Cisco Umbrella vs EfficientIP DNS Firewall comparison

Cisco and EfficientIP are both solutions in the Domain Name System (DNS) Security category. Cisco is ranked #1 with an average rating of 9.2, while EfficientIP is ranked #16. Cisco holds a 20.5% mindshare in DS, compared to EfficientIP’s 1.8% mindshare. Additionally, 97% of Cisco users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 100% of EfficientIP users who would recommend it.

Cisco Umbrella

Read 123 Cisco Umbrella reviews

20,182 Views
6,458 Comparison Views

97% willing to recommend

EfficientIP DNS Firewall

Read 1 EfficientIP DNS Firewall review

402 Views
402 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

Cisco Umbrella

EfficientIP DNS Firewall

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Dec 28, 2025

Cisco Umbrella and EfficientIP DNS Firewall compete in the cybersecurity domain focusing on DNS protection. Cisco Umbrella appears superior in ease of use and scalability, while EfficientIP offers advanced customization and integration capabilities.

Features: Cisco Umbrella is known for advanced threat intelligence, easy integration with existing systems, and a user-friendly interface. EfficientIP DNS Firewall offers comprehensive network visibility, high configurability with DNS resolution monitoring, and adaptive security measures.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Cisco Umbrella provides a straightforward deployment process with extensive 24/7 customer support. EfficientIP requires more complex deployment, demanding expert configuration, but it offers deep technical support and guidance.

Pricing and ROI: Cisco Umbrella presents a predictable pricing model with competitive setup costs, offering significant ROI due to streamlined implementation and quick threat mitigation. EfficientIP DNS Firewall may entail higher initial costs due to its tailored options, yet offers substantial ROI through enhanced security in complex network environments.

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

Buyer's Guide

Domain Name System (DNS) Security

March 2026

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Helped 884,933 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

Ranking in Domain Name System (DNS) Security

1st

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), Cisco Security Portfolio (2nd)

EfficientIP DNS Firewall

Ranking in Domain Name System (DNS) Security

16th

Average Rating

8.0

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of March 2026, in the Domain Name System (DNS) Security category, the mindshare of Cisco Umbrella is 20.5%, down from 25.2% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of EfficientIP DNS Firewall is 1.8%, up from 1.2% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Domain Name System (DNS) Security Mindshare Distribution
Product	Mindshare (%)
Cisco Umbrella	20.5%
EfficientIP DNS Firewall	1.8%
Other	77.7%

Domain Name System (DNS) Security

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.

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reviewer1080873

Senior Consultant at a tech services company with 51-200 employees

Easy to set up and use, and has a helpful network device inventory function

The vendor needs to do more to promote this product in certain regions, helping it to gain market share in territories where it is not widely adopted. The problem with this vendor is that they are too focused on revenue and sales numbers. If a partner is not able to generate the revenue that they're expecting, they put them on hold until they can generate interest and traction in their region for the products. It comes down to the management's mindset. They have a good product but they don't have much patience for a territory that is slow to adopt.

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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

"The Secure Internet Gateway benefits my company because now our whole traffic goes to the Umbrella Cloud and it gets checked there, so nothing malicious is coming into our network."

"Its simplicity is most valuable. I can install it and get it up and running, and it can be pervasive across my business within a business day. It is pretty simple and straightforward to install and configure. Its remit is reasonably clearly defined. When you look at solutions like Darktrace and Carbon Black, the mission objective isn't as clearly defined. Cisco Umbrella, Sophos Central, or some of the other solutions have a more standardized approach to antivirus, which includes enhanced response from the machine learning or deep learning perspective."

"It analyzes the domain security helps us implement the securest policy."

"The Global Block List is one of the most valuable features because it's really easy to block domain names as well as URLs. Sometimes you don't want to block the whole site, you just want to block one URL. The Global Block and Allow Lists are the best features for us."

"ROI benefits both the reseller and the client in Managed Services because of its proactive approach to network security."

"The solution is very easy to manage. We found the initial setup, for example, to be quite simple."

"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."

"What we like most is security and how easy it is to integrate with other appliances."

More Cisco Umbrella pros

"This product has an inventory function to help maintain a list of the equipment, which is quite good."

Cons

"The prices need to go lower. The price of technology is just crazy."

"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."

"We need to work on integration as it is very complex."

"I'd like to see this solution more closely integrate with other products Cisco has in its portfolio."

"There should be a way to monitor traffic at the user level."

"In my experience with Umbrella support, sometimes the response times take a bit more time than we would like... sometimes, if you go through email, it can take quite a while to get a response."

"User interface could be a little smoother and more intuitive."

"If the virtual appliances could also gather traffic bandwidth reports, that would be great."

More Cisco Umbrella cons

"The vendor needs to do more to promote this product in certain regions, helping it to gain market share in territories where it is not widely adopted."

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Cisco is expensive. For example, we are looking at Nexus Dashboard, and it's costing about 250,000 euros. I ask, "What do I get from it?" I'm still not convinced that we have to spend on it, so pricing is a problem."

"Our costs were negotiated, and they are okay."

"Cisco Umbrella is expensive and could be cheaper."

"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."

"The price is quite good."

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

"Pricing and licensing of Cisco Umbrella is a bit confusing because you have to separate the DNS solution and the full-feature solution. Cisco in Portugal helped us understand which one was the right one for us."

"It needs a better price point."

More Cisco Umbrella pricing and cost advice

"The price of this product is very reasonable, especially considering that a company's reputation is priceless."

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

14%

Manufacturing Company

Financial Services Firm

Comms Service Provider

19%

Computer Software Company

13%

Manufacturing Company

11%

University

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

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

No data available

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

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Comparisons

Zscaler Internet Access vs Cisco Umbrella

Compared 18% 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 3% of the time

More Cisco Umbrella Competitors

BlueCat Edge vs EfficientIP DNS Firewall

Compared 27% of the time

Palo Alto Networks DNS Security vs EfficientIP DNS Firewall

Compared 25% of the time

Infoblox Advanced DNS Protection vs EfficientIP DNS Firewall

Compared 18% of the time

Infoblox BloxOne Threat Defense vs EfficientIP DNS Firewall

Compared 14% of the time

More EfficientIP DNS Firewall Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Cisco Umbrella

March 2026

Download Cisco Umbrella product report

Buyer's Guide

Domain Name System (DNS) Security

March 2026

Download EfficientIP DNS Firewall product report

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

DNS Firewall prevents connected devices from becoming infected with malware and blocks their activity by enabling recursive DNS servers to stop or redirect queries from clients that want to access identified malicious domains and/or IPs.

EfficientIP

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

De Montfort University, STMicroelectronics, Leeds Beckett University

Buyer's Guide

Domain Name System (DNS) Security

March 2026

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