Palo Alto Networks Pricing 2026: Ultimate Guide for Security Products

Palo Alto Networks publishes prices for its cloud firewalls in October 2026: Cloud NGFW for AWS starts at $1.50 per hour, and the VM-Series virtual firewall sells on AWS Marketplace from $1.35 per hour. PA-Series hardware firewalls, Prisma Access, Cortex Cloud, Cortex XDR, and Cortex XSOAR are sold by quote.

This guide shows what each Palo Alto Networks product costs where a price is published, how Palo Alto licenses its firewalls and threat prevention subscriptions, how its prices compare with Fortinet, Cisco, Zscaler, and CrowdStrike, and the fees that sit outside the license.

Disclaimer: the figures below come from Palo Alto Networks’ own pages and documentation and from official AWS Marketplace listings, read in October 2026. Most Palo Alto products are priced by quote, so treat every figure here as a starting point for that conversation.

How Much Does Palo Alto Networks Cost?

Palo Alto Networks publishes no price list for its hardware firewalls or for its Prisma and Cortex platforms. The PA-Series hardware page and the Cortex product pages lead to a demo or sales request. The published figures belong to the software firewalls sold through cloud marketplaces, where you can see the hourly rate before you buy.

A quote for the rest of the portfolio depends on how many firewalls you run and how much traffic they inspect, which security subscriptions you add, how many users and sites Prisma Access covers, how many endpoints Cortex XDR protects, and which support tier you choose. The sections below explain each of those lines, so you can check a quote item by item.

Palo Alto Networks Pricing Comparison Table

The table lists the main Palo Alto Networks products, the price Palo Alto or its official marketplace listing publishes, and how each product is licensed.

Pricing varies with your organization’s size, feature requirements, and contract terms, so ask Palo Alto Networks or an authorized reseller for a quote built on your own numbers.

A Palo Alto quote covers firewalls, subscriptions, and support, and none of those lines puts an analyst on the alerts at 2 a.m. UnderDefense Agentic AI SOC works on top of the Palo Alto stack you already run: AI agents investigate each alert from Cortex XDR and your firewalls, and analysts on shift 24/7 decide what happens next.

The rest of this guide takes each product line in turn: what Palo Alto publishes, what it sells by quote, and the subscriptions and support that sit on top of the hardware.

Palo Alto Networks Products Overview

Palo Alto Networks sells security products across the network, cloud, endpoint, and security operations, from branch-office firewalls to a full security operations platform. These are its key product lines.

1. Next-Generation Firewalls (NGFWs). Palo Alto’s NGFWs identify applications, users, and content in the traffic they inspect, and add intrusion prevention, malware analysis, and URL filtering through subscriptions. They come as PA-Series hardware, as VM-Series and CN-Series software firewalls, and as Cloud NGFW, a firewall service Palo Alto runs for you in public clouds such as AWS.

2. Prisma Access. Prisma Access is Palo Alto’s Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) product. It secures remote users and branch offices with zero trust network access (ZTNA), a secure web gateway (SWG), a cloud access security broker (CASB), remote browser isolation, and firewall as a service, delivered from the cloud.

3. Cortex Cloud (formerly Prisma Cloud). Cortex Cloud is Palo Alto’s cloud-native application protection platform (CNAPP). Palo Alto introduced it in February 2025 as the next version of Prisma Cloud, adding cloud detection and response on the Cortex platform. It covers cloud security posture management (CSPM), workload protection, Kubernetes and container security, and application security.

4. Cortex XDR. Cortex XDR is Palo Alto’s extended detection and response product. It connects data from endpoint, network, cloud, identity, and email sources to detect, investigate, and respond to attacks.

5. Cortex XSOAR. Cortex XSOAR is Palo Alto’s security orchestration, automation, and response (SOAR) product. It automates security operations, incident response, and threat intelligence management, so SOC teams can respond to threats faster with automated playbooks.

Palo Alto’s NGFW Pricing and Features

Palo Alto Networks publishes no prices for its PA-Series hardware firewalls. Its hardware lineup in October 2026 runs from the PA-500 Series for branches and small offices through the PA-1500, PA-3500, and PA-5500 Series to the modular PA-7500 Series for service providers and hyperscale data centers, plus the rugged PA-50R Series. Ask for every appliance quote to list its subscriptions and support tier as separate lines.

