Cisco Secure Access vs Cisco Umbrella comparison

Cisco Secure Access and Cisco Umbrella are both solutions in the Domain Name System (DNS) Security category. Cisco Secure Access is ranked #2 with an average rating of 8.3, while Cisco Umbrella is ranked #1 with an average rating of 9.2. Additionally, 100% of Cisco Secure Access users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 97% of Cisco Umbrella users who would recommend it.

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Dec 28, 2025

Cisco Umbrella and Cisco Secure Access both compete in the network security category. Cisco Umbrella appears to have the upper hand in environments needing robust DNS-layer protection and content filtering, while Cisco Secure Access excels in comprehensive access control and Zero Trust Network Access, offering more in-depth security management.

Features: Cisco Umbrella offers DNS-layer security, comprehensive web filtering, and malware threat prevention without requiring on-premise solutions, making it ideal for environments seeking content control. Cisco Secure Access provides advanced integration of access control and Zero Trust Network Access (ZTNA), enabling granular control over user access and robust application-layer security, which is beneficial for organizations needing extensive access logging and mobile security.

Room for Improvement: Cisco Umbrella could improve by enhancing integration with external threat feeds, supporting more internet protocols like IPv6, and offering detailed analytics and policy scheduling. Cisco Secure Access may improve its adaptive pricing strategies to accommodate diverse organizational sizes, offer smoother integration with third-party applications, and enhance user management for a better user experience.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Both products are straightforward to deploy, with Cisco Umbrella noted for its quicker setup, crucial for organizations needing to quickly enhance their security. Cisco Secure Access offers more configuration options which may require more technical engagement. Both products are supported by strong customer service, although email response times for Cisco Secure Access could be faster for urgent cases.

Pricing and ROI: Cisco Umbrella offers various pricing tiers, which, though high compared to competitors, are justified by its security benefits. Organizations often see ROI through reduced security incidents. Cisco Secure Access, also considered a premium product, faces similar pricing challenges but offers significant ROI with enhanced access control and reduced hardware needs. Both solutions recommend evaluating costs against anticipated risk mitigation to justify investments.

To learn more, read our detailed Cisco Secure Access vs. Cisco Umbrella Report (Updated: January 2026).

Buyer's Guide

Cisco Secure Access vs. Cisco Umbrella

January 2026

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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

Featured Reviews

reviewer2701851

Managing Director

Enhances web security with a single pane of glass and flexible deployment

I don't see any need for improvement; one of the really good things about iboss as a company is that they listen to customer feedback. I have suggested enhancements, and they are responsive, making changes for the better, and they do a lot of testing. To improve iboss, although we haven't used it, we considered the VPN solution that comes with the highest tier licensing, which includes DLP and various other add-ons. We prefer using another product which automatically logs you back onto your network when turning on your PC. With iboss, the connection is manual, which doesn't meet our needs. Additionally, sizing can be tricky because, although the initial recommendations may seem adequate, actual usage may require more gateways than anticipated.

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Kartik Amin

Network Operations Engineer at Redex IT Limited

Secure access has unified zero trust and web protection while AI assistance automates tasks

From a feature perspective, I have not experienced any issues, drawbacks, or shortcomings. However, the cost of Cisco's products and licensing is high. My clients usually prefer cheaper options if possible. Mid-size or smaller businesses typically cannot afford Cisco Secure Access. Additionally, there is a steep learning curve, as it is very intensive. Someone with significant knowledge can work on it, but a new professional would have to spend considerable time to get accustomed to it. It is hard to find engineers who can work on it. Overall, we get what we pay for, as it is a pretty good feature and service. The pricing of Cisco's products and licensing is higher than competitors. If they could be more reasonable, that would help. The support offered for two years also has higher costs. Overall, the client's IT budget gets affected. It was challenging to learn because, as mentioned, it has a significant learning curve and requires considerable training to become proficient.

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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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Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Its initial setup was straightforward."

"I would definitely recommend iboss for web filtering purposes to other organizations or individuals."

"Iboss is a solution that prevents advanced persistent threats, and has a zero tolerance for attacks."

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

"Granular setup, which was able to set different levels of filters using the OUs in the AD."

"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."

