We’ve updated our Subprocessor List, effective October 6, 2026. Please review the update to our Data Processing Addendum

Screenshot Monitoring

Cisco umbrella alternative for web security & internet traffic monitoring

Looking for an easy-to-use Cisco Umbrella alternative to stop employees from visiting dangerous, inappropriate, and distracting websites?

Both Cisco Umbrella (formerly OpenDNS Enterprise) and CurrentWare can monitor and control internet use—which should you choose?

We will compare the features of Cisco Umbrella to CurrentWare’s Cisco Umbrella alternatives so you can choose the right fit for your company.

Cisco umbrella alternative for web security & internet traffic monitoring
Share this comparison

Find a Web Security Solution For Your Needs

When to Use CurrentWare’s Cisco Umbrella Alternatives When to Use Cisco Umbrella
You need a cost-effective and easy-to-use filtering solution for blocking and monitoring internet access You want to consolidate multiple network security tools with advanced features (IPS, CASB, SWG, etc) into a single Secure Access Service Edge (SASE)
You need to gain visibility and control over locally run executable apps You need cloud DNS filtering services with full SSL inspection for inspecting encrypted traffic in your network
You’d like an intuitive and flexible solution for controlling internet access, protecting sensitive data, and monitoring employee computer use You need a comprehensive solution with advanced protection against web security threats beyond the benefits of a web filter

Compare CurrentWare vs. Cisco Umbrella Features

Review Cisco Umbrella vs CurrentWare’s Cisco Umbrella alternatives so you can choose the right fit for your company.

Web Security

CurrentWare’s web filtering and internet security tools help businesses maintain a secure and productive online environment. With customizable filters, you can block access to inappropriate or non-work-related websites, reducing distractions and safeguarding sensitive data.

Additionally, CurrentWare’s web filtering features prevent employees from accessing malicious sites, helping to protect your organization from cybersecurity threats. By offering detailed reports on web activity, CurrentWare gives you the insights needed to ensure compliance, improve productivity, and minimize risks associated with internet usage in the workplace.

If you need a basic web filter for content filtering, BrowseControl is one of the top alternatives to Cisco Umbrella. If you need advanced threat protection Cisco Umbrella goes beyond internet filtering and blocks malware with real time deep analysis of web pages.

Employee Monitoring

CurrentWare offers a robust employee monitoring solution that helps businesses boost productivity and ensure compliance. With tools for tracking web usage, application activity, screen monitoring, and USB device access, CurrentWare provides comprehensive insights into employee performance.

Its real-time monitoring and detailed reporting capabilities enable managers to identify productivity trends, optimize workflows, and address potential issues promptly.

Whether you’re managing remote teams or ensuring adherence to company policies, CurrentWare’s intuitive interface and customizable features make it the ideal solution for streamlined, effective employee monitoring.

Data Loss Prevention & Cybersecurity

Monitoring and restricting USB file transfers is critical for protecting data against insider theft. CurrentWare’s AccessPatrol lets you restrict the use of a wide variety of peripheral devices including external storage hardware, Bluetooth, WiFi, and printers.

While Cisco Umbrella has excellent DNS security options, it lacks USB control features. For comprehensive protection you can combine the cloud based service of Cisco Umbrella with CurrentWare’s endpoint security solutions. This will ensure that both your endpoints and networks are secure.

CurrentWare’s DLP capabilities include USB control to prevent data leaks to removable media devices, web category filtering to block web-based data egress points, and user activity monitoring to identify high-risk user behavior such as attempts to use blocked peripheral devices.

CurrentWare’s data loss prevention (DLP) tools help safeguard sensitive information from theft and leaks. With features like device control, file transfer monitoring, and real-time alerts, you can prevent data breaches and ensure compliance with industry regulations. By restricting the transfer of sensitive data via USB drives, external storage, or cloud services, CurrentWare minimizes the risk of data theft.

Setup & Deployment

Thanks to its simple interface and setup process, getting started with CurrentWare is easy—whether or not you’re an experienced system administrator. CurrentWare is easy to deploy and offers a variety deployment options that suit the installation needs of organizations of all sizes.

That said, CurrentWare is only available for the Windows operating system. Companies searching for MacOS web security solutions will benefit from Cisco Umbrella’s roaming clients for Mac or other solutions.

Customer Support

Even the best Cisco Umbrella competitors have to have a reliable technical support team to ensure that their customers get the services they need to integrate the filtering solution.

CurrentWare prides itself on its high-quality support offerings. Our support team is knowledgeable, readily available, and here to assist you every step of the way.

Cisco Umbrella has paid support tiers. Pricing is not publicly available, though they do provide a support packages datasheet with more information.

