Cisco Umbrella vs F5 BIG-IP DNS comparison

Cisco and F5 are both solutions in the Domain Name System (DNS) Security category. Cisco is ranked #1 with an average rating of 9.2, while F5 is ranked #4 with an average rating of 8.7. Cisco holds a 20.9% mindshare in DS, compared to F5’s 6.3% mindshare. Additionally, 97% of Cisco users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 100% of F5 users who would recommend it.

Cisco Umbrella

Read 121 Cisco Umbrella reviews

21,437 Views
4,287 Comparison Views

97% willing to recommend

F5 BIG-IP DNS

Read 21 F5 BIG-IP DNS reviews

1,390 Views
1,390 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

Cisco Umbrella

F5 BIG-IP DNS

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Jun 15, 2025

Cisco Umbrella and F5 BIG-IP DNS are competitors in the network security domain, particularly in DNS management and security. Cisco Umbrella takes the lead in cloud-based deployments with quick implementation benefits, while F5 BIG-IP DNS excels in traffic management and DNS efficiency.

Features: Cisco Umbrella offers DNS-layer protection, content filtering, and integration with APIs for advanced insights and management. F5 BIG-IP DNS delivers robust traffic management, load balancing, and DNS security enhancements, making it suitable for organizations that prioritize DNS efficiency.

Room for Improvement: Cisco Umbrella needs to enhance malware protection and integration with threat intelligence. There is also a need for more granular policy controls and improved reporting. F5 BIG-IP DNS can improve monitoring, cloud integration, and pricing flexibility. Both platforms could refine user interfaces and deployment options.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Cisco Umbrella's cloud-based deployment allows for rapid implementation and scalability, which is beneficial for remote or hybrid work settings. F5 BIG-IP DNS utilizes on-premises and hybrid approaches, advantageous for organizations with existing infrastructure. Both are praised for their technical support, with Cisco noted for prompt service and F5 for professional assistance during complex setups.

Pricing and ROI: Cisco Umbrella is seen as a premium product with high costs justified by its comprehensive security features, although some users find it expensive. F5 BIG-IP DNS is also considered pricey, especially for smaller enterprises, but offers robust DNS management capabilities that justify the cost. Cisco Umbrella shows a tangible return on investment through reduced security incidents and operational efficiencies, while F5 BIG-IP DNS adds value via improved network performance and global traffic management.

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

Buyer's Guide

Cisco Umbrella vs. F5 BIG-IP DNS

July 2025

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Helped 867,370 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 Umbrella

Ranking in Domain Name System (DNS) Security

1st

Average Rating

8.8

Reviews Sentiment

7.3

Number of Reviews

121

Ranking in other categories

Secure Web Gateways (SWG) (1st), Internet Security (1st), Cloud Access Security Brokers (CASB) (2nd), Cisco Security Portfolio (1st)

F5 BIG-IP DNS

Ranking in Domain Name System (DNS) Security

4th

Average Rating

8.6

Reviews Sentiment

8.0

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of September 2025, in the Domain Name System (DNS) Security category, the mindshare of Cisco Umbrella is 20.9%, down from 26.2% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of F5 BIG-IP DNS is 6.3%, down from 6.7% 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 Umbrella	20.9%
F5 BIG-IP DNS	6.3%
Other	72.8%

Domain Name System (DNS) Security

Featured Reviews

Emilio Montoya

CTO at PROA

Ensures internet navigation safety and boosts productivity

The features of Cisco Umbrella I prefer most are DNS protection and traffic redirect. With Cisco Talos's threat intelligence, we reduce the impact of malware traffic in our network, and we currently see the behavior of equipment and choose the correct sites. Cisco Talos has helped us reduce the impact of malware traffic. We can see the behavior and choose the correct sites. We're currently testing secure access with Umbrella in order to secure access to core applications. It's a product that the user doesn't even know is there, even though it is protecting them. It's not hard on the equipment. And, for us, it centralizes everything, which improves productivity. With the Experience Insights feature of Cisco Secure Access, we've seen impacts on the management of user connectivity by allowing us to deliver safe connectivity. We are testing the Secure Access product with Cisco Umbrella to improve our connectivity with our users in order to secure access to the corporate applications. Cisco Umbrella is in the cloud, which is nice.

