DNS Security Solutions Compared: Where Each One Stops

Quick answer: The useful question when comparing DNS security solutions isn't which one is best, it's where each one stops and what covers the gap. Cisco Umbrella, DNSFilter, Cloudflare Gateway, Quad9 and Infoblox all enforce at the recursive resolver, which means they all share the same ceiling: a DNS query carries a domain name and a record type, so none of them can read a URL path, inspect a file, or tell an enterprise tenant from a personal account. dope.security isn't a DNS product. It's the on-device SSL inspection layer that picks up where DNS stops, at $60 per device per year.

New here? Read What Is DNS Security? and DNS-Layer Security: What It Catches and What It Structurally Can't.

The only comparison question worth asking

Most DNS security comparisons turn into a feature bake-off: category counts, blocklist sizes, dashboard screenshots. That's the wrong axis.

Every product on this list that filters at the resolver shares an identical ceiling, because they all read the same message. The differences between them are real but they're differences in coverage, reporting, deployment model, and price. They are not differences in what the protocol lets them see.

So organize your evaluation around two questions. Where does this product enforce? And what covers everything past that point?

Capability comparison

Product	Enforcement layer	What it sees	What it can't see	Best fit
Cisco Umbrella (DNS tier)	Recursive resolver	Domain, query type, source	Full URLs, payloads, files, tenants	Large enterprises already in the Cisco stack
DNSFilter	Recursive resolver	Domain, query type, source	Full URLs, SSL contents, data in files	Teams wanting fast, focused DNS filtering
Cloudflare Gateway (DNS mode)	Recursive resolver on Cloudflare's network	Domain, query type, source	URL paths and payloads in DNS-only mode	Orgs already using Cloudflare for networking
Quad9	Public recursive resolver	Domain, query type	URLs, payloads, per-user policy	Free baseline blocking for any device
Infoblox	On-prem and hybrid DNS infrastructure plus threat feeds	Internal and external query telemetry	URL paths, payloads, tenant identity	Enterprises running their own DDI
dope.security	On the device, after the connection opens	Full URL, decrypted payload, files, AI prompts, tenant headers	Traffic on devices with no agent installed	The inspection layer above DNS

Cisco Umbrella

Umbrella is the product most people mean when they say DNS security. It's mature, its threat intelligence is deep, and a site can be protected by changing where DHCP points. If you're already in the Cisco stack, the integration story is straightforward.

Its DNS-layer base tier cannot read full URLs or payloads. That's the protocol, not the product, and Cisco documents it plainly: modern controls require the SIG SWG add-on plus SSL decryption (Cisco doc 225162). Pricing is the most-cited dislike among buyers. There's no mainland China data center, which matters if you have offices there. On January 19, 2025, a global disruption traced back to a DNS failover misconfiguration (Field Notice FN74221). Cisco is steering customers toward Secure Access.

None of that makes Umbrella a bad choice for the job it does. It makes the SWG add-on a separate decision you should evaluate on its own merits. See Cisco Umbrella alternatives for that comparison.

DNSFilter

DNSFilter is DNS filtering done without the platform baggage. It's quick to deploy, the interface is clean, and for organizations that want protective DNS as a discrete control rather than a suite component, it's a sensible pick.

It's DNS-only. No full URL inspection, no SSL inspection, no DLP. The company doesn't pretend otherwise, and that clarity is worth something. It does mean you own the entire inspection layer separately.

Cloudflare Gateway

Cloudflare Gateway offers DNS filtering delivered from Cloudflare's global network, with HTTP filtering and TLS inspection available in the higher tiers of its Zero Trust platform. If you already run Cloudflare for DNS, WAF, or networking, the operational overlap is genuinely useful.

In DNS-only mode it has the same ceiling as everything else in this section: a domain name and a record type. Moving past that means enabling the HTTP filtering and inspection tiers, which are a cloud proxy architecture. That's a real architecture with real trade-offs. Measured cloud-proxy latency runs roughly 40 to 80 ms near a point of presence and 150 to 400 ms when users are far from one, and Gartner has cited a 10-20% throughput drop as inspection modules stack.

Quad9

Quad9 is a free public recursive resolver that blocks lookups for domains associated with malware, phishing, and command-and-control, using threat intelligence contributed by multiple providers. It's privacy-focused and requires no account.

For a home network, a small nonprofit, a lab, or any device you can't otherwise protect, pointing at 9.9.9.9 is a meaningful security improvement for zero dollars and about thirty seconds of work.

What it isn't is an enterprise policy system. There's no per-user or per-group policy, no category customization, and no reporting tied to your identity provider. Treat it as a strong baseline rather than a managed control.

Infoblox

Infoblox comes at DNS from the infrastructure side. It's the DDI vendor, running DNS, DHCP and IP address management for large enterprises, with threat intelligence layered on top of that infrastructure.