CurrentWare Cisco Umbrella
✅ URL Filtering ✅
✅ Block Sites via IP Addresses ✅
✅ Scheduled Blocking ✅
❌ SSL Traffic Inspection ✅
✅ Block File Transfers to Cloud Storage ✅
✅ Block File Downloads ✅
✅ Time-Based Controls ✅
✅ Port Filtering ✅
✅ Block Applications ⚠️ Cloud Apps Only
✅ Category Filtering (malicious domains, adult content, phishing URLs, etc) ✅
✅ User Group Policies ✅
✅ Computer Group Policies ✅
✅ Custom Block Pages ✅
✅ Manage Offsite Users ✅
❌ Antimalware Scanning ✅
✅ Enforce Google SafeSearch ✅
QUOTE_GA-College_Web-Filtering-for-Safe-Schools

CASE STUDY

QUOTE_GA-College_Web-Filtering-for-Safe-Schools

Web Filtering Software Keeps Students & School Systems Safe From Internet-Based Threats

Exposing students to the digital world comes with a responsibility to protect them. Students love BrowseControl because it gives them a safe working environment and prevents potential bad actors from interrupting their educational experience.

Trusted by teams across the United States, Canada & the United Kingdom

Join 100,000+ professionals across 55 countries.

currentware-comes-with-citrix-compatibility Capterra awarded CurrentWare as Best Ease of Use software 2026 CurrentWare Named a top choice by Forbes Advisor for best employee monitoring software 2025 Top Rated Employee monitoring software by SoftwareWorld CurrentWare recognized as trusted vendor of epmloyee monitoring software by Crozdesk in 2026 GetApp recognized Currentware as software with best functionality & features 2025 G2 selected CurrentWare as High Performer (Fall 2024) in employee monitoring software category GetApp recognized Currentware as employee monitoring software Category Leaders in 2024 G2 selected CurrentWare as Easiest To Do Business With (Fall 2024) in user monitoring category CurrentWare recognized by Crozdesk as a Quality Choice Solution in 2026 SoftwareAdvice rated CurrentWare as Front Runners in 2024 CurrentWare recognized by SoftwareSuggest for Best Support in 2024 CurrentWare recognized as a FinancesOnline Rising Star CurrentWare recognized by Capterra for Best Value Award in 2022 CurrentWare recognized by SoftwareSuggest for Best Support in 2024 Crozdesk recognized CurrentWare as Leader in Employee Monitoring Software 2021

What customers say about CurrentWare

4.8 / 5 306 verified reviews on Capterra
  • Ease of use 4.7
  • Customer service 4.6
  • Features 4.6
  • Value for money 4.6

Across the whole CurrentWare Suite.

★★★★★ Capterra · Nov 2025

Productivity Monitoring Feedback

“Easy tracking of employee productivity. Seamless transition from person to person on the back end. Easy to update.”

Sean M Office Manager Marketing and advertising · 11-50 employees
★★★★★ Capterra · Nov 2023

BC is terrific.

“BC is fast and easy to deploy on different platforms. I also love the fact that it is open source and compatible with devices. The support team is incredible and responsive. The hardware is fast with up to date robust features.”

Pauline K Human Resources Manager Information technology and services · 11-50 employees
★★★★★ Capterra · Jan 2025

Making every files safe using AccessPatrol.

“It has been the most secure platform for me in keeping my files safe and secure from external threats and unauthorized storage devices. It is less costly. Its data protection feature has made me to confidently send or upload large data to others without having loosing any. Simple to set up for me and to use. Easy to block and track threats trying to gain access to my files since using this software. It also keep me up to date on various activities done on my files. It offers good customer care services.”

Folasola S Public Relation Specialist Management consulting · 51-200 employees
★★★★★ Capterra · Sep 2025

Self hosted Workforce insight software

“The agent is pretty efficient, and the reports provides are very helpful to the HR. We implemented this when most of our employees transition to work from home or hybrid. We compared few other softwares, and this was one which was cost efficient, and helped us implement without much overhead.”

Shibu B CTO Computer software · 51-200 employees
★★★★★ Capterra · Nov 2023

Enhancing Security and Productivity with BrowseControl

“BrowseControl has been a great tool for our organisation due to the enhanced security that it provides because of which we are protected from the phishing, the online threats by blocking access to potentially harmful websites. We can prioritise business-critical applications and control the bandwidth usage, which ensures that essential tasks are not affected by excessive non-work-related web traffic. The tool is very user-friendly and the filtering rules are highly customisable which is something that I really like.”

Verified Reviewer Not Displayed Insurance · 5001-10000 employees
★★★★★ Capterra · Jan 2025

Managing access to my files using AccessPatrol.

