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Index › IT › Network and edge › Managed DNS › Cloudflare DNS vs IBM NS1 Connect
Managed DNS · November 2026 Edition

Cloudflare DNS vs IBM NS1 Connect

Fourteen of fourteen models named Cloudflare DNS first on the direct prompt; one named IBM NS1 Connect. Cloudflare DNS was named by fourteen of the fourteen models and IBM NS1 Connect by nine and Cloudflare DNS carries 73 labels and IBM NS1 Connect 19, so the shares are not directly comparable.

Cloudflare DNS

endorsed leader

Named in two categories this edition.

IBM NS1 Connect

accepted challenger

Named in one category this edition.

First-choice share95%2%Of first choices across the direct, paraphrase, budget and scale prompts, 0 to 100.
Negative rate7%5%Negative labels as a share of the product's labels, 0 to 100.
Rank in category#1#3A position in a field of 12; printed, not drawn.
Labels7319A count; the two differ.
The two percentage rows are drawn on one 0 to 100 track, Cloudflare DNS reading right to left. Rank and label count are printed, not drawn.DNS Made Easy was named alongside these two in nine of the fourteen direct answers. Cloudflare DNS vs Amazon Route 53 · Amazon Route 53 vs IBM NS1 Connect

Share is the count of first choices across the direct, paraphrase, budget and scale prompts over all fourteen models, for a mid-market B2B company; rank is within the category; every quote names the model and the prompt it came from. Both figures come from the Managed DNS page.

By framing

How many of the fourteen models made each the first choice, per way of asking, and how many argued against it.
Cloudflare DNSFirst choices, of fourteen modelsIBM NS1 Connect
Direct141
Paraphrase1301 against IBM NS1 Connect
Comparative140
Budget-constrained140
Scale-constrained10
Negative405 against Cloudflare DNS
Bars are first choices, 0 to 14 each sideModels that argued againstA model can name both, so the two sides of a row do not sum to fourteen.

Across every category in the November 2026 Edition, Cloudflare DNS and IBM NS1 Connect were named in the same answer sixty-seven times, of the 230 answers naming Cloudflare DNS and the 76 naming IBM NS1 Connect. In those answers IBM NS1 Connect took the first choice two times and Cloudflare DNS fifty-two.

Every model, every framing

The eighty-four answers behind the chart above, one cell each: where Cloudflare DNS and IBM NS1 Connect stood in it.
ModelDirectINParaphraseINComparativeINBudget-constrainedINScale-constrainedINNegativeIN
Claude Haiku 4.5
GPT-5.4 miniIN
Gemini 3.5 FlashINININ
Perplexity SonarIN
Grok 4.20INININ
Mistral Small
DeepSeek V4 FlashINININ
Llama 4 Maverick
Qwen 3.7 Flash
Kimi K2ININ
GLM 4.7 FlashXIN
MiniMax M2.5
GPT-6 LunaININ
Muse Glimmer 30BININ
Cloudflare DNSIN IBM NS1 Connect first choice named as an alternative argued againstblank: not namedEach cell is one answer, Cloudflare DNS on the left and IBM NS1 Connect on the right.

The direct prompt

The plain question, one answer per model, grouped by where Cloudflare DNS and IBM NS1 Connect stood in it.

Both were the first choice

1 of 14 modelsThe answer named them together, and the judge labeled each a first choice.
GPT-5.4 miniCloudflare DNS, IBM NS1 Connect alternatives: Amazon Route 53

