Comprehensive Stock Comparison
Compare Okta, Inc. (OKTA) vs Zscaler, Inc. (ZS) Stock
Analyze side-by-side fundamentals, valuation, growth, and profitability to decide which stock is the better buy.
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Quick Verdict
| Category | Winner | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Growth | ZS | 23.3% revenue growth vs OKTA's 15.3% |
| Value | OKTA | Lower P/E (21.1x vs 36.8x) |
| Quality / Margins | OKTA | 6.9% net margin vs ZS's -2.3% |
| Stability / Safety | OKTA | Beta 1.16 vs ZS's 1.27, lower leverage |
| Dividends | Tie | Neither pays a meaningful dividend |
| Momentum (1Y) | OKTA | -19.9% vs ZS's -25.1% |
| Efficiency (ROA) | OKTA | 2.1% ROA vs ZS's -1.0%, ROIC -0.8% vs -8.4% |
Who Each Stock Is For
Income & stability
Growth exposure
Long-term compounding (10Y)
Sleep-well-at-night portfolio
Defensive / Recession hedge
Business Model
What each company does and how it makes money
Okta is a cloud-based identity and access management platform that helps organizations securely connect people to technology. It generates revenue primarily through subscription fees for its identity cloud services — including single sign-on, multi-factor authentication, and lifecycle management — with enterprise customers paying annual contracts. The company's moat lies in its extensive network effects, as its platform becomes more valuable as more applications integrate with it, creating switching costs for customers.
Zscaler is a cloud-native security platform that provides secure internet and private application access without traditional network hardware. It generates revenue primarily through subscription fees for its Zero Trust Exchange platform — with its core Zscaler Internet Access and Zscaler Private Access solutions driving most of its business. The company's key advantage is its massive, globally distributed cloud architecture that processes over 300 billion daily transactions, creating significant scale and data advantages that competitors cannot easily replicate.
Revenue Breakdown by Segment
How each company's revenue is distributed across its business units
Financial Metrics Comparison
Side-by-side fundamentals across 2 stocks. BestLagging
Financial Scorecard
OKTA leads in 4 of 6 categories (Financial Metrics, Valuation Metrics). ZS leads in 1 (Total Returns).
Financial Metrics (TTM)
ZS and OKTA operate at a comparable scale, with $3.0B and $2.8B in trailing revenue. OKTA is the more profitable business, keeping 6.9% of every revenue dollar as net income compared to ZS's -2.3%. On growth, ZS holds the edge at +25.9% YoY revenue growth, suggesting stronger near-term business momentum.
| Metric | OKTAOkta, Inc. | ZSZscaler, Inc. |
|---|---|---|
| RevenueTrailing 12 months | $2.8B | $3.0B |
| EBITDAEarnings before interest/tax | $207M | -$52M |
| Net IncomeAfter-tax profit | $195M | -$68M |
| Free Cash FlowCash after capex | $898M | $944M |
| Gross MarginGross profit ÷ Revenue | +77.1% | +76.6% |
| Operating MarginEBIT ÷ Revenue | +3.9% | -4.8% |
| Net MarginNet income ÷ Revenue | +6.9% | -2.3% |
| FCF MarginFCF ÷ Revenue | +31.6% | +31.4% |
| Rev. Growth (YoY)Latest quarter vs prior year | +11.6% | +25.9% |
| EPS Growth (YoY)Latest quarter vs prior year | +156.0% | -3.2% |
Valuation Metrics
| Metric | OKTAOkta, Inc. | ZSZscaler, Inc. |
|---|---|---|
| Market CapShares × price | $563M | $23.6B |
| Enterprise ValueMkt cap + debt − cash | $1.1B | $23.0B |
| Trailing P/EPrice ÷ TTM EPS | 1208.33x | -544.41x |
| Forward P/EPrice ÷ next-FY EPS est. | 21.06x | 36.83x |
| PEG RatioP/E ÷ EPS growth rate | — | — |
| EV / EBITDAEnterprise value multiple | 79.03x | — |
| Price / SalesMarket cap ÷ Revenue | 0.22x | 8.83x |
| Price / BookPrice ÷ Book value/share | 1.98x | 12.61x |
| Price / FCFMarket cap ÷ FCF | 0.77x | 32.48x |
Profitability & Efficiency
OKTA delivers a 2.8% return on equity — every $100 of shareholder capital generates $3 in annual profit, vs $-3 for ZS. OKTA carries lower financial leverage with a 0.15x debt-to-equity ratio, signaling a more conservative balance sheet compared to ZS's 1.00x. On the Piotroski fundamental quality scale (0–9), OKTA scores 7/9 vs ZS's 4/9, reflecting strong financial health.
