Cisco Umbrella vs Prisma SD-WAN comparison

Cisco and Palo Alto Networks are both solutions in the Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) category. Cisco is ranked #2 with an average rating of 9.3, while Palo Alto Networks is ranked #10 with an average rating of 8.3. Cisco holds a 10.0% mindshare in SASE, compared to Palo Alto Networks’s 2.0% mindshare. Additionally, 97% of Cisco users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 95% of Palo Alto Networks users who would recommend it.

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Jun 15, 2025

Prisma SD-WAN and Cisco Umbrella compete in the advanced network solutions category. Prisma SD-WAN has the upper hand in network optimization with its application visibility, traffic management, and advanced VPN capabilities. In contrast, Cisco Umbrella excels in network security with its DNS-based protection against malware and phishing.

Features: Prisma SD-WAN provides Zero Touch Provisioning, seamless VPN tunneling, and sophisticated Layer 7 traffic manipulation, ensuring robust application performance and network optimization. Cisco Umbrella offers DNS security with transparent malicious site protection, effective content filtering, and integration with other Cisco solutions, enhancing its network security value.

Room for Improvement: Prisma SD-WAN requires better documentation, faster technical support, and improved integration with third-party monitoring tools. Pricing is considered high, with challenges in high-availability device activation. Cisco Umbrella could benefit from expanded malware protection functionalities, simplified policy creation, and enhanced support options, along with a more straightforward pricing model.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Prisma SD-WAN is flexible with cloud deployment options but faces criticism for its initial setup complexity and varied support effectiveness under Palo Alto. Customer service engagement levels vary. Cisco Umbrella is praised for its smooth cloud-based deployment, user-friendly configuration, and supportive customer service, although it occasionally struggles with comprehensive integration across Cisco's product ecosystem.

Pricing and ROI: Prisma SD-WAN is often seen as a premium service, with pricing justified by its feature-rich offerings, yielding significant ROI through network efficiencies. Cisco Umbrella's pricing varies by license type and features, perceived as competitive yet potentially high for small organizations. Its value is evident in effective threat protection and ease of management, contributing to substantial ROI through avoided security risks and consolidation of security infrastructure.

To learn more, read our detailed Cisco Umbrella vs. Prisma SD-WAN Report (Updated: June 2025).

Buyer's Guide

Cisco Umbrella vs. Prisma SD-WAN

June 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

iboss

Mindshare comparison

As of July 2025, in the Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) category, the mindshare of iboss is 1.7%, up from 1.2% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Cisco Umbrella is 10.0%, up from 9.0% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Prisma SD-WAN is 2.0%, down from 2.6% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Secure Access Service Edge (SASE)

Featured Reviews

Matt Crockford

Head of Cybersecurity at SES Water

It's easy to roll out, and their understanding of our business made it seamless

One aspect we value about iboss is its simplicity. Their customer service is brilliant, and they are super responsive and knowledgeable. It's easy to roll out, and their understanding of our business made it seamless. We were impressed by the solution's mental health function, which can detect if someone needs help. It scans what users are browsing and flags warning signs so we can check to see if they are okay. We've had to use it a couple of times. The user interface is highly intuitive. Our IT team picked it up with minimal training. It's arranged so that it's easy to find where things are. Another advantage is the single pane of glass console, which gives you visibility into what's happening. We're not fully there yet because we haven't implemented zero trust, but we're excited about the possibilities from the demos we've seen. We launched a POC of iboss' ChatGPT Risk Protection feature two weeks ago. AI is a great tool, but you need to be careful what you put into it. My biggest fear is employees inputting sensitive corporate information or customer PII data into one of these chatbots. I was impressed by our trial of the feature. It's exactly what we wanted. Now, when a user goes to ChatGPT, there's a banner warning them not to share information, and we can block conversations containing customer data like bank details and email addresses. I don't want to stop people from using it, but we need visibility. We've only tried it on a test group of 15 people. You can configure it to look for specific keywords or integrate it with your DLP policy if you have that configured

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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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Engineerinfosec67

Presale Engineer at Westcon-Comstor

Centralized management streamlines global network traffic control

Prisma SD-WAN requires a more seamless integration with other Palo Alto solutions, like Prisma Access. Although there has been improvement, further steps can be taken. Additionally, it would be beneficial if the solution integrated the SD-WAN features of Prisma SD-WAN with the security features of Palo Alto's next-generation firewalls, as they currently do not align.

