IBM NS1 Connect vs Quad9 comparison

IBM and Quad9 DNS are both solutions in the Managed DNS category. IBM is ranked #6 with an average rating of 8.6, while Quad9 DNS is ranked #4. IBM holds a 2.7% mindshare in MDP, compared to Quad9 DNS’s 22.8% mindshare. Additionally, 100% of IBM users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 50% of Quad9 DNS users who would recommend it.

IBM NS1 Connect

Read 17 IBM NS1 Connect reviews

2,655 Views
2,602 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

Quad9

Read 2 Quad9 reviews

22,370 Views
21,475 Comparison Views

50% willing to recommend

IBM NS1 Connect

Quad9

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Nov 4, 2024

IBM NS1 Connect and Quad9 are competitors in the DNS management sector. IBM NS1 Connect leads in scalability and enterprise-grade features, while Quad9 is superior in security and ease of use.

Features: IBM NS1 Connect offers advanced traffic management, robust analytics, and high scalability, suitable for larger enterprises. Quad9 integrates threat prevention, ensures privacy, and focuses on straightforward security, ideal for businesses prioritizing cybersecurity.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: IBM NS1 Connect provides comprehensive deployment options with extensive support for complex IT environments. Quad9 offers easy deployment and quick customer support, accessible for smaller teams and allowing fast implementation.

Pricing and ROI: IBM NS1 Connect requires higher initial setup costs, reflecting its enterprise focus, with promises of long-term ROI for large organizations. Quad9 presents a cost-effective solution with low upfront costs and quick ROI, attractive to small and medium-sized businesses seeking efficient DNS security without large investments.

To learn more, read our detailed IBM NS1 Connect vs. Quad9 Report (Updated: June 2026).

Buyer's Guide

IBM NS1 Connect vs. Quad9

June 2026

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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

IBM NS1 Connect

Ranking in Managed DNS

6th

Average Rating

9.2

Reviews Sentiment

7.4

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Domain Name System (DNS) Security (8th)

Quad9

Ranking in Managed DNS

4th

Average Rating

6.0

Reviews Sentiment

7.9

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Internet Security (6th)

Mindshare comparison

As of August 2026, in the Managed DNS category, the mindshare of IBM NS1 Connect is 2.7%, up from 1.2% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Quad9 is 22.8%, down from 33.1% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Managed DNS Mindshare Distribution
Product	Mindshare (%)
Quad9	22.8%
IBM NS1 Connect	2.7%
Other	74.5%

Managed DNS

Featured Reviews

DavidJackson1

Software Engineer at Abbott

Smart routing has improved uptime and performance and enables real-time automated traffic control

The best features IBM NS1 Connect offers, in my opinion, are real-time monitoring, intelligent traffic routing capabilities, and being API driven. The intelligent traffic routing and API-driven features of IBM NS1 Connect have helped my team by allowing routing based on user location, endpoint switching based on latency, and DNS response time. Additionally, IBM NS1 Connect has API integration. IBM NS1 Connect positively impacts my organization by making our website load faster and enhancing the user interface to be more intuitive and user-friendly. It's very economical and cost-effective. I also love it because it saves time through automation, saving around 30% to 35% of our time and also saving man-source. Our application uptime has improved by 40% to 45%. Although there have been a few outages, the service uptime has significantly improved our trust with clients. It is very cost-effective and affordable, hence providing a great return on investment.

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Louis Geoffroy

President at IDEBUG

It's easy to use and set up, but I've faced performance problems

I have experience with Quad9 and most other filtering solutions. Quad9 was working well initially, but it started slowing, so I switched to OpenDNS. I recently checked Tom's Hardware, an IT review site, and read a review of seven DNS filters. Open DNS was ranked the fastest, and Quad9 was second. Google was on there too, but they said it didn't filter enough.

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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

"In general, I would say that this has been the easiest solution to manage and implement."

"IBM NS1 Connect's API-driven architecture has helped my organization with digital transformation as it is an open standard."

"I couldn't recommend a better product than NS1 for managed DNS and CDN load balancing right now."

"One of the features that is non-standard and that is very useful is the filtered DNS. We have set up our external VPN, which is what all our employees connect through, to use this feature. It's geolocation-aware. In that way, for India we set it up so that these are the servers that should be supporting things, and in the UK these servers, in the U.S. these servers, and in Sweden these ones."

"Monitoring is really important for us. We really care about reliability, and we want to make sure that we can remove some points of presence in our sector and in our edge network really fast when we experience any problems. So, monitoring that NS1 provides for DNS is really important for us."

