Cisco Secure Access vs F5 BIG-IP DNS comparison

Cisco and F5 are both solutions in the Domain Name System (DNS) Security category. Cisco is ranked #2 with an average rating of 8.3, while F5 is ranked #6 with an average rating of 9.0. Cisco holds a 6.3% mindshare in DS, compared to F5’s 4.4% mindshare. Additionally, 100% of Cisco users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 100% of F5 users who would recommend it.

Cisco Secure Access

Read 16 Cisco Secure Access reviews

2,584 Views
1,111 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

F5 BIG-IP DNS

Read 21 F5 BIG-IP DNS reviews

1,451 Views
1,451 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

Cisco Secure Access

F5 BIG-IP DNS

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Executive Summary

We performed a comparison between Cisco Secure Access and F5 BIG-IP DNS based on real PeerSpot user reviews.

Find out in this report how the two Domain Name System (DNS) Security solutions compare in terms of features, pricing, service and support, easy of deployment, and ROI.

To learn more, read our detailed Cisco Secure Access vs. F5 BIG-IP DNS Report (Updated: December 2025).

Buyer's Guide

Cisco Secure Access vs. F5 BIG-IP DNS

December 2025

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Helped 879,425 peers since 2012

Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:

Categories and Ranking

Cisco Secure Access

Ranking in Domain Name System (DNS) Security

2nd

Average Rating

8.4

Reviews Sentiment

7.0

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Secure Web Gateways (SWG) (9th), Firewalls (18th), Cloud Access Security Brokers (CASB) (5th), ZTNA (7th), Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) (7th)

F5 BIG-IP DNS

Ranking in Domain Name System (DNS) Security

6th

Average Rating

8.6

Reviews Sentiment

8.0

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of January 2026, in the Domain Name System (DNS) Security category, the mindshare of Cisco Secure Access is 6.3%, up from 2.2% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of F5 BIG-IP DNS is 4.4%, down from 5.3% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Domain Name System (DNS) Security Market Share Distribution
Product	Market Share (%)
Cisco Secure Access	6.3%
F5 BIG-IP DNS	4.4%
Other	89.3%

Domain Name System (DNS) Security

Featured Reviews

Vasil Blagov

Manager, Network at Duracell International, Inc.

Easy management and security ensure reliable 24/7 connectivity

Zero Trust Network Access has helped my organization in securing standard applications because it's mandated to have it. It provides peace of mind knowing that we have that deployed in our network. Cisco Secure Access's ability to provide secure access via standard HTTP2, and optionally, QUIC protocol is good. It complies with the new standards. The impact of Cisco Secure Access on protecting my organization from phishing and ransomware threats has been good so far. We've been doing well with no threats.

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reviewer2733993

Solutions Architect at a tech services company with 51-200 employees

Ensures reliable web application security and offers comprehensive load balancing solutions

When it comes to denial of service or DNS security, F5 is not the best vendor as dedicated vendors such as Arbor for denial of service and Infoblox for DNS security offer more comprehensive solutions. The main features such as WAF and load balancing do not generate complaints. F5 BIG-IP DNS is not the best for DNS denial of service because they handle it as part of BIG-IP features, mainly used for GSLB, while other vendors provide complete DDI solutions, including DHCP, DNS, and IP address management, along with specialized DNS security, offering much more than just GSLB and basic recursive DNS security. The two main concerns are DNS related and denial of service, areas where F5 BIG-IP DNS could improve, and they could do better as they are not the best vendor, indicating ample room for improvement especially since those are not their main specialties.

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Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:

Pros

"The impact Cisco Secure Access has on protecting my company from threats such as phishing and ransomware is significant."

"The integrated capabilities of Cisco Secure Access deliver significant ROI through reduced mean time to detect (MTTD) and mean time to respond (MTTR), with resource efficiency notably improved as fewer personnel are needed for triage and system management."

"Cisco Secure Access has benefited my organization by allowing people to connect 24/7, ensuring reliability."

"Cisco Secure Access has had a positive impact on protecting our organization from threats such as phishing and ransomware."

"I find the zero trust approach helpful and beneficial in securing standard applications, which means you are accessing the applications directly instead of giving privilege to access the network itself."

"The most valuable feature of Cisco Secure Access is the level of security it provides."

"We have a dedicated account team, so we've got all the people we need to engage with if there's an issue."

"I use this solution for securing security controls like Secure Security Control (SSC) for local Internet breakouts."

More Cisco Secure Access pros

"F5 provides us with a mechanism to accomplish complex product balancing."

