G-Core Labs CDN vs IBM NS1 Connect comparison

Gcore and IBM are both solutions in the Managed DNS category. Gcore is ranked #14, while IBM is ranked #6 with an average rating of 8.6. Gcore holds a 1.1% mindshare in MDP, compared to IBM’s 2.7% mindshare. Additionally, 100% of Gcore users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 100% of IBM users who would recommend it.

G-Core Labs CDN

Read 4 G-Core Labs CDN reviews

1,481 Views
889 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

IBM NS1 Connect

Read 16 IBM NS1 Connect reviews

2,655 Views
2,602 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

G-Core Labs CDN

IBM NS1 Connect

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Nov 4, 2024

IBM NS1 Connect and G-Core Labs CDN are both key competitors in the CDN network solutions space. While IBM NS1 Connect demonstrates strengths in pricing and support, G-Core Labs CDN has an edge in advanced features, appealing to users who prioritize comprehensive networking capabilities.

Features: IBM NS1 Connect offers DNS targeting capabilities, intelligent traffic routing, and multi-cloud DNS management. G-Core Labs CDN provides global scalability, edge computing features, and real-time monitoring. G-Core Labs CDN's more extensive global reach and edge computing capabilities present a stronger feature set for sophisticated networking demands.

Room for Improvement: IBM NS1 Connect could enhance its user interface to simplify the deployment process and improve user experience. Better integration options might also augment its appeal. Additionally, expanding feature-richness could help match the competition. G-Core Labs CDN, on the other hand, could focus on reducing initial setup costs, refining its pricing strategy for budget-conscious clients, and offering more flexible deployment options to tap broader customer bases.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: G-Core Labs CDN boasts quick deployment with easy integration and responsive customer support, facilitating fast transitions for organizations. IBM NS1 Connect, though offering flexible deployment options, could improve its user-friendliness to enhance implementation speed.

Pricing and ROI: IBM NS1 Connect's pricing is competitive, emphasizing cost-effective setups that offer favorable ROI for traditional DNS management needs. G-Core Labs CDN, despite higher initial costs, provides substantial ROI with its features suited to high-demand environments. Organizations opting for G-Core Labs CDN can expect greater long-term value despite upfront investments.

To learn more, read our detailed G-Core Labs CDN vs. IBM NS1 Connect Report (Updated: June 2026).

Buyer's Guide

G-Core Labs CDN vs. IBM NS1 Connect

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

G-Core Labs CDN

Ranking in Managed DNS

14th

Average Rating

9.2

Reviews Sentiment

7.6

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

CDN (21st)

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)

Mindshare comparison

As of August 2026, in the Managed DNS category, the mindshare of G-Core Labs CDN is 1.1%, up from 0.5% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of IBM NS1 Connect is 2.7%, up from 1.2% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Managed DNS Mindshare Distribution
Product	Mindshare (%)
IBM NS1 Connect	2.7%
G-Core Labs CDN	1.1%
Other	96.2%

Managed DNS

Featured Reviews

Edgar Mart

Senior Technical Support Engineer at HayPost CJSC

Works without interruption, scales well, and has perfect uptime

Our website works without interruption almost until late at night, as many students have the opportunity to study in the evening. Most of all, we appreciate the stable and fast work of g-core. Uptime is always perfect. With such a volume of data as we have, failures can occur from time to time. The support solves everything in the shortest possible time. I love that the guys are constantly trying to improve the service. Our online school is expanding every year, and there are no problems that our provider can’t solve. They also have the opportunity to negotiate individual conditions for complex sites.

Read full review

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.

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

"The CDN interface is intuitive and user-friendly, and there are no intrusive ads or upselling additional services. Everything is self-contained, and it's a convenient CDN overall. We also loved that they provided a free trial period. They always seem to do what's best for the consumer and the internet."

"Uptime is always perfect."

"We've done a lot of research into CDN providers, and G-Core offers the best service for the lowest cost."

"The support is amazing! They solve the issues on the fly."

"Since transitioning to G-Core, our site has started working much faster, and freezes have stopped. Users are staying on the site longer and visiting more sections. We increased the number of customers by 30 percent in the past six months. This is partially attributable to G-Core services."

"The Filter Chain is one of the most valuable features, for geo-load balancing and geo-fencing. The Filter Chain is the most useful because it allows us to do several things. With geo-fencing we can redirect a particular user to a particular answer. That's very valuable for us. Filter Chains with monitoring is our strategy to provide redundancy."

"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."

"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, and I also love it because it saves time through automation, saving around 30% to 35% of our time and also saving man-source, while our application uptime has improved by 40% to 45%, making it very cost-effective and affordable and hence providing a great return on investment."

"IBM NS1 Connect has a positive impact on my organization, as I believe it improves security, availability, and DDoS attack mitigation because it detects failures and automatically redirects users to healthy resources."

"Their Pulsar filters allow us to collect RUM metrics from our users so that we can determine the best paths for our users to take. That has been very useful in providing the best user experience, and for responding to and recovering from downtime of our multiple CDNs."

