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Cisco Umbrella vs Palo Alto Networks DNS Security comparison

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Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Mar 29, 2026

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
7.2
Number of Reviews
124
Ranking in other categories
Secure Web Gateways (SWG) (1st), Internet Security (1st), Cloud Access Security Brokers (CASB) (2nd), Cisco Security Portfolio (3rd)
Palo Alto Networks DNS Secu...
Ranking in Domain Name System (DNS) Security
3rd
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
6.1
Number of Reviews
16
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of September 2026, in the Domain Name System (DNS) Security category, the mindshare of Cisco Umbrella is 16.5%, down from 23.5% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Palo Alto Networks DNS Security is 10.2%, up from 8.7% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Domain Name System (DNS) Security Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Cisco Umbrella16.5%
Palo Alto Networks DNS Security10.2%
Other73.3%
Domain Name System (DNS) Security
 

Featured Reviews

SS
Sr. Technical Executive at a computer software company with 11-50 employees
Has required extensive customization for non-technical users and still needs better simplification
Customization for basic users can be complex, as it is targeted toward only technical users. It would be beneficial if Cisco simplifies the customization process while still ensuring strong security to prevent unauthorized access. Simplifying the customization part could enhance Cisco Umbrella, but overall, it is a good solution for me.
reviewer2695164 - PeerSpot reviewer
IT Security Specialist at a tech services company with 11-50 employees
Provides comprehensive protection for outgoing traffic and has improved management through AI features
I am currently working in IT security, focusing mainly on firewalls and IDS solutions. My primary focus is on Palo Alto Networks DNS Security. I only work with physical firewalls, specifically the 400 series and 1400 series, not with K2-Series firewall, Prisma Access, or CN-Series. We are using the URL Filtering license, Advanced Threat Prevention license, and DNS Security license. I think the price of Palo Alto Networks DNS Security is quite realistic; it's not too expensive, but of course, it's not cheap. Our clients are mainly using on-premises solutions. On a scale of 1-10, I rate Palo Alto Networks DNS Security an 8.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Cisco Umbrella is specifically designed for DNS protection, with features including a user-friendly console and the easiest installation, and it offers very prominent threat feeding from different Talos sources, securing multiple platforms while helping protect from malware and unsafe sites and mitigating DNS attacks to ensure secure browsing for end users."
"It has excellent resilience in cybersecurity. Cybersecurity for my organization is very important because we are a banking organization. We need this security to protect the personal information of our clients. This is very important for our security."
"The insight into what our users are doing via Cisco Umbrella is valuable. Knowing that we're protecting our users as they leave our network is also valuable now because we've got more hybrid working."
"It blocks malicious DNS queries daily which is very beneficial."
"We are not using a DNS solution, but we have been using the firewalls and all the proxy firewalls instead, which has really helped us since we now know that the entire network environment is being secured by Umbrella."
"I would recommend Cisco Umbrella to other interested companies; it's a very flexible and secure application — it's very good."
"What we like most is security and how easy it is to integrate with other appliances."
"The weekly reportings are great. The investigation is super and the application management is equally great."
"The solution's most valuable features are data exfiltration and DNS tunneling."
"The support team has good knowledge about the solution."
"The most valuable feature is DNS filtering."
"I would rate the scalability a nine out of ten."
"This product is used in our organization to prevent all of the potential threats that we expect from the internet, including everything that can reach the end-user from the internet, and it is beneficial for us because we are in the process of migrating everything from on-premises to the cloud."
"The most valuable features of DNS Security include its ability to protect against command and control traffic, anonymizers, newly registered domains, and DNS tunneling."
"Palo Alto Networks DNS Security is a stable solution."
"The main feature of the Palo Alto Networks DNS Security protects our network from external attacks, malware, and data theft."
 

