Akamai Edge DNS vs F5 BIG-IP DNS comparison

Akamai and F5 are both solutions in the Domain Name System (DNS) Security category. Akamai is ranked #10 with an average rating of 8.5, while F5 is ranked #6 with an average rating of 9.0. Akamai holds a 3.6% mindshare in DS, compared to F5’s 4.4% mindshare. Additionally, 100% of Akamai users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 100% of F5 users who would recommend it.

Akamai Edge DNS

Read 4 Akamai Edge DNS reviews

1,450 Views
711 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

F5 BIG-IP DNS

Read 21 F5 BIG-IP DNS reviews

1,451 Views
1,451 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

Akamai Edge DNS

F5 BIG-IP DNS

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Aug 12, 2024

Akamai Edge DNS and F5 BIG-IP DNS are industry-leading DNS solutions with distinct advantages. Based on user reviews, F5 BIG-IP DNS appears to have the upper hand due to its extensive traffic management options and integration flexibility.

What features are offered by Akamai Edge DNS in comparison to F5 BIG-IP DNS?

Akamai Edge DNS is praised for its high uptime, robust security, and fast response times. F5 BIG-IP DNS is valued for its superior traffic management, flexible integration, and advanced load balancing options.

What areas of improvement can be found in Akamai Edge DNS in comparison to F5 BIG-IP DNS?

Users report that Akamai Edge DNS could improve its customer support and documentation. For F5 BIG-IP DNS, reviews suggest enhancements in its pricing structure and updates to its aging interface.

How is the ease of deployment and customer service of Akamai Edge DNS in comparison to F5 BIG-IP DNS?

Akamai Edge DNS users find deployment straightforward but need better 24/7 support. F5 BIG-IP DNS offers comprehensive deployment options but is complex, with a steeper learning curve.

What setup costs and ROI can be seen with Akamai Edge DNS in comparison to F5 BIG-IP DNS?

Akamai Edge DNS users appreciate its pricing but feel ROI could improve with better service. F5 BIG-IP DNS users find it expensive but justify the cost with enhanced features and solid performance.

To learn more, read our detailed Akamai Edge DNS vs. F5 BIG-IP DNS Report (Updated: December 2025).

Buyer's Guide

Akamai Edge DNS vs. F5 BIG-IP DNS

December 2025

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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

Akamai Edge DNS

Ranking in Domain Name System (DNS) Security

10th

Average Rating

8.6

Reviews Sentiment

7.1

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Managed DNS (9th)

F5 BIG-IP DNS

Ranking in Domain Name System (DNS) Security

6th

Average Rating

8.6

Reviews Sentiment

8.0

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of January 2026, in the Domain Name System (DNS) Security category, the mindshare of Akamai Edge DNS is 3.6%, up from 3.0% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of F5 BIG-IP DNS is 4.4%, down from 5.3% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Domain Name System (DNS) Security Market Share Distribution
Product	Market Share (%)
F5 BIG-IP DNS	4.4%
Akamai Edge DNS	3.6%
Other	92.0%

Domain Name System (DNS) Security

Featured Reviews

Yaser Alakeel

Head of Service Delivery at onme

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.

Read full review

reviewer2733993

Solutions Architect at a tech services company with 51-200 employees

Ensures reliable web application security and offers comprehensive load balancing solutions

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. The main features such as WAF and load balancing do not generate complaints. F5 BIG-IP DNS is not the best for DNS denial of service because they handle it as part of BIG-IP features, mainly used for GSLB, while other vendors provide complete DDI solutions, including DHCP, DNS, and IP address management, along with specialized DNS security, offering much more than just GSLB and basic recursive DNS security. The two main concerns are DNS related and denial of service, areas where F5 BIG-IP DNS could improve, and they could do better as they are not the best vendor, indicating ample room for improvement especially since those are not their main specialties.

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

"We can maintain control of the configuration, and it seems to be covering the use case that we need."

"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."

"It is a very stable solution since it has a security feature that allows you to recover zone files if you accidentally delete them."

"The high availability of Akamai Edge DNS is impressive due to their numerous POPs, which help in supporting all attacks, including DDoS counterattacks."

"BIG-IP DNS effectively handled a traffic surge. For example, we have application forms replicated across our DCs. If our primary application becomes unavailable, BIG-IP automatically fails over to a client-unaware secondary application."

"The solution is easy to configure and deploy. It is scalable and works without any downtime. F5 BIG-IP DNS is a flexible solution."

"The most valuable feature of the solution is security."

"The configuration process is straightforward, making it easy to set up wide IPs and distribute traffic across local US sites and data centers via VPN."