"F5 technical support is quite good and they follow up if there are any issues."

"The GTM feature is very good, It's very useful, especially if we have multiple data centers. If we want to load balance traffic from multiple data centers, the GTM feature is very useful."

"BIG-IP DNS effectively handled a traffic surge. For example, we have application forms replicated across our DCs. If our primary application becomes unavailable, BIG-IP automatically fails over to a client-unaware secondary application."

"F5 BIG-IP DNS has been rock solid in terms of stability for years."

"One of the most effective feature of F5 BIG-IP DNS is its robustness and integration with our existing F5 infrastructure. It helps us to geographically connect and form an internal topology network with our clients."

"It is easy to administer."

"Stability-wise, I rate the solution a ten out of ten...Stability-wise, I rate the solution a ten out of ten."

More F5 BIG-IP DNS pros

Cons

"The worst part was the migration from Umbrella to Cisco Secure Access; we experienced some difficulties during that process."

"I received support from the team for Cisco Secure Access related to web services. There were occasional delays of up to two working days."

"Cisco is not well accepted in the market since they are somewhat behind their competitors."

"Having been associated with Cisco for more than fifteen to twenty years, I find it increasingly difficult to get tech support these days. Although Cisco is reliable, the process to raise a support ticket has become more complex, requiring specific user accounts and access to specialized platforms."

"The licensing is confusing."

"In my opinion, Cisco Secure Access could be improved by potentially incorporating features that other brands have been using. I see benefits from features offered by competitors, which could enhance the Cisco experience if adapted thoughtfully."

"The way that we're using Cisco Secure Access today, it doesn't scale with the growing needs of our organization, however, if we leveraged more of the cloud services, it would fit better."

"Cisco Secure Access can be improved with more integration; the more integrations, the better. There are always third-party products that you might have, such as Carbon Black."

More Cisco Secure Access cons

"CNC (control and command) communication would be beneficial. We would like to have control and command blocking to prevent visiting malicious websites."

"The support response time could use improvement."

"The initial setup is a step-by-step process, so it can be a bit complicated for someone who's using it for the first time."

"I would like to see more marketing documentation, rather than technical documentation."

"F5's technical support responds a little slowly."

"The solution's initial setup is complex compared to Fortinet."

"The initial setup could be easier."

"I would like to see the login facilities improved, as well as more troubleshooting."

More F5 BIG-IP DNS cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"For what you get, it's a fair price in comparison to other products."

"It is confusing. When you look at the prices, you have different licensing and years of licensing that you have to purchase. Additionally, it's unclear what service you get from those licenses regarding end-user support. We have a representative who has to walk me through it every time."

"The pricing, setup costs, and licensing for Cisco Secure Access have been very competitive compared to other platforms. I believe that if Cisco continues to improve costs or offers something similar to a Cisco credit, it would attract more customers."

"This product is quite pricey but if you compare the feature set and its compatibility with similar products on the market, you would understand why it's that price."

"Cost is a factor. It is really costly."

"The on-prem version is only available on a yearly license, but the cloud version can be paid for on a day-by-day basis."

"I would rate the pricing a three out of ten, with ten being a low price."

"They are competitively priced."

"You cannot do much around DDoS protection without an additional license from F5."

"In some cases, it is expensive."

"BIG-IP DNS is more expensive than its competitors like Citrix, but it gives good value for money."

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Manufacturing Company

12%

Computer Software Company

12%

Financial Services Firm

Construction Company

Financial Services Firm

14%

Manufacturing Company

12%

Computer Software Company

11%

Retailer

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	7
Large Enterprise	9

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	8
Midsize Enterprise	4
Large Enterprise	9

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Cisco Secure Access?

Price-wise, we get a significant discount with Cisco. I actually prefer Juniper products. From a professional perspective, I prefer Palo Alto and Juniper probably more than I do anybody else. But I...

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What is your primary use case for Cisco Secure Access?

Cisco Secure Access is used as a security tool within the tenant as a firewall and serves as a cloud-delivered Zero Trust access platform. It is used for Microsoft Intune as conditional access, Glo...

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What advice do you have for others considering Cisco Secure Access?

No negative aspects have been observed so far; everything seems good. The review rating for this product is 9 out of 10.

See all answers

What do you like most about F5 BIG-IP DNS?

For one of our clients, F5 improved global server load balancing with an active-active site configuration for Disaster Recovery.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for F5 BIG-IP DNS?

In terms of pricing, F5 BIG-IP is not cheaper compared to other solutions like Fortinet or Citrix. The cost can be high due to its comprehensive modules.