"Technical support is pretty sharp and very responsive."

"The iboss system is highly reliable. The false positive rates are small compared to some other systems we've experienced through other partner agencies who use competing solutions."

More iboss pros

"I find the zero trust approach helpful and beneficial in securing standard applications, which means you are accessing the applications directly instead of giving privilege to access the network itself."

"The most valuable feature of Cisco Secure Access is the level of security it provides."

"The integrated capabilities of Cisco Secure Access deliver significant ROI through reduced mean time to detect (MTTD) and mean time to respond (MTTR), with resource efficiency notably improved as fewer personnel are needed for triage and system management."

"The impact Cisco Secure Access has on protecting my company from threats such as phishing and ransomware is significant."

"What I appreciate about Cisco is that everything they do is precise and works well without any issues."

"The product is giving whatever you need from a customer point of view."

"The feature of Cisco Secure Access I appreciate the most is the DNS functionality."

"It works well. It hasn't broken. While I don't know enough about all the features yet, it hasn't caused us any problems."

More Cisco Secure Access pros

"The initial setup is very easy and takes only a few minutes."

"Cisco Umbrella is a totally different solution. They are the first to come up with this idea of security. It's a totally new concept of security for everybody, for every time, real time, perfectionism."

"I think recently with many people working from home, Cisco Umbrella has been very useful. For example, we can manage the device and the network when the employee is not working on the local host. Cisco Umbrella is very valuable for this kind of infrastructure."

"We can have a full overview and a quick overview of all the DNS requests. For us, it's quite important."

"Cisco Umbrella's integration with other solutions has been a great feature in terms of ease of administration. Administration and troubleshooting are faster. The single pane of glass is great as well. Another great feature of Cisco Umbrella is remote browser isolation. With this feature, you open a virtual browser, and it's seamless to the user. If the user ends up going to a bad website that's passed a policy and something bad tries to download, it will not download into the machine because it is a virtual window somewhere in the cloud. You are protected by this feature."

"I also think that the dashboard view is really helpful. Whenever sites get blocked, we get the details and the users who are connecting to them."

"Threats never come close to your network with security at the DNS level."

"By using Cisco Umbrella, you are sure of inspecting all the traffic. Whenever the user machine is connected to your network, it is inspected. That's the best thing. It means you are sure that nothing is being exported or imported without your choice. That is the best feature."

More Cisco Umbrella pros

Cons

"Fold that in with the risk intelligence they're getting from all of the different subscriptions they are a part of. Now, these security companies subscribe to things like emerging threats, databases, etc. You can fold all this intelligence to decide what's happening on an endpoint. I would love to see them start moving into that space. That would compete directly with Microsoft. Maybe that's why they haven't. Having that ability native within the solution would be great. The other area in which I would love to see improvement is more detailed descriptions of why they block websites."

"File integrity monitoring would be very advantageous as an additional feature."

"Sometimes the agent stops working in iboss, and we have to reinstall the agent."

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

"To scale up, a new iboss Node Blade Chassis must be purchased."

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

"Iboss is growing so fast that it is often hard for them to keep up with the challenges."

"Our biggest problem with their service was it did not recognize the device and filtering did not always work correctly."

More iboss cons

"If the FTD devices themselves, the Firepower Threat Detection system, those are the firewalls themselves, the individual appliances, weren't so tightly coupled to FMC, I'd probably appreciate them as a product more."

"In my opinion, Cisco Secure Access could be improved by potentially incorporating features that other brands have been using. I see benefits from features offered by competitors, which could enhance the Cisco experience if adapted thoughtfully."

"Managing Cisco Secure Access in a single cloud management console is moderate in difficulty."

"However, the cost of Cisco's products and licensing is high, and mid-size or smaller businesses typically cannot afford Cisco Secure Access."

"There is a need for improved global coverage since the service relies on the cloud provider's data centers."

"TAC engineers just exit the call once their shift timing ends."

"Cisco Secure Access can be improved with more integration; the more integrations, the better. There are always third-party products that you might have, such as Carbon Black."

"Cisco is not well accepted in the market since they are somewhat behind their competitors."

