# DNSFilter vs Cisco Umbrella: which do AI models recommend for DNS filtering, October 2026

IT AI Recommendation Index, October 2026 Edition, DNS filtering. Thirteen of fourteen models named DNSFilter first on the direct prompt; zero named Cisco Umbrella. Page: https://it-ai-index.com/network/dns-filtering/dnsfilter-vs-cisco-umbrella/

| | First-choice share | Rank | Negative rate | Labels | Models naming it |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| DNSFilter | 59% | #1 of 9 | 2% | 54 | 14 of 14 |
| Cisco Umbrella | 6% | #3 of 9 | 25% | 40 | 12 of 14 |

## The direct prompt, model by model

- Claude Haiku 4.5: dnsfilter first (first choices: DNSFilter) (alternatives: Akamai Enterprise Threat Protector, Cloudflare Gateway, Prisma Access DNS Security)
- GPT-5.4 mini: dnsfilter first (first choices: DNSFilter) (alternatives: Cisco Secure Access – DNS Defense, Cisco Umbrella, Cloudflare Gateway, Zscaler DNS Security)
- Gemini 3.5 Flash: dnsfilter first (first choices: DNSFilter) (alternatives: Cloudflare Gateway, Control D)
- Perplexity Sonar: dnsfilter first (first choices: Cloudflare Gateway, DNSFilter) (alternatives: Control D, SafeDNS)
- Grok 4.1 Fast: dnsfilter first (first choices: DNSFilter) (alternatives: Cisco Umbrella, Cloudflare Gateway)
- Mistral Small: dnsfilter first (first choices: DNSFilter)
- DeepSeek V4 Flash: dnsfilter first (first choices: DNSFilter) (alternatives: Cisco Umbrella, Cloudflare Gateway, Webroot DNS Protection)
- Llama 4 Maverick: dnsfilter first (first choices: DNSFilter, WebTitan)
- Kimi K2: dnsfilter first (first choices: DNSFilter) (alternatives: Cisco Umbrella, Cloudflare Gateway)
- GLM 4.7 FlashX: dnsfilter first (first choices: DNSFilter) (alternatives: Cisco Umbrella, Cloudflare Gateway, Infoblox BloxOne DDI)
- MiniMax M2.5: dnsfilter first (first choices: Cloudflare Gateway, DNSFilter) (alternatives: Cisco Umbrella)
- GPT-6 Luna: dnsfilter first (first choices: DNSFilter) (alternatives: Cisco Secure Access, Cloudflare Gateway)
- Muse Glimmer 30B: dnsfilter first (first choices: DNSFilter) (alternatives: Cisco Umbrella, Cloudflare Gateway)
- Qwen 3.7 Flash: neither first, one named (first choices: Cloudflare Gateway) (alternatives: Cisco Umbrella, DNSFilter)

## What the models said about DNSFilter

- "powerful but come with cautionary notes" (Kimi K2, negative prompt, soft negative)
- "Highly regarded for its fast Anycast network, real-time AI-driven threat categorization, and very user-friendly interface. Highly suited for mid-sized companies." (Gemini 3.5 Flash, scale prompt, first choice)
- "Popular options for 500 users include DNSFilter (AI-focused, easy deploy) and Cisco Umbrella (enterprise-grade integrations)." (Grok 4.1 Fast, scale prompt, first choice)
- "the strongest default choice is DNSFilter if your priority is straightforward DNS filtering with good mid-market fit" (Perplexity Sonar, direct prompt, first choice)

## What the models said about Cisco Umbrella

- "its pricing and complexity can be prohibitive for small businesses, and setup can be steep... can be overkill or frustrating for smaller deployments" (Qwen 3.7 Flash, negative prompt, soft negative)
- "But watch out for: Quote-based pricing that can escalate quickly ... Often feels like overkill for mid-market needs" (DeepSeek V4 Flash, paraphrase prompt, soft negative)
- "Services like Cisco Umbrella, Cloudflare Gateway, and DNSFilter are powerful but come with cautionary notes" (Kimi K2, negative prompt, soft negative)
- "Best for: Large enterprises, organizations with complex security needs ... Industry-leading threat intelligence, extensive integration ecosystem, mature platform" (GLM 4.7 FlashX, comparative prompt, first choice)
- "Popular options for 500 users include DNSFilter (AI-focused, easy deploy) and Cisco Umbrella (enterprise-grade integrations)." (Grok 4.1 Fast, scale prompt, first choice)
- "I'd recommend Cisco Umbrella as the top DNS security solution." (Grok 4.1 Fast, paraphrase prompt, first choice)

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. Comparisons are drawn for the top eight products in each category. Published under CC BY 4.0; the output is the models' output, and nothing here is a recommendation by the index.