Cloudflare vs F5 BIG-IP DNS comparison

Cloudflare and F5 are both solutions in the Domain Name System (DNS) Security category. Cloudflare is ranked #5 with an average rating of 8.8, while F5 is ranked #6 with an average rating of 9.0. Cloudflare holds a 4.4% mindshare in DS, compared to F5’s 4.4% mindshare. Additionally, 96% of Cloudflare users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 100% of F5 users who would recommend it.

Cloudflare

Read 77 Cloudflare reviews

37,802 Views
1,134 Comparison Views

96% willing to recommend

F5 BIG-IP DNS

Read 21 F5 BIG-IP DNS reviews

1,451 Views
1,451 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

Cloudflare

F5 BIG-IP DNS

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive Summary

We performed a comparison between Cloudflare and F5 BIG-IP DNS based on real PeerSpot user reviews.

Find out in this report how the two Domain Name System (DNS) Security solutions compare in terms of features, pricing, service and support, easy of deployment, and ROI.

To learn more, read our detailed Cloudflare vs. F5 BIG-IP DNS Report (Updated: December 2025).

Buyer's Guide

Cloudflare vs. F5 BIG-IP DNS

December 2025

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Helped 879,425 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:

Categories and Ranking

Cloudflare

Ranking in Domain Name System (DNS) Security

5th

Average Rating

8.6

Reviews Sentiment

7.1

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

CDN (1st), WAN Optimization (4th), Distributed Denial-of-Service (DDoS) Protection (1st), Managed DNS (1st), Cloud Security Posture Management (CSPM) (12th)

F5 BIG-IP DNS

Ranking in Domain Name System (DNS) Security

6th

Average Rating

8.6

Reviews Sentiment

8.0

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of January 2026, in the Domain Name System (DNS) Security category, the mindshare of Cloudflare is 4.4%, down from 7.5% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of F5 BIG-IP DNS is 4.4%, down from 5.3% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Domain Name System (DNS) Security Market Share Distribution
Product	Market Share (%)
Cloudflare	4.4%
F5 BIG-IP DNS	4.4%
Other	91.2%

Domain Name System (DNS) Security

Featured Reviews

Herb Angle

Owner at Hga consulting

Has helped manage client domains with streamlined access control and threat visibility

I don't know what areas could be improved with Cloudflare WAF; Cloudflare is constantly improving and adding features to their feature set. They're doing a good job, and as far as DNS and support for any domains that I create or my clients create, it's mandatory for me to make sure that they have Cloudflare as their DNS provider. 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. It doesn't pay to try to host your own website.

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reviewer2733993

Solutions Architect at a tech services company with 51-200 employees

Ensures reliable web application security and offers comprehensive load balancing solutions

When it comes to denial of service or DNS security, F5 is not the best vendor as dedicated vendors such as Arbor for denial of service and Infoblox for DNS security offer more comprehensive solutions. The main features such as WAF and load balancing do not generate complaints. F5 BIG-IP DNS is not the best for DNS denial of service because they handle it as part of BIG-IP features, mainly used for GSLB, while other vendors provide complete DDI solutions, including DHCP, DNS, and IP address management, along with specialized DNS security, offering much more than just GSLB and basic recursive DNS security. The two main concerns are DNS related and denial of service, areas where F5 BIG-IP DNS could improve, and they could do better as they are not the best vendor, indicating ample room for improvement especially since those are not their main specialties.

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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

"DDoS attacks target unprotected machines. Cloudflare detects and stops these attacks using internal systems. It identifies incoming DDoS attacks, issuing challenges or blocking them immediately."

"The solution is stable, and the DNS servers are simple to use."

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

"New and innovative way to protect the client's data."

"The most valuable feature of the solution is external DNS. It is also very secure. They have their own main server and once you configure it, the product takes care of everything. There are no issues in resolving IPs and low latency is also present."

"It is easier to configure and develop documentation to see how we have configured firewalls."

"It's very user-friendly."

"Easier http to https redirect using page rules"

More Cloudflare pros

"F5 technical support is quite good and they follow up if there are any issues."

"The main features valued in F5 BIG-IP include high availability, scalability, and protection of applications from attacks."

"F5 provides us with a mechanism to accomplish complex product balancing."

"It is easy to administer."

"F5 BIG-IP DNS is a stable solution."

"The management is very easy."

"The configuration process is straightforward, making it easy to set up wide IPs and distribute traffic across local US sites and data centers via VPN."

"For one of our clients, F5 improved global server load balancing with an active-active site configuration for Disaster Recovery."

More F5 BIG-IP DNS pros

Cons

"We are a product integrator and reseller, and we would like to have a better partner relationship, similar to a channel sales relationship. Sometimes we are on our own or get diverted by Cloudflare because they have direct sales, which competes with us and makes it difficult to build a relationship with this company since we want to be an MSP or a managed service provider for the solution."

"It should be easier to collect the logs with companies like Sumo. However, based on my discussions with the salespeople, I understand that's how they make their money. With the enterprise product, they want people doing those kinds of enterprise features to do the logging. They want them to pay a lot of money, and that's where I have an issue with them. That should be a default. You should be able to get the log no matter what. The logging should be universal."

"The timing aspect can lead to it being considered overpriced. This is a particular concern we have with Cloudflare, as they may struggle with accurately detecting the client."

"The analytics, basically the dashboard, doesn't have much to it."

