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F5 BIG-IP DNS vs Palo Alto Networks DNS Security 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

F5 BIG-IP DNS
Ranking in Domain Name System (DNS) Security
6th
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
8.0
Number of Reviews
22
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Palo Alto Networks DNS Secu...
Ranking in Domain Name System (DNS) Security
4th
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
6.1
Number of Reviews
16
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of June 2026, in the Domain Name System (DNS) Security category, the mindshare of F5 BIG-IP DNS is 3.9%, down from 5.3% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Palo Alto Networks DNS Security is 9.1%, down from 9.7% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Domain Name System (DNS) Security Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Palo Alto Networks DNS Security9.1%
F5 BIG-IP DNS3.9%
Other87.0%
Domain Name System (DNS) Security
 

Featured Reviews

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.
Andres Briceño - PeerSpot reviewer
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.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"One of the most effective feature of F5 BIG-IP DNS is its robustness and integration with our existing F5 infrastructure. It helps us to geographically connect and form an internal topology network with our clients."
"The most valuable feature of the solution is security."
"BIG-IP DNS's best feature is the Global Traffic Manager (GTM)."
"The management is very easy."
"F5 BIG-IP DNS stands out as they are number one when it comes to WAF and load balancing technologies, and they have plenty of add-on features such as APM and AFM to handle DDoS attacks, DNS security, and GSLB."
"It is easy to administer."
"The solution is easy to configure and deploy. It is scalable and works without any downtime. F5 BIG-IP DNS is a flexible solution."
"For one of our clients, F5 improved global server load balancing with an active-active site configuration for Disaster Recovery."
"I would rate the scalability a nine out of ten."
"When comparing other cloud-based DNS security solutions to this one I have found the main beneficial feature in this solution to be we do not need to change our architecture."
"DNS sinkhole is a valuable feature."
"We now have insight into our DNS requests and we can actively see how many thousands of malicious requests have gotten knocked down in the last day or week that we didn't have before. There's more insight for both security and more insight."
"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."
"The main feature of the Palo Alto Networks DNS Security protects our network from external attacks, malware, and data theft."
"The most valuable features of DNS Security include its ability to protect against command and control traffic, anonymizers, newly registered domains, and DNS tunneling."
"The solution's most valuable features are data exfiltration and DNS tunneling."
 

Cons

"I would like to see the login facilities improved, as well as more troubleshooting."
"The tool needs to improve its UI."
"The initial setup was complex."
"The solution's initial setup is complex compared to Fortinet."
"I would like to see more marketing documentation, rather than technical documentation."
"F5's technical support responds a little slowly."
"The initial setup is a step-by-step process, so it can be a bit complicated for someone who's using it for the first time."
"The costs could always be a bit lower."
"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."
"I have found customer service to be quite problematic. The support is often outsourced, leading to delayed response times."
"The number of hotfixes indicates that there are many bugs in the new releases. Comparing a few years earlier, a release contained much fewer hotfixes."
"The solution can capture more market if made more cost-competitive than Infoblox or Cisco Umbrella."
"If the tool offers improved data security, I think it would be good."
"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."
"With Palo Alto Networks DNS Security, sometimes the DNS clients don't work well, and they get disconnected, making it an area where improvements are required."
"I'm not really sure what needs improvement. The only hiccup I've really seen is a couple of the DNS requests get flagged as the Sophos traffic instead of DNS traffic, but that's more of their app detection in the DNS Security. I haven't really seen any issues with the DNS security."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"In some cases, it is expensive."
"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."
"BIG-IP DNS is more expensive than its competitors like Citrix, but it gives good value for money."
"You cannot do much around DDoS protection without an additional license from F5."
"Cost is a factor. It is really costly."
"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."
"I would rate the pricing a three out of ten, with ten being a low price."
"There aren't many vendors offering DNS security solutions, but generally, Palo Alto subscriptions tend to be more expensive than other security vendors."
"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 product is expensive compared to Fortinet."
"If one is very cheap and ten is very expensive, I rate the tool's price as two."
"It is not an expensive solution."
"There is an annual license for the solution and I am satisfied with the pricing."
"The solution's pricing is equal to Cisco AMP or Cisco Umbrella."
"The product is expensive. My company makes payments on a quarterly basis towards the solution's costs."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
11%
Construction Company
10%
Computer Software Company
9%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Financial Services Firm
15%
Manufacturing Company
11%
Computer Software Company
9%
Comms Service Provider
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business7
Midsize Enterprise5
Large Enterprise10
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business6
Large Enterprise10
 

Questions from the Community

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...
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...
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.
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...
 

Also Known As

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

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Ricacorp Properties, Bangladesh Post Office, Shawbrook Bank, Shinsegae Internet Duty Free
Information Not Available
Find out what your peers are saying about F5 BIG-IP DNS vs. Palo Alto Networks DNS Security and other solutions. Updated: June 2026.
902,456 professionals have used our research since 2012.