Cisco Umbrella vs Forcepoint ONE comparison

Cisco and Forcepoint are both solutions in the Secure Web Gateways (SWG) category. Cisco is ranked #1 with an average rating of 9.2, while Forcepoint is ranked #19 with an average rating of 7.4. Cisco holds a 16.7% mindshare in WSG, compared to Forcepoint’s 1.7% mindshare. Additionally, 97% of Cisco users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 100% of Forcepoint users who would recommend it.

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Jun 15, 2025

Cisco Umbrella and Forcepoint ONE are both leading solutions in the cybersecurity industry, specializing in network security and data protection. Cisco Umbrella has the upper hand in DNS-based security by offering extensive features and ROI through enhanced security. Forcepoint ONE stands out with its Zero Trust Network Access, providing comprehensive data protection.

Features: Cisco Umbrella offers powerful DNS-security features like content filtering, malware protection, and customizable security settings. It allows users to implement a whitelist-only browsing mode, offering a secure way to manage traffic and monitor content access. The solution also provides integration with Active Directory to enhance web content filtering. Forcepoint ONE provides advanced Zero Trust Network Access, ensuring secured user access regardless of location. It offers capabilities like agentless reverse proxy and powerful threat detection mechanisms including web isolation and sandbox integration. Forcepoint ONE also provides granular inspection of traffic, enhancing its data protection capabilities.

Room for Improvement:Cisco Umbrella users seek better integration with external threat feeds and improved reporting capabilities. They also desire more facile tracking of users and more customization options for reports. Forcepoint ONE users suggest improvements in integration with identity providers and a more user-friendly interface. Enhancing API capabilities to align with varied enterprise infrastructures is also on the wishlist for some users.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service:Cisco Umbrella offers versatile deployment options, including public, private, and hybrid cloud solutions, and garners high praise for its robust customer and technical support. Forcepoint ONE primarily operates in the public cloud, receiving commendations for its customer service and technical support, which is noted as being very competent.

Pricing and ROI: Cisco Umbrella is acknowledged as a costly solution but delivers ROI with improved security, eliminating the need for additional firewalls. It offers flexible licensing which benefits scaling. Forcepoint ONE is competitively priced, particularly in regions like Brazil, and recognized as a cost-effective security solution with commendable ROI through its data protection and integration capabilities.

To learn more, read our detailed Cisco Umbrella vs. Forcepoint ONE Report (Updated: August 2025).

Buyer's Guide

Cisco Umbrella vs. Forcepoint ONE

August 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 August 2025, in the Secure Web Gateways (SWG) category, the mindshare of iboss is 2.1%, up from 1.8% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Cisco Umbrella is 16.7%, down from 20.5% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Forcepoint ONE is 1.7%, up from 1.2% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Secure Web Gateways (SWG)

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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Edwin Eze-Osiago

Regional Solutions Manager Sub Saharan Africa at Infodata Professional Services Limited

Easy to deploy, stable, and scalable

Bitglass integration with some IDP providers needs improvement. Currently, the solution is not compatible with Azure AD for third-party authentication. The fraud proxy in the SmartEdge agent is not compatible with Forcepoint DLP or a web hybrid agent. I would like the developers to consolidate multiple agents across systems for better integration.

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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

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

"It was a very easy product to install. It can be deployed very fast."

"First of all, the security policies are essential. I do not have to rely solely on Active Directory for our users."

"The security aspect of the solution, particularly the malware behind it, is excellent. That's something that really helped us out. It's not just a simple proxy that just blocks the insights of potential threats that come on behind it. They do malware detection and that helps us a lot."

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

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

"I would rate the technical support of iboss a solid 10 without a shadow of a doubt."

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

More iboss pros

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

"Cisco Umbrella offers DNS layer security, a secure web gateway, and cloud access security broker functionality."

"Cisco is a very efficient and on-point solution that controls the whole network and settings on one page. We can monitor the entire network."

"The primary advantage of Cisco Umbrella is its ability to safeguard our users no matter where they are working from - whether it's in the office or remotely, as per the new work model that has emerged globally. This integrated security solution has simplified our lives by combining all the necessary security measures in one product. Additionally, deploying the product is all it takes to protect all our users."

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

"The core business of Cisco Umbrella is non-malware. That's all it does: block the malware on the gateway."

"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."

"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."