The software firewalls carry public prices. On AWS Marketplace, the VM-Series listing with Advanced Security subscriptions costs from $1.35 per hour on a c5d.large instance and $1.71 per hour on the recommended c5n.xlarge, and it includes 24×7 Premium Support. Palo Alto’s documentation prices Cloud NGFW for AWS at $1.50 per hour for up to 3 availability zones, plus $0.065 per GB for the first 15 TB of traffic each month.

Palo Alto Licensing: Hardware vs Virtual Firewalls

Palo Alto licenses hardware and software firewalls differently, and the difference shapes the whole budget. A PA-Series appliance is a purchase, quoted together with the subscriptions and the support tier for that box. Software firewalls are licensed in one of three ways:

1. Pay-as-you-go hourly rates on a cloud marketplace, as in the VM-Series and Cloud NGFW listings above.
2. Software NGFW credits, a term-based pool that funds VM-Series and CN-Series firewalls, security subscriptions, and virtual Panorama.
3. Credit contracts for Cloud NGFW, bought upfront on AWS Marketplace for one, two, or three years.

Software NGFW credits run for any term from 1 to 5 years, and both allocated and unallocated credits expire at the end of it. You spend them through deployment profiles. Fixed vCPU profiles follow a VM-Series model and service bundle, while flexible profiles let you change the vCPU count, up to 64, and add or remove services. Palo Alto’s Software NGFW Credit Estimator calculates the credits a profile needs.

Palo Alto Threat Prevention License

Threat prevention on a Palo Alto firewall is a subscription, one of the company’s Cloud-Delivered Security Services (CDSS), and it is licensed on top of the firewall itself. The current version, Advanced Threat Prevention, is Palo Alto’s intrusion prevention service: it blocks exploits, malware, spyware, and command-and-control traffic, and Palo Alto says it stops zero-day attacks inline.

Cloud NGFW for AWS is the one place where Palo Alto publishes a list price for the license. Its documentation, read in October 2026, gives these add-on rates for up to 3 availability zones, with traffic charges falling at higher monthly volumes.

On VM-Series, the AWS Marketplace pay-as-you-go listing above bundles Advanced Threat Prevention with Advanced URL Filtering, Advanced WildFire, and DNS Security. With Software NGFW credits, each subscription you add to a deployment profile draws more credits from the pool, and on PA-Series hardware the threat prevention license is priced in the appliance quote.

Key Features of Palo Alto’s NGFWs:

Palo Alto’s NGFWs build their security on a few core technologies. Its main features are:

• App-ID identifies applications regardless of port, protocol, or encryption, for precise control over application use.
• User-ID maps IP addresses to user identities from enterprise directories, for user-based policies.
• Content-ID inspects traffic for malware, exploits, and other threats with signature, protocol, and anomaly analysis.
• SSL decryption inspects SSL and TLS traffic to find threats hidden in encrypted sessions.
• WildFire analyzes unknown files and links in a cloud sandbox and sends protections back to the firewall.
• Integrations with SIEMs, endpoint protection, and other security tools share firewall data across the stack.
• Models scale from small branch offices to large data centers and service provider networks.
• APIs and third-party integrations automate repetitive tasks in security operations.

Several of these, including Content-ID’s threat inspection and WildFire, depend on the subscriptions described above, so check that each one you plan to use is in the quote.

Pros of Palo Alto’s NGFWs:

The strengths buyers cite most come from visibility and central management:

• Layered threat prevention combines URL filtering, intrusion prevention, and WildFire threat intelligence.
• Granular visibility shows which applications, users, and threats are on the network.
• Panorama manages policies and monitors many firewalls from one interface.
• Stable, reliable operation keeps network protection consistent for critical operations.

The cons below come mostly from the same depth of features.

Cons of Palo Alto’s NGFWs:

Two limitations come up most often:

• The initial setup can be complex and take significant time.
• The firewalls can be expensive compared with other firewall options on the market.