“I have been able to control the access to my files effectively since using this software which has made my files secure and safe from external threats and devices. I get notified of any external threats which allows me to easily block and track it down easily. Its very easy for me to use and made affordable for me. Its interface is so simple and it shows the detailed log activities on my files.”

Richard O Graphic Designer Marketing and advertising · 11-50 employees
★★★★☆ Capterra · Sep 2025

Great Tool for Remote Work Management

“I love having this available as most of our staff works remote. I typically only use it when there is an issue but having it available is great.”

Stormie P SVP - Director of Operations Insurance · 51-200 employees
★★★★☆ Capterra · Aug 2023

Threat free browsing environment facilitation tool

“The cyber attack response automated system safeguards our data from malware attacks. BrowseControl provides real-time insights on security situation from workloads. It has simple configuration procedure with other applications that saves time and resources for entire implementation process.”

James R Marketing Specialist Marketing and advertising · 11-50 employees
★★★★★ Capterra · Jan 2025

A secure platform for keeping my gaming files.

“I can effectively keep my game files safe and secure using this software without the fear of loosing it to hackers or other storage devices that i did not authorized. I can also get to manage the users i wish to gain access to my gaming files and also block or track suspicious threats or access to my files. Uploading and transfer of large files has also been made easy for me to do using this software when am developing various games. Simple to use and not costly to acquire.”

Chuks O Game Developer Computer games · 11-50 employees
★★★★☆ Capterra · Jul 2023

Reliable employee performance monitoring software

“This product has efficient database that collects data of all the organization employees. It enhances excellent management of time by sending alerts to the management on work processes.”

Gerald W Senior Backend Engineer Computer software · 51-200 employees
★★★★☆ Capterra · Aug 2023

Powerful network security control application

“It prevents members in the organization from visiting vulnerable areas in the internet. Browse control tests authenticity of browsers before operations. It provides alerts when there are data threats that can affect workflows.”

Bryson H Data Engineer Financial services · 5001-10000 employees
★★★★★ Capterra · Jan 2025

My Review On Accesspatrol

“It is a Unique Software that entails various features which helps to prevent Data breaches, it is able to protect our inventories from being copied from unauthorized users, attempt to access confidential Data it sends warning instantly to the admin, its customer service has been really supportive incase of any challenges, This software help protect our sensitive information and provide comprehensive activity log.”

Folarin A Sport Officer Sports · 11-50 employees

Not Satisfied With Your Vendor?

Switch to Us & Get a Discount
Make the switch to CurrentWare today to save up to 25% on your first year!

CurrentWare’s Advantageous Pricing

Why pay thousands of dollars for Cisco Umbrella when you simply want to restrict internet access and monitor employee web browsing and application usage?

The full CurrentWare Suite starts at a cost-effective $20 per user per month. Individual modules start at $12 per user per month..

Education & Nonprofit Discounts

CurrentWare offers educational and nonprofit organizations 10% off of any of the products in the CurrentWare Suite.

Volume Licensing

Volume-based licensing starts as low as 100 users to provide advantageous pricing for any business that needs to manage multiple devices.

Deals for Managed Service Providers

CurrentWare’s managed service providers and resellers get advantageous pricing on their licenses

Prepurchase Discounts

Pricing breaks are available for businesses that sign up for multi-year plans, or have future growth planned and can commit to bulk orders.

Get Started Today With a Free Trial

Fully functional. Easy to use. Install in minutes.

Cisco Umbrella Packages & Pricing

Looking for Cisco Umbrella pricing? Unfortunately there is no Cisco Umbrella cost publicly listed on their website. Potential Cisco Umbrella customers will need to request a quote from Cisco Systems Inc directly to get an accurate view of Cisco Umbrella pricing.

There are four distinct Cisco Umbrella packages: DNS Security Essentials, DNS Security Advantage, SIG Essentials, and SIG Advantage.

The DNS Security Essentials package of Cisco Umbrella focuses on basic DNS layer web filtering by domain or category; it does not include support for URL filtering. To get URL filtering you will need to upgrade to their SIG (secure internet gateway) plans.

Cisco Umbrella also offers a DNS Monitoring Package that provides free, recursive DNS services with real-time reporting and categorization.

Cisco Umbrella has paid support tiers. Pricing is not publicly available, though they do provide a support packages datasheet with more information.

This section will further compare the other features between CurrentWare’s Cisco Umbrella alternative and Cisco’s various DNS protection and secure internet gateway plans.

