Cisco Umbrella Pricing
It is not easy to find much information when you want to compare Cisco Umbrella pricing vs Cisco competitor pricing, but there are good reasons for this – notwithstanding it is possible Cisco may not want its flagship suite of DNS security solutions compared on price alone.
If you want to compare Cisco Umbrella pricing vs Cisco competitor pricing, you are likely to be taken down a lot of dead ends. There are no prices advertised on the Cisco website, and many other sources of information are either inaccurate or out of date.
Additionally, due to the number of optional extras that businesses can add on to one of four Umbrella packages, the final price may be a lot different than the Cisco Umbrella license cost alone. Furthermore, the license cost is subject to a number of variables. For example:
- The number of licenses required
- The length of the subscription
- Whether the subscription is paid all upfront
- If not, whether it is paid monthly, quarterly, or annually
- The region in which a business is located
- Discounts negotiated with Cisco, a reseller, or MSP
Most of the optional extras are also subject to variable costs, and it can be the case that a business wants to take advantage of an optional extra for some, but not all, of its workforce – making the compilation of a Cisco Umbrella price list even more complicated.
The Four Umbrella Packages
One of the reasons for many sources of information being inaccurate or out of date is that they originate from the days when there was only one Cisco Umbrella package. However, in recent years, Cisco has expanded the suite of DNS security solutions considerably.
Cisco Umbrella DNS Essentials
This entry level DNS security solution offers basic web filtering, malware blocking, and limited access to the SecureX threat intelligence service. As this package does not include SSL decryption and inspection, it is not appropriate for most security-conscious businesses.
Cisco Umbrella DNS Advantage
The DNS Advantage package is better inasmuch as includes SSL decryption and inspection, will block malicious downloads based on anti-virus inspection, and stop files entering the network that bypass the DNS filter – for example command and control callbacks.
Cisco Umbrella SIG Essentials
The Secure Internet Gateway (SIG) packages are secure access service edge (SASE) solutions that include features such as a secure web gateway, a cloud delivered firewall, and a cloud access security broker for significantly advance DNS filtering and threat intelligence.
Cisco Umbrella SIG Advantage
This package is the crème de la crème of SASE solutions but it does include many tools that some businesses will be unable to take advantage of due to a lack of internal skills or because some of the package´s capabilities already exist in other security solutions used by the business.
How Much Does Cisco Umbrella Cost?
Because of the advanced capabilities of the SIG packages, it is understandable Cisco might not want its DNS security solutions compared on price alone. However, the cost of Cisco Umbrella may be an obstacle to adoption for budget-limited security teams, so how much does Cisco Umbrella cost?
Due to the complexities of the Cisco Umbrella pricing model, the potential for price conditioning by Cisco, and the risk that the information available on the Internet may be inaccurate or out of date, we have prepared a separate article discussing the cost of Cisco Umbrella packages.
When reading the article, it is important to be aware that the prices we have been able to source have been adjusted to reflect automatic discounts offered at checkout. With the discounts taken into account, the prices are more representative of Cisco Umbrella pricing per user for the DNS Essentials and DNS Advantage packages prior to adding on “optional extras”.
Cisco Umbrella Pricing for Optional Extras
Although described as optional extras, some of the add-ons to the basic license cost are required or necessary for effective DNS filtering. For example, technical support for onboarding is a “required” extra, while premium support from a Technical Account Manager is considered optional.
For effective DNS filtering for the entire workforce, it may also be necessary to subscribe to the AnyConnect service – a service that enables remote workers to connect to the corporate network – and, if this optional extra is chosen, it may also be necessary to add the Network Visibility Module, Cisco Identity Services Engine, and Cisco Umbrella Roaming – all at an additional cost.
Naturally, there are fewer optional extras at the top end of the Umbrella suite because the crème de le crème of SASE solutions has every capability built in. However – as mentioned previously – not all businesses will be able to take advantage of every capability due to a lack of internal skills or because some of the capabilities already exist in other security solutions used by the business.
Can the Cisco Umbrella Price be Justified?
