Akamai Edge DNS vs Azure DNS vs Cloudflare comparison

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Akamai Edge DNS

Azure DNS

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Executive Summary

We performed a comparison between Akamai Edge DNS, Azure DNS, and Cloudflare based on real PeerSpot user reviews.

Find out what your peers are saying about Cloudflare, Amazon Web Services (AWS), BlueCat and others in Managed DNS.

To learn more, read our detailed Managed DNS Report (Updated: March 2026).

Managed DNS

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Helped 885,444 peers since 2012

Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:

Mindshare comparison

As of April 2026, in the Managed DNS category, the mindshare of Akamai Edge DNS is 1.5%, up from 1.3% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Azure DNS is 12.1%, up from 7.4% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Cloudflare is 29.2%, down from 35.6% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Managed DNS Mindshare Distribution
Product	Mindshare (%)
Cloudflare	29.2%
Azure DNS	12.1%
Akamai Edge DNS	1.5%
Other	57.2%

Managed DNS

Featured Reviews

Yaser Alakeel

Head of Service Delivery at onme

Ensures global distribution and DDoS protection while offering seamless integration and low latency DNS responses

For user experience, Akamai Edge DNS should allow notes to be added for each record, as this is something Infoblox supports. Without notes, managing changes in DNS records can be difficult, especially for large companies with over 1,000 records, as they may not know who requested changes without proper documentation. I requested this feature two years ago, but it has not been added yet. Akamai Edge DNS could also improve its AI capabilities.

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Dieudonné-Nsabimana

Consultancy Manager at cidns

Overall experience improves efficiency and lowers operational challenges

* Add native management routing (geo‑routing, failover, weighted records) directly within Azure DNS zones to reduce dependency on extra services. * Cost Efficiency: Offer bundle pricing tiers or discounts for high‑volume enterprise customers, or an option for cost‑optimized internal DNS zones. * Improved Error Diagnostics: Provide more descriptive error codes and guided troubleshooting steps in the portal or CLI.

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M.A. Faisal

General Manager at bKash Limited

Advanced protection has secured critical web workloads and provides clear traffic visibility

From a security perspective, there remains a security loophole, as some browsers in the market can bypass the Turnstile solution, which requires approximately 40 seconds to do so. From a performance perspective, this is acceptable. We also tried Google reCAPTCHA, and that can also be bypassed. From a security perspective, I would say neither solution is completely secured. Regarding uptime, we have faced a couple of incidents due to Cloudflare in recent years, so I cannot say we receive 100% uptime for our region. We sometimes face challenges, including downtime and other issues. As a result, we are not receiving 100% uptime from Cloudflare's solution. Since most of our customers are in this region, we need alternatives. We need something more competitive than Cloudflare. Unfortunately, in Bangladesh, Cloudflare has three points of presence already, and we cannot find any other solution provider in Bangladesh as an alternative, which presents another challenge. Competitor solutions have more attack signatures, which ensure better security compared to Cloudflare's predefined configurations. Customers do not have options to modify any configuration parameters in Cloudflare, whereas other competitor solutions, such as F5 Distributed Cloud, allow customers to tune configurations according to their requirements. Cloudflare could improve in this area. Additionally, regarding visibility, Cloudflare has static visibility, but they could adopt dynamic graph features for their customers.

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Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:

Pros

"We can maintain control of the configuration, and it seems to be covering the use case that we need."

"It is a very stable solution since it has a security feature that allows you to recover zone files if you accidentally delete them."

"I haven't had any problems with the stability of Akamai Edge DNS in the past five years."

"The high availability of Akamai Edge DNS is impressive due to their numerous POPs, which help in supporting all attacks, including DDoS counterattacks."

"I recommend Akamai Edge DNS because it is distributed globally and prevents DDoS attacks."

"If you're running your enterprise application on Azure, it's convenient to use Azure DNS. It has native integration with other Azure solutions, and Microsoft is a globally recognized DNS provider. You also get CDN services. If you're a media company that requires on-demand data streaming, your DNS plays a vital role by working with CDN services to publish your application. It's cheaper and easier to expand your solution."

"Can be configured to achieve a hundred percent reliability"

"The most valuable feature of Azure DNS is it works automatically after configuration and the solution is secure."

"One of the key benefits of Azure DNS is its integration with other Azure services. As it is a solution developed by Microsoft, it is easy to integrate with other Azure offerings. Azure DNS also includes Defender for DNS, a feature that protects against anomalies and threats on the DNS. This added security is provided directly by Microsoft. The integration and security features of Azure DNS make it a valuable option for users of the Azure cloud platform."

"The best feature is the domain register, and whenever you create any resources, Azure DNS will automatically create a record for you."

"I like the feature where I can add multiple DNS records for the same subdomain."

