Cloudflare vs Palo Alto Networks DNS Security comparison

Cloudflare and Palo Alto Networks are both solutions in the Domain Name System (DNS) Security category. Cloudflare is ranked #5 with an average rating of 9.1, while Palo Alto Networks is ranked #3 with an average rating of 8.5. Cloudflare holds a 4.8% mindshare in DS, compared to Palo Alto Networks’s 9.5% mindshare. Additionally, 96% of Cloudflare users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 100% of Palo Alto Networks users who would recommend it.

Cloudflare

Read 79 Cloudflare reviews

42,763 Views
1,283 Comparison Views

96% willing to recommend

Palo Alto Networks DNS Secu...

Read 16 Palo Alto Networks DNS Security reviews

4,406 Views
4,362 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

Cloudflare

Palo Alto Networks DNS Secu...

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Download the report

Executive Summary

We performed a comparison between Cloudflare and Palo Alto Networks DNS Security 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. Palo Alto Networks DNS Security Report (Updated: June 2026).

Buyer's Guide

Cloudflare vs. Palo Alto Networks DNS Security

June 2026

Download the complete report

Helped 902,894 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

7.0

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

CDN (1st), WAN Optimization (4th), Web Application Firewall (WAF) (10th), Distributed Denial-of-Service (DDoS) Protection (2nd), Managed DNS (1st), Cloud Security Posture Management (CSPM) (15th)

Palo Alto Networks DNS Secu...

Ranking in Domain Name System (DNS) Security

3rd

Average Rating

8.6

Reviews Sentiment

6.1

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of July 2026, in the Domain Name System (DNS) Security category, the mindshare of Cloudflare is 4.8%, down from 5.5% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Palo Alto Networks DNS Security is 9.5%, up from 9.4% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Domain Name System (DNS) Security Mindshare Distribution
Product	Mindshare (%)
Palo Alto Networks DNS Security	9.5%
Cloudflare	4.8%
Other	85.7%

Domain Name System (DNS) Security

Featured Reviews

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

Andres Briceño

Cybersecurity Coordinator at Pronaca

Comprehensive security protects networks effectively while support excels

The main feature of the Palo Alto Networks DNS Security protects our network from external attacks, malware, and data theft. I use the DNS Security's real-time threat intelligence, as it's a feature that works in real-time in the firewalls. Because we configured this real-time help feature in our firewalls, this feature works during internal navigation to the internet. If we have a virus or malware in our network, the firewall detects this threat and protects our network. DNS Security protects us against threats, malware, and malicious domains or malicious navigation to the internet. The threat analytics has helped us because it works together with the SOC analytics and the platform manager, so this has affected our approach to zero-day vulnerabilities and threat updates. The reporting and analytics tools help provide insights into trends and threat vectors. We configured a dashboard where we can see all threat preventions and DNS Securities. If the SOC analytics detect threats or anomalies in the dashboard, we work quickly to prevent these threats.

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

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

"The most valuable feature of Cloudflare is that it has a free version. They give us the free version with the anti-DDoS features and also the load balancing solution."

"Cloudflare makes it easier for me to handle and set up DNS for multiple users and multiple clients, and basically go in and access their account, make the changes they need, and it's a one-stop shop."

"Cloudflare improves performance on my websites and is a great partner for cloud infrastructure for anyone who wants to use the security service and other features."

"Its most significant benefit to date is the speed with which it refreshes DNS records on the internet once you change it. If you are changing a website or registering a new record, it is very quick."

"For businesses that don't have a dedicated security team, I think it's a better product; it's more intuitive for people like us."

"What I like best about Cloudflare is that my company can use it to trace and manage applications and monitor traffic. The solution tells you if there's a spike in traffic. Cloudflare also sends you a link to check your equipment and deployment and track it through peering, so it's a valuable tool."

"The attacker won't have details since my public IP is anonymous. It offers us good privacy."

More Cloudflare pros

"The most valuable features of the solution are DNSSEC and the domain generation algorithm."

"DNS security is required to filter out the DNS traffic, any DNS-based attacks, DNS DDoS attacks, and DNS amplification attacks."

"The product is easy to install."

"DNS sinkhole is a valuable feature."

"The main feature of the Palo Alto Networks DNS Security protects our network from external attacks, malware, and data theft."

"Palo Alto Networks DNS Security is a stable solution."

"A lot is working well."

"So, in general, it's very stable because the process to deliver new features and new releases in not so long...I rate the scalability a nine out of ten."

More Palo Alto Networks DNS Security pros

Cons

"It would be helpful if the solution could continue evolving to compete with the other solutions on the market."

"In the last two years, there has been a certain amount of downtime when using the VDM."

"The integration of LLMs on the dashboard is something that is needed in the tool."

"The documentation could improve for Cloudflare DNS."

"Areas like how assessment, discovery, and payload are dealt with and how it all comes into your organization can be considered when trying to make suggestions to Cloudflare for improvements."

"Several features that I think is essential is not available in the free and business package."

"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."

"DNS Management."

More Cloudflare cons

"I have found customer service to be quite problematic. The support is often outsourced, leading to delayed response times."

"Pricing is one of the areas of concern in Palo Alto Networks DNS Security since it is an expensive product. I feel that the product's pricing is an area that could be improved."

"The installation is more complex because the solution has another approach to security."

"The solution’s scalability could be improved."

"The pricing of the Palo Alto Networks DNS Security is very high."

"Every vendor that sells DNS or firewalls needs to be able to protect against DNS look-up attacks and DNS naming hacks. This is true of Palo Alto as well as others."