The advantage is visibility into internal query telemetry, which is valuable for detecting lateral movement, tunneling, and infected internal hosts that a purely external resolver never sees. If you already run Infoblox for DDI, its DNS threat defense sits naturally on infrastructure you already operate.

It's still DNS. Same ceiling, plus the operational weight of managing DNS infrastructure yourself.

dope.security

dope.security is on this list as the layer above, not as a DNS product. We don't sell a resolver, and we'd rather you kept the one you have.

The dope.SWG agent runs an on-device SSL proxy that inspects all application and internet traffic locally. Because it inspects after the connection opens and after TLS is decrypted, it sees the things a resolver structurally cannot:

1. Full URL filtering. The path, not just the hostname.
2. On-device SSL inspection. Roughly 95% of web traffic is encrypted, and this is what reads it.
3. Cloud Application Control. It reads the tenant header inside the decrypted request, which is how it blocks personal ChatGPT, Claude, Google, and Microsoft 365 logins while allowing enterprise accounts. It applies enterprise-only access by tool and syncs enforcement across the fleet in under a minute.
4. Dopamine DLP. It intercepts file uploads and AI prompts and classifies them with LLMs rather than regex, detecting PII, PCI, PHI, and IP before data reaches an AI model, with no policy configuration required.

Traffic goes straight to its destination instead of being backhauled to a vendor data center. That's Fly Direct, and it's why the agent delivers up to 4x the performance of legacy proxy SWGs in under 100 MB of RAM. It's Mac native, optimized for Apple Silicon and Intel, and Windows, with identical features on both. SOC 2 compliant, 5 patents, $60 per device per year listed publicly.

The honest limit: it's agent-based, so it protects devices you can install software on. Printers and IP cameras stay on your DNS layer. That's the layering argument working in both directions.

How to choose

Run this in order.

1. Pick a protective DNS resolver and deploy it everywhere. Any of the first five will materially reduce commodity threats. Choose on price, reporting, and what you already own.
2. Decide who covers URLs, files, tenants and prompts. This is a separate decision with a separate budget. Don't let it be an afterthought on a DNS renewal.
3. Decide where that inspection happens. In a vendor data center, or on the device. That choice sets your latency and your dependency profile for years.
4. Check the devices that can't run an agent. Those stay DNS-protected permanently, which is the strongest argument for keeping both layers.

Conclusion

Every DNS security provider on this list stops in the same place, because the protocol stops there. The right comparison is what you put above it.

If you want that layer on the device instead of in a data center, start a free trial or book a 20-minute demo.

Frequently Asked Questions

What are the best DNS security solutions in 2026?

For protective DNS, Cisco Umbrella, DNSFilter, Cloudflare Gateway, Quad9 and Infoblox all enforce at the recursive resolver and block malicious domains before a connection opens. They share the same ceiling. The differentiator is what you layer above them for URL, file, and tenant-level control.

What is the difference between DNS security services and a secure web gateway?

DNS security services enforce at name resolution, before a connection exists, and see only the domain and record type. A secure web gateway inspects the session itself, reading the full URL, decrypting TLS, and examining files and payloads. They operate at different moments in the same request.

Is DNSFilter enough for an enterprise?

DNSFilter covers the DNS layer well and deploys quickly. It's DNS-only, with no full URL inspection, no SSL inspection, and no DLP, so an enterprise will need a separate inspection layer for encrypted traffic, file movement, and tenant-level application control.

Can DNS security software block personal AI accounts?

No. Personal and enterprise accounts on tools like ChatGPT and Claude share the same domain, and the tenant identifier sits inside the encrypted request. Blocking one while allowing the other requires decrypting TLS and reading the tenant header, which is what dope.security's Cloud Application Control does.

Is Quad9 good enough for a business?

Quad9 is a strong free baseline that blocks known malicious domains for any device you point at it. It doesn't offer per-user policy, category customization, or identity-linked reporting, so most businesses use it as a safety net rather than as their managed policy layer.

Do I need both DNS filtering and a SWG?

In most cases, yes. DNS filtering blocks a high volume of commodity threats cheaply and protects unmanaged and IoT devices that can't run an agent. A gateway with SSL inspection handles URLs, files, prompts, and tenant identity. Each covers what the other structurally can't.

How much do DNS security providers cost?

DNS-layer pricing varies widely, and Quad9 is free for basic use. Pricing is the most-cited dislike among Cisco Umbrella buyers. For the inspection layer, dope.security lists pricing publicly at $60 per device per year with volume pricing available.

Related reading

• What Is DNS Security? A Practical Guide for 2026
• DNS-Layer Security: What It Catches, and What It Structurally Can't
• Recursive vs Authoritative DNS (and Why It Matters for Security)
• DNS Attack Protection: The Threats DNS Security Actually Stops
• Enterprise Web Filter vs DNS vs SWG
• Cisco Umbrella Alternatives: 2026 Comparison