There are several reasons for adopting a top of the range Cisco Umbrella package. Businesses will be able to gain visibility into web activity, enforce acceptable Internet usage policies, and block web-based threats such as malware, ransomware, and phishing attacks.
Cisco Umbrella pricing is certainly at the higher end of the price spectrum for web filtering. However, while the Umbrella cost per user may be high – especially when add-ons are included – that cost can be justified in the right circumstances for the level of protection provided.
Umbrella´s SASE packages include capabilities that are not typically found in other DNS filtering solutions. That said, many SMBs and MSPs find these capabilities are overkill and not worth the additional cost. There are web filtering solutions that meet most businesses´ needs at a much lower price point, and it pays to research Cisco competitors before selecting a DNS filtering solution.
FAQs
Is OpenDNS free?
OpenDNS offers three packages for home users, but the packages are not recommended for business use. The free versions are OpenDNS Home and OpenDNS Family shield. The latter is pre-configured to block access to 4 categories of web content ((Pornography, Sexuality, Tasteless, and Proxy/Anonymizer services). OpenDNS Home VIP is a paid service that has monitoring capabilities and more extensive blacklist/whitelisting options.
What does OpenDNS Umbrella cost?
OpenDNS Umbrella, the business version of the OpenDNS web filtering service from Cisco, is available as three packages with increasing features and protection. At the most basic level, DNS Security Essentials, you can expect to pay around $2.25 per user per month in 2020.
Does OpenDNS block ransomware?
OpenDNS is used to prevent access to phishing websites, websites used for distributing malware/ransomware, and suspicious websites, such as those that use IP addresses reserved for internal networks. The solution also blocks malware command and control center callbacks.
Is web filtering for businesses necessary?
Web filtering is an important cybersecurity solution that should be considered by all businesses. Web filters block malware and ransomware downloads and work in tandem with your spam filter to block phishing attacks by preventing employees from visiting phishing websites linked in spam emails.
What are the best Cisco Umbrella alternatives?
Web filtering solutions comparable to Cisco Umbrella include WebTitan Cloud (TitanHQ), ZScaler Internet Access, Forcepoint Web Security Cloud, Symantec Web Filter. Each has advantages and disadvantages compared to Cisco Umbrella, which are detailed in this article.
How is Cisco Umbrella pricing per user calculated?
Per user pricing is calculated by adding the final Cisco Umbrella license cost after discounts to the cost of any optional extras – or proportion of the cost of extras if a price is quoted as (for example) per 100 users. If you want to calculate the monthly Cisco Umbrella pricing per user, divide the total (after adding optional extras) by twelve.
Where can I find Cisco Umbrella SIG Advantage pricing?
The only way to find out Cisco Umbrella SIG Advantage pricing is to speak with Cisco directly. Please be sure that, if you are offered an introductory price, you enquire about the cost of renewing when the initial subscription period ends. Many software companies tempt users with low-cost entry levels, only to significantly increase the cost on renewal.
Why is the DNS Essentials package “not appropriate for most security-conscious businesses?
As the package does not include SSL decryption and inspection, the DNS filter will not be able to identify threats in encrypted web traffic. For most security-conscious businesses this matters because more than 80% of websites (and 84% of phishing sites) have SSL certificates. Therefore, the DNS Essentials package is less than 20% effective at detecting threats or filtering web content.
Why might it be necessary to subscribe to the AnyConnect service?
Cisco Umbrella inspects and filters traffic entering the corporate network to protect users connected to the network. However, it does not protect – nor apply usage policies to – off-network users. If a business has users that work both on and off-site or operate a BYOD device policy that allows users to connect personal devices to the network, it may be necessary to subscribe to the AnyConnect service to protect the network from threats brought in by remote workers or personal devices.
What happened to the Cisco Insights plan?
The Cisco Insights plan was rebranded as DNS Essentials some time ago – although Cisco still uses the name in some of its documentation. Customers who subscribed to the former Insights plan continue to receive the services they subscribed to on renewal. However, new DNS Essentials customers and Insights customers that switch to the DNS Essentials plan now only receive a feature-limited service.
