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F5 Distributed Cloud DNS

Managed DNS providers software
Features
Ease of use
Ease of management
Quality of support
Affordability
Market presence
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Pricing from
Pay-as-you-go
Free Trial
Free version unavailable
User corporate size
Small
Medium
Large
User industry
  1. Energy and utilities
  2. Transportation and logistics
  3. Healthcare and life sciences

What is F5 Distributed Cloud DNS

F5 Distributed Cloud DNS is a managed DNS service within the F5 Distributed Cloud platform that provides authoritative DNS hosting and traffic steering for internet-facing applications. It targets enterprises that need centrally managed DNS across multiple clouds and environments, often alongside application delivery and security controls. The service emphasizes policy-based routing and integration with other F5 Distributed Cloud capabilities rather than standalone domain registration features.

pros

Enterprise-grade DNS traffic steering

The product supports DNS-based routing policies to direct users to different endpoints based on rules such as geography and health status. This is useful for multi-region and multi-cloud application delivery where DNS is used as the first layer of traffic management. It fits organizations that want DNS decisions aligned with broader application delivery policies.

Integrated with F5 platform services

Distributed Cloud DNS is designed to operate as part of the broader F5 Distributed Cloud console and service model. This can reduce tool sprawl for teams already using the same platform for application security, connectivity, or edge services. Centralized policy and governance can be applied consistently across DNS and adjacent controls.

Centralized management and automation

The service provides centralized DNS zone administration intended for distributed environments. It is typically used with API-driven workflows to support infrastructure-as-code and repeatable deployments. This helps teams manage changes across many zones and environments with consistent processes.

cons

Less suited for basic DNS

Organizations that only need simple authoritative DNS hosting may find the platform-oriented approach heavier than purpose-built, lightweight DNS providers. Some capabilities are most valuable when used alongside other Distributed Cloud services. This can make the product less cost-effective for small footprints or single-domain use cases.

Potential platform lock-in

Operational workflows, policy constructs, and integrations are centered on the F5 Distributed Cloud ecosystem. Teams may need to adopt F5-specific concepts and tooling to get full value. Migrating away later can require re-implementing DNS automation and traffic policies in another system.

Domain registrar features not primary

The product focuses on managed authoritative DNS and traffic steering rather than end-to-end domain registration and registrar management. Companies that want a single vendor for registrar services, DNS hosting, and domain portfolio administration may need additional providers. This adds procurement and operational overhead for domain lifecycle management.

Plan & Pricing

Pricing model: Mixed — Annual enterprise subscription (Standard / Advanced) and Pay-as-you-go (no-commitment). Public list prices on vendor site: Not published on F5's official product/pricing pages. F5 directs buyers to contact sales for annual/private-offer pricing and indicates pay-as-you-go availability (via cloud marketplaces). Free tier/trial: Trial access is offered ("Request a trial" / "Talk to an expert to schedule a demo or get access to a trial" on F5's site) but F5 does not publish a permanent free tier. Example costs: Not available on F5.com (no per-zone, per-record, or per-query prices published on the vendor site). Discount/options: Private offers and enterprise agreements; F5 asks customers to contact sales for discounted/private-offer pricing and annual subscriptions. How to purchase: Contact F5 Sales for annual/subscription pricing or use the pay-as-you-go offering in cloud marketplaces as referenced on F5's product page.

Notes: All numeric/pay-as-you-go line-item prices (if any) are not published on F5's official product or pricing pages; F5 points customers to contact sales or use cloud marketplaces for PAYG pricing.

Seller details

F5, Inc.
Seattle, Washington, USA
1996
Public
https://www.f5.com/
https://x.com/f5
https://www.linkedin.com/company/f5/

Tools by F5, Inc.

F5 App Stack
›
F5 Distributed Cloud Platform
›
F5 NGINX Management Suite
›
F5 NGINX
›
F5 NGINX Ingress Controller
›
F5 Container Ingress Services
›
F5 Distributed Cloud CDN
›
F5 Distributed Cloud DNS
›
F5 Distributed Cloud DNS Load Balancer
›
F5 Distributed Cloud Network Connect
›
BIG-IP Carrier-Grade Network Address Translation (CGNAT)
›
F5 NGINX Plus
›
F5 BIG-IP Local Traffic Manager (LTM)
›
F5 Global Server Load Balancing (GSLB)
›
F5 Distributed Cloud Console
›
F5 Distributed Cloud Synthetic Monitoring
›
F5 Clouds Managed Private Cloud
›
F5 BIG-IP WAF AWS Deployment & Integration
›
F5 BIG-IQ Centralized Management
›
F5 Distributed Cloud API Security
›

Best F5 Distributed Cloud DNS alternatives

easyDNS
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IBM NS1 Connect
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Amazon Route 53
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ClouDNS
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