More Cisco Umbrella pros

"Forcepoint ONE is okay for me, and I find it a very good solution. Its most valuable feature is monitoring. Its monitoring is very good, and it can communicate with a SIEM system. I also find the DLP feature of Forcepoint ONE good."

"We are able to verify what is getting saved out onto the cloud. It allows us to have some DLP rules, since we have to be HIPAA compliant. If some personal health information has been uploaded to Office 365, then we are able to detect that sort of thing and account for it. We have set up rules to prevent people from doing that."

"The initial setup was straightforward, which was a huge win. That mostly goes to the fact that they are agentless. We didn't have to sit there deploying thousands of agents and all the things that go along with that type of deployment. We were up and running very quickly."

"The setup is relatively straightforward."

"The solution’s AJAX-VM provides constant reverse proxy uptime. It has been very positive for our security operations. When people are trying to access the SaaS solution, it protects us from downloading any of that data and experiencing any type of attacks"

"The platform's feature that has been most beneficial for our web security is its capability to replicate rules."

"The most valuable feature was the website blocking capability, which allowed me to quickly block any dodgy websites."

"The solution is very good when it comes to securing us against data leakage, because of the other proxy. It also has API scanning or data at rest. It inspects data in motion, which is the proxy, and then it has the data at rest, which is the API scanning. We can inspect for anything we want: file fingerprinting, PHI-sensitive data, PCI-sensitive data. It does not matter. We can usually find it and block it in transit and do our remediation with it. It could either be block, encrypt, or allow and watermark the file to follow it and see where it goes. It allows for those different scenarios."

More Forcepoint ONE pros

Cons

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

"Our iboss subscription access should be more secure with an OTP or VPN etc. It is easy to gain access if, for example, hackers obtain my username and password."

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

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

"One thing I would like to see differently with their Zero Trust platform is that some of the AI aspects related to high-risk activities have more false positives."

"Its pricing could be better."

"Sometimes, obviously, there are bugs."

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

More iboss cons

"Instead of creating a TAC case, it would be better if we could just call in and they could answer us immediately."

"The rule-making process for blocking sites or for blocking characteristics can use some simplification."

"The price could be better. The price is definitely a bit high, but we have to pay a premium for Cisco products."

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

"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."

"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."

"Cisco Umbrella is difficult to manage and needs to include a dashboard. It needs to improve pricing as well."

"They need to improve analytics so they report on more of the specifics of user activity."

More Cisco Umbrella cons

"Integration into different multi-factor authentication tools. On their page, they tout Duo, but I don't use Duo. I use another vendor. Not that they don't interact, but it takes a little bit more doing. Any amount of efficiencies here would help."

"One area for improvement in Forcepoint ONE is that you'll need more training to install the solution yourself. I practiced in a laboratory and I needed more technical information to do the installation."

"Areas for improvement for the platform include addressing scalability and architecture concerns, especially for large deployments involving more than 500 or 1,000 users."

"There is room for improvement in making the reporting closer to real-time, ideally around five or ten minutes instead of half an hour. The interface could also be updated as it was quite dated."

"Initially, we had some challenges that Bitglass resolved quickly. The challenges were around communication. There didn't seem like there was the right level of communication within the Bitglass organization. Once we brought the issues up at a higher level, then they were resolved."

"We encounter challenges in determining whether certain features for blocking certain file types or preventing automatic downloads are functioning correctly."

"Their new SASE (secure access service edge) product would have been the one thing I would have requested. Now that they have that platform, I'd like to see it as integrated and seamless as possible with the core product. That's what they're working towards and that's where we're seeing the advancements."

"I need control over access to web WhatsApp, which the solution cannot resolve yet."

More Forcepoint ONE cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"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 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."

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

"The price is fair, and the licensing cost is based on the number of users. We have seen a good ROI."

"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 Umbrella is expensive and could be cheaper."

"The pricing was marvelous."

"I think Cisco Umbrella is priced well. We have a mix of customers with different verticals such as education. We have clients in the commercial space as well. Umbrella is at a good price point for all of our customers."

"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."

"In terms of licensing, we're not able to be extremely clear with the customer because it's based on their reporting. It's not based on the actual traffic. If they say they have 50 users but they have 80, we'll just buy for 50 users. That's something where we'd like to have more flexibility."

"The price of Cisco Umbrella is a little higher than similar solutions, like Gateway."

More Cisco Umbrella pricing and cost advice

"The licensing cost for Forcepoint ONE would depend on the features, but the pricing is very competitive here in Brazil. The solution offers a good price, and I would rate it a three or a four in terms of pricing. I don't have information on whether there are additional costs apart from the standard licensing fees for Forcepoint ONE."

