CISO Tribune

Vendor comparison · 2 companies

Cato Networks vs Cloudflare

Cato Networks sells the Cato SASE Cloud, a SASE platform built as a global cloud with a single-pass engine, a single data lake and single policy enforcement. Cloudflare sells one platform for apps, agents and workforce. CISO Tribune files both under SASE and SSE. This page sets the two records side by side: what each sells, where it is based, who owns and funds it, the customers it names and its recent news, each fact numbered to its source.

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  • Cato Networks
  • Cloudflare
Cato Networks vs Cloudflare: Products, Customers and Funding Compared
Cato NetworksCato Networks sells the Cato SASE Cloud, a SASE platform built as a global cloud with a single-pass engine, a single data lake and single policy enforcement.catonetworks.comCloudflareCloudflare sells one platform for apps, agents and workforce.cloudflare.com
What it sells
  • Cato SASE Cloud[5]A global cloud with a single-pass engine, a single data lake and single policy enforcement.
  • Cato AI Security[1][5]Secures and governs AI interactions, from third-party AI usage to homegrown AI applications and agents.
  • Cato DLP[11]Data loss prevention with a catalog of 350+ pre-defined data types.
  • DNS Security[13]Inspects all DNS traffic and blocks requests to malicious destinations before a connection is made.
  • DDoS Protection[11][12][13][25][26]DDoS protection backed by 500 Tbps of network capacity.
  • Magic Transit[12][13]DDoS protection for networks at layers 3 and 4.
  • Spectrum[12][13]DDoS protection for TCP/UDP applications.
  • Bot Management[11][21][22][25]Custom machine learning models for each bot management customer.
  • RealtimeKit[24]A toolkit for real-time audio and video communication.
Categories
Headquarters
Tel Aviv, Israel[3]San Francisco, United States[3][28]
Founded
Not stated on its pages2009[4]
Ownership and funding
Privately held[1][2][4][5][8][11]Public (NYSE: NET)[2][10][19][20][28][31][32]
Named customers
Not stated on its pages
  • Canva[5]
  • Discord[6]
  • Shopify[7]
  • Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory[8]
Recent news
  • October 27, 2026Cato Networks launched Cato AI Endpoint, an endpoint client for discovering AI use, protecting sensitive data and enforcing AI policies across browsers, desktop applications and local agents.[16]
  • August 3, 2026Cato Networks launched Cato Agentic Threat Prevention, a capability using autonomous agents to predict likely attack paths and personalize protections for each customer environment.[17]
  • October 9, 2026Cloudflare announced that the Deno team is joining the company, with the stated aim of simplifying self-hosting of Workers and Durable Objects.[18]
  • August 6, 2026Cloudflare reported second-quarter 2026 revenue of $696.1 million, up 36% year over year.[9]
  • June 4, 2026Cloudflare acquired VoidZero, the open source company behind the Vite JavaScript build tooling ecosystem.[10]
  • May 7, 2026Cloudflare reported first-quarter 2026 revenue of $639.8 million, up 34% year over year.[2]
  • April 14, 2026Cloudflare announced Cloudflare Mesh, a private networking solution built for AI agents.[32]
G2 and Gartner Peer Insights
  • G2: listed, seen November 4, 2026[4]
  • Gartner Peer Insights: Not stated on its pages
  • G2: Not stated on its pages
  • Gartner Peer Insights: listed, seen November 3, 2026[20]
Who it fits
From its own pages, Cato Networks sells mainly to organizations that want to replace point products with a single platform for networking, security and access. Cato Networks says organizations can start with a capability such as SD-WAN, SSE or ZTNA and expand over time. Cato Networks says its managed services let teams choose how much to hand off, from co-managed to fully managed. For data protection, Cato Networks says its DLP is designed for organizations that need to protect sensitive data across distributed users, multiple locations and cloud environments. Cato Networks describes that DLP as suited for security and IT teams looking to consolidate data protection into a single platform.From its own pages, Cloudflare sells to organizations from startups to the world's largest enterprises. Cloudflare describes its security platform as serving organizations from startup to enterprise. Cloudflare addresses developers building frontend applications, from static sites to complex web apps. Cloudflare works with managed service partners that serve small to midsize organizations. Cloudflare works with global partners serving the Large Enterprise segment.
Last verified
November 2, 2026October 10, 2026

Where they overlap

  • Cato Networks and Cloudflare are both filed under SASE and SSE.

