Akamai Edge DNS vs Cisco Umbrella vs Cloudflare comparison

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Akamai Edge DNS

Cisco Umbrella

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Executive Summary

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

Find out what your peers are saying about Cisco, Palo Alto Networks, Infoblox and others in Domain Name System (DNS) Security.

To learn more, read our detailed Domain Name System (DNS) Security Report (Updated: March 2026).

Domain Name System (DNS) Security

March 2026

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Helped 886,349 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 Domain Name System (DNS) Security category, the mindshare of Akamai Edge DNS is 3.5%, up from 3.2% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Cisco Umbrella is 18.7%, down from 25.3% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Cloudflare is 4.6%, down from 6.5% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Domain Name System (DNS) Security Mindshare Distribution
Product	Mindshare (%)
Cisco Umbrella	18.7%
Cloudflare	4.6%
Akamai Edge DNS	3.5%
Other	73.2%

Domain Name System (DNS) Security

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.

Read full review

Bryan Bettencourt

Senior Network Engineer at Mintz, Levin, Cohn, Ferris, Glovsky and Popeo, P.C.

Ensures comprehensive protection with seamless threat logging and efficient policy management

My favorite feature of Cisco Umbrella is probably just the DNS and the fact that when a security threat happens, all of that gets logged in their Umbrella portal, and it's very easy to find who's been accessing the site and how many people have accessed it, so that we can go to them and make sure they're not compromised. The features of Cisco Umbrella benefit my company by providing less time to search for things through logs, to look for what we need. It's just one place to go, and we just search for it, and we find it really fast. The fact that there's a virtual database that has all that information is great on our portal.

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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.

Read full review

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"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."

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

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

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

"I think recently with many people working from home, Cisco Umbrella has been very useful. For example, we can manage the device and the network when the employee is not working on the local host. Cisco Umbrella is very valuable for this kind of infrastructure."

"This product is very straightforward and simple to setup."

"Personally speaking, this tool has proven itself invaluable in allowing myself and my team to perform our duties efficiently and securely."

"It enables us to go granular in the customization of blocking some categories on the DNS."

"Umbrella, being one pane for managing, being all-encompassing, allows us to quickly go in, make a change, and it applies to either every location, if we want it to, or we can have policies in place that only apply to certain users or certain computers."

"The most valuable feature is the website protection capabilities because it prevents end-users from entering bad sites that potentially have malware or could be used for phishing."

"The biggest return on investment when using Cisco Umbrella for me is the ease of use of the fact that we've deployed this with our Cisco VPN Secure Client, so every computer has the Umbrella module in it."

"Ever since we started using this product last year, it has been stable."

More Cisco Umbrella pros

"The setup and configuration is also easy to perform and their support is excellent."

"The solution is very good at mitigating threats."

"Centralized, full-featured DNS."

"The most valuable feature of Cloudflare is the GUI. You are able to control the solution very well through the interface. There is a lot of functionality that is embedded in the service."

"What I like best about Cloudflare is that my company can use it to trace and manage applications and monitor traffic."

"I have not had a DDOS attack since, or at least not become unavailable due to DDOS which means my ROI is pretty good."

"CloudFlare provides an answer to a variety of issues, so it gives you very high value for your money."

"Many websites require an SSL certificate because they sell stuff and want SSL. Cloudflare comes with an SSL certificate built in. It's automatic. You sign yourself up for Cloudflare, and an SSL certificate automatically protects your website. You don't necessarily need a certificate if you have a connection between your website and your host, the server, Cloudflare, and the host."

More Cloudflare pros

Cons

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

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

"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. The price is higher than competitors, and Akamai should offer a better pricing model."

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

"I am unsure if Cisco Umbrella offers a Windows option for running the server."

"The pricing could be improved."

"It's a very new product, so it's quite immature at the moment. It can be more user friendly."

"They should provide more integrations and bring things together so that there is a more standard feel to their platform. We also use Cisco ISE, and it has a very different feel from Cisco Umbrella."

"The product is pricey compared to Cisco Firepower."

"I would like for their support to be faster."

"If the security issues are taken care of it would be better."

"The detection of wireless attacks or targeted attacks reports many false rates. This is an area that needs some improvement."

More Cisco Umbrella cons

"They lack a good way to manage DNS as a company, since everything is relegated to single account logins until you get to the higher levels. They have come out with a paid feature to remedy this, but I have not had a chance to fully review it yet to know if it fixes the access problem."

"Cloudflare could offer a better view or maybe dashboards of the main resources used in the client."

"There are some issues with the CDN services."

"Yes, there were a few times when some of their CDN nodes would fail, creating serious speed issues with the site without any warning or notification from their side."

"There could be more courses with engineers. I like e-learning, however, having a specialist in a classroom is more comfortable for me."

"The Cloudflare load balancing capability hasn't really helped in enhancing my website's uptime and resiliency because we don't really get that much traffic; it's mostly remote users, and web hosting is done by a web hosting service."

"The pricing could be improved."

"Sometimes their more advanced caching tools can cause higher first-byte times and problems with JavaScript."

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."

"Cisco has a set price for a single license up to 100, but whenever we get over 100, we have to ask for a quote."

"It needs a better price point."

"Cisco is expensive. For example, we are looking at Nexus Dashboard, and it's costing about 250,000 euros. I ask, "What do I get from it?" I'm still not convinced that we have to spend on it, so pricing is a problem."

"Cisco Umbrella is expensive and could be cheaper."