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Raja Waqar Ahmad

Sr. Network Engineer at Tekboox

Suitable for use cases around multiple data centers and provides good stability

F5 is working on improving its identity management features. This is an important area for improvement, as it is a key component of Zero Trust architecture. So, when I was working on the zero-trust architecture, I noticed that there was a lack of documentation. The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has published some documentation and frameworks for ZTA implementation. In the NIST framework, multiple vendors can be used for different components of the architecture. For example, for identity management, common vendors include Azure, Intune, AWS, Cisco Duo, and Zscaler. I remember reading about F5 mentioned in the context of the ZTA framework. So, it's encouraging to read that F5 is being considered for ZTA implementations. Netskope is also using F5 for their ZTA solutions. I would also like to see all of F5's features integrated into a single box, as it would be the most beneficial for end customers. F5 is already enhancing its security capabilities. Initially, load balancing and security required separate devices, but now F5 offers solutions that combine both functionalities in a single device.

Read full review

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"I like that it integrates with the infrastructure. I also like the kind of data and intelligence that's built-in. It helps create innovative reports for security."

"By using Cisco Umbrella, you are sure of inspecting all the traffic. Whenever the user machine is connected to your network, it is inspected. That's the best thing. It means you are sure that nothing is being exported or imported without your choice. That is the best feature."

"The most valuable features of this solution are the Web Filtering and the APT."

"Helps block personal email accounts."

"The feature I appreciate most about Cisco Umbrella is the dashboard and how easy it is to see the reporting, what is blocked and allowed, and it makes it very user-friendly."

"The single-pane-of-glass management is really important. In today's era, administration costs and operational expenses will cost you a lot, and it reduces that as well. You don't need extra resources to manage all your parameter firewalls, looking at every single device to allow resources internal access. By just introducing the single-pane-of-glass management, it has lifted the burden off of management, especially the network management."

"The most valuable feature is its ability to detect if a URL has malware or is vulnerable."

"The Global Block List is one of the most valuable features because it's really easy to block domain names as well as URLs. Sometimes you don't want to block the whole site, you just want to block one URL. The Global Block and Allow Lists are the best features for us."

More Cisco Umbrella pros

"The configuration process is straightforward, making it easy to set up wide IPs and distribute traffic across local US sites and data centers via VPN."

"The management is very easy."

"F5 BIG-IP DNS is useful, depending on how you use it."

"The solution is easy to configure and deploy. It is scalable and works without any downtime. F5 BIG-IP DNS is a flexible solution."

"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."

"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."

"The most valuable feature of the solution is security."

"F5 BIG-IP DNS is a stable solution."

More F5 BIG-IP DNS pros

Cons

"There are some situations where we would like to block things for specific user groups. I know that Umbrella does that, but it's not that easy.... when you want a specific task for specific rules and policies for user groups, you have to go three levels down in the menu, and it's hard to find where you do that task."

"The reporting could be improved by way of the information that's displayed. For example, when you pull a report, it shows an internal employee going to many websites, but you can spin that right down by saying a lot of it is being cached."

"The pricing could be improved."

"It has happened in the past that Cisco Umbrella has denied us access to secure websites."

"Some countries don't have a DNS server leading to a domain resolution IP, not at a local level."

"We've noticed some issues with the SWG where, when I'm connected, it thinks I'm in Miami, Florida instead of Savannah, Georgia."

"Cisco Umbrella hasn't integrated customized reporting yet. With Cisco Secure Endpoint Hub, I can see a report on user downloads and set it up to constantly get an email alert. Based on my understanding, Cisco Umbrella can't do that. You can set it up with third parties, but it would be better if that were built into the platform."

"Their support should be improved. It is necessary that the support is efficient. It is not really easy to get a resolution for an issue from Cisco support. They should be faster and more efficient."

More Cisco Umbrella cons

"In the product, one of the shortcomings is related to its configuration part...Though you can find some manuals or F5 documents, in real life, it's very hard to understand this product."

"The initial setup could be easier."

"There is room for improvement in pricing. It is very pricey."

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

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

"The analysis services needs improvement."

"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 tool needs to improve its UI."

More F5 BIG-IP DNS cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"We did a good negotiation, and at the moment, its price is fine."

"The pricing model is easier compared to some of the other solutions, and it is also competitive."

"You get what you pay for if you break the solution up into tiers."

"As an educational partner, we get better licensing structures. We are very happy with that. It has been very nice that Cisco has partnered with the educational sector to bring that."

"Our licensing fees are on a yearly basis."

"Its price for us is quite expensive because it's a subscription, and we just use it for the DNS log. So, for us, it's quite expensive."

"Pricing depends on the automation requirements of the organization."