"For starters, it integrates with Terraform and a lot of our infrastructure is effectively built out using Terraform. That makes all this stuff extremely easy... when we deploy, all the entries are created and configuration is done."

"The best benefits of using IBM NS1 Connect are the performance and availability of the product towards the cloud, and when comparing the performance with other products, I believe it is above par, as it is really helpful and gives me at least a 20 to 30% improvement in functionality."

"The solution's stability is absolutely perfect."

More IBM NS1 Connect pros

"The most valuable feature of Quad9 is that it is a free solution."

"Setting up Quad9 is straightforward if you know what you're doing, and it's easy to use overall."

Cons

"Pricing can be more transparent, especially when dealing with tight budgets."

"I am not overall satisfied with the license and cost for IBM NS1 Connect because my pre-sales team interacts on that part regarding pricing."

"When we first deployed, we flipped the switch, and it didn't work as well as we expected."

"We would really like them to become a DNS registrar."

"I would love to see improvement in the testing capabilities they provide. They have a simulate-filter feature so that you can simulate how your traffic would flow, based on their Filter Chains. I believe that was shut off for quite some time. Having that as a way to test our load-balanced CDN structure would be fantastic."

"When we first deployed, we flipped the switch, and it didn't work as well as we expected. It wasn't a complete outage, but we had issues in some places with some customers. The NS1 team went out of their way to resolve it on Thanksgiving. We have a post about it on our blog. We called it "Black Thursday.""

"We care about monitoring and telemetry work, and NS1 provides a pretty good system for monitoring. We can monitor our endpoints and points of presence around the world. If there are any issues, we can easily remove them from our network, but this area needs some improvement because it is not always reliable in NS1. In the past, we had a number of false-positive cases when the monitoring system told us about some problems in our infrastructure that were not true. NS1 is improving the system, and we are constantly talking about this with them. I know that they are releasing a new version of their monitoring system, which is really important for us, but this is a different area where we would expect them to improve."

"We use the geo load balancing functionality and there are a couple of things that are helpful there. But the language itself is something we had to get used to a little bit. Some of my folks made a few mistakes in rolling out the Filter Chain...The Filter Chain setup is a bit hard to grasp at first. It would also be nice to have a way to simulate changes in addition to staging."

More IBM NS1 Connect cons

"Quad9 could improve by having more free features, such as custom DNS filtering."

"It used to work fine for all the devices, but it started to slow and become non-responsive. I would have to reload the page two or three times before all the pages loaded. With OpenDNS, I only need to load the page once."

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Everything can always be cheaper, but as it is today the pricing is fair."

"The cost of this product is one of the reasons that we chose it."

"We pay about $30,000 a month. We used to pay about $20,000 with Dyn every month, for lower volume than we're doing right now, but it had none of the features that we have available with NS1, so it was worth it for us. It seems competitive for us, given that we're doing 4.5 billion requests."

"From a cost standpoint, it's certainly not the most expensive out there, and it's also not the cheapest, but it does well to balance the cost and the functionality/reliability."

"NS1's pricing is much more aggressive than its competitors in the market and you get more value out of what you pay for it."

"The price of Quad9 is free."

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Comms Service Provider

12%

Financial Services Firm

10%

Computer Software Company

10%

Government

Comms Service Provider

26%

Computer Software Company

Hospitality Company

Government

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	1
Midsize Enterprise	4
Large Enterprise	13

No data available

Questions from the Community

What needs improvement with NS1 Managed DNS?

The aspect that needs improvement about IBM NS1 Connect is that the integration with AI is not seamless at this moment. That particular portion needs to be re-evaluated. We were able to increase th...

See all answers

What is your primary use case for NS1 Managed DNS?

I have worked on both deployment models of IBM NS1 Connect in the company's environment and in the clouds. I utilize IBM NS1 Connect's Intelligent Traffic Steering feature.

See all answers

What advice do you have for others considering NS1 Managed DNS?

I purchased IBM NS1 Connect through AWS Marketplace. We do use analytical tools built into the product. I rate this product 9 out of 10.