More Cisco Secure Access cons

"Sometimes there are some lags, and I have to refresh multiple times to access parts of the dashboards. Sometimes the dashboard pages crash and I'm not sure why, so that's one area for improvement."

"With any Cisco product, it's the licensing side of things that needs improvement."

"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."

"I'm hoping for the conversion of Cisco ZTNA's features from Duo to Umbrella."

"I would like to see a graphical representation of the entire network."

"I feel that the application needs other characteristics that are available with other applications in the market."

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

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

More Cisco Umbrella cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"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."

"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."

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

"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."

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

"It is confusing. When you look at the prices, you have different licensing and years of licensing that you have to purchase. Additionally, it's unclear what service you get from those licenses regarding end-user support. We have a representative who has to walk me through it every time."

"The pricing, setup costs, and licensing for Cisco Secure Access have been very competitive compared to other platforms. I believe that if Cisco continues to improve costs or offers something similar to a Cisco credit, it would attract more customers."

"For what you get, it's a fair price in comparison to other products."

"The price could be lower."

"There is a one-time cost of approximately $800 USD per user, and then a yearly support fee of about $50 per user."

"Licensing fees are paid on a yearly basis."

"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."

"The licensing and pricing structure of Cisco Umbrella is in line with standard systems on the market, and we have no specific requirements in this area. Overall, we have found it to be an acceptable pricing model for our organization."

"As an educational partner, we get better licensing structures. We are very happy with that. It has been very nice that Cisco has partnered with the educational sector to bring that."

"The licensing part for Umbrella is really flexible."

"You can request an evaluation license."

More Cisco Umbrella pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Financial Services Firm

11%

Computer Software Company

10%

Manufacturing Company

Comms Service Provider

Manufacturing Company

11%

Computer Software Company

10%

Financial Services Firm

Construction Company

Computer Software Company

13%

Manufacturing Company

Financial Services Firm

Healthcare Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	6
Midsize Enterprise	6
Large Enterprise	5

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	7
Midsize Enterprise	1
Large Enterprise	10

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

Questions from the Community

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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What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for iboss?

Regarding pricing, setup costs, and licensing, iboss is not cheap, and that's my only concern. There are cheaper alte...

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What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Cisco Secure Access?

I am not sure about Cisco Secure Access setup costs as I did not feel any issues. ThousandEyes I can address, but for...

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What is your primary use case for Cisco Secure Access?

The use case depends upon the vertical, such as manufacturing or enterprise. Mostly customers are looking for secure ...

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What advice do you have for others considering Cisco Secure Access?

Ask for references and friends feedback. We work with Palo Alto and we work with Zscaler. Zscaler started the proxies...

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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

Comparisons

Netskope vs iboss

Compared 12% of the time

Prisma Access by Palo Alto Networks vs iboss

Compared 10% of the time

FortiSASE vs iboss

Compared 7% of the time

Zscaler Internet Access vs iboss

Compared 7% of the time

Fortinet FortiGate vs iboss

Compared 6% of the time

More iboss Competitors

Netskope vs Cisco Secure Access

Compared 10% of the time

FortiSASE vs Cisco Secure Access

Compared 10% of the time

Cato SASE Cloud Platform vs Cisco Secure Access

Compared 7% of the time

Prisma Access by Palo Alto Networks vs Cisco Secure Access

Compared 7% of the time

Check Point Harmony SASE (formerly Perimeter 81) vs Cisco Secure Access

Compared 5% of the time

More Cisco Secure Access Competitors

Zscaler Internet Access vs Cisco Umbrella

Compared 19% of the time

Palo Alto Networks DNS Security vs Cisco Umbrella

Compared 6% of the time

Prisma Access by Palo Alto Networks vs Cisco Umbrella

Compared 4% of the time

Infoblox Advanced DNS Protection 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

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

iboss

January 2026

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Buyer's Guide

Cisco Secure Access

February 2026

Download Cisco Secure Access product report

Buyer's Guide

Cisco Umbrella

February 2026

Download Cisco Umbrella product report

Also Known As

iBoss Cloud Platform

No data available

OpenDNS

Overview

Iboss offers a comprehensive cloud-based security platform valued for its scalability and autonomous features, ensuring robust security with easy deployment and management capabilities.

