Cisco Umbrella vs Zscaler Internet Access comparison

Cisco and Zscaler are both solutions in the Secure Web Gateways (SWG) category. Cisco is ranked #1 with an average rating of 9.2, while Zscaler is ranked #3 with an average rating of 8.5. Cisco holds a 13.7% mindshare in WSG, compared to Zscaler’s 12.4% mindshare. Additionally, 97% of Cisco users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 98% of Zscaler users who would recommend it.

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Dec 28, 2025

Zscaler Internet Access and Cisco Umbrella compete in the cloud security category. Zscaler seems to have the upper hand due to its robust feature set, while Cisco Umbrella scores high in ease of deployment and integration.

Features: Zscaler Internet Access offers comprehensive security features, such as URL and application filtering, advanced firewall capabilities, and SSL inspection. It provides Advanced Threat Security and uniquely secures cloud environments. Cisco Umbrella focuses on DNS-level security, providing internet protection and blocking malicious sites. It includes DNS security and effective reporting features.

Room for Improvement: Zscaler could enhance its reporting, integrate better with other applications, and address IP address issues. Some users find licensing costly with room for improvement in policy management. Cisco Umbrella needs upgrades in user-level traffic monitoring, integration with SIEM products, and enhanced malware protection capabilities. Its pricing could be more accessible for small businesses.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Zscaler Internet Access is mainly deployed across public and hybrid cloud environments. Users benefit from strong support but note occasional slow response times. Cisco Umbrella offers seamless deployment in similar environments with effective technical support, but improvements in proactive support and documentation are needed.

Pricing and ROI: Zscaler is viewed as expensive, but its extensive feature set and global coverage justify the cost, offering significant ROI via cost savings on legacy systems. Cisco Umbrella provides competitive pricing, especially when bundled with other Cisco products. However, complexities in licensing terms exist, though ROI remains positive due to effective threat prevention and infrastructure consolidation.

To learn more, read our detailed Cisco Umbrella vs. Zscaler Internet Access Report (Updated: February 2026).

Buyer's Guide

Cisco Umbrella vs. Zscaler Internet Access

February 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

Mindshare comparison

As of February 2026, in the Secure Web Gateways (SWG) category, the mindshare of iboss is 2.4%, up from 1.9% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Cisco Umbrella is 13.7%, down from 19.3% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Zscaler Internet Access is 12.4%, down from 15.7% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Secure Web Gateways (SWG) Market Share Distribution
Product	Market Share (%)
Cisco Umbrella	13.7%
Zscaler Internet Access	12.4%
iboss	2.4%
Other	71.5%

Secure Web Gateways (SWG)

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.

Read full review

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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Mohan Janarthanan

Assosiate Vice President at Novac Technology Solutions

User access management and threat prevention are enhanced with user-friendly controls

The best features Zscaler Internet Access offers include application control, tenant segregation, and PoP center regions which have low availability zones. The internet access is very successful and bandwidth speed is excellent. It also has application-based control, URL-based control, and SSL inspection capabilities, which are very useful. Additionally, the in-depth CASB segregation is very beneficial to us. One unique feature I found helpful is the tenant level restrictions, which we use to only access our organization's tenant level mail IDs, drives, and specific tenant level access while restricting public access. Zscaler Internet Access has positively impacted our organization as we have noticed substantial outputs and income. It has improved our security environment control and endpoint protection. It prevents numerous web attacks through its AI/ML incorporated capability which identifies malware, threats, and viruses. It has a toggle button to enable features entirely at the tenant level for all users onboarded into Zscaler Internet Access, resulting in much better outcomes.

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

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

"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."

"iboss is among the few products providing inline filtering where no application is needed on the device. It operates on the network side and is not device-based. This feature was one of the main reasons why we stayed with them for so long."

"Because of iboss, I did not have to assign web filtering tasks to my techs on a daily basis."

"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."

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

"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."

More iboss pros

"The weekly reportings are great. The investigation is super and the application management is equally great."

"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."

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

"We've found it to be stable and good for our customers."

"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."

"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."

"Cisco's support is fantastic, providing assistance when needed, especially during the initial installation process."

"The most valuable feature is the ability to filter malware sites that could infect clients or allow them to download infected files."

More Cisco Umbrella pros

"The solution replaces multiple vendor technologies with one which makes it worth the cost."

