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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

"It's very stable, reliable and does its job."
"It will protect, give you more robustness, and faster responses, compared to any firewalls or any of the proxy web servers."
"Improves security through DNS visibility, which can block malware, phishing, C&C, etc."
"The customer service and technical support of Cisco Umbrella are great."
"DNS protection, domain blocking, SIP component, and the Cisco Umbrella roaming client are the valuable features of Cisco Umbrella."
"Cisco Umbrella provides a cloud management system where we can manage every client from a single workspace in our portal, and the single pane of glass management is user-friendly."
"The solution is extremely stable. It has excellent performance."
"My overall rating for Cisco Umbrella is ten out of ten."
"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 features of DNS Security include its ability to protect against command and control traffic, anonymizers, newly registered domains, and DNS tunneling."
"A lot is working well."
"Palo Alto Networks DNS Security is a stable solution."
"DNS security is required to filter out the DNS traffic, any DNS-based attacks, DNS DDoS attacks, and DNS amplification attacks."
"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 feature is DNS filtering."
"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."
 

Cons

"Basically, it is not fully mature, which means it's not yet ready to replace the WSA, however, over a period of time, it could to a certain extent."
"This solution is difficult to configure."
"It's easier for us to have support features with companies who are Cisco representatives, but sometimes, it's hard for us to get the help we need without having to use our contacts within Cisco."
"It would be useful if they had a malware protection engine running inside their own VM."
"Its reliability and the response time of the support team can be better."
"I would like to see more integrability with other products."
"Data reporting is something I would like to see improved."
"I would like to see more integration between Cisco Umbrella and Cisco DNA Center."
"The product should provide email protection."
"The solution’s scalability could be improved."
"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."
"The number of hotfixes indicates that there are many bugs in the new releases. Comparing a few years earlier, a release contained much fewer hotfixes."
"Pricing is one of the areas of concern in Palo Alto Networks DNS Security since it is an expensive product. I feel that the product's pricing is an area that could be improved."
"The scalability can be improved."
"The installation is more complex because the solution has another approach to security."
"Palo Alto should explore agentless approaches to integrate DNS Security more easily and efficiently."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Pricing depends on the automation requirements of the organization."
"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."
"The pricing model is easier compared to some of the other solutions, and it is also competitive."
"I think it's worth the money."
"The licensing fee is paid on a yearly basis."
"Our licensing fees are on a yearly basis."
"The pricing is great and very competitive with the rest of the market."
"The pricing is pretty fair. It's good."
"The solution's pricing is equal to Cisco AMP or Cisco Umbrella."
"The product is expensive. My company makes payments on a quarterly basis towards the solution's costs."
"There is an annual license for the solution and I am satisfied with the pricing."
"There aren't many vendors offering DNS security solutions, but generally, Palo Alto subscriptions tend to be more expensive than other security vendors."
"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."
"The product is expensive compared to Fortinet."
"If one is very cheap and ten is very expensive, I rate the tool's price as two."
"It is not an expensive solution."
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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%
Computer Software Company
7%
Performing Arts
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.
920,769 professionals have used our research since 2012.