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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
7.3
Number of Reviews
125
Ranking in other categories
Secure Web Gateways (SWG) (1st), Internet Security (1st), Cloud Access Security Brokers (CASB) (3rd), Cisco Security Portfolio (2nd)
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 November 2026, in the Domain Name System (DNS) Security category, the mindshare of Cisco Umbrella is 17.0%, down from 22.5% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Palo Alto Networks DNS Security is 11.0%, up from 8.2% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Domain Name System (DNS) Security Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Cisco Umbrella17.0%
Palo Alto Networks DNS Security11.0%
Other72.0%
Domain Name System (DNS) Security
 

Featured Reviews

KamranJameel - PeerSpot reviewer
Head Of IT at a financial services firm with 51-200 employees
Secure browsing has protected users from DNS threats and improves malware defense
The major issue is that sometimes when you install the client, it shows you protected and displays that it is live with the backend servers and everything. However, in reality, it was not getting any feed from the main client and is just sending your traffic to open DNS, which sometimes causes an issue because the protection you have implemented can be breached by users. The primary thing that Cisco Umbrella lacked most of the time is their client. Previously, they had a separate Cisco client. Now they have merged everything into the Cisco Secure Endpoint client—one client for everything, for Cisco Endpoint, for Cisco AnyConnect, and for Cisco Umbrella, which they did probably in 2025.
Partha Dash - PeerSpot reviewer
Global Network Tech Lead at a tech vendor with 10,001+ employees
Protects against threats by quickly identifying insider risks and compromised devices
Palo Alto should explore agentless approaches to integrate DNS Security more easily and efficiently. The existing system sometimes presents challenges with backbone routing, impacting productivity. An agentless approach could be more lightweight and user-friendly. Additionally, there is a need for improvement in the pricing model for support and license renewals.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Some clients only want DNS security, while others want more of the advanced features that it has available."
"The most valuable feature is the ability to filter malware sites that could infect clients or allow them to download infected files."
"Using this solution has meant that we've needed to make fewer firewall changes."
"Its simplicity is most valuable. I can install it and get it up and running, and it can be pervasive across my business within a business day. It is pretty simple and straightforward to install and configure. Its remit is reasonably clearly defined. When you look at solutions like Darktrace and Carbon Black, the mission objective isn't as clearly defined. Cisco Umbrella, Sophos Central, or some of the other solutions have a more standardized approach to antivirus, which includes enhanced response from the machine learning or deep learning perspective."
"The user interface is great. It's very easy to tailor to our client's environment and needs."
"Umbrella has helped my IT staff in two ways. First, our security team was able to get more insights into the users, their devices, and the sites they browse. Second, our system administration team was able to manage DNS resolutions in a way that is more accessible and less intrusive to our domain system."
"The most valuable aspect is that it is hosted with Cisco and can detect any new anomalies, acting almost like an XDR."
"The most valuable feature of Cisco Umbrella is its DNS security."
"We now have insight into our DNS requests and we can actively see how many thousands of malicious requests have gotten knocked down in the last day or week that we didn't have before. There's more insight for both security and more insight."
"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 support team has good knowledge about the solution."
"I would rate the scalability a nine out of ten."
"The stability is excellent and the product is very mature."
"I think it's easy to manage Palo Alto Networks DNS Security compared to other firewalls, and the feature set is really good."
"So, in general, it's very stable because the process to deliver new features and new releases in not so long...I rate the scalability a nine out of ten."
"The most valuable feature is DNS filtering."
 

Cons

"They should provide more integrations and bring things together so that there is a more standard feel to their platform. We also use Cisco ISE, and it has a very different feel from Cisco Umbrella."
"I'd like to see improvement in its overall integration with all the other platforms."
"I feel that the application needs other characteristics that are available with other applications in the market."
"If I want to see which users access a website, I need an Active Directory registered on Umbrella's cloud."
"The locks and management could be better. The product is fairly new, and it may take some time to get all the features up and running."
"Actually, we recently switched over to Zscaler because it has more features and it's more scalable than Cisco Umbrella."
"This solution does not give us full, 360-degree protection."
"Perhaps an option to be able to block only specific users would be a way to improve the free version of OpenDNS."
"There should be an on-premise version of this solution."
"The pricing of the Palo Alto Networks DNS Security is very high."
"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."
"The installation is more complex because the solution has another approach to security."
"Sometimes, it blocks legitimate traffic for custom applications, requiring manual intervention."
"We would like to have cloud-based management."
"The solution can capture more market if made more cost-competitive than Infoblox or Cisco Umbrella."
"The scalability can be improved."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Cisco is expensive. For example, we are looking at Nexus Dashboard, and it's costing about 250,000 euros. I ask, "What do I get from it?" I'm still not convinced that we have to spend on it, so pricing is a problem."
"In terms of licensing, we're not able to be extremely clear with the customer because it's based on their reporting. It's not based on the actual traffic. If they say they have 50 users but they have 80, we'll just buy for 50 users. That's something where we'd like to have more flexibility."
"You can request an evaluation license​."
"​The pricing is fair."
"The price depends on the use case, and it's a bit linear. But it depends on the customer's strategy and how Cisco plans to optimize the costs."
"There is a one-time cost of approximately $800 USD per user, and then a yearly support fee of about $50 per user."
"Cisco has a set price for a single license up to 100, but whenever we get over 100, we have to ask for a quote."
"I think Cisco Umbrella is priced well. We have a mix of customers with different verticals such as education. We have clients in the commercial space as well. Umbrella is at a good price point for all of our customers."
"The product is expensive. My company makes payments on a quarterly basis towards the solution's costs."
"It is not an expensive solution."
"The solution's pricing is equal to Cisco AMP or Cisco Umbrella."
"There is an annual license for the solution and I am satisfied with the pricing."
"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."
"If one is very cheap and ten is very expensive, I rate the tool's price as two."
"The product is expensive compared to Fortinet."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
14%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Outsourcing Company
8%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Financial Services Firm
14%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Performing Arts
7%
Computer Software Company
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business51
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?
My experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing reveals that the pricing is acceptable, but it is marginally a bit high. However, the services provided are much better, leading to a good retu...
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: September 2026.
920,939 professionals have used our research since 2012.