See all answers

What needs improvement with F5 BIG-IP DNS?

See all answers

Comparisons

Cisco Umbrella vs Cisco Secure Access

Compared 46% of the time

Netskope vs Cisco Secure Access

Compared 11% of the time

FortiSASE vs Cisco Secure Access

Compared 10% of the time

Prisma Access by Palo Alto Networks vs Cisco Secure Access

Compared 9% of the time

Cato SASE Cloud Platform vs Cisco Secure Access

Compared 7% of the time

More Cisco Secure Access Competitors

Infoblox Advanced DNS Protection vs F5 BIG-IP DNS

Compared 48% of the time

Cisco Umbrella vs F5 BIG-IP DNS

Compared 13% of the time

CIRA Anycast DNS vs F5 BIG-IP DNS

Compared 10% of the time

EfficientIP DNS Guardian vs F5 BIG-IP DNS

Compared 7% of the time

BlueCat Edge vs F5 BIG-IP DNS

Compared 7% of the time

More F5 BIG-IP DNS Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Cisco Secure Access

December 2025

Download Cisco Secure Access product report

Buyer's Guide

F5 BIG-IP DNS

December 2025

Download F5 BIG-IP DNS product report

Also Known As

No data available

F5 BIG-IP DNS, F5 DNS Delivery

Overview

Cisco Secure Access is a comprehensive Security Service Edge (SSE) solution (a key component of a SASE solution) that addresses the complexities of securing a hybrid enterprise. Cloud-delivered and grounded in zero trust, it delivers a unique blend of user simplicity and IT efficiency for frictionless, secure access to all applications—SaaS (with gen AI), private apps, and the internet—regardless of user location or device. Secure Access protects users, data, and devices against relentless, sophisticated, and constantly evolving threats including AI-driven attacks and identity breaches.

Provides all core SSE components (ZTNA, SWG, CASB, and FWaaS) plus extended capabilities.

Includes VPN-as-a-Service (VPNaaS), data loss prevention (DLP), AI Assistant, visibility/control/guardrails for generative AI use, digital experience monitoring (DEM), reserved IP, remote browser isolation (RBI), DNS-layer security, flexible security enforcement (in cloud or on-premises), policy verification, and more.
Protects users as they seamlessly access resources and apps with no extra steps needed, regardless of protocol, port, or level of customization
Simplifies IT operations through a single client, single dashboard, single license, and unified policies.
Lowers risk with least privilege, granular controls backed with unmatched threat intelligence of Cisco Talos.
Eases interoperability with other products from Cisco and third-party vendors with common administrative controls, data structures, and policy management.

Robust integrations

Integrates with Cisco Identity Intelligence to protect against the startling increase in identity-based attacks.
Integrates with many SAML Identity Providers (IDPs) such as AD, Azure AD, Okta, Ping, etc.
Integrates with Cisco offerings including SD-WAN, Splunk, XDR, Thousand Eyes, third party technologies such as Menlo RBI, Chrome Enterprise Browser, and AppOmni for SSPM.

Cisco

F5® BIG-IP® DNS distributes DNS and user application requests based on business policies, data center and cloud service conditions, user location, and application performance. BIG-IP DNS is commonly configured as a full proxy to provide global server load balancing (GSLB) for applications and DNS across architectures, and across the globe.

The BIG-IP platform delivers DNS services with visibility, reporting, and analysis; scales and secures DNS responses geographically to survive increased traffic or threats; delivers a real-time DNSSEC solution; designed to provide availability of global applications in all cloud environments.

Sample Customers

1. IBM 2. Microsoft 3. Amazon 4. Google 5. Apple 6. Cisco Systems 7. Oracle 8. Intel 9. HP Inc. 10. Dell Technologies 11. Verizon Communications 12. AT&T 13. Comcast 14. T-Mobile 15. Sprint 16. Vodafone 17. Orange 18. BT Group 19. Deutsche Telekom 20. Telefonica 21. Nokia 22. Ericsson 23. Samsung Electronics 24. Sony 25. Panasonic 26. LG Electronics 27. Siemens 28. General Electric 29. Ford Motor Company 30. General Motors 31. Toyota Motor Corporation 32. Volkswagen Group

Ricacorp Properties, Bangladesh Post Office, Shawbrook Bank, Shinsegae Internet Duty Free

Buyer's Guide

Cisco Secure Access vs. F5 BIG-IP DNS

December 2025

Free Report: Cisco Secure Access vs. F5 BIG-IP DNS

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