Azure DNS vs Cloudflare DNS comparison

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9,223 views|7,940 comparisons
93% willing to recommend
Cloudflare Logo
49,237 views|30,588 comparisons
93% willing to recommend
Comparison Buyer's Guide
Executive Summary
Updated on Mar 6, 2024

We compared Cloudflare DNS and Azure DNS based on our user's reviews in several parameters.

Cloudflare DNS is praised for its fast performance, privacy features, global network coverage, and reliable uptime, with positive comments on customer service and return on investment. Azure DNS is highly regarded for its reliability, scalability, ease of use, and seamless integration with other Azure services, alongside positive feedback on customer service and pricing structure. Areas for improvement in Cloudflare DNS include reducing deployment times, while Azure DNS users seek increased reliability, a more user-friendly interface, and clearer pricing structures.

Features: While Cloudflare DNS offers fast performance, enhanced privacy and security, and an extensive global network, Azure DNS is valued for its reliability, scalability, ease of use, seamless integration with Azure services, and competitive pricing.

Pricing and ROI: Cloudflare DNS has no significant setup costs, while Azure DNS is highly regarded for its cost-effectiveness and flexibility. The setup process for Azure DNS is hassle-free and straightforward, making it easy to get started. Azure DNS also offers versatile licensing choices suitable for different user requirements., Cloudflare DNS offers improved website performance, increased security, and reliable DNS resolution. Azure DNS provides cost-effectiveness, efficiency, increased productivity, easy setup, and management options.

Room for Improvement: Cloudflare DNS users have pointed out areas for improvement, while users of Azure DNS have highlighted the need for increased reliability and uptime, better management interface, more comprehensive documentation and support resources, and a simpler pricing structure.

Deployment and customer support: Based on user feedback, the duration to establish a new tech solution varies for both Cloudflare DNS and Azure DNS. Some users of Cloudflare DNS reported spending up to three months on deployment and an additional week on setup, while others mentioned needing a week for both. The timeframes mentioned by users of Azure DNS also varied, with some spending three months on deployment and an additional week on setup. However, it is important to consider the context in which these terms are used, as they may refer to the same period of time., In terms of customer service, Cloudflare DNS has received positive feedback for its prompt and helpful assistance, while Azure DNS is praised for its responsiveness and efficient support.

The summary above is based on 36 interviews we conducted recently with Cloudflare DNS and Azure DNS users. To access the review's full transcripts, download our report.

To learn more, read our detailed Azure DNS vs. Cloudflare DNS Report (Updated: March 2024).
770,141 professionals have used our research since 2012.
Featured Review
Quotes From Members
We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use.
Here are some excerpts of what they said:
Pros
"Azure DNS is a user-friendly and very easy-to-manage solution.""The most valuable feature is the ease of installation.""The solution allows you to host DNS service without using Azure's servers.""Data protection is paramount across cloud platforms""What I like about Azure DNS is that it doesn't have any issues and integrates quickly with other products. It has good integration, which is incredible. I also like that whenever you deploy private links and endpoints, Azure DNS gives you the option to select the Azure native DNS, private DNS, or go with the Azure custom DNS. It depends, but if you don't have any dependencies on the DNS, then, like many customers, you won't have DNS issues. Azure DNS is a very good solution that helps you with domains and other resources.""The most valuable features of Azure DNS are the DNS forwarder and the DNS additional record editions.""The best feature is the domain register. The other great feature is that whenever you create any resources, Azure DNS will automatically create a record for you.""Integration with other Azure services is good."

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"The solution is stable, and the DNS servers are simple to use.""It is a stable solution. I rate the stability a ten out of ten...I rate the scalability a ten out of ten.""Its ease of integration with Office 365 and the fact that it's a good product compared to what I had before""The most valuable features of the solution are performance and security.""Cloudflare DNS is widely used, and it's good for websites. If we use Cloudflare DNS and update one record, it updates in their office instantly.""Its most significant benefit to date is the speed with which it refreshes DNS records on the internet once you change it. If you are changing a website or registering a new record, it is very quick.""I get a lot of value from Cloudflare's API because it enables you to build a separate environment inside the solution. You can create a domain for performing test requests before you move to the production environment and connect various domains.""The most valuable feature of the solution is external DNS. It is also very secure. They have their own main server and once you configure it, the product takes care of everything. There are no issues in resolving IPs and low latency is also present."

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Cons
"There are some issues with the solution's performance where improvements are needed.""What needs improvement in Azure DNS is visibility in terms of troubleshooting. It's similar to the area for improvement in Azure Network Watcher, where I can see how the source is going out if I'm troubleshooting a source destination. I can also see the destination. As for seeing how the packet travels, that's what should be improved. It's still lacking in visibility. Suppose I'm looking into backend machines, and if I'm hitting another NPM machine or any machine on the other side, there should be visibility. The tool should tell you that a specific machine is passing through a VPN gateway or route table, routing to a third-party firewall, and then dropping. Azure DNS should show an accurate answer to help the customers, which is its area for improvement.""Azure DNS' documentation needs to improve.""Azure DNS sticks mostly with the Azure native solution and doesn't scale well in a multi-cloud or hybrid environment.""Azure DNS could improve by having more updates.""The product must provide information on which DNS or application is consuming the most budget.""There are some latency issues that could be improved.""The process of creating a virtual mission could be improved."