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Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"From a use-case scenario, what I like the most is the plug-in. I like the fact that we can do the filtering of these devices offsite independent of the network they are connected to, and we do not have to have traffic coming back inside our network."

"The solution has massively improved our security posture, giving us full visibility into what our staff does online."

"Content filtering is the most useful feature of iboss."

"Its initial setup was straightforward."

"The console is cloud-based, which is something I really appreciate."

"iboss is among the few products providing inline filtering where no application is needed on the device."

"We were impressed by the solution's mental health function, which can detect if someone needs help. It scans what users are browsing and flags warning signs so we can check to see if they are okay. We've had to use it a couple of times."

"iboss is easy to use despite its complexity. Multiple engineers manage it, but it's significantly more straightforward to administer than traditional VPNs and web proxies."

More iboss pros

"When it comes to hybrid work it's pretty effective. We've got the agents. We can protect people inside our building and, when they're using their laptops out in the field, they're still protected. It's working well."

"It has the ability to quickly block new threats."

"The most valuable feature of Cisco Umbrella is its DNS security."

"The single-pane-of-glass management is very important. We have a very small team. We can't spend a lot of time going from product to product to product to either investigate or set up policy. We need to have one place that we can go to and set everything up."

"The most valuable features are the dashboard, visibility, and reporting capabilities. Our customers can see how much Umbrella is protecting their organization. If you don't know what you've got, you can't protect it. With Umbrella, you get the visibility and see the protection that it's providing. We can get PDF reports on a weekly basis of any malware activities and any denial of service or command-and-control-type activities."

"The biggest return on investment when using Cisco Umbrella for me is the ease of use of the fact that we've deployed this with our Cisco VPN Secure Client, so every computer has the Umbrella module in it."

"The most valuable feature is the ability to block users from reaching places that they should not even try to reach has been a boon."

"The weekly reportings are great. The investigation is super and the application management is equally great."

More Cisco Umbrella pros

"The product's initial setup phase is straightforward."

"The dynamic routing in Prisma SD-WAN is high-speed and valuable because it quickly adjusts, so users do not realize the link is down."

"Prisma SD-WAN is an absolutely stable solution."

"The gateway is available on the cloud which allows you access from anywhere and still connects to your home gateway."

"It is flexible to use the internet connection via local breakouts without going to data centers."

"Prisma SD-WAN offers capabilities such as path selection based on Layer 7 attributes and application quality of service at the application level."

"Prisma SD-WAN is recommended due to its comprehensive capabilities."

"If the MPLS goes down, there is a really smooth transition for a branch site to take traffic over the Internet. It will advertise the routes of that site in a jiffy."

More Prisma SD-WAN pros

Cons

"If they could implement an extra security layer preventing access to iboss from the open internet, it would be great."

"Sometimes, obviously, there are bugs."

"Its pricing could be better."

"I'd like to see them accelerate development on the security side, particularly around data loss prevention."

"The solution could be stronger on the integration side and offer more cloud applications like G Suite or Oracle."

"I am currently doing a PoC of the zero trust aspect of it. Compared to other similar solutions, it is hard to get around each feature. It takes a while to get used to it."

"The area I would like to see improvement in is the ability with in the reporter to navigate directly to the content the user is traversing. It is kind of there, but it's not perfect. Quite frequently, I receive links that lead me to pages with error messages."

"Sometimes when you call in support, you get someone who is just following a sheet. It feels like a runaround. You feel that you are running into that support wall."

More iboss cons

"There are cheaper solutions in the market"

"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."

"It has happened in the past that Cisco Umbrella has denied us access to secure websites."

"Cisco Umbrella could be improved by making the policies more granular, as in some cases, it's difficult to find the correct link to open a specific site securely."

"Client delivery and client updates should be improved. Client delivery was not as easy as expected. Another area for improvement is the integration of escalation procedures for security issues."