Cloudflare DNS first, IBM NS1 Connect an alternative

13 of 14 modelsIBM NS1 Connect was named in the answer but not as the choice, or not at all.
Claude Haiku 4.5Cloudflare DNS alternatives: NS1, Route 53
Gemini 3.5 FlashCloudflare DNS alternatives: Amazon Route 53, Constellix, DNS Made Easy, IBM NS1 Connect
Perplexity SonarCloudflare DNS alternatives: Amazon Route 53, DNS Made Easy
Grok 4.20Cloudflare DNS alternatives: Amazon Route 53, IBM NS1 Connect, Microsoft Azure DNS
Mistral SmallCloudflare DNS alternatives: Akamai Edge DNS, ClouDNS, DNS Made Easy, DNSimple
DeepSeek V4 FlashCloudflare DNS alternatives: Amazon Route 53, Constellix, DNS Made Easy, IBM NS1 Connect
Llama 4 MaverickCloudflare DNS alternatives: DNSimple
Qwen 3.7 FlashCloudflare DNS alternatives: Amazon Route 53, DNS Made Easy, DNSimple
Kimi K2Cloudflare DNS alternatives: DNS Made Easy, IBM NS1 Connect
GLM 4.7 FlashXAmazon Route 53, Cloudflare DNS alternatives: Azure DNS, DNS Made Easy, DNSimple
MiniMax M2.5Cloudflare DNS alternatives: DNS Made Easy, DNSimple, Vercara
GPT-6 LunaCloudflare DNS alternatives: Amazon Route 53, IBM NS1 Connect
Muse Glimmer 30BCloudflare DNS alternatives: Amazon Route 53, DNS Made Easy, IBM NS1 Connect, NS1, Vercara

Bold names in an answer are the products the judge labeled a first choice; a model naming several gives each of them that label. The full answer text for every row is in the record.

By buyer segment

The same question asked on behalf of a different buyer. Each standing is computed within its segment and they are never added together. The figures above are the mid-market standing, which is the one the category orders by.
Small business
Cloudflare DNS leads by eighty points.
Cloudflare DNS80%#1 of 9
IBM NS1 Connect0%#– of 9
The full small business standing →
Mid-marketThe figures above
Cloudflare DNS leads by ninety-three points.
Cloudflare DNS95%#1 of 12
IBM NS1 Connect2%#3 of 12
The full mid-market standing →
Enterprise
Cloudflare DNS leads by fifty-four points.
Cloudflare DNS61%#1 of 10
IBM NS1 Connect7%#3 of 10
The full enterprise standing →

What the models said about Cloudflare DNS

Every negative label with a quote, up to three, then the highest-weighted positives, up to three. Six of eight in this category shown.

“That doesn't automatically make Cloudflare a bad choice, but it does mean you should treat it as a provider to scrutinize carefully” GPT-5.4 mini · negative prompt · soft negative
“Cloudflare, if easy exit or low-cost multi-provider DNS is important... not a general reason to avoid Cloudflare DNS.” GPT-6 Luna · negative prompt · soft negative
“it has had notable outages... Great for most, but have a secondary provider for critical setups.” Grok 4.20 · negative prompt · soft negative
“Cloudflare: Known for its global network and superior security features, Cloudflare offers a range of pricing plans, including a free plan.” Llama 4 Maverick · budget prompt · first choice
“Choose Cloudflare if you want an easy-to-use, fast DNS that includes built-in DDoS protection, CDN, and basic security out of the box.” Gemini 3.5 Flash · comparative prompt · first choice
“I recommend starting with Cloudflare's free tier - it offers the best balance of performance, security, and features at no cost” MiniMax M2.5 · budget prompt · first choice

What the models said about IBM NS1 Connect

Every negative label with a quote, up to three, then the highest-weighted positives, up to three. Four of five in this category shown.

“Higher complexity and typically higher enterprise cost” Perplexity Sonar · paraphrase prompt · soft negative
“the best default choice is usually Cloudflare or IBM NS1 Connect, depending on your priorities” GPT-5.4 mini · direct prompt · first choice
“Advanced traffic steering, latency-based routing, and multi-CDN failover needs. More complex but powerful.” Kimi K2 · paraphrase prompt · alternative
“Best for Complex Traffic Steering & SaaS Apps: IBM NS1 Connect *(Best for Advanced Multi-Cloud)*” Gemini 3.5 Flash · paraphrase prompt · alternative
Also compared
Cloudflare DNS vs Amazon Route 53Amazon Route 53 vs IBM NS1 ConnectAll three head-to-head pages and the full Managed DNS standing

Comparisons are drawn for the top eight products in each category, each against each. The output is the models' output; nothing here is a recommendation by the index.