Cisco Umbrella vs Heimdal Endpoint Security comparison

Cisco and Heimdal are both solutions in the Domain Name System (DNS) Security category. Cisco is ranked #1 with an average rating of 9.2, while Heimdal is ranked #12 with an average rating of 9.0. Cisco holds a 20.8% mindshare in DS, compared to Heimdal’s 1.1% mindshare. Additionally, 97% of Cisco users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 100% of Heimdal users who would recommend it.

Cisco Umbrella

Read 123 Cisco Umbrella reviews

19,468 Views
6,035 Comparison Views

97% willing to recommend

Heimdal Endpoint Security

Read 1 Heimdal Endpoint Security review

1,558 Views
187 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

Cisco Umbrella

Heimdal Endpoint Security

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Dec 28, 2025

Cisco Umbrella and Heimdal Endpoint Security compete in cybersecurity solutions. Cisco often has the upper hand due to efficient user management and extensive threat intelligence, although Heimdal offers more comprehensive security features.

Features: Cisco Umbrella provides a threat intelligence network, DNS-layer security, and real-time threat analytics. Heimdal Endpoint Security offers proactive threat prevention, ransomware protection, and advanced endpoint protection techniques.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Heimdal Endpoint Security offers a straightforward deployment process and strong customer support. Cisco Umbrella provides cloud-based deployment and efficient integration with existing infrastructures, along with comprehensive service documentation and support portals.

Pricing and ROI: Cisco Umbrella is seen as cost-effective for robust security without extensive endpoint complexities, providing good ROI through lightweight nature and ease of integration. Heimdal Endpoint Security, while potentially higher in cost, justifies it through in-depth protection features, offering greater long-term ROI for businesses needing advanced security measures.

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

Buyer's Guide

Domain Name System (DNS) Security

February 2026

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Helped 881,733 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 (1st)

Heimdal Endpoint Security

Ranking in Domain Name System (DNS) Security

12th

Average Rating

9.0

Reviews Sentiment

8.6

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Endpoint Protection Platform (EPP) (43rd), Anti-Malware Tools (29th), Threat Intelligence Platforms (TIP) (25th), Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) (37th), Ransomware Protection (12th)

Mindshare comparison

As of February 2026, in the Domain Name System (DNS) Security category, the mindshare of Cisco Umbrella is 20.8%, down from 25.1% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Heimdal Endpoint Security is 1.1%, up from 0.5% 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	20.8%
Heimdal Endpoint Security	1.1%
Other	78.1%

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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DEEPAK KUMAR PACHDEO DUBEY

Senior IT Support Specialist at PXGEO

Delivers efficiency and agility with USB control limitations

One area where we lag is that, since we use everything from Heimdal, including XDR and other features, we also use the privilege manager feature called Elevation. What we lack is granular USB control. We have an issue where we can only switch USB on or off. I want to whitelist specific devices in the network, which I currently cannot do.

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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 most valuable features are the dashboard, visibility, and reporting capabilities. Our customers can see how much Umbrella is protecting their organization. If you don't know what you've got, you can't protect it. With Umbrella, you get the visibility and see the protection that it's providing. We can get PDF reports on a weekly basis of any malware activities and any denial of service or command-and-control-type activities."

"The most valuable feature for us is the DNS-based protection."

"It has the ability to quickly block new threats."

"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."

"The agent that gets installed on the endpoints or on people's laptops and devices is a Cisco AnyConnect Umbrella module. It's one of the most impressive things because you are able to protect your users anywhere they are."

"Application performance has greatly improved and there are less operational issues. Productivity has been going up because we have less operational issues. Also, we have happy customers."

"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 makes it really easy to accomplish content filtering. We don't have to do a lot of customization. You just click the box for the content category and it's up to date."

More Cisco Umbrella pros

"As compared to multiple solutions I have used in the past, Heimdal is a very agile and lightweight solution."

"Heimdal is a very agile and lightweight solution."

Cons

"Looking at the full umbrella suite in the light of SASE, Secure Access Service Edge, they are clearly lacking in the inline CASB."

"It's somewhat pricey for us, however, it's an awesome solution."