"Typically, the longer you price forward, the better off you're going to be. They have been very willing to work with us on pricing."

"The product is reasonably priced compared to other vendors. I rate the pricing a two or three."

"There is training involved. If you're going to add more people to it, such as cross train more of your group, there's a cost. Other than that, that's it. We have paid exactly what the invoices have said. We signed a three-year contract and not gone above it."

"When considering only the cost, the solution may appear to be costly; however, when evaluated in terms of commercial value, Bitglass is not expensive."

"We have our pricing by user. We do our pricing agreements annually. There are also additional costs for maintenance."

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

12%

Financial Services Firm

11%

Manufacturing Company

Healthcare Company

Computer Software Company

20%

Manufacturing Company

Financial Services Firm

Government

Computer Software Company

14%

Government

11%

Financial Services Firm

10%

Manufacturing Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

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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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 Forcepoint ONE?

The platform's feature that has been most beneficial for our web security is its capability to replicate rules.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Forcepoint ONE?

The licensing and pricing were fine with no issues. I took over from somebody else, and it stayed as it was until we ...

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What needs improvement with Forcepoint ONE?

There is room for improvement in making the reporting closer to real-time, ideally around five or ten minutes instead...

See all answers

Comparisons

Zscaler Internet Access vs iboss

Compared 15% of the time

Netskope vs iboss

Compared 13% of the time

Prisma Access by Palo Alto Networks vs iboss

Compared 11% of the time

Check Point Harmony SASE (formerly Perimeter 81) vs iboss

Compared 9% of the time

Cloudflare One vs iboss

Compared 8% 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 8% of the time

Cisco Secure Access vs Cisco Umbrella

Compared 8% of the time

Infoblox Advanced DNS Protection vs Cisco Umbrella

Compared 6% of the time

Microsoft Defender for Cloud Apps vs Cisco Umbrella

Compared 5% of the time

More Cisco Umbrella Competitors

Netskope vs Forcepoint ONE

Compared 16% of the time

Microsoft Defender for Cloud Apps vs Forcepoint ONE

Compared 14% of the time

Zscaler Internet Access vs Forcepoint ONE

Compared 12% of the time

Prisma Access by Palo Alto Networks vs Forcepoint ONE

Compared 12% of the time

Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE) vs Forcepoint ONE

Compared 4% of the time

More Forcepoint ONE Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

iboss

August 2025

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Buyer's Guide

Cisco Umbrella

August 2025

Download Cisco Umbrella product report

Buyer's Guide

Forcepoint ONE

August 2025

Download Forcepoint ONE product report

Also Known As

iBoss Cloud Platform

OpenDNS

Bitglass

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

Forcepoint ONE is a comprehensive cybersecurity platform that provides organizations with a unified approach to protecting their critical data and assets. It offers a range of solutions that cover everything from network security and cloud security to data protection and insider threat prevention.

With Forcepoint ONE, organizations can gain complete visibility into their security posture, identify potential threats, and take proactive measures to mitigate risks.

One of the key features of Forcepoint ONE is its ability to provide real-time visibility into user behavior across all endpoints, networks, and cloud environments. This allows organizations to quickly identify and respond to potential threats, such as insider threats or malicious activity from external actors. Additionally, Forcepoint ONE offers advanced threat intelligence capabilities that leverage machine learning and AI to detect and respond to emerging threats. Another important aspect of Forcepoint ONE is its data protection capabilities.

The platform offers a range of solutions for protecting sensitive data, including data loss prevention (DLP), encryption, and secure web gateways. These solutions help organizations ensure that their critical data is protected both at rest and in transit, regardless of where it is stored or accessed.

Forcepoint ONE is a powerful cybersecurity platform that offers a comprehensive set of solutions for protecting organizations against a wide range of threats. With its advanced threat intelligence capabilities, real-time visibility into user behavior, and robust data protection features, Forcepoint ONE is an ideal choice for organizations looking to take a proactive approach to cybersecurity.

Forcepoint

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

UNC-Charlotte

Buyer's Guide

Cisco Umbrella vs. Forcepoint ONE

August 2025

Free Report: Cisco Umbrella vs. Forcepoint ONE

Find out what your peers are saying about Cisco Umbrella vs. Forcepoint ONE and other solutions. Updated: August 2025.

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