Cisco Umbrella
Depends
Confidence: Medium
Buy if you're a mid-size or large org, ideally already running Cisco gear, that needs DNS-layer filtering across many sites and users.
New check
Comparison
Cisco Umbrella vs Zscaler
Cisco Umbrella and Zscaler both land on Depends.
Zscaler
Depends
Confidence: Medium
Buy if you're a large organization with security staff replacing VPNs, appliances, and legacy perimeter tools.
| Compare | ||
|---|---|---|
| Verdict | Depends | Depends |
| Best for | Mid-size and large IT teams | Large distributed enterprises |
| Who it's not for | Small teams . a router filter or DNSFilter suffices | Small teams needing simple web filtering |
| Privacy | Several CVEs from 2022-2026 (auth bypass, privilege escalation); Cisco publishes advisories and fixes.12 | Active advisory program, but 2026 Client Connector CVEs and a 2025 Salesloft Drift supply-chain breach are on record. |
| Support quality | No support evidence in sources | Buyers publicly question post-sales support |
| Public sentiment | Active G2, PeerSpot, and r/sysadmin threads show users publicly questioning its cost and weighing alternatives.³ | Large orgs praise the zero-trust scale while sysadmins grumble about complexity, cost, and support. |
| Biggest gotcha | Quote-only pricing; costs vary per deal . get competing bids before signing⁶ | Quote-based only; buyers report 2025 price hikes . negotiate multi-year terms hard |
Pick Cisco Umbrella when
- Mid-size and large IT teams
- Cisco-centric networks
- Multi-site DNS filtering
- Compliance-driven orgs
When Cisco Umbrella is not a fit
- Small teams . a router filter or DNSFilter suffices
- Anyone needing transparent, self-serve pricing
- Solo admins without security staff to tune it
- Buyers avoiding Cisco ecosystem lock-in
Pick Zscaler when
- Large distributed enterprises
- Zero-trust / VPN-replacement projects
- Regulated sectors like government
- Orgs consolidating many point security tools
When Zscaler is not a fit
- Small teams needing simple web filtering
- Startups with no dedicated security admin
- Buyers wanting published, transparent pricing
- Anyone unwilling to manage a heavy client agent
Sources
- Cisco Umbrella: DNS-Layer and Cloud Cybersecurity Solutionsumbrella.cisco.comofficial
- Cisco Umbrella Packagesumbrella.cisco.comofficial
review
- Cisco Umbrella pricing question . PeerSpotpeerspot.comreview
review
news
- Cisco Umbrella Pricing vs DNSFilter . dope.securitydope.securitynews
news
news
news
security
- CVE-2022-20773: Cisco Umbrella Auth Bypass . SentinelOnesentinelone.comsecurity
- CVE-2026-20246 Detail . NVDnvd.nist.govsecurity
- Cisco Umbrella . URI ITS Service Deskits.uri.eduofficial
- Zscaler homepagezscaler.comofficial
- Zscaler Pricing and Planszscaler.comofficial