"From a security perspective, Microsoft is much better than other cloud providers."

More Azure DNS pros

"So far I use free tier and happy with it."

"Stability is great; I love their mechanisms, I love their GUI, I love their front end, I love their behind the scenes, algorithms and everything, it all makes sense."

"Cloudflare has many features."

"It is a stable solution. I rate the stability a ten out of ten...I rate the scalability a ten out of ten."

"Smaller businesses have seen great ROI due to the low investment and strong performance."

"I like Cloudflare's application gateway and DDoS protection."

"The solution offers the flexibility to control configuration rules."

"It is a fast and secure DNS."

More Cloudflare pros

Cons

"Akamai Edge DNS is expensive, and the pricing is higher compared to Infoblox."

"CNAME flattening is a feature that Akamai does not support."

"The only area that needs improvement is the pricing for DNS zones. The price is higher than competitors, and Akamai should offer a better pricing model."

"The solution has a fairly complex setup with our cloud vendors, including Microsoft, Salesforce, and Oracle."

"The only area that needs improvement is the pricing for DNS zones."

"My advice to others is that this is a quick solution that is easy to install, but it is not a highly scalable one."

"The CDN integration could be improved."

"The web interface to manage the solution must be made easier."

"Azure DNS sticks mostly with the Azure native solution and doesn't scale well in a multi-cloud or hybrid environment."

"The solution’s pricing could be improved."

"The technical support can be more knowledgeable."

"There are some latency issues that could be improved."

"I did not see any improvements required."

More Azure DNS cons

"There should at least be a read-only view of the data so that resellers can properly support the clients."

"The solution could use more analytics on the backend to give us more insights into everything."

"The product support needs to be accessible from more places, a wider area of coverage."

"The documentation could improve for Cloudflare DNS."

"The solution could work at being less expensive. It costs a lot to use it."

"Technical support is not well developed. While there are good engineers, Cloudflare does not offer hands-on technical support to fix customer problems but rather a self-service model."

"Honestly the product has not really improved the way of my organisation."

"It would be beneficial for us if Cloudflare could offer a scrubbing solution. This would involve taking a snapshot of my website and keeping it live during a DDoS attack, ensuring uninterrupted service for our users. DDoS attacks are typically short in duration, and having Cloudflare maintain the site's availability from its secure network would enhance the overall user experience. I would appreciate it if Cloudflare could consider implementing this feature. Many organizations already utilize similar capabilities in their CDN platforms, where a static snapshot of the web page is displayed during DDoS attacks. In terms of features, Cloudflare needs to enhance its resilience and stay more focused on adopting new technologies. For instance, solutions like F5 XC Box, Access Solution, and Distributed Cloud Solution have impressive features, and Cloudflare should strive to match and exceed those capabilities. There's a need for improvement in areas like AI-based DDoS attacks and Layer 7 WAF features. Cloudflare should prioritize enhancements in areas such as behavioral DDoS and protection against SQL injection attacks, considering the prevalent trend of public exposure to the internet for business reasons. Overall, Cloudflare needs to invest more in advancing its feature set."

More Cloudflare cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Since Akamai is the industry leader, I imagine the solution would be a little more expensive than some other vendors."

"The solution is moderately priced."

"We use the tool's free version."

"In my opinion, DNS is inexpensive. The pricing depends on how you use it, but overall, it's quite affordable. It typically costs just a fesw cents, and Microsoft even offers ten thousand free hits per month."

"We have an enterprise license agreement with Microsoft. Their pricing is competitive. I would rate it a three and a half out of five."

"The solution's price is reasonable."

"I would describe Azure DNS as a cheaply priced product."

"To use Azure DNS, I need to buy the license meant for Windows Server."

"The solution is free."

More Azure DNS pricing and cost advice

"The price of the solution is expensive."

"The product's pricing is cheap."

"We don't have any issues with the price."

"Cloudflare's pricing is not much higher and is good for middle-level organizations."

"That is one of the great features. I was able to access the majority of the features and services for free."

"When you compare Cloudflare DNS to other solutions, such as Akamai, the price is reasonable."

"I believe their performance has improved, but I'd like to refrain from discussing the pricing aspect related to the cloud. The pricing, in my opinion, could be simplified, and I think they should consider reevaluating the pricing for support, as it can be quite high. At times, this cost can make it challenging to choose CARFAGuard or opt for the support."

"We are using the free tier of the solution."

More Cloudflare pricing and cost advice

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885,444 professionals have used our research since 2012.

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Financial Services Firm

13%

Manufacturing Company

10%

Computer Software Company

University

Financial Services Firm

13%

Computer Software Company

Manufacturing Company

Government

Financial Services Firm

10%

Comms Service Provider

10%

Computer Software Company

Manufacturing Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

No data available

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	10
Midsize Enterprise	4
Large Enterprise	19

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	46
Midsize Enterprise	8
Large Enterprise	26

Questions from the Community

What needs improvement with Akamai Edge DNS?