"One area of improvement is in the Access Rules. Hypothetically, if we wanted to block or challenge traffic outside of the United States, the only way to currently do that (as far as I know) is to enter every single country outside of the United States. That could be a labor intensive job. A solution could be to enable users to create a rule where traffic is only allowed within a certain country."

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

"It should have easier documentation for the configuration. It's very technical and people who aren't technical should also be able to do the configuration."

"Latencies are always a problem."

More Cloudflare cons

"I would like to see the login facilities improved, as well as more troubleshooting."

"It would be great to see a F5 BIG-IP DNS cloud version. What we within the Australian government are looking at doing is utilizing a secured DNS service much the same as the English GCHQ version of their protected DNS service."

"The solution's initial setup is complex compared to Fortinet."

"The initial setup could be easier."

"When it comes to denial of service or DNS security, F5 is not the best vendor as dedicated vendors such as Arbor for denial of service and Infoblox for DNS security offer more comprehensive solutions."

"The solution can improve by adding cloud integration through plugins or additional configurations so we can use F5 BIG-IP DNS to communicate with the cloud."

"The analysis services needs improvement."

"There is room for improvement in pricing. It is very pricey."

More F5 BIG-IP DNS cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

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

"The solution is expensive when compared to other products but offers unlimited bandwidth."

"I give the price a five out of ten."

"In terms of licensing costs, we don't pay for licensing for Cloudflare. We only establish communication, then for peering, Cloudflare takes care of the cross-connection in different data centers."

"The price is reasonable."

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

"I think the pricing is competitive. I think as far as licensing is concerned it's pretty straightforward because it's based on domain. It's just that sometimes domains could be tricky with some customers."

"The price of the solution is expensive."

More Cloudflare pricing and cost advice

"Cost is a factor. It is really costly."

"I would rate the pricing a three out of ten, with ten being a low price."

"This product is quite pricey but if you compare the feature set and its compatibility with similar products on the market, you would understand why it's that price."

"The on-prem version is only available on a yearly license, but the cloud version can be paid for on a day-by-day basis."

"They are competitively priced."

"You cannot do much around DDoS protection without an additional license from F5."

"BIG-IP DNS is more expensive than its competitors like Citrix, but it gives good value for money."

"In some cases, it is expensive."

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Comparison Review

it_user68487

Security Expert with 51-200 employees

Nov 6, 2013

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

12%

Financial Services Firm

10%

Comms Service Provider

10%

Manufacturing Company

Financial Services Firm

14%

Manufacturing Company

12%

Computer Software Company

11%

Retailer

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	46
Midsize Enterprise	8
Large Enterprise	25

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	8
Midsize Enterprise	4
Large Enterprise	9

Questions from the Community

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 GRE tunnels. We have decreased site load times on Mobile 3G from 8 to 1,6 seconds ...

See all answers

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 that offers great redundancy and advanced security with built-in unmetered and ...

See all answers

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.

See all answers

What do you like most about F5 BIG-IP DNS?

For one of our clients, F5 improved global server load balancing with an active-active site configuration for Disaster Recovery.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for F5 BIG-IP DNS?

In terms of pricing, F5 BIG-IP is not cheaper compared to other solutions like Fortinet or Citrix. The cost can be high due to its comprehensive modules.

See all answers

What needs improvement with F5 BIG-IP DNS?

See all answers

Comparisons

Quad9 vs Cloudflare

Compared 51% of the time

Akamai vs Cloudflare

Compared 4% of the time

Imperva Application Security Platform vs Cloudflare

Compared 3% of the time

Myra Security DDoS Protection vs Cloudflare

Compared 2% of the time

Azure DNS vs Cloudflare

Compared 2% of the time

More Cloudflare Competitors

Infoblox Advanced DNS Protection vs F5 BIG-IP DNS

Compared 48% of the time

Cisco Umbrella vs F5 BIG-IP DNS

Compared 13% of the time

CIRA Anycast DNS vs F5 BIG-IP DNS

Compared 10% of the time

EfficientIP DNS Guardian vs F5 BIG-IP DNS

Compared 7% of the time

BlueCat Edge vs F5 BIG-IP DNS

Compared 7% of the time

More F5 BIG-IP DNS Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Cloudflare

December 2025

Download Cloudflare product report

Buyer's Guide

F5 BIG-IP DNS

December 2025

Download F5 BIG-IP DNS product report

Also Known As

Cloudflare DNS

F5 BIG-IP DNS, F5 DNS Delivery

Overview

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.

Cloudflare

F5® BIG-IP® DNS distributes DNS and user application requests based on business policies, data center and cloud service conditions, user location, and application performance. BIG-IP DNS is commonly configured as a full proxy to provide global server load balancing (GSLB) for applications and DNS across architectures, and across the globe.

The BIG-IP platform delivers DNS services with visibility, reporting, and analysis; scales and secures DNS responses geographically to survive increased traffic or threats; delivers a real-time DNSSEC solution; designed to provide availability of global applications in all cloud environments.

Sample Customers

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

Ricacorp Properties, Bangladesh Post Office, Shawbrook Bank, Shinsegae Internet Duty Free

Buyer's Guide

Cloudflare vs. F5 BIG-IP DNS

December 2025

Free Report: Cloudflare vs. F5 BIG-IP DNS

Find out what your peers are saying about Cloudflare vs. F5 BIG-IP DNS and other solutions. Updated: December 2025.

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