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Akamai Edge DNS vs Amazon Route 53 comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Nov 4, 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

Akamai Edge DNS
Ranking in Managed DNS
9th
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.1
Number of Reviews
4
Ranking in other categories
Domain Name System (DNS) Security (8th)
Amazon Route 53
Ranking in Managed DNS
2nd
Average Rating
8.8
Reviews Sentiment
7.3
Number of Reviews
33
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of May 2025, in the Managed DNS category, the mindshare of Akamai Edge DNS is 1.3%, up from 1.3% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Amazon Route 53 is 6.2%, down from 9.0% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Managed DNS
 

Featured Reviews

YA
Ensures global distribution and DDoS protection while offering seamless integration and low latency DNS responses
For user experience, Akamai Edge DNS should allow notes to be added for each record, as this is something Infoblox supports. Without notes, managing changes in DNS records can be difficult, especially for large companies with over 1,000 records, as they may not know who requested changes without proper documentation. I requested this feature two years ago, but it has not been added yet. Akamai Edge DNS could also improve its AI capabilities.
Jithin Scaria - PeerSpot reviewer
Provides clear documentation, easy to understand, simplifies management and efficiently handles our domain-related configurations and DNS records
For initial setup, we generally use provisioning tools for these kinds of DNS records. The choice often depends on the cloud provider and the Infrastructure as Code (IAC) tools the client prefers. We adapt our approach accordingly rather than focusing on a single method within Route 53. The documentation is very user-friendly. Even someone with no prior experience can easily understand it. It provides step-by-step instructions and explains things in a clear and concise way. You can find everything you need to know about Route 53 and its features in the documentation, including white papers. In addition to manual configuration, you can also use third-party tools like Terraform, Pulumi, or AWS CloudFormation templates to manage your Route 53 configurations.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"I recommend Akamai Edge DNS because it is distributed globally and prevents DDoS attacks."
"I haven't had any problems with the stability of Akamai Edge DNS in the past five years."
"We can maintain control of the configuration, and it seems to be covering the use case that we need."
"The high availability of Akamai Edge DNS is impressive due to their numerous POPs, which help in supporting all attacks, including DDoS counterattacks."
"It is a very stable solution since it has a security feature that allows you to recover zone files if you accidentally delete them."
"It stands out for its user-friendly interface, seamless integration with other AWS services, and ability to efficiently manage DNS, making it a valuable tool for various deployment scenarios, including those involving Kubernetes on AWS."
"We haven't faced any outages or issues directly related to Route 53. It has been 100% stable for me."
"The most valuable feature is that it works very well."
"The feature for health check efficiently impacts the uptime and reliability of AWS servers including EC2 and EKS."
"The solution is cost-effective."
"Using Amazon Route 53 is located in a central place in Amazon AWS which makes it easier to manage every DNS entry in one place. You are able to manage your public and private DNS from there. We can create rules based on weight and globalization is impressive."
"The solution has a user-friendly dashboard."
"You can host your zone and name servers here, and keeping track of records is easy."
 

Cons

"CNAME flattening is a feature that Akamai does not support."
"The only area that needs improvement is the pricing for DNS zones."
"The solution has a fairly complex setup with our cloud vendors, including Microsoft, Salesforce, and Oracle."
"Akamai Edge DNS is expensive, and the pricing is higher compared to Infoblox."
"The only area that needs improvement is the pricing for DNS zones. The price is higher than competitors, and Akamai should offer a better pricing model."
"It is difficult to manage the product if the person involved in the setup process doesn't know much about the solution."
"The platform is more complicated to learn than one of its competitors."
"When you add a new DNS record instructing the solution to map one thing to another, it has to propagate to all the networks, which takes some time."
"Route 53 supports DNSSEC, and it may not be available for all domain types or configurations. It can become expensive as usage scales, especially with advanced features and high query volumes. Slower response time with lower-tier support plan."
"The product should improve its automation."
"There is a need for technical knowledge to use Amazon Route 53 effectively."
"There could be improvements in the configuration process, particularly in the options provided during setup, such as subdomain configurations and certificate management."
"The solution should include more robust and secure services for hardening sites."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Since Akamai is the industry leader, I imagine the solution would be a little more expensive than some other vendors."
"The price of the product is perfectly fine in my opinion."
"The pricing depends on usage and is moderate."
"We pay per use."
"Amazon Route 53 is not an expensive solution."
"It can be expensive compared to some other providers."
"Amazon Route 53 is an expensive solution."
"The tool is a bit expensive."
"Amazon Route 53 is not that expensive."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
14%
Financial Services Firm
12%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Government
8%
Educational Organization
17%
Computer Software Company
15%
Financial Services Firm
10%
Manufacturing Company
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Akamai Edge DNS?
It is a very stable solution since it has a security feature that allows you to recover zone files if you accidentally delete them.
What needs improvement with Akamai Edge DNS?
The only area that needs improvement is the pricing for DNS zones. The price is higher than competitors, and Akamai should offer a better pricing model.
What is your primary use case for Akamai Edge DNS?
I have experience with all Akamai products because I use all of them, including Edge DNS, API Security, and App and API Protector. I use Akamai Edge DNS to protect against DDoS attacks and to enhan...
Azure DNS or Amazon Route 53?
Azure DNS is a hosting service of DNS domains. It has excellent operating time and performance, resulting in fast resolution. We like the ability to view everything in the Azure portal - this makes...
What do you like most about Amazon Route 53?
The most valuable features of the solution are the DNS, routing, and traffic features.
What needs improvement with Amazon Route 53?
There is a need for technical knowledge to use Amazon Route 53 effectively. If a person without much technical background could use it, I would have rated it a ten out of ten.
 

Comparisons

 

Also Known As

Akamai Fast DNS
Route 53
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Otto Group
Hess, Expedia, Kelloggs, Philips, HyperTrack
Find out what your peers are saying about Akamai Edge DNS vs. Amazon Route 53 and other solutions. Updated: April 2025.
851,491 professionals have used our research since 2012.