Renowned for its robust security architecture, Iboss integrates seamlessly within diverse networks, delivering efficient granular filtering and advanced content categorization. Its single pane of glass console provides ease of management, allowing rapid scalability suitable for rapidly deploying environments. Operates in BYOD setups due to inline filtering without device installation. Integration with cloud-based applications enhances user control, and features like SASE, SSL inspection, and ChatGPT risk protection stand as highlights. Despite its strengths, users have pointed out areas for enhancement like direct navigation in reports, SSL decryption, and better cloud integration while having room to improve data loss prevention.

What are the most important features of Iboss?

Scalability: Supports rapid deployment across diverse networks.
SASE: A consolidated approach to secure access.
SSL Inspection: Ensures safe data transmission.
Granular Filtering: Detailed control over accessible content.
Single Pane Management: Unifies control through a centralized console.

What benefits should users consider in reviews?

Cost-effectiveness: Offers competitive pricing with robust features.
Autonomous Operation: Reduces management overhead.
Responsive Support: Provides assistance when needed.
Flexible Deployment: Available for both cloud and on-premises environments.

The usage of Iboss spans educational institutions, specifically K-12, to enforce internet policies, protect data, and support remote work environments. It provides web filtering and security frameworks to ensure safe browsing. Its platform-as-a-service model offers flexibility for both cloud-based and on-premises requirements, integrating seamlessly to deliver enhanced security features suitable for various deployment needs including zero trust, CASB, and network security for work-from-home setups.

iboss

Cisco Secure Access is a comprehensive Security Service Edge (SSE) solution (a key component of a SASE solution) that addresses the complexities of securing a hybrid enterprise. Cloud-delivered and grounded in zero trust, it delivers a unique blend of user simplicity and IT efficiency for frictionless, secure access to all applications—SaaS (with gen AI), private apps, and the internet—regardless of user location or device. Secure Access protects users, data, and devices against relentless, sophisticated, and constantly evolving threats including AI-driven attacks and identity breaches.

Provides all core SSE components (ZTNA, SWG, CASB, and FWaaS) plus extended capabilities.

Includes VPN-as-a-Service (VPNaaS), data loss prevention (DLP), AI Assistant, visibility/control/guardrails for generative AI use, digital experience monitoring (DEM), reserved IP, remote browser isolation (RBI), DNS-layer security, flexible security enforcement (in cloud or on-premises), policy verification, and more.
Protects users as they seamlessly access resources and apps with no extra steps needed, regardless of protocol, port, or level of customization
Simplifies IT operations through a single client, single dashboard, single license, and unified policies.
Lowers risk with least privilege, granular controls backed with unmatched threat intelligence of Cisco Talos.
Eases interoperability with other products from Cisco and third-party vendors with common administrative controls, data structures, and policy management.

Robust integrations

Integrates with Cisco Identity Intelligence to protect against the startling increase in identity-based attacks.
Integrates with many SAML Identity Providers (IDPs) such as AD, Azure AD, Okta, Ping, etc.
Integrates with Cisco offerings including SD-WAN, Splunk, XDR, Thousand Eyes, third party technologies such as Menlo RBI, Chrome Enterprise Browser, and AppOmni for SSPM.

Cisco

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

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.

1. IBM 2. Microsoft 3. Amazon 4. Google 5. Apple 6. Cisco Systems 7. Oracle 8. Intel 9. HP Inc. 10. Dell Technologies 11. Verizon Communications 12. AT&T 13. Comcast 14. T-Mobile 15. Sprint 16. Vodafone 17. Orange 18. BT Group 19. Deutsche Telekom 20. Telefonica 21. Nokia 22. Ericsson 23. Samsung Electronics 24. Sony 25. Panasonic 26. LG Electronics 27. Siemens 28. General Electric 29. Ford Motor Company 30. General Motors 31. Toyota Motor Corporation 32. Volkswagen Group

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

Buyer's Guide

Cisco Secure Access vs. Cisco Umbrella

January 2026

Free Report: Cisco Secure Access vs. Cisco Umbrella

Find out what your peers are saying about Cisco Secure Access vs. Cisco Umbrella and other solutions. Updated: January 2026.

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