare One, Microsoft Entra Private Access
Grok 4.1 FastCloudflare One, Twingate alternatives: Cato Networks, Microsoft Entra Private Access, OpenVPN CloudConnexa
Llama 4 MaverickCato Networks alternatives: Check Point Harmony SASE, OpenVPN CloudConnexa
Qwen 3.7 FlashTwingate alternatives: Cloudflare One, Fortinet Universal ZTNA
GLM 4.7 FlashXCato Networks alternatives: Check Point Harmony SASE, Cloudflare One, Fortinet FortiZTNA
MiniMax M2.5Cato Networks, Cloudflare One alternatives: Axis Security, Banyan Security, OpenVPN CloudConnexa
GPT-6 LunaCloudflare One alternatives: Microsoft Entra Private Access, Twingate
Muse Glimmer 30BCloudflare One, Twingate alternatives: Cato Networks, Check Point Harmony SASE, Fortinet Universal ZTNA
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
Level: the same share of first choices.
NordLayer0%#6 of 10Zscaler Private Access0%#10 of 10Mid-marketThe figures above
Level: the same share of first choices.
NordLayer3%#4 of 11Zscaler Private Access3%#6 of 11Enterprise
Zscaler Private Access leads by fifty-three points.
Zscaler Private Access53%#1 of 8NordLayer0%#– of 8What the models said about NordLayer
Every negative label with a quote, up to three, then the highest-weighted positives, up to three. Five of six in this category shown.
“More of a "business VPN with ZTNA features" than a pure zero trust architecture” DeepSeek V4 Flash · paraphrase prompt · soft negative
“Affordable but no robust free tier.” Grok 4.1 Fast · budget prompt · soft negative
“NordLayer is the safest pick if you want the simplest mid-market VPN replacement with fast onboarding” Perplexity Sonar · direct prompt · first choice
“I'd lean toward Twingate or NordLayer” Kimi K2 · paraphrase prompt · first choice
“A strong option for mid-sized organizations wanting zero trust access controls without extensive infrastructure changes” Claude Haiku 4.5 · direct prompt · alternative
What the models said about Zscaler Private Access
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 Zscaler for mid-market: It's powerful but designed for Fortune 500 scale—complex, expensive, and often overkill” Kimi K2 · paraphrase prompt · hard negative
“ZTNA Vendors to Approach with Caution ... Zscaler ... CVE-2025-54982: A SAML authentication bypass” DeepSeek V4 Flash · negative prompt · hard negative
“CVE-2025-54982: SAML authentication bypass due to failure to validate signed assertions” Kimi K2 · negative prompt · hard negative
“Zscaler Private Access is the market-leading ZTNA solution, delivering inside-out connectivity that never exposes applications to the internet” Claude Haiku 4.5 · comparative prompt · first choice
“Complex, global enterprise needing high compliance | Zscaler Private Access | Robust, highly certified, and built for massive scale.” Gemini 3.5 Flash · comparative prompt · first choice
“Zscaler is often treated as the canonical pure-play ZTNA vendor... Choose Zscaler if you want a widely recognized ZTNA leader” GPT-5.4 mini · comparative prompt · first choice
Also compared
Twingate vs NordLayerTwingate vs Zscaler Private AccessCloudflare One vs NordLayerCloudflare One vs Zscaler Private AccessCato Networks vs NordLayerCato Networks vs Zscaler Private AccessNordLayer vs OpenVPN CloudConnexaNordLayer vs TailscaleNordLayer vs Check Point Harmony SASEOpenVPN CloudConnexa vs Zscaler Private AccessZscaler Private Access vs TailscaleZscaler Private Access vs Check Point Harmony SASEAll twenty-eight head-to-head pages and the full ZTNA 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.