"The scalability can be improved."

"We would like to have cloud-based management."

More Palo Alto Networks DNS Security cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

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

"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."

"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 version."

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

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

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

More Cloudflare pricing and cost advice

"There is an annual license for the solution and I am satisfied with the pricing."

"There aren't many vendors offering DNS security solutions, but generally, Palo Alto subscriptions tend to be more expensive than other security vendors."

"It is not an expensive solution."

"Palo Alto Networks DNS Security is an expensive product. I rate the product's pricing an eight on a scale of one to ten, where one is cheap, and ten points are expensive."

"The solution's pricing is equal to Cisco AMP or Cisco Umbrella."

"The product is expensive compared to Fortinet."

"The product is expensive. My company makes payments on a quarterly basis towards the solution's costs."

"If one is very cheap and ten is very expensive, I rate the tool's price as two."

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.

See recommendations

902,894 professionals have used our research since 2012.

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Financial Services Firm

10%

Comms Service Provider

10%

Manufacturing Company

Computer Software Company

Financial Services Firm

15%

Manufacturing Company

11%

Computer Software Company

Comms Service Provider

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	46
Midsize Enterprise	11
Large Enterprise	26

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	6
Large Enterprise	10

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 is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Cloudflare DNS?

The pricing, setup cost, and licensing for Cloudflare are a bit on the higher side overall.

See all answers

What needs improvement with Palo Alto Networks DNS Security?

DNS Security protects us against threats, malware, and malicious domains or malicious navigation to the internet, which is where it can be improved the best. Palo Alto helps us with support, so I d...

See all answers

What is your primary use case for Palo Alto Networks DNS Security?

I can describe my use cases for Palo Alto Networks DNS Security, which is used for protecting our network. I use this product, Palo Alto Networks DNS Security, with Palo Alto firewalls.

See all answers

What advice do you have for others considering Palo Alto Networks DNS Security?

I don't have experience with Palo Alto Networks AutoFocus. Regarding the DNS Security, I have firewalls with the DNS Security module in the firewall. DNS Security is something we configure in our f...

See all answers

Comparisons

Quad9 vs Cloudflare

Compared 35% of the time

Akamai vs Cloudflare

Compared 4% of the time

Imperva Application Security Platform vs Cloudflare

Compared 3% of the time

Fastly vs Cloudflare

Compared 2% of the time

Azure Front Door vs Cloudflare

Compared 2% of the time

More Cloudflare Competitors

Cisco Umbrella vs Palo Alto Networks DNS Security

Compared 56% of the time

Infoblox Advanced DNS Protection vs Palo Alto Networks DNS Security

Compared 7% of the time

Infoblox BloxOne Threat Defense vs Palo Alto Networks DNS Security

Compared 6% of the time

DNSFilter vs Palo Alto Networks DNS Security

Compared 5% of the time

Heimdal Endpoint Security vs Palo Alto Networks DNS Security

Compared 2% of the time

More Palo Alto Networks DNS Security Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Cloudflare

June 2026

Download Cloudflare product report

Buyer's Guide

Palo Alto Networks DNS Security

June 2026

Download Palo Alto Networks DNS Security product report

Also Known As

Cloudflare DNS

No data available

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

Palo Alto Networks DNS Security provides robust protection against DNS-based attacks with seamless deployment and integration, enhancing network security with minimal disruption.

Focused on real-time threat intelligence, Palo Alto Networks DNS Security blocks tunneling and rebinding attacks while offering malware protection and command/control traffic shielding. Its deployment is seamless, requiring no major architectural changes and ensuring global integration with scalable stability. DNS sinkholes and machine learning play key roles in threat detection, alongside comprehensive reporting and analytics for proactive cyber defense. While pricing and technical support face some criticism, its effectiveness in malware defense remains valuable to users.

What are the key features?

DNS Filtering: Block malicious DNS requests efficiently.
Real-Time Threat Intelligence: Provides insights to preempt threats.
Malware Protection: Shields against malware infiltration.
Command/Control Shielding: Protects against control server attacks.
Machine Learning: Enhances threat detection capabilities.
DNS Sinkhole: Identifies and blocks malicious domains.

What are the expected benefits or ROI?

Improved Network Security: Strengthen defenses against DNS and malware threats.
Proactive Defense: Benefit from real-time threat insights.
Seamless Integration: Easy deployment without infrastructure overhauls.
Insightful Analytics: Comprehensive reports for informed decision-making.

In sectors such as finance, healthcare, and government, Palo Alto Networks DNS Security is essential for preventing data breaches, securing critical infrastructure, and protecting remote workforce access. By integrating seamlessly with existing firewalls, it ensures comprehensive coverage for both on-premise and cloud environments, addressing insider threats and securing endpoints like mobile devices and laptops.

Palo Alto Networks

Sample Customers

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

Information Not Available

Buyer's Guide

Cloudflare vs. Palo Alto Networks DNS Security

June 2026

Free Report: Cloudflare vs. Palo Alto Networks DNS Security

Find out what your peers are saying about Cloudflare vs. Palo Alto Networks DNS Security and other solutions. Updated: June 2026.

DOWNLOAD NOW

902,894 professionals have used our research since 2012.

See our Cloudflare vs. Palo Alto Networks DNS Security report.

See our list of best Domain Name System (DNS) Security vendors.

We monitor all Domain Name System (DNS) Security reviews to prevent fraudulent reviews and keep review quality high. We do not post reviews by company employees or direct competitors. We validate each review for authenticity via cross-reference with LinkedIn, and personal follow-up with the reviewer when necessary.