The biggest difference between DNSFilter and Cisco Umbrella is their approach to DNS security and content filtering.
Cisco Umbrella is an enterprise-grade solution with deep integration into Cisco’s ecosystem, making it ideal for larger organizations already using Cisco products. DNSFilter, on the other hand, focuses on performance and ease of deployment, appealing to businesses of all sizes.
This article breaks down the key distinctions between DNSFilter and Cisco Umbrella to help you decide which platform best fits your business needs. And if neither one checks all your boxes? We explain why Control D is a powerful alternative worth considering.
What are DNSFilter and Cisco Umbrella?
DNSFilter and Cisco Umbrella are two well-known DNS filtering platforms that help your business stay secure online by blocking access to harmful or unwanted content, and filtering out threats like malware, phishing sites, and other risks before they reach your network.
Founded in 2015, DNSFilter is a cloud-based security solution that automatically blocks malicious websites, prevents access to inappropriate content, and provides real-time threat protection.
Businesses use DNSFilter to enforce internet policies and keep employees safe from cyber threats, all while maintaining fast internet access.
Cisco Umbrella, launched in 2015 after Cisco acquired OpenDNS, is more enterprise-focused. While the OpenDNS name still caters to personal users, Umbrella is built for businesses, offering DNS filtering and advanced security features like Remote Browser Isolation (RBI) and Data Loss Prevention (DLP).
This makes it a popular choice for larger organizations with complex security needs that go beyond just filtering.
While both platforms aim to protect your business, they differ in features, pricing, support, and overall approach to DNS security. In this comparison, we’ll break down what each one offers and see how they stack up. Let’s dive in!
DNSFilter: Pros and Cons
Best for: Businesses looking for an AI-powered DNS filtering solution that boasts fast query speeds.
Key Features
- Global Anycast network for fast performance
- Uses AI-powered threat detection to identify and block malicious domains in real time
- Quick and easy setup with minimal configuration required
- Provides insights into DNS traffic and user activity
- Integrates with Active Directory, SIEM tools, and RMM platforms
Pros
- One of the fastest DNS query speeds on the market
- Easy to deploy and manage
- Transparent pricing structure
Cons
- Requires upgrading to higher-tier plans for full functionality
- Charges extra for SIEM integration, data exporting, and API access
- Fewer advanced filtering features and customization options compared to some alternatives
- Does not support all modern DNS protocols (DoT only)
- Sub-par server uptime and quality
Our Take on DNSFilter
DNSFilter is a sound choice for businesses that need a fast, AI-powered DNS filtering solution with minimal setup, but you may find it lacks the advanced features offered by similarly priced alternatives.
Cisco Umbrella: Pros and Cons
Best for: Large enterprises that need a comprehensive, enterprise-grade DNS security solution that seamlessly integrates into the Cisco ecosystem.
Key Features
- Enterprise-grade security and threat intelligence beyond DNS filtering
- Advanced functionality like Data Loss Prevention (DLP), Cloud Access Security, and Remote Browser Isolation
- Provides detailed visibility into network activity and security threats
- 24x7 software support (purchasable as an add-on)
Pros
- Advanced threat intelligence powered by Cisco Talos
- Integrates seamlessly with other Cisco security products
- Scales well for large enterprises
Cons
- Expensive, which can price out small to medium-sized businesses
- Complex setup and management that requires a high level of technical expertise
- May be overkill for businesses that need a standalone DNS filtering solution
- Poor post-sales support
Our Take on Cisco Umbrella
Cisco Umbrella offers a high level of protection thanks to its enterprise-level features and threat-detection capabilities. However, it's designed for organizations with large IT teams and big budgets, which can make it costly and complex to set up.
Cisco Umbrella is also notorious for its lack of post-sales support. Numerous reviews online report slow replies and unresolved support tickets.
Umbrella is a strong choice if you need robust security and are already invested in the Cisco ecosystem. But if you want a more flexible and cost-effective solution, you may want to look elsewhere.
DNSFilter vs. Cisco Umbrella
Plans & Pricing
DNSFilter has three plans for enterprise organizations: Basic, Pro, and Enterprise.