"You get what you pay for."

More Cisco Umbrella pricing and cost advice

"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."

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

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

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

"They are competitively priced."

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

"In some cases, it is expensive."

"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."

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

19%

Manufacturing Company

Financial Services Firm

Healthcare Company

Financial Services Firm

16%

Computer Software Company

12%

Manufacturing Company

Government

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	48
Midsize Enterprise	30
Large Enterprise	51

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

Questions from the Community

Which is the better security solution - Cisco Umbrella or Zscaler?

Cisco Umbrella and Zscaler Internet Access are two broad-spectrum Internet security solutions that I have tried. Zscaler Internet Access is a good option for carrying out multiple security functi...

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Which is the better security solution - Cisco Umbrella or Microsoft Cloud App Security?

Cisco Umbrella is an integral component of the Cisco SASE architecture. It integrates security in a single, cloud-native solution, unifying multiple features like DNS-layer security, threat intelli...

See all answers

What do you like most about Cisco Umbrella?

Cisco Umbrella is easy to monitor, manage, and deploy.

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?

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 solutio...

See all answers

Comparisons

Zscaler Internet Access vs Cisco Umbrella

Compared 16% of the time

Prisma Access by Palo Alto Networks vs Cisco Umbrella

Compared 8% of the time

Cisco Secure Access vs Cisco Umbrella

Compared 8% of the time

Infoblox Advanced DNS Protection vs Cisco Umbrella

Compared 6% of the time

Microsoft Defender for Cloud Apps vs Cisco Umbrella

Compared 5% of the time

More Cisco Umbrella Competitors

Infoblox Advanced DNS Protection vs F5 BIG-IP DNS

Compared 59% of the time

EfficientIP DNS Guardian vs F5 BIG-IP DNS

Compared 11% of the time

BlueCat Edge vs F5 BIG-IP DNS

Compared 6% of the time

CIRA Anycast DNS vs F5 BIG-IP DNS

Compared 4% of the time

Infoblox BloxOne Threat Defense vs F5 BIG-IP DNS

Compared 3% of the time

More F5 BIG-IP DNS Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Cisco Umbrella

September 2025

Download Cisco Umbrella product report

Buyer's Guide

F5 BIG-IP DNS

September 2025

Download F5 BIG-IP DNS product report

Also Known As

OpenDNS

F5 BIG-IP DNS, F5 DNS Delivery

Overview

Cisco Umbrella delivers rapid DNS security with over 30,000 customers, providing outstanding threat protection and handling more than 600 billion requests daily. It's recognized for high threat efficacy in the SSE domain and integrates elements like SWG, ZTNA, CASB, and more.

Cisco Umbrella is renowned for its effective DNS-layer security against ransomware and phishing. It offers flexible content filtering and integrates seamlessly with existing networks while providing single-pane-of-glass management for centralized monitoring. Its robust threat intelligence and customizable policies are central to its appeal. Users highlight room for improvement in areas like WHOIS data inclusion, malware enhancement, and reporting analytics. Integration with other threat feeds and better client support are requested for more comprehensive coverage.

What are the key features of Cisco Umbrella?

DNS-Layer Security: Blocks malicious domains, preventing ransomware attacks.
Web Content Filtering: Allows users to manage lists for strict content control.
Seamless Integration: Blends with systems like Active Directory and Meraki.
Remote Protection: Keeps remote users safe across different locations.
Single-Pane Management: Facilitates effective monitoring and reporting.

What should users expect in reviews about Cisco Umbrella?

Threat Intelligence: Provides comprehensive malware and attack data.
Customizable Policies: Enables tailored security measures for users.
Integration Options: Works with diverse systems for holistic security.
Ease of Use: Offers a straightforward experience for administrators.
Remote Worker Security: Ensures protection outside traditional networks.

Industries implement Cisco Umbrella primarily for DNS-level security, web filtering, and protecting remote employees. It strengthens cybersecurity frameworks by blocking malware and avoiding access to harmful sites. The tool is widely integrated with Active Directory and Cisco Meraki, providing consistent internet security for employees.

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

Chart Industries, City of Aspen, Eastern Mountain Sports, FLEXcon, George Washington University, Jackson Municipal Airport Authority, Ohio Public Library Information Network, PTC, Richland Community College, Smart Motors, Tulane University, VeriClaim

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

Buyer's Guide

Cisco Umbrella vs. F5 BIG-IP DNS

July 2025

Free Report: Cisco Umbrella vs. F5 BIG-IP DNS

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