"It massively speeds things up. Today, we allow developers to deploy services and have externally facing DNS scrapers that are created automatically without the addition of human intervention."

"From a maintenance standpoint, mainly in terms of maintenance provisioning and deprovisioning, since we do not really see the internals of the SaaS solution, the reduction would be drastic, and it would be a tenth of the time."

"We leverage two things from Managed DNS that we couldn't do with any other solution. One is their filter chain technology, which allows us to shift some of the intelligence we need for the traffic steering to the DNS. The second one is data sources, which enables us to manipulate multiple records simultaneously using NS1's internal message DOS. In our case, we are trying to direct the traffic in over 150,000 different NS1 records to an arbitrary set of repeating responses."

More IBM NS1 Connect pros

Cons

"There are some nuances in the tariff configurations that we found confusing. We would like more flexibility in this area."

"I would like to have one optimized report that we could use for our own needs."

"Once in the past six months, we got a "site is unavailable" error for a maximum of 20 minutes."

"It would be great if there were a section on the provider's website that shows a set of services for a particular business. It would be helpful to have some kind of checklist of services that are suitable for your blog, which are required, and which can be set up later."

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

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

"There could maybe be additional ways to manage traffic. There are no major improvements we're looking for. It's a very complete solution."

"The Filter Chain simulation is really good in the UI, but it would be nice to have something similar in the API so that we could simulate and test things before we deploy them."

"We use our client in our infrastructure to communicate with NS1. This client is a bit complex in the way that it is set up. NS1 has their own client solution that you can deploy into your platform to do this, but even that is a bit complex. So, I would like a very simple, thin, light API agent that we can deploy into our platform to communicate with NS1. That would be welcome."

"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."

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

"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."

More IBM NS1 Connect cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The price of G-Core Labs CDN is very reasonable in comparison with other companies. We've done a lot of research into CDN providers, and G-Core offers the best service for the lowest cost."

"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."

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

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

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Financial Services Firm

14%

Manufacturing Company

12%

Construction Company

12%

Computer Software Company

12%

Comms Service Provider

12%

Computer Software Company

10%

Financial Services Firm

10%

Government

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

No data available

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	1
Midsize Enterprise	3
Large Enterprise	13

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for G-Core Labs CDN?

Compared to other solutions currently available on the market, the price of G-Core Labs CDN is very reasonable. G-Core CDN has 4 pricing editions: a free model, START 1.5TB, PRO 5TB, and a custom o...

See all answers

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

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Compared 21% of the time

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Compared 6% of the time

Amazon Route 53 vs G-Core Labs CDN

Compared 5% of the time

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Compared 25% of the time

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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

BlueCat Integrity vs IBM NS1 Connect

Compared 4% of the time

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Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

CDN

August 2026

Download G-Core Labs CDN product report

Buyer's Guide

IBM NS1 Connect

July 2026

Download IBM NS1 Connect product report

Also Known As

No data available

NS1 Managed DNS, NS1

Overview

G-Core Labs CDN is a powerful and accessible solution ensuring seamless content delivery across the globe. With an easy-to-use interface and global CDN points, it caters to businesses needing enhanced media quality and geographical service expansion.

G-Core Labs CDN stands out with its intuitive design, beneficial for businesses looking to efficiently manage online content delivery. The platform's control panel is noted for being convenient, offering frequent updates and aiding users in handling increased traffic and revenue spikes effectively. With numerous CDN points worldwide, it facilitates geographical expansion. Although users suggest improvements in tariff flexibility and setup guidance, the service remains favored for its excellent support and free trial opportunities, helping businesses access efficient resources without excessive costs.

What are the most important features?

User-friendly interface: Streamlined control panel for easy navigation.
Frequent feature updates: Regular enhancements keep the system current.
Enhanced video quality: Optimized for superior media delivery.
Effective traffic splitting: Manages and distributes site traffic efficiently.
Global CDN points: Extended geographical reach for broad service coverage.

What benefits or ROI should users look for?

Free trial period: Explore the service without initial commitment.
Exceptional support: Quick issue resolution and user assistance.
Revenue handling: Manages traffic spikes and fluctuating demands.
Expansion opportunities: Leverage new cost-effective resources easily.

In specific industries, G-Core Labs CDN is widely adopted by educational institutions to ensure smooth delivery of interactive content even during peak times. Bloggers and businesses utilize it for consistent performance and reliable content delivery. Its performance and developmental focus make it appealing for those seeking reliable and affordable CDN services.

Gcore

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

Sample Customers

avast, TEDx, Nanobit, Group Wagner, Momento

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

Buyer's Guide

G-Core Labs CDN vs. IBM NS1 Connect

June 2026

Free Report: G-Core Labs CDN vs. IBM NS1 Connect

Find out what your peers are saying about G-Core Labs CDN vs. IBM NS1 Connect and other solutions. Updated: June 2026.

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