Cisco Umbrella vs Google Cloud DNS comparison

The compared Cisco and Google solutions aren't in the same category. Cisco is ranked #1 in DS , with an average rating of 9.2, and holds a 20.5% mindshare in the category. Google is ranked #8 in MDP , with an average rating of 8.0, and holds a 4.3% mindshare. Additionally, 97% of Cisco users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 100% of Google users who would recommend it.

Cisco Umbrella

Read 123 Cisco Umbrella reviews

20,182 Views
6,458 Comparison Views

97% willing to recommend

Google Cloud DNS

Read 7 Google Cloud DNS reviews

3,770 Views
3,657 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

Cisco Umbrella

Google Cloud DNS

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Jul 30, 2024

Cisco Umbrella and Google Cloud DNS are both leading solutions in the DNS market. Cisco Umbrella has the upper hand in security features, while Google Cloud DNS excels in integration and scalability.

Features: Cisco Umbrella offers robust threat detection, advanced malware protection, and comprehensive URL filtering. Google Cloud DNS provides seamless integration with Google services, low latency, and high availability.

Room for Improvement: Cisco Umbrella needs better reporting tools, more customization options, and improved user interface. Google Cloud DNS requires more comprehensive documentation, enhanced customer support, and simpler pricing structure.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Cisco Umbrella is known for relatively straightforward deployment and responsive customer service. Google Cloud DNS has a more complex initial setup but is supported by extensive online resources.

Pricing and ROI: Cisco Umbrella is considered pricier but justifies the cost with strong security and support services. Google Cloud DNS is seen as cost-effective with excellent performance but might require additional paid services for comprehensive support.

To learn more, read our detailed Domain Name System (DNS) Security Report (Updated: March 2026).

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March 2026

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Helped 884,732 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

Average Rating

8.8

Reviews Sentiment

7.3

Number of Reviews

123

Ranking in other categories

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

Google Cloud DNS

Average Rating

8.4

Reviews Sentiment

7.1

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Managed DNS (8th)

Mindshare comparison

Cisco Umbrella and Google Cloud DNS aren’t in the same category and serve different purposes. Cisco Umbrella is designed for Domain Name System (DNS) Security and holds a mindshare of 20.5%, down 25.2% compared to last year.
Google Cloud DNS, on the other hand, focuses on Managed DNS, holds 4.3% mindshare, down 6.2% since last year.

Domain Name System (DNS) Security Mindshare Distribution
Product	Mindshare (%)
Cisco Umbrella	20.5%
Infoblox Advanced DNS Protection	10.7%
Palo Alto Networks DNS Security	8.1%
Other	60.7%

Domain Name System (DNS) Security

Managed DNS Mindshare Distribution
Product	Mindshare (%)
Google Cloud DNS	4.3%
Cloudflare	29.2%
Quad9	27.5%
Other	39.0%

Managed DNS

Featured Reviews

Bryan Bettencourt

Senior Network Engineer at Mintz, Levin, Cohn, Ferris, Glovsky and Popeo, P.C.

Ensures comprehensive protection with seamless threat logging and efficient policy management

My favorite feature of Cisco Umbrella is probably just the DNS and the fact that when a security threat happens, all of that gets logged in their Umbrella portal, and it's very easy to find who's been accessing the site and how many people have accessed it, so that we can go to them and make sure they're not compromised. The features of Cisco Umbrella benefit my company by providing less time to search for things through logs, to look for what we need. It's just one place to go, and we just search for it, and we find it really fast. The fact that there's a virtual database that has all that information is great on our portal.

Read full review

Shikar Singh

Solutions Architect / IT Program Manager at Optum

Constantly improving and adapting to customer needs

The effectiveness of Google Cloud DNS largely depends on where an organization stands in its cloud journey and its overall technology landscape. For those heavily invested in Google Cloud Platform (GCP) and already embracing cloud solutions, Google Cloud DNS can be rated quite high, ranging from seven to nine out of ten.Deployment times for Google Cloud DNS can vary depending on the complexity of the infrastructure and configuration requirements. For straightforward setups and cloud-ready cases, deployment can typically be completed within a few minutes to an hour. However, in more complex infrastructure scenarios involving extensive configuration, deployment may take longer, possibly spanning days or weeks.