| Metric | OKTAOkta, Inc. | ZSZscaler, Inc. |
|---|---|---|
| ROE (TTM)Return on equity | +2.8% | -3.1% |
| ROA (TTM)Return on assets | +2.1% | -1.0% |
| ROICReturn on invested capital | -0.8% | -8.4% |
| ROCEReturn on capital employed | -1.0% | -4.6% |
| Piotroski ScoreFundamental quality 0–9 | 7 | 4 |
| Debt / EquityFinancial leverage | 0.15x | 1.00x |
| Net DebtTotal debt minus cash | $543M | -$592M |
| Cash & Equiv.Liquid assets | $409M | $2.4B |
| Total DebtShort + long-term debt | $952M | $1.8B |
| Interest CoverageEBIT ÷ Interest expense | 55.00x | 8.97x |
Total Returns (with DRIP)
A $10,000 investment in ZS five years ago would be worth $6,994 today (with dividends reinvested), compared to $2,687 for OKTA. Over the past 12 months, OKTA leads with a -19.9% total return vs ZS's -25.1%. The 3-year compound annual growth rate (CAGR) favors ZS at 3.9% vs OKTA's 0.6% — a key indicator of consistent wealth creation.
| Metric | OKTAOkta, Inc. | ZSZscaler, Inc. |
|---|---|---|
| YTD ReturnYear-to-date | -13.3% | -33.4% |
| 1-Year ReturnPast 12 months | -19.9% | -25.1% |
| 3-Year ReturnCumulative with dividends | +1.7% | +12.1% |
| 5-Year ReturnCumulative with dividends | -73.1% | -30.1% |
| 10-Year ReturnCumulative with dividends | +208.4% | +345.4% |
| CAGR (3Y)Annualised 3-year return | +0.6% | +3.9% |
Risk & Volatility
OKTA is the less volatile stock with a 1.16 beta — it tends to amplify market swings less than ZS's 1.27 beta. A beta below 1.0 means the stock typically moves less than the S&P 500. OKTA currently trades 56.8% from its 52-week high vs ZS's 43.6% drawdown — a narrower gap to the peak suggests stronger recent price momentum.
| Metric | OKTAOkta, Inc. | ZSZscaler, Inc. |
|---|---|---|
| Beta (5Y)Sensitivity to S&P 500 | 1.16x | 1.27x |
| 52-Week HighHighest price in past year | $127.57 | $336.99 |
| 52-Week LowLowest price in past year | $68.77 | $140.56 |
| % of 52W HighCurrent price vs 52-week peak | +56.8% | +43.6% |
| RSI (14)Momentum oscillator 0–100 | 38.2 | 41.7 |
| Avg Volume (50D)Average daily shares traded | 2.0M | 1.7M |
Analyst Outlook
Wall Street rates OKTA as "Buy" and ZS as "Buy". Consensus price targets imply 96.5% upside for ZS (target: $289) vs 47.0% for OKTA (target: $107).
| Metric | OKTAOkta, Inc. | ZSZscaler, Inc. |
|---|---|---|
| Analyst RatingConsensus buy/hold/sell | Buy | Buy |
| Price TargetConsensus 12-month target | $106.60 | $288.85 |
| # AnalystsCovering analysts | 51 | 52 |
| Dividend YieldAnnual dividend ÷ price | — | — |
| Dividend StreakConsecutive years of raises | — | — |
| Dividend / ShareAnnual DPS | — | — |
| Buyback YieldShare repurchases ÷ mkt cap | 0.0% | 0.0% |
Historical Charts
Charts are rendered on first load. Hover for details.
Chart 1Total Return — 5 Years (Rebased to 100)
| Stock | Mar 20 | Feb 26 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Okta, Inc. (OKTA) | 100 | 66.05 | -34.0% |
| Zscaler, Inc. (ZS) | 100 | 380.09 | +280.1% |
Zscaler, Inc. (ZS) returned -30% over 5 years vs Okta, Inc. (OKTA)'s -73%.
Chart 2Revenue Growth — 10 Years
| Stock | 2016 | 2025 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Okta, Inc. (OKTA) | $86M | $2.6B | +2938.2% |
| Zscaler, Inc. (ZS) | $80M | $2.7B | +3227.9% |
Okta, Inc.'s revenue grew from $86M (2016) to $2.6B (2025) — a 46.1% CAGR. Zscaler, Inc.'s revenue grew from $80M (2016) to $2.7B (2025) — a 47.6% CAGR.
