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

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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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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

"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 customer service and technical support of Cisco Umbrella are great."

"The core business of Cisco Umbrella is non-malware. That's all it does: block the malware on the gateway."

"I was able to implement it myself. It was really easy to install. You could install it on a server locally if you want to. If you have the biggest site, you would do that, but for my site, it was just directing all the traffic out through the Cisco Umbrella DNS. It was really handy. When the owners of the company went overseas, I knew that they would be secure because even if they were not on the company network, they would still go through the Cisco Umbrella servers. It was a complete solution for protecting the company with outgoing data."

"The solution is extremely stable. It has excellent performance."

"The agent that gets installed on the endpoints or on people's laptops and devices is a Cisco AnyConnect Umbrella module. It's one of the most impressive things because you are able to protect your users anywhere they are."

"The most valuable feature is that it secures our network against blacklisted or malicious websites."

"Cisco is a very efficient and on-point solution that controls the whole network and settings on one page. We can monitor the entire network."

More Cisco Umbrella pros

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

"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."

"F5 BIG-IP DNS stands out as they are number one when it comes to WAF and load balancing technologies, and they have plenty of add-on features such as APM and AFM to handle DDoS attacks, DNS security, and GSLB."

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

"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."

"BIG-IP DNS's best feature is the Global Traffic Manager (GTM)."

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

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

More F5 BIG-IP DNS pros

Cons

"The firewall capabilities could be better. Cisco is starting to introduce some layer 7 capabilities now, but there's still some room to grow. They should continue with the development of Umbrella so that it is a full-blown cloud-managed firewall solution."

"Hopefully, it works with the Canvas and starts feeding results into the AI canvas. That would be excellent."

"There are cheaper solutions in the market"

"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."

"iOS devices and mobiles are huge in my environment right now, and I cannot run them on Cisco Umbrella 24/7."

"It had the ability to do a lot of app control. So, every single app that went through that portal was registered, but there is a general issue with the whole app control. As soon as you add a mobile phone to your network, all of the apps get registered through the system, and you can approve, reject, or just let them go through. When I looked at it, it was impossible to manage app control. There was just so much data. I didn't apply that service because I just didn't have the time to manage it. It would be good if there was a way to categorize applications."

"Cisco Umbrella should add some more documentation on proxies."

"If you wish to inspect all the traffic and it's integrated with Cisco AnyConnect, all the traffic basically goes through Cisco AnyConnect, which is not a good idea. That means you need to have more internet capacity as a data sampler, so in the case of a split tunnel, we cannot inspect the traffic that is being migrated through the local internet. I'm not sure whether there is a possibility wherein Cisco Umbrella can also inspect the traffic that is outside the AnyConnect tunnel."

More Cisco Umbrella cons

"The solution can improve by adding cloud integration through plugins or additional configurations so we can use F5 BIG-IP DNS to communicate with the cloud."

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

"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 support response time could use improvement."

"I would like to see deeper integration with VMware in the sense that F5 compliments VMware, in the context of application availability."

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

"The monitoring capabilities of F5 BIG-IP DNS could be improved."

"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."

More F5 BIG-IP DNS cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"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."

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

"It has a reasonable price. It is certainly not as expensive as it used to be. It is in line with other offerings on the market. There are a number of different flavors of Umbrella. They could bring Umbrella SIG down a bit because its price is a little bit high for what it does, but I also understand why its price is high."

"I rate the tool's pricing a five out of ten."

"Cisco solutions are generally perceived to be rather expensive. We have constant internal discussions as to whether we should offer lower-priced security solutions from some of the competitors."

"I think it's worth the money."

"The pricing is pretty fair. It's good."

"Cisco Umbrella is not a cheap product. However, it's not a matter of the cost; it's more a matter of the value of security. It is easy to measure this value when you have a security incident. I think the price is a good trade-off for a product that can help you avoid security threats."

More Cisco Umbrella pricing and cost advice

"They are competitively priced."

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

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

"In some cases, it is expensive."

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

"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."

"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."

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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

11%

Manufacturing Company

Government

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	49
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...

See all answers

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

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