Cisco Umbrella vs F5 BIG-IP DNS comparison

Cisco and F5 are both solutions in the Domain Name System (DNS) Security category. Cisco is ranked #1 with an average rating of 9.2, while F5 is ranked #4 with an average rating of 8.7. Cisco holds a 20.6% mindshare in DS, compared to F5’s 6.2% mindshare. Additionally, 97% of Cisco users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 100% of F5 users who would recommend it.

Cisco Umbrella

Read 121 Cisco Umbrella reviews

20,240 Views
4,250 Comparison Views

97% willing to recommend

F5 BIG-IP DNS

Read 21 F5 BIG-IP DNS reviews

1,336 Views
1,336 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

Cisco Umbrella

F5 BIG-IP DNS

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Sep 21, 2025

Cisco Umbrella and F5 BIG-IP DNS both operate in the field of DNS security and management. Cisco Umbrella appears to have an advantage in ease of deployment and ROI, while F5 BIG-IP excels in scalability and comprehensive load balancing.

Features: Cisco Umbrella offers comprehensive DNS-based protection against various cyber threats, customizable content filtering, and single-pane-of-glass management for easy deployment and adaptability. F5 BIG-IP DNS excels in DNS security, offering robust DDoS mitigation, global load balancing capabilities, and sophisticated monitoring with load distribution features.

Room for Improvement: Cisco Umbrella users suggest improvements in reporting capabilities, integration with external threat feeds, and policy scheduling. Users would also benefit from enhanced security features like integrating DLP and a localized malware protection engine. For F5 BIG-IP DNS, there is a demand for a better user interface, more accessible pricing, improved cloud integrations, enhanced automation in threat detection and response, as well as better documentation and training resources.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Cisco Umbrella supports both cloud and hybrid environments with a user-friendly interface and straightforward management. Customer support is generally responsive and knowledgeable. F5 BIG-IP DNS focuses on on-premises deployment with hybrid options, appreciated for security but complex in setup, requiring advanced technical skills. Customer service reviews indicate a desire for more streamlined processes and better documentation.

Pricing and ROI: Cisco Umbrella's pricing is seen as fair, offering significant ROI through reduced security incidents despite being considered expensive by some. F5 BIG-IP DNS is noted for higher costs attributed to its robust features. It provides good value for large enterprises needing advanced DNS management, but smaller businesses find it pricey, though the cost is often justified by operational efficiency.

To learn more, read our detailed Cisco Umbrella vs. F5 BIG-IP DNS Report (Updated: September 2025).

Buyer's Guide

Cisco Umbrella vs. F5 BIG-IP DNS

September 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

Cisco Umbrella

Ranking in Domain Name System (DNS) Security

1st

Average Rating

8.8

Reviews Sentiment

7.3

Number of Reviews

121

Ranking in other categories

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

F5 BIG-IP DNS

Ranking in Domain Name System (DNS) Security

4th

Average Rating

8.6

Reviews Sentiment

8.0

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of October 2025, in the Domain Name System (DNS) Security category, the mindshare of Cisco Umbrella is 20.6%, down from 25.2% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of F5 BIG-IP DNS is 6.2%, down from 6.7% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Domain Name System (DNS) Security Market Share Distribution
Product	Market Share (%)
Cisco Umbrella	20.6%
F5 BIG-IP DNS	6.2%
Other	73.2%

Domain Name System (DNS) Security

Featured Reviews

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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Raja Waqar Ahmad

Sr. Network Engineer at Tekboox

Suitable for use cases around multiple data centers and provides good stability

F5 is working on improving its identity management features. This is an important area for improvement, as it is a key component of Zero Trust architecture. So, when I was working on the zero-trust architecture, I noticed that there was a lack of documentation. The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has published some documentation and frameworks for ZTA implementation. In the NIST framework, multiple vendors can be used for different components of the architecture. For example, for identity management, common vendors include Azure, Intune, AWS, Cisco Duo, and Zscaler. I remember reading about F5 mentioned in the context of the ZTA framework. So, it's encouraging to read that F5 is being considered for ZTA implementations. Netskope is also using F5 for their ZTA solutions. I would also like to see all of F5's features integrated into a single box, as it would be the most beneficial for end customers. F5 is already enhancing its security capabilities. Initially, load balancing and security required separate devices, but now F5 offers solutions that combine both functionalities in a single device.