"In my opinion, Cisco Umbrella now has a good price in the basic packages. When it comes to Cisco Umbrella SIG Essentials package and Cisco Umbrella Secure Internet Gateway (SIG) Advantage package, it depends on whether the project has a good price or not"

"The pricing is great and very competitive with the rest of the market."

"Our licensing fees are on a yearly basis."

"The pricing model is easier compared to some of the other solutions, and it is also competitive."

More Cisco Umbrella pricing and cost advice

"So far I use free tier and happy with it. You can subscribe to business package if needed."

"There are no additional costs beyond the standard licensing fees."

"The pricing depends on the usage, but the cheapest would be around 5,000 USD a month."

"The product's pricing is minimal compared to other products."

"We are using the free version."

"The cost primarily depends on the size of the organization."

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

"The pricing for the service is reasonable, neither excessively cheap nor prohibitively expensive. It aligns well with the value of their solution."

More Cloudflare pricing and cost advice

See which vendors are best for you

Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Domain Name System (DNS) Security solutions are best for your needs.

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886,349 professionals have used our research since 2012.

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Financial Services Firm

13%

Manufacturing Company

10%

Computer Software Company

Government

Computer Software Company

14%

Financial Services Firm

Manufacturing Company

Comms Service Provider

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	50
Midsize Enterprise	30
Large Enterprise	51

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	46
Midsize Enterprise	9
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...

Which is the better security solution - Cisco Umbrella or Zscaler?

Cisco Umbrella and Zscaler Internet Access are two broad-spectrum Internet security solutions that I have tried. Zs...

Which is the better security solution - Cisco Umbrella or Microsoft Cloud App Security?

Cisco Umbrella is an integral component of the Cisco SASE architecture. It integrates security in a single, cloud-nat...

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Cisco Umbrella?

The pricing for Cisco Umbrella is fair compared to other platforms out there for DNS security. We acquired it as a bu...

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 13% of the time

Azure DNS vs Akamai Edge DNS

Compared 9% of the time

Amazon Route 53 vs Akamai Edge DNS

Compared 9% of the time

Quad9 vs Akamai Edge DNS

Compared 8% of the time

Infoblox Advanced DNS Protection vs Akamai Edge DNS

Compared 7% of the time

More Akamai Edge DNS Competitors

Zscaler Internet Access vs Cisco Umbrella

Compared 18% of the time

Cisco Secure Access vs Cisco Umbrella

Compared 7% of the time

Palo Alto Networks DNS Security vs Cisco Umbrella

Compared 7% of the time

Fortinet FortiGate vs Cisco Umbrella

Compared 3% of the time

iboss vs Cisco Umbrella

Compared 2% of the time

More Cisco Umbrella Competitors

Quad9 vs Cloudflare

Compared 41% of the time

Akamai vs Cloudflare

Compared 4% of the time

Imperva Application Security Platform vs Cloudflare

Compared 3% of the time

Azure Front Door vs Cloudflare

Compared 2% of the time

Fastly vs Cloudflare

Compared 2% of the time

More Cloudflare Competitors

Product Reports

Download Akamai Edge DNS product report

Akamai Edge DNS

April 2026

Download Cisco Umbrella product report

Cisco Umbrella

April 2026

Download Cloudflare product report

April 2026

Also Known As

Akamai Fast DNS

OpenDNS

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

Cisco Umbrella provides fast-deploying DNS-layer security with powerful threat protection capabilities. Trusted by over 30,000 entities, it ranks highly in DNS security and effectively supports secure remote work environments.

Cisco Umbrella offers comprehensive DNS security, web filtering, and ease of use, enhancing network security through robust threat protection and malware prevention. It processes over 600 billion requests daily, making it a leader in its field. The seamless integration with existing infrastructures and cloud-based nature makes it suitable for remote and distributed work environments, ensuring consistent security throughout. Management is streamlined with a single-pane interface that simplifies administration, while in-depth reporting capabilities provide valuable insights for continuous monitoring.

What are the key features of Cisco Umbrella?

DNS Security: Provides leading protection by managing DNS queries and blocking malicious sites.
Web Filtering: Offers granular control over web content to safeguard internet usage.
Ease of Integration: Fits well into existing infrastructures, simplifying deployment and use.
Intuitive Management: Single-pane management streamlines administration and enhances usability.
Cloud-Based Flexibility: Supports secure remote work environments.

What benefits can users expect from using Cisco Umbrella?

Superior Threat Protection: Reduces risk by effectively detecting and preventing cyber threats.
Consistent Security: Provides uniform protection across network environments.
Efficiency and Visibility: Leverages comprehensive reporting for better security insights.
Easy Deployment: Quick and straightforward setup with minimal disruption.

Cisco Umbrella is widely adopted in industries requiring advanced DNS-level security to counteract malware, phishing, and cyber threats. Its ability to monitor and protect remote and roaming employees makes it an attractive option for sectors highly dependent on cloud services. By managing DNS queries and blocking harmful sites, Cisco Umbrella enhances cybersecurity across networks, providing an added layer of protection for businesses worldwide.

Cisco

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.

Sample Customers

Otto Group

Chart Industries, City of Aspen, Eastern Mountain Sports, FLEXcon, George Washington University, Jackson Municipal Airport Authority, Ohio Public Library Information Network, PTC, Richland Community College, Smart Motors, Tulane University, VeriClaim

Trusted by over 9,000,000 Internet Applications and APIs, including Nasdaq, Zendesk, Crunchbase, Steve Madden, OkCupid, Cisco, Quizlet, Discord and more.