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BlueCat Edge 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

BlueCat Edge
Ranking in Domain Name System (DNS) Security
5th
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.1
Number of Reviews
7
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
F5 BIG-IP DNS
Ranking in Domain Name System (DNS) Security
4th
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
8.0
Number of Reviews
20
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of May 2025, in the Domain Name System (DNS) Security category, the mindshare of BlueCat Edge is 3.3%, up from 2.3% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of F5 BIG-IP DNS is 6.7%, down from 7.0% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Domain Name System (DNS) Security
 

Featured Reviews

David Muscat - PeerSpot reviewer
Provides good visibility and control, and we can quickly put it in place and integrate it
About Nine months ago, we were still using their Edge endpoint version 3. We recently moved to version 4 of their Edge endpoint. In Edge endpoint version 3, we did not have the ability to clean up our dashboards properly. As we decommissioned sites and commissioned new sites, we were left with a mess of data still sitting there because of the way they had originally designed version 3. Now the old data is gone, and the function of the new version 4 has really helped with that. It was a nuisance for the past few years. One pain point concerning DNS Edge is the inability to see per Edge endpoint, what devices are querying against it. They do have the capability for you to look at that data, but the data is roughly 24 to 48 hours old. I am looking for real-time data, and I cannot get that per Edge endpoint. I would call it a work in progress. I am still finding things that bug me in terms of how something functions. I might find out how to do something when it is not documented. That is great, but documentation becomes an issue with me on that.
Richard Polyak - PeerSpot reviewer
A robust solution designed to inspect network and form an internal topology network with clients
While we haven't explored AI-driven features yet, it's part of our roadmap for future versions. I would recommend F5 BIG-IP DNS to others in the industry. Overall, I would rate it an eight out of 10 as it meets our current needs but it will always have room for improvement.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Edge has reduced the complexity and has been more reliable."
"It allows us to easily monitor our subnets and routers."
"We implemented BlueCat Edge to solve the visibility and security issues we were having."
"What I found most valuable is the ability to put it in place and integrate it very quickly. It allows us to create routing rule sets to route DNS traffic where it needs to go most efficiently in our environment."
"IP Address Management (IPAM) is the most valuable."
"The unparalleled visibility offered by BlueCat Edge is arguably the most critical benefit we receive."
"The namespace and access control features are notable."
"BlueCat has increased security efficiency tremendously within the first month of deployment."
"The GTM feature is very good, It's very useful, especially if we have multiple data centers. If we want to load balance traffic from multiple data centers, the GTM feature is very useful."
"The management is very easy."
"The most valuable feature of the solution is security."
"BIG-IP DNS's best feature is the Global Traffic Manager (GTM)."
"F5 BIG-IP DNS is useful, depending on how you use it."
"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."
"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 configuration process is straightforward, making it easy to set up wide IPs and distribute traffic across local US sites and data centers via VPN."
 

Cons

"Its price is on the higher side."
"The main improvement for BlueCat Edge's security configuration would be more granular control."
"BlueCat should consider deploying feature enhancement requests faster, especially if they are simple to implement."
"I would like to see improvements in threat detection and the ability to add categorization for blocking queries, such as those related to adult entertainment."
"I have concerns about several aspects of BlueCat's site management."
"A more graphical user interface would be a benefit."
"One pain point concerning DNS Edge is the inability to see per Edge endpoint, what devices are querying against it. They do have the capability for you to look at that data, but the data is roughly 24 to 48 hours old. I am looking for real-time data, and I cannot get that per Edge endpoint."
"BlueCat should consider deploying feature enhancement requests faster, especially if they are simple to implement."
"The solution's initial setup is complex compared to Fortinet."
"F5's technical support responds a little slowly."
"The solution can improve by adding cloud integration through plugins or additional configurations so we can use F5 BIG-IP DNS to communicate with the cloud."
"Scalability is a concern, it could be improved."
"The analysis services needs improvement."
"I sometimes encounter issues with the porting of F5 BIG-IP DNS."
"CNC (control and command) communication would be beneficial. We would like to have control and command blocking to prevent visiting malicious websites."
"The costs could always be a bit lower."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"We find the current pricing model more reasonable compared to the previous per-IP pricing."
"The licensing model for BlueCat Edge seems very good, although I can't confirm if it's specific to our contract."
"I'm doing a costing and licensing comparison between the BlueCat DNS Integrity and Micetro by Men&Mice. BlueCat has given me a range instead of a specific price. They gave me a range of ten thousand to two hundred thousand USD. That was a bit too wide for the cost comparison. Based on what I'm seeing, they are definitely on the higher side and very expensive."
"One of the nice benefits of getting DNS Edge is that you buy the subscription, and you are allowed to deploy as many Edge endpoints as you need. You do not need a separate license for each one. If you deploy 20 of them, you will not be billed for that many. It is one subscription. You can deploy as many as you need and consume as much as you need. The cost comes in based on the number of IPs that you are consuming and running through DNS Edge. We have that pretty much locked in for what we need for internal purposes. Being able to save money on deploying Edge endpoints has saved us drastically from deploying other BlueCat products in lieu of that."
"They are competitively priced."
"BIG-IP DNS is more expensive than its competitors like Citrix, but it gives good value for money."
"In some cases, it is expensive."
"I would rate the pricing a three out of ten, with ten being a low price."
"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."
"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."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
15%
Financial Services Firm
13%
Manufacturing Company
9%
University
8%
Financial Services Firm
19%
Computer Software Company
13%
Government
9%
Manufacturing Company
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about BlueCat Edge?
We implemented BlueCat Edge to solve the visibility and security issues we were having.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for BlueCat Edge?
I'm not aware of the exact pricing and licensing as I was not part of the procurement process. However, there was a significant cost reduction thanks to BlueCat Cloud DNS managing external solutions.
What needs improvement with BlueCat Edge?
BlueCat should consider deploying feature enhancement requests faster, especially if they are simple to implement. They need to focus and deploy such features in the next version itself, which woul...
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.
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.
What needs improvement with F5 BIG-IP DNS?
The support response time could use improvement. In critical cases, such as in the big environment projects, faster support is needed to address critical issues promptly.
 

Also Known As

BlueCat DNS Edge
F5 BIG-IP DNS, F5 DNS Delivery
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Swisslos, Cologne Bonn Airport, TYROLIT
Ricacorp Properties, Bangladesh Post Office, Shawbrook Bank, Shinsegae Internet Duty Free
Find out what your peers are saying about BlueCat Edge vs. F5 BIG-IP DNS and other solutions. Updated: April 2025.
851,604 professionals have used our research since 2012.