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

"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."

"I was able to implement it myself. It was really easy to install. You could install it on a server locally if you want to. If you have the biggest site, you would do that, but for my site, it was just directing all the traffic out through the Cisco Umbrella DNS. It was really handy. When the owners of the company went overseas, I knew that they would be secure because even if they were not on the company network, they would still go through the Cisco Umbrella servers. It was a complete solution for protecting the company with outgoing data."

"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."

"The reports and notifications are the most useful part of the platform. As soon as you deploy the security layers, the reporting is very comprehensive. It helps you to have, at a glance, a clear view of what's going on."

"The most valuable thing is how easy it is to deploy. We did it with 9,000 users at my last job, and it took a week to get to all the endpoints. Doing that without having to physically touch all those endpoints was very simple."

"It has certainly saved us time. If we go and look at what's rejected on the requests from the hospital itself, it has saved about 5% or 6% time."

"It is user-friendly. It is easy to manage the solution."

"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."

More Cisco Umbrella pros

"The main features valued in F5 BIG-IP include high availability, scalability, and protection of applications from attacks."

"F5 BIG-IP DNS stands out as they are number one when it comes to WAF and load balancing technologies, and they have plenty of add-on features such as APM and AFM to handle DDoS attacks, DNS security, and GSLB."

"The solution is easy to configure and deploy. It is scalable and works without any downtime. F5 BIG-IP DNS is a flexible solution."

"The configuration process is straightforward, making it easy to set up wide IPs and distribute traffic across local US sites and data centers via VPN."

"The GTM feature is very good, It's very useful, especially if we have multiple data centers. If we want to load balance traffic from multiple data centers, the GTM feature is very useful."

"The security features, DDoS mitigation facilities, and SQL configuration are the most valuable aspects of this solution."

"The most valuable feature of the solution is security."

"It's very stable."

More F5 BIG-IP DNS pros

Cons

"Support for multiple domains is important to us."

"A feature I would appreciate seeing enhanced in Cisco Umbrella would be the ability to add or remove agents that we have, instead of just relying on how long the devices have been connected to the platform."

"The API is very Cisco orientated, which is absolutely fine if you're using Cisco Firepower and SecureX kind of products, but if you want to integrate with third parties, it is a bit tricky. There are some key API connectors for the more prevalent SIEM tools. I would really like to see in Cisco Umbrella the ability to create customized reports and then assign the rights to view these reports to people within a group. I should be able to create a customized report, which is viewable by anybody who has the rights. I should be able to create groups within Cisco Umbrella, and then assign reports to groups and have those reports split out automatically only to those groups. I can kind of do it by restricting my email list, but it is a half-complete way of doing it."

"I would like to see more integration between Cisco Umbrella and Cisco DNA Center."

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

"It's a very new product, so it's quite immature at the moment. It can be more user friendly."

"If a hardware platform were provided for Umbrella, that would definitely improve the market for it... Especially when we are addressing governmental customers, they hesitate to connect to the cloud. That is where we need a hardware platform so that the solution can be used on-premises as well."

"They should provide more integrations and bring things together so that there is a more standard feel to their platform. We also use Cisco ISE, and it has a very different feel from Cisco Umbrella."

More Cisco Umbrella cons

"The solution's initial setup is complex compared to Fortinet."

"The costs could always be a bit lower."

"The analysis services needs improvement."

"The initial setup is a step-by-step process, so it can be a bit complicated for someone who's using it for the first time."

"Scalability is a concern, it could be improved."

"CNC (control and command) communication would be beneficial. We would like to have control and command blocking to prevent visiting malicious websites."