"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."

"We've noticed some issues with the SWG where, when I'm connected, it thinks I'm in Miami, Florida instead of Savannah, Georgia."

"The main issue that we have is with the final steps or the full integration and getting rid of Zscaler. The company still has to fall back to Zscaler when something in Umbrella is not working as expected, such as when we enable SSL inspection. When something is not working 100%, the company is falling back to Zscaler."

"The design of the screens could be improved. Sometimes you're trying to look for information, for what you think is critical that should be on that first screen of the dashboard so that you can quickly take screenshots to have people help out, but you have to hop between screens to find little pieces of evidence."

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

"From my perspective, I would Cisco Umbrella to give more exposure to my sales engineers. I know I can call them whenever I have an issue, however, more frequent meetings would be awesome."

More Cisco Umbrella cons

"What we lack is granular USB control."

"What we lack is granular USB control. We have an issue where we can only switch USB on or off."

Pricing and Cost Advice

"In the region I'm from, that of EMAR, Europe, the Middle East, Eastern Asia and Africa, our organizations do not have many liquid cash assets, so the price could be better."

"Pricing depends on the automation requirements of the organization."

"Cisco Umbrella is expensive and could be cheaper."

"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."

"I think it's worth the money."

"Its price for us is quite expensive because it's a subscription, and we just use it for the DNS log. So, for us, it's quite expensive."

"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."

"Its value exceeds its pricing."

More Cisco Umbrella pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

13%

Manufacturing Company

Financial Services Firm

Healthcare Company

Computer Software Company

17%

Comms Service Provider

Non Profit

Media Company

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...

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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...

See all answers

What do you like most about Cisco Umbrella?

Cisco Umbrella is easy to monitor, manage, and deploy.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Heimdal Endpoint Security?

Pricing, compared to what we had before, was quite economical. There was a difference of about twenty percent or something between the solutions.

See all answers

What needs improvement with Heimdal Endpoint Security?

See all answers

What is your primary use case for Heimdal Endpoint Security?

My company colleagues and I use this antivirus solution. I am part of a company where I deploy solutions, and I also work in the IT department of that company. Therefore, I have chosen this antivir...

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Comparisons

Zscaler Internet Access vs Cisco Umbrella

Compared 19% of the time

Cisco Secure Access vs Cisco Umbrella

Compared 9% 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

More Cisco Umbrella Competitors

CrowdStrike Falcon vs Heimdal Endpoint Security

Compared 12% of the time

Microsoft Defender for Endpoint vs Heimdal Endpoint Security

Compared 8% of the time

Infoblox BloxOne Threat Defense vs Heimdal Endpoint Security

Compared 6% of the time

Huntress Managed EDR vs Heimdal Endpoint Security

Compared 6% of the time

Trellix Endpoint Security Platform vs Heimdal Endpoint Security

Compared 5% of the time

More Heimdal Endpoint Security Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Cisco Umbrella

February 2026

Download Cisco Umbrella product report

Buyer's Guide

Endpoint Protection Platform (EPP)

January 2026

Download Heimdal Endpoint Security product report

Also Known As

OpenDNS

Heimdal Next-Gent Endpoint Antivirus, Thor Vigilance Enterprise, Heimdal Endpoint Detection and Response, Heimdal DNS Security - Endpoint, Heimdal Threat Prevention, Heimdal Ransomware Encryption Protection

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

Heimdal Endpoint Security, is a comprehensive suite of security tools designed to safeguard devices from a range of cyber threats. Offering functionalities like Next-Generation Antivirus, Endpoint Detection and Response, Application Control, Firewall, and Mobile Device Management, Heimdal ensures a multi-layered defense against malware, suspicious activities, and unauthorized applications. Its benefits include proactive threat detection, enhanced efficiency through task automation, centralized management for streamlined administration, and dedicated mobile device security features. Targeted primarily at businesses and organizations of all sizes, Heimdal Endpoint Security caters to the diverse cybersecurity needs of modern enterprises, providing robust protection against evolving threats.

Heimdal

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

Brother, Symbion, CPH West

Buyer's Guide

Domain Name System (DNS) Security

February 2026

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