The cost comparison and negotiation sections later in this guide address the second point directly.

Prisma Access Pricing and Features

Palo Alto Networks publishes no price for Prisma Access; its product page leads to a sales conversation. What Palo Alto does publish is how Prisma Access is licensed, which tells you what the quote will count.

Prisma Access is sold in three editions: Secure Web Gateway (secure internet access), ZTNA (secure access to private apps), and Enterprise (secure access to all apps). Palo Alto’s documentation defines the licensing unit for each deployment type:

• For mobile users, one unit is one mobile user, whether they connect through GlobalProtect, Explicit Proxy, or both.
• For remote networks such as branch offices, one unit is 1 Mbps of bandwidth.

Palo Alto tracks unique mobile users over the last 30 days and says it may enforce the user count more strictly if overages continue. When a license expires, the service keeps running for 15 days with the configuration locked, then shuts down.

Licenses That Come With Prisma Access

Prisma Access needs two more licenses, and both belong in your budget. Strata Logging Service is required, because Prisma Access stores its logs there, and it must sit in the same region as your Prisma Access instance. Strata Cloud Manager is also required: its Essentials tier is free with Prisma Access, and the Pro tier is a paid add-on.

Ask for both on the same quote as Prisma Access, with the logging capacity sized for the number of users and sites you plan to connect.

Cortex Cloud (Formerly Prisma Cloud) Pricing and Features

Cortex Cloud is the current name of Palo Alto’s cloud security platform. Palo Alto introduced it on February 13, 2025 as the next version of Prisma Cloud, merging Prisma Cloud with Cortex cloud detection and response, and said existing Prisma Cloud customers would upgrade to it. The Prisma Cloud product page is still live, so you will see both names in quotes and documentation.

Palo Alto publishes no price for Cortex Cloud or Prisma Cloud, and no current Palo Alto listing for either appears on AWS Marketplace. Both are sold by quote, sized to the cloud resources you protect and the modules you choose.

Key Features of Cortex Cloud:

Cortex Cloud protects applications and cloud infrastructure from code through runtime. Its main features are:

• Cloud security posture management (CSPM) finds misconfigurations and compliance violations across cloud accounts.
• Cloud workload protection secures hosts, containers, serverless functions, and APIs at runtime.
• Cloud detection and response uses the Cortex XDR agent to stop attacks on cloud workloads as they run.
• Code-to-cloud remediation sends fixes to the cloud or to the codebase where the issue started.
• Application security brings together findings from native and third-party scanners across the software lifecycle.
• Risk prioritization ranks findings by their real exposure, so teams fix the riskiest first.

Each module adds to the quote, so list the ones you need before the first pricing call.

Pros of Cortex Cloud:

The platform’s main advantages are breadth and integration:

• It covers the cloud-native stack, from IaaS and PaaS to containers, serverless, and APIs.
• It works across AWS, Azure, Google Cloud, and hybrid environments.
• Automated policies and risk prioritization cut the manual work of reviewing findings.
• Prebuilt compliance frameworks help prepare for audits.
• It integrates with CI/CD pipelines, SIEMs, and tools such as Splunk, AWS Security Hub, and ServiceNow.

The cons below are the cost of that breadth.

Cons of Cortex Cloud:

Four limitations come up most often:

• Pricing can be expensive for enterprises with large cloud environments.
• Configuring policies and integrations takes expertise and time.
• Heavy scanning and monitoring can add load to cloud resources.
• The range of features means a steep learning curve and training.

Budget for the team time to configure it, alongside the license.

Cortex XDR Pricing and Features

Palo Alto Networks publishes no price for Cortex XDR, and its product page leads to a demo request. Expect the quote to depend on the number of endpoints you protect, the other data sources you connect, how long you keep the data, and the add-ons you choose.

Key Features of Cortex XDR:

Cortex XDR brings endpoint protection and detection across several data sources into one product. Its main features are:

• Behavioral analytics profile user and entity behavior to detect anomalies that point to advanced threats.
• Data from endpoints, networks, cloud, identity, and email comes together in one place.
• Coordinated response actions contain and remediate threats across endpoints, networks, and cloud.
• Host firewall and disk encryption policies are configured centrally.
• Root cause analysis and attack sequence views speed up incident investigation.

