Palo Alto Networks vs Tailscale

PAN GlobalProtect vs Tailscale

Ditch your legacy SSL VPN for a modern mesh network. Don't let your Palo Alto Networks contract stop you. We'll help cover it if you're ready to switch.

Let’s chat about switching

Here’s how businesses unlock value with Tailscale

>1000

Hours saved by Corelight annually from fewer VPN connectivity issues

25x

Headcount growth at Cribl without dedicated IT resources for config or onboarding

>90%

Reduction in support tickets for Instacart from 10 per week, saving up to 2 hours each

GlobalProtect won’t get you far as a legacy SSL VPN

While SSL and IPsec are sound protocols for encryption, they also limit GlobalProtect’s throughput. This is compounded by its legacy design that necessitates centralized gateways. Tailscale’s modern mesh has better performance and cost-savings, while being zero-config and can be set up in minutes.

Diagram of latency and throughput inprovement

Tailscale is secure out of the box, GlobalProtect is error-prone

GlobalProtect’s centralized VPN model leads to a broad attack surface compounded by its complex policy setup. Attackers are frequently targeting the SSL/TLS protocol, looking to exploit unpatched vulnerabilities. One wrong configuration can block legitimate traffic, or worse, allow bad actors.

Stuck in a Palo Alto contract? We’ll help cover it.

Tailscale's secure, zero-config access is simple to manage and quick to deploy.

Talk to us about switching

Why enterprises are replacing GlobalProtect with Tailscale

Identity-based access control

Manage access by user, team, or group — not static IPs or rigid network zones. Define policies that match how your organization actually works.

Works with your IdP

Integrate with Okta, Azure AD, Google Workspace, or any OIDC provider. No need to manage external auth servers, sync jobs, or local user databases.

No open ports or firewall boxes

Connects devices through encrypted tunnels without exposing services, opening firewall ports, or relying on appliances vulnerable to zero-day exploits.

Easy onboarding and offboarding

Provision and deprovision access instantly with SCIM, ACL groups, and SSO. No sync delays, user drift, or cert revocations.

Audit-ready access policies

Define access in version-controlled JSON. Track every change, roll back mistakes, and simplify security reviews with GitOps-style workflows.

Fewer VPN-related tickets

Tailscale runs quietly in the background — no firmware updates, downtimes, or breach responses. Less support overhead for your team.

Ready to move to Tailscale?

Get seamless multi-cloud, hybrid, and on-prem connectivity with Tailscale. Deploy in minutes and see how Tailscale just works.