- Basic – $1.15/user/month
- Pro – $2.30/user/month
- Enterprise – $3.00/user/month
A distinction is also made between MSPs, educational institutions, and public Wi-Fi operators:
- MSP – minimum cost of $150/month (user count above this minimum fee is charged depending on plan)
- Education – $4/student/year (125 user minimum)
- Public Wi-Fi – $5/access point/month
On the other hand, Cisco Umbrella takes an entirely different approach. There are four plans on offer:
- DNS Essentials
- DNS Advantage
- SIG Essentials
- SIG Advantage
The pricing structure isn't revealed clearly; meaning you’ll have to talk to a sales rep first.
Anecdotal evidence suggests per-user costs start at $2.50/month for the DNS Essentials plan and can go as high as $28/month depending on the size of your business and length of contract. This is somewhat validated by online reviews claiming Umbrella’s pricing is “steep”.
Depending on your business and use case, Cisco Umbrella can be almost 9 times more expensive than DNSFilter. Therefore, DNSFilter wins this category.
Features, Clients, and Integrations
Both DNSFilter and Cisco Umbrella have a similar selection of features, clients and integrations, which include:
- Malware & Phishing Protection
- Flexible Content Blocking
- Per-user Policies
- RMM integration
- Blockable Services (limited selection)
However, there are key areas where Cisco Umbrella sets itself apart, such as Geo-IP Blocking, Remote Browser Isolation, and Data Loss Prevention capabilities. There’s also File Inspection and support for all modern DNS protocols – DNSFilter only supports DoT. It should be noted that these advanced features are reserved for higher-tier plans, which drive costs up further.
Although a few features are exclusive to DNSFilter (Blocking Ads & Trackers and Zapier integration), it cannot compete with Cisco’s offerings. As such, this category goes to Cisco Umbrella.
Analytics
Both platforms provide the necessary analytics features for organizations, such as Admin Action Logs, Full Query Logging, Query Log Export, Per-user Reporting, and Scheduled Reporting.
But, there are also some differences between both. For instance:
- DNSFilter stores query log data for 9 days, whereas Umbrella stores it for 30 days.
- DNSFilter stores reports for 90 days, whereas Umbrella stores reports for 30 days to a year (depending on the report).
- DNSFilter does not provide you with a data storage option, whereas Umbrella offers North America or Europe.
- DNSFilter requires you to purchase an add-on to export your data or stream query logs to your SIEM tool – Umbrella includes these features without additional costs.
It can be argued that although DNSFilter charges extra for exporting data or SIEM log streaming, the total costs are still significantly lower than Umbrella’s monthly user cost. However, due to the longer query log and report retention period, as well as offering two data storage locations, we’ve given the nod to Umbrella.
Support
DNSFilter and Cisco Umbrella offer your typical support channels, such as Community Forums, Documentation/Knowledge Base, and Email Support.
DNSFilter goes a step further by also offering Chat Support. It should be noted that the chat functionality is quite basic – nevertheless, it’s an additional support channel that Cisco Umbrella does not provide.
Cisco Umbrella offers 24x7 Software Support via email or phone as a purchasable add-on. Although DNSFilter does not provide round-the-clock support, they do have a purchasable add-on for Prioritized Case Handling, which can speed up response times.
There’s not much between both platforms in this category, but DNSFilter edges in the lead.
Cisco Umbrella vs DNSFilter vs Control D
If you’re still deciding which solution to pick, consider a third option: Control D. Let's show you why there's a level of malware protection, content filtering, and network control that most struggle to match.
Best-in-Class Malware Filter
Control D sets the industry standard for malware protection. Independent tests show that its malware filter blocks a whopping 99.97% of threats, outperforming major players like Google, Cloudflare, and Quad9.
Thanks to machine learning technology, Control D accurately classifies and blocks pages that are highly likely to serve malware in real time, ensuring your network is always safe from threats even before they appear in malware or IP blocklists.
Blockable Services
Like most DNS providers, Control D allows you to block entire content categories, such as “Social Media” or “Adult Content”. But, what if you just want to block some social media platforms while keeping everything else open?
With Control D, you can do exactly that. With over 1,000+ individual Services – apps, vendors, and tools – to choose from, you can block, redirect, or bypass them with a single click. For comparison, Cisco Umbrella only offers 90+ blockable Services, and DNSFilter offers 80+.