"For our needs, the cloud-native proxy architecture is a very good solution. We are moving away from on-prem appliances and moving more toward cloud-based solutions. Zscaler is a good fit for our strategy. This architecture helps with cyber threats because we inspect most of the traffic and we can see that a lot of threats are stopped directly in the secure web gateway."

"Whether you are in a hotel somewhere, or in Africa, it does not matter. You will get the Zscaler protection presence anywhere."

"One feature that is valuable to me from an implementation point of view is that it's very easy to implement."

"The most valuable features I found in Zscaler Internet Access are the restriction of users for a particular URL, the security feature related to stopping DDoS, and the VPN."

"The most valuable feature of the solution is SWG traffic."

"The product's initial setup phase is a bit easy, as one doesn't need high technical expertise."

"The most valuable features of Zscaler Internet Access include its capacity to scale, the security implementation capabilities, the ability to integrate public IPs related to clients so traffic presents on the internet as a client, and the facility to interoperate with SSEs while maintaining the same security mechanisms from on-premises to cloud environments."

More Zscaler Internet Access pros

Cons

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

"Regarding pricing, setup costs, and licensing, iboss is not cheap, and that's my only concern."

"Sometimes when you call in support, you get someone who is just following a sheet. It feels like a runaround. You feel that you are running into that support wall."

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

"Its pricing could be better."

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

"Sometimes, obviously, there are bugs."

"The reporting feature needs improvement."

More iboss cons

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

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

"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."

"It is a value for money product for sure. However, it does not have that kind of awareness plus brand within the customer, as they are influenced more by brands such as Palo Alto or Fortinet."

"The pricing could always be a little bit better."

"I would like to see more integrability with other products."

"Client delivery and client updates should be improved. Client delivery was not as easy as expected. Another area for improvement is the integration of escalation procedures for security issues."

More Cisco Umbrella cons

"One feature I am missing is the ability to connect automatically to internal monitoring systems."

"The pricing is an issue. It is expensive if you have all of your users in the same location. It is expensive compared to other firewalls on the market."

"The interface for administration could be better. They should upgrade the management portal."

"Zscaler does not provide dedicated IPs to each customer. Hence, they share a pool of IPs provided by Zscaler. There is a chance of blacklisting these IPs. I also do not like the multi-management portal."

"They should enhance the audit reporting feature."

"What could be improved in Zscaler Internet Access is its price. It could be cheaper."

"With the pricing structure that they currently have, it is only for big customers."

"The admin console needs improvement as it loads slowly and sometimes takes two to five minutes to open."

More Zscaler Internet Access cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"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 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."

"It is expensive compared to one of its competitors."

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

"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."

"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."

"The price could be lower."

"I am not sure, I don't have the numbers in front of me, but I think it's $1.00 or so per device/month."

"You can request an evaluation license."

"Cisco has a set price for a single license up to 100, but whenever we get over 100, we have to ask for a quote."

"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."

"Our licensing fees are on a yearly basis."

More Cisco Umbrella pricing and cost advice

"Zscaler is transparent about its pricing model."

"Be aware that you will need to invest some time and money to adapt your environment for Zscaler (traffic redirection, software deployment, authentication, etc)."

"The price is competitive. It's not cheap and it's not expensive."

"Price-wise, the tool is reasonable compared to the other products in the market but it is not a very low-priced tool. The solution does provide value for money."

"Our monthly fee is around R3000."

"We pay around 6,500 INR per user per year, which is very expensive. I would rate Zscaler's pricing one out of five."

"The pricing for Zscaler Internet Access could be made cheaper."

"The pricing is fair based on its competitive market."

More Zscaler Internet Access 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

Computer Software Company

13%

Manufacturing Company

Financial Services Firm

Healthcare Company

Computer Software Company

13%

Manufacturing Company

11%

Financial Services Firm

10%

Comms Service Provider

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	50
Midsize Enterprise	30
Large Enterprise	51

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	17
Midsize Enterprise	10
Large Enterprise	37

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.

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Which is better, Zscaler internet access or Netsckope CASB?

We researched Netskope but ultimately chose Zscaler. Netskope is a cloud access security broker that helps identify ...

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What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Zscaler Internet Access?

It is only for big companies currently and they only focus on that. That is one of the problems to get into the marke...

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What needs improvement with Zscaler Internet Access?

The admin UI and documentation for Zscaler Internet Access could be more intuitive for new users, specifically during...