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"An integrated SSO feature would be useful for Cloudflare DNS.""We have noticed multiple instances where Cloudflare falsely indicates that our servers are down, even when there is no actual load on them. This makes it challenging for us to identify the exact issue.""The analytics, basically the dashboard, doesn't have much to it.""I believe they currently have this feature, but there will most likely be integration with APIs so we can control some features through API.""Cloudflare's free plan is limited to 5,000 records for their free plan. They should increase that. For example, if I create a domain called abc.com and a subdomain called a.abc.com, my record count will be two. I can make a maximum of 5,000 subdomains. However, if we use our own DNS hosted on another provider, there is no limit. Their free plan also lacks name server customization.""Cloudflare should add more documentation and pricing to the cloud version.""Cloudflare doesn't have a reverse lookup. We can only do a DNS lookup to get the IP address from the hostname. It doesn't work if you want to look up the hostname from an IPA address.""It would be helpful if the solution could continue evolving to compete with the other solutions on the market."

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Pricing and Cost Advice
  • "The solution payment model is based on how many users use it. This is not an expensive solution, but it can depend on how long we use it. However, if the price was decreased it would be helpful."
  • "We have an enterprise license agreement with Microsoft. Their pricing is competitive. I would rate it a three and a half out of five."
  • "The solution itself is free but you need to pay for the Microsoft Azure infrastructure and host your domains in Azure to use it."
  • "The solution's price is reasonable."
  • "The price is low and it's a reasonable price for that product."
  • "Azure DNS is a cheap solution, and I rate it a two out of ten for pricing."
  • "We use the tool's free version."
  • "To use Azure DNS, I need to buy the license meant for Windows Server."
  • More Azure DNS Pricing and Cost Advice →

  • "That is one of the great features. I was able to access the majority of the features and services for free."
  • "When you compare Cloudflare DNS to other solutions, such as Akamai, the price is reasonable."
  • "The price of the solution is expensive."
  • "We are using the free version."
  • "The pricing depends on the usage, but the cheapest would be around 5,000 USD a month."
  • "The product's pricing is minimal compared to other products."
  • "A free version of the solution is available."
  • "We are using the free tier of the solution."
  • More Cloudflare DNS Pricing and Cost Advice →

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    Questions from the Community
    Top Answer:Azure DNS is a hosting service of DNS domains. It has excellent operating time and performance, resulting in fast resolution. We like the ability to view everything in the Azure portal - this makes… more »
    Top Answer:The tool is easy to manage and use.
    Top Answer:The web interface to manage the solution must be made easier. The tool must provide seamless integration between DHCP and IP address management platforms.
    Top Answer:Cloudflare DNS is a very fast, very reliable public DNS resolver. It is an enterprise-grade authoritative DNS service that offers great redundancy and advanced security with built-in unmetered and… more »
    Top Answer:The most valuable features of the solution are performance and security.
    Ranking
    2nd
    out of 24 in Managed DNS
    Views
    9,223
    Comparisons
    7,940
    Reviews
    29
    Average Words per Review
    324
    Rating
    8.4
    1st
    out of 24 in Managed DNS
    Views
    49,237
    Comparisons
    30,588
    Reviews
    13
    Average Words per Review
    462
    Rating
    8.5
    Comparisons
    Learn More
    Overview

    Azure DNS is a hosting service for DNS domains, providing name resolution using Microsoft Azure infrastructure. By hosting your domains in Azure, you can manage your DNS records using the same credentials, APIs, tools, and billing as your other Azure services.

    Powering over 38% of managed DNS domains, Cloudflare runs one of the largest authoritative DNS networks in the world. With an average of a few milliseconds query speed, we have the fastest performance of any managed DNS provider. DNS updates happen within seconds, making DNS propagation delays a thing of the past.

    Sample Customers
    M-Files
    GoDaddy, Nasdaq, Zendesk, DigitalOcean, OK Cupid, Cisco, Udacity, LogMeIn, Library of Congress
    Top Industries
    REVIEWERS
    Financial Services Firm27%
    Manufacturing Company13%
    Retailer13%
    Pharma/Biotech Company7%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Computer Software Company17%
    Financial Services Firm10%
    Manufacturing Company7%
    Government7%
    REVIEWERS
    Financial Services Firm40%
    Comms Service Provider20%
    Healthcare Company10%
    Retailer10%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Comms Service Provider16%
    Computer Software Company15%
    Media Company9%
    Government6%
    Company Size
    REVIEWERS
    Small Business30%
    Midsize Enterprise7%
    Large Enterprise63%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Small Business24%
    Midsize Enterprise18%
    Large Enterprise57%
    REVIEWERS
    Small Business29%
    Midsize Enterprise14%
    Large Enterprise57%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Small Business35%
    Midsize Enterprise19%
    Large Enterprise46%
    Buyer's Guide
    Azure DNS vs. Cloudflare DNS
    March 2024
    Find out what your peers are saying about Azure DNS vs. Cloudflare DNS and other solutions. Updated: March 2024.
    770,141 professionals have used our research since 2012.

    Azure DNS is ranked 2nd in Managed DNS with 31 reviews while Cloudflare DNS is ranked 1st in Managed DNS with 13 reviews. Azure DNS is rated 8.4, while Cloudflare DNS is rated 8.6. The top reviewer of Azure DNS writes "Offers good performance and helps its users with disaster recovery". On the other hand, the top reviewer of Cloudflare DNS writes "A tool that offers good performance that needs to improve in areas like assessment and payload". Azure DNS is most compared with Amazon Route 53, Cisco Umbrella, Infoblox DDI, Google Cloud DNS and Quad9, whereas Cloudflare DNS is most compared with Quad9, Google Cloud DNS, Cisco Umbrella, Amazon Route 53 and Hurricane Electric Free DNS. See our Azure DNS vs. Cloudflare DNS report.

    See our list of best Managed DNS vendors.

    We monitor all Managed DNS reviews to prevent fraudulent reviews and keep review quality high. We do not post reviews by company employees or direct competitors. We validate each review for authenticity via cross-reference with LinkedIn, and personal follow-up with the reviewer when necessary.