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EfficientIP DNS Guardian vs F5 BIG-IP DNS comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Aug 12, 2024

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

EfficientIP DNS Guardian
Ranking in Domain Name System (DNS) Security
12th
Average Rating
7.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.1
Number of Reviews
3
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
F5 BIG-IP DNS
Ranking in Domain Name System (DNS) Security
7th
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
8.0
Number of Reviews
22
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of August 2026, in the Domain Name System (DNS) Security category, the mindshare of EfficientIP DNS Guardian is 3.1%, down from 5.0% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of F5 BIG-IP DNS is 3.5%, down from 4.9% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Domain Name System (DNS) Security Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
F5 BIG-IP DNS3.5%
EfficientIP DNS Guardian3.1%
Other93.4%
Domain Name System (DNS) Security
 

Featured Reviews

Stanislav Strijakov - PeerSpot reviewer
Network Architect at University of Sydney
Helps deal with DNS DoS attacks and corrupt DNS requests
I know my company does come across problems related to the product, sometimes related to a configuration issue or a bug. My company receives good support from EfficientIP DNS Guardian's team, who are responsible and passionate about the product. As far as I know, all of my company's challenges and issues have been successfully resolved. I can't think of any weaknesses or issues which I would like to highlight in a significant manner. EfficientIP DNS Guardian has a certain default behavior that didn't meet our company's requirements. After the consultation with EfficientIP DNS Guardian's IT support, a configuration changed the product's default behavior, which was undesirable for us, to a desirable behavior. Certain issues happen in every product.
RR
Associate Consultant at HCLSoftware
Global load balancing has ensured continuous availability and optimized user response times
While F5 BIG-IP DNS is a very powerful solution, some improvements could enhance the overall experience. For example, the user interface could be more modern and simplified. The reporting and analytics features can be improved. Simplified deployment for cloud-native environments could be improved. Overall, F5 BIG-IP DNS is a robust and reliable solution for global traffic management and application availability. With its advanced traffic steering capability, we are definitely getting great benefits from that. However, the user interface is the major thing I think can be improved. The cost also can be reduced. Those are the two or three points that need to be improved. There is some scope for improvement, including the user interface and pricing. That is why I gave it a nine.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"It is a very stable solution. Stability-wise, I rate the solution a ten out of ten."
"The most valuable feature of the solution is DNS security."
"This product is very stable."
"You can run a DNS server directly from EfficientIP to help mitigate all DNS attacks from various sources. This is a very good feature."
"The most valuable features are DNS security and the speed of operations."
"It's very stable."
"F5 BIG-IP DNS is useful, depending on how you use it."
"For one of our clients, F5 improved global server load balancing with an active-active site configuration for Disaster Recovery."
"The management is very easy."
"Stability-wise, I rate the solution a ten out of ten...Stability-wise, I rate the solution a ten out of ten."
"In summary, this is a good product and I recommend it."
"F5 BIG-IP DNS is a stable solution."
 

Cons

"EfficientIP DNS Guardian's deployment documentation is very hard to find. The tech support's response is slow."
"EfficientIP DNS Guardian has a certain default behavior that didn't meet our company's requirements."
"The problem with this vendor is that they are too focused on revenue and sales numbers."
"In the product, one of the shortcomings is related to its configuration part...Though you can find some manuals or F5 documents, in real life, it's very hard to understand this product."
"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."
"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 initial setup was complex."
"It would be great to see a F5 BIG-IP DNS cloud version."
"F5's technical support responds a little slowly."
"The weakness is that extensive training is required to hire the people who need to work on the project."
"I would like to see more marketing documentation, rather than technical documentation."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"I rate the product price as three to four on a scale of one to ten, where one is low cost, and ten is high price."
"The price of this product is very reasonable, especially considering that a company's reputation is priceless."
"The solution is subscription-based."
"I would rate the pricing a three out of ten, with ten being a low price."
"BIG-IP DNS is more expensive than its competitors like Citrix, but it gives good value for money."
"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."
"They are competitively priced."
"Cost is a factor. It is really costly."
"In some cases, it is expensive."
"You cannot do much around DDoS protection without an additional license from F5."
"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."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
10%
Government
9%
Computer Software Company
9%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Financial Services Firm
11%
Construction Company
10%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Computer Software Company
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business7
Midsize Enterprise5
Large Enterprise10
 

Questions from the Community

Ask a question
Earn 20 points
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for F5 BIG-IP DNS?
My experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing was good. We got great support from the F5 sales team. They helped us to deploy it in our organization.
What needs improvement with F5 BIG-IP DNS?
While F5 BIG-IP DNS is a very powerful solution, some improvements could enhance the overall experience. For example, the user interface could be more modern and simplified. The reporting and analy...
What is your primary use case for F5 BIG-IP DNS?
My main use case for F5 BIG-IP DNS is creating an active-active setup. With two data centers, if I want to make them active-standby or active-active, my major use case is to redirect traffic from o...
 

Also Known As

No data available
F5 BIG-IP DNS, F5 DNS Delivery
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

De Montfort University, STMicroelectronics, Leeds Beckett University
Ricacorp Properties, Bangladesh Post Office, Shawbrook Bank, Shinsegae Internet Duty Free
Find out what your peers are saying about EfficientIP DNS Guardian vs. F5 BIG-IP DNS and other solutions. Updated: June 2026.
908,834 professionals have used our research since 2012.