Where they differ, field by field

  • Cato Networks's primary category is SASE and SSE; Cloudflare's is DDoS protection.
  • Cato Networks is also filed under Zero trust network access and Workforce AI usage security. Cloudflare is also filed under WAF and WAAP and DNS security.
  • Cato Networks lists Cato SASE Cloud, Cato AI Security, Cato DLP and DNS Security. Cloudflare lists DDoS Protection, Magic Transit, Spectrum, Bot Management and RealtimeKit.
  • Cato Networks is headquartered in Tel Aviv, Israel. Cloudflare is headquartered in San Francisco, United States.
  • Cloudflare was founded in 2009.
  • Cato Networks is privately held. Cloudflare is a public company listed on NYSE as NET.
  • Cloudflare publicly names Canva, Discord, Shopify and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory.

What it sells: Cato Networks

What Cato SASE Cloud does[5]
Cato's SASE platform converges networking, security and access into a single, global, AI-powered cloud service. Thousands of SPACEs run on bare-metal compute across worldwide PoPs, interconnected by tier-1 carriers.
What Cato AI Security does[1][5]
Cato AI Security secures and governs all AI interactions, from sanctioned third-party AI usage to runtime protection of homegrown AI applications and AI agents. Cato Networks says AI security can be deployed independently to protect AI usage and AI agents across the organization.
What Cato DLP does[11]
Cato DLP offers a catalog of 350+ pre-defined data types covering common use cases for sensitive data, PII, and compliance. The Cato DLP engine inspects all traffic to private applications and SaaS apps. Cato DLP offers inline scanning and policy enforcement tailored for GenAI traffic such as ChatGPT.
What DNS Security does[13]
Cato DNS Security inspects all DNS traffic in real time to prevent malicious activity hiding within the protocol. It protects against phishing, domain squatting, website impersonation, DNS tunneling and crypto-mining activity.

What it sells: Cloudflare

What DDoS Protection does[11][12][13][25][26]
Cloudflare says its DDoS protection absorbs the largest attacks with 500 Tbps of network capacity. Cloudflare offers 24/7 email and phone support, including an Under Attack hotline.
What Spectrum does[12][13]
Cloudflare Spectrum provides DDoS protection for TCP/UDP applications. Spectrum covers applications built with any protocols, including custom protocols.
What Bot Management does[11][21][22][25]
Cloudflare built a platform to deploy custom machine learning models for every bot management customer. Super Bot Fight Mode includes bot protection for Pro, Business and all Enterprise customers.
What RealtimeKit does[24]
RealtimeKit handles WebRTC complexities, connection management and global routing. RealtimeKit Agents supports building voice bots, interactive assistants and automated support systems.

Questions about Cato Networks and Cloudflare

What do Cato Networks and Cloudflare sell?
Cato Networks sells Cato SASE Cloud, Cato AI Security, Cato DLP and DNS Security. Cloudflare sells DDoS Protection, Magic Transit, Spectrum, Bot Management and RealtimeKit.
Are Cato Networks and Cloudflare in the same category?
They share SASE and SSE. Cato Networks's primary category is SASE and SSE and Cloudflare's is DDoS protection.
Where are Cato Networks and Cloudflare headquartered?
Cato Networks is headquartered in Tel Aviv, Israel. Cloudflare is headquartered in San Francisco, United States.
When were Cato Networks and Cloudflare founded?
Cloudflare was founded in 2009.
Who owns Cato Networks and Cloudflare?
Cato Networks is privately held. Cloudflare is a public company listed on NYSE as NET.
Which customers do Cato Networks and Cloudflare name?
Cloudflare publicly names Canva, Discord, Shopify and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory.
Who are Cato Networks and Cloudflare sold to?
From its own pages, Cato Networks sells mainly to organizations that want to replace point products with a single platform for networking, security and access. From its own pages, Cloudflare sells to organizations from startups to the world's largest enterprises.
What have Cato Networks and Cloudflare announced recently?
October 27, 2026: Cato Networks launched Cato AI Endpoint, an endpoint client for discovering AI use, protecting sensitive data and enforcing AI policies across browsers, desktop applications and local agents. October 9, 2026: Cloudflare announced that the Deno team is joining the company, with the stated aim of simplifying self-hosting of Workers and Durable Objects.

About Cato Networks

Cato Networks sells the Cato SASE Cloud, a SASE platform built as a global cloud with a single-pass engine, a single data lake and single policy enforcement. Cato Networks describes its SASE platform as converging networking, security and access into a single, global, AI-powered cloud service. Cato Networks states that the platform delivers secure, optimized access from distributed points of presence close to users and business resources.[15]

Cato Networks states that day-to-day planning, scaling and maintenance depend on specialized, hard-to-find expertise. In the company's account, controls differ across users, sites, datacenters and cloud, leaving gaps as applications migrate. Cato Networks positions its platform as a replacement for point products, with a single policy and console running on an SLA-backed global backbone.[6][7]