This means you can fine-tune policies to specific clients, teams, or users and have granular control over what apps and resources resolve on their devices, all without manual blocklists or complex rules.
Traffic Redirection
Control D’s Traffic Redirection feature enables precise control over DNS queries by allowing you to route traffic through over 100 global proxy locations across 60+ countries. You can even set a default location for all queries while customizing redirection for specific Services and domains.
For example, set your default location to the U.S. while redirecting banking apps through different countries – the possibilities are endless.
Geo-Custom Rules
Control D’s Geo-Custom Rules is a unique feature allowing you to leverage geo-location data of source and destination IP addresses to:
- Block queries resolving to IPs in a specific country or ASN
- Redirect queries that don't resolve to IPs in a specific country or ASN
- Bypass queries made from IPs in a specific country or ASN
- Block queries made from IPs not in a specific country or ASN
- Or any combination of the above
What does this mean for you? You can create rules that align with your security or compliance needs, such as blocking traffic from high-risk countries like China and Russia or rerouting traffic to trusted locations – it’s a simple way to lock down your network and enforce geographic-based policies.
For comparison, DNSFilter does not offer this feature at all, and Umbrella only offers geo-IP blocking which does not include ASNs or redirection capabilities.
In-depth Analytics & Monitoring
Control D provides powerful analytics tools that give you complete visibility into your DNS traffic. Whether you need a high-level overview of usage trends or detailed insights into individual queries, real-time and historical reporting shows you everything that’s happening on your network.
You can monitor activity, detect anomalies, and even stream query data to your preferred SIEM tool for unified threat analysis and alerting. Plus, with automated daily, weekly, or monthly reports, staying updated on network activity is easy.
Easy Onboarding & Transparent Pricing
Instead of tiered plans, Control D offers a transparent pricing structure to ensure you get full access to all features without upsells or hidden fees. Whether you're a business, an MSP, or a school, you simply pay per Endpoint and know exactly what you're getting.
- Enterprises – $2/Endpoint/month
- MSPs – $1/Endpoint/month
- Schools & Non-Profits – qualify for a further discounted rate
This pricing structure also makes it considerably cheaper than both DNSFilter and Umbrella.
Onboarding users and devices is equally easy. You can either add each Endpoint individually or create a provisioning code to deploy it across your entire device fleet within minutes via an RMM tool.
Chat Support (Advanced chatbot)
Meet Barry, Control D’s machine learning-powered AI chatbot and your 24/7 support buddy. Need help troubleshooting, tweaking settings, or understanding a feature? Barry can answer 99% of queries in seconds – no need to dig through documentation or wait for an email reply.
And the best part? Barry is continuously improving, ensuring you get fast, reliable, and relevant solutions whenever you need them.
Full Cross-Platform Support
Control D integrates seamlessly across all major platforms, including Windows, Mac, Linux, iOS, and Android. It also supports popular browsers, routers, and enterprise tools, ensuring effortless deployment across your entire network.
Control D can even integrate with Active Directory, RMM and SIEM platforms, and Single Sign-On (SSO) solutions like Okta – making user management and security enforcement easier than ever.
Dual Stack Ready & Modern Protocol Support
Control D is dual-stack ready, fully supporting both IPv4 and IPv6, as well as all modern DNS protocols, such as DoH, DoT, DoH3, and DoQ. It even supports legacy DNS should it be required.
Full API Access
Control D offers full API access, allowing you to integrate its powerful DNS management features into your own software and workflows.
With API-based automation, you can manage profiles, endpoints, and authorized IP lists – without ever needing to log into the Control D dashboard.
Custom Data Storage Region
Where your data lives matters, and Control D lets you decide. Choose from three standard storage regions – North America, Europe, or Australia – to keep your DNS logs and account data where you need them.
Need something even more specific? For an extra fee, you can request a custom storage region to meet your data sovereignty or compliance requirements. That way, you stay in control of your data without sacrificing security or performance.
Performance
DNSFilter still leads the charge in query speed with 14.83 ms, but is followed closely behind by Control D with a speed of 16.05 ms.
Control D outperforms DNSFilter and Cisco Umbrella in uptime performance results, with a server uptime score of 99.93%.
Again, Control D scores far better in server quality with a score of 99.93%.