DNS filtering · November 2026 Edition
Cisco Umbrella vs NextDNS
One of fourteen models named Cisco Umbrella first on the direct prompt; zero named NextDNS. Both were named by all fourteen models and Cisco Umbrella carries 58 labels and NextDNS 36, so the shares are not directly comparable.
Named in five categories this edition.
Named in two categories this edition.
First-choice share14%2%Of first choices across the direct, paraphrase, budget and scale prompts, 0 to 100.
Negative rate26%17%Negative labels as a share of the product's labels, 0 to 100.
Rank in category#3#4A position in a field of 11; printed, not drawn.
Labels5836A count; the two differ.
The two percentage rows are drawn on one 0 to 100 track, Cisco Umbrella reading right to left. Rank and label count are printed, not drawn.DNSFilter was named alongside these two in thirteen of the fourteen direct answers. DNSFilter vs Cisco Umbrella · DNSFilter vs NextDNS · Cloudflare Gateway vs Cisco Umbrella
Share is the count of first choices across the direct, paraphrase, budget and scale prompts over all fourteen models, for a mid-market B2B company; rank is within the category; every quote names the model and the prompt it came from. Both figures come from the DNS filtering page.
By framing
How many of the fourteen models made each the first choice, per way of asking, and how many argued against it.
Cisco UmbrellaFirst choices, of fourteen modelsNextDNS
Direct104 against Cisco Umbrella
Paraphrase504 against Cisco Umbrella
Comparative62
Budget-constrained015 against Cisco Umbrella · 1 against NextDNS
Scale-constrained20
Negative022 against Cisco Umbrella · 5 against NextDNS
Bars are first choices, 0 to 14 each sideModels that argued againstA model can name both, so the two sides of a row do not sum to fourteen.
Across every category in the November 2026 Edition, Cisco Umbrella and NextDNS were named in the same answer sixty times, of the 213 answers naming Cisco Umbrella and the 88 naming NextDNS. In those answers NextDNS took the first choice three times and Cisco Umbrella ten.
Every model, every framing
The eighty-four answers behind the chart above, one cell each: where Cisco Umbrella and NextDNS stood in it.
| Model | Direct | Paraphrase | Comparative | Budget-constrained | Scale-constrained | Negative |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Claude Haiku 4.5 | | |||||
| GPT-5.4 mini | | | | | | |
| Gemini 3.5 Flash | | | | | | |
| Perplexity Sonar | | | | | ||
| Grok 4.20 | | | | | | |
| Mistral Small | | | | | ||
| DeepSeek V4 Flash | | | | | | |
| Llama 4 Maverick | | |||||
| Qwen 3.7 Flash | | | | | ||
| Kimi K2 | | | | | | |
| GLM 4.7 FlashX | | | | | | |
| MiniMax M2.5 | | | | | | |
| GPT-6 Luna | | | | | | |
| Muse Glimmer 30B | | | | | | |
Cisco Umbrella NextDNS first choice named as an alternative argued againstblank: not namedEach cell is one answer, Cisco Umbrella on the left and NextDNS on the right.The direct prompt
The plain question, one answer per model, grouped by where Cisco Umbrella and NextDNS stood in it.