The core of the platform is the Single Pass Cloud Engine, called SPACE. SPACE converges NGFW, threat prevention, and CASB, DLP and ZTNA into one cloud-native stack. Thousands of SPACEs run on bare-metal compute across worldwide PoPs, interconnected by tier-1 carriers. Every inspected flow feeds network, device, user, app and data context into one open data lake that is accessible through the Cato API. Cato Networks says NGFW, CASB, DLP, ZTNA, threat prevention and AI controls all run on a single policy engine.[6]

On the networking side, Cato Networks carries SD-WAN traffic over a private global backbone. Cato Networks connects sites to the Cato Cloud, where they are managed centrally. For access, Cato Networks offers adaptive, risk-based, zero-trust access to private applications located on-premises or in the cloud. The access methods include ZTNA Client, Enterprise Browser, Browser Extension and Clientless Portal. Cato Networks says these access methods can coexist with current access solutions and be selectively deployed to secure some or all application access.

Cato Networks discovers local, custom and managed agents across the enterprise, including their tools, MCP servers, data access and execution paths. Cato Networks controls prompts, responses, tool calls and tool actions before agents create business impact. Cato Networks says AI security can be deployed independently to protect AI usage and AI agents across the organization. Organizations can run AI Security for Applications on-prem or in their own cloud with AI Security Outposts.[9][10]

Other modules run on the same platform. Cato DLP offers a catalog of 350+ pre-defined data types covering common use cases for sensitive data, PII, and compliance. The Cato DLP engine inspects all traffic to private applications and SaaS apps. Cato EPP is fully managed through the Cato Management Application. Cato DNS Security inspects all DNS traffic in real time to prevent malicious activity hiding within the protocol, and it blocks DNS requests to malicious destinations before a connection is ever made. The Cato Management Application unifies configuration, monitoring and analytics in a single pane of glass.[12][13][14]

Cato Networks offers MDR, which delivers zero-footprint detection of persistent threats with no agents or appliances. Cato Networks monitors last-mile ISPs 24×7 at every site. On an outage or performance degradation, Cato Networks works with the ISP to resolve it. For management, customers can choose Cato or a qualified partner to help manage the networking and security environment. For site deployment, the zero-touch Cato Socket deploys quickly at customer premises, by the customer or with Cato and partner remote or on-site support. Customers can self-manage, co-manage with a partner and Cato, or hand over complete hands-free operations.[15]

On deployment, Cato Networks says zero-touch provisioning and self-service client rollout enable selective deployment by use case, geography, or org unit. Cato Networks says its modular platform coexists with existing infrastructure, allowing gradual adoption. Cato Networks says organizations can start with a specific capability such as SD-WAN, SSE, or ZTNA and expand over time without rearchitecting the environment.[6][12][13][14][15]

Cato Networks on the record

Sources

Cato Networks full record

  1. [1]catonetworks.comCato Networks · catonetworks.com · undated page, accessed September 27, 2026 · Tier A
  2. [2]Cato raises 359 millionCato Networks · catonetworks.com · published June 30, 2025 · Tier A
  3. [3]Cato continues expansion with new global headquartersCato Networks · catonetworks.com · published June 2, 2024 · Tier A
  4. [4]Cato SASE Cloud Reviews 2026: Details, Pricing, & Features | G2G2 · undated page, accessed October 23, 2026 · Tier C
  5. [5]Cato Networks: World’s Leading Single-Vendor SASE PlatformCato Networks · undated page, accessed November 4, 2026 · Tier A
  6. [6]Platform Architecture | Cato NetworksCato Networks · undated page, accessed November 4, 2026 · Tier A
  7. [7]SASE Platform | Cato NetworksCato Networks · undated page, accessed November 4, 2026 · Tier A
  8. [8]Software Defined WAN (SD-WAN) | Cato NetworksCato Networks · undated page, accessed November 4, 2026 · Tier A
  9. [9]Agentic AI Security | Cato NetworksCato Networks · undated page, accessed November 4, 2026 · Tier A
  10. [10]AI Security | Cato NetworksCato Networks · undated page, accessed November 4, 2026 · Tier A
  11. [11]Data Loss Prevention (DLP) | Cato NetworksCato Networks · undated page, accessed November 4, 2026 · Tier A
  12. [12]Endpoint Protection (EPP) | Cato NetworksCato Networks · undated page, accessed November 4, 2026 · Tier A
  13. [13]DNS Security | Cato NetworksCato Networks · undated page, accessed November 4, 2026 · Tier A
  14. [14]Cato Management Application (CMA) | Cato NetworksCato Networks · undated page, accessed November 4, 2026 · Tier A
  15. [15]Cato Managed Services | Cato NetworksCato Networks · undated page, accessed November 4, 2026 · Tier A
  16. [16]Cato Networks Launches Cato AI Endpoint to Secure AI Use Beyond the BrowserCato Networks · published October 27, 2026 · Tier A
  17. [17]Cato Networks Launches Agentic Threat Prevention to Predict and Mitigate AI-Assisted AttacksCato Networks · published August 3, 2026 · Tier A