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

Fortinet FortiGate vs iboss

Compared 6% of the time

Check Point Harmony SASE (formerly Perimeter 81) vs iboss

Compared 5% of the time

More iboss Competitors

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

Microsoft Defender for Cloud Apps vs Cisco Umbrella

Compared 4% of the time

More Cisco Umbrella Competitors

Netskope vs Zscaler Internet Access

Compared 12% of the time

Prisma Access by Palo Alto Networks vs Zscaler Internet Access

Compared 11% of the time

Microsoft Defender for Cloud Apps vs Zscaler Internet Access

Compared 5% of the time

FortiSASE vs Zscaler Internet Access

Compared 4% of the time

Forcepoint Secure Web Gateway vs Zscaler Internet Access

Compared 3% of the time

More Zscaler Internet Access Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

iboss

January 2026

Download iboss product report

Buyer's Guide

Cisco Umbrella

February 2026

Download Cisco Umbrella product report

Buyer's Guide

Zscaler Internet Access

January 2026

Download Zscaler Internet Access product report

Also Known As

iBoss Cloud Platform

OpenDNS

ZIA

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 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

Zscaler Internet Access is a cloud-native security service edge (SSE) platform. Its main purpose is to provide AI-powered protection for all users, all applications, and all locations. The solution replaces other legacy network security solutions to stop advanced attacks and prevent data loss by using a comprehensive zero trust approach.

Zscaler Internet Access Features

Zscaler Internet Access has many valuable key features. Some of the most useful ones include:

Proxy (native SSL)
IPS and advanced protection
Cloud sandbox
DNS security
Cloud firewall
URL filtering
Bandwidth control
DNS filtering
Cloud DLP w/EDM and IDM
Cloud access security broker (CASB)
Cloud security posture management (CSPM)
CloudBrowser isolation
Cloud secure web gateway (SWG)
Zero trust network access (ZTNA)
Digital experience monitoring

Zscaler Internet Access Benefits

There are several benefits to implementing Zscaler Internet Access. Some of the biggest advantages the solution offers include:

Fast access with zero infrastructure: Zscaler Internet Access creates a fast, seamless user experience because of its direct-to-cloud architecture. With no infrastructure, Zscaler Internet Access helps you eliminate backhauling, which improves performance and simplifies network administration.

Threat intelligence: By using threat intelligence, Zscaler Internet Access can stop ransomware, zero-day malware, and advanced attacks via Inline inspection of all internet traffic, including SSL decryption, and a suite of AI-powered cloud security services.

Consistent security: With Zscaler Internet Access, your security policy goes everywhere your users go. When you move security to the cloud, all users, applications, devices, and locations remain protected and secure based on identity and context.

Hybrid workforce: Zscaler Internet Access enables secure access to all external and internal apps from anywhere, so remote work is not an issue. You can also enforce business policies that follow the user, making security identical regardless of location.

Reviews from Real Users

Below are some reviews and helpful feedback written by Zscaler Internet Access users.

A Service Manager at a construction company says, "There are a bunch of different capabilities that are valuable within the platform. We use quite a lot of them, but not everything. The ones that are most important to us are the URL Filtering and the application control. For our needs, the cloud-native proxy architecture is a very good solution. This architecture helps with cyber threats because we inspect most of the traffic and we can see that a lot of threats are stopped directly in the secure web gateway."

Owen N., Security Architect at Claro Enterprise Solutions, explains that the solution’s most valuable features include “The integration of the gateway that inspects all ports and protocols. So, there is threat prevention; The cloud sandbox; VNS security; Access control that will protect URL filtering and the cloud firewall; Data protection that will protect your gateway, like your CASB or your cloud DLP; The capabilities of this will point your traffic to Zscaler Cloud.”

An Architecture Senior Manager at an insurance company mentions, "The data loss prevention feature is the most valuable. It stops our users from inadvertently leaking our customers' data to the Internet or anywhere else it shouldn't go." He also adds, “The solution provides quick access to cloud services, securing our data and allowing us to inspect all our traffic.”

Zscaler

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

Ulster-Greene ARC, BanRegio, HDFC, Ralcorp Holdings Inc., British American Tobacco, Med America Billing Services Inc., Lanco Group, Aquafil, Telefonica, Swisscom, Brigade Group

Buyer's Guide

Cisco Umbrella vs. Zscaler Internet Access

February 2026

Free Report: Cisco Umbrella vs. Zscaler Internet Access

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