Cortex XDR detects and raises the incidents; someone on your side still has to investigate and act on them.

Pros of Cortex XDR:

The strengths buyers cite most are visibility and investigation speed:

• Endpoint, network, and cloud data together give full visibility into an attack.
• Machine learning detects anomalies and prevents sophisticated threats.
• Automated containment and remediation actions shorten response time.
• A detailed attack timeline helps security teams investigate threats.
• Correlation across sources cuts false positives and security noise.
• Granular endpoint policies include firewall and disk encryption settings.

The cons below mostly concern cost and the skills it takes to run.

Cons of Cortex XDR:

Five limitations come up most often:

• Pricing can be expensive, especially with long data retention.
• Integrating and tuning security policies requires expertise.
• Security teams may need training to use the advanced features fully.
• Extensive logging and data collection can affect system performance.
• It works best inside the Palo Alto ecosystem, which matters if you run tools from many vendors.

If your stack mixes vendors, ask how each third-party data source is licensed before you sign.

Cortex XSOAR Pricing and Features

Palo Alto Networks publishes no price for Cortex XSOAR, and its product page leads to a demo request. The quote depends on the licensing model, the number of users and integrations, and how much of the platform you deploy. Palo Alto says XSOAR comes with more than 900 prebuilt integration and automation packs and a visual playbook editor for code-free automation.

Key Features of Cortex XSOAR:

Cortex XSOAR connects security tools and automates the response to incidents. Its main features are:

• Automation and orchestration run repetitive tasks and workflows across many security tools.
• Incident management tracks and resolves security incidents in one place.
• Threat intelligence management aggregates and normalizes feeds to enrich incidents.
• Prebuilt and custom playbooks standardize response procedures.
• Interactive dashboards and reports show security operations in real time.

Playbooks deliver their value only after someone builds and maintains them for your environment.

Pros of Cortex XSOAR:

The main advantages are reach and automation:

• Integrations with a wide range of security tools and systems.
• Automation of routine tasks and complex workflows.
• Faster detection and response, which limits the impact of incidents.
• An interface that simplifies managing security operations.

The cons below are the other side of a platform this broad.

Cons of Cortex XSOAR:

Four limitations come up most often:

• The platform can be expensive for organizations with limited budgets.
• Implementing and configuring it takes significant time and expertise.
• It may need substantial system resources to perform well.
• The range of features brings a learning curve.

Factor the build and maintenance time into the total cost of ownership.

Palo Alto vs Fortinet, Cisco, Zscaler, and CrowdStrike: Pricing Compared

Most security vendors sell their enterprise products by quote, so a fair comparison uses only what each vendor publishes. The figures below come from each vendor’s own pricing page or its own AWS Marketplace listing, read in October 2026.

Firewalls: Palo Alto vs Fortinet vs Cisco

None of the three publishes a hardware price: Palo Alto’s PA-Series page and Fortinet’s FortiGate page lead to a quote request, and Cisco’s Secure Firewall page points buyers to sales and partners. Their virtual firewalls do carry public hourly rates on AWS Marketplace, sold by each vendor.

The rates cover the software only; AWS charges for the instance on top. The bundles also differ. The Palo Alto listing includes Advanced Threat Prevention, Advanced URL Filtering, Advanced WildFire, DNS Security, and 24×7 Premium Support. Fortinet’s listing describes intrusion prevention, malware protection, and FortiGuard Labs threat intelligence, and Cisco’s includes Snort 3 intrusion prevention, malware defense, URL filtering, and Cisco Talos threat intelligence.

SASE: Prisma Access vs Zscaler

Neither vendor publishes a per-user list price. Zscaler’s pricing page describes two platform bundles, Essentials and the Zscaler Platform, and leads to a demo request. Zscaler’s own AWS Marketplace listing for Zscaler Internet Access (ZIA) shows a 12-month contract for ZIA Transformation Edition at $11,000, without stating the user count on the price line.