"The tool needs to improve its UI."

"The solution can improve by adding cloud integration through plugins or additional configurations so we can use F5 BIG-IP DNS to communicate with the cloud."

More F5 BIG-IP DNS cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"You get what you pay for."

"The solution’s pricing is reasonable."

"I rate the tool's pricing a five out of ten."

"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."

"There are three models for licensing with different feature sets."

"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."

"The price could be lower."

"I think it's worth the money."

More Cisco Umbrella pricing and cost advice

"BIG-IP DNS is more expensive than its competitors like Citrix, but it gives good value for money."

"You cannot do much around DDoS protection without an additional license from F5."

"Cost is a factor. It is really costly."

"I would rate the pricing a three out of ten, with ten being a low price."

"In some cases, it is expensive."

"This product is quite pricey but if you compare the feature set and its compatibility with similar products on the market, you would understand why it's that price."

"They are competitively priced."

"The on-prem version is only available on a yearly license, but the cloud version can be paid for on a day-by-day basis."

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

18%

Manufacturing Company

Financial Services Firm

Healthcare Company

Financial Services Firm

16%

Computer Software Company

11%

Manufacturing Company

10%

Retailer

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	49
Midsize Enterprise	30
Large Enterprise	51

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	8
Midsize Enterprise	4
Large Enterprise	9

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...

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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-native solution, unifying multiple features like DNS-layer security, threat intelli...

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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 F5 BIG-IP DNS?

For one of our clients, F5 improved global server load balancing with an active-active site configuration for Disaster Recovery.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for F5 BIG-IP DNS?

In terms of pricing, F5 BIG-IP is not cheaper compared to other solutions like Fortinet or Citrix. The cost can be high due to its comprehensive modules.

See all answers

What needs improvement with F5 BIG-IP DNS?

When it comes to denial of service or DNS security, F5 is not the best vendor as dedicated vendors such as Arbor for denial of service and Infoblox for DNS security offer more comprehensive solutio...

See all answers

Comparisons

Zscaler Internet Access vs Cisco Umbrella

Compared 17% of the time

Cisco Secure Access vs Cisco Umbrella

Compared 9% of the time

Prisma Access by Palo Alto Networks vs Cisco Umbrella

Compared 7% of the time

Infoblox Advanced DNS Protection vs Cisco Umbrella

Compared 5% of the time

Microsoft Defender for Cloud Apps vs Cisco Umbrella

Compared 5% of the time

More Cisco Umbrella Competitors

Infoblox Advanced DNS Protection vs F5 BIG-IP DNS

Compared 56% of the time

EfficientIP DNS Guardian vs F5 BIG-IP DNS

Compared 9% of the time

CIRA Anycast DNS vs F5 BIG-IP DNS

Compared 9% of the time

BlueCat Edge vs F5 BIG-IP DNS

Compared 5% of the time

Infoblox BloxOne Threat Defense vs F5 BIG-IP DNS

Compared 4% of the time

More F5 BIG-IP DNS Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Cisco Umbrella

September 2025

Download Cisco Umbrella product report

Buyer's Guide

F5 BIG-IP DNS

September 2025

Download F5 BIG-IP DNS product report

Also Known As

OpenDNS

F5 BIG-IP DNS, F5 DNS Delivery

Overview

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

F5® BIG-IP® DNS distributes DNS and user application requests based on business policies, data center and cloud service conditions, user location, and application performance. BIG-IP DNS is commonly configured as a full proxy to provide global server load balancing (GSLB) for applications and DNS across architectures, and across the globe.

The BIG-IP platform delivers DNS services with visibility, reporting, and analysis; scales and secures DNS responses geographically to survive increased traffic or threats; delivers a real-time DNSSEC solution; designed to provide availability of global applications in all cloud environments.

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

Ricacorp Properties, Bangladesh Post Office, Shawbrook Bank, Shinsegae Internet Duty Free

Buyer's Guide

Cisco Umbrella vs. F5 BIG-IP DNS

September 2025

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