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

Comparisons

Cloudflare vs IBM NS1 Connect

Compared 25% of the time

Amazon Route 53 vs IBM NS1 Connect

Compared 18% of the time

Akamai Edge DNS vs IBM NS1 Connect

Compared 11% of the time

Managed DNS Services vs IBM NS1 Connect

Compared 9% of the time

Cisco Umbrella vs IBM NS1 Connect

Compared 2% of the time

More IBM NS1 Connect Competitors

Cloudflare vs Quad9

Compared 73% of the time

Google Cloud DNS vs Quad9

Compared 14% of the time

Cisco Umbrella vs Quad9

Compared 2% of the time

G-Core Labs CDN vs Quad9

Compared 1% of the time

Verisign Public DNS vs Quad9

Compared 1% of the time

More Quad9 Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

IBM NS1 Connect

August 2026

Download IBM NS1 Connect product report

Buyer's Guide

Managed DNS

August 2026

Download Quad9 product report

Also Known As

NS1 Managed DNS, NS1

No data available

Overview

IBM NS1 Connect delivers comprehensive DNS management with features like DNSSEC, low latency, and intelligent traffic routing. It integrates seamlessly with automation tools, making it ideal for improving infrastructure management.

IBM NS1 Connect offers a robust DNS management platform combining security, speed, and reliability. Its API-driven functionality allows for seamless integration with Terraform and other tools, enhancing geolocation-aware capabilities and real-time performance monitoring. Smart Domains ensure optimal routing, while Pulsar boosts user experience. Real-time telemetry and intelligent traffic routing minimize load times, contributing to efficient service delivery and application uptime. Recommendations for improvement include enhancing DNS timeout resolutions and providing educational resources for networking novices.

What are IBM NS1 Connect's key features?

DNSSEC: Enhances security by protecting DNS information.
Low Latency: Ensures faster DNS query responses.
API-driven Functionality: Facilitates easy integration with tools like Terraform.
Real-time Telemetry: Provides up-to-date performance insights.
Intelligent Traffic Routing: Directs traffic for optimized user experience.
Pulsar: Enhances performance with smart routing algorithms.
Filter Chains: Offers customizable rules for traffic handling.
Secondary DNS: Ensures redundancy and disaster recovery.

What benefits should users look for?

Cost-effectiveness: Reduces infrastructure costs by leveraging cloud hosting.
Improved Application Uptime: Minimizes downtime with reliable DNS management.
Faster Provisioning: Speeds up infrastructure setup and updates.
Reliable Metrics: Provides accurate performance data for informed decision-making.
Enhanced User Interface: Offers a straightforward navigation experience.

In healthcare, IBM NS1 Connect enhances CDN routing and facilitates efficient DNS management. Financial institutions leverage its geo-load balancing capabilities for secure transaction processing. E-commerce brands use its low latency and automation features to improve website responsiveness and reduce error rates. Telecom companies benefit from its API integration, allowing for seamless upgrades and network optimizations.

IBM

Quad9 is a DNS service offering robust security and privacy features. It blocks access to malicious sites by analyzing and correlating threat intelligence from multiple sources. Suitable for tech-savvy users, it focuses on enhancing online safety while maintaining user privacy.

Quad9 serves as a critical tool in safeguarding users from online threats. By providing DNS resolution, it helps prevent access to phishing sites, malware, and other harmful content by utilizing threat intelligence feeds from reputable cybersecurity organizations. Its focus is on delivering an efficient, secure browsing experience without compromising user privacy. With ease of use and reliability, Quad9 effectively reduces the risk of digital threats while keeping user data secure and anonymous.

What features make Quad9 valuable?

Blocking Malicious Domains: Quad9 prevents accessing harmful sites by leveraging diverse threat intelligence sources.
Privacy Protection: It does not store, sell, or use personal data, ensuring complete anonymity.
Global Threat Intelligence: The DNS service aggregates threat data from various security organizations.
DNS over TLS/HTTPS: Offers encrypted DNS queries for added privacy and security.

What benefits should users look for in reviews?

Enhanced Security: Users experience fewer online threats and safer browsing.
Privacy Assurance: Complete data anonymity and protection from unwarranted data tracking.
Reliable Performance: Fast and consistent DNS resolution across different networks.
Ease of Use: Simple to set up with minimal configuration required.

In industries like finance and healthcare where data security and privacy are critical, Quad9 is a useful tool in mitigating cyber threats. Its robust framework is deployed to ensure compliance with regulatory requirements, providing a secure browsing environment without sacrificing speed or reliability.

Quad9 DNS

Sample Customers

Avast Software, Bloomberg L.P., BBC, Carfax, CNBC LLC, Deloitte Consulting LLP, Disney Streaming, Dropbox, EBAY Inc, Gannett Media Corp, Salesforce, Wayfair, Workday

CISCO, Netlab, proofpoint

Buyer's Guide

IBM NS1 Connect vs. Quad9

June 2026

Free Report: IBM NS1 Connect vs. Quad9

Find out what your peers are saying about IBM NS1 Connect vs. Quad9 and other solutions. Updated: June 2026.

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