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 the ability to quickly block new threats."

"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."

"When we have laptops that leave the building, they could connect to public WiFi before they establish a VPN connection back into the company. For that duration or that period of time when they're not docked in the network or on a VPN, they effectively don't have that full layer of security that I provide inside the building. This tool stands in during that period of time, and we extend the security settings through their basic firewall or their cloud-based firewall at that time. So, we do content filtering and control access, but they also are looking at new domains, IP addresses, and bad requests. They're blocking them on my behalf when a laptop is not sitting behind our security appliances."

"The customer experience is very good, and the product improves security posture."

"Cisco Talos threat intelligence significantly influences my company's ability to act against emerging threats, giving us the chance to patch our side or take precautions when zero-day vulnerabilities emerge."

"The primary advantage of Cisco Umbrella is its ability to safeguard our users no matter where they are working from - whether it's in the office or remotely, as per the new work model that has emerged globally. This integrated security solution has simplified our lives by combining all the necessary security measures in one product. Additionally, deploying the product is all it takes to protect all our users."

"We like Cisco Umbrella because of DNS security. It's one step ahead of whatever we are using for regular web filtering. In that way, it's more secure than other web filtering products."

"Cisco's technical support is pretty good. When a solution is available, they will find it. On a scale from one to ten with ten being the best, I'd rate Cisco's technical support at nine."

More Cisco Umbrella pros

"The tool is well integrated. We don’t need the interface of another provider. The product helps me manage my domain and write in Google Cloud."

"It is a scalable solution."

"Google Cloud DNS continues to evolve based on customer feedback and technological advancements."

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

"The scalability is good."

"The most significant features are the internal and external endpoints using Google Cloud DNS, which are very beneficial for dependent apps."

"The initial setup process is easy."

Cons

"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."

"Security, overall, can always be improved."

"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."

"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."

"For us, as an MSP, the initial licensing changes were a roadblock, and they still could be a lot clearer. Specifically, it's an honor-based licensing system. We'd like it to be more specific to our traffic or our users so that we can make sure that the customer is paying for all their licensing."

"The solution could be faster as the process is very slow."

"Its DNS service does not support IPv6 query."

"The pricing is a bit high. Being outside of the USA, we have issues with the exchange rate."

More Cisco Umbrella cons

"It needs to provide better integration."

"The cost of using Google Cloud DNS can be relatively high compared to other options, especially considering the cloud environment."

"The solution's price could be better."

"The UI is tricky to understand for people who have not worked with DNS records. People with little to no experience with DNS records can find it hard to understand. For example, you need to know the hallmarks to input records since they need to be matched in a specific format."

"The UX of the product is an area with certain shortcomings where improvements are required."

"More features around rules-based configurations would be beneficial."

"Migrating away from Google Cloud DNS can be difficult."

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Its value exceeds its pricing."

"Cisco Umbrella is expensive and could be cheaper."

"The licensing fee is paid on a yearly basis."

"The pricing was marvelous."

"In the region I'm from, that of EMAR, Europe, the Middle East, Eastern Asia and Africa, our organizations do not have many liquid cash assets, so the price could be better."

"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."

"The price is quite good."

More Cisco Umbrella pricing and cost advice

"It is expensive but cost-effective."

"The product is expensive."

"I am not sure about the pricing. However, I can give you a rough estimate which is like ten cents per month per zone."

"The cost of using Google Cloud DNS can be relatively high compared to other options, especially considering the cloud environment. I would rate it 6 out of 10. Cheaper alternatives might be desirable, but the decision depends on various factors such as vendor lock-in, organizational adaptability, and alignment with other technologies in use."