"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."

"Its DNS service does not support IPv6 query."

"Cisco Umbrella hasn't integrated customized reporting yet. With Cisco Secure Endpoint Hub, I can see a report on user downloads and set it up to constantly get an email alert. Based on my understanding, Cisco Umbrella can't do that. You can set it up with third parties, but it would be better if that were built into the platform."

More Cisco Umbrella cons

"There are two parallel things that we want Palo Alto to work on. First, customers want a unified appliance that does the work of all firewalls in addition to SD-WAN. Second, the cloud presence should be completely automated. If I purchase the SASE architecture, I shouldn't worry about deployments in Prisma Access or on Prisma SD-WAN. It should be deployed in one go."

"The documentation tends to be outdated, often directing us to resources that are no longer accurate or available, and this is one of the reasons we are potentially looking at alternatives."

"I'd like to see them move more towards CASB."

"The solution should include custom ports and group voice connections."

"Prisma SD-WAN should provide more flexibility and scalability on the hardware."

"We are incorporating their zone-based firewalls. Prisma SD-WAN has limited documentation on how it manipulates traffic, e.g., how it is interacting with TCP and UDP. We recently had some traffic that was black holing. We literally had to do packet captures to see that the new zone-based firewall, which runs on top of Prisma SD-WAN, was causing issues."

"The product could be a bit cheaper for the services it provides."

"The tool needs to work on price and complexity."

More Prisma SD-WAN cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"We had the cost of purchasing a new appliance along with the implementation and licensing costs. However, the following year, the cost of just licensing was similar to what was paid the previous year for a new appliance along with the implementation and licensing costs."

"It is not expensive, and it is also not cheap. iboss is priced right in the sweet spot for the number of features it offers."

"The overall pricing for iboss is very competitive and transparent."

"We have not priced the solution recently, but they were competitive with other vendors in the past."

"It is probably in line with other solutions, but I do not deal with the financial side."

"It is expensive compared to one of its competitors."

"Its value exceeds its pricing."

"There is a subscription cost."

"You get what you pay for if you break the solution up into tiers."

"The price should be slightly lower than the current price because if you look at the whole solution, it is simply a threat intelligence solution to block blacklisted things. The price should be lower looking at the features provided by the solution. The price isn't too high either, but it could be lower."

"We have a security Enterprise Agreement with Cisco, so the pricing is good."

"When talking about Cisco solutions in general there pricing model is horrible. For example, you can sell a Meraki-based solution, but if the customer starts shopping around, someone is going to have access to the pricing at a level that you cannot compete because they do not have uniform pricing. Not everybody gets fair pricing. Unless you are one of the real major corporations selling the solution your ability to compete is impossible. Cisco will acknowledge the situation and assure you next time it will be in your favor but it never becomes favorable for you. Cisco is not very good in this regard. However, Umbrella is good."

"Licensing fees are paid on a yearly basis."

"Licensing with Cisco can be a little complex, but I think it's comparable with that of other similar products. It's always hard to put a price on security, but the price is fair for the value it provides."

More Cisco Umbrella pricing and cost advice

"This solution stood out because it cost considerably less than the other SD-WAN solutions out there from Cisco."

"It is more expensive than Fortinet."

"On a scale from one to ten, where one is cheap and ten is expensive, I rate the solution's pricing an eight out of ten."

"Prisma SD-WAN is a pretty expensive solution."

"If you're already invested in a Palo Alto product, it would be logical to use this solution. If not, there might be some other solutions that are more viable in terms of pricing."

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

12%

Financial Services Firm

11%

Manufacturing Company

Government

Computer Software Company

20%

Educational Organization

Manufacturing Company

Financial Services Firm

Computer Software Company

13%

Financial Services Firm

12%

Manufacturing Company

Educational Organization

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about iboss?

Content filtering is the most useful feature of iboss.

See all answers

What needs improvement with iboss?

For zero trust implementation, we encountered complexity issues, especially with a large infrastructure company Exxon...

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What is your primary use case for iboss?

Previously when I used iboss, we did the POC for iboss for ExxonMobil. Four or five people wanted to move from our ol...

