# Cisco Umbrella: how AI models rank it, November 2026

Gane Index, November 2026 Edition. Named in 70 judge labels across 5 categories by 14 of 14 models. Page: https://www.gane.ai/index/it/vendors/cisco-umbrella

## Standing by category

| Category | Share | Rank | Negative rate | Labels |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| [DNS filtering](https://www.gane.ai/index/it/network/dns-filtering/index.md) | 14% | 3 | 26% | 58 |
| [SASE platforms](https://www.gane.ai/index/it/network/sase-platforms/index.md) | 2% | 8 | 0% | 9 |
| [Proxy and web data providers](https://www.gane.ai/index/it/it-data/proxy-networks/index.md) | 2% | 10 | 0% | 1 |
| [Client-side protection](https://www.gane.ai/index/it/security/client-side-protection/index.md) | 0% | 68 | 0% | 1 |
| [DDI and IP address management](https://www.gane.ai/index/it/network/ddi-and-ipam/index.md) | 0% | 57 | 0% | 1 |

## What the models said for it

- "Best for: Companies already using Cisco networking gear or those wanting a simple, standalone DNS solution with no hardware changes." (Qwen 3.7 Flash, DNS filtering)
- "Cisco Umbrella or Cloudflare One often hit a good balance of enterprise capability without overwhelming complexity" (Kimi K2, Proxy and web data)
- "Best enterprise default: Cisco Umbrella, especially when the organization already uses Cisco security products." (Perplexity Sonar, DNS filtering)
- "Cisco Umbrella is the most widely deployed DNS filtering product, built on the OpenDNS resolver network." (Muse Glimmer 30B, DNS filtering)

## And against it

- "Unless you're already a Cisco shop, I'd avoid starting with a legacy product being phased out." (Kimi K2, DNS filtering)
- "Avoid Cisco Umbrella if budget is the top concern, because it's more enterprise-oriented" (GPT-5.4 mini, DNS filtering)
- "often seen as more expensive, slower to deploy (hours vs. minutes), and complex for mid-market needs... Better for larger enterprises." (Grok 4.20, DNS filtering)
- "Choose Cisco Umbrella only if you need the most comprehensive feature set and have the budget/IT resources to support it." (Kimi K2, DNS filtering)

## By model

| Model | First choice | Alternative | Mention | Warning | Labels |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Claude Haiku 4.5 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 6 |
| GPT-5.4 mini | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 |
| Gemini 3.5 Flash | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 4 |
| Perplexity Sonar | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| Grok 4.20 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 |
| Mistral Small | 0 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 7 |
| DeepSeek V4 Flash | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 5 |
| Llama 4 Maverick | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| Qwen 3.7 Flash | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 5 |
| Kimi K2 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 6 |
| GLM 4.7 FlashX | 0 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 5 |
| MiniMax M2.5 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 5 |
| GPT-6 Luna | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| Muse Glimmer 30B | 2 | 5 | 0 | 3 | 10 |

## Sources returned with these answers

The sites and pages cited by the answers that named Cisco Umbrella, from 175 of the 213 answers that named it (only the models that return a source list).

### Domains cited

- dnsfilter.com: 100
- powerdmarc.com: 72
- controld.com: 59
- g2.com: 55
- cybersecuritynews.com: 48
- simplyit.biz: 44
- sourceforge.net: 40
- cloudflare.com: 38
- gane.ai/index: 38
- umbrella.cisco.com: 36 (its own site)

### Pages cited

- https://dnsfilter.com/: 68
- https://powerdmarc.com/best-dns-security-solutions: 65
- https://simplyit.biz/resources/best-dns-filtering-small-business-2026: 44
- https://insight.tmcnet.com/insight/buyers-guide/categories/dns-filtering-and-protective-dns-services: 29
- https://cybersecuritynews.com/best-dns-security-solutions: 27
- https://dnsfilter.com/pricing: 26
- https://comparitech.com/net-admin/dns-filtering-tools: 25
- https://expertinsights.com/web-security/the-top-dns-web-filtering-platforms-for-businesses: 24

## Record

- Method: https://www.gane.ai/index/it/methodology
- License: CC BY 4.0. Cite as Gane Index, November 2026 Edition, www.gane.ai/index/it.