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

14%

Manufacturing Company

Financial Services Firm

Comms Service Provider

16%

Computer Software Company

10%

Financial Services Firm

Manufacturing Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	50
Midsize Enterprise	30
Large Enterprise	51

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	2
Midsize Enterprise	1
Large Enterprise	4

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 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.

See all answers

What do you like most about Google Cloud DNS?

Google Cloud DNS continues to evolve based on customer feedback and technological advancements.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Google Cloud DNS?

Pricing and support are really good. There are no complaints about the pricing.

See all answers

What needs improvement with Google Cloud DNS?

I am not heavily involved with Cloud DNS, but from an end-user perspective, the customization part could be improved. More features around rules-based configurations would be beneficial.

See all answers

Comparisons

Zscaler Internet Access vs Cisco Umbrella

Compared 19% of the time

Cisco Secure Access vs Cisco Umbrella

Compared 8% of the time

Palo Alto Networks DNS Security vs Cisco Umbrella

Compared 7% of the time

Prisma Access by Palo Alto Networks vs Cisco Umbrella

Compared 4% of the time

Microsoft Defender for Cloud Apps vs Cisco Umbrella

Compared 4% of the time

More Cisco Umbrella Competitors

Quad9 vs Google Cloud DNS

Compared 66% of the time

Cloudflare vs Google Cloud DNS

Compared 10% of the time

Amazon Route 53 vs Google Cloud DNS

Compared 5% of the time

Azure DNS vs Google Cloud DNS

Compared 4% of the time

Infoblox DDI vs Google Cloud DNS

Compared 2% of the time

More Google Cloud DNS Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Cisco Umbrella

March 2026

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Buyer's Guide

Google Cloud DNS

March 2026

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Also Known As

OpenDNS

No data available

Overview

Cisco Umbrella provides fast-deploying DNS-layer security with powerful threat protection capabilities. Trusted by over 30,000 entities, it ranks highly in DNS security and effectively supports secure remote work environments.

Cisco Umbrella offers comprehensive DNS security, web filtering, and ease of use, enhancing network security through robust threat protection and malware prevention. It processes over 600 billion requests daily, making it a leader in its field. The seamless integration with existing infrastructures and cloud-based nature makes it suitable for remote and distributed work environments, ensuring consistent security throughout. Management is streamlined with a single-pane interface that simplifies administration, while in-depth reporting capabilities provide valuable insights for continuous monitoring.

What are the key features of Cisco Umbrella?

DNS Security: Provides leading protection by managing DNS queries and blocking malicious sites.
Web Filtering: Offers granular control over web content to safeguard internet usage.
Ease of Integration: Fits well into existing infrastructures, simplifying deployment and use.
Intuitive Management: Single-pane management streamlines administration and enhances usability.
Cloud-Based Flexibility: Supports secure remote work environments.

What benefits can users expect from using Cisco Umbrella?

Superior Threat Protection: Reduces risk by effectively detecting and preventing cyber threats.
Consistent Security: Provides uniform protection across network environments.
Efficiency and Visibility: Leverages comprehensive reporting for better security insights.
Easy Deployment: Quick and straightforward setup with minimal disruption.

Cisco Umbrella is widely adopted in industries requiring advanced DNS-level security to counteract malware, phishing, and cyber threats. Its ability to monitor and protect remote and roaming employees makes it an attractive option for sectors highly dependent on cloud services. By managing DNS queries and blocking harmful sites, Cisco Umbrella enhances cybersecurity across networks, providing an added layer of protection for businesses worldwide.

Cisco

Google Cloud DNS is a scalable, reliable and managed authoritative Domain Name System (DNS) service running on the same infrastructure as Google. It has low latency, high availability and is a cost-effective way to make your applications and services available to your users. Cloud DNS translates requests for domain names like www.google.com into IP addresses like 74.125.29.101. Cloud DNS is programmable. You can easily publish and manage millions of DNS zones and records using our simple user interface, command-line interface or API.

Google

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

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March 2026

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