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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. Zs...

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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-nat...

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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 Prisma SD-WAN?

The product's initial setup phase is straightforward.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Prisma SD-WAN?

The costs seem crazy to me since I'm relatively new to the pricing world of enterprise security solutions, but compar...

See all answers

What needs improvement with Prisma SD-WAN?

The areas that need improvement include documentation/customer support and cross-communication between the support te...

See all answers

Comparisons

Zscaler Internet Access vs iboss

Compared 18% of the time

Netskope vs iboss

Compared 16% of the time

Prisma Access by Palo Alto Networks vs iboss

Compared 10% of the time

Cloudflare One vs iboss

Compared 9% of the time

Zscaler Zero Trust Exchange Platform vs iboss

Compared 7% of the time

More iboss Competitors

Zscaler Internet Access vs Cisco Umbrella

Compared 16% of the time

Prisma Access by Palo Alto Networks vs Cisco Umbrella

Compared 9% of the time

Cisco Secure Access vs Cisco Umbrella

Compared 7% of the time

Infoblox Advanced DNS Protection vs Cisco Umbrella

Compared 7% of the time

Microsoft Defender for Cloud Apps vs Cisco Umbrella

Compared 5% of the time

More Cisco Umbrella Competitors

Prisma Access by Palo Alto Networks vs Prisma SD-WAN

Compared 20% of the time

Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN vs Prisma SD-WAN

Compared 19% of the time

Fortinet FortiGate vs Prisma SD-WAN

Compared 18% of the time

Meraki SD-WAN vs Prisma SD-WAN

Compared 13% of the time

Aruba EdgeConnect SD-WAN Platform vs Prisma SD-WAN

Compared 8% of the time

More Prisma SD-WAN Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

iboss

July 2025

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Buyer's Guide

Cisco Umbrella

July 2025

Download Cisco Umbrella product report

Buyer's Guide

Prisma SD-WAN

June 2025

Download Prisma SD-WAN product report

Also Known As

iBoss Cloud Platform

OpenDNS

CloudGenix

Overview

iboss offers a comprehensive security platform designed for diverse use cases such as web filtering, data loss protection, corporate proxy services, and URL filtering.

iboss integrates advanced features to address dynamic security needs, leveraging its strength in SASE, ZTNA, AI initiatives, and cloud integration, while ensuring seamless operations for remote work. It excels in historical forensics, malware protection, and flexible cloud deployments. Users benefit from comprehensive traffic scanning, robust malware detection, and PaaS capabilities that reduce hardware management. An intuitive admin console ensures efficient management with content filtering and low false positives. SSL decryption enhances security, while DLP protects data in AI conversations. Deployment is rapid and scalable, allowing effortless integration with emerging technologies.

What features does iboss offer?

Granular Web Filtering: Provides precise control over web content access.
Traffic Scanning: Monitors data through multiple ports for security breaches.
Malware Detection: Ensures superior protection against malware threats.
PaaS Capabilities: Eliminates need for hardware management.
SSL Decryption: Enhances data protection by decrypting secure connections.
DLP Capabilities: Safeguards data during AI interactions.

What benefits and ROI should users consider?

Scalability: Adapts quickly to growing demands and emerging tech integration.
Rapid Deployment: Reduces time to implement security measures.
User-Friendly Admin Console: Facilitates efficient operations management.
Low False Positives: Increases accuracy of threat detection systems.

iboss finds significant application in sectors such as education, where web filtering for K-12 is crucial, and in corporate environments requiring robust proxy services and URL filtering for network security. Its adaptability is essential in scenarios demanding flexible, decentralized security frameworks, particularly for remote work setups.

iboss

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

Simplify management, enable app-defined SD-WAN policies and deliver a secure, cloud-delivered branch today with the Industry’s first next-generation SD-WAN.

Palo Alto Networks

Sample Customers

More than 4,000 global enterprises trust the iboss Cloud Platform to support their modern workforces, including a large number of Fortune 50 companies.

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

Open Networking User Group, Columbia Sportswear Company, Coca Cola

Buyer's Guide

Cisco Umbrella vs. Prisma SD-WAN

June 2025

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