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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
8th
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.1
Number of Reviews
6
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
F5 BIG-IP DNS
Ranking in Domain Name System (DNS) Security
6th
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
8.0
Number of Reviews
21
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 BlueCat Edge is 2.8%, down from 2.8% 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
ProductMarket Share (%)
F5 BIG-IP DNS4.4%
BlueCat Edge2.8%
Other92.8%
Domain Name System (DNS) Security
 

Featured Reviews

reviewer2340669 - PeerSpot reviewer
Enterprise Architect at a financial services firm with 10,001+ employees
Invaluable at detecting DNS threats, improving performance, and reducing operational expenses
I have concerns about several aspects of BlueCat's site management. Firstly, the cleanup process doesn't seem thorough enough, leaving behind residual data. Secondly, the logging duration has been significantly reduced. When I started using Edge, I had access to 3-6 months of historical data, but now this window has shrunk to just two weeks. I understand that the platform processes over one and a half billion queries per week, which necessitates data management. However, I believe access to longer-term logs would be beneficial for our analysis. The current two-week window limits our ability to identify trends and track historical events effectively. BlueCat Edge has a limitation of 10,000 records for exports. While I understand the need to export all data, it would be more efficient if I could selectively export the data I need. Currently, there is only one export mechanism that provides all 10,000 records. I would prefer the ability to select specific values and export more records at once, as I don't require all the data available.
reviewer2733993 - PeerSpot reviewer
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.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"It allows us to easily monitor our subnets and routers."
"Edge has reduced the complexity and has been more reliable."
"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."
"The unparalleled visibility offered by BlueCat Edge is arguably the most critical benefit we receive."
"We implemented BlueCat Edge to solve the visibility and security issues we were having."
"IP Address Management (IPAM) is the most valuable."
"The main features valued in F5 BIG-IP include high availability, scalability, and protection of applications from attacks."
"BIG-IP DNS's best feature is the Global Traffic Manager (GTM)."
"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."
"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."
"F5 BIG-IP DNS has been rock solid in terms of stability for years."
"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."
"F5 BIG-IP DNS is a stable solution."
 

Cons

"The main improvement for BlueCat Edge's security configuration would be more granular control."
"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 have concerns about several aspects of BlueCat's site management."
"A more graphical user interface would be a benefit."
"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."
"Its price is on the higher side."
"The costs could always be a bit lower."
"The analysis services needs improvement."
"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."
"I sometimes encounter issues with the porting of F5 BIG-IP DNS."
"I would like to see more marketing documentation, rather than technical documentation."
"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."
"In the product, one of the shortcomings is related to its configuration part...Though you can find some manuals or F5 documents, in real life, it's very hard to understand this product."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"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."
"We find the current pricing model more reasonable compared to the previous per-IP pricing."
"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."
"The licensing model for BlueCat Edge seems very good, although I can't confirm if it's specific to our contract."
"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."
"They are competitively priced."
"BIG-IP DNS is more expensive than its competitors like Citrix, but it gives good value for money."
"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."
"In some cases, it is expensive."
"Cost is a factor. It is really costly."
"I would rate the pricing a three out of ten, with ten being a low price."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
14%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Computer Software Company
8%
Construction Company
8%
Financial Services Firm
15%
Computer Software Company
12%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Retailer
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business1
Large Enterprise6
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business8
Midsize Enterprise4
Large Enterprise9
 

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?
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 solutio...
 

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: December 2025.
881,082 professionals have used our research since 2012.