Chart 3Net Margin Trend — 10 Years
| Stock | 2016 | 2025 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Okta, Inc. (OKTA) | -88.8% | 1.1% | +101.2% |
| Zscaler, Inc. (ZS) | -34.2% | -1.6% | +95.5% |
Okta, Inc.'s net margin went from -89% (2016) to 1% (2025). Zscaler, Inc.'s net margin went from -34% (2016) to -2% (2025).
Chart 4EPS Growth — 10 Years
| Stock | 2016 | 2025 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Okta, Inc. (OKTA) | -0.84 | 0.06 | +107.1% |
| Zscaler, Inc. (ZS) | -0.98 | -0.27 | +72.4% |
Okta, Inc.'s EPS grew from $-0.84 (2016) to $0.06 (2025). Zscaler, Inc.'s EPS grew from $-0.98 (2016) to $-0.27 (2025).
Chart 5Free Cash Flow — 5 Years
Okta, Inc. generated $730M FCF in 2025 (+558% vs 2021). Zscaler, Inc. generated $727M FCF in 2025 (+406% vs 2021).
OKTA vs ZS: Frequently Asked Questions
9 questions · data-driven answers · updated daily
01Is OKTA or ZS a better buy right now?
Okta, Inc. (OKTA) offers the better valuation at 1208.3x trailing P/E (21.1x forward), making it the more compelling value choice. Analysts rate Okta, Inc. (OKTA) a "Buy" — based on 51 analyst ratings — the highest consensus in this comparison. The "better buy" depends entirely on your goals: growth investors should weight revenue trajectory, value investors should weight P/E and PEG, and income investors should weight dividend yield and streak.
02Which has the better valuation — OKTA or ZS?
On forward P/E, Okta, Inc. is actually cheaper at 21.1x.
03Which is the better long-term investment — OKTA or ZS?
Over the past 5 years, Zscaler, Inc. (ZS) delivered a total return of -30.1%, compared to -73.1% for Okta, Inc. (OKTA). A $10,000 investment in ZS five years ago would be worth approximately $7K today (assuming dividends reinvested). Over 10 years, the gap is even starker: ZS returned +345.4% versus OKTA's +208.4%. Past returns do not guarantee future results, and the stock with the higher historical return may already have its best growth priced in.
04Which is safer — OKTA or ZS?
By beta (market sensitivity over 5 years), Okta, Inc. (OKTA) is the lower-risk stock at 1.16β versus Zscaler, Inc.'s 1.27β — meaning ZS is approximately 10% more volatile than OKTA relative to the S&P 500. On balance sheet safety, Okta, Inc. (OKTA) carries a lower debt/equity ratio of 15% versus 100% for Zscaler, Inc. — giving it more financial flexibility in a downturn.
05Which has better profit margins — OKTA or ZS?
Okta, Inc. (OKTA) is the more profitable company, earning 1.1% net margin versus -1.6% for Zscaler, Inc. — meaning it keeps 1.1% of every revenue dollar as bottom-line profit. Operating margin tells a similar story: OKTA leads at -2.8% versus -4.8% for ZS. At the gross margin level — before operating expenses — ZS leads at 76.9%, reflecting greater pricing power or product mix advantage. Stronger margins indicate durable pricing power, lower cost of revenue, or higher mix of software/services. They are one of the clearest signs of business quality.
06Is OKTA or ZS more undervalued right now?
On forward earnings alone, Okta, Inc. (OKTA) trades at 21.1x forward P/E versus 36.8x for Zscaler, Inc. — 15.8x cheaper on a one-year earnings basis. Analyst consensus price targets imply the most upside for ZS: 96.5% to $288.85.
07Which pays a better dividend — OKTA or ZS?
None of the stocks in this comparison currently pay a material dividend. All are effectively zero-yield and should be held for capital appreciation rather than income.
08Is OKTA or ZS better for a retirement portfolio?
For long-horizon retirement investors, Okta, Inc. (OKTA) is the stronger choice — it scores higher on the combination of lower volatility, dividend reliability, and long-term compounding (low volatility (β 1.16), +208.4% 10Y return). Both have compounded well over 10 years (OKTA: +208.4%, ZS: +345.4%), confirming both are viable long-term holds — but the lower-volatility option typically results in less emotional selling during corrections. Retirement portfolios generally favour predictability over maximum returns. Consult a financial advisor before making allocation decisions.
09What are the main differences between OKTA and ZS?
Both stocks operate in the Technology sector, making this a peer-level intra-sector comparison — the same macro tailwinds and headwinds will affect both. These fundamental differences mean investors should not choose between them on a single metric — the "better stock" depends entirely on which of these characteristics aligns with your investment strategy.
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