Cisco Umbrella first, NextDNS not the choice
1 of 14 modelsNextDNS was named in the answer but not as the choice, or not at all.Qwen 3.7 FlashCisco Umbrella, DNSFilter alternatives: Cloudflare Gateway, FortiGuard
Neither was the first choice, one was named
7 of 14 modelsThe answer put something else first and named one of the two as an alternative.GPT-5.4 miniCloudflare Gateway, DNSFilter alternatives: Cisco Umbrella
Perplexity SonarDNSFilter alternatives: Cisco Umbrella, Cloudflare Gateway, WebTitan
Mistral SmallDNSFilter alternatives: Cisco Umbrella, Cloudflare Gateway
DeepSeek V4 FlashDNSFilter alternatives: Cisco Umbrella, Cloudflare Gateway, Control D
MiniMax M2.5DNSFilter alternatives: Cisco Umbrella, Control D
GPT-6 LunaDNSFilter alternatives: Cisco Umbrella, Cloudflare Gateway
Muse Glimmer 30BDNSFilter alternatives: Cisco Umbrella, Cloudflare Gateway
Neither was named
6 of 14 modelsThe answer made no first choice from these two in this category.Claude Haiku 4.5no first choice
Gemini 3.5 FlashDNSFilter alternatives: Cisco Secure Access, Cloudflare Gateway
Grok 4.20DNSFilter alternatives: Cloudflare Gateway, Control D
Llama 4 MaverickDNSFilter
Kimi K2DNSFilter alternatives: Cloudflare Gateway
GLM 4.7 FlashXDNSFilter alternatives: Cloudflare Gateway, Control D
Bold names in an answer are the products the judge labeled a first choice; a model naming several gives each of them that label. The full answer text for every row is in the record.
By buyer segment
The same question asked on behalf of a different buyer. Each standing is computed within its segment and they are never added together. The figures above are the mid-market standing, which is the one the category orders by.
Small business
Level: the same share of first choices.
Cisco Umbrella5%#5 of 9NextDNS5%#4 of 9Mid-marketThe figures above
Cisco Umbrella leads by twelve points.
Cisco Umbrella14%#3 of 11NextDNS2%#4 of 11Enterprise
Cisco Umbrella leads by fifty-two points.
Cisco Umbrella52%#1 of 10NextDNS0%#– of 10What the models said about Cisco Umbrella
Every negative label with a quote, up to three, then the highest-weighted positives, up to three. Six of seven in this category shown.
“Unless you're already a Cisco shop, I'd avoid starting with a legacy product being phased out.” Kimi K2 · paraphrase prompt · hard negative
“Avoid Cisco Umbrella if budget is the top concern, because it's more enterprise-oriented” GPT-5.4 mini · budget prompt · hard negative
“often seen as more expensive, slower to deploy (hours vs. minutes), and complex for mid-market needs... Better for larger enterprises.” Grok 4.20 · direct prompt · soft negative
“Best for: Companies already using Cisco networking gear or those wanting a simple, standalone DNS solution with no hardware changes.” Qwen 3.7 Flash · direct prompt · first choice
“Best enterprise default: Cisco Umbrella, especially when the organization already uses Cisco security products.” Perplexity Sonar · comparative prompt · first choice
“Cisco Umbrella is the most widely deployed DNS filtering product, built on the OpenDNS resolver network.” Muse Glimmer 30B · comparative prompt · first choice
What the models said about NextDNS
Every negative label with a quote, up to three, then the highest-weighted positives, up to three. Six of eight in this category shown.
“if logging/analytics are left enabled the provider can retain query history, device identifiers and custom lists... a privacy risk for users who want no history” Muse Glimmer 30B · negative prompt · soft negative
“NextDNS and similar configurable services expose more policy controls; neither should be treated as a substitute for endpoint protection.” Perplexity Sonar · negative prompt · soft negative
“NextDNS and AdGuard Private DNS, for example, offer user-visible logs and settings to control logging or retention.” GPT-6 Luna · negative prompt · soft negative
“For most privacy-conscious users, NextDNS or Mullvad DNS offer the best balance of customization, transparency, and security.” Qwen 3.7 Flash · negative prompt · first choice
“Customizable filtering (ads, trackers, malware, adult content) with strong no-log policies, audits, and per-device configs.” Grok 4.20 · negative prompt · first choice
“If you can spend ~$20/month, NextDNS Business offers the best value with full features and unlimited devices.” Kimi K2 · budget prompt · first choice
Also compared
Comparisons are drawn for the top eight products in each category, each against each. The output is the models' output; nothing here is a recommendation by the index.