Cons

"All in all, I can not recommend OpenDNS as a one-size-fits-all solution for security and compliance, especially for larger organisations."
"Cisco Umbrella is difficult to manage and needs to include a dashboard. It needs to improve pricing as well."
"Improvements could be made with the user interface, it could be a little smoother and more intuitive."
"This solution is difficult to configure."
"There should be a way to monitor traffic at the user level."
"If a hardware platform were provided for Umbrella, that would definitely improve the market for it... Especially when we are addressing governmental customers, they hesitate to connect to the cloud. That is where we need a hardware platform so that the solution can be used on-premises as well."
"Cisco Umbrella can be improved in terms of limited coverage and wind vulnerability. The product can only shield a small area, making it less effective for larger spaces or multiple users."
"It needs a better price point."
"The installation is more complex because the solution has another approach to security."
"With Palo Alto Networks DNS Security, sometimes the DNS clients don't work well, and they get disconnected, making it an area where improvements are required."
"Sometimes, it blocks legitimate traffic for custom applications, requiring manual intervention."
"Every vendor that sells DNS or firewalls needs to be able to protect against DNS look-up attacks and DNS naming hacks. This is true of Palo Alto as well as others."
"If the tool offers improved data security, I think it would be good."
"The product is not as stable as other solutions, such as Cisco Umbrella, Infoblox, and EfficientIP."
"The solution can capture more market if made more cost-competitive than Infoblox or Cisco Umbrella."
"I have found customer service to be quite problematic. The support is often outsourced, leading to delayed response times."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The licensing fee is paid on a yearly basis."
"The pricing is pretty fair. It's good."
"You get what you pay for if you break the solution up into tiers."
"The price is fair, and the licensing cost is based on the number of users. We have seen a good ROI."
"The licensing and pricing structure of Cisco Umbrella is in line with standard systems on the market, and we have no specific requirements in this area. Overall, we have found it to be an acceptable pricing model for our organization."
"The price of Cisco Umbrella is a little higher than similar solutions, like Gateway."
"The pricing was marvelous."
"The solution’s pricing is reasonable."
"The solution's pricing is equal to Cisco AMP or Cisco Umbrella."
"It is not an expensive solution."
"If one is very cheap and ten is very expensive, I rate the tool's price as two."
"Palo Alto Networks DNS Security is an expensive product. I rate the product's pricing an eight on a scale of one to ten, where one is cheap, and ten points are expensive."
"There aren't many vendors offering DNS security solutions, but generally, Palo Alto subscriptions tend to be more expensive than other security vendors."
"There is an annual license for the solution and I am satisfied with the pricing."
"The product is expensive compared to Fortinet."
"The product is expensive. My company makes payments on a quarterly basis towards the solution's costs."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
14%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Outsourcing Company
8%
Financial Services Firm
15%
Manufacturing Company
11%
Computer Software Company
9%
Performing Arts
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business50
Midsize Enterprise31
Large Enterprise51
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business6
Large Enterprise10
 

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...
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...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Cisco Umbrella?
The pricing for Cisco Umbrella is fair compared to other platforms out there for DNS security. We acquired it as a bundle with other Cisco purchases.
What needs improvement with Palo Alto Networks DNS Security?
DNS Security protects us against threats, malware, and malicious domains or malicious navigation to the internet, which is where it can be improved the best. Palo Alto helps us with support, so I d...
What is your primary use case for Palo Alto Networks DNS Security?
I can describe my use cases for Palo Alto Networks DNS Security, which is used for protecting our network. I use this product, Palo Alto Networks DNS Security, with Palo Alto firewalls.
What advice do you have for others considering Palo Alto Networks DNS Security?
I don't have experience with Palo Alto Networks AutoFocus. Regarding the DNS Security, I have firewalls with the DNS Security module in the firewall. DNS Security is something we configure in our f...
 

Also Known As

OpenDNS
No data available
 

Overview

 

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
Information Not Available
Find out what your peers are saying about Cisco Umbrella vs. Palo Alto Networks DNS Security and other solutions. Updated: August 2026.
913,422 professionals have used our research since 2012.