"F5 BIG-IP DNS has been rock solid in terms of stability for years."

"F5 technical support is quite good and they follow up if there are any issues."

"Stability-wise, I rate the solution a ten out of ten...Stability-wise, I rate the solution a ten out of ten."

"It is easy to administer."

More F5 BIG-IP DNS pros

Cons

"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 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."

"CNAME flattening is a feature that Akamai does not support."

"The solution has a fairly complex setup with our cloud vendors, including Microsoft, Salesforce, and Oracle."

"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 support response time could use improvement."

"I would like to see more marketing documentation, rather than technical documentation."

"The IP intelligent services are good for mitigating threats, but there are also false positives. So, it's not a standalone solution that can cover everything."

"The monitoring capabilities of F5 BIG-IP DNS could be improved."

"The initial setup could be easier."

"The analysis services needs improvement."

"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."

More F5 BIG-IP DNS cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Since Akamai is the industry leader, I imagine the solution would be a little more expensive than some other vendors."

"BIG-IP DNS is more expensive than its competitors like Citrix, but it gives good value for money."

"Cost is a factor. It is really costly."

"I would rate the pricing a three out of ten, with ten being a low price."

"They are competitively priced."

"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."

"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."

"You cannot do much around DDoS protection without an additional license from F5."

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Financial Services Firm

13%

Manufacturing Company

10%

Computer Software Company

University

Financial Services Firm

15%

Computer Software Company

12%

Manufacturing Company

10%

Retailer

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

No data available

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	8
Midsize Enterprise	4
Large Enterprise	9

Questions from the Community

What needs improvement with Akamai Edge DNS?

See all answers

What is your primary use case for Akamai Edge DNS?

As a reseller company for Akamai, my typical use case for Akamai Edge DNS is its distribution worldwide, providing DDoS attack prevention which is crucial in current times.

See all answers

What advice do you have for others considering Akamai Edge DNS?

I recommend Akamai Edge DNS and rate the overall solution a ten out of ten. Akamai Edge DNS should improve its AI more to enhance the product's capabilities.

See all answers

What do you like most about F5 BIG-IP DNS?

For one of our clients, F5 improved global server load balancing with an active-active site configuration for Disaster Recovery.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for F5 BIG-IP DNS?

In terms of pricing, F5 BIG-IP is not cheaper compared to other solutions like Fortinet or Citrix. The cost can be high due to its comprehensive modules.

See all answers

What needs improvement with F5 BIG-IP DNS?

See all answers

Comparisons

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Compared 12% of the time

Azure DNS vs Akamai Edge DNS

Compared 10% of the time

Google Cloud DNS vs Akamai Edge DNS

Compared 3% of the time

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Infoblox Advanced DNS Protection vs F5 BIG-IP DNS

Compared 44% of the time

Cisco Umbrella vs F5 BIG-IP DNS

Compared 12% of the time

CIRA Anycast DNS vs F5 BIG-IP DNS

Compared 9% of the time

EfficientIP DNS Guardian vs F5 BIG-IP DNS

Compared 7% of the time

Palo Alto Networks DNS Security vs F5 BIG-IP DNS

Compared 5% of the time

More F5 BIG-IP DNS Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Akamai Edge DNS

January 2026

Download Akamai Edge DNS product report

Buyer's Guide

F5 BIG-IP DNS

January 2026

Download F5 BIG-IP DNS product report

Also Known As

Akamai Fast DNS

F5 BIG-IP DNS, F5 DNS Delivery

Overview

Discover Akamai DNS and its benefits of high availability and performance, and resilience against DDoS attacks backed by a fully guaranteed uptime SLA.

Akamai

F5® BIG-IP® DNS distributes DNS and user application requests based on business policies, data center and cloud service conditions, user location, and application performance. BIG-IP DNS is commonly configured as a full proxy to provide global server load balancing (GSLB) for applications and DNS across architectures, and across the globe.

The BIG-IP platform delivers DNS services with visibility, reporting, and analysis; scales and secures DNS responses geographically to survive increased traffic or threats; delivers a real-time DNSSEC solution; designed to provide availability of global applications in all cloud environments.

Sample Customers

Otto Group

Ricacorp Properties, Bangladesh Post Office, Shawbrook Bank, Shinsegae Internet Duty Free

Buyer's Guide

Akamai Edge DNS vs. F5 BIG-IP DNS

December 2025

Free Report: Akamai Edge DNS vs. F5 BIG-IP DNS

Find out what your peers are saying about Akamai Edge DNS vs. F5 BIG-IP DNS and other solutions. Updated: December 2025.

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