CurrentWare Cisco Umbrella
❌ Full SSL inspection ❌
✅ Web filtering by domain or category ✅
❌ DNS Filtering ✅
✅ Custom block/allow lists of domains ✅
✅ Custom block/allow lists of URLs ❌
❌ Block files based on AV Engine and malware defense ❌
❌ Sandboxing ✅
✅ Cloud app discovery ⚠️ Partial Support
❌ Scan and remove malware from cloud-based file storage apps ❌
✅ Block domains with malware, phishing sites, botnet, or other high risk items ✅
✅ Block specific IPs, ports, and protocols ❌
❌ Layer 7 protection including an Intrusion Prevention System ❌
❌ In-line DLP inspection and blocking capabilities ❌
❌ Remote browser isolation ❌
✅ Create policies and generate reports by network, device, and user ✅
✅ Customize block pages ✅

Get Started Today With a Free Trial

Fully functional. Easy to use. $12/user/month. *For on-prem pricing, contact sales

Get Started Today With a Free Trial

Fully functional. Easy to use. $12/user/month. *For on-prem pricing, contact sales

Frequently asked

Frequently Asked Questions:

CurrentWare’s software client collects user activity data independent of the browser’s browsing history.

Internet browsing data will remain intact for use in reports and dashboards even if the user deletes their web browsing history in their browser or uses a private browsing function such as Incognito Mode On Google Chrome, Private Browsing On Mozilla Firefox, and InPrivate Browsing Window On Microsoft Edge.

No, CurrentWare cannot access your employee’s computer monitoring data. CurrentWare’s software does not send your user’s computer usage data to CurrentWare. They are installed and managed by your organization.

All of the data collected by CurrentWare’s software is stored on a database that is installed in your organization’s data center or cloud services provider.

With CurrentWare’s on-premises & self-managed cloud deployment options, you’re in complete control of your data.

  • Sensitive employee data stays secured to your standards rather than being sent to a third party.
  • Maintain data localization and residency compliance requirements by keeping employee data exactly where it needs to be.
  • Retain auditable records of user activity for as long as you need

For more information please refer to our Terms of Service.

The CurrentWare Suite can be deployed on-premises or on a cloud services provider of your choice. Both deployment option are compatible with remote workers with a few configuration changes.

Learn More:

Yes. CurrentWare’s MSPs and resellers get advantageous pricing on their licenses. We also offer NFR licenses that our partners can use to familiarize themselves with the CurrentWare Suite.

Register for our managed service provider (MSP) or reseller programs today and grow your business with our employee monitoring, web filtering, device control, and remote PC power management software solutions.

Yes. CurrentWare’s computer monitoring software allows you to monitor remote workers through a variety of deployment options such as an offsite mode that works without access to the internet, connecting through a VPN, port forwarding, or by installing it on a cloud platform of your choice.

Learn More

The free trial for all of CurrentWare’s computer monitoring software solutions are fully functional. You can deploy it on up to 10 computers for 14 days. If you need more time or more computers to properly evaluate CurrentWare in your organization, reach out to our sales team.

CurrentWare’s solutions can be purchased individually for the greatest flexibility or as a bundle for the best value.

When purchased individually, the cost of BrowseReporter, AccessPatrol starts at $12/user/month and BrowseControl at $6 /user/ month (paid annually).

Volume license discounts are available starting for as low as 100 users, with discounts increasing depending on the number of licenses.

There are additional discounts available for educational organizations, non-profits, managed services providers, and for businesses that pre-purchase multiple year plans.

Looking for a quote? Contact our sales team here.

CurrentWare is committed to the security of its platform, its users and their data.

  • All of the data collected by CurrentWare’s solutions is stored in your organization’s data center or cloud service provider; the data is not sent to CurrentWare.
  • The web console cannot be accessed without a username and password. For an added layer of authentication security you can enable two-factor authentication.
  • You can selectively enable/disable what data is tracked and delete old records automatically.

For a complete overview of the security measures that CurrentWare has in place, check out the CurrentWare platform security overview page.

Cisco Umbrella (OpenDNS Umbrella) is an enterprise-grade network security platform and cloud delivered firewall for protecting a corporate network against various online threats such as phishing sites. It was formerly called OpenDNS Enterprise before Cisco acquired OpenDNS in 2015.

The Cisco Umbrella global network provides multiple security features to help businesses better protect their networks, data, and employees from web-based threats such as malware, ransomware and phishing.

Cisco Umbrella is best used as a DNS-level internet security solution. To simply block access to malicious sites and enforce internet security policies you can consider Cisco Umbrella competitors such as BrowseControl web filtering software and other security solutions.

Ready to give CurrentWare a try?

Fully functional. Easy to use. No credit card required.

No Credit Card Required

All subscriptions include ongoing updates and direct support from our team.

Start Free Trial Book a Demo
Watch Demos