Prisma Access, licensed per mobile user or per Mbps, is quote only. To compare the two fairly, ask both vendors to price the same number of users and sites, with logging and management included.

XDR: Cortex XDR vs CrowdStrike Falcon

CrowdStrike is the one vendor in this comparison that publishes endpoint prices. Its pricing page lists Falcon Go at $59.99, Falcon Pro at $99.99, and Falcon Enterprise at $184.99 per device, billed annually, with a 15-day free trial. The bundles differ in modules such as Falcon Insight XDR for detection and response, and CrowdStrike sells further add-ons separately.

Cortex XDR is quote only. A published per-device price gives you a reference point for the Cortex XDR conversation, as long as you compare bundles with the same detection and response features.

Hidden Costs and Fees of Palo Alto Networks

The firewall or platform license is only part of a Palo Alto budget. The costs below appear on Palo Alto’s own pages or follow from the licensing model you choose, and the first one is the difference between hardware and virtual firewalls.

Beyond that split, these fees are the ones most often missing from a first quote:

• Each security subscription is a separate line, and on Cloud NGFW each add-on adds an hourly rate and a per-GB charge.
• Support comes in tiers: Standard, Premium Success, Platinum Success, and Focused Services with a dedicated customer advocate.
• Palo Alto’s Cloud NGFW documentation shows each add-on costing more Software NGFW credits with Premium Support than without it.
• Central management on Cloud NGFW adds $0.30 per hour for Panorama or $0.45 per hour for Strata Cloud Manager, for up to 3 availability zones.
• Each additional availability zone adds $0.50 per hour to a Cloud NGFW resource.
• Prisma Access requires a Strata Logging Service license, and Strata Cloud Manager Pro is a paid add-on.
• Software NGFW credits expire at the end of the term, used or not, and Cloud NGFW overages bill at pay-as-you-go rates.

The largest cost is often the one that never appears on a quote: the people who configure, tune, and watch these products. A firewall subscription that blocks a threat still raises an alert, and an alert that nobody investigates costs the same license as one that stops an incident.

How to Negotiate Palo Alto Networks Pricing: A 7-Point Framework

Palo Alto’s published rates and licensing rules give a prepared buyer a lot to work with. Go through these seven points before the first pricing call:

1. Count what you will license: firewalls and throughput per site, Prisma Access users and Mbps, and Cortex XDR endpoints.
2. Use the public hourly rates for VM-Series and Cloud NGFW as a baseline for any software firewall quote.
3. Ask for each security subscription as its own line, so you can drop the ones you will not use.
4. Choose the support tier deliberately, and ask what Premium Support adds to the credit cost.
5. Buy Software NGFW credits on flexible profiles, and get the expiry and reallocation terms in writing.
6. Bring published competitor prices, such as the Fortinet, Cisco, and CrowdStrike figures above, to the table.
7. Fix the renewal now: a multi-year term, one co-termed renewal date, and a cap on renewal increases.

Two published details can lower the bill directly. A 365-day contract on the VM-Series AWS Marketplace listing saves up to 71% against the hourly rate, and Palo Alto says credits bought through AWS Marketplace work with consolidated billing and AWS EDP commitments, so check whether your AWS commitment can carry the purchase.

How Can UnderDefense Help You Maximize the Performance of Palo Alto Networks Security Solutions?

If your firewalls, Cortex XDR, and Prisma Access raise alerts around the clock and your team works business hours, part of every Palo Alto subscription pays for alerts that wait until morning. UnderDefense Agentic AI SOC works on top of the Palo Alto stack without replacing it: AI agents investigate every alert, and UnderDefense analysts make the response decisions 24/7.

The same analysts cover the rest of your environment, from cloud accounts to identity, so an alert that starts outside Palo Alto gets the same investigation.

In one published case, a Colorado business-licensing company with no SIEM or EDR in place brought in UnderDefense, and the onboarding audit found Cobalt Strike beacons on 11 mission-critical servers. UnderDefense moved from detecting Cobalt Strike to removing the malware from those 11 critical servers in less than 24 hours.

Expect detection tuning to take from a few weeks to a few months, as reviewers report, before alerts match your environment closely.