Cloudflare full record

  1. [1]cloudflare.comCloudflare · cloudflare.com · undated page, accessed September 27, 2026 · Tier A
  2. [2]Cloudflare announces first quarter 2026 financial resultsCloudflare · cloudflare.com · published May 7, 2026 · Tier A
  3. [3]About overviewCloudflare · cloudflare.com · undated page, accessed September 27, 2026 · Tier A
  4. [4]Technologys promise def con china 1 0 highlightsCloudflare · blog.cloudflare.com · published June 5, 2019 · Tier A
  5. [5]CanvaCloudflare · cloudflare.com · undated page, accessed October 10, 2026 · Tier A
  6. [6]DiscordCloudflare · cloudflare.com · undated page, accessed October 10, 2026 · Tier A
  7. [7]ShopifyCloudflare · cloudflare.com · undated page, accessed October 10, 2026 · Tier A
  8. [8]Lawrence berkeley national laboratoryCloudflare · cloudflare.com · undated page, accessed October 10, 2026 · Tier A
  9. [9]Cloudflare announces second quarter 2026 financial resultsCloudflare · cloudflare.com · published August 6, 2026 · Tier A
  10. [10]Cloudflare acquires voidzero to build the future of the ai native webCloudflare · cloudflare.com · published June 4, 2026 · Tier A
  11. [11]Cloudflare: Build for the agent eraCloudflare · undated page, accessed October 23, 2026 · Tier A
  12. [12]Cloudflare DDoS Protection & Mitigation SolutionsCloudflare · undated page, accessed October 23, 2026 · Tier A
  13. [13]Magic Transit - Unmatched DDoS Protection for NetworksCloudflare · undated page, accessed October 23, 2026 · Tier A
  14. [14]US Privacy Law Compliance FAQs | CloudflareCloudflare · undated page, accessed October 23, 2026 · Tier A
  15. [15]Cloudflare Stream - All-in-one Video PlatformCloudflare · undated page, accessed October 23, 2026 · Tier A
  16. [16]Cloudflare Artifacts - Versioned Git-compatible storage for agentsCloudflare · undated page, accessed October 23, 2026 · Tier A
  17. [17]Cloudflare AI Search - Automatic RAG infrastructure and queryingCloudflare · undated page, accessed October 23, 2026 · Tier A
  18. [18]Posts tagged "Acquisitions" — Cloudflare BlogCloudflare Blog · published October 9, 2026 · Tier A
  19. [19]Cloudflare Application Security and Performance Reviews 2026 - G2G2 · undated page, accessed October 23, 2026 · Tier C
  20. [20]Cloudflare Reviews, Ratings & Features 2026 | Gartner Peer InsightsGartner Peer Insights · undated page, accessed October 23, 2026 · Tier C
  21. [21]Web Security Platform - WAF, DDoS Protection, Bot ManagementCloudflare · undated page, accessed November 3, 2026 · Tier A
  22. [22]Building unique, per-customer defenses against advanced bot threats in the AI era | Cloudflare BlogCloudflare Blog · undated page, accessed November 3, 2026 · Tier A
  23. [23]Frontend Development PlatformCloudflare · undated page, accessed November 3, 2026 · Tier A
  24. [24]Cloudflare RealtimeKit - Voice, Video & Multimodal AppsCloudflare · undated page, accessed November 3, 2026 · Tier A
  25. [25]Shopify & Cloudflare | Customer StoryCloudflare · undated page, accessed November 3, 2026 · Tier A
  26. [26]Cloudflare and Rackspace Technology Expand Partnership with Managed Services | Cloudflare BlogCloudflare Blog · undated page, accessed November 3, 2026 · Tier A
  27. [27]Cloudflare Partner Program Now Supports SASE & Zero Trust Managed Services | Cloudflare BlogCloudflare Blog · undated page, accessed November 3, 2026 · Tier A
  28. [28]About | Cloudflare RadarCloudflare Radar · undated page, accessed November 3, 2026 · Tier A
  29. [29]Cloudflare to Acquire Replicate to Build the Most Seamless AI Cloud for DevelopersCloudflare · published November 17, 2025 · Tier A
  30. [30]Cloudflare Acquires Astro to Accelerate the Future of High-Performance Web DevelopmentCloudflare · published January 16, 2026 · Tier A
  31. [31]Cloudflare Strengthens Content Offering to AI Companies with Acquisition of Human NativeCloudflare · published January 15, 2026 · Tier A
  32. [32]Cloudflare Launches Mesh to Secure the AI Agent LifecycleCloudflare · published April 14, 2026 · Tier A

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