For user experience, Akamai Edge DNS should allow notes to be added for each record, as this is something Infoblox su...

What is your primary use case for Akamai Edge DNS?

As a reseller company for Akamai, my typical use case for Akamai Edge DNS is its distribution worldwide, providing DD...

What advice do you have for others considering Akamai Edge DNS?

I recommend Akamai Edge DNS and rate the overall solution a ten out of ten. Akamai Edge DNS should improve its AI mor...

Azure DNS or Amazon Route 53?

Azure DNS is a hosting service of DNS domains. It has excellent operating time and performance, resulting in fast res...

What do you like most about Azure DNS?

The tool is easy to manage and use.

What needs improvement with Azure DNS?

* Add native management routing (geo‑routing, failover, weighted records) directly within Azure DNS zones to reduce d...

Which is the best DDoS protection solution for a big ISP for monitoring and mitigating?

Cloudflare. We are moving from Akamai prolexic to Cloudflare. Cloudflare anycast network outperforms Akamai static GR...

Which would you choose - Cloudflare DNS or Quad9?

Cloudflare DNS is a very fast, very reliable public DNS resolver. It is an enterprise-grade authoritative DNS service...

What do you like most about Cloudflare?

Cloudflare offers CDN and DDoS protection. We have the front end, API, and database in how you structure applications.

IBM NS1 Connect vs Akamai Edge DNS

Comparisons

Compared 15% of the time

Cisco Umbrella vs Akamai Edge DNS

Compared 10% of the time

Amazon Route 53 vs Akamai Edge DNS

Compared 9% of the time

Infoblox Advanced DNS Protection vs Akamai Edge DNS

Compared 8% of the time

Quad9 vs Akamai Edge DNS

Compared 7% of the time

More Akamai Edge DNS Competitors

Amazon Route 53 vs Azure DNS

Compared 83% of the time

Infoblox DDI vs Azure DNS

Compared 4% of the time

Google Cloud DNS vs Azure DNS

Compared 1% of the time

Cisco Umbrella vs Azure DNS

Compared 1% of the time

IBM NS1 Connect vs Azure DNS

Compared 1% of the time

More Azure DNS Competitors

Quad9 vs Cloudflare

Compared 43% of the time

Akamai vs Cloudflare

Compared 4% of the time

Imperva Application Security Platform vs Cloudflare

Compared 4% of the time

Azure Front Door vs Cloudflare

Compared 2% of the time

Amazon Route 53 vs Cloudflare

Compared 1% of the time

More Cloudflare Competitors

Product Reports

Akamai Edge DNS

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Azure DNS

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Also Known As

Akamai Fast DNS

No data available

Cloudflare DNS

Overview

Discover Akamai DNS and its benefits of high availability and performance, and resilience against DDoS attacks backed by a fully guaranteed uptime SLA.

Akamai

Azure DNS is a hosting service for DNS domains, providing name resolution using Microsoft Azure infrastructure. By hosting your domains in Azure, you can manage your DNS records using the same credentials, APIs, tools, and billing as your other Azure services.

Microsoft

Cloudflare enhances web performance and security with features like CDN caching and DDoS mitigation while providing easy DNS management and intuitive setup through its user-friendly dashboard.

Cloudflare is recognized for its comprehensive web security and performance solutions. Speed improvements are achieved through caching mechanisms and DDoS protection, combining ease of DNS management with flexible page rules. The robust analytics and threat insight tools provide valuable data, assisted by a user-friendly dashboard allowing quick setup and configuration. An API offers dynamic DNS settings ensuring low latency and high performance across the globe.

What are Cloudflare's key features?

CDN Caching: Enhances website speed through content delivery network caching.
Web Application Firewall: Protects websites from online threats.
DDoS Mitigation: Shields against distributed denial-of-service attacks.
DNS Management: Offers easy-to-use and flexible domain management.
SSL Certificates: Ensures secure connections between users and servers.
Analytics: Provides insights with robust analytics tools.

What benefits and ROI should users evaluate?

Enhanced Security: Strengthening web security with DDoS and firewall protection.
Speed Improvement: Faster content delivery with CDN caching.
Operational Simplicity: Simplifies website optimization through a user-friendly interface.
Scalable Solutions: Scales with global reach, lowering latency for improved performance.
Cost Efficiency: Offers layers of valuable functionality with pricing options.

Cloudflare finds utility across industries for DNS management and defense mechanisms. Its content delivery network assures fast content distribution and fortified security. Businesses integrate features like web application firewalls, load balancing, end-to-end SSL, and zero trust to protect websites from cyber threats while ensuring resilience and reliable performance.