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BlueCat Edge vs Cisco Umbrella 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

BlueCat Edge
Ranking in Domain Name System (DNS) Security
8th
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.1
Number of Reviews
6
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Cisco Umbrella
Ranking in Domain Name System (DNS) Security
1st
Average Rating
8.8
Reviews Sentiment
7.2
Number of Reviews
124
Ranking in other categories
Secure Web Gateways (SWG) (1st), Internet Security (1st), Cloud Access Security Brokers (CASB) (2nd), Cisco Security Portfolio (3rd)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of September 2026, in the Domain Name System (DNS) Security category, the mindshare of BlueCat Edge is 3.2%, up from 2.6% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Cisco Umbrella is 16.5%, down from 23.5% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Domain Name System (DNS) Security Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Cisco Umbrella16.5%
BlueCat Edge3.2%
Other80.3%
Domain Name System (DNS) Security
 

Featured Reviews

reviewer2284602 - PeerSpot reviewer
IT Engineer at a construction company with 10,001+ employees
Has enhanced DNS routing, an easy setup and good reliability
I would like to see improvements in threat detection and the ability to add categorization for blocking queries, such as those related to adult entertainment. Also, some features to filter out valid threats would be useful. Additionally, having a standardized location for query redirection without needing to stand up a server instance would be beneficial.
SS
Sr. Technical Executive at a computer software company with 11-50 employees
Has required extensive customization for non-technical users and still needs better simplification
Customization for basic users can be complex, as it is targeted toward only technical users. It would be beneficial if Cisco simplifies the customization process while still ensuring strong security to prevent unauthorized access. Simplifying the customization part could enhance Cisco Umbrella, but overall, it is a good solution for me.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The unparalleled visibility offered by BlueCat Edge is arguably the most critical benefit we receive."
"IP Address Management (IPAM) is the most valuable."
"It allows us to easily monitor our subnets and routers."
"Edge has reduced the complexity and has been more reliable."
"What I found most valuable is the ability to put it in place and integrate it very quickly. It allows us to create routing rule sets to route DNS traffic where it needs to go most efficiently in our environment."
"Scalability-wise, it's pretty good."
"We implemented BlueCat Edge to solve the visibility and security issues we were having."
"The interface is well organized, so you can easily find everything. Even if you don't have much experience with Cisco, you can easily navigate the solution and find your way around. Everything has been done well, from the deployment to monitoring."
"Cisco Umbrella has definitely helped improve some aspects of our security posture, contributing to overall organizational security posture management."
"Cisco's support is fantastic, providing assistance when needed, especially during the initial installation process."
"We immediately block impersonating users from accessing services over Cisco Umbrella-controlled devices."
"I like the DNS layer security."
"There is much differentiation within the licensing so if anyone wants DNS security from the DNS security log, we are there already, and if anyone wants to go to a secure internet gateway, that is also available. We can get the integrated cloud DLP license keys. That is a good benefit with Cisco Umbrella. You can get a complete solution in a single licensing."
"This product is very straightforward and simple to setup."
"Cisco Umbrella offers DNS layer security, a secure web gateway, and cloud access security broker functionality."
 

Cons

"A more graphical user interface would be a benefit."
"I would like to see improvements in threat detection and the ability to add categorization for blocking queries, such as those related to adult entertainment."
"One pain point concerning DNS Edge is the inability to see per Edge endpoint, what devices are querying against it. They do have the capability for you to look at that data, but the data is roughly 24 to 48 hours old. I am looking for real-time data, and I cannot get that per Edge endpoint."
"I have concerns about several aspects of BlueCat's site management."
"A more graphical user interface would be a benefit. It would be nice if I could click on a subnet and it would show me all of my links and everything."
"Its price is on the higher side."
"The main improvement for BlueCat Edge's security configuration would be more granular control."
"I am unsure if Cisco Umbrella offers a Windows option for running the server."
"It has happened in the past that Cisco Umbrella has denied us access to secure websites."
"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."
"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."
"The solution's technical support is not very good."
"The different levels of security, such as backend security and internet security, need improvement."
"The integration with other solutions is a little complex. If you want to integrate with something like ArcSight or LogRhythm or Splunk, you need to do a lot of configuration. There are no easy ways to implement it."
"Improvement could be made in the area of detailed reporting analytics broken down by client name for individual custom reporting."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"I'm doing a costing and licensing comparison between the BlueCat DNS Integrity and Micetro by Men&Mice. BlueCat has given me a range instead of a specific price. They gave me a range of ten thousand to two hundred thousand USD. That was a bit too wide for the cost comparison. Based on what I'm seeing, they are definitely on the higher side and very expensive."
"One of the nice benefits of getting DNS Edge is that you buy the subscription, and you are allowed to deploy as many Edge endpoints as you need. You do not need a separate license for each one. If you deploy 20 of them, you will not be billed for that many. It is one subscription. You can deploy as many as you need and consume as much as you need. The cost comes in based on the number of IPs that you are consuming and running through DNS Edge. We have that pretty much locked in for what we need for internal purposes. Being able to save money on deploying Edge endpoints has saved us drastically from deploying other BlueCat products in lieu of that."
"We find the current pricing model more reasonable compared to the previous per-IP pricing."
"The licensing model for BlueCat Edge seems very good, although I can't confirm if it's specific to our contract."
"The price of Cisco Umbrella is a little higher than similar solutions, like Gateway."
"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."
"I rate the tool's pricing a five out of ten."
"The licensing fee is paid on a yearly basis."
"Cisco Umbrella is expensive and could be cheaper."
"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."
"We were using the free version, and we implemented the paid version about two months ago. I'm paying a fair price, but everything is negotiable with Cisco. One of the benefits that I got by having Cisco Umbrella is the licensing of the Cisco AnyConnect VPN client."
"Cisco has a model called ELA. With ELA, if you buy the solution you will have the complete security portfolio and you can pay it yearly or after three years, it depends on the contract."
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913,806 professionals have used our research since 2012.
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
15%
Outsourcing Company
11%
Manufacturing Company
11%
Comms Service Provider
8%
Computer Software Company
14%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Outsourcing Company
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business1
Large Enterprise6
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business50
Midsize Enterprise31
Large Enterprise51
 

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for BlueCat Edge?
I'm not aware of the exact pricing and licensing as I was not part of the procurement process. However, there was a significant cost reduction thanks to BlueCat Cloud DNS managing external solutions.
What needs improvement with BlueCat Edge?
BlueCat should consider deploying feature enhancement requests faster, especially if they are simple to implement. They need to focus and deploy such features in the next version itself, which woul...
What is your primary use case for BlueCat Edge?
We have deployed BlueCat Edge across our organization globally. Regional-based queries are directed to BlueCat Edge, and they are resolved within the regions themselves. For instance, we have an An...
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?
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.
 

Also Known As

BlueCat DNS Edge
OpenDNS
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Swisslos, Cologne Bonn Airport, TYROLIT
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
Find out what your peers are saying about BlueCat Edge vs. Cisco Umbrella and other solutions. Updated: September 2026.
913,806 professionals have used our research since 2012.