Versa Earns Highest Rating in Cloud Firewall Test by Leading Independent Lab
New 2026 comparative report finds Versa with 99.91% security effectiveness and the second lowest price per Mbps among nine products reviewed
Santa Clara, Calif. – September 30, 2026
News Summary
- Versa Cloud NGFW was one of only four vendors tested to earn a “Recommended” rating, the highest rating NSS Labs assigns, in its Q3 2026 Cloud Network Firewall evaluation.
- Security – Versa was among three vendors to score a 99.91% security effectiveness rating, the highest score among recommended vendors.
- Performance – Versa delivered the highest measured throughput, at 3,201 Mbps, 66% higher than the next-highest result.
- Price/performance – Versa was one of only two vendors to achieve high value in terms of price/performance at $12.93 per Mbps.
Versa, the global leader in unified security and networking, today announced that Versa Cloud NGFW earned a “Recommended” rating from NSS Labs in its Q3 2026 Cloud Network Firewall evaluation. The tested configuration achieved 99.91% security effectiveness while measuring 3,201 Mbps in the throughput test, the highest of all products evaluated. Its price per Mbps was the second-lowest at $12.93, demonstrating high value.
NSS Labs conducted the independent evaluation using its Cloud Network Firewall Test Methodology v4.1. CyberRatings.org is publishing the NSS Labs report and comparative Security Value Map, which plots each product's security effectiveness against its price per Mbps. Versa also received a Recommended rating in the 2025 cloud firewall evaluation. Only four of nine vendors tested received a “Recommended” rating in this year's report – the others were rated “Neutral” or “Caution.” The nine cloud network firewall vendors evaluated in this year's benchmarking tests were: Amazon Web Services (AWS), Check Point, Cisco, Fortinet, Google Cloud Platform, HPE Juniper Networking, Microsoft Azure, Palo Alto Networks, and Versa.
Protection under real-world traffic
Tested on an AWS c7a.4xlarge instance in its SaaS pay-as-you-go configuration, Versa Cloud NGFW blocked 100% of the 2,156 malware samples used and 1,093 of 1,095 exploits tested, a 99.82% exploit block rate. It resisted 100% of the applicable malware and exploit evasion techniques and passed all seven stability and reliability tests.
Performance and value
NSS Labs' throughput measurement uses 95% encrypted TLS traffic and 5% plaintext HTTP traffic, a standard enterprise mix. Versa's 3,201 Mbps result was 66% faster than the next fastest measured throughput in the comparison. NSS Labs calculated the price per Mbps using a standardized one-year cost model that includes software, cloud compute, and data transfer.
"Most enterprise traffic is encrypted, and security teams need to know what happens to firewall performance when inspection is turned on," said Chitresh Yadav, global head of systems engineering, Versa. "NSS Labs measured that scenario. Versa's results pair strong threat prevention with the highest measured throughput in the comparison, giving buyers useful evidence for their cloud security decisions."
Source: NSS Labs, Q3 2026 Cloud Network Firewall Comparative Test Report.
Get the report
A complimentary copy of the Q3 2026 Cloud Network Firewall report and the comparative Security Value Map is available here: versa-networks.com/resources/reports/nss-labs-2026-comparative-test-report-cloud-network-firewall.
About Versa
Versa, the global leader in unified networking and security, enables organizations to create self-protecting networks that radically simplify and automate their network and security infrastructure. Powered by AI, the VersaONE Universal SASE Platform delivers converged SSE, SD-WAN, and SD-LAN solutions that protect data and defend against cyberthreats while providing a superior digital experience. Thousands of customers globally, with hundreds of thousands of sites and millions of users, trust Versa with their mission-critical networks and security. Versa is privately held and funded by investors such as Sequoia Capital, Mayfield, and BlackRock. For more information, visit https://www.versa-networks.com and follow Versa on LinkedIn and X (Twitter) @versanetworks.
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