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Developer Tools · head to head

Hookdeck vs Zscaler Internet Access

Hookdeck logo

Hookdeck

Developer Tools

Event gateway that receives, queues, retries and replays inbound webhooks

From
Free
Free plan
Yes
Full reviewWebsite
Zscaler Internet Access logo

Zscaler Internet Access

Cybersecurity

Secure cloud-native internet and SaaS access

From
$100/year
Free plan
No
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Hookdeck has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Hookdeck pricing meters delivered events, so fan-out multiplies the bill: one inbound event routed to four services counts as four deliveries.; Zscaler Internet Access the pricing page names two base tiers, Essentials Platform and Zscaler Platform, plus modular add ons including three Digital Experience Monitoring tiers, but publishes no dollar figures anywhere and routes buyers to a demo request for cost
  • They diverge on capability: Hookdeck covers Ingest and persist, Zscaler Internet Access covers Secure web gateway.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Hookdeck and Zscaler Internet Access actually diverge.

Attributes where Hookdeck and Zscaler Internet Access differ
AttributeHookdeckZscaler Internet Access
Starting priceFree$100/year
Pricing modelPer month by delivered event countsubscription
Free tierYesNo
PlatformsWeb, Linux, macOS, WindowsWeb, Desktop, Mobile
CategoryDeveloper ToolsCybersecurity
FoundedUnknown2007

Identical on both: user rating (Not yet rated).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in Hookdeck

  • Ingest and persist
  • Automatic retries
  • Filters and fan-out
  • Transformations
  • Local development CLI
  • Rate limiting

Only in Zscaler Internet Access

  • Secure web gateway
  • Cloud firewall
  • URL filtering
  • Advanced threat protection
  • Data loss prevention
  • Cloud sandbox
  • Browser isolation
  • CASB

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Hookdeck

  • A payments integration where losing a Stripe event during a deploy causes an order to go unfulfillednot Zscaler Internet Access
  • Fanning one provider webhook out to several internal services without each subscribing separatelynot Zscaler Internet Access
  • Debugging a partner integration by replaying the exact failing payload after shipping a fixnot Zscaler Internet Access
  • Receiving production-shaped webhooks on a developer laptop without running a public tunnelnot Zscaler Internet Access

Zscaler Internet Access

  • Cloud Securitynot Hookdeck
  • Zero Trustnot Hookdeck
  • Web Securitynot Hookdeck

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Hookdeck

  • Pricing meters delivered events, so fan-out multiplies the bill: one inbound event routed to four services counts as four deliveries.
  • Free-tier retention is three days, which is shorter than the time it typically takes to notice a failing integration, so the payloads needed for a replay are often already gone.
  • It becomes a single point of failure in front of every third-party integration, and an outage there means every provider webhook queues or fails at once.
  • The transformation layer runs JavaScript in a constrained environment, so anything that needs a database lookup or an external call has to happen downstream instead.
  • For a team already running Kafka or SQS the value is mostly the console and the replay UI, which is a hard cost to justify against infrastructure they already operate.

Zscaler Internet Access

  • The pricing page names two base tiers, Essentials Platform and Zscaler Platform, plus modular add ons including three Digital Experience Monitoring tiers, but publishes no dollar figures anywhere and routes buyers to a demo request for cost

Pricing, plan by plan

Hookdeck

Free
  • DeveloperFree
    • Up to ten thousand events per month
    • Three-day retention
    • One user
  • Team$39/month
    • Ten thousand events included
    • Unlimited users
    • Pay as you go metering above the included events
  • Growth$499/month
    • Ten thousand events included plus metered usage
    • Thirty-day retention
    • Uptime and latency SLAs
  • Enterprise$undefined/year
    • Negotiated event volume
    • Custom retention
    • Dedicated support

Zscaler Internet Access

$100/year
  • ZIA Business$100/year
    • Web security
    • URL filtering
    • Cloud firewall
  • ZIA Transformation$200/year
    • All Business features
    • Advanced threat protection
    • Cloud sandbox
  • ZIA Unlimited$350/year
    • All Transformation features
    • Cloud browser isolation
    • CASB

Which should you pick?

Choose Hookdeck if

  • You need ingest and persist.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, Linux, macOS, Windows.
  • You also want automatic retries.
Hookdeck review

Choose Zscaler Internet Access if

  • You need secure web gateway.
  • You work on Web, Desktop, Mobile.
  • You also want cloud firewall.
Zscaler Internet Access review

Questions people ask

Is Hookdeck or Zscaler Internet Access better?
Neither clearly leads. Hookdeck starts at Free and Zscaler Internet Access at $100/year, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Hookdeck or Zscaler Internet Access?
Hookdeck has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Hookdeck and $100/year for Zscaler Internet Access.
Does Hookdeck or Zscaler Internet Access run on more platforms?
Hookdeck runs on Web, Linux, macOS, Windows. Zscaler Internet Access runs on Web, Desktop, Mobile.
Can I use Hookdeck for free?
Yes. Hookdeck has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Zscaler Internet Access starts at $100/year.
What is Hookdeck best used for?
Hookdeck is most often used for a payments integration where losing a stripe event during a deploy causes an order to go unfulfilled, fanning one provider webhook out to several internal services without each subscribing separately, debugging a partner integration by replaying the exact failing payload after shipping a fix, receiving production-shaped webhooks on a developer laptop without running a public tunnel. Of those, a payments integration where losing a stripe event during a deploy causes an order to go unfulfilled and fanning one provider webhook out to several internal services without each subscribing separately are not what Zscaler Internet Access is typically brought in for.
What can Hookdeck do that Zscaler Internet Access cannot?
Hookdeck covers Ingest and persist, Automatic retries, Filters and fan-out, Transformations. Zscaler Internet Access covers Secure web gateway, Cloud firewall, URL filtering, Advanced threat protection.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Hookdeck: Is there a free plan?

Yes, ten thousand events a month with three-day retention and one user.

Zscaler Internet Access: How many pricing tiers does Zscaler Internet Access offer?

Zscaler Internet Access offers two main platform bundles: the Essentials Platform (entry-level) and the Zscaler Platform (comprehensive). Specific pricing is not published online.

Source
Hookdeck: How is usage counted?

By delivered events, so a single inbound webhook fanned out to three destinations counts as three.

Zscaler Internet Access: Are there optional add-on modules available?

Yes. Zscaler offers extensive optional capabilities in five categories including Inline Cyberthreat Protection, Private Access enhancements, Data Security, Security Operations, and Zero Trust Branch.

Source
Hookdeck: Can I replay a failed webhook?

Yes, individually or in bulk from the console, with the original payload.

Zscaler Internet Access: How is Zscaler Zero Trust Branch priced?

Zero Trust Branch is sized by encrypted throughput (200 Mbps to 10 Gbps) or endpoint count (200 to 5,000 endpoints), with pricing varying by configuration.

Source
Hookdeck: Does it work for outbound webhooks too?

Yes, the same queueing, retry and observability applies to webhooks you send.

Zscaler Internet Access: How do I get Zscaler pricing?

Zscaler does not publish pricing online. You must request a